Voted “Best Place to Learn” by Outside, NOC Paddling School has taught more paddlers than anyone else, with 50 years of experience going into every class. Our commitment to the sport and to providing the best possible instruction has not waivered. So come and let us be your respected and experienced instructor.

Paddling School Course Types

Whitewater Kayaking Instruction

Youth Paddling Programs

Specialty Paddling Programs

Professional Training for Paddlers

Canoe Courses

Bryson City, NC

The addition of preservation grants to our existing efforts in advocacy, technical support, preservation easements, and education, will allow us to reach a new and diverse audience.  This program will allow us to support both large and small projects from downtown Asheville to our rural and under-served communities.

Click here for the Grant Application

We look forward to helping with emergency stabilization projects and restorations of important places, to helping neighborhoods receive designations such as recognition on the National Register of Historic Places and to encouraging and supporting new and unique education and research opportunities.  We want to be surprised and humbled by the projects our community asks us to support!

As our city faces the inevitable challenges of growth, PSABC’s voice and reach must expand.  The important addition of this Preservation Grant Program comes in response to the needs of our community.

*Deadline to apply for the current grant round is Friday August 11th*

Preservation grants from $500 – $5000 will be offered to the public in three categories:

1. Bricks-And-Mortar

Rehabilitation, restoration and repair of structures that are 50 years of age or older

Some examples: Windows and doors • Exterior painting • Porches • Roofs and gutters • Electrical and plumbing • Hardscaping • Foundation • Original exterior or interior details

2. Public Education

Development of educational materials and programs that advance knowledge of our shared history

Some examples: Research and documentation • Oral histories • Installations specific to buildings, place history, and culture • Exhibitions • K–12 educational publications • Seminars and lectures • Documentary films

3. Planning, Survey and Designation

Planning and design for building rehabilitation and restoration projects, historic resource surveys and local or national designations

Some examples: Historic building condition reports • Engineering and rehabilitation plans • Feasibility studies • Historic resource surveys • Updates of previous surveys • Local and national historic designations

Read about our past winners here!

Apply for a Grant Today! We are currently accepting preservation grant applications! Grants from $500 – $5000 will be offered to the public in three categories: 1. Bricks-And-Mortar Rehabilitation, restoration and repair of structures that are 50 years of age or older 2. Public Education Development of educational materials and programs that advance knowledge of our shared history   3. Planning, Survey and Designation Planning and design for building rehabilitation and restoration projects, historic resources surveys and local or national designations Click here for application & more info (Deadline is Friday August 11th) Read about past winners here!

Tracey Morgan Gallery is pleased to present Snapshot, an exhibition of new work by artist Rachel Meginnes. This is Meginnes’ second exhibition with the gallery.

A reception for the artist will be held Friday, July 21 from 6-8PM.

Snapshot is a collection of deconstructed quilts and discarded textiles woven on a digital loom, utilizing images sourced from Meginnes’ surrounding environment. From graffiti-covered surfaces on Mission Street in San Francisco where she used to live, to her now neighbor’s yard art in North Carolina, Meginnes transforms casually collected photographs into boldly colorful and highly textured abstract weavings. The works are part archive, part portal – her unique interpretation of the world around her.

Rachel Meginnes began working in deconstructed textiles in 2004, a process she continued to hone during a three-year artist residency at Penland School of Craft in North Carolina (2012-2015). Using old quilts as her base material, she both honors the tradition of quilting, while maintaining a dialog with makers of the past, through a contemporary lens. Says Meginnes, “There’s so much history in a quilt, from the materials used to make the quilt to the patterns chosen, to the wear and tear embedded in the object over time.”

Her recent work focuses on the reuse of quilts alongside additional unwearable textiles donated to her by Circular Triangle, a flagship organization in the Triangle region of North Carolina that accelerates a just transition to a circular economy. While this new work utilizes a digital loom, the process is still done by hand, in the manner of traditional rag weaving. These pieces strike a harmonious balance between craft and fine art, embracing a strong color palette and an energetic use of line.

Rachel Meginnes received a BA in Art from Earlham College in 1999 and an MFA in Fibers from the University of Washington, Seattle in 2005, spending two years studying traditional Japanese textile processes in Morioka, Ja-pan. In 2012, she was awarded a three-year residency at Penland School of Craft. Her artwork has been exhibited nationally and internationally and can be found in the collections of the United States Art in Embassies Program in Amman, Jordan, the University of Arkansas, the Cameron Art Museum, and others. She lives and works near Bakersville, NC.

