Calendar of Events

Since 2010, the Asheville Area Arts Council, in partnership with the City of Asheville, has convened the Creative Sector Summit– the region’s only creative industry-specific annual conference.

This year’s conference will kick-off on Thursday, April 30th with a Dinner in the Foundry Hotel’s Savoy Ballroom. Guests will be presented with the results of this year’s Creative Sector Survey, hear from the city and county about how they support the arts, and learn from the director of the North Carolina Arts Council about the current state of the arts in NC.

The Summit will take place on May 1st and 2nd at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. Friday will focus more heavily on Creative Placemaking, with a keynote presentation by the leading consulting group in this field Forecast Public Art. On Saturday we will shift to Arts Education with a keynote presentation from Ingenuity, a nonprofit working to increase arts access for all students in Chicago Public Schools. Both themes will be addressed through the lens of Equity and Inclusion. The full conference line-up will be posted in mid-March.

Tickets are on sale now. Member discounts are available.

More details: ashevillearts.com/events/creative-sector-series

We’ll do a two hour hike along one of Warren Wilson’s trail, choosing from among the River Trail, Jones Mountain, Suicide Ridge, Dam Pasture, etc. Trails are easy to moderate, but there are significant stretches that are very strenuous. Trails are not marked well and there are a lot of twists and turns on many trails.

Mountains-to-Sea-Trail hikes are designed for fitness and community among already experienced hikers. We repeat the same trails weekly so that, over time, we enjoy the beauty of each trail. We limit our hikes to two hours because many of us work and have to be somewhere else by 11:15 or so. Thus, it’s not possible to wait for slower hikers. We shuttle, so if someone is slower, the group would have to wait in order to give a ride back to the starting point. Thus, the need to be on the same page with regard to hiking pace.

Hikers who are new to hiking will likely be more comfortable on another meet up hike designed for people who are just beginning hiking or trying to get into shape for hiking. You might consider “WNC Easy Hikers Group,” for instance.

Mountain Gateway Museum & Heritage Center celebrated the opening of its newest traveling exhibit, “Steeped in Time: Tea and Traditions” on Saturday, January 18, 2020. The exhibit will run through the July 4th weekend at MGM, located at 24 Water Street in Old Fort. Admission is free.

Over a dozen retailers and eateries will begin reopening at Asheville Outlets on Saturday, May 9, 2020 including Pandora Jewelry, SKECHERS, Sportsman’s Warehouse, VF Outlet, as well as eateries Acropolis Pizza Café and China Max, among others. Many additional store opening announcements will be made in the coming days.

Asheville Outlets hours will be Monday through Saturday 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Sunday noon to 6:00 p.m. Individual store and eatery hours and openings will vary. Updates will be regularly posted.

Asheville Outlets continues with deep cleaning and enhanced cleaning procedures, especially on frequent touchpoints throughout the center. Shoppers will find information on proper handwashing techniques, information from the CDC on preventive actions, as well as hand sanitizer stations. Social distancing protocols will be followed throughout the center. Individual stores and restaurants will follow guidelines including protocols for employee hygiene, social distancing, enhanced cleaning procedures and more. For the latest information and guidance on safety procedures from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) visit CDC.gov/coronavirus.

Saturday, May 9, 2020 Openings:
Acropolis Pizza Cafe, China Max, Beef Jerky Outlet, Dreammaker Spas Outlet, Fragrance Outlet, Kirkland’s, Le Creuset, Lindt Chocolate Shop, Monogram Asheville, Pandora Jewelry, Rack Room Shoes, SKECHERS, Sportsman’s Warehouse, iSmashed NC, VF Outlet and Workshop Tools. Additional openings will continue to be announced.

OBSERVING mitigation hiking guidelines we will meet at the trailhead, however, if you decide to carpool I suggest you wear masks and bring hand wipes to wipe down door handles…surfaces. Post where you plan to meet.

HIKE DESCRIPTION: We will begin hiking the Flint Creek River Trail return taking a ridgline loop spur, pick up the White Cliffs spur trail plus an optional trail. The trails are mostly under forest hardwoods, Flint Creek Trail follows the winding creek trail which snakes through the gorge fed by small streams and waterfalls. There are 10 log bridge-over-creek crossing plus a few smaller step-over streams. Like the Smoky Mountains National Park, Rocky Fork State Park has one of the most Biological diverse floras in the country. The trails are flat to rolling with moderate and steep climbing sections.
Elevation Gain Estimate.? 2,100-2,400′ (Level 7)**

PACE: See below*

DOGS: Friendly dogs are welcome and must remain close to their owners. Water is continuously available along the creek trail.

IF YOU SIGN UP THEN CHANGE YOUR MIND CHANGE YOUR RSVP TO “NOT ATTENDING” TO CLEAR A SPOT FOR ANOTHER HIKER

TRAIL HEAD DIRECTIONS:
I-26 West 31 miles and take Exit 50 toward Flag Pond Rd. Proceed for approx. 0.4 miles to a “T”. Turn left onto Upper Higgins Creek Rd for 0.6 mile. Turn right onto Old Asheville Hwy for 2.3 mile. Turn left on to Rocky Fork Rd for 1 mile to the Rocky Fork State Park Main Entrance Gate. Gravel road following Flint Creek for 1/4 mile with Parking on the right.

