During the month of May, buy one entrée and get a free dessert at Brixx Wood Fired Pizza in Biltmore Park. Mention that you saw this offer in the Town Square Reminder email newsletter and enjoy warm, friendly service over scratch made wood fired fare either in the dining room or on the spacious patio.

Gillian Laub, Amber and Reggie, Mount Vernon, Georgia, 2011, inkjet print, 40 × 50 inches. © Gillian Laub, courtesy of Benrubi Gallery.

American photographer Gillian Laub (born New York, 1975) has spent the last two decades investigating political conflicts, exploring family relationships, and challenging assumptions about cultural identity. In Southern Rites, Laub engages her skills as a photographer, filmmaker, and visual activist to examine the realities of racism and raise questions that are simultaneously painful and essential to understanding the American consciousness.

In 2002, Laub was sent on a magazine assignment to Mount Vernon, GA, to document the lives of teenagers in the American South. The town, nestled among fields of Vidalia onions, symbolized the archetype of pastoral, small town American life. The Montgomery County residents Laub encountered were warm, polite, protective of their neighbors, and proud of their history. Yet Laub learned that the joyful adolescent rites of passage celebrated in this rural countryside—high school homecomings and proms—were still racially segregated.

Laub continued to photograph Montgomery County over the following decade, returning even in the face of growing—and eventually violent—resistance from community members and local law enforcement. She documented a town held hostage by the racial tensions and inequities that scar much of the nation’s history. In 2009, a few months after Barack Obama’s first inauguration, Laub’s photographs of segregated proms were published in the New York Times Magazine. The story brought national attention to the town and the following year the proms were finally integrated. The power of her photographic images served as the catalyst and, for a moment, progress seemed inevitable.

Then, in early 2011, tragedy struck the town. Justin Patterson, a twenty-two-year-old unarmed African American man—whose segregated high school homecoming Laub had photographed—was shot and killed by a sixty-two-year-old white man. Laub’s project, which began as an exploration of segregated high school rituals, evolved into an urgent mandate to confront the painful realities of discrimination and structural racism. Laub continued to document the town over the following decade, during which the country re-elected its first African American president and the ubiquity of camera phones gave rise to citizen journalism exposing racially motivated violence. As the Black Lives Matter movement and national protests proliferated, Laub uncovered a complex story about adolescence, race, the legacy of slavery, and the deeply rooted practice of segregation in the American South.

Southern Rites is a specific story about 21st century young people in the American South, yet it poses a universal question about human experience: can a new generation liberate itself from a harrowing and traumatic past to create a different future?

Southern Rites is curated by Maya Benton and organized by the International Center of Photography.

Brighten your walls with with works from Artsville Collective’s upcoming exhibition, “In Living Color: At Home with Paint, Paper and Thread.”  Allow these abstract pieces, in varying sizes and mediums, to light up your life. Collectively, the artwork’s tonal range is of blended neutrals and ventures into spring and fall palettes. Suit your design pleasures with pure color or wabi-sabi textural designs in a range of perspectives from three uniquely talented artists: Betsy Meyer, fibers; Karen Stastny, painting, and Michelle Wise, mixed media. Also showing: the Retro pop art of Daryl Slaton, which can be activated on your phone to reveal an animated story. For a softer approach, consider the mixed media art of Louise Glickman using paint, textiles, and natural plant materials.

Black Mountain College: Idea + Place Lower Level Gallery with Companion Digital Exhibition How can an idea inform a place? How can a place inform an idea? Would Black Mountain College have had the same identity and lifespan if it had been located in the urban Northeast, the desert Southwest, or coastal California? How did BMC’s rather isolated, rural, and mountainous setting during the era of the Great Depression and the Jim Crow South influence the college community’s decision-making and the evolution of ideas upon which it was based? This exhibition seeks to delve into these questions and others by exploring the places of Black Mountain College: its two very different campuses, its influential predecessor the Bauhaus in Germany, and the post-BMC diaspora. Curated by Alice Sebrell, Director of Preservation

adVANCE! Modernism, Black Liberation + Black Mountain College Upper Level Gallery with Companion Digital Exhibition Featuring the work of contemporary sculptor Larry Paul King in conversation with Black Mountain College modernist masters including Jacob Lawrence, Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence, Josef Albers, Leo Krikorian, and Sewell Sillman. Premiering three Jacob Lawrence lithographs new to the BMCM+AC permanent collection. adVANCE! celebrates Black Mountain College’s role in early civil rights and the ongoing role of Black, modernist artists in the pursuit of liberation and justice. Curated by Marie T. Cochran, Founder of the Affrilachian Artist Project

