The GSWP, now celebrating its 20th year of workshops with some of Western North Carolina’s finest authors, is offering five-week, 10-week and 15-week courses including poetry, prose, feature-writing, editing and revision. These Spring 2021 Semester courses have start dates ranging from late January to mid March. Registration is now open, with course descriptions, instructor bios, cost information and more, available at greatsmokies.unca.edu.

Join the School of Stage and Screen for a unique radio drama experience of “A Ghost of Christmas Past” where Fan – Scrooge’s often forgotten younger sister – takes center stage as the feminine and ethereal guide to restore balance in the unbalanced world and heart of Ebenezer Scrooge.

The radio drama was written and adapted for the stage by assistant professor Ashlee Wasmund with original music and lyrics by assistant professor Kristen Hedberg.

Alvin Ailey: Ailey Forward
Enjoy Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s first-ever online season. Available to stream from December 2-31, this incredible series of premieres, collaborations, behind-the-scenes talkbacks, and unique Alvin Ailey highlights from the past 60 years will leave you inspired and wanting more. All events are family friendly, and free to enjoy with no registration required.

City of Asheville Transit will begin enforcing face covering requirements for riders and will reduce the maximum passenger capacity per bus to 9 people plus the driver.

Free face coverings are provided on all ART buses and at the Transit Center, both on the platform and at the customer service window. Please ask an ART employee for assistance if a face covering is needed.

Riders who refuse to wear a face covering, or who are improperly wearing a face covering, will not be allowed to board the bus and will be denied service.  Additionally, riders will be required to exit the bus if the face covering is removed or is being worn improperly.  Face coverings are also required to be worn at all times at ART facilities, including the Transit Center and bus stops.  Riders who refuse to wear face coverings will be subject to a 15-day ban from riding transit and may be subject to civil penalties and trespassing charges. Recurring violations may result in additional penalties and a longer ban from riding ART.

Additionally, in accordance with Executive Order 180, the maximum passenger capacity per bus will once again be limited to 9 riders plus the driver. Riders are asked to limit their use of ART to essential travel only and to continue to practice the 3 W’s: Wear a cloth face covering over your nose and mouth, Wait 6 feet apart and avoid close contact, and Wash your hands or use sanitizer.

Please check the Service Alerts section on the website for any updates.
https://www.ashevillenc.gov/service/transit-service-alerts

The decision to cancel the parade was based on North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s September 30^th announcement moving North Carolina into Phase 3. Phase 3 continues to limit outdoor gatherings to 50 people and provides capacity limits for outdoor spaces. The uncertainty of COVID-19 conditions and public safety protocols in effect at the time of the parade drove the decision.

There are thousands of people in the parade and as many as 20,000 have come to watch in previous years, so it’s just not responsible to move forward in the midst of a public health crisis.

The Asheville Downtown Association took over production of the Asheville Holiday Parade in 2008. The parade first marched, danced and rolled through downtown Asheville in 1946, meaning 2020 would have marked the 74^th annual parade.

The Asheville Downtown Association is planning to host free photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus on Saturday, November 21 at Rabbit Rabbit in downtown Asheville. Families will register for a time slot to maintain social distancing, and children and families will also remain distanced from Santa and Mrs. Claus for photos.

The Asheville Downtown Association will also continue to host its annual Downtown Holiday Windows Contest. More information on both of the above opportunities to come.

Make your holidays merry, bright and a culinary delight with the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association. Before you go out or order in for your special holiday evenings, make sure that your favorite restaurant is open for business! Check the AIR Holiday Hours – a complete list of AIR restaurant’s special holiday hours from Thanksgiving to ringing in the New Year! These will be updated often, so please check in throughout the season! View Holiday Hours here –

Asheville Regional Airport — Art Gallery (Media is invited at any time to visit the display – the Art Gallery is located in the main lobby of the public area of the terminal.) A “magic” TV, in the Art Gallery window, brings passengers special messages (and safety reminders) from Santa and an invitation to come into the gallery to take a selfie. Travelers are able to stand with a virtual Santa who poses for pictures in a “COVID-friendly” way. The holidays look much different this year because of COVID-19, especially during air travel. The airport team wanted to offer some holiday cheer and something unique for its guests. This festive, virtual display is a way to bring a smile to passengers’ faces (behind their masks) to help brighten their travel experience, in a safe and responsible manner. VISUALS: Virtual Santa, asking travelers to pose for a “selfie” Virtual Santa, offering different poses: Masked Santa; Santa in sunglasses; Santa with arms outstretched; Santa posing for a back-to-back photo Travelers interacting with the display

The holidays are a precious time of connection: a time to share joy among friends, family, and community. Where the coronavirus pandemic imposes barriers to physical reunion, music allows us to gather in spirit wherever we are. In October 2020, a small subset of musicians from the Blue Ridge Orchestra spaced out their stands, put on their masks, and gathered at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts to record holiday favorites for a concert that can unite loved ones near and far.

Programmed by John Gordon Ross, this unique concert will feature secular and sacred favorites performed by a variety of musical ensembles: a woodwind quintet, a brass octet, a 13-piece string orchestra, a solo soprano with piano, and a string quartet.

The final recording will be available here from December 11-31!

BRO: Beyond the Concert Hall explores the ways the members of the Blue Ridge Orchestra are playing, practicing, and enjoying music during the 2020 pandemic. New videos will be added weekly so check back to see more musicians!

About the Author: Harper Howze is a freshman at Sumner Academy in Kansas City, Kansas, and an aspiring writer. This is his first published work. Lucille Chaveas, his co-author and “Grand” (grandmother), is a Brevard resident and an avid supporter of the Brevard Music Center.

Keith shares the beautiful Adoration of the Magi (Three Botticelli Pictures) of Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. The featured recording is of Keith Lockhart conducting the Boston Pops Orchestra on their album Sleigh Ride from 2004.

Bucket List: Guide to Art Institutions in WNC Western North Carolina is known as the artist’s enclave of the Southeast—but where should we layfolk go to enjoy the fruits of these labors? Here’s our guide to enjoying art—painted, sculpted, sketched, and otherwise crafted—across the region.

The online Holiday Craft Sale features nature-themed, handcrafted items, including ornaments, jewelry, textiles, quilts and holiday decor. Wreaths and swags enhanced with botanicals gathered on the Bullington Garden grounds and created by volunteers are ready for your home. Our delightful holiday garden gnome, standing 30 inches tall, adds a whimsical touch to your front porch. Locally-grown premium amaryllis, poinsettias, cyclamens and Christmas cactus plants are also available.

Bullington’s “Buzzington” bee products are offered including BeeKind ornaments, bee-themed gift items and beeswax candles.

The Holiday Greenery Sale features premium, freshly-cut Fraser fir trees ranging in height from five to eight feet. These native trees come from the Western North Carolina mountains and are wrapped for protection during transport. Also available are premium garlands in a 25-foot length, plus unadorned 12-inch wreaths. Holiday greenery must be ordered by Tuesday, Nov. 24.

Bullington Gardens is a proud supporter of our veterans, and believes all service members should be honored for their sacrifice. In partnership with local veterans and volunteers, Bullington Gardens offers Veteran’s Wreaths. Your $17 donation to honor a fallen veteran provides a 12-inch wreath, decorated with a hand tied red bow, and placed on a gravesite at the State Veteran’s Cemetery in Black Mountain, NC.

Shop our Bullington Gardens store online at www.bullingtongardens.org and fill your virtual cart with unique gift items and greenery. You can also place your order by phone at 828-698-6104 or in person at Bullington Gardens. Shipping or delivery is not available.

Bullington Gardens is located at 95 Upper Red Oak Trail in Hendersonville. For more information, call Bullington Gardens at 828-698-6104 or visit www.bullingtongardens.org.

Buy a brick or granite paver to honor a friend or family member, and make their name a part of the Swannanoa Valley’s geography and history! The pavers will form a mosaic which will show the north and south ridgelines of the Swannanoa Valley and the locations within the Valley which trace the settlement and the evolution of the Valley to the vibrant community it is today.

The Valley in the Alley exhibit is located, fittingly, in the alley owned by the Museum between the Museum and the Dripolator Coffee House, just off West State Street in Black Mountain.

The exhibit is based on the sale of engraved brick pavers, but with an approach distinct from the usual random placement of pavers. Purchasers of all engraved bricks within the alley will have the same opportunity to honor or memorialize friends and recognize special achievements as in other paver programs. However, through the purchase of a variety of special granite pavers, individuals, families and businesses will be owning “a piece of history” by forming the geographic outline of the Valley and locating major points of special interest in the Valley, such as communities, dwellings, or landscape features.

The result will be a mosaic which will show the north and south ridgelines of the Swannanoa Valley, the major geographic features on, and within, the ridgelines and the locations within the Valley which trace the settlement and the evolution of the Valley to the vibrant community it is today.

When the Valley in the Alley is complete, it will be a primer for children, acquainting them with the geography and history of the Swannanoa Valley; it will quickly orient visitors to what they are seeing around them; it will allow generations of families to recall and tell of their place in the Valley’s history; and it will be an aesthetically pleasing walkway, complimenting both the Museum building and Black Mountain’s Historic Downtown. The Museum will also provide permanent seating in the alleyway for use by the community.

