Guests visiting the WNC Nature Center this spring and summer have seen many new animals! Over the past six months, 19 animals representing seven species have been born or brought to the Nature Center.

Come and See

In late April, the WNC Nature Center announced the birth of a large litter of critically endangered red wolf puppies. Six females (Babs, Bonnie, Ruby, Rufina, Sienna, and Toto)and one male (Tony) have grown up in front of guests and visitors and are now almost indistinguishable in size from their parents, Gloria and Oak. The WNC Nature Center anticipates that the red wolf pups will remain in Asheville for the next two years.

On the heels of the red wolf births came two coyote pups, Cal and Walker. They were also born in April and came to the Nature Center in late July from Izzie’s Pond Sanctuary in South Carolina. While Cal and Walker are not biological brothers, they were introduced to each other at a very young age, so they have bonded and will be companions. These coyotes are incredibly shy and are usually spotted by guests behind their open den shelter.

Quickly becoming a guest-favorite, bobcat kitten Tufts joined the Nature Center in early August. He came from the May Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Banner Elk, North Carolina, and was named after Edgar Tufts, the founder of Lees-McRae College. The latest bobcat addition was Kohana in late November, a female bobcat who was found in the wild by the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, she was born around the same time as Tufts, and the two will
be non-breeding companions.

Raccoons Grace and Frankie came to the WNC Nature Center in late September from Appalachian Wildlife Refuge. These kits have acclimated quickly with their curious behaviors and tactile foraging skills.

In our Care

To say the least, animal keepers and the veterinary care team at the WNC Nature Center have been busy keeping up with vaccines and immunizations, introducing the animals to their new habitats, and encouraging behaviors that will help with their care as they grow into adulthood.
“When you visit and see our animals, it’s important to understand why they are here with us,” says Erin Oldread. Animal Curator at the Nature Center. “Sometimes they were born under human care, like our red wolves. Other animals were permanently injured in the wild and need ongoing veterinary care. In the case of our new coyotes, bobcats, and raccoons, they were found to be unreleasable by the sanctuaries who received them. Oftentimes when you are rehabilitating a very young animal and feeding them from a bottle, they very quickly become dependent on and overly comfortable around humans. It can be harmful to them and humans if they were released back into the wild, so the WNC Nature Center is happy to give them a home.”

In the case of WNC Nature Center’s last collection of baby animals, sometimes the Center serves as a holding ground as animals develop and prepare to be released back into the wild. Appalachian Station, the Nature Center’s indoor exhibit for reptiles and amphibians, is currently housing two baby box turtles and two baby snapping turtles, all four of which are overwintering and will be released in spring 2024.

Also joining the WNC Nature Center this year are adult animals, Suli the Black Vulture and Morticia the Turkey Vulture. Suli was born in the wild but came under human care after a wing injury. She came to the Nature Center in late March from the NC Aquarium at Pine Knolls Shores. Morticia arrived from Hershey Park Zoo/Zoo America in October and joined the habitat next to Buzz, the longest living resident at the Nature Center at 33 years, in December.

Great time for a visit

Typically, the WNC Nature Center sees less crowds as Asheville enters the colder weather seasons. However, the animals who call the Nature Center home are generally more active during this time of year, and visitors can enjoy watching all the new additions encounter their first winter in Western North Carolina.

Check out the WNC Nature Center’s holiday gift guide at wildwnc.org/gift-guide to see all the ways you can support the animals who call the Nature Center home, including symbolic adoptions and purchasing items from the Animal Wishlist and Holiday Giving Tree.

About the Friends
The Friends of the WNC Nature Center are a vital partner with the WNC Nature Center. With their donors and members, the Friends enrich the Nature Center’s mission to connect people with the plants and animals of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. As a conservation organization, the Friends inspires a passion to know more, care more, and do more for the wildlife of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. They advance the critical work of the WNC Nature Center by supporting its growth and development through fundraising, membership, outreach education, marketing, and volunteer services.

About the WNC Nature Center
The Nature Center connects people of all ages with the plants and animals of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Asheville’s wildlife park is located on 42 acres and is home to more than 60 species of animals, including red pandas, river otters, black bears, red and gray wolves, and bobcats. For more information, please visit www.wildwnc.org.

Sigal Music Museum’s current special exhibition, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred, highlights items from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, which hails from all over the world. Showing November 2023 – May 2024, Worlds Apart uses a diverse range of historical instruments, objects, and visuals to bring together musical narratives from seemingly disparate parts of the globe.

