Ginny Ruffner, My Heart is a Loaded Snake, 1986, Flame-worked glass, 15 × 15 × 9 inches. Gift of Maurine Littleton from the collection of Harvey and Bess Littleton, 2020.67.002.

Join us on a guided nature walk tour of the native trees and plants that are traditionally used in Eastern Band of Cherokee basket making.

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

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

Heralded by The New Yorker as “thrilling” and “genuinely moving.”

From the producer of The Lion King and Aladdin, Frozen, the Tony^®-nominated Best Musical, is now on tour across North America and the critics rave, “It’s simply magical!” (LA Daily News).

Frozen features the songs you know and love from the original Oscar^®-winning film, plus an expanded score with a dozen new numbers by the film’s songwriters, Oscar winner Kristen Anderson-Lopez and EGOT winner Robert Lopez. Oscar winner Jennifer Lee (book), Tony and Olivier Award winner Michael Grandage (director), and Tony winner Rob Ashford (choreographer) round out the creative team that has won a cumulative 16 Tony Awards.

An unforgettable theatrical experience filled with sensational special effects, stunning sets and costumes, and powerhouse performances, Frozen is everything you want in a musical: It’s moving. It’s spectacular. And above all, it’s pure Broadway joy.

Official Website

NC State Parks’ Year of the Tree continues with a celebration of spring trees. Break out your camera and capture the transformation of trees from winter to spring as they show off their gorgeous blooms throughout the next few months. You may even win a prize for your efforts!

GREAT PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED TO 3 WINNING ENTRIES

1st Prize: The winning photo will be our Facebook cover photo for two weeks, and the photographer will receive two annual passes to Chimney Rock State Park, two boat tour tickets from Lake Lure Tours, and dinner for two at the Old Rock Café.

2nd Prize: After the first place photo, the second place photo will be our Facebook cover photo for one week. The photographer will receive two annual passes to Chimney Rock State Park and dinner for two at the Old Rock Café.

3rd Prize: The third place photographer will receive two adult day passes (or one family pack of day passes) to Chimney Rock State Park and dinner for two at the Old Rock Café.

CONTEST RULES:

1. There is no fee to enter the contest. All photographs must be taken of Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park only in areas accessible to guests between April 1, 2022 – May 31, 2022.
   The contest is open to amateur and professional photographers.
2. Up to three photos per person can be submitted via any of the following ways to be eligible to win:
   • Facebook: First, like the Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park page. Next, send us a private message including your contact information specified in rule #3.
   • E-mail: If you don’t have access to social media, you may email your digital photo with your contact information specified in rule #3 to [email protected].
3. Every entry should be clearly labeled with the photographer’s name, city & state, a brief photo caption, an email address and the best phone number to reach you.
4. Photos should be available at a minimum resolution of 1200 x 1600 pixels (1 MB minimum) to be eligible to win. Photos taken via smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices are welcome if they meet minimum requirements.
5. For entries showing human faces, you must list their name(s) and have written permission from any photographed person(s) to use their image.
6. Entries should reflect the photographer’s interpretation of the theme. Emphasis will be placed on quality, composition and creativity. All entries may be used in promotions of Chimney Rock and park-related activities.
7. Digital images can be optimized but not dramatically altered with photo editing software. Black and white photographs are welcome.
8. Finalists will be chosen by Chimney Rock staff and the winner will be voted on by the public. Decisions regarding winners are final.

Winners will be notified personally and announced on Chimney Rock’s social media. For more information, call 1-828-625-9611, ext. 1812 or email us at [email protected].

It’s a sport, a hobby, a profession, a skill! Fishing crosses all gender, cultural, and economic lines. For some, it’s about catching the biggest fish, for others it’s the quantity. The adrenaline rush and pride when a line is pulled in is the same either way.

Buncombe County Recreation Services hosts its annual spring kids fishing tournament at Charles D. Owen Park on Saturday, April 9. The tournament is open to anyone 15 years old or younger. Competitors are divided into five age groups with prizes in each for Biggest Fish, Smallest Fish, Most Fish Caught, and Most Accurate Casting Skills.

“Fishing builds confidence, improves coordination, teaches patience, and encourages an appreciation of nature,” said Mac Stanley, Outdoors Coordinator for Buncombe County Recreation Services. “This tournament is a great way to introduce our younger residents to healthier lifestyles and decrease screen time – at least for a little while.”

As a catch-and-release tournament, fish are released back into the lake after they have been weighed and measured. Registration is $10 per competitor and includes a bucket, bait, and snacks. Participants bring their own poles.

Preregistration is available and recommended. On-site registration will begin at 8 a.m. the day of the tournament. Fishing commences at 8:30 a.m. and ends promptly at 11:30 a.m. No fishing license is required for North Carolina residents under 16 years old. No boat fishing is allowed during the tournaments

Hickory Nut Gorge comes alive in the spring as wildflowers emerge along the trails.  Join a Park naturalist on this moderate hike and learn to spot and identify these spring blooms. The journey will take you along the Hickory Nut Falls Trail and down the Four Seasons Trail. Transportation will be provided back to the top lot.