N. C. Wyeth, Eight Bells (Clyde Stanley and Andrew Wyeth aboard Eight Bells), 1937, oil on hardboard, 20 × 30 inches. Bank of America Collection

The Wyeths: Three Generations | Works from the Bank of America Collection provides a comprehensive survey of works by N. C. Wyeth, one of America’s finest illustrators; his son, Andrew, an important realist painter; his eldest daughter, Henriette, a realist painter; and Andrew’s son Jamie, a popular portraitist. Through the works of these artists from three generations of the Wyeth family, themes of American history, artistic techniques, and creative achievements can be explored. This exhibition will be on view in the Asheville Art Museum’s Explore Asheville Exhibition Hall February 12 through May 30, 2022.

N. C. Wyeth (1882–1945) has long been considered one of the nation’s leading illustrators. In the early 1900s, he studied with illustrator Howard Pyle in Delaware. In 1911, he built a house and studio in nearby Chadds Ford, PA. Later, he bought a sea captain’s house in Maine and in 1931 built a small studio, which he shared with his son, Andrew, and his daughters, Henriette and Carolyn. The exhibition includes illustrations for books by Robert Louis Stevenson and Washington Irving as well as historical scenes, seascapes, and landscapes.

Andrew Wyeth (1917–2009) is one of the United States’ most popular artists, and his paintings follow the American Realist tradition. He was influenced by the works of Winslow Homer, whose watercolor technique he admired, as well as by the art of Howard Pyle and his father, N. C. While Andrew painted recognizable images, his use of line and space often imbue his works with an underlying abstract quality. The exhibition includes important works from the 1970s and 1980s as well as recent paintings.

Henriette Wyeth (1907–1997) was the eldest daughter of N.C. Wyeth and an older sister to Andrew Wyeth. Like other members of her family, her painting style was realist in a time when Impressionism and Abstraction were popular in the early 20th century. She studied painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and was an acclaimed portraitist, though perhaps not as widely known as her father and brother. Most notably she painted the portrait of First Lady, Pat Nixon, which is in the collection of The White House.

Jamie Wyeth (born 1946), like his father and grandfather, paints subjects of everyday life, in particular the landscapes, animals, and people of Pennsylvania and Maine. In contrast to his father—who painted with watercolor, drybrush, and tempera—Jamie works in oil and mixed media, creating lush painterly surfaces. The 18 paintings in the exhibition represent all periods of his career.

This exhibition has been loaned through the Bank of America Art in our Communities® program.

Useful and Beautiful: Silvercraft by William Waldo Dodge features a selection of functional silver works by Dodge drawn from the Museum’s Collection. Organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Whitney Richardson, associate curator, this exhibition will be on view in the Debra McClinton Gallery at the Museum from February 23 through October 17, 2022.

William Waldo Dodge Jr. (Washington, DC 1895–1971 Asheville, NC) moved to Asheville in 1924 as a trained architect and a newly skilled silversmith. When he opened for business promoting his handwrought silver tableware, including plates, candlesticks, flatware (spoons, forks, and knives), and serving dishes, he did so in a true Arts and Crafts tradition. The aesthetics of the style were dictated by its philosophy: an artist’s handmade creation should reflect their hard work and skill, and the resulting artwork should highlight the material from which it was made. Dodge’s silver often displayed his hammer marks and inventive techniques, revealing the beauty of these useful household goods.