 

Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred aims to increase public access to historical instruments from around the world and improve visitors’ understanding of musical traditions at the global level. Expanding beyond the typical parameters of the Western musical canon, Worlds Apart seeks to expose audiences to musical instruments and customs that are often overlooked or exotified. The instruments and other exhibit materials will offer visitors new perspectives on global music and a chance to consider how music is used for prayer and leisure in cultures around the world. By celebrating these stories, the museum intends to further its mission to collect and preserve historical musical instruments, objects, and information, which engage and enrich people of all ages through exhibits, performances, and experiential programs.

 

Displaying various objects from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred focuses on international musical instruments and cultures, celebrating rites and traditions with ancient histories and contemporary legacies. Frank Edwinn, a successful basso in the mid-20th century, studied and toured internationally, eventually settling in North Carolina, where he taught music at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Throughout his life, he purchased various objects from around the world, aiming to expose students, and himself, to the wide and wonderful world of musical instruments. This impressive collection occupies a unique position for educating audiences unfamiliar with the vast scope of global music.

And, UNCA’s Ramsey Library Special Collections is now processing the Edwinn’s papers and a few recordings that will be accessible next semester!

TFAC invites all artists: painters, sculptors, writers, performers & more — to a casual weekly drop-in gathering on Saturday mornings at 9 AM to share your works in progress, alert others, and chat about art and what’s happening in your community. The first weekly Coffee is Saturday, August 20 at 9 am. No RSVP needed, just drop by! Free parking available on Melrose Avenue, behind and alongside TFAC.

Images: Left: Minna Wright Citron, Squid Under Pier, 1948, color etching, soft-ground, and engraving on paper, edition 42/50, 15 x 17 7/8 inches, 2010 Collections Circle purchase, Asheville Art Museum. © Estate of Minna Citron/Licensed by VAGA at ARS, New York. Right: Dorothy Dehner, Woman #2, 1954, watercolor and ink on paper, 22 3/4 x 18”, courtesy of Dolan Maxwell.

The Asheville Art Museum is pleased to announce the upcoming exhibition American Art in the Atomic Age: 1940–1960, which explores the groundbreaking contributions of artists who worked at the experimental printmaking studio Atelier 17 in the wake of World War II. Co-curated by Marilyn Laufer and Tom Butler, American Art in the Atomic Age which draws from the holdings of Dolan/Maxwell, the Asheville Art Museum Collection, and private collections will be on view from November 10, 2023–April 29, 2024.

Atelier 17 operated in New York for fifteen years, between 1940 and 1955. The studio’s founder, Stanley William Hayter (1901–1988) established the workshop in Paris but relocated to New York just as the Nazi occupation of Paris began in 1940. Hayter’s new studio attracted European emigrants like André Masson, Yves Tanguy, and Joan Miró, as well as American artists like Dorothy Dehner, Judith Rothschild, and Karl Schrag, allowing for an exchange of artistic ideas and processes between European and American artists.

The Asheville Art Museum will present over 100 works that exemplify the cross-cultural exchange and profound social and political impact of Atelier 17 on American art. Prints made at Atelier 17—including those by Stanley William Hayter, Louise Nevelson, and Perle Fine—will be in conversation with works by European Surrealists who were working at the studio in the 1940s and 1950s. The exhibition will also feature a selection of domestic mid-century objects that exemplify how the ideas and aesthetics of post-war abstraction became a part of everyday life.