Pricing

Regular 4″x8″ brick pavers holding three lines of text are $100. Engraved granite pavers will form the special features of the mosaic. They start at $200 for one 4″x8″ paver with three lines of text and increase in cost and available text depending on the size of paver chosen. Approximately 4,000 pavers make up the Alley, of which nearly 600 will form the outline of the Valley. Along the outline and within the Valley, over 100 sites are available for special recognitions or dedications.

Once the initial cost for acquiring and placing pavers is recovered, all proceeds from the Valley in the Alley purchases will be devoted to completion of the renovation and the operations of the Swannanoa Valley Museum including exhibits, on-and off-site programming, outreach to schools, preservation, and research.

Participants in the Valley in the Alley program will be contributing their own piece of history to our community.
For more information:

Brick Locations

COVID-19 cases are surging, resources are being stretched to their lowest levels, and provisions from the CARES Act — like unemployment insurance, paid leave, and Paycheck Protection Program support — are set to expire at the end of this month. Despite these concerns, Congress still has failed to act and provide relief for families across the country.

Will you spare two minutes and tell your Members of Congress to support nonprofits like the YWCA on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic?

In 2016, the Asheville community approved a $17 million general obligation bond for park projects. The park bond funding has supported major improvements to parks and recreation facilities throughout the city.
We are excited to share our progress and accomplishments with you!

Asheville restaurants are coupling their off-premise order options with a digital fundraising program so local charities like Coalition of Asheville Neighborhoods can stay active and funded this year.

Nearby fundraising partners for Coalition of Asheville Neighborhoods include Five Guys, MOD Pizza, & Dickeys Barbecue Pit, who will donate 15 – 20% of orders back to Coalition of Asheville Neighborhoods when you book a date to fundraise with them.

View Asheville Partners For Coalition of Asheville Neighborhoods

Because these events can include off-premise orders like take-out, delivery, drive thru or pick up, it’s easy for friends and Coalition of Asheville Neighborhoods supporters to safely participate via their preferred method.

1. Dickey´s Barbecue Pit

2002 N Main St Ste 125, Asheville, NC 28803

Average Price $15

 Dine-In Restricted

 Take-Out or Delivery

Donating Back

15%

2. Five Guys

182 Merimon Road, Asheville, NC 28801

Average Price $10

 Dine-In

 Take-Out or Delivery

Donating Back

20%

3. MOD Pizza

873 Merrimon Ave., Asheville, NC 28804

Average Price $10

 Dine-In

 Take-Out or Delivery

Donating Back

20%

4. Five Guys

1838 Hendersonville Rd, Asheville, NC 28803

Average Price $10

 Dine-In

 Take-Out or Delivery

Donating Back

20%

5. Cinnabon

377 Long Shoal Road, Arden, NC 28704

Average Price $5

 Dine-In Restricted

 Take-Out or Delivery

Donating Back

15%

Intellectual stimulation and skills development are not just for full-time students. UNC Asheville courses for community writers of all levels of experience, and for seniors looking to continue a lifetime of learning, are now open for registration. These courses will all be online this winter and spring.

College for Seniors at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

OLLI’s College for Seniors, now in its fourth decade and offering an impressive variety of courses developed for Zoom to help prevent spread of COVID-19, draws from the experiences and professional expertise of its members as well as from UNC Asheville and other area institutions and people. Courses range from Being Chronically Well, to Asheville and Pandemics: TB, Flu and COVID-19; and also include What’s Up with Genesis; Welcome to Our City: Thomas Wolfe’s Asheville; Ecology of Southern Appalachia; and French Opera: A Reintroduction.

There are no tests, credits or grades. OLLI members collaborate with staff to teach, learn, and design curricula, and also arrange special events. In addition to the annual OLLI membership fee, a tuition fee for each term is paid by College For Seniors participants, with some partial scholarships available.

The College for Seniors winter term begins on Jan. 11, 2021, and registration is now open. To see course descriptions, cost information and more, visit olliasheville.com/college-seniors.

Brevard Music Center Staff Picks From Around the Web

Great Performances:
Fiddler on the Roof
The first documentary chronicling the blockbuster Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof.

Brevard Music Center Staff Picks From Around the Web

Ella Fitzgerald:
Frosty the Snowman
Enjoy this animated retelling of Frosty the Snowman, sung by the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald.

Maya Angelou once said “Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.” So, as the year winds down, we invite you all not to forget, not to ignore but to love. Send love and light to your friends and family, spread endless love throughout your community, and remind yourself what love means to you. Engage with the things that bring you ultimate happiness – your favorite book, the first album you ever purchased, etc. Because this year has been difficult for everyone. This season will be different, full of new challenges, and we won’t have all the solutions. The only renewable resource we each have to offer is Love & Gratitude, and at this time, we should pour it out with abundance.