We are currently accepting applications for four positions at a RiverLink. If you or someone you know is looking for an opportunity to make an impact on the French Broad River then we encourage you to apply. However you identify or whatever your experience with the river is, please apply if you see a position that sparks your passion for the environment. Regardless of background, anyone can make a tangible impact on the river and promote it’s health and beauty to the community. Come join us and help create a thriving watershed where everyone feels welcome. These are the positions we’re hiring for at the moment:

• RiverCamp Counselor | Temporary full-time | $18/hour
• AmeriCorps Watershed Coordinator | 11 month service term with living stipend
• AmeriCorps Education Coordinator | 11 month service term with living stipend
• AmeriCorps Stewardship Coordinator | 11 month service term with living stipend

The three AmeriCorps positions are part of the AmeriCorps Project Conserve program in which members serve for 1,700 hours over the course of 11 months.

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.

Get in a video audition for your chance to join us ALL SEASON LONG! There are auditions for THREE of our upcoming shows all going on RIGHT NOW! We want you to be a part of our 50th Season, so we hope you’ll come out and bring us your talent! Actors should submit initial audition information online through our website at https://www.montfordparkplayers.org/about-us/volunteers-page/ and may do so at any time. The Montford Park Players is committed to gender-neutral and race-conscious casting. ALL are welcome and invited to participate! Please note all dates and deadlines: For auditions for The Little Prince, directed by Jason Williams, the submission deadline is midnight Friday, April 8, 2022. Callbacks will be held in person at the amphitheatre on Saturday, April 23. The director will contact each pre-selected actor with specific times. The Little Prince will be performed Fridays through Sundays, June 10 – Saturday, July 9 at 7:30 pm. For auditions for Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Dwight Chiles, the submission deadline is 11:59pm Sunday, April 24, 2022. Callbacks will be held in person at the amphitheatre on Friday and Saturday, April 29 & 30 from 4:30 to 8:30 pm. The director will contact each pre-selected actor with specific times. Much Ado About Nothing will be performed Fridays through Sundays, July 15 – Saturday, August 13 at 7:30 pm. For auditions for The Three Musketeers, directed by Rodney Smith, the submission deadline is midnight Sunday, May 1, 2022. Callbacks will be held in person at the amphitheater on Saturday, May 7, with a rain date of Saturday, May 14. The director will contact each pre-selected actor with specific times. The Three Musketeers will be performed Fridays through Sundays, Aug. 19 – Saturday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 pm. Submission deadlines for Hamlet will be announced later, through our newsletter and social media. Specific instructions for audition submissions: On the website above, click on the link below “Actor Season Audition Form” Sign in to your Google account (required as most information will be shared in Google documents) Fill out and submit the form – if you have a headshot and/or resume (not required), please upload them as part of your application. Record a short (90 second) video – you can do so on your phone. For As You Like It, a Shakespearean monologue is preferred. IMPORTANT: please name your video with your name, not the default title; ex. “Smith, John Video” On the website, click on the link below “Actor Season Video Upload Link” and upload your video. Directors will review each application and video, and will contact prospective actors for callbacks. Important: This season, the Montford Park Players will require that all persons involved with any show must be fully vaccinated, or present a request for exemption, stating the reasons. The Executive Director, in consultation with the director, will make the final decision on the selection or non-selection of any person who is not fully vaccinated. Anyone who is interested in a technical role only (stage management, lights, sound, etc.) should sent an email to [email protected] and include your background, if any. We welcome all volunteers!

Featured Artists: Judi Harwood (clay) Colin Richmond (clay) Cori Saraceni (mixed media) Lyn Lyndall (leather) Lauren Faulkenberry (paper)

Registration: Pre-registration is REQUIRED.

We invite you to join us for a memorial hike to honor and remember our friend Bill Popper and his dedication to preserving the 573-acre property in Yancey County that he loved so much. This hike is a perennial favorite, taking participants through our Price’s Creek Preserve with numerous wildflowers this time of year, including May Apples, Blood Root, Lark Spur, and much more. We will hike through mature northern hardwood forest and make our way to a lovely spot on Price’s Creek for lunch, then loop back to the beginning, all the while enjoying the flowery splendor of Mother Nature!

We will be carpooling to the Price’s Creek Preserve. If you are willing to be a driver, please let me know in the comments section of your registration.

If you would like to learn more about Bill Popper and his passion for this land that he loved, please read our recent memorial here. 

NOTE: Due to limited parking availability, we will be hard capping this hike at 11 participants. Please register each party member individually to ensure we do not go over this number.  

Masks will be required while carpooling. 

Come experience the national parks! On five days in 2022, all National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission to everyone. Mark your calendar for these entrance fee–free dates in 2022. Please check operating status at this park and others before traveling as there may be changes due to Covid-19.

Every April, during the presidentially proclaimed National Park Week, we join with the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks, to celebrate America’s treasures. National Park Week is a time to explore amazing places, discover stories of history and culture, help out, and find your park.

Celebrate National Park Week 2022 with us April 16 to 24! Parks across the country will host a variety of special programs, events, and digital experiences. Entrance fees are waived on April 16 to kick off National Park Week and encourage everyone to enjoy their national parks.

• March 17 to 20
• April 7 to 10
• April 14 to 17
• May 12 to 15
• June 2 to 5

To celebrate Earth Day, the Swannanoa Valley Tree Alliance is leading a tour of the registered Treasured Trees on the beautiful and historic Lake Eden property.

The tour will complete a 1.5-mile walk to view the trees and hear both about their natural history and the local history they have presided over during their long lives. The group will also be raffling off a dozen or more three-gallon trees, including American Chestnut Hybrids, American Beech, Yellow Buckeye, and Oaks.

The Swannanoa Valley Tree Alliance is one of our Treasured Tree partners, and this high-energy group has found creative ways to honor their ancient trees and protect the urban tree canopy in and around Black Mountain.

The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad welcomes back The Bunny Hopper Express Easter Train April 15 & 16! This 4 and half-hour round trip special event train departs the historic Bryson City Depot at 10:30 am and will travel along the Nantahala Gorge River to our picturesque layover destination, for Easter-themed activities and Egg Hunt.

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Passengers will be on the lookout for those train-hopping bunnies who have snuck on to take a free ride! Festivities include an Easter egg hunt with prizes, a give-away bag with activities to enjoy during the train ride, and a yummy Easter treat for our junior railroaders to enjoy at the layover. There will also be plenty of opportunities for pictures with our bunny hoppers, so do not forget your camera!

Yoga with baby goats…it is just as ridiculous and amazing as it sounds. You can expect to grin, giggle, move, and flow alongside the sweetest little snuggly socialites. The goats may pull your attention away from your movement practice from time to time but they are the most adorable anchors to the present moment and can spark pure joy.

Upcoming public classes:
April 16
April 30
May 14
May 28

Private classes available daily with advanced notice!

Disconnect with stress and connect with loving, social baby goats! This is a unique opportunity to spend time outdoors and let the busyness of the world melt away for a moment. You can expect a beginner-friendly yoga class that is easy to follow…and rejoin if you find yourself distracted throughout.

Wear loose fitting clothing, long pants, shirts with sleeves, and clothes that you don’t mind getting a bit dirty. Please plan on bringing your own yoga mat or you may rent a mat in advance for $5. These events will be held rain or shine. In the case of inclement weather, we’ll move under the cover of the open air milking barn. Don’t forget to bring an open mind and adventurous spirit! It is sure to be an experience to remember!

Come get glammed up with Magical Fairy Hair!
You can still wash, brush, comb, curl, flat iron, (up to 450°!), color, straighten, perm, blow it dry, get your haircut, etc.
Do whatever you normally do to your hair -but most of all; ENJOY IT!
Long lasting, super fun, and affordable!
Covid precautions will be used.
Space is limited. Appointments Required.
Book Now at FairyKimSparkles.com/calendar

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

Led by Stewart/Owen Co-Directors, Vanessa Owen and Gavin Stewart, this class begins with full body conditioning followed by a series of technical modern exercises, and culminates in either phrase creation or Stewart/Owen repertory. Dancers are encouraged to modify for their own bodies and spaces! We recommend this class to experienced dancers who are looking for a fast-paced contemporary class that pushes their physical and mental boundaries.

In person: $10, pay at the door

Online: $7 suggested donation, contact [email protected] for class link and details.

About Stewart/Owen Dance: Gavin Stewart and Vanessa Owen, a husband and wife duo, are the co-directors of Western North Carolina based Stewart/Owen Dance. Their choreography has been presented by festivals and companies across the U.S., and their careers have most notably taken them around the globe on fifteen U.S. State Department tours to teach, perform and choreograph contemporary dance with Washington D.C. based Company E. In 2017 they made North Carolina their home base where they work towards building a sustainable community for professional dance artists to set roots.They have choreographed music videos for artists such as Moses Sumney, Sylvan Esso and Ben Phantom. Gavin and Vanessa won the Audience Choice Award at the NYC Dance Gallery Festival 2018, were commissioned as Dance Gallery 2019 Level UP Artists, are recipients of a McDowell Regional Artist Project Grant, a North Carolina Artist Support Grant and were voted “Artists Who Most Pushed the Boundaries with the Human Body” by 2020 Asheville Fringe Arts Festival. Since the pandemic, they have focused on producing COVID-conscious dance experiences for live audiences, including drive-up performances and a guided walk-along dance exhibit presented in residence with Asheville’s beloved Wortham Center for the Performing Arts.

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.

Atelier Maison & Co. and Show & Tell are teaming up to showcase the best in art & design! Featuring vendors and artisans selling housewares, vintage clothing, original art, handmade crafts, fair trade imports, and more.

Tuesday, June 14th, and Thursday, June 16th

Option 1: Beginner Clawhammer Banjo with Amy Buckingham

Option 2: All- Instrument Jam Sessions with Mallory Carter & Will Trakas

Monday, June 13th, and Wednesday, June 15th

Option 3: Introduction to Improvisation for all instruments with Carson Moore

* *Sessions are $30 for one, $50 for two, $65 for three, and $72 for all 4**

Drop into our studio to experiment freely and collaborate using different materials, tools, and techniques! Visit a chosen artwork in the galleries for inspiration, then head to the studio to create. All ages and abilities are welcome (children must be accompanied by an adult); no reservations are required.

Please note:

• In accordance with Buncombe County and city directives, a limited number of people can be in the studio at one time. To ensure all participants have time to create, we may ask you to limit your time.