#AvlQuaranclean   1) AGW Office @ 2 Sulphur Spring Road 2) AGW Office @ 318 Riverside Drive 3) The HOP @ 640 Merrimon Ave #103 4) Sutton / Dezio Law @ 70 Mt Pisgah Hwy (on their back porch) 5) Buncombe County Sports Park Entrance @ 58 Apac Drive Our cleanup events may have been canceled, but there’s still trash to collect as part of Avl Quaranclean! Our Cleanup Supply Stations have been filled and supplies are ready for pick up if you find yourself wanting to get out of the house & motivated to improve our community. Each station has been filled with supply packs— in one roll you will find: 2 trash bags, 1 safety vest and 1 pair of gloves. There are further instructions at each station. Make sure to post videos and pictures and tag #AvlQuaranclean so that we can all see the incredible job you’re doing. And, as always, please stay safe and healthy.

While staying at home and practicing safe social distancing are the best courses of action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, it doesn’t mean we have to miss out on cultural landmarks around the world. Thanks to the Google Arts & Culture Project, from New York City’s Museum of Modern Art, to Rijks Museum in Amsterdam, here are 6 museums you can tour right now from home.

MoMA, New York

The first museum founded to showcase modern art, The Museum of Modern Art in New York has been doing just that for more than 90 years. From Picasso to Van Gogh, the MoMA is home to incredible pieces of history from the world of contemporary art.

Museo Frida Kahlo, Mexico City

Tour La Casa Azul, the former home of world-renowned artist Frida Kahlo – and current home to the museum honoring her life and legacy. Visible here are not only works from Kahlo, but also numerous personal belongings including her clothing and a body cast she famously painted while ill.

Musée d’Orsay, Paris

On display at the Musée d’Orsay, you’ll discover famous works from French artists who lived and worked between 1848 and 1914. Paintings by Monet, Gauguin, and Cézanne – among others – are featured on this Parisienne art tour.

La Galleria Nazionale, Rome

With just about 500 of its approximately 20,000 artworks digitized for this virtual tour, La Galleria Nazionale in Rome features everything from antiquities to seminal pieces representing the Futurist and Surrealist art movements.

Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe

Honoring one of America’s preeminent artists, the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum settled in the same New Mexican desert she once called home. It is dedicated to enriching visitors in the incredible legacy left by the late artist with its collection of her paintings; of which 30 can be viewed online.

Rijks Museum, Amsterdam

One of the more thoroughly digitized experiences is Rijks Museum in Amsterdam. With over 145,000 works available to view virtually, enjoy incredible works from artists like Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Verspronck, to name a few.

Additional Funding on the Horizon for the Paycheck Protection Program A second stimulus package has passed the Senate. This package is expected to pass the House on Thursday (today) and be signed by President Trump. This bill would provide an additional $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program with $60 billion of that money reserved for smaller businesses without existing banking relationships. Also an additional $60 billion ($50 billion in loans and $10 billion in grants) would be designated for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) fund, administered by the Small Business Administration. Small Businesses can review guidelines for the two programs and prepare information to apply when the bill is passed View Information on the PPP Provided by the NC Chamber of Commerce Information from the SBA on EIDLs

Grants will help farmers quickly respond to added costs caused by COVID-19

ASAP has established a new grant program for farmers experiencing lost income and added expenses due to COVID-19. Farmers are facing unexpected costs in reaching new sales outlets with the closure of restaurants and reduction or cancellation of farmers markets. In response, ASAP has raised funds and initiated the Appalachian Grown Farmer Immediate Needs Grants, which will provide quick and much-needed support. Farmers who sell locally may apply at asapconnections.org for grants of up to $500.

“For many farmers, this is a critical time,” said ASAP’s Executive Director Charlie Jackson. “Farms have crops in the ground and no place to sell. This is make or break time for many of them.”

Restrictions implemented to slow the spread of COVID-19 have caused major disruptions for farmers. ASAP estimates that $16 million in restaurant and farmers market sales is impacted by the public health restrictions in WNC alone. Farms in the Appalachian Grown region served by ASAP are rapidly pivoting business plans and processes to adapt to the new market environment. Moving quickly is paramount, as farms have perishable products and limited alternatives for sales. Many farms have immediate needs where modest investments, such as updating technology to allow for online sales or purchasing essential packaging materials, will allow them to meet new market requirements.