The Arts and Crafts style of England became popular in the United States in the early 1900s. Asheville was an early adopter of the movement because of the popularity and abundance of Arts and Crafts architecture in neighborhoods like Biltmore Forest, Biltmore Village, and the area around The Grove Park Inn. The title of this exhibition was taken from the famous quotation by one of the founding members of the English Arts and Crafts Movement, William Morris, who said, “have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” Not only did Dodge follow this suggestion; he contributed to American Arts and Crafts silver’s relevancy persisting almost halfway into the 20th century.

“It has been over 15 years since the Museum exhibited its collection of William Waldo Dodge silver and I am looking forward to displaying it in the new space with some new acquisitions added,” said Whitney Richardson, associate curator. Learn more at ashevilleart.org.

Round Up for RiverLink

Shoppers at any Mast General Store during the month of May will be invited to round up the last dollar of their purchase to benefit RiverLink! Those small gifts do add up over a month–often up to $5,000–so if you visit Mast General, please do round up for RiverLink!

N. C. Wyeth, Marines Landing on the Beach, 1944, oil on hardboard, 42 1/8 × 30 inches. Bank of America Collection.

Pre-registration required. FREE for the 2021-2022 school year
August 23, 2021-June 3, 2022 | Monday-Friday | 2:45-6pm
K-6th graders.
Does your child enjoy having fun and making new friends? Offering
arts, crafts, special events, homework assistance and more!
Families currently enrolled in the school system’s reduced or free
meal program, please contact your recreation center for discount
fee information.
Locations: Burton, Grant, Montford, Shiloh, Stephens-Lee

Hosted by: The Buddhist Studies Institute

FREE – ONLINE – 30 MINUTES – DAILY
🌺Guided meditation support and community🌺

🌸Stabilization and Liberation:
In order to liberate our minds– we need stable calm.

🌸Consistency & Commitment:
Stabilizing in calm clear presence takes consistent training.

🌸Support & Community:
Daily Meditation is a container and support for your meditation focus.

Expand your meditation circle- join us online any day or every day!

Formerly known as 100 Days of practice to support a Tibetan Yogis tradition to practice 100 days in the winter, this has now been expanded to continue daily. To learn more and register: https://buddhiststudiesinstitute.org/daily-meditation/

Montford Pre-Teen Afterschool Program
Pre-registration required. FREE for the 2021-2022 school year
August 23, 2021 – June 3, 2022 | Monday-Friday | 3:30-6pm
5th-6th graders.
New program designed to meet the needs of your pre-teen.
Providing time dedicated to school assignments, life skills, arts,
communication, leadership, fitness, nutrition, and loads of fun.
Location: Montford

Teen Leadership Program
Pre-registration required. FREE for the 2021-2022 school year
August 23, 2021-June 3, 2022 | Monday-Friday | 3:30-6pm
6th-9th graders.
Looking for a cool and enriching alternative for your Teen to attend
this school year? We offer creative activities, diverse projects,
field trips, and more.
Locations: Grant, Shiloh, Stephens-Lee

Before you even begin thinking about volunteering, ask yourself – Am I well enough to volunteer?

Your safety and limiting the spread of COVID-19 is everyone’s main priority. We encourage you to review and adhere to the recommendations on the Buncombe County readiness site on how best to avoid COVID-19 and what to do if you think you might have it.

Literacy Together (formerly the Literacy Council of Buncombe County) is a nonprofit organization working with children, youth, and adults to increase comprehensive literacy and English language skills through access to literacy resources and specialized instruction by trained volunteer tutors. Literacy Together relies on volunteer tutors to offer students personal instruction and high-quality materials through various programs.

The Youth Literacy Program is seeking tutors to meet with students K-5 twice a week for 50 minutes, between 3:30 pm and 5:30 pm. The Youth Literacy Program works with two after-school programs that primarily serve youth of color.  The two locations are in Asheville.

Youth Literacy tutors work with children from low-income families who read, write, and/or spell below their grade level. Tutors in this program complete an initial orientation and a 16-20 hours training, which includes some pre-course work and/or homework (short articles to read, short videos to watch). They then receive follow-up support and the option to attend in-service training throughout their tutoring commitment. Youth Literacy tutors commit to working with their students for at least one school year.

