Included with admission

Embark on a scenic journey across George Vanderbilt’s Italy with a large-scale outdoor display that combines brilliant botanical designs with authentic messages written by Vanderbilt himself.

Beautifully handcrafted of natural elements, each sculptural postcard depicts a location or landmark Vanderbilt visited more than a century ago. This captivating complement to Biltmore’s Italian Renaissance Alive exhibition reveals Vanderbilt’s passions for travel, culture, architecture, and art as well as his personal experience of such renowned Italian cities as Milan, Florence, Venice, Pisa, and Vatican City.

Adding to the charm and visual appeal of Ciao! From Italy—sure to be a hit among kids of all ages—is the G-scale model train that travels in and out of each postcard in this enlightening display!

Join us on a journey into the world of butterflies and plants, and see the complex relationship between monarchs and milkweed. “Monarchs and Milkweed” explores how very survival of these majestic creatures has been shaped over time by one another, traveling through the seasons of a calendar year and revealing how both insect and plant grow and interact, culminating in a massive migration that crosses a continent.

Included with admission

Embark on a scenic journey across George Vanderbilt’s Italy with a large-scale outdoor display that combines brilliant botanical designs with authentic messages written by Vanderbilt himself.

Beautifully handcrafted of natural elements, each sculptural postcard depicts a location or landmark Vanderbilt visited more than a century ago. This captivating complement to Biltmore’s Italian Renaissance Alive exhibition reveals Vanderbilt’s passions for travel, culture, architecture, and art as well as his personal experience of such renowned Italian cities as Milan, Florence, Venice, Pisa, and Vatican City.

Adding to the charm and visual appeal of Ciao! From Italy—sure to be a hit among kids of all ages—is the G-scale model train that travels in and out of each postcard in this enlightening display!

Join us on a journey into the world of butterflies and plants, and see the complex relationship between monarchs and milkweed. “Monarchs and Milkweed” explores how very survival of these majestic creatures has been shaped over time by one another, traveling through the seasons of a calendar year and revealing how both insect and plant grow and interact, culminating in a massive migration that crosses a continent.

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!

Created between the dry freeways of Palm Springs, California and lush coastlines and Hilo, Hawai’i, V is the definitive Unknown Mortal Orchestra record. Led by Hawaiian-New Zealand artist Ruban Nielson, V draws from the rich traditions of West Coast AOR, classic hits, weirdo pop and Hawaiian Hapa-haole music. With his sharpest-ever ear for “making it UMO”, Ruban evokes blue skies, beachside cocktail bars and hotel pools without ever turning a blind eye to the darkness that lurks below perfect, pristine surfaces.

The road to V began in April 2019 when UMO headed to Indio, California, to perform at Coachella. For that fortnight, Ruban booked an Airbnb in nearby Palm Springs and brought his family along. Between performances, he realized the desert resort city’s palm tree-lined streets reminded him of a childhood spent playing by white hotel swimming pools with his siblings while their entertainer parents performed in showbands across the Pacific and East Asia.

A year later, Ruban started thinking about Palm Springs again as the COVID-19 pandemic loomed on the horizon. After contemplating spending lockdown at home in Portland, he purchased a house in Palm Springs. Having spent a decade touring, Ruban knew he had health issues and burnout to address. As America went into lockdown, he settled in for enforced downtime. Under the palm trees, he had the space to reflect. He felt a sense of gratitude for the lifestyle music had afforded him. The warm, dry weather cleared up his lifelong asthma issues, he found himself singing better than ever before, and new songs began to flow out of him in his home studio.

When he recorded his third album Multi-Love, Ruban incorporated disco elements into the lo-fi funk-rock dreamscapes of his first two records. Coming from a punk background where the slogan “disco sucks” had been casually thrown around, he found a subversive glee in flipping the script. On V, you can hear a continuation of this impulse in the arid disco-funk of ‘Meshuggah’. “There are two kinds of musical taste, constructed and instinctual,” Ruban said. “Taste as clout is dangerous to art, in my opinion. Then, there’s music that will send a shiver down your spine. You didn’t ask for that shiver. It just happens.”

