The Reuter Family YMCA is one of seven local YMCAs operated by the YMCA of Western North Carolina, a nonprofit that strengthens local communities through youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. Founded in 1889, the YMCA of WNC engages more than 100,000 people – regardless of age, income, or background – to nurture the potential of children and teens, improve the region’s health and well being, and provide opportunities to give back and support the community. For more information, please visit ymcawnc.org.

Join them to celebrate a greener future for the Reuter Family YMCA! You’re invited to a ribbon cutting to mark the installation of solar panels on the facility roof. This project was made possible by YMCA members Pete and Pat Wallenborn. Their generous gift helps the Y take a significant step toward sustainability and demonstrates our commitment to environmental stewardship. The Wallenborns will be recognized at the event. Attendees include representatives from Sundance Solar, the YMCA, and the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. Light refreshments will be served. Meet at the front entrance of the Reuter Family YMCA on the Biltmore Park side. In case of rain, the event will be held in the lobby.

Included with admission

Back by popular demand, The Vanderbilts at Home and Abroad exhibition offers guests:

• An opportunity to view rarely-seen treasures from the Biltmore collection
• A first-hand look at the Vanderbilts’ lifestyle
• Deeper insights into George, Edith, and Cornelia’s personalities, both at home and on their extensive travels

Access to exhibitions at The Biltmore Legacy is included with Biltmore daytime admission.

The Homeless Strategy Division of the City of Asheville Community and Economic Development Department invites members of the public to join them for an informative learning series focused on homelessness in our community. This 3-part learning series, presented by Homeless Strategy Specialist Debbie Alford,  offers community members the opportunity to learn more about the causes, responses, and actions that surround the homelessness issue in Asheville and the region. These in-person sessions are offered as a series with information building from one session to the next. Pre-Registration and attendance of all 3 sessions is recommended. October 2023 Session 1: October 3, 2023: Understanding Homelessness –  causes and local landscape Session 2: October 17, 2023: Understanding Solutions to Homelessness – community response, present and future Session 3: October 24, 2023: Personal Response to Homelessness – how to partner with local agencies and take action All October sessions will be held at Pack Memorial Library from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. November 2023 Session 1: November 2, 2023: Understanding Homelessness – causes and local landscape Session 2: November 9, 2023: Understanding Solutions to Homelessness – community response, present and future Session 3: November 16, 2023 : Personal Response to Homelessness – how to partner with local agencies and take action All November sessions will be held at the North Asheville Public Library from 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Background: What does Homelessness look like in Asheville? Homelessness occurs when people lack sufficient resources and support during a normal life crisis. It often coincides with unemployment, mental health disorders, substance use, criminal justice involvement, and medical issues, but the vast majority of people who experience those things daily in our community aren’t homeless. In the 2023 Point-in-Time Count, which is an annual census of people experiencing homelessness, City of Asheville staff and volunteers identified 573 people without housing. Most people (402) were in emergency shelters or transitional housing programs. Unfortunately, 171 unsheltered people, defined as those community members who are camping, sleeping in cars, or otherwise on the street, were also counted. Detailed data are available here. A Community Solution Approach Ending homelessness occurs at the individual level, person by person, but requires that our homeless service system have the type and scale of resources needed to respond to each person’s unique needs.  Our goal as a community is to have a well-coordinated and right-sized mix of homeless services that together form a system that’s effective and efficient at ending homelessness. Crises will always occur in all of our lives, but with a robust response system, we can prevent more people from becoming homeless, shorten the time people experience homelessness, and continually increase the number of people exiting homelessness. The City of Asheville is not a direct provider or authority overseeing homelessness efforts within the community. Instead, as suggested by the National Alliance to End Homelessness,  the City government works alongside service providers and other stakeholders to support and expand community capacity and strategies to meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness. The Homeless Initiative Advisory Committee (HIAC), serves as the governance board overseeing policy, strategy, and federal resource allocation for the Continuum of Care. HIAC is responsible for developing a collective vision and an effective and streamlined community-wide collaboration to maximize resources and efforts to best respond to homelessness together as a unified Continuum of Care.

Hit the trails and learn more about The North Carolina Arboretum’s botanically diverse forest with a guided trail walk! April through October, this free hiking program is led by trained volunteer guides who take small groups of participants along woodland trails and through a variety of forest types. Depending on the season and each guide’s area of expertise, topics of discussion may include wildflowers, plant and tree identification, natural history and more.