Adult $25.00 (USD)  Goes On Sale
January 1, 2022 Adult Annual Passholder Ticketshow details +$8.00 (USD)  Goes On Sale
January 1, 2022 Youth (ages 5-15)show details +$15.00 (USD)  Goes On Sale
January 1, 2022 Rockin’ Discovery Passholder Ticketshow details +$6.00 (USD)  Goes On Sale
January 1, 2022

ARTSVILLE Collective at Marquee opens its first public exhibition showing guest artist Micah Mackenzie’s mixed media and Rhona Polonsky’s ceramics, along with the work of founding artists Daryl Slaton’s pop animation and Louise Glickman’s mixed media. Between the Lines will be on display from February 1 through April 24 at 36 Foundy in the RAD (Booth D11). The styles of each artist differs greatly but connect through thoughtful storytelling, coming alive in a mix of mediums, paint, clay, textiles and animation. The viewer is encouraged to consider how they come together, to read “between the lines.”

Micah Mackenzie mixes media with mark making into imposing layered abstracts mimicking memories from childhood: playfulness and whimsy with splashes of color, seemingly with abandon. A closer look reveals balance and harmony within the chaos. Coatings of storytelling lead us to consider the human condition from the subversion of mythology to the magic of science. He invites us to see inside to what is intrinsically beautiful and empowering.

Rhona Polonsky’s pottery uses the language of lines and spaces that merge and connect to reveal their meanings: lines as boundaries to be crossed or parallels to read between. Her doodling since childhood grew in expression as she traveled the world, teaching young international students for over thirty years in Asia and Africa, from Indonesia to India. Her sgraffito vessels, lively and offbeat, evoke amusement, playfulness, whimsy and enthusiasm. They speak to us in a special language that warm our hearts with both simplicity and sophistication.

Daryl Slaton’s work is overtly whimsical as he introduces his newest anthropomorphic character Gallagher, a playful tiger cub who entertains us through animation and augmented reality. Over twenty panels speak to us through the digital powers of augmented reality and the eyes and antics of Gallagher, a character staunchly loyal to people and place. These narratives bring both smiles and amazement evoking warm memories for adults with their own stories to tell their families.

Louise Glickman’s storytelling is revealed through weaving of nets and textures where lines move over, under and around using bits of fabric, paint and plant materials. Her highly textural works are largely connected through her own life experiences and a love of nature and travel. Select pieces reveal her special interest in understanding the yin and yang of countries and cultures that have informed her worldview, from her childhood in New Orleans to travel with the Penland School to Cuba, Japan and Denmark.

Let’s make rope and string from the natural world!  In this hands-on workshop, students will examine and learn to process a variety of natural fibers from plant and animal sources to make useful, strong and beautiful cordage suitable for a host of practical jobs, from tying shoes to building a house!  Using handwork techniques and traditional tools, we’ll learn how (and when and why) to make high-speed, extra-strong, and three-ply cord with excellent quality control.  All materials provided.

Why cordage? Cordage tied the ancient world together. It is one of the pillars of technology, allowing the invention of a long list of vitally important objects. This knowledge helps us to understand the otherwise hidden history of how regular people contributed to the world as we know it. The knowledge of hand techniques allows us to construct and repair things that would otherwise have to be bought new, saving money and resources. Best of all, it fosters a powerful can-do positive attitude, giving us confidence and self reliance.

Workshop Details

The class will be on April 9, 2022 from 10:00am – 4:30pm in Asheville, NC. It will be held outdoors in a covered pavilion. There will be a half hour break for lunch. Please bring a bagged lunch and a sharp knife and/or scissors to work with.

This class is for everyone interested in making cordage, from beginners to advanced. We will begin at the beginning and go until we learn things we never knew we could! Minimum age is 12, minors must be accompanied by an adult.

About the Instructor

Jeffrey Gottlieb, MS (in Biology), has been a Naturalist, Outdoor Educator and Primitive Skills Instructor for more than 40 years. He works with school groups, nature centers, museums, scout troops and summer camps, builds full-sized wigwams and longhouses and replicates primitive tools and artifacts for display.  His areas of special interest include fiber arts, flintknapping, basketry, edible and utilitarian plants, and nature awareness. He travels widely in the Eastern U.S. teaching at rendezvous, gatherings and historic fairs. He has written a how-to manual on building wigwams, an instructors’ manual entitled Teaching Primitive Skills to Children and a book on natural fibers and ropemaking called Fibers of Life.

Sliding Scale $125 – $45

Time Slots: 11am – 1pm – 3pm

• Donut Decorating
• Egg Decorating
• Easter Basket Craft
• Flower Pot Craft with Plant
• Peeps Milkshake Treat
• Easter Themed Finger Foods
• Easter Bunny Available for Photos!