During the pandemic’s early days, Ruban’s brother Kody had flown from New Zealand to Palm Springs to help him with his recordings. When they talked about records that moved them in that spine-shivering manner, Ruban started thinking about the ubiquitous 70s AM radio rock and 80s pop songs he remembered hearing as a child while their parents were working as entertainers. He wanted to write his version of those records, leading to the two glorious uptempo singles UMO released in 2021, ‘Weekend Run’ and ‘That Life’.

However, the golden good times never last forever. As health issues began to plague one of his Hawaiian uncles, Ruban realized he was coming face to face with a sharper, more acute sense of mortality looming. Putting his recordings aside, he helped his mother and another of her brothers move home from New Zealand and Portland to Hawai’i to be with him. As they settled in, Ruban began dividing his time between Palm Springs and Hilo on the northeastern side of the big island.

He knew that part of his connection with Palm Springs came from how it evoked aspects of his childhood. For Ruban, Hawai’i had a similar association, but it also brought back faded memories of the darker side of his parents’ lifestyle. On those trips, he heard those classic AM radio rock records he’d talked about with Kody everywhere. They were inextricably intertwined with the palm trees, swimming pools, and glamorized hedonism he’d internalized since childhood.

There’s a type of music in Hawai’i called Hapa-haole (Half white). You can hear it expressed in signature UMO style through the humid guitar-led atmosphere of V‘s penultimate song, ‘I Killed Captain Cook’. Although the songs are presented in a traditional Hawaiian manner, they’re mostly sung in English. Having been influenced by Hawaiian music since UMO’s first album, Ruban saw a space for himself within the tradition. When he reflected on his success, he realized he had the responsibility and platform to represent Hapa-haole music on the global stage.

After reuniting with Kody at a cousin’s wedding in Hawai’i, the brothers traveled to Palm Springs. There, with assistance from their father, Chris Nielson (saxophone/flute) and longstanding UMO member Jake Portrait, they brought everything Ruban had been mulling over about together through the fourteen singalong anthems, cinematic instrumentals and mischievous pop songs that make up V.

“In Hawaii, everything shifted off of me and my music,” Ruban said. “Suddenly, I was spending more time figuring out what others need and what my role is within my family. I also learned that things I thought were true of myself are bigger than I thought. My way of making mischief – that’s not just me – that’s my whole Polynesian side. I thought I was walking away from music to focus on family, but the two ended up connecting.”

The first double album in the UMO discography, V, makes a strong case for itself as Ruban’s sunbleached masterpiece while simultaneously recontextualizing and enriching the journey that led him to this moment. Alongside Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation, Pulp’s Different Class, and Prince’s 1999, it’s a breakthrough work from a mid-career artist in full control of his creative powers. Most of all, V is about having fun while making music and art that transcends clout and currency. In the process, Ruban effortlessly reclaims taste as a personal part of selfhood; in that reclamation, he propels UMO to breathtaking new creative heights.

The 2023 Grammy-nominated British vocal ensemble VOCES8 is proud to inspire people through music and share the joy of singing. Touring globally, the group performs an extensive repertory both in its a cappella concerts and in collaborations with leading musicians, orchestras, conductors and soloists. Versatility and a celebration of diverse musical expression are central to the ensemble’s performance and education ethos which is shared both online and in person. VOCES8 is passionate about music education and is the flagship ensemble of the VOCES8 Foundation which actively promotes ‘Music Education For All’, reaching up to 40,000 people a year.

VOCES8 has performed at many notable venues since its inception in 2005 including Wigmore Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Cité de la Musique Paris, Vienna Konzerthaus, Tokyo Opera City, NCPA Beijing, Sydney Opera House, Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall, Victoria Concert Hall Singapore, Palacio de Bellas Artes Mexico City amongst many others. This season they perform over 100 concerts in the UK and across Europe and visit the USA for 3 major tours.