Throughout the history of painting from the mid-19th century forward, artists have used an endless variety of approaches to record their world. Beyond the Lens: Photorealist Perspectives on Looking, Seeing, and Painting continues this thread, offering an opportunity to explore a singular and still forceful aspect of American art. Photorealism shares many of the approaches of historical and modernist realism, with a twist. The use of the camera as a basic tool for organizing visual information in advance of painterly expression is now quite common, but Photorealists embraced the camera as the focal point in their creative process. Beyond the Lens presents key works from the collection of Louis K. and Susan Pear Meisel, bringing together paintings and works on paper dating from the 1970s to the present to focus on this profoundly influential art movement. The exhibition includes work by highly acclaimed formative artists of the movement such as Charles Bell, Robert Bechtle, Tom Blackwell, Richard Estes, Audrey Flack, and Ralph Goings as well as paintings by the successive generations of Photorealist artists Anthony Brunelli, Davis Cone, Bertrand Meniel, Rod Penner, and Raphaella Spence. Featured artworks in the exhibition include diverse subject matters, but the primary focus is on the common and every day: urban scenes, “portraits” of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, still life compositions using toys, food, candy wrappers, and salt and pepper shakers. All provide opportunities for virtuoso studies in how light, reflection, and the camera as intermediary shapes our perception of the material world. This multigenerational survey demonstrates how the 35-mm camera, and later technological advances in digital image-making, informed and impacted the painterly gesture. Taken together, the paintings and works on paper in Beyond the Lens show how simply spellbinding these virtuosic works of art can be. “Beyond the Lens offers a fascinating look into the Photorealism movement and delves into the profound connection between the artists’ observation and creative process,” says Pamela L. Myers, Executive Director of Asheville Art Museum. “We are delighted to present this curated collection of artworks encapsulating the creative vision and technical precision that defines this artistic genre.” Photorealism found its roots in the late 1960s in California and New York, coexisting with an explosion of new ideas in art-making that included Conceptual, Pop, Minimalism, Land and Performance Art. At first, representational realism coexisted with the thematic and conceptual explosion but was eventually relegated to the margins regarding critical and curatorial attention. Often misunderstood and sometimes negatively criticized or lampooned as a betrayal of modernism’s commitment to abstraction, the artists involved in Photorealism remained committed explorers of the trail they had blazed. In the decades of the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century, realistic and symbolic painting experienced a renaissance, as contemporary artists are increasingly drawn to narrative and storytelling. Concurrently, using a camera as a preparatory tool equally legitimate and valuable as pencils and pens has made the rubric of Photorealism increasingly relevant. This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and guest curated by Terrie Sultan. This exhibition is sponsored in part by Jim and Julia Calkins Peterson.

What do we do when the world refuses to behave as we expect? Still Life poses several answers to this question through a collection of nonverbal shadow theater vignettes. Filled with dazzling puppets and absurdly-comic surprises, this virtuosic performance has delighted audiences across the country.

Funded in part by the Puppeteers of America Rose Endowment and featured at the National Puppetry Festival, Still Life is a collection of wordless shadow shorts that surprises and delights audiences with visual storytelling!

RUN TIME: 45 MIN
RECOMMENDED AGES: 10 AND ABOVE

Matt Sandbank is a shadow theater artist from Durham, NC. His trademark style features expertly-manipulated, absurdly-comic puppets. His collection of nonverbal vignettes, “Still Life,” was awarded support from the Puppeteers of America Rose Endowment Grant Fund and was named “Best of Fest” at the Frontera Festival in Austin, TX in early 2020. Matt’s work has been featured at the Puppeteers of America National Festival (2019), DLectricity: Detroit’s Nighttime Exhibition of Light and Art (2021), and Ann Arbor Summer Festival (2023), among many other arts and puppetry festivals.

Opening Reception for the Artist Nov. 3, 6-8PM.

Tracey Morgan Gallery is pleased to present A Mirror, Not a Window, an exhibition of new and recent work by artist Hannah Cole. This is Cole’s second solo exhibition with the gallery. A reception for the artist will be held Friday, November 3 from 6-8PM.

This collection of paintings and sculptures continues Cole’s interest in creating, completely by hand, reproductions of small details and objects culled from her everyday life, turning the viewer’s attention to often overlooked aspects of our surrounding environment and reframing the very definition of representational art. With nods to pop art, trompe l’oeil, and modern American painters, Cole poses big questions about the nature of the artist’s hand, and the drive to (re)create.

A grouping of wall sculptures of nearly exact replicas of books which are hand-painted on wood blocks are included in the exhibition. These books are all non-fiction, mostly art related, though now un-readable. Instead of looking to books for answers, these objects force the viewer to provide the substance. The most self-referential of the group is Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation in which the French philosopher talks in dense prose about our culture of signs and signals eventually becoming copies without any originals. In Cole’s tongue-in-cheek nod, her faithful replica of Baudriallard’s philosophical work becomes an art object whose meaning has shifted completely from the original. Cole’s painted wood block cannot be read and has no actual utility at all, except as an object to contemplate.

