Get the Early Registration Discount!

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, in cooperation with the I.R.S, N.C. Dept. of Revenue, Buncombe County Library System and Council on Aging, Inc. will again offer free tax Preparations for low and moderate income taxpayers, with special attention to those age 60 and older. Both Federal and N.C. State tax returns will be electronically filed for safe and accurate preparation with faster refunds.

This service will be available from Feb. 1-April 15, at sites listed below. Please note that some locations have different start dates as several libraries will be hosting early voting for the Presidential primaries in February.

Tax help for Weaverville will be held at the Brookstone Baptist Church and tax help for West Asheville will be held at the West Asheville Presbyterian Church. All tax help locations can be found at irs.gov.

The 27th Annual Spring Conference—for farmers, gardeners, homesteaders, and sustainability seekers—is hosted by Organic Growers School (OGS), an Asheville-based non-profit organization. The conference takes place Friday–Sunday, March 6–8, 2020. The weekend event takes place at Mars Hill University in Mars Hill and the pre-conference events are in Buncombe and Henderson Counties.

Cost for  the pre-conference workshops are $60 with conference registration (Saturday, Sunday, or both) and $75 without. Cost for the weekend conference if registered by January 31, 2020 is $65 for Saturday and $80 for Sunday with the full weekend for $110.  For registration  after January 31, the cost of Saturday is $80, Sunday is $70 and the full weekend is $140.

The Spring Conference offers practical, region-specific workshops on farming, gardening, permaculture, urban growing, and rural living and includes a trade show, a seed exchange, special guest speakers, and a Saturday evening social.

More than 150 classes—both 90-minute sessions and half-day workshops—are offered on Saturday and Sunday in 17 learning tracks:

1. Community Food

2. Cooking

3. Earth Skills

4. Farmers: Beginning

5. Farmers: Experienced

6. Gardening: Beginning

7. Gardening: Experienced

8. Herbs

9. Homesteading

10. Livestock

11. Mushrooms

12. Permaculture

13. Poultry

14. Soils

15. Sustainable Forestry

16. Sustainable Living

17. Thinking Big

This one-of-a-kind event brings people of all walks of life together for a weekend of learning, inspiration, and networking and features a host of local and regional experts. The mission of the Spring Conference is to provide down-to-earth advice on growing and sustainable living while remaining affordable and accessible. The Spring Conference is the largest locally run sustainability conference in the Southeast and is proudly focused on regionally appropriate growing methods.

Three full-day, on-farm, pre-conference workshops with special guest instructors are available on Friday, March 6, 2020 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. They are:

1. Mushroom Cultivation at the Farm & Home with William Padilla-Brown & Leif Olson at Creekside Farms Education Center in Arden, NC.

2. Healing Our Soils through Compost, and Compost Tea: Safe & Natural Fertilizers with Troy Hinke at Living Web Farms in Mills River, NC

3. Chickens & You: From Egg to Table with Pat Foreman & Meagan Coneybeer at Franny’s Farm in Leicester, NC.

The conference will also host an evening lecture on Friday, March 6, 2020 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with Leah Penniman entitled, Farming While Black: African Diasporic Wisdom for Farming & Food Justice. The location for this event is the Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Center, 285 Livingston St, Asheville, NC 28801.

The Spring Conference features a trade show on Saturday and Sunday that showcases a wide array of exhibitors and products from local farms, gardening suppliers, and cottage industries that specialize in organic products and resources. Also featured on Saturday and Sunday is the annual Seed and Plant Exchange booth which offers the opportunity to preserve genetic diversity and protect regionally adapted varieties. Attendees may bring excess seeds and small plants to share, barter, or trade.

For more information, visit the website at https://organicgrowersschool.org/conferences/spring/ and see the entire weekend schedule at https://organicgrowersschool.org/conferences/spring/schedule/.

Get the Early Registration Discount!

We are dedicated to promoting health equity and reducing the disparity in diabetes outcomes that disproportionately affect the Black community in Buncombe County. 

If you have type 2 diabetes or are at risk the YWCA offers a life-changing journey!

What are the benefits? 

• Weekly educational support groups
• Membership to the YWCA Fitness and Aquatic Center
• Consultations with a pharmacist

We will explore important topics such as:

• Monitoring blood glucose (sugar)
• Engaging in physical activity
• Making healthy food choices, planning meals and controlling portion size
• Knowing your medications
• Understanding complications associated with diabetes
• Managing stress and social situations
• Setting goals and problem solving

All of this is offered to you for an affordable, sliding scale, monthly fee!
For more information or to sign up, call Leah Berger-Singer at (828)254-7206 x 212

We are dedicated to promoting health equity and reducing the disparity in diabetes outcomes that disproportionately affect the Black community in Buncombe County. 

If you have type 2 diabetes or are at risk the YWCA offers a life-changing journey!

What are the benefits? 

• Weekly educational support groups
• Membership to the YWCA Fitness and Aquatic Center
• Consultations with a pharmacist

We will explore important topics such as:

• Monitoring blood glucose (sugar)
• Engaging in physical activity
• Making healthy food choices, planning meals and controlling portion size
• Knowing your medications
• Understanding complications associated with diabetes
• Managing stress and social situations
• Setting goals and problem solving

All of this is offered to you for an affordable, sliding scale, monthly fee!
For more information or to sign up, call Leah Berger-Singer at (828)254-7206 x 212

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, in cooperation with the I.R.S, N.C. Dept. of Revenue, Buncombe County Library System and Council on Aging, Inc. will again offer free tax Preparations for low and moderate income taxpayers, with special attention to those age 60 and older. Both Federal and N.C. State tax returns will be electronically filed for safe and accurate preparation with faster refunds.

This service will be available from Feb. 1-April 15, at sites listed below. Please note that some locations have different start dates as several libraries will be hosting early voting for the Presidential primaries in February.

Tax help for Weaverville will be held at the Brookstone Baptist Church and tax help for West Asheville will be held at the West Asheville Presbyterian Church. All tax help locations can be found at irs.gov.

Each spring, hundreds of locals 50+ years-old enjoy participating in the Asheville-Buncombe Senior Games and Silver Arts. This year’s program will be held at locations throughout Buncombe County from Tuesday, April 14-Friday, May 15. Registration is $5 before March 9 or $10 after that date. Military veterans may register for free.

To register, fill out a registration form (see documents below) or register online at ncseniorgames.org. Archery and pickleball have registration deadline dates.

Sports include basketball, bocce, croquet, football throw, softball throw, golf, cycling, track and field, archery, cheerleading, bowling, swimming, billiards, badminton, cornhole, horseshoes, pickleball, racquetball, shuffleboard, tennis, and table tennis. Miniature golf, rowing, and team softball and basketball are new this year. Age categories start at 50 and increase at five year intervals.

Silver Arts categories are classified as Heritage (quilting, woodwork, crochet, basket weaving, jewelry, needlework, tole painting, weaving, knitting, pottery, stained glass, woodcarving, and woodturning), Visual (solo, small group, and large group), Performing, Literary (poem, short story, essay, and life experience), and Contemporary. Art pieces will be displayed at Buncombe County Libraries in April and May.

A full schedule can be accessed below as a PDF.

Follow Buncombe County Recreation on Facebook and Instagram.

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, in cooperation with the I.R.S, N.C. Dept. of Revenue, Buncombe County Library System and Council on Aging, Inc. will again offer free tax Preparations for low and moderate income taxpayers, with special attention to those age 60 and older. Both Federal and N.C. State tax returns will be electronically filed for safe and accurate preparation with faster refunds.

This service will be available from Feb. 1-April 15, at sites listed below. Please note that some locations have different start dates as several libraries will be hosting early voting for the Presidential primaries in February.

Tax help for Weaverville will be held at the Brookstone Baptist Church and tax help for West Asheville will be held at the West Asheville Presbyterian Church. All tax help locations can be found at irs.gov.