“Farmers are resilient and creative and with some help they will figure out how to get what they grow to the people who want to eat it,” said Jackson. “We all depend on farms and they need us too. An investment in our farmers is an investment in our community.”

Priority will be given to farmers who 1) face a significant loss or disruption of market outlets due to COVID-19, 2) depend on the farm business for more than fifty percent of their household income, and 3) plan to use funds to help shift their farm business to new models or adjust to new market requirements. Nonprofits are not eligible to apply at this time.

Support for the Appalachian Grown Farmer Immediate Needs Grants comes from the Appalachian Grown Farmer Relief Fund. Donations to the fund may be made at asapconnections.org.

ASAP has launched the Appalachian Grown Farmer Relief Fund to
strategically address the emergency needs of farms during COVID-19 disruptions. Funds will be used for public health preparedness grants to farmers markets, to subsidize essential farm product packaging, and to purchase unsold food for donation to hunger programs. Donations to the Appalachian Grown Farmer Relief Fund can be made online at asapconnections.org or by mail or phone.

We are always looking for ways to better serve Buncombe County. For this reason we are rolling out a new program to protect our residents and their property in the most effective way possible. Community Connect is a free, secure, and easy to use platform that allows you to share critical information about your household that will aid first responders and emergency response personnel when responding to your residence. By providing information about your household that you feel is important for us to know about at the time of an emergency, we can ensure you and everything you care about is protected to the best of our ability.

http://www.classicalpublicradio.org/series/openair-brevard-2019?utm_source=Brevard+Music+Center&utm_campaign=87c60ff5e2-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_1_31_2018_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b154873bc5-87c60ff5e2-131688489

Open Air Brevard Radio

If you are reading this, you are most likely a landowner in western North Carolina who is concerned about the future of your land along the French Broad River or one of its tributaries. Perhaps you have a farm or cattle ranch that has been in your family for generations, or maybe you recently purchased your second home in an idyllic rural area. Whatever your situation, many North Carolina landowners face the same dilemma: how do you ensure that the land you love looks the way that it does forever?

Conserving Land

Protected Properties

Parks, Greenways & Blueways

https://www.buncombecounty.org/countycenter/news-detail.aspx?id=18543

There is no excuse and never an invitation to rape!

For years, Peace Over Violence has run its Denim Day campaign on a Wednesday in April in honor of Sexual Violence Awareness Month. The campaign was originally triggered by a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court where a rape conviction was overturned because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans she must have helped her rapist remove her jeans, thereby implying consent. The following day, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim. Peace Over Violence developed the Denim Day campaign in response to this case and the activism surrounding it. Since then, wearing jeans on Denim Day has become a symbol of protest against erroneous and destructive attitudes about sexual assault. In this rape prevention education campaign we ask community members, elected officials, businesses and students to make a social statement with their fashion by wearing jeans on this day as a visible means of protest against the misconceptions that surround sexual assault. This year’s Denim Day is April 29, 2020.

East Fork Pottery is hosting a raffle this week to raise funds for Pisgah Legal Services. Folks can purchase $5 raffle tickets to win a pot of the winners’ choosing, wheel-thrown by Alex Matisse.

Five winners will be chosen on Wednesday, April 29^th.  100% of the proceeds go to Pisgah Legal Services.

Pisgah Legal is working hard to prevent evictions, stop domestic violence, help people sign up for health insurance, and much more  – – work that is especially critical during the COVID-9 outbreak.

This raffle can raise a significant amount of support, and we are grateful for it!

https://eastfork.com/products/raffle-ticket-for-pisgah-legal

Join us for #GivingTuesdayNow this May 5, 2020, an international day of charitable giving designed to offset the impacts of COVID-19 on nonprofits. Thanks to a generous donor who will match your gift, you can DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT by (1) joining the team as a first time donor, (2) increasing your annual donation by 25%, or (3) making a gift of any amount if your last gift was made more than one year ago. Watch for more details to come but mark your calendar for Tuesday, May 5 – #GivingTuesdayNow.

Our Vagabond Videos series continued this week featuring Merrill Peiffer, Dennis C. Maulden and Stewart Gregory, Ryah Nixon and Ryan Guerra, Preston Dyar, and former apprentice, Brian Wittenberg. Click the image above to view Ryah and Ryan’s duet of “Somewhere That’s Green.”