A recurring element in Cole’s paintings is a hand-rendered tape measure running along the edge of her canvases. By including this common, easily recognizable object, Cole calls to question the “truth” of representation. Can we trust these measurements simply because they have identifiable markings? Other paintings on Styrofoam show painted wood grain edges, subverting the viewer’s expectation of where the painting itself is, and what it’s made of. We expect a painting to be on the outward-facing surface, but what if the faithful representation is painted on the sides?

In this contemporary age of Artificial Intelligence flooding us with copies, reproductions, fakes, and deliberate decep-tions, anxieties regarding authenticity and authorship run high. Cole’s work invites contemplation of these deeply philosophical issues with a playful tone, presenting serious questions by way of common objects.

Hannah Cole studied at Yale University and Boston University. Her work has been exhibited at The Turchin Center for Visual Arts, NC; the Drawing Center, NY; the University of Maine Museum of Art; the Sherman Gallery at Boston University, MA; Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Greenville, NC; and the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, among other national and international institutions. She currently lives and works in Asheville, NC.

DSSOLVR TAP TAKE OVER + HOST
Come join our Mixed Doubles Pickleball Tournament from 11am-4pm
Sign up ashevillesportsclub.com
We will have a gran prize for the winning team. And of course don’t forget about our half court shot!
Courts open at 11 am for warming up and tournament starts at 12!
Please arrive by 11:30 am for check in!
We will be having an Ugly Sweater Dance Party from 7-10pm at the sports club!
Make sure you have the best ugly sweater for our contest!

Kids’ Comedy Tour: Wildly funny, this educational and entertaining tour features the perfect blend of Asheville’s history and kid-centric comedy. Geared specifically toward the 5–12 year old crowd, you’ll explore the town with our famously outlandish tour guides leading the way.

• Perfect for birthday parties
• Makes for memorable school field trips
• Tickets are $27 per person
• Beverages available for purchase at the LaZoom Room
• Departs from 76 Biltmore Avenue

Come enjoy the Canopy Gallery and check out local growers and makers of all things plantie: from rare tropicals to native medicinals, handmade pots and trellises to botanical watercolor paintings, cut flower bouquets to herbal salves and teas….

Pop-up market features 6-10 local plant vendors on the 3rd Saturday of each month. This event is free to attend and vend.

Romare Bearden (Charlotte, NC 1911–1988 New York, NY), African American writer and artist, is renowned for his collages. He constantly experimented with various techniques to achieve his artistic goals throughout his career. This exhibition highlights works on paper and explores his most frequently used mediums, including screen-printing, lithography, hand-colored etching, collagraph, monotype, relief print, photomontage, and collage.

Bearden’s work reflects his improvisational approach to his practice. He considered his process akin to that of jazz and blues composers. Starting with an open mind, he would let an idea evolve spontaneously.

“Romare Bearden: Ways of Working highlights Bearden’s unique artistic practice and masterful storytelling through art,” says Pamela L. Myers, Executive Director of the Asheville Art Museum. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Jerald Melberg Gallery to present these extraordinary works on paper in conversation with Bearden’s collage Sunset Express, 1984 in the Museum Collection (on view in the Museum’s SECU Collection Hall). This exhibition will also provide a glimpse into the cultural histories and personal interests that influenced his art-making practice, and we hope it encourages introspection and dialogue with our visitors.”

Jerald Melberg states, “Romare Bearden’s groundbreaking artistic practice continues to captivate audiences worldwide. With an unparalleled legacy of creativity and innovation, Bearden’s contributions to art remain deeply influential years beyond his life.” We have enjoyed organizing this exhibition with the Asheville Art Museum to showcase his artistic genius and inspire visitors from the Western North Carolina region and beyond.”

This exhibition is made possible in part by the Judy Appleton Fund. Many thanks to the Jerald Melberg Gallery for the loan of these important artworks and to Mary and Jerald Melberg for their long-standing support of the arts, artists, and the Asheville Art Museum.

Tracey Morgan Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of paintings by artist Stella Alesi in our project space. This is Alesi’s first exhibition with the gallery and is presented in conjunction with Hannah Cole: A Mirror, Not a Window in our main gallery space. A reception for both artists will be held Friday, November 3 from 6-8PM.

The works on view are from the SQUISHY series, a group of geometric, abstract oil on oil paper paintings. With the use of simple shapes and a limited color palette, these works explore the visceral experience of living at this current moment. Alesi’s colorful, “squishy” shapes bend to the demands placed on them by their seemingly heavy, unforgiving counterparts. With this work, Alesi confronts contemporary issues such as climate change and political turmoil, as well as personal trials, using basic shapes, both hard and malleable to express a state of being. The shapes are gestural, fluid, and animated – sometimes resembling body parts even in their minimalism. The effect is a playful interpretation of heavy topics – a visual play on the deep and multi-layer well of human emotions.

Stella Alesi works across several styles and mediums, including drawing, painting, photography, collage, and large wall works. Their practice is characterized by a willingness to try new approaches in the ongoing investigation into new materials and visual languages, always exploring new ways to represent the visceral nature of the human experience. Born on Long Island, New York in 1963, Alesi was raised in New Jersey. They studied at Parsons School of Design, New York City; University Hampshire, Durham; and University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Their work has been purchased by many private and commercial collections. Career highlights include a recent solo exhibit (spring of 2023) at the Northern-Southern gallery, Austin, TX and a large-scale permanent installation in the lobby of The Foundry, Austin TX. Alesi currently lives and works in both Austin, TX and Asheville, NC.

Toybox’s (mostly) Monthly Puppetry Series
Presented by Toybox Theatre, with special guest artists
Toybox Theatre, in collaboration with The Magnetic Theatre, presents a new puppetry series for ALL AGES. This new series will feature original works by acclaimed award-winning puppeteer and clown Toybox, and will bring some of the best puppeteers in the nation as special guests!
Toybox Theatre has been entertaining audiences from coast to coast with their unique brand of humor and art for over 20 years! Garnishing many “fan favorite” and “funniest show” awards, Toybox has also received an UNIMA Citation for Excellence in the Art of Puppetry, and funding from The Jim Henson Foundation.
Saturday May 06, 2023 at 11:00am: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=177146
Saturday June 10, 2023 at 11:00am: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=179633
Saturday July 8, 2023 at 11:00am: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=179634
Saturday Aug 19, 2023 at 11:00am: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=179635
Saturday Oct 14, 2023 at 11:00am: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=179637
Saturday Nov 11, 2023 at 11:00am: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=179638
Saturday Dec 16, 2023 at 11:00am: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=179639
PRICING
Adults $20; Children (12 and under) $10
All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Toybox Theatre, in collaboration with The Magnetic Theatre, presents a new puppetry series for ALL AGES. This new series will feature original works by acclaimed award-winning puppeteer and clown Toybox, and will bring some of the best puppeteers in the nation as special guests!

Toybox Theatre has been entertaining audiences from coast to coast with their unique brand of humor and art for over 20 years! Garnishing many “fan favorite” and “funniest show” awards, Toybox has also received an UNIMA Citation for Excellence in the Art of Puppetry, and funding from The Jim Henson Foundation.

This six week course focuses on proper socialization, bite inhibition, house training, manners and much more!

Your goal as a puppy parent is to give your pup the best possible start in life. Puppies learn more between 5 and 12 weeks of age than they will in their entire lifetime! Laying a positive foundation during this time is critical for puppies to grow into behaviorally healthy dogs.

This six week course focuses on proper socialization, bite inhibition, house training, manners and much more! The class is limited to 12 puppies who are 8 to 18 weeks old when the course begins (if your dog is over 18 weeks of age, please sign up for the Canine Manners class).

* All puppies must have started their puppy vaccine series (distemper, parvo and bordetella) at least one week prior to the first class. Owners are expected to commit to continuing this vaccine series during the six week course.

The cost of this course includes six classes, held one hour per week for six weeks from 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM on the following dates: December 16, January 6, 13, 20, 27, & February 3. Scheduled cancellations: December 23 and 30 or unless otherwise stated by trainer.

This class will take place at the Asheville Humane Training Center (800 Fairview Road, Suite C1). Please go to the BACK of the building to enter through the back training center door.

About the trainer:

Pia Silvani is an internationally-recognized dog trainer and lecturer with over 35 years’ experience. As VP of Training and Behavior at St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, NJ, she developed numerous courses focused on positive, reward-based techniques. In 2013, Pia began working for the ASPCA, eventually becoming the Director, Behavioral Rehabilitation where she led programs to educate shelter professionals in effective behavior rehabilitation techniques, as well as specialized socialization, enrichment, and shelter protocols. This cutting-edge program is featured in the award-winning Netflix documentary, “Second Chance Dogs”.