Guided trail walks are limited to 15 people, including the guide, and are not recommended for guests under 16 years of age. Groups depart from the Baker Visitor Center Lobby on Tuesdays at 1 p.m. and Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m..

Walks last 1.5 – 2.5 hours, are approximately one to two miles in length. As this program is held rain or shine, all participants should dress appropriately for the weather.

There is no pre-registration; walks are first-come first served and sign up sheets are located in the Baker Visitors Center.

Walks are FREE; however, donations to The North Carolina Arboretum Society are appreciated. Regular parking fees apply. Arboretum Society Members always park free.

Know Before You Go

• Guided Trail Walks are not recommended for guests under 16 years of age.
• Guided Trail Walks are rain or shine and all participants should be dressed comfortably and for the weather.
• Hikes cover 1-2 miles and last 1.5-2 hours.
• Well-behaved leashed pets are welcome to accompany their owners. In the rare case that a pet is disruptive or negatively impacts the experience, the pet and its owner may be asked to excuse themselves from the guided walk.
• COVID-19 Safety: In order to hear the guide and fully participate in the trail walk, participants will be in close proximity to one another for extended periods of time. While face coverings are not required, participants should use their best judgement to keep themselves and others safe while enjoying the trails. Individuals who are experiencing flu-like symptoms or suspect they may have been exposed to COVID-19 should not participate.
• At this time, no more than 6 spaces may be filled by a single family/group through pre-registration for any one Guided Trail Walk. If additional spaces are available on the day of the Walk, additional members of the family/group may participate. We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to welcoming larger groups in the future.

LEAF isn’t just for kids! Join us in the Mezzanine while you wait for your youth to finish their class or just to hang out!

WNC Repair Cafe is offering several full service repair events in collaboration with the Asheville Tool Library at Smith Mill Works in 2023. The Asheville Tool Library is a non-profit serving more than 600 members with over 2000 tools. Their mission is to provide low-cost access to a wide range of tools, literature, and knowledge to citizens of Western North Carolina through sliding scale and sponsored memberships.

The Tool Library began as a 100% volunteer-run non-profit and they still provide a wide range of volunteer opportunities. However, their growth has allowed them to start offering living wage employment. Since starting in 2015, the Asheville Tool Library has grown to serve their community with the simple necessities like lawn mowers and circular saws, as well as more unique tools like camping equipment, a wood splitter, and even a guitar. The Tool Library moved into a new location in October 2022, expanding to 2000 sq ft of space for tools, workshops, tools sales, and community events.

Since 2017, WNC Repair Cafe has been organizing Repair Cafes in the Hendersonville and Asheville areas.  A Repair Cafe is an event where volunteers with tools and supplies provide hands-on help to fix broken household objects at no cost while helping patrons develop the confidence and skills to make their own repairs in the future.

At each event, the public is invited to bring in anything from their homes for repair.  Small appliances, lamps, furniture, tools, small engines, and even cherished family heirlooms are all welcome at Repair Cafe events.  While the volunteers have been recruited as specialists in certain areas, the scope of the repairs is limited only by the imagination of the patrons; if an item is broken or damaged, volunteers at the Repair Cafe will try their best to fix it.

Repair Cafes appeal to patrons because they are free and they promote environmental stewardship as well as thriftiness.  Repair Cafes are a way to keep objects out of landfills and give them new life.  Some patrons have heirloom objects they don’t know where to turn for help repairing- WNC Repair Cafe can help!  In the context of a consumer-debt driven economy and throw-away culture, Repair Cafes are all about building resilience, sustainability, and community.

Within the communities served, Repair Cafes offer a place to practice resistance to that throwaway culture and have nuanced conversations about resilience, sustainability, and grassroots organizing surrounding resilience and sustainability.  At Repair Cafes, skills are shared and patrons are assisted in determining whether they should repair or replace their items.

Repair Cafes prevent household goods from ending up in landfills while simultaneously saving patrons money and helping them to develop the confidence to take on future repairs on their own or with help from a future Repair Cafe event.

