Not Enough O Negative Blood Available to Sustain Local Hospitals, Program to Help Victims of Uvalde Shooting Also Announced

The Blood Connection’s O negative blood supply has now reached a critical level. Because The Blood Connection (TBC) is the primary blood provider for hospitals in this region, the need for O negative blood donations is dire. The combination of already low supply, the approaching summer season, and sustained low donor turnout could result in an O negative blood shortage soon, which could disrupt patient care.

Last week, TBC was activated through the Blood Emergency Readiness Corps (BERC), to send O negative blood to South Texas after the devastating school shooting. The need for O negative blood has since been highlighted by that tragedy but has unfortunately not resulted in an increase in O negative donations. Adding to the issue, the summer months are usually the hardest season to collect enough, exacerbated by an increase in travel and traumas. It is estimated that summer travel will increase by 16% and 75% of Americans are expected to take a summer vacation, indicating this travel season is set to be the busiest since the pandemic – a sign that people are returning to normal. As that happens, the fear is that patients like Kristen Odom will continue to be overlooked.

“During my labor, unbeknownst to anyone…I was bleeding internally but no one knew it and it was not discovered until immediately after our daughter was born,” says Odom. “I will never forget one anesthesiologist yelling over the team, referring to blood, ‘I don’t care where you get it, but I need it, and I need it now.’ After I came out of ICU, my husband and I realized how much blood I needed, and the fact that donated blood was the key factor that turned everything around.”

O negative blood is the most transfused blood type for traumas and emergencies, so the demand never wavers. O negative blood donors are often referred to as the “universal donor” since everyone, no matter their blood type, can receive O negative blood. TBC aims to have a 5-7 day supply of O negative blood but has recently had a one day supply. In some instances, one trauma case alone can use up that supply.

TBC has also announced a program that uses blood donations to help victims of the Uvalde shooting. TBC blood donors now have the option to convert their reward points into a monetary donation to the Robb School Memorial Fund (One Star Foundation) through the TBC online store. These funds will be used locally to support the families and community affected in Uvalde, Texas.

The blood from BERC Network blood banks is being sent to South Texas Blood and Tissue, the steward of the local blood supply in that part of Texas. TBC has more blood in reserve to send if called upon again. In order to help other communities, the local blood supply must be stable. It’s important to have an available day-to-day blood supply on the shelves in the event of any emergencies – locally or BERC-assisted – when blood and time are critical. The community is urged to donate blood now at any TBC center or bloodmobile.

Enjoy ASHEVILLE’S ABSOLUTE BEST ROAD RUNNING. Spectators, sponsors, hype, and incredible energy along with spectacular mountain views. WHERE: Participants will START and FINISH near downtown Asheville, but will run up and down the tree lined streets of North Asheville nearby the historic Omni Grove Park Inn and the Governor’s Western Residence. Course Description. ABOUT US: Brought to you by the same race organizers that bring you the Asheville Turkey Trot (now in its 20+ year) and the Shut-In Ridge Trail Run (now in its 40+ year). The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC) permanently protects and stewards our region’s most beloved natural areas. Since 1974, over 80,000 acres of unique plant and animal habitat, clean water sources, farmland, scenic beauty, and places for people to enjoy outdoor recreation have been permanently protected in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. SAHC is committed to creating and supporting equitable, healthy and thriving communities for everyone in our region. We value our local Western North Carolina community and are committed to giving back. A portion of our race proceeds go towards our charity partner for that year. For the inaugural Flying Squirrel Ten Miler we are proud to be supporting a Western North Carolina based non-profit who is helping to conserve the endangered Carolina Flying Squirrel. The Carolina Flying Squirrel is a subspecies of the Northern Flying Squirrel and requires high elevation habitat to thrive. Read more about the Carolina Flying Squirrel here: https://www.fws.gov/southeast/wildlife/mammals/carolina-northern-flying-squirrel/

The Cooper River Bridge Run is the best organized and best conducted 10K race in the world. It includes world-class competition in a unique setting with unparalleled participant satisfaction. It broadens community cooperation and participation in healthy events throughout the year. The Cooper River Bridge Run serves as a model of health motivation for other communities throughout the world.