501 Rocky Fork Rd.
Flag Pond Tennessee.

OPTIONAL: Please post if you prefer to meet me just off the Flag Pond Exit (gravel pullover, or the road shoulder on left, Upper Higgins Creek rd. @ 9:30.

*ALL FITNESS HIKES ARE FAST PACED. HIKES HIKE LEVELS are based only on the total elevation gain for each hike while distances vary as described. Lower levels hikes focus on endurance conditioning and higher level hikes add increasing cardio challenges. Pace is adjusted for steepness of grade, and ruggedness of the trail.. Scout hikes are hikes where the trail is partially or completely unexplored by the hike leader (s).

HIKE LEVELS:
Hike Level (1) Up to 600 feet of elevation gain.
Level (2) 600′- 900′; Level (3) 900′ – 1200′; Level (4) 1200′ – 1500′; Level (5) 1,500′ – 1,800′; Level (6)*1,800′ – 2,100′; Level (7)* 2,100′ – 2,400′; Level (8) 2,400′ – 2700′; Level (9) 2700′ – 3000′ Level (10) 3000′ – 4000′;

ULTIMATE HIKES are hike > 4,000′ elevation gain; WE POST 3-4 of these hike challenges a year.

This hike follows along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Most of the time we do an in and out instead of a shuttle. We start from the side of the road near the exit to Highway 25 (Hendersonville Road) on the Blue Ridge Parkway. You can park along either side of the road. The dirt has eroded so the drop is kind of deep, so you’ll want to be careful with your car.

Mountains-to-Sea-Trail hikes are designed for fitness and community among already experienced hikers. We do the same trail on Monday and Friday and tend to repeat that same hike every five weeks so that, over time, we enjoy the beauty of each trail. We limit our hikes to two hours because many of us work and have to be somewhere else by 11:15 or so. Thus, it’s not possible to wait for slower hikers.

Hikers who are new to hiking will likely be more comfortable on another meet up hike designed for people who are just beginning hiking or trying to get into shape for hiking. You might consider “WNC Easy Hikers Group,” for instance.

₪₪₪ VIRTUAL DRAG SHOW ₪₪₪

Join us, ONLINE, Friday, May 15th as hosts
Katarina SynClaire & Cliché (Cleo Fellows Conk) kick off a charity filled event for our local Asheville community!

Music Stream @ 10pm
Drag show @ 10:30pm

Also featuring:
Alexis Black
Beulah Land
Adonis Steele

50% of all tips will be donated to a local charity! This week’s benefactor is MANNA FoodBank!

Get your tipping apps downloaded prior to the event:
Venmo: @LetsGet-Digital
Cash App: $letsgetdigital4

***We will be following all CDC guidelines and Governor Roy Cooper’s Phase 1 recommendations for NC concerning the CoronaVirus Pandemic:
* We will have less than 10 people participating and on premise
* We will stay socially distant from one another while on site
* No one that feels under the weather or that are showing any signs of sickness will be allowed to participate

So excited to get to do some charity work for the community!

Mountain Gateway Museum & Heritage Center celebrated the opening of its newest traveling exhibit, “Steeped in Time: Tea and Traditions” on Saturday, January 18, 2020. The exhibit will run through the July 4th weekend at MGM, located at 24 Water Street in Old Fort. Admission is free.

This will be about a 3-hour hike, including rest stops. We will be doing the Coontree trail which is one of the few trails open at this time. This is a spectacular trail with a number of stream crossings and great mountain views along the ridgeline. It is a loop with an elevation change of 1000 feet. While poles are not necessary, they do make it much easier to hike. The only challenge is parking. It is very limited, probably no more than 7 to 9 parking spots, all parallel to the road. For this reason we will be starting earlier…at 8:30am. PLEASE NOTE…The directions for this location on this site are INCORRECT. It would not allow me to simple put Coontree trailhead, but required that I put a city. As a result, the map takes you to downtown Brevard, not Pisgah Forest. The Coontree trailhead is actually about 3 miles past the Pisgah Visitor’s Center, off US276. The trailhead is across from the picnic area. Please keep my phone number handy,[masked], in case we have trouble hooking up.

Mountain Gateway Museum & Heritage Center celebrated the opening of its newest traveling exhibit, “Steeped in Time: Tea and Traditions” on Saturday, January 18, 2020. The exhibit will run through the July 4th weekend at MGM, located at 24 Water Street in Old Fort. Admission is free.

Mountain Gateway Museum & Heritage Center celebrated the opening of its newest traveling exhibit, “Steeped in Time: Tea and Traditions” on Saturday, January 18, 2020. The exhibit will run through the July 4th weekend at MGM, located at 24 Water Street in Old Fort. Admission is free.