The ensemble is a Decca Classics artist and also releases projects on its own label, VOCES8 Records. The latest Decca Classics album is the Grammy Nominated “The Lost Birds” featuring music by Christopher Tin. New album projects for 2023 include albums with Eric Whitacre, Paul Simon, and Christmas arrangements for VOCES8 and orchestra by Taylor Scott Davis.

Included with admission

Embark on a scenic journey across George Vanderbilt’s Italy with a large-scale outdoor display that combines brilliant botanical designs with authentic messages written by Vanderbilt himself.

Beautifully handcrafted of natural elements, each sculptural postcard depicts a location or landmark Vanderbilt visited more than a century ago. This captivating complement to Biltmore’s Italian Renaissance Alive exhibition reveals Vanderbilt’s passions for travel, culture, architecture, and art as well as his personal experience of such renowned Italian cities as Milan, Florence, Venice, Pisa, and Vatican City.

Adding to the charm and visual appeal of Ciao! From Italy—sure to be a hit among kids of all ages—is the G-scale model train that travels in and out of each postcard in this enlightening display!

Join us on a journey into the world of butterflies and plants, and see the complex relationship between monarchs and milkweed. “Monarchs and Milkweed” explores how very survival of these majestic creatures has been shaped over time by one another, traveling through the seasons of a calendar year and revealing how both insect and plant grow and interact, culminating in a massive migration that crosses a continent.

STATIONARY FUN – Creekside play area has a treehouse and wee slide ➤ The Big Barn has our Sound Silo full of instruments to play on and make noise, trikes on the trike track around a REAL tractor and cornhole boards(ask the staff for bags) ➤ On the grassy slope behind the Big Barn we’ve got our famous and fast culvert tunnel slides for all ages, hammocks on the hill and tetherball!

Availability: All stationary fun is available every day during business hours of 10-5, starting September 2nd, through the rest of the season- tetherball will be back in action starting September 6th!

ANIMALS TO SEE – We will have a brooder house full of chicks in various ages and stages all season, there will typically be mama pigs and piglets in agritourism pens on the hill, more rarely there will be grazing cattle in a nearby field.

FOOD TRUCK SCHEDULE

9/2 Sat  11-4 Fern Leaf CCS Food Truck

9/16 Sat 11-4 Milk & Honey Food Truck – they will be serving HNG beef for their all-American burger!

9/24 Sun 11-4 *Big Barn Market* Root Down Farm Food Truck

9/30 Sat 11-4 Milk & Honey Food Truck

10/7 Sat 11-4 Fern Leaf CCS Food Truck

10/14 Sat 11-4 Milk & Honey Food Truck

10/15 Sun 11-4 El Bodegon Food Truck

10/22 Sun 11-4 El Bodegon Food Truck

10/29 Sun 11-4 *Big Barn Market* Grush’s Cajun Dino Grill Food Truck

11/4 Sat 11-4 Fern Leaf CCS Food Truck

FALL SEASONAL OFFERINGS

APPLES – Our partners in Edneyville, NC, Lyda Farms, bring some of the best in the region. Local and low spray, folks come every year to get the best of fall in NC by the bag to bake, stew, butter, sauce and of course, crunch into while sitting on the farm.

Availability: Apples will be available to buy starting September 9th, they will typically run out Mid to late October.

FRESH PRESSED CIDER – We press fresh apple cider every year, comprised of our historical orchard apples on the Old Sherrill’s Inn property and apples from our partner Lyda Farms. This is a raw, unpasteurized product – delicious and changeable as the season, no added sugar or seasonings.

Availability: 1st pressing September 13th, bottled cider will be in the store for purchase September 14th!

JACKOLANTERN PUMPKINS – We work with several WNC veggie farmers in the area, including Hawkins Farms. We’ll have pumpkins arranged all around the Farm Store to display their beauty AND make sure you get *just the right one*. The seeds are dynamite when roasted, too…

Availability: Coming Mid-September, they will typically run out by end of October so make sure you get yours! 

EDIBLE SQUASH & DECORATIVE GOURDS – From Mr. Anthony Cole’s farms, we have some long-lasting festive gourds to decoarate for the season, and a broad variety of edible squashes and pumpkins perfect for pies, soups and pasta.

Availability: Coming Mid-September.

Have you been wanting try a local hike, but don’t know where to begin? Join Buncombe County Parks & Recreation for scenic morning hikes close to home this fall. This Hike Series is a free four-pack of popular treks lead by Parks and Recreation Staff on weekday mornings. Explorers of all skill levels are invited to experience the fun of one hike, all four or somewhere in between. Space is limited to 15 hikers and advanced registration is necessary.

We will begin our hike at Charles D. Owen park parking lot where we will do a quick icebreaker and get prepped for the hike (we will have water and a few snacks available) PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN WATER BOTTLE TO FILL UP.

This hike runs along the pristine Swannanoa river. In addition to the river, there will be sightings of gorgeous rock formations, a rhododendron forest, flowers and a breathtaking bamboo forest. With ample natural shade from the surrounding hardwoods, guests will stay cool while walking along the mostly flat dirt trail.

Difficulty level: Beginner to intermediate.

Length: 5.3 miles

Elevation gain: 118 feet

Join us for this educational and fun guided drum session. This class is super fun and no drumming experience is needed. In this hour long session we will establish the foundations of rhythm and experiment with various concepts from there.

Registration is required to use one of the provided djembes. Registration will be limited to 12 people to ensure we have enough drums for everyone. Feel free to bring your own drum or percussion instrument. If you are bringing your own drum you do not need to register.

This class is best suited for adults and kids older than 12.

Join us at Keynote Speechcrafters and

Discover the
Joy of
Public Speaking!

It’s natural to enjoy things you do well,
and you will get good at this.

Our members are committed to meeting each week because

steady progress
requires
steady practice.

Our motto:

When you show up
You speak
Every meeting
Every week

So come join us at the South Buncombe Library on Wednesday evenings and prepare to become a better you.

Please Click here to let us know you are coming.

Guests are always welcome. We look forward to speaking with you!

Support:
Daily Bread
Dreamers Delight

Ages 18+

Nicolas Reyes has been the leader and co-founder of the Gipsy Kings for well over 30 years. In the past three decades, they have dominated the World Music charts and sold more than 14 million albums worldwide. Their platinum compilation, The Best of the Gipsy Kings, was charting for over a year upon its release, and their ninth studio album, Savor Flamenco, was awarded the Grammy^® for Best World Music Album in 2013.

This iconic legacy began when Nicolas’ father, Jose Reyes, formed a celebrated flamenco duo with Manitas de Plata (which boasted fans as famed as Miles Davis and Pablo Picasso). When the pair parted ways, the elder Reyes became even more popular upon starting his own band, backed by his son, called Los Reyes. In later years, Nicolas headed out on his own and began playing in the town of Arles in the south of France. He traveled throughout the country, busking on the streets of Saint-Tropez, playing wherever he could. Having adopted the perpetual motion of the gypsy lifestyle, his band eventually translated “Los Reyes” and became the Gipsy Kings.

The band’s music went on to fuse with popular culture. In addition to the accolades above, the traveling Gipsy Kings have played some of the world’s greatest stages, from the Hollywood Bowl to Royal Albert Hall as well as hitting the big screen. Their rendition of “Hotel California” was included in the film The Big Lebowski and the HBO series Entourage. The 2010 film Toy Story 3 featured a Gipsy Kings version of the movie’s popular, Randy Newman-penned theme, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”. The Gipsy Kings recently featured in a Big Lebowski spinoff The Jesus Rolls with Reyes appearing in person with the director and star, John Turturro, for some of the promotion.

As active as this remarkable collective remains, they are also confident in the future of their legacy. “Even though it’s been 30 years, we want to keep on making new music because it’s our life. It’s who we are,” says Nicolas Reyes. “But I think there will be a time when we pass down the Gipsy Kings to our sons”.