The Henderson County Curb Market hosts its June Jubilee along with its
98th Anniversary Celebration, this is sure to be a fun filled event for the whole family, there will be a hot dog plate lunch available
to purchase, live music by Two Fer with David Emmons and Glenn Case, and balloons, treats and activities for the children,
including a “plant a flower” project at the children’s activity table, Visitors will want to take time to shop with vendors for produce,
unique and beautiful items made by our local crafters, fresh baked goods, free range eggs, preserves and more, With each
purchase a raffle ticket will be given for a chance to win a lovely basket filled with Curb Market items, along with a free packet of
seeds,

This is the 43rd year for this weekly tailgate market, where vendors sell fresh-picked seasonal vegetables and fruit, local honey, cut flowers, plant starts and more!

Welcome to Western NC’s most premier farmers market!

Since 1980, we have been providing Asheville and the surrounding area with a full range of local, sustainably produced produce, meats, eggs, cheeses, breads, plants, prepared foods and crafts. Day vendors complement the members’ offerings with additional products and services.

The North Asheville Tailgate Market is a weekly, Saturday morning gathering of the best farmers, craftsmen, and bakers. With over 40 vendors and more than 40,000 annual customers, the market’s energetic and warm environment welcomes all.

The Hendersonville Farmers Market aims to be a world-class
market that contributes to the success of local producers and growers, expands access to farm fresh foods, and creates a
vibrant community gathering space. With fresh produce, meats, baked goods, crafts, live entertainment, food trucks, and more,
it’s a weekly outing with something for everybody, In addition to the many market vendors at this open-air market, Bee City USAHendersonville will have a booth with information on pollinator gardening, make-n-takes for the kids, and free pollinator-friendly
seed packets while supplies last. Elle Travis will host a reading of her Nature Connections books; Loretta Zedella will have
Butterfly Flight Wings for sale; Honeybee Bliss will feature a live observation beehive for viewing; Milkweed Meadows Farm will
have pollinator plants for sale; Artist Elizabeth Queen will discuss the nearby pollinator-inspired sidewalk mural Shanti Elixirs will
give away 24 bottles of Jun, their seasonal honey elixir, to the first 24 customers that come in costume and use the code word
“Save the Bees,” Free, Located outside the Historic Train Depot, Hendersonville,

The WNC Farmers Market is the premier destination for buying and selling the region’s best agriculture products directly from farmers & food producers to household & wholesale customers in an environment that celebrates the region’s diverse culture, food & heritage.

House of Operation:

WNC Farmers Market: 24/7, 361 days a year market access for farmers
Office: Monday- Friday, 8am-5pm
Market Shops: 7 days a week, 8 am-5 pm
Wholesale and Truck Sheds: 7 days a week

Start your engines because the 17th Annual
Benefit Car and Trade Show is taking place on Saturday, June 4, from 9 a.m. –
3 p.m. at the Henderson County Campus of Blue Ridge Community College.
Hosted by the Great Smoky Mountains Region of Antique Automobile Club of
America (AACA), the event is always a strong draw for regional car
enthusiasts, but also draws a significant amount of families interested in
seeing the unique cars featured.
There are 27 awards available for contestants this year, with categories
including “Driving Young America” and “Women Driving America.”
The car show is sponsored by AACA, SkillsUSA, and Blue Ridge Community
College. It is open to all makes and models of vehicles, including 2-, 3-, 4-, or
18-wheelers with door prizes. Vendors and dealers should call to reserve their
car’s spot in advance.
Early car registration costs $15, while registering at the gate costs $20. The
event is free to the viewing public, but concessions like BBQ, hot dogs, and
drinks will be available for purchase.
All proceeds from the event will benefit Blue Ridge Automotive students in
their SkillsUSA competitions, which support career and technical education in
the nation’s classrooms.
Blue Ridge Automotive Systems Technology instructor Brian Johnson explained
the importance of the car show to students as well as residents.
“This show is such a fun time for our community, and people come from all
over to see this massive lineup of unique and beautiful cars,” Johnson said.
“So this not only gives people the opportunity to show off their cars, but it also
raises much-needed funding for our students to attend SkillsUSA
competitions.”
The show’s location is in the College’s Patton Parking Lot on the Henderson
County Campus.
For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Johnson at (828) 694-
1835 or Kim LaRowe at (828) 779-2378.

After two pandemic years operating as ASAP Farmers Market at A-B Tech, Asheville City Market will return downtown on April 2, from 9 a.m. to noon. Every Saturday, N. Market St. will be closed between Woodfin and E. Walnut streets. Customers can enjoy open-air shopping for local goods from nearly 50 vendors, including farmers, artisan food makers, services, and more.

