Calendar of Events

The Asheville Art Museum is excited to be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year! Over the past seven and a half decades, the Museum has served as the hub for artistic inspiration and education in Western North Carolina, bringing together artists and art enthusiasts from all walks of life.

As we approach the holiday season, we reflect upon the transformative power of art and the indelible impact it has on the young minds that visit the Museum. This year, we are especially grateful for the enriching experiences made possible by the Museum, experiences that extend far beyond the confines of our walls and into the hearts and minds of future generations.

Imagine the excitement of a 10th-grade class stepping through the Museum doors, wide-eyed and curious, ready to embark on a journey of artistic discovery. Your support of the Annual Fund has played a pivotal role in shaping these moments of inspiration, allowing us to provide an immersive and educational environment that fosters creativity.

During their recent visit, students were transported into the vibrant world of art, exploring diverse exhibitions that span decades and cultures. The Museum’s thoughtfully curated exhibitions became a canvas for their imagination. Witnessing the awe in their eyes as they encountered the beauty of creativity was a testament to the lasting impact of your generosity.

The following message was forwarded to the Museum’s Learning and Engagement department by Jennifer Riels, an educator and parent. “Our class of 10th grade students came to the Museum on Monday, October 30. It was wonderful. I can’t remember the name of the man who led our tour, but he did a phenomenal job asking questions and connecting the art to math. We enjoyed our visit and are grateful for the opportunity that the Asheville Art Museum provided our students!”

Your continued support and dedication not only facilitates these eye-opening field trips but makes it possible for the Museum to expand its educational outreach programs. Through your contribution, we can continue to inspire the next generation of artists, thinkers, and visionaries.

In the spirit of gratitude, we invite you to donate to our Fall Annual Fund. Your support ensures that we can continue to provide transformative experiences, empowering students to think critically, express themselves creatively, and develop a lifelong appreciation for the arts.

Your support is not just an investment in the Asheville Art Museum; it is an investment in the cultural enrichment of our community and the development of young minds. Together, we can continue to create moments of inspiration that resonate for a lifetime. Make your gift today by clicking the DONATE NOW button, visiting www.ashevilleart.org/donate or calling 828.253.3227 x114.

Asheville Outlets will again host the Venardos Circus, a Broadway-style animal-free circus, with its all-new “Let’s Build a Dream” Tour from November 2-19, 2023. This season the wondrous Venardos Circus cast will take audiences on a journey under the big top as it unveils a fresh, magical, and all-new experience for fans. The show features an original score, amazing performers, stunning lighting, and dazzling costumes. The 2023 Venardos Circus is traveling with a new, custom-crafted, Italian-made red-and-white striped tent that offers expanded seating around a central stage for an immersive experience.

Additionally, Venardos Circus will host a special Sensory Friendly Performance on Saturday, November 4 at 11am. General Admission tickets start at $16.95 for youth under age 12 and $27.95 for adults. For schedules and more information, please visit VenardosCircus.com or ShopAshevilleOutlets.com.

Buncombe County Special Collections is excited to announce a call for proposals for the third year of its creative residency program.

This is an annual opportunity for artists in Buncombe County to create new, research-driven creative work using BCSC’s historic resources as source material and/or inspiration, and to present their work in the Carolina Record Shop, a dedicated exhibition space in the BCSC reading room. Artists age 18 and up, based in Buncombe County, working in any creative discipline are invited to apply.

Buncombe County Special Collections is looking for projects that will:

• Offer new, diverse perspectives on our shared history
• Identify and address gaps and/or amplify narratives that are historically underrepresented in the collection
• Educate and inspire non-traditional users of archives and special collections to engage with the collection in new ways.

More information (including the PDF of the call for proposals) is available at here. The 2024 Creative Residency is made possible in part by the Trust Fund for Buncombe County Public Libraries.

You can also visit Buncombe County Special Collections in the lower level of Pack Memorial to view the current exhibition in the Carolina Record Shop, “Belonging & Non-Belonging: The History and Future of Zines in Western North Carolina,” curated by 2023 resident Miles Lamberson.

Food Scraps Drop Off

The City of Asheville, in partnership with Buncombe County and the Natural Resources Defense Council, is offering a FREE Food Scrap Drop-Off program in two locations for all Buncombe County residents.  This organic matter will be collected and turned into good clean compost, keeping it OUT of our landfill and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Register for Food Scraps Drop Off

Need a handy kitchen countertop food scrap bin?  Let us know on the registration form! We’ll be having bin giveaways at city and county facilities and would love to give you one.

Locations

Murphy Oakley Community Center and Library – “Food Scrap Bin Shelters” on the east side of the parking lot

749 Fairview Road, Asheville

• • Dawn – Dusk

Stephens-Lee Recreation Center “Food Scrap Shed” next to the Community Garden on the North side of the parking lot

30 Washington Carver Avenue, Asheville

• • Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.
  • Saturday, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
  • Sunday, 12 – 4 p.m.

West Asheville Library – “Food Scrap Bin Shelters” on the south side of the building

942 Haywood Road, Asheville

• • Library open hours
  • Buncombe County Landfill – Convenience Center

    85 Panther Branch Road, Alexander

    • • Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
      • Saturday, 8 a.m. – 12:30 pm

Did you know you could take a course in the Cherokee language for free with your library card?

Buncombe County Public Libraries offers access to Transparent Languages for online language instruction from home computers, laptops and mobile devices. To log in, your ID is your library card number and your PIN is the last four digits of your phone number.

Transparent Languages partners with 7,000 Languages, a nonprofit organization working to empower communities around the world to sustain their endangered languages. As a result of this collaboration, the library can offer free instructional courses for over 25 indigenous languages, including Cherokee.

Cherokee is spoken by about 2,000 people mainly in Western North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. 7,000 Languages partnered with the Cherokee PINS Project Foundation to create two beginner Cherokee courses. The Cherokee Alphabet Course teaches the shapes, names, and pronunciation of the Cherokee syllabary. The Cherokee Beginner Course introduces learners to a common, practical language that they can hear, write, and speak throughout the course. Language learners can practice their listening and speaking skills with voice recognition software guided by native speakers.

Both of these courses, along with hundreds of other language courses, are available free with your library card. If you have any questions, let us know.

The London Raffle is limited to just 250 tickets, giving you great odds to win a travel package value up to $9,000, including flights, hotel stays, and $500 to experience the sights and sounds of London. This raffle ends December 31, 2023 or when tickets sell out.

The London Raffle prize includes:

• Two (2) round-trip from Charlotte – Non-stop on British Airways Economy Plus
•  Transfers to and from the airport to your hotel
• Accommodations for Five (5) nights at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, in a Superior
  Double with Breakfast daily
• Up to $500 to spend on guided tours or additional theatre tickets
• Personal consultation with Foothills Travel to customize your trip
• On-site concierge provided through MyBucketListEvents

The winner of the Asheville Community Theatre London Raffle will work with David Lloyd of Foothills Travel to customize their London adventure.

It’s November again and that can only mean one thing: National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)!

NaNoWriMo began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel during the thirty days of November.  Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand-new novel.

If you are doing NaNoWriMo this year, the Buncombe County Public Libraries are here to help! Several branches will be hosting “Write-ins” throughout the month of November, offering quiet spaces for writers to come chip away at their word count. Each Write-in will have its own unique spin (snacks, ambient music, writing prompts, local author hosts, etc.), so please check the library event calendar for specific details.

In addition to the Write-Ins, a NaNoWriMo Wrap Party will be held at rEvolve Mercantile on Wednesday, December 6th from 6pm – 8pm. All NaNoWriMo participants are invited to join us for food, activities, prize raffles , and “micro mic” readings that will give each writer a chance to share a paragraph or two from their novel.

Any questions? Let us know.

OGS is looking for energetic, passionate people to:

• Build community networks
• Act as change catalysts in the community
• Serve as ambassadors for organic growing & Organic Growers School

As a member of our Board of Directors!

OGS’s mission is to inspire, educate, and support people to farm, garden, and live organically through hands-on training, workshops, conferences, and partnerships. OGS is the premier provider of practical and affordable organic education in the Southern Appalachians, building a vibrant food and farming community by boosting the success of our region’s organic home growers and farmers.

The board of directors plays a critical role in the Organic Growers School. Board members are involved in program and policy oversight, financial management, strategic direction, and fundraising.

Do you…

Live or work in Western NC, Upstate SC, Northern GA, Eastern TN, or Southwest VA?

Have experience in one or more of the following areas?

• Board development
• Business/Finance
• Fundraising
• Human resources
• Strategic Planning
• Organic/Sustainable Farming or Gardening
• Social Justice

If you believe in the value of organic growing and want to be part of OGS’s change agenda, we have a chair for you at our boardroom table!

We encourage Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to apply. However you identify and whatever background you bring with you, if you find alignment and excitement in what OGS is doing in the world, join us and help us build an organization where we’re all proud to belong.

If you are interested in joining our board, please fill out and submit the form linked below. We’re looking forward to meeting you!

If you have any questions about serving on the board or Organic Growers School, please don’t hesitate to call or email Cameron Farlow at 828-338-9465 or E: [email protected].

A Helping of Graditude River lovers are encouraged to support RiverLink and other community nonprofits through Give!Local, the annual philanthropy program organized by MountainXpress. The first 10 donors of $100 or more to RiverLink will be entered into a drawing for a kayak tour on the French Broad River with Renee Fortner, RiverLink’s expert water resources manager. First Bank is waiving transaction fees, so 100 percent of your donation goes to the nonprofits you select. Participate in Give!Local RiverLink deeply appreciates the contributions this community makes directly to the organization — whether as gifts of stock, required IRA distributions, donor-advised funds, donations made in memory of others, and all the ways you give. Please reach out to Susan Andrew at [email protected] for assistance with any of these giving modes. And anyone can use the handy Donate button at the bottom of our newsletters. Thank you! Sincere gratitude to RiverLink’s recent business supporters — we are honored by your contributions: Astral Bottle Riot Burial Beer Co. Cedar Rock Adventures Curtis Wright Outfitters East Fork Pottery Edgewater Resources Ferguson Waterworks Fresh Market Hellbender Paddleboards High Five Coffee Preserving a Picturesque America Whole Foods Wrong Way River Lodge & Cabins

Daily | November 17-January 1

Load up your vehicle with friends and family and take a cruise through the fan-favorite Shadrack’s Christmas Wonderland Drive-Thru Light Show! Featuring hundreds of thousands of dazzling lights dancing to the tune of holiday classics on your car radio, this immersive experience has become a holiday tradition for many. Tickets are per carload, available online or at the gate.

Registration is ongoing through the year. Get new updates and access all previous entries in a convenient online library.

The Curator’s Journal by Bonsai Curator Arthur Joura is a year-long course offering the ultimate insider’s view of bonsai at The North Carolina Arboretum. Regular entries chronicle growing an art and growing an enterprise. Some journal entries will be long and others more brief; some will be mostly words and others mostly pictures; some will be close-up studies of detail and others will step back to take in the wider scene. The path will not be linear, but all the entries will be steps along a journey.

You’re invited to come along.

SURPRISE – we’re also having a tree sale to clear out inventory that has gotten too large to be stored in the hoop houses over winter. These are species not typically given away at our adoption events, so here is your chance to add something unique to your home or business.