$35.00 per ticket
(Includes entry for 1 child & up to 2 adults)
Reservations required. Buy your tickets now!
Be sure to print and save your receipt, it will serve as your ticket.

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.

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.

Get in the driver’s seat with a hands-on experience with vehicles of all kinds!

Join Asheville Parks & Recreation on Saturday, April 9 from 1pm-4pm at Asheville Outlets for a fun hands on experience. Get ready to jump in the driver’s seat of vehicles of all kinds! Fire trucks, ambulances, helicopters, transit buses, construction equipment, race cars, and more will be on display in the parking lot behind the food court.

Kids (and adults…) can touch, climb on, and ask questions about their favorite trucks and cars in a safe and supervised environment. Adult supervision is required.

Truck City AVL takes place rain or shine.

The expo will give parents and campers the opportunity to meet representatives from a variety of area camps, including traditional overnight, sports, arts, day, academic and more. The event is free and open to the public and provides lots of fun activities for kids. Booths will be located throughout the center.

Camps and organizations interested in a booth at the Expo should contact Dena Clark at (828) 252-1888 or [email protected]. Booth registration is now open, and space is limited. 100 percent of booth fees will benefit Give to the Music, a local non-profit funding music lessons for kids in need. Visit ShopAshevilleOutlets.com for booth registration. To donate to Give to the Music, visit GiveToTheMusic.org.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022.

Spend the afternoon creating abstracted and realistic artworks inspired by shape, pattern, and color in the Museum’s exhibitions. Students will learn how to mix colors to paint a color wheel, make a cut paper portrait, and watercolor resist landscape.

Please note:

• Youth Studio is held indoors in the Museum’s John & Robyn Horn Education Center
• Space is limited to small groups of students; face coverings and social distancing are required.

The World-Famous Harlem Globetrotters are bringing their newly reimagined Spread Game tour The Well this Spring. The Spread Game Tour is a basketball event like no other. Ankle-breaking moves, jaw-dropping swag, and rim-rattling dunks are only some of the thrill you can expect from this fully modernized show. Part streetball from the players who defined it, part interactive family entertainment, the new tour will show off the best of the Globetrotters in a dazzling exhibition of talent and game.

The Spread Game Tour introduces new premium fan experiences with unprecedented access and interaction, including celebrity court passes, meet and greets with players, and in select markets, the #SQUADZONE, where fans have the opportunity to feel like part of the show.

For over 95 years, the Harlem Globetrotters organization has been committed to spreading joy through their artful athleticism and unparalleled basketball skill. The Globetrotters have always been global ambassadors of goodwill. The reimagined team is even more committed to bringing their voice to social justice conversations while inviting communities all over the U.S. to come together and recognize the power of our commonalities and celebrate our differences. The Globetrotters’ mission, to spread game and bring family entertainment to the world, continues to drive them today.

Heralded by The New Yorker as “thrilling” and “genuinely moving.”

From the producer of The Lion King and Aladdin, Frozen, the Tony^®-nominated Best Musical, is now on tour across North America and the critics rave, “It’s simply magical!” (LA Daily News).

Frozen features the songs you know and love from the original Oscar^®-winning film, plus an expanded score with a dozen new numbers by the film’s songwriters, Oscar winner Kristen Anderson-Lopez and EGOT winner Robert Lopez. Oscar winner Jennifer Lee (book), Tony and Olivier Award winner Michael Grandage (director), and Tony winner Rob Ashford (choreographer) round out the creative team that has won a cumulative 16 Tony Awards.

An unforgettable theatrical experience filled with sensational special effects, stunning sets and costumes, and powerhouse performances, Frozen is everything you want in a musical: It’s moving. It’s spectacular. And above all, it’s pure Broadway joy.

Official Website

The World-Famous Harlem Globetrotters are bringing their newly reimagined Spread Game tour The Well this Spring. The Spread Game Tour is a basketball event like no other. Ankle-breaking moves, jaw-dropping swag, and rim-rattling dunks are only some of the thrill you can expect from this fully modernized show. Part streetball from the players who defined it, part interactive family entertainment, the new tour will show off the best of the Globetrotters in a dazzling exhibition of talent and game.

The Spread Game Tour introduces new premium fan experiences with unprecedented access and interaction, including celebrity court passes, meet and greets with players, and in select markets, the #SQUADZONE, where fans have the opportunity to feel like part of the show.

For over 95 years, the Harlem Globetrotters organization has been committed to spreading joy through their artful athleticism and unparalleled basketball skill. The Globetrotters have always been global ambassadors of goodwill. The reimagined team is even more committed to bringing their voice to social justice conversations while inviting communities all over the U.S. to come together and recognize the power of our commonalities and celebrate our differences. The Globetrotters’ mission, to spread game and bring family entertainment to the world, continues to drive them today.