For the general election, Early Voting will run Oct. 15-31, and you can use same-day registration during those dates. Get a downloadable .pdf of the Early Voting schedule with dates and times. During the early voting period you can choose to vote at any early voting location below.

Early Voting dates and times:

• Oct. 15-30:
  • Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m.
  • Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
  • Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Oct. 31 (last day):
  • 8 a.m.-3 p.m.

Let’s Dump Trump

When to vote? Early Vote in-person polling places are open October 15th to 31st
• Monday through Friday, 8 am to 7:30 pm
• Saturday, 10 am to 3 pm (last Saturday – Oct 31 – opens at 8 am)
• Sunday, 10 am to 3 pm
• You can also vote on Election Day November 3rd but earlier is safer – to make your vote count!
Where to vote? Any voter can go to any Early Voting site in your home county.
You can register and vote at the same time at an Early Voting location.

Need a ride to vote? Call 828-274-4482

Prefer to use an Absentee Ballot?
– Request Absentee Ballot online (www.ncsbe.gov)
– You will receive your Absentee Ballot in the mail
– Complete your Absentee Ballot immediately, following instructions, and note ballot number for tracking.
– Immediately mail the ballot back to the Board of Elections (BOE) using one stamp. You can also turn the
completed ballot in at the BOE (77 McDowell St.) or any Early Voting site.

Questions or concerns? Call the NC Voter Hotline 888-687-8683 or go to NCVoter.org
Pick whichever Early Voting Site – below – that is most convenient for you.
EAST Asheville Mall Next to Old Navy 3 S. Tunnel Rd
SOUTH Asheville Outlet Mall Next to Levi’s 800 Brevard Rd
EAST Bee Tree Fire Dept 510 Bee Tree Rd
EAST Black Mountain Library 105 N. Dougherty St
CENTRAL Civic Center, Downtown 87 Haywood Rd
CENTRAL Dr Wesley Grant Ctr 285 Livingston St
WEST Enka Candler Library 1404 Sand Hill Rd
EAST Fairview Community Center 1357 Charlotte Hwy
WEST Land of Sky Regional Council 339 New Leicester Hwy
WEST Leicester Community Center 2979 New Leicester Hwy
NORTH Reynolds Village 50 N. Merrimon Ave; #107
SOUTH South Buncombe Library 260 Overlook Rd
SOUTH Turtle Creek Shopping Ctr 23 Turtle Creek Dr
NORTH UNC-Asheville Campus Highsmith Student Union 1 University Heights
WEST West Asheville Community Ctr 970 Haywood Rd
NORTH Weaverville Town Hall

Need a ride to vote? Call 828-274-4482

Prefer to use an Absentee Ballot?
– Request Absentee Ballot online (www.ncsbe.gov)
– You will receive your Absentee Ballot in the mail
– Complete your Absentee Ballot immediately, following instructions, and note ballot number for tracking.
– Immediately mail the ballot back to the Board of Elections (BOE) using one stamp. You can also turn the
completed ballot in at the BOE (77 McDowell St.) or any Early Voting site.
Questions or concerns? Call the NC Voter Hotline 888-687-8683 or go to NCVoter.org

The following City offices will open with limited capacity on Oct 12:

• City Hall, 70 Court Plaza (Max Capacity: 50)
• Municipal Building, 100 Court Plaza and all fire stations
• Asheville Public Works and Development Services Department,  161 S. Charlotte St. (Max Capacity: 3)
• Parking Services, 45 Wall St (Max Capacity: 2)

Parks & Recreation Community Centers are currently being utilized as Learning Centers in partnership with local school systems and will remain closed for use by community groups and the general public.

UNC Asheville’s seventh annual African Americans in Western North Carolina and Southern Appalachia Conference will take place online this year, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16. The conference is free and open to everyone with pre-registration required; the conference schedule and Zoom access information will be posted here closer to the conference date.

Continuing last year’s theme, Existence as Resistance: Expressions of Resilience, this year’s conference will include time for Q&A and discussion. Conference founder and director, UNC Asheville Associate Professor of History Darin J. Waters, who also is the University’s executive director of community engagement, and producer of BPR’s The Waters and Harvey Show, will provide a welcoming talk at 10 a.m.