30 years is an eternity in pop music but the story of the Gipsy Kings featuring Nicolas Reyes has the depth to endure. Theirs is a music that extends through generations, to the sounds of their ancestors—Spanish Romani people who fled the Catalonia region during the Spanish Civil War—and reflects the vibrantly eclectic and peripatetic history of the gitanos.

Included with admission

Embark on a scenic journey across George Vanderbilt’s Italy with a large-scale outdoor display that combines brilliant botanical designs with authentic messages written by Vanderbilt himself.

Beautifully handcrafted of natural elements, each sculptural postcard depicts a location or landmark Vanderbilt visited more than a century ago. This captivating complement to Biltmore’s Italian Renaissance Alive exhibition reveals Vanderbilt’s passions for travel, culture, architecture, and art as well as his personal experience of such renowned Italian cities as Milan, Florence, Venice, Pisa, and Vatican City.

Adding to the charm and visual appeal of Ciao! From Italy—sure to be a hit among kids of all ages—is the G-scale model train that travels in and out of each postcard in this enlightening display!

Join us on a journey into the world of butterflies and plants, and see the complex relationship between monarchs and milkweed. “Monarchs and Milkweed” explores how very survival of these majestic creatures has been shaped over time by one another, traveling through the seasons of a calendar year and revealing how both insect and plant grow and interact, culminating in a massive migration that crosses a continent.

STATIONARY FUN – Creekside play area has a treehouse and wee slide ➤ The Big Barn has our Sound Silo full of instruments to play on and make noise, trikes on the trike track around a REAL tractor and cornhole boards(ask the staff for bags) ➤ On the grassy slope behind the Big Barn we’ve got our famous and fast culvert tunnel slides for all ages, hammocks on the hill and tetherball!

Availability: All stationary fun is available every day during business hours of 10-5, starting September 2nd, through the rest of the season- tetherball will be back in action starting September 6th!

ANIMALS TO SEE – We will have a brooder house full of chicks in various ages and stages all season, there will typically be mama pigs and piglets in agritourism pens on the hill, more rarely there will be grazing cattle in a nearby field.

FOOD TRUCK SCHEDULE

9/2 Sat  11-4 Fern Leaf CCS Food Truck

9/16 Sat 11-4 Milk & Honey Food Truck – they will be serving HNG beef for their all-American burger!

9/24 Sun 11-4 *Big Barn Market* Root Down Farm Food Truck

9/30 Sat 11-4 Milk & Honey Food Truck

10/7 Sat 11-4 Fern Leaf CCS Food Truck

10/14 Sat 11-4 Milk & Honey Food Truck

10/15 Sun 11-4 El Bodegon Food Truck

10/22 Sun 11-4 El Bodegon Food Truck

10/29 Sun 11-4 *Big Barn Market* Grush’s Cajun Dino Grill Food Truck

11/4 Sat 11-4 Fern Leaf CCS Food Truck

FALL SEASONAL OFFERINGS

APPLES – Our partners in Edneyville, NC, Lyda Farms, bring some of the best in the region. Local and low spray, folks come every year to get the best of fall in NC by the bag to bake, stew, butter, sauce and of course, crunch into while sitting on the farm.

Availability: Apples will be available to buy starting September 9th, they will typically run out Mid to late October.

FRESH PRESSED CIDER – We press fresh apple cider every year, comprised of our historical orchard apples on the Old Sherrill’s Inn property and apples from our partner Lyda Farms. This is a raw, unpasteurized product – delicious and changeable as the season, no added sugar or seasonings.

Availability: 1st pressing September 13th, bottled cider will be in the store for purchase September 14th!

JACKOLANTERN PUMPKINS – We work with several WNC veggie farmers in the area, including Hawkins Farms. We’ll have pumpkins arranged all around the Farm Store to display their beauty AND make sure you get *just the right one*. The seeds are dynamite when roasted, too…

Availability: Coming Mid-September, they will typically run out by end of October so make sure you get yours! 

EDIBLE SQUASH & DECORATIVE GOURDS – From Mr. Anthony Cole’s farms, we have some long-lasting festive gourds to decoarate for the season, and a broad variety of edible squashes and pumpkins perfect for pies, soups and pasta.

Availability: Coming Mid-September.

FREE Virtual Event

Presenter: Cynthia Gillooly, Verde’ Design, Co-Owner

Orchids are not hard to grow, yet many gardeners become frustrated when they won’t flower again. Is it the type of orchid or is it the fertilizer, potting mix, the amount of water or light that is to blame? Cynthia Gillooly will share her vast experience growing orchids to help dispel your confusion so you, too, can grow outstanding orchids at home.

Registration: The talk is free but registration is required. Please click on the link below to register. If you encounter problems registering or if you have questions, call 828-255-5522.

Zoom seminar access: After registration, you will receive an email with instructions and a link to join this online live broadcast via Zoom. The ability to access Zoom through a computer, tablet or smartphone with a reliable internet connection is necessary to attend.

Students will receive a solid foundation in beginner Ukulele skills for vocalists. Chords, Rhythm patterns, and basic theory will be introduced through songs with an uplifting message. Students will also learn to play the song that the Songwriting Class will be writing and get to record it in the One Mic Studio.

Queer Music Exploration – Students will explore guitar, bass, drums, singing and piano with a focus on learning music by artists from the LGBTQ+ community. Students will have the chance to interact with their peers and share their experiences through music.

The signature event is sure to delight guests once again with a live symphony orchestra playing classical pieces to the choreographed movements of extraordinarily gifted dressage riders and their Grand Prix horses.

This year, Brooke USA inaugurates its own musical ensemble, the Dorothy Brooke Orchestra, dedicated to promoting the welfare of working horses, donkeys and mules and the people they serve across the globe. Named after Dorothy Brooke, the founder of the Brooke family of charities, the orchestra, directed by Kyle Elgarten, Assistant Conductor for the Palm Beach Symphony, is comprised of leading musicians from North and South Carolina.

“The experience of live orchestral music with musical freestyle dressage is simply captivating and unlike anything else I had ever seen. Last year, I had the privilege of attending the event and fell in love with Divertimentos & Dressage, not to mention that Brooke USA is a charity very close to my heart,” said Sharon Decker, Chair of this year’s Divertimentos & Dressage and President, Carolinas Operations, Tryon Equestrian Partners at Tryon Resort/Tryon International Equestrian Center.

Starting with registration at 6:00 PM, guests will enjoy a pre-performance reception with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Promptly at 7:00 PM, guests will be treated to a one-hour performance. This year for the evening of music and freestyle dressage, individual adult tickets are $90 per person. To purchase individual tickets, a ringside table at $1,150, or to learn more about other sponsorship and ticket opportunities, please visit BrookeUSAevents.org.

Divertimentos & Dressage is an exciting event that supports the life-saving work of Brooke USA. Brooke USA strives to alleviate the suffering of working horses, donkeys and mules, and the people who depend on them for survival in vulnerable communities across the globe. In fact, 100 million working equines support the lives of 600 million of the poorest people on earth. These animals are the backbone of communities and their best means of making a living. Without healthy working horses, donkeys, and mules, they would not be able to put food on their tables, send their children to school or build better futures for themselves and their families.

“Divertimentos & Dressage is a fantastic opportunity for Brooke USA to expand awareness for our organization while providing the community with an exciting and unique event,” stated Sally Frick, Chair of the Brooke USA Foothills Advisory Council, a member of Brooke USA’s Board of Directors, amateur equestrian, and professional flutist. “The event is so successful that Brooke USA has made a commitment to replicating Divertimentos & Dressage in other markets. This last Spring, we held it for the first time in Wellington, FL and it was a resounding success,” added Frick.

About Brooke USA Foundation (Brooke USA): The mission of Brooke USA is to significantly improve the health, welfare and productivity of working horses, donkeys and mules and the people who depend on them for survival worldwide. We are committed to sustainable economic development by reducing poverty, increasing food security, ensuring access to water, providing a means to education, and raising basic standards of living through improved equine health and welfare. We accomplish this by raising funds and responsibly directing them to the areas of greatest need.