In addition to in-season fruits and vegetables, vendors from across Western North Carolina provide specialty products like cheese, eggs, grassfed meat and pastured pork, rice, pasta, artisan bread, honey, plants, body care products, and much more. As a producer-only market, each vendor has a personal hand in growing, raising, or crafting their products, giving customers the opportunity to connect directly with farmers and other local producers. A weekly list of vendors is available by subscribing to the market’s newsletter at asapconnections.org.

Asheville City Market will offer ASAP’s Double SNAP for Fruits and Vegetables, which matches SNAP dollars with tokens that can be used for produce. For instance, if a SNAP customer swipes their EBT card for $10, they will receive $10 in SNAP tokens as well as $10 in Farm Fresh Bucks. SNAP tokens may be used for SNAP-eligible products from any vendor, including produce, meat, cheese, eggs, bread, plants, and more. Farm Fresh Bucks may only be used for fruits and vegetables.

Free parking for customers is available at HomeTrust Bank and Family Justice Center (across from the YMCA at 35 Woodfin St.). There are bus stops on the N1 and N2 routes one block away, on Broadway

We recently wrapped up our 21-Day Stand Against Racism Challenge in April. The conversation moves forward with continuing the challenge because the work is far from over! As we became aware of the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade, it is again evident that the systems in place that already harm young women of color the most can be regressed even more by those with power today. In these crucial moments and always, knowledge is a way to take back power.
WE CHALLENGE YOU TO…

2 mins
Watch Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice shares The History of Reproductive Justice (RJ), a powerful video clearly communicating the definition of RJ, watch here.

10 mins
Check out Planned Parenthood’s article, Roe v. Wade at Risk: Nationwide Legal Abortion May Be a Thing of the Past. Access the article here.

13 mins
Consider this from NPR, which featured an article titled, Roe’s Legal Fate is Unclear. But Studies already Show Who’d Likely Be Hit the Hardest, read here.

42 mins
Listen. Parenting and Politics host Monica Simpson, a North Carolina Native and Executive Director of Sister Song. Sister Song is a Southern-based, national membership organization; our purpose is to build an effective network of individuals and organizations to improve institutional policies and systems that impact the reproductive lives of marginalized communities. Listen to the podcast here.

For more Continuing the Challenge resources click below:

What is the Stand Against Racism Challenge?

Many people are becoming newly aware of how systemic racism and violence are impacting people of color. Even if you are new to the conversation, that is OK. Our STand against racism challenge, formerly the  21 Day Challenge is designed to create dedicated time and space to build more effective social justice habits, particularly those dealing with issues of race, power, privilege, and leadership. Participants who sign up for the Challenge will receive daily tasks via email to help foster their understanding and awareness, with activities such as reading an article, listening to a podcast, or reflecting on personal experience. If you’ve already completed this challenge with us in the past please know that our challenge is designed to be taken multiple times by selecting different daily challenges in order to expand what you have previously learned. Follow this link for the resources.

Dates: July 11 – 16, 2022
Application: Available now through MyBMC
Cost: A $600 fee covers all housing, meals, classes, materials, and concert tickets. Spots are limited and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Please note: Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required for all students, faculty, and summer staff for the 2022 season. Please see our FAQ page for more information.

Program Summary

Brevard Music Center (BMC) presents The Brevard Project: Reimagining the Future of Orchestral Programming, a six-day intensive seminar and think-tank on orchestral programming intended for professionals and influencers in the orchestral field. Presented by Brevard Music Center in partnership with Bard College, the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the South Dakota Symphony, the University of Michigan School of Music, and Project Director Joseph Horowitz, The Brevard Project takes place July 11-16, 2022. The central goals of The Brevard Project are to re-evaluate the artistic mission of the American orchestra and to share the skills needed to curate a more comprehensive, more inclusive American orchestral repertoire.

Curriculum

The Brevard Project: Reimagining the Future of Orchestral Programing complements Brevard Music Center’s week-long “Dvořák’s Prophecy” festival from July 11-16 and is inspired by Joseph Horowitz’s acclaimed new book Dvořák’s Prophecy and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music. Part think-tank, part seminar, this inaugural Project gathering equips practitioners and scholars alike to begin to answer questions about the dense nexus of culture and race, of historical, political, and moral reckonings surrounding the story of American orchestral music. The central goals of this program are to re-evaluate the artistic mission of the American orchestra and to share the skills needed to curate a more comprehensive, more inclusive American orchestral repertoire. The Brevard Project is designed for conductors, artistic administrators, executive directors, community engagement specialists, conservatory students, and engaged orchestra Board members.