Time Commitment:

• Twice a week for 50-minute sessions between 3:30 pm and 5:30 pm.
• Youth Literacy tutors commit to working with their students for at least one school year.

Requirements: 

• GED or High School diploma
• Excellent customer service skills
• Ability to work patiently with various levels of literacy skills
• Access to reliable internet
• Ability to navigate virtual meetings with minimal distractions
• Complete a background check

Training:

• Tutors must complete 16-20 hours of training prior to being assigned a student

Cook teams of 4-6 individuals are invited to bring ingredients and prepare meals onsite or bring meals that have been prepared elsewhere.  To meet our dietary standards, we ask that each meal provides a meat, vegetable and starch.

Requirements:

• Background Check
• Brief orientation prior to service
• Ability to Multi-Task
• Friendly Demeanor

Health & Safety:

• We are asking volunteers to wear/bring their own face mask if you have not been fully vaccinated
• Temperatures will be checked and a COVID-19 disclosure will be signed at the volunteer entrance

• Before you even begin thinking about volunteering, ask yourself – Am I well enough to volunteer?

  Your safety and limiting the spread of COVID-19 is everyone’s main priority. We encourage you to review and adhere to the recommendations on the Buncombe County readiness site on how best to avoid COVID-19 and what to do if you think you might have it.

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  ABCCM Transformation Village provides up to 100 beds of transitional housing and will provide emergency shelter beds, post Covid-19.  Transforming lives is through four developmental phases called Steps to Success including stabilization, life skills, education and reintegration.  We are honored to report that 8 out of 10 leave us with a living wage job and permanent housing.

  Transformation Village gives hope, healing, health and a home to single women, mothers with children, and female Veterans experiencing homelessness.  We provide residents a fresh start and a place to heal surrounded and supported by Christian love, trust, education and companionship.

  We are seeking energetic volunteers to prepare and serve meals for our residents for lunch and dinner. This opportunity provides you with the chance to prepare meals in our commercial kitchen alongside our trained staff while serving the women and children of Transformation Village. 

Visiting Asheville soon and looking for a fun way to fill your Friday night? The Asheville Drum Circle is a tradition unique to the area. While locals usually begin the beating of drums, tourists are welcome to join, dance, or simply take in the incredible atmosphere at any point.

If you’re looking for things to do in the area during your stay, this is a must! Here’s everything you should know about the Drum Circle.

The Asheville Drum Circle is a free event that’s open to all.

Maybe you heard of that daring train robbery, diverting the federal reserve gold train, as it wound through the tunnels and mountain passes between Old Fort and Black Mountain? Maybe you wondered if there was a connection with the Dark City Kings, the legendary train robber gang, rolling up to their Sunday show at the Black Mountain Brewery wearing fake furs and diamond-encrusted timepieces and driving a fleet of Bugattis and Maseratis? It’s never enough. It’s never too far. The Dark City Kings are local music legends, playing epic four-hour sets of covers and originals every Sunday to a growing audience, laughing and hooting like fools, garage rock, raw country heartbreak, pop hooks, and loud drunken sing-a-longs. We’re a bit much. We go a bit too far. We have too much fun. But… oh well. We’ll probably break your heart – and we don’t really care.

Dollar Dog Friday $1 hotdogs served every Friday, thanks to Blossman Gas!

  vs   

A multisensory puppetry experience for all ages that explores what it means to be a human being

Admission is free and seats can be reserved in advance through a form on the ACA website: https://ashevillecreativearts.org/mainstage-productions/.

Visit Asheville Creative Arts’ website for general information (www.ashevillecreativearts.org);