Brooke USA strives to alleviate the suffering and vulnerability of developing communities by funding and implementing programs that improve the quality of life and health of working equines and thereby positively impacting their economic sustainability, protecting the planet, ensuring gender equality, and guaranteeing life on land resilience. We want to see healthy, happy people and equines that work in partnership to achieve sustainable local economies.
www.BrookeUSA.org

Brooke USA Foundation’s (Brooke USA) Foothills Regional Advisory Council is thrilled to announce the 4th Annual Divertimentos & Dressage taking place on Thursday, October 19th, at the Tryon International Equestrian Center. The signature event is sure to delight guests once again with a live symphony orchestra playing classical pieces to the choreographed movements of extraordinarily gifted dressage riders and their Grand Prix horses.
This year, Brooke USA inaugurates its own musical ensemble, the Dorothy Brooke Orchestra, dedicated to promoting the welfare of working horses, donkeys and mules and the people they serve across the globe. Named after Dorothy Brooke, the founder of the Brooke family of charities, the orchestra, directed by Kyle Elgarten, Assistant Conductor for the Palm Beach Symphony, is comprised of leading musicians from North and South Carolina.
“The experience of live orchestral music with musical freestyle dressage is simply captivating and unlike anything else I had ever seen. Last year, I had the privilege of attending the event and fell in love with Divertimentos & Dressage, not to mention that Brooke USA is a charity very close to my heart,” said Sharon Decker, Chair of this year’s Divertimentos & Dressage. “I can’t wait for us to announce the riders who will be performing to works of classical composers as well as pop music and jazz compositions. They certainly are some of the leading equestrians in our country and the world,” added Decker.
Starting with registration at 6:00 PM, guests will enjoy a pre-performance reception with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Promptly at 7:00 PM, guests will be treated to a one-hour performance. This year for the evening of music and freestyle dressage, individual adult tickets are $90 per person. To purchase individual tickets, a ringside table at $1,150, or to learn more about other sponsorship and ticket opportunities, please visit BrookeUSAevents.org.
Divertimentos & Dressage is an exciting event that supports the life-saving work of Brooke USA. Brooke USA strives to alleviate the suffering of working horses, donkeys and mules, and the people who depend on them for survival in vulnerable communities across the globe. In fact, 100 million working equines support the lives of 600 million of the poorest people on earth. These animals are the backbone of communities and their best means of making a living. Without healthy working horses, donkeys, and mules, they would not be able to put food on their tables, send their children to school or build better futures for themselves and their families.
“Divertimentos & Dressage is a fantastic opportunity for Brooke USA to expand awareness for our organization while providing the community with an exciting and unique event,” stated Sally Frick, Chair of the Brooke USA Foothills Advisory Council, a member of Brooke USA’s Board of Directors, amateur equestrian, and professional flutist. “The event is so successful that Brooke USA has made a commitment to replicating Divertimentos & Dressage in other markets. This last Spring, we held it for the first time in Wellington, FL and it was a resounding success,” added Frick.
About Brooke USA Foundation (Brooke USA): The mission of Brooke USA is to significantly improve the health, welfare and productivity of working horses, donkeys and mules and the people who depend on them for survival worldwide. We are committed to sustainable economic development by reducing poverty, increasing food security, ensuring access to water, providing a means to education, and raising basic standards of living through improved equine health and welfare. We accomplish this by raising funds and responsibly directing them to the areas of greatest need.
Brooke USA strives to alleviate the suffering and vulnerability of developing communities by funding and implementing programs that improve the quality of life and health of working equines and thereby positively impacting their economic sustainability, protecting the planet, ensuring gender equality, and guaranteeing life on land resilience. We want to see healthy, happy people and equines that work in partnership to achieve sustainable local economies.
www.BrookeUSA.org

Support:
Daily Bread
Dreamers Delight

Ages 18+