For rising 4th-8th graders. Students will work with lead resident teaching artist Ersel Bogan III (also known as Garfield). Mr. Garfield gets students moving and playing in the stylings of Second Line music, a rhythm famously used in New Orleans. Students are encouraged to bring brass instruments if they have them – otherwise they will be provided.

Welcome to Agrabah and the adventure of the street rat who became a prince!

When the street urchin, Aladdin, vies for the attention of the beautiful princess, Jasmine, he uses a genie’s magic power to become a prince in order to marry her. Iago, Jafar, the Genie, and more are here in Disney’s Aladdin KIDS, a musical adventure filled with magic, mayhem and the power of love.

Camp features: acting classes, movement and choreography, juggling and magic tricks, miming and more!

For rising 4th-8th graders. Students will work with lead resident teaching artist Ersel Bogan III (also known as Garfield). Mr. Garfield gets students moving and playing in the stylings of Second Line music, a rhythm famously used in New Orleans. Students are encouraged to bring brass instruments if they have them – otherwise they will be provided.

Would you like to learn some pieces and become part of a group that’s entire focus is performing and competing? This week we will learn a few showstoppers, evaluate everyone’s skill level and host auditions for our year round Performance Troupe. No experience is required to participate- but must have a love of MUSICAL THEATRE.

At the end of the week you will perform for family and friends. If, at the end of the week, you are invited into our performance group, we will let you know and present you with the schedule of rehearsals and potential performances/competitions. We are excited to have you and break a leg!

Join us at Eliada Home’s campus for a small group guided walking Farm Tour. Tours last approximately 1 hour. Participants will learn about outdoor and greenhouse growing practices, aquaponics, hydroponics, market gardening, corn maze production, and learn about our Animal Therapy program.

We will be meeting at the PARC building and walking to the different greenhouses, garden site, and a visit with our animals. Reservations required, tickets are $10 each visitor (to be collected at the time of the tour).

We recommend bringing the following: comfortable shoes for walking on pavement and grass, hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen.  This tour is not handicap accessible and will require participants to climb stairs and walk on uneven ground.

We will begin out tour promptly at the starting time, so please arrive 5-10 min early to allow for parking and check-in. If you are running late or cannot make your tour, please email [email protected] or call #828-348-2287.

All proceeds from ticket sales from your farm tour go directly back to helping the Campus Farm Program grow more food for the children of Eliada!

Click above photo to sign up for a time slot and number of people in your group. Payment for tour will be collected when you arrive. Cards accepted.

This tour is best suited for school age children ages 10+ and adults.

Looking to get your kids outside this summer? Join us as we walk you through the web-based program, ecoEXPLORE. You’ll learn how to submit photos and complete nature themed challenges to earn badges and prizes!

This initiative by the NC Arboretum includes a different challenge each season that will keep children engaged in learning about nature year-round while also contributing to citizen science. The theme this summer is entomology. We’ll explore our on-site gardens to find creepy crawly, squiggly squirmy, and high-flying bug residents! Stick around after the program to continue your exploration of the gardens and nature trail.

Join the Blue Ridge Audubon, a chapter of the National Audubon Society for their monthly bird walk at Jackson Park, a renowned birding location. On the 2nd Saturday of each month, meet at the Administration Building parking lot, located on Glover Street, and join the group to see the many wonderful birds found at Jackson Park, Hendersonville’s largest park.

Extension Master Gardener^SM volunteers maintain a composting demonstration site at the Western NC Farmers Market, at the Jesse Israel & Sons Garden Center. After a two-year hiatus, due to Covid, the site is reinstituting public demonstrations, beginning April 9, 2022.

When to Visit?
The site is staffed and provides demonstrations from 10:00am to 1:00pm on the second Saturday each month, April through September.

What Will You See?
There are five different composting methods on display at the site. There is a single bin unit, a tumbling composter, a wood pallet bin and a classic 3-bin system — we also usually bring an example of vermiculture on each demo day.  The site is stocked with informational pamphlets on the how-to and why of composting and they complement the information available in the composting video on this website. Click here to view the video: Making and Using Compost at Home.

An additional Composting demonstration area is located at The Learning Garden at the Extension Office, 49 Mount Carmel Road, Asheville, NC 28806.  Click here for details about The Learning Garden.

Everything is customer driven. The current environment only allows us a short period of time to convert a prospect into a customer. In this training, we will discuss creative ways in which you can validate who your prospects are and determine the steps that you need to take to convert them into customers. This seminar is offered in-person only. Speaker(s): Duane Adams, Associate Director, A-B Tech Small Business Center Co-Sponsor(s): Western Women’s Business Center This program is offered in-person only. It will be held at the A-B Tech Small Business Center in room 2046.

We are seeking volunteers to assist us in our small after school program for children in West Asheville in low-income housing.  We provide a safe and nourishing environment, healthy snacks, and creative activities.  Our program currently meets during the school year on most Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 3:00-5:00pm. You may volunteer for one or two days a week. 