Volunteers with technical skills that are not always seen as valuable have an opportunity to give back to their communities by passing on their knowledge to those who can appreciate and benefit from it.   A shift away from throwaway culture emboldens professional repair shops and helps create markets for spare parts.  Participating in Repair Cafe events may even lead consumers to demand products that are built to last.

If you would like more information about The Asheville Tool Library, please call Stephanie Kane at 216-577-1408 or email [email protected].

For more information about WNC Repair Cafe, send an email to Dan Hettinger at [email protected] or visit https://wncrepaircafe.blogspot.com/ or the WNC Repair Cafe Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/WNCRepairCafe/ ).

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Access to equity for real estate deals is (more than) hard if you are black or a woman. Access to investment opportunities in real estate was impossible for all but the wealthiest until recently. Learn about moves made by the Obama administration that have led to a nascent but robust investment community online. And learn how SmallChange.co, a crowdfunding investment platform, has leveraged these rules to shake up the real estate industry big time. Eve Picker’s world is wrapped around cities and change. With a background as an architect, city planner, urban designer, real estate developer, community development strategist, publisher, and instigator, Eve has a rich understanding of how cities and urban neighborhoods work – and how they can be revitalized. Eve launched and leads Small Change, a real estate equity crowdfunding portal to help fund transformational real estate projects. Small Change connects every day investors with developers to help them build projects that make cities better, and provides investment opportunities for everyone who cares about cities and wants to see positive change. Small Change focuses on impact in 3 ways: 1) They measure the impact of each project to ensure they are equitable and innovative; 2) They embrace emerging minority & women developers; and 3) Everyone (18+) can invest to build wealth on Small Change. The Building Our City Speaker Series is presented by The Grove Arcade Public Market Foundation with support from the Asheville Downtown Association Foundation, the City of Asheville, Carleton Collins Architecture, Mosaic Lifestyle Realty, Kimpton Hotel Arras and The Collider. The series is produced by the Asheville Downtown Association and Urban3.

The Building Our City Speaker Series is presented by The Grove Arcade Public Market Foundation with support from the Asheville Downtown Association Foundation, the City of Asheville, Carleton Collins Architecture, Mosaic Lifestyle Realty, Kimpton Hotel Arras and The Collider. The series is produced by the Asheville Downtown Association and Urban3.

The series is focused on housing for 2023.

Doors open at 5:30pm and the session begins at 6pm.

Featured Speaker:

Eve Picker

Eve Picker’s world is wrapped around cities and change. With a background as an architect, city planner, urban designer, real estate developer, community development strategist, publisher, and instigator, Eve has a rich understanding of how cities and urban neighborhoods work – and how they can be revitalized.

Eve launched and leads Small Change, a real estate equity crowdfunding portal to help fund transformational real estate projects. Small Change connects every day investors with developers to help them build projects that make cities better, and provides investment opportunities for everyone who cares about cities and wants to see positive change.

Small Change focuses on impact in 3 ways: 1) They measure the impact of each project to ensure they are equitable and innovative; 2) They embrace emerging minority & women developers; and 3) Everyone (18+) can invest to build wealth on Small Change. Read more about Small Change here.

The Black Mountain Library will be hosting a reading and conversation with Jaki Shelton Green, Poet Laureate of North Carolina on Oct. 3 at 6 p.m.

Jaki Shelton Green is the first African American and third woman to be appointed as the North Carolina Poet Laureate. When he appointed her in 2018, Governor Cooper stated that “Jaki Shelton Green brings a deep appreciation of our state’s diverse communities to her role as an ambassador of North Carolina literature. Jaki’s appointment is a wonderful new chapter in North Carolina’s rich literary history.”

Born in Alamance County and raised in Orange County, Ms. Green has written books of poetry, co-edited poetry anthologies, and authored a play. Green won the North Carolina Award for Literature in 2013 and was inducted into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame in 2014. Ms. Green teaches Documentary Poetry at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University.

This event is free and everyone is invited. Ms. Green will be signing and selling copies of her work after the reading.

Great news for poets and poetry lovers: Dark City Poet’s Society is returning to the Black Mountain Library. DCPS is a completely free poetry group that is open to poets of all ages and experience levels. Join us at the Black Mountain Library from 6-7:30 p.m. on the first Tuesday of every month for our (respectful) critique group. DCPS will meet at BAD Craft from 6-7 p.m. on the third Tuesday for our monthly open mic Poetry Night. Find out more on Instagram @darkcitypoetssociety or contact the Black Mountain Library.

