Make your holidays merry, bright and a culinary delight with the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association. Before you go out or order in for your special holiday evenings, make sure that your favorite restaurant is open for business! Check the AIR Holiday Hours – a complete list of AIR restaurant’s special holiday hours from Thanksgiving to ringing in the New Year! These will be updated often, so please check in throughout the season! View Holiday Hours here –

Asheville Regional Airport — Art Gallery (Media is invited at any time to visit the display – the Art Gallery is located in the main lobby of the public area of the terminal.) A “magic” TV, in the Art Gallery window, brings passengers special messages (and safety reminders) from Santa and an invitation to come into the gallery to take a selfie. Travelers are able to stand with a virtual Santa who poses for pictures in a “COVID-friendly” way. The holidays look much different this year because of COVID-19, especially during air travel. The airport team wanted to offer some holiday cheer and something unique for its guests. This festive, virtual display is a way to bring a smile to passengers’ faces (behind their masks) to help brighten their travel experience, in a safe and responsible manner. VISUALS: Virtual Santa, asking travelers to pose for a “selfie” Virtual Santa, offering different poses: Masked Santa; Santa in sunglasses; Santa with arms outstretched; Santa posing for a back-to-back photo Travelers interacting with the display

The holidays are a precious time of connection: a time to share joy among friends, family, and community. Where the coronavirus pandemic imposes barriers to physical reunion, music allows us to gather in spirit wherever we are. In October 2020, a small subset of musicians from the Blue Ridge Orchestra spaced out their stands, put on their masks, and gathered at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts to record holiday favorites for a concert that can unite loved ones near and far.

Programmed by John Gordon Ross, this unique concert will feature secular and sacred favorites performed by a variety of musical ensembles: a woodwind quintet, a brass octet, a 13-piece string orchestra, a solo soprano with piano, and a string quartet.

The final recording will be available here from December 11-31!

Buy a brick or granite paver to honor a friend or family member, and make their name a part of the Swannanoa Valley’s geography and history! The pavers will form a mosaic which will show the north and south ridgelines of the Swannanoa Valley and the locations within the Valley which trace the settlement and the evolution of the Valley to the vibrant community it is today.

The Valley in the Alley exhibit is located, fittingly, in the alley owned by the Museum between the Museum and the Dripolator Coffee House, just off West State Street in Black Mountain.

The exhibit is based on the sale of engraved brick pavers, but with an approach distinct from the usual random placement of pavers. Purchasers of all engraved bricks within the alley will have the same opportunity to honor or memorialize friends and recognize special achievements as in other paver programs. However, through the purchase of a variety of special granite pavers, individuals, families and businesses will be owning “a piece of history” by forming the geographic outline of the Valley and locating major points of special interest in the Valley, such as communities, dwellings, or landscape features.

The result will be a mosaic which will show the north and south ridgelines of the Swannanoa Valley, the major geographic features on, and within, the ridgelines and the locations within the Valley which trace the settlement and the evolution of the Valley to the vibrant community it is today.

When the Valley in the Alley is complete, it will be a primer for children, acquainting them with the geography and history of the Swannanoa Valley; it will quickly orient visitors to what they are seeing around them; it will allow generations of families to recall and tell of their place in the Valley’s history; and it will be an aesthetically pleasing walkway, complimenting both the Museum building and Black Mountain’s Historic Downtown. The Museum will also provide permanent seating in the alleyway for use by the community.

Pricing

Regular 4″x8″ brick pavers holding three lines of text are $100. Engraved granite pavers will form the special features of the mosaic. They start at $200 for one 4″x8″ paver with three lines of text and increase in cost and available text depending on the size of paver chosen. Approximately 4,000 pavers make up the Alley, of which nearly 600 will form the outline of the Valley. Along the outline and within the Valley, over 100 sites are available for special recognitions or dedications.

Once the initial cost for acquiring and placing pavers is recovered, all proceeds from the Valley in the Alley purchases will be devoted to completion of the renovation and the operations of the Swannanoa Valley Museum including exhibits, on-and off-site programming, outreach to schools, preservation, and research.

Participants in the Valley in the Alley program will be contributing their own piece of history to our community.
For more information:

Brick Locations

Brevard Music Center Staff Picks From Around the Web

Ella Fitzgerald:
Frosty the Snowman
Enjoy this animated retelling of Frosty the Snowman, sung by the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald.

Spread some mountain magic and holiday cheer with these unique gifts from Asheville’s artisans and makers. Shop from over 50 local vendors or share your love of Asheville by giving the gift of travel this holiday season.

The Museum was closed for nearly six full months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, causing severe losses in revenue. Though we are now open, uncertainty still looms, and it will take a dedicated effort to recover to a position of strength and stability. Thanks to a generous grant from a longtime foundation supporter, the Museum has established the Asheville Art Museum COVID-19 Relief Fund and matching challenge to encourage additional operational support during this difficult year. We invite you to participate in the challenge and help secure the Museum’s future as we work to serve our community through engagement with the arts.

Through December 31, 2020, all Annual Fund donations and upgraded memberships will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $75,000. Give any amount to the Annual Fund, and boost your impact at this critical time with the one-to-one match. You may also join the Masterpiece Society or renew at another upgraded membership level. Any gift in addition to your current renewal will be matched by this fund and will count toward your membership

all donations — up to $200,000 — will be matched by donors

Pisgah Legal Services
is receiving 1,000 calls
per week on average
for assistance.

More than ever, people across Western North Carolina need Pisgah Legal Services: Many have lost their jobs and can no longer pay their rent; others need help securing health insurance. Many are facing increased domestic violence and do not how to safely escape. Others are too scared to seek medical treatment because of their immigration status.

Support Pisgah Legal today and help us provide legal remedies that result in long-term solutions for people struggling in our region during the COVID-19 crisis, and beyond. With early legal intervention, we can keep difficult situations from spiraling out of control and trapping families, seniors, children and other vulnerable people in poverty.

Please join us in the fight so that more people can get back on their feet and we can emerge from this crisis a more just and resilient community.