Featured Presentations:

Community Building and Resilience in Huntington West Virginia:  The Making of a Black Appalachian Community

• Cicero Fain III, professor at the College of Southern Maryland and author of Black Huntington: An Appalachian Story.

African Americans and the COVID-19 Crisis

• Rochelle Monique Brandon, M.D., a Fellow of The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and principal of Brandon Gynecology Associates in Charlotte, N.C.

African American Resistance and Resilience through Artistic Expression in Southern Appalachia: Memorializing the Black Lives Matter Movement, featuring four people instrumental in creating the downtown Asheville BLM mural

• Marie T. Cochran, founding curator of the Affrillachian Artist Project, and Lehman Brady Professor at Duke University.
• Joseph Pearson, whose recent commissions include Heritage, a mural at All Souls Cathedral in Biltmore Village; New Shiloh, a Visual History, for the Community Foundation of WNC; and a multi-panel work for BPR addressing the George Floyd protests.
• Jenny Pickens, the first artist-in-residence at 22 London, has been commissioned to create a giant mural in the courtyard of the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts downtown.
• Asheville City Council Member Sheneika Smith.

Changing Our Narrative: Diversity and Inclusion and American History

• Ron Carson – Vice Chair of the 400 Years of African-American History Commission; co-founder of The Appalachian African American Cultural Center in Pennington Gap, Virginia; and director of three clinics in southwestern Virginia serving and advocating for coal miners with black lung disease.

The program also will include presentations of undergraduate research by UNC Asheville students.

Asheville Outlets is pleased to host a drive-thru food donation drive with Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (ABCCM) from Monday, October 12, through Friday, October 16, 2020 from

10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. each day at the Food Court entrance.

Drivers can pull up, stay inside their vehicles and hand off donations safely to volunteers, all of whom will be wearing protective gloves and masks. ABCCM works to address poverty issues including hunger, homelessness and access to health care for the under-served in Buncombe County.

Beginning Tuesday, Oct. 13, most Buncombe County Public Library branches will reopen to the public with limited hours and services.

The safety of our patrons and staff is our highest priority, and our General Services staff has been working diligently to finish precautions to allow metered access in accordance with the Governor’s orders for 50 percent capacity. We look forward to welcoming you back in person.

The library schedule will be:

• Tuesday, 2-7 p.m.
• Wednesday, 1-6 p.m.
• Thursday, 1-6 p.m.
• Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
• Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
• Sunday & Monday, Closed

Note: The East Asheville Library remains closed for construction and Pack Library will reopen for service at a later date.

During these hours, the libraries will provide in-person check out and browsing. As we comply with reduced occupancy limits, we are encouraging brief “grab and go” visits to allow us to serve a larger number of patrons. Computer use is available, and seating will be provided for computer users only. The meeting rooms and study spaces will not be available for public use.

In-person library programs, including storytime, will not be offered, however, virtual programs will continue to be available. Learn more here. Curbside hold pickups will stop on Oct. 8. Late fees will resume on Oct. 27.

Our local history room is currently undergoing renovations, but the NC Room staff will continue to provide phone and email research assistance at (828) 250-4740 or [email protected].

Per the Governor’s mandate, all persons over the age of five will be asked to wear a face covering for the duration of their visit in the library. If you don’t have a face covering, we can provide one for you.

Help us Light Up State Street and fill our beautiful downtown with Halloween Cheer with this community pumpkin carving contest! All ages are invited to participate. Children (under 15) are $5 to register, and adults (15 or older) are $10. Pumpkins must be dropped off at BMCA on Tuesday, October 27 or Wednesday, October 28. BMCA will display and illuminate the pumpkins on State Street Thursday, October 29 through Saturday, October 31st. Winners will be chosen in both age groups for 4 different categories: scariest (must be family friendly), funniest, most creative, and art(ist) inspired​​. Participants must procure their own pumpkin.

2020 A YEAR OF COVID, TURMOIL, UNCERTAINTIES, HEROES & HOPE

The year 2020 for better or worse will go down in American history as a pivotal moment. It has been often said that history is written for and by the victors.