Moving forward requires a fresh and closer look at our musical past – and to the lagging formation of an American symphonic canon. A new narrative of American classical music will be proposed that explores timely and topical issues that impact present and future orchestral programming. Why did our repertoire remain so stubbornly Eurocentric? What can we learn from this history? What can be mined from the treasure trove of long-hidden indigenous and Black music that can help to pave the future?

Classroom sessions will be highly interactive, drawing upon first-hand accounts of humanities-infused approaches to programming and community engagement. Topics of exploration include creating a “new paradigm” for American orchestral repertoire, rethinking the concert experience, and redefining the role of the music director. Participants will be challenged to envision programming and organizational initiatives to promote symphonic events grounded in the American experience, past and present.

The Faculty

A remarkable faculty has been assembled for this groundbreaking exercise.
*virtual participant

Joseph Horowitz, Project Director
Leon Botstein, President, Bard College; Music Director, American Symphony; Founder, Bard Festival and The Orchestra Now
Lorenzo Candelaria, Dean, Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University
Mark Clague, Music Historian, University of Michigan
JoAnn Falletta*, Music Director, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
Christopher Gibbs*, Music Historian, Bard Conservatory; Artistic Co-Director, Bard Festival
Delta David Gier, Music Director, South Dakota Symphony
Blake-Anthony Johnson, CEO, Chicago Sinfonietta
Keith Lockhart*, Artistic Director, Brevard Music Center
Douglas McLennan, Founder/Editor, ArtsJournal
Jason Posnock, Chief Artistic Officer, Brevard Music Center
Jesse Rosen, Former CEO, League of American Orchestras
Larry Tamburri, CEO, Newark School of the Arts (former CEO, Pittsburgh and New Jersey Symphonies)

The Performers

Lara Downes, Pianist, producer, arts advocate
Sidney Outlaw, Baritone/pedagogue, Ithaca College
George Shirley, Tenor/pedagogue, University of Michigan

Enrollment Information

Conductors, artistic administrators, executive directors, community engagement specialists, conservatory students, and Board members are all encouraged to apply for The Brevard Project.

Capacity is limited. A $600 fee covers all housing, meals, classes, materials, and concert tickets for the week. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Apply now through MyBMC.

Old Kentucky Home -The Thomas Wolfe Memorial

American Novelist Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938)

Considered by many to be one of the giants of 20th-century American literature, Thomas Wolfe immortalized his childhood home in his epic autobiographical novel, Look Homeward, Angel. Wolfe’s colorful portrayal of his family, his hometown of “Altamont” Asheville, North Carolina, and “Dixieland” the Old Kentucky Home boardinghouse, earned the Victorian period house a place as one of American literature’s most famous landmarks.

House tours are offered daily at half past each hour. Last tour leaves at 4:30 pm.
Group tours by reservation.

Adult – $5.00
Student (ages 7-17) – $2.00
Adult Group (10+) – $2.50 each
Student Group – $2.00 each
6 & under – Free

Hours of Operation

Featured Artists: Jude Stuecker (fiber) Erica Bailey (jewelry) Mary Dashiell (clay) Steve Miller (wood) Rex Redd (clay)

Did you know that Buncombe County Special Collections collects, preserves, and provides access not only to photos, documents, books, and letters but also to audiovisual materials such as event recordings and oral history interviews? In order to increase access to these materials, BCSC has been hard at work digitizing audiocassettes, migrating CDs/DVDs, and uploading digitized or born-digital recordings to a dedicated page on the Internet Archive.

Volunteers are needed to make sure that these resources are transcribed so that researchers can more easily find and search for the topics they need. Contact BCSC to learn how you can help by transcribing interviews from home!

As part of Pollinator Month in Hendersonville, participate in a Pollinator Walk-n-Talk at
Bullington Gardens, Meet at the information kiosk near the brick house to take a guided stroll through the pollinator trail,
Afterwards, enjoy the woodland nature trail, Sally’s Garden, horticultural therapy gardens, the Fairy Trail, and more, Suitable for
all ages, no registration required, Children must be accompanied by an adult, Free but donations are always welcome,