Asheville Creative Arts (ACA), Asheville’s professional children’s theatre, returns to live theatre with a 60-minute, multisensory puppetry experience, the world premiere of HUMAN.  Written, directed and designed by Nehprii Amenii (CLICK, CLACK, MOO), HUMAN features original music by Martha Redbone and Aaron Whitby; lyrics by Nehprii Amenii, Martha Redbone and Aaron Whitby; choreography by Amparo Chigui Santiago; lights, projections and environment design by Marie Yokoyama; sound designs by Joo Won Park; puppet construction by Dan Jones and Tarish “Jeghetto” Pipkins; dramaturgy by Dr. Allison Curseen and Philip Santos Schaffer; with outreach from ACA’s Community Development Director, Daniele Martin. HUMAN will run at The Tina McGuire Theatre at The Wortham Center for the Performing Arts (18 Biltmore Ave) from April 28- May 15, with public performances Fridays at 7pm, Saturdays at 1pm, and Sundays at 3pm, with special performances Thursday 4/28 at 7pm and Saturday 5/7 at 7pm. Admission is free, with a hat passed for donations post-performance. More information and a link to reserve seats is available at www.ashevillecreativearts.org.

Now that Humans are extinct and the world as we knew it has ended, the Octopus has a decision to make…  Will it be willing to give up one of its three hearts in order to create a new, more sensitive human being? Will it be willing to give humanity a second chance?   HUMAN is told through the windows of a sunken submarine, using images of the human heart, and a hybrid of puppetry styles. Meant to be enjoyed by children 5 and older and their families, it consists of projection design, sound design, dance, puppetry, and sensory play that explore what it means to be HUMAN.

The cast features April Tilles, Joshua Chung, Kaylyn Carter, Khalilah Smith, Olympea, Rebekah Babelay and Tippin.

Creator and Khunum Productions Artistic Director, Nehprii Amenii says “in a world increasingly mediated by technology and flattened screens, this piece will offer a space for audiences of all ages to explore humanness, touch, and interconnectedness.”

Adds ACA Artistic Producing Director, ”Nehprii has brought together an incredible, majority BIPOC team who between them have Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional credits, Drama Desk Awards, and the imagination, sensitivity and creativity to guide young people and their adults through a timely, and in the end, joyful exploration of hope in our current moment.”.

This production of HUMAN is supported, in part, with awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the North Carolina Arts Council, The Henson Foundation Family Grant, and has been developed as part of the New Victory LabWorks 2021-22 Season.

ABOUT THE CO-PRODUCERS: 

Asheville’s critically acclaimed, award winning theatre devoted to creating works for children of all ages, Asheville Creative Arts was founded in 2013 and produces, presents and creates innovative works for multigenerational, multiethnic and multidimensional audiences, performed by adult actors. Past productions include CHARLOTTE’S WEB, THE WARP & THE WEFT, BUGS!, and SLUG & SNAIL. “Ostensibly, ACA produces children’s theater, but the company’s ambitious works appeal to both youths and adults.” – Mountain Xpress

Khunum Productions is a New York based production company that produces highly visual narrative-based productions that combine the personal, the social, and the magical to create experiences that transform the human heart, and thus our society. Khunum Productions recognizes itself as a platform for “Creative Anthropology.” This means that we are interested in the study of what makes us human, and the interconnectedness of all people and things. Our work and process of working aims to deepen human connectivity–to one another and to our own selves.  We are not interested in art that drags the human along. Thus the people involved in process and their individual needs are priority. We believe in process and nefer –beauty. We strive to make the  artistic process of creating together equally as beautiful as our productions.

LISTINGS INFORMATION:  HUMAN runs April 28 – May 15, 2022 at Tina McGuire Theatre at The Wortham Center for the Performing Arts (18 Biltmore Ave): with public performances Fridays at 7pm, Saturdays at 1pm, and Sundays at 3pm, with special performances Thursday 4/28 at 7pm and Saturday 5/7 at 7pm. Admission is free and seats can be reserved in advance through a form on the ACA website: https://ashevillecreativearts.org/mainstage-productions/.  Visit Asheville Creative Arts’ website for general information (www.ashevillecreativearts.org); for school and community groups wishing to book weekday school matinees, contact [email protected] or call 914/830-3000. For more information about Wortham Arts visit https://www.worthamarts.org.

The Fine Arts Center, Greenville County’s public high school for pre-professional arts study, is proud to present their first annual showcase. Sponsored by the Fine Arts Center partners, Synovus, Atticus Creative, and Steve Bichel, this event features the top student performers from the FAC Performing Arts Programs – Dance, Theatre, Creative Writing, Digital Film Making, and Music. Audience members will have the opportunity to view work from FAC student visual artists before taking their seats in the theatre for an evening of entertainment by the top talent from the school.