One of our newest Events is the Smoky Mountain Beer Run! A specialty train excursion featuring 2 samples of local craft beer on-board and a final sample when we stop off at the layover, at Innovation Station in Dillsboro, NC.

Every ‘Beer Run’ has a fun theme to help get into the party mood but also makes every run unique and one of a kind. With Craft Beer and a Themed menu to match, you’ll be treated and transported as we cruise through the Smoky Mountains while enjoying a night in ‘Beer Country.’

Hop aboard our very own Hot Steam Time Machine and get ready for a blast from the past as we party like it’s 1989. Come dressed to impress and ready to drink some beer! Mullets and Shoulder pads are welcome.

Founded in 1991, we are Warren Wilson College’s educational program of summer folk arts workshops held on our campus in the Swannanoa Valley near Asheville in the heart of North Carolina’s beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.

Each year, we offer a variety of week-long programs in various forms of folk music and dance over a five-week period in July and August, taught by some of the finest folk artists and instructors in the world.

We invite you to join us.

This month-long Celtic music festival takes place on the campus of Warren Wilson College. The festival’s workshops and public performances are joyous celebrations of Scots-Irish music and dance and the many musical forms they have inspired. Check website for programs, location, dates and time.

July 9-15: Celtic Week

July 16-22: Old-Time Week

July 23-29: Contemporary Folk Week

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.

Tickets for our Time Traveling Gala on Saturday September 30th are going on sale next week! Tickets will go fast, so if you want to make sure you’re on the guest list please consider sponsoring this event by reaching out to Jamie at [email protected]. PSABC Members – $175 on sale Tues. July 18th Non-Members – $200 on sale Tues. July 25th

 On September 30^th, the Time Traveling Gala is back –

and it’s bigger and better than ever before!

You are invited to travel with us to the Enchanted (Biltmore) Forest.  Guests in groups of 100 will tour three historic homes and be treated to live music, delicious food and libations.  At our final stop of the evening, all 300 guests will come together and party the night away!

Buy your tickets and sponsorships here!

Join us and have fun while showing your commitment to keeping Asheville the historic jewel of the mountains. Thank you in advance for your support, dedication and sponsorship of preservation!

The Details:

Sponsors: Your party starts at 6:30 pm with a trolley ride to Raoulwood.  You will be greeted with a glass of bubbly and ample time to explore the gorgeous home and grounds.  From there you will visit the Adams house and then end up at the Sawyer house to party the night away! Trolleys back to your car will run from 10:30 pm to midnight.

Ticket holders:  Your party starts at 7:00 pm with two groups of 100 guests each riding trolleys to Biltmore Forest with hour long stops at our three incredible homes.  Trolleys back to your car will start at 10:30 pm or you will have the option of returning to the Sawyer house to party the night away!

Parking: This year guests will park at Asheville High School.  Plan to arrive at least 15 minutes before your party starts to ensure enough time to park and load onto the trolleys.

Attire: Asheville Formal… which pretty much means anything goes!  Dress for the 1920’s or today!  From business casual to black tie, have fun with it!

This party would not be possible without our amazing sponsors! It’s not too late to get on board, just email Jamie Moody at [email protected] or sign up through the ticket link above. 

Support Students And Families There are three simple ways you can support local students to ensure they’re prepared to enter the classroom in August. Shop Online! Purchase supplies or a fully stocked backpack at Roonga for less than $32. Make a donation and we’ll shop for you: Donate online (follow the prompts in the form below) If making your donation from a mobile phone click HERE Mail your check to: United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County 50 S. French Broad Avenue Ste. 100 Asheville, NC 28801 *Please write 2023 School Supply Drive in the memo. Call our office with your credit card information, 828.239.1153 Host your own virtual drive by creating a team on Roonga and encouraging your coworkers, friends, and family to get involved. Watch this short video tutorial on how to create your own drive. *PLEASE NOTE: To ensure each student receives the same quality supplies, we are not accepting loose supplies. Questions? Contact Audrey Blackburn, 828.239.1123.

Eblen Charities - Transportation Assistance for Western North Carolina Residents for Job Access: Eblen Charities aims to provide transportation assistance to low-income residents to improve job access and economic mobility. They offer gas vouchers ranging from $25 to $50 to help individuals attend job interviews and medical appointments and cover transportation costs until they receive their first paycheck. The organization plans to expand its transportation assistance program by creating an online portal for voucher requests. With this grant, they aim to serve an additional 200 job seekers, increase the voucher amounts to address rising gas prices and double their program budget.