Volunteer Responsibilities:

• Assist with serving snacks
• Interact with children during activity time
• Supervise games and outdoor free time
• For people with background in education, there is also an opportunity to assist with curriculum development and program planning and administration

Requirements:

• Background check
• Orientation booklets will be provided
• Masks are required if unvaccinated

Financial Empowerment for Women

Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World® – Building Resources for a Better Life. YWCA’s Getting Ahead program aims to provide financial empowerment for low-income women of all ages and backgrounds to make choices that positively impact themselves, their families and their community.

Knowledge is Power

A series of “kitchen table” discussions that investigate the causes of poverty, the hidden rules of class, and resources needed by all. Participants will assess individual situations as well as the condition of our community to achieve economic self-sufficiency.

“Going through the program made me realize that I wasn’t in this by myself. I was surrounded by people just like me who were humble enough to say ‘I need help.”

“The class has re-shaped my thinking process- the way I approach situations as possibilities, not obstacles”

Participants Receive

• Childcare and meals at each session
• A $20 stipend for each session attended
  Received once the program is completed
• A workbook to keep track of learning and personal goals
• One-on-one case management for 18
  months to support personal success
• Transportation support is available

The premier of “Racist Roots,” a 25-minute film created by the Center for Death Penalty Litigation, exposes the death penalty’s deep entanglement with slavery, lynching and racism. The film features several stories of Black men, including an Asheville man, who were unjustly convicted and sentenced to death. Panel discussion will follow.

This event is presented by the NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, as part of “Just Sentencing: How North Carolina’s Death Penalty Grew from Racist Roots.”

Did you know our staff had a wild side? Join a Park naturalist to meet some of our live Animal Ambassadors and learn what kind of wildlife inhabits the Park and their important roles in the ecosystem. Some of our best teachers have feathers, fur, shells or scales!

Are you new to Medicare? Are you confused about which benefits are right for you? Do you need more information? The Council on Aging of Buncombe County will help answer your Medicare questions in this free class. No registration is required.

The classes will explain how Medicare works, the enrollment process, how to avoid penalties, and ways to save money. This class will meet in person at the East Asheville Library on Aug. 17 at 2:30 p.m.

Anyone who is new to Medicare, caregivers, and others who help senior citizens with their Medicare insurance should consider attending this informative session. The material presented is unbiased and accurate.  No products are sold, recommended, or endorsed.

For more information, contact the Library or the Council on Aging.

We will share resources to create or expand your garden program as well as tips and strategies for gardening with young children. We emphasize how to sustain a garden program by involving community partners, such as parents, farmers, college students, and agricultural professionals. Please register in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Wednesday, August 17, 2022, 4-5:30pm Register here
Wednesday, October 12, 2022, 4-5:30pm Register here
Wednesday, February 8, 2023, 4-5:30pm Register here

Enrollment is now open for an adult improvisation acting class at Hendersonville Theatre (HT). Classes will be taught by professional improvisation actor and comedian Emily Swindal. Classes will meet on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm for 8 weeks starting August 10. The class will conclude on September 28 with a showcase of the students’ work.

Improv Level One: Communicate. Collaborate. Play. is for anyone over 18. Tuition is $180. Hendersonville Theatre will offer a free class preview and information session on Monday, August 8 from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Students of all skill levels are encouraged to attend.

To register for the class, please visit HVLtheatre.org or call the Box Office at (828) 692-1082. No registration is required to attend the free information session.

Emily Swindal lived in New York City for 8 years as an actor and improv comedian before relocating to Hendersonville during the pandemic. Swindal studied and performed improv and sketch comedy writing at New York City’s Magnet Theater and Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Swindal has performed with an assortment of improv teams. Some of her past instructors include Elana Fishbein, Peter McNerney, Ross Taylor, Michael Lutton, and Nicole Drespel. She has a BFA in Musical Theatre from Shenandoah Conservatory.

Swindal’s teaching motto is “growth only happens when you are willing to step outside your comfort zone.” In this class, actors will work at getting comfortable onstage and stepping into bravery while having fun doing it. The class will teach students to have compassion for themselves and their classmates as performers as they learn the fundamentals of improvisation and develop support and spontaneity.

One of the missions of HT is to provide arts education that promotes life-long learning, in a way that inspires, nurtures, enriches, and empowers.

Hendersonville Theater has made masks optional for students, but volunteers, staff and performers are fully vaccinated. No proof of vaccination is required to attend a class.

Financial Empowerment for Women

Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World® – Building Resources for a Better Life. YWCA’s Getting Ahead program aims to provide financial empowerment for low-income women of all ages and backgrounds to make choices that positively impact themselves, their families and their community.

Knowledge is Power

A series of “kitchen table” discussions that investigate the causes of poverty, the hidden rules of class, and resources needed by all. Participants will assess individual situations as well as the condition of our community to achieve economic self-sufficiency.

“Going through the program made me realize that I wasn’t in this by myself. I was surrounded by people just like me who were humble enough to say ‘I need help.”

“The class has re-shaped my thinking process- the way I approach situations as possibilities, not obstacles”

Participants Receive

• Childcare and meals at each session
• A $20 stipend for each session attended
  Received once the program is completed
• A workbook to keep track of learning and personal goals
• One-on-one case management for 18
  months to support personal success
• Transportation support is available