But nowadays in a world overwhelmed with 2-second tweets, forgettable social media, conspiracy theories and online rages; modern history seems to be written by the distracted, the delusional and the destructive.

Mountain Made, a local arts & crafts boutique in Grove Arcade, is taking a different approach. We are creating a public history journal of poetry, personal musing, thoughtful insights and yes, rants on “The Year 2020”. They could be funny or serious.

We have setup two interactive art stations inside the gallery:

* The first one is where you can quickly put down your thoughts on some blank paper (the original “i-pad”) and leave it with us.

* The other is a shared, public painting series where you can lay brush to canvas if you are more a visual person.

COVID-19 Visiting Policy

Masks are required when entering the museum. This is for the safety of our visitors and our docents. Exceptions will be made according to ADA instructions. Visitors must make a reservation to visit the museum. Self Guided tour reservations are available Thursday – Saturday from 10am – 5pm. To make a reservation you can call (828) 669- 9566, register at the front desk, or click here. 

ACCESSIBILITY
The first floor houses our traveling exhibit gallery and our second floor houses “Our Pathways” exhibit.  The first and second floor are accessible by ADA standards.  A lift is available to take visitors to the second floor.

Upon reopening, the Nature Center will be open seven days a week, from 10 am until 4:30 pm.  Asheville residents receive a discounted rate with local ID and children under the age of 3 are free.

Beginning October 7, the three-hour documentary-styled art installation Question Bridge: Black Males will be on view at the Asheville Art Museum. This innovative transmedia project facilitates a dialogue between Black men from diverse and contending backgrounds, and creates a platform for them to represent and redefine Black male identity in America. The work will be on view during regular public hours from October 7, 2020 through March 15, 2021.

Question Bridge: Black Males is a project that explores critically challenging issues within the African American male community by instigating a transmedia conversation among Black men across geographic, economic, generational, educational, and social strata of American society. Question Bridge provides a safe setting for necessary, honest expression and healing dialogue on themes that divide, unite, and puzzle Black males today in the United States.

Best of all, Porch Portraits by Suzanne will donate $15 of every session to our great friends at Flat Rock Playhouse. My goal is to raise $15,000 for the Playhouse by the end of the year so any money over and above the price of $65 will go straight to them.

Perhaps most exciting, an extremely generous Playhouse donor has agreed to a MATCHING GIFT CAMPAIGN up to $36,000.18! This incredibly generous donation draws on the magic of Chai, the Jewish belief that multiples of 18 bring good luck. Meaning that every session booked will result in at least $30 for the wonderful folks at Flat Rock Playhouse.

For decades, Flat Rock Playhouse has been opening their collective hearts and sharing their fabulous talents to bring joy and entertainment to western North Carolina. This is an opportunity to show our gratitude at a time when they really need our support.

Together, let’s make magic happen! Help us kick off this campaign by contributing today.

We look forward to having you be a part of this powerful program that provides financial support for uninsured women in our county facing a health crisis.

Buncombe County Public Libraries is developing a long-term facilities master plan, and we want to hear from you. Libraries are a fundamental part of a thriving community, so your input is key to guiding the long-term development of public spaces.

Three virtual opportunities for input:

• Tuesday, Oct. 13, 9-10 a.m. Register here.
• Wednesday, Oct. 14, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Register here.
• Friday, Oct. 16, noon-1 p.m.. Register here.

Learn more at buncombecounty.org.

Welcome to Women Helping Women 2020!  Although we can’t all be together in one place this year, we can still celebrate together through this webpage, which will bring you the Virtual Women Helping Women event starting at noon on Friday, October 16th. Just click on the video below at the time of the event to see the stories of five incredible Women of Hope.

African American Resistance and Resilience through Artistic Expression in Southern Appalachia: Memorializing the Black Lives Matter Movement

panelists: Lead artists for the Asheville Black Lives Matter Street Mural – Marie T. Cochran, Joseph Pearson and Jenny Pickens along with Asheville City Councimember, Shenika Smith

Moderated by Marie T. Cochran, founding curator Affrilachian Artist Project