Literacy Together has a determined group of students waiting for volunteer tutors so they can move forward on their goals for a better future. We’re offering in-person and remote volunteer opportunities. We have programs teaching English to immigrants, adult literacy for folks working on a GED, and youth literacy for kids struggling to learn to read. In addition, we welcome everyone -even if they are not ready to volunteer- to attend to learn about the literacy challenges we face in Buncombe County. Thank you!

Learn how to prevent drug facilitated sexual assault and intervene as a bystander in our online community training session!

Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault (DFSA) + Bystander Intervention Techniques Community Training

Join us for an online community training on Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault (DFSA) and Bystander Intervention Techniques. Learn how to identify and prevent DFSA incidents, and gain the skills to intervene as a bystander. This training aims to create a safer community by equipping individuals with knowledge and strategies to combat sexual assault. Don’t miss this opportunity to make a difference!

Mary Magdalene’s story is shrouded in mystery and mysticism. In the sacred circle, we invoke her truth, wisdom, deep love and reverence for visceral teaching, clearing and activation.
Each month we will gather to connect and commune with the essence of this visionary aspect of divine feminine. We will explore the alchemy of Mary Magdalene in relationship to her Divine attributes of mysticism, love, sacred sexuality, Divine adoration, surrender, faith, and unity consciousness to awaken deeper levels of the Divine feminine to RISE with YOU! Recurring every 1st Tuesday of the month, 7:00-7:30pm EST

Adora Winquist is a distinguished Modern Alchemist, author, visionary Founder of The Soul Institute, and co-author of “Detox Nourish Activate: Plant & Vibrational Medicine for Energy, Mood, and Love”. Having over two decades of experience as a facilitator, educator, formulator, and entrepreneur, she holds certifications in vibrational medicine and aromatherapy from the renowned Barbara Brennan School for Healing and Rutgers University. She is a true authority in plant and vibrational medicine. Her expertise in essential oil formulation, combined with her deep understanding of esoteric philosophy and energy medicine, has made her a sought-after authority in the field. With a passion for education and transformation, Adora continues to empower individuals on their journey to holistic well-being and self-discovery.

Players of all skill levels gather at Shakedown Kava Lounge (Hendersonville’s kava
bar) every Tuesday for the kava bar’s weekly Table Tennis Tournament, Games to 11, best of 3, double elimination, paddles
included, winner receives eternal glory and a $25 bar tab, Entry is free.

Gates open at 5:30pm
All Ages – not recommended for children under 4
RAIN OR SHINE
CLEAR BAGS ONLY

Artistic powerhouses cellist Johannes Moser, “radiant playing” (The Baltimore Sun), and pianist Marc-André Hamelin, praised for his “Near superhuman technical prowess” (New York Times), join forces for a memorable and illuminating duo recital. They perform works by Hamelin himself and Nadia Boulanger, a paragon of 20th century classical music, plus sonatas by Claude Debussy and César Franck, two of the great masterworks of the cello-piano repertoire.

Canadian cellist Johannes Moser won silver at the 2002 International Tchaikovsky Competition and has since had a phenomenal touring career, from soloing with the New York, Los Angeles, and BBC Philharmonics, as well as the orchestras of Chicago, London, Tokyo NHK, and Bayerischen Rundfunks, to chamber appearances with the likes of Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Midori, and Menahem Pressler. He’s also a prolific recording artist and a champion of new music who is heavily involved in commissioning.

Marc-André Hamelin is not only a pianist known worldwide for his unrivaled blend of consummate musicianship and brilliant technique who has performed wide-ranging repertoire in the world’s great halls, he is a well-known composer with more than 30 pieces to his name, including the commissioned work for the 2017 Cliburn Competition (where he was also a juror). His discography spans more than 70 recordings which have earned him 11 Grammy® nominations, seven Juno Awards, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the German Record Critics’ Association.

PROGRAM

Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) 3 Pieces for Cello and Piano

Marc-André Hamelin (b.1961) Four Perspectives for Cello and Piano

Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Cello Sonata

— Intermission —

César Franck (1822-1890) Sonata in A major for Cello and Piano

Auditorium seating is reserved.