After 6 years at the ASPCA, Pia has decided to re-establish her consulting business here in the Asheville area specializing in rehabilitating fearful and aggressive behaviors in dogs. She is Director of Behavior and Training at Asheville Humane, offers private behavioral consultations in client’s homes as well as teaching classes for Asheville Humane Society.

Pia has been chosen as one of Bark’s 100 picks of the best and brightest people that changed the world of dogs. Her goal has always been to combine her love of dogs with her respect and affection for people. She enriches the lives of both through humane relationship work and training.

For more information on Pia, visit her website: www.piasilvani.com and email her for more information.

oin Carla Funk, curator of the exhibition Counter/Balance: Gifts from John and Robyn Horn, for this month’s Art Break as she leads a gallery talk about the works in the exhibition.

ABOUT THE CURATOR:

Over the past twenty years, Carla Funk has taught college-level courses in Art History and curated numerous exhibitions of contemporary art with a special focus on women artists and global textile arts. She spearheaded efforts to build the first campus art gallery at the Florida Institute of Technology where she was the founding Director of the Center for Textile Arts in 2009 and served as Executive Director and Chief Curator of University Museums from 2011–2020.

Carla received her bachelor’s degree in Art History from New College of Florida, and master’s in Art History and Criticism from Florida State University, with postgraduate studies at Emory University and George Washington University.

Styrofoam collection at Wicked Weed West Hours: Dec 14th and 15th 4-8 Hours: Dec 16th 12-4 Hours: Dec 17th 1-4

FREE | All ages, advance registration required

Good old-fashioned fun with great prizes! Looking for more bingo? Check out additional dates and locations.

Support local + small this holiday season at our 𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕!
We’re decking the halls as you shop housewares, vintage pieces, original art, handmade craft, fair trade imports, and more! Free and open to the public. Dogs are welcome! Vendors are setup inside and outside the showroom and runs rain, snow, or shine. Parking is available behind the showroom.

Lace up your skates, hit the big ice, and enjoy the fun at Bon Secours Wellness Arena! The rink is open for all ages to practice skills, skate for fitness, or just enjoy skating while listening to music and socializing with family and friends.

Tickets include access to the ice during scheduled 2 hour windows. Concessions will be available for purchase. Price of admission includes skate rental and ice walkers based on availability as well as complimentary photos with Santa leading into Christmas.

Helmets and safety gear are recommended for beginner skaters, all sessions are skate at your own risk. For your safety and the safety of others please follow the roles outlined on site at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

PARKING:

Free parking is available in the VIP Lot off of Church Street. Entry to public skating is located in our loading dock below the VIP lot.

TICKETS:

Tickets are $15.00 per person. Price of admission includes skate rental. Credit and Debit Cards Only. NO CASH ACCEPTED. Spectators do not need tickets.

SKATE ROLL & STROLL:

We are excited to bring back two free Skate Roll & Stroll session with accommodations for people of all ages with disabilities on 12/19 & 12/27.

Learn the history of Black Mountain and the Swannanoa Valley on this walking tour! Museum staff will lead attendees through historic State Street, Cherry Street and Black Mountain Avenue, relaying the history of several buildings and discussing topics including the building of the Swannanoa Tunnel and the disastrous downtown fire of 1912.

Location: Attendees will meet at the Swannanoa Valley Museum (223 West State Street, Black Mountain, NC 28711)

Timing: Tours take place once a month on Saturdays, with a break in October, beginning at 1:00pm. Tours last approximately 1.5 hours.

Cost: FREE to museum members with promo code, $10 for general admission (some fees apply). Museum members can email [email protected] to receive their promo code.

ONSITE | Saturday, December 16, 1:30 – 4:30 p.m. | $55* (Arboretum member discount applies!) Pre-registration Required.

Be present in the moment and deepen your connection in nature and in community with this immersive experience set in the Arboretum forest. Certified forest therapy guide Christa Hebal will extend a series of invitations, instructing participants in mindful practices that encourage deepening levels of awareness of inner and surrounding landscapes. Inspired by Shinrin-Yoku, the Japanese art of immersing oneself in a forest environment, a forest bathing walk can invite healing on many levels, starting within and moving outward in the renewed intention to protect where we are in place and on the planet. It is nature as therapy! Presented through Adult & Continuing Education Programs in collaboration with Asheville Wellness Tours.

Pre-register for this small-group experience through the form linked below and staff will  be in touch to finalize registration and payment.