Summer in the Midwest and Rustbelt Tour Part III: Fall Everywhere Else

Summer is around the corner and lifeguards are in high demand. Sign up to take our spring, Red Cross certified, lifeguard course today. Class is available to ages 15 and up. The class dates are May 11-15, with a Pre-test on May 11, 7-8 pm. The cost is $250 and includes your own Resuscitation mask.

Contact Kitty Schmidt, Director of Aquatics to register or call 828.254.7206 ext 115.

Inspired by the twisted genius of Roald Dahl, the Tony Award-winning Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical is the captivating masterpiece from the Royal Shakespeare Company that revels in the anarchy of childhood, the power of imagination and the inspiring story of a girl who dreams of a better life. With book by Dennis Kelly and original songs by Tim Minchin, Matilda has won 47 international awards and continues to thrill sold-out audiences of all ages around the world.

Matilda is a little girl with astonishing wit, intelligence and psychokinetic powers. She’s unloved by her cruel parents but impresses her schoolteacher, the highly loveable Miss Honey. Over the course of her first term at school, Matilda and Miss Honey have a profound effect on each other’s lives, as Miss Honey begins not only to recognize but also appreciate Matilda’s extraordinary personality. Matilda’s school life isn’t completely smooth sailing, however – the school’s mean headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, hates children and just loves thinking up new punishments for those who don’t abide by her rules. But Matilda has courage and cleverness in equal amounts, and could be the school pupils’ saving grace!

Packed with high-energy dance numbers, catchy songs and an unforgettable star turn for a young actress, Matilda is a joyous girl power romp. Children and adults alike will be thrilled and delighted by the story of the special little girl with an extraordinary imagination.

This production is presented in partnership with the Asheville High School Theatre Department.

May 13: Encanto (rated PG for some thematic elements)

-The Madrigals are an extraordinary family who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia in a charmed place called the Encanto. The magic of the Encanto has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift — every child except Mirabel. However, she soon may be the Madrigals last hope when she discovers that the magic surrounding the Encanto is now in danger

Asheville Parks & Recreation’s popular Movies in the Park series begins its 2022 season with a showing of Encanto. Community members are invited to bring blankets, lawn chairs, and snacks to the free viewing, which begins at dusk. Prior to the screening, the Rec n Roll Play Zone opens at 7 p.m. with games, giveaways, and other activities for kids and teens. Additional movies are scheduled for the second Friday of the month throughout the summer.

“Friday night movies are a popular pastime and this brings people out of their homes to enjoy fan favorites on the big screen with a spectacular backdrop – City Hall’s art decor exterior flanked by the rising mountains and a night sky full of stars,” according to Nikki Cales, coordinator for Movies in the Park. “We’re excited to offer this free movie series for people who want to spend time together outdoors.”

If You Go

• All movies begin at dusk in Pack Square Park on 80 Court Plaza in downtown Asheville.
• Rec n Roll Fun Zone programming starts at 7 p.m.
• Pets, smoking, and alcohol are prohibited.
• Free parking is available in marked spaces on city streets and in city-owned lots on Marjorie Street after 6 p.m.

Henderson County Parks & recreation hosts a free movie screening and food truck at parks across the county this summer! Food truck opens at 7pm, movie starts at nightfall (approx 8pm). Bring your blanket and chair!

– May 13 | Jackson Park | Encanto
– June 17 | Etowah Park | Clifford the Big Red Dog
– July 15 | East Flat Rock Park | Sing 2
– July 29 | Tuxedo Park | Space Jam
– August 12 | Dana Park | Luca

Think outside the studio and enjoy the quiet of the Park after the gates have closed with this yoga practice for all levels of expertise. The mountains are said to be a natural vortex of spiritual energy, which makes Chimney Rock an ideal setting for connecting your spirit with nature at this outdoor class overlooking Hickory Nut Gorge and Lake Lure. Lightweight yoga mats will be provided by your certified yoga teacher.