During the month of May, buy one entrée and get a free dessert at Brixx Wood Fired Pizza in Biltmore Park. Mention that you saw this offer in the Town Square Reminder email newsletter and enjoy warm, friendly service over scratch made wood fired fare either in the dining room or on the spacious patio.

Gillian Laub, Amber and Reggie, Mount Vernon, Georgia, 2011, inkjet print, 40 × 50 inches. © Gillian Laub, courtesy of Benrubi Gallery.

American photographer Gillian Laub (born New York, 1975) has spent the last two decades investigating political conflicts, exploring family relationships, and challenging assumptions about cultural identity. In Southern Rites, Laub engages her skills as a photographer, filmmaker, and visual activist to examine the realities of racism and raise questions that are simultaneously painful and essential to understanding the American consciousness.

In 2002, Laub was sent on a magazine assignment to Mount Vernon, GA, to document the lives of teenagers in the American South. The town, nestled among fields of Vidalia onions, symbolized the archetype of pastoral, small town American life. The Montgomery County residents Laub encountered were warm, polite, protective of their neighbors, and proud of their history. Yet Laub learned that the joyful adolescent rites of passage celebrated in this rural countryside—high school homecomings and proms—were still racially segregated.

Laub continued to photograph Montgomery County over the following decade, returning even in the face of growing—and eventually violent—resistance from community members and local law enforcement. She documented a town held hostage by the racial tensions and inequities that scar much of the nation’s history. In 2009, a few months after Barack Obama’s first inauguration, Laub’s photographs of segregated proms were published in the New York Times Magazine. The story brought national attention to the town and the following year the proms were finally integrated. The power of her photographic images served as the catalyst and, for a moment, progress seemed inevitable.

Then, in early 2011, tragedy struck the town. Justin Patterson, a twenty-two-year-old unarmed African American man—whose segregated high school homecoming Laub had photographed—was shot and killed by a sixty-two-year-old white man. Laub’s project, which began as an exploration of segregated high school rituals, evolved into an urgent mandate to confront the painful realities of discrimination and structural racism. Laub continued to document the town over the following decade, during which the country re-elected its first African American president and the ubiquity of camera phones gave rise to citizen journalism exposing racially motivated violence. As the Black Lives Matter movement and national protests proliferated, Laub uncovered a complex story about adolescence, race, the legacy of slavery, and the deeply rooted practice of segregation in the American South.

Southern Rites is a specific story about 21st century young people in the American South, yet it poses a universal question about human experience: can a new generation liberate itself from a harrowing and traumatic past to create a different future?

Southern Rites is curated by Maya Benton and organized by the International Center of Photography.

Brighten your walls with with works from Artsville Collective’s upcoming exhibition, “In Living Color: At Home with Paint, Paper and Thread.”  Allow these abstract pieces, in varying sizes and mediums, to light up your life. Collectively, the artwork’s tonal range is of blended neutrals and ventures into spring and fall palettes. Suit your design pleasures with pure color or wabi-sabi textural designs in a range of perspectives from three uniquely talented artists: Betsy Meyer, fibers; Karen Stastny, painting, and Michelle Wise, mixed media. Also showing: the Retro pop art of Daryl Slaton, which can be activated on your phone to reveal an animated story. For a softer approach, consider the mixed media art of Louise Glickman using paint, textiles, and natural plant materials.

Black Mountain College: Idea + Place Lower Level Gallery with Companion Digital Exhibition How can an idea inform a place? How can a place inform an idea? Would Black Mountain College have had the same identity and lifespan if it had been located in the urban Northeast, the desert Southwest, or coastal California? How did BMC’s rather isolated, rural, and mountainous setting during the era of the Great Depression and the Jim Crow South influence the college community’s decision-making and the evolution of ideas upon which it was based? This exhibition seeks to delve into these questions and others by exploring the places of Black Mountain College: its two very different campuses, its influential predecessor the Bauhaus in Germany, and the post-BMC diaspora. Curated by Alice Sebrell, Director of Preservation

adVANCE! Modernism, Black Liberation + Black Mountain College Upper Level Gallery with Companion Digital Exhibition Featuring the work of contemporary sculptor Larry Paul King in conversation with Black Mountain College modernist masters including Jacob Lawrence, Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence, Josef Albers, Leo Krikorian, and Sewell Sillman. Premiering three Jacob Lawrence lithographs new to the BMCM+AC permanent collection. adVANCE! celebrates Black Mountain College’s role in early civil rights and the ongoing role of Black, modernist artists in the pursuit of liberation and justice. Curated by Marie T. Cochran, Founder of the Affrilachian Artist Project

N. C. Wyeth, Eight Bells (Clyde Stanley and Andrew Wyeth aboard Eight Bells), 1937, oil on hardboard, 20 × 30 inches. Bank of America Collection

The Wyeths: Three Generations | Works from the Bank of America Collection provides a comprehensive survey of works by N. C. Wyeth, one of America’s finest illustrators; his son, Andrew, an important realist painter; his eldest daughter, Henriette, a realist painter; and Andrew’s son Jamie, a popular portraitist. Through the works of these artists from three generations of the Wyeth family, themes of American history, artistic techniques, and creative achievements can be explored. This exhibition will be on view in the Asheville Art Museum’s Explore Asheville Exhibition Hall February 12 through May 30, 2022.

N. C. Wyeth (1882–1945) has long been considered one of the nation’s leading illustrators. In the early 1900s, he studied with illustrator Howard Pyle in Delaware. In 1911, he built a house and studio in nearby Chadds Ford, PA. Later, he bought a sea captain’s house in Maine and in 1931 built a small studio, which he shared with his son, Andrew, and his daughters, Henriette and Carolyn. The exhibition includes illustrations for books by Robert Louis Stevenson and Washington Irving as well as historical scenes, seascapes, and landscapes.

Andrew Wyeth (1917–2009) is one of the United States’ most popular artists, and his paintings follow the American Realist tradition. He was influenced by the works of Winslow Homer, whose watercolor technique he admired, as well as by the art of Howard Pyle and his father, N. C. While Andrew painted recognizable images, his use of line and space often imbue his works with an underlying abstract quality. The exhibition includes important works from the 1970s and 1980s as well as recent paintings.

Henriette Wyeth (1907–1997) was the eldest daughter of N.C. Wyeth and an older sister to Andrew Wyeth. Like other members of her family, her painting style was realist in a time when Impressionism and Abstraction were popular in the early 20th century. She studied painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and was an acclaimed portraitist, though perhaps not as widely known as her father and brother. Most notably she painted the portrait of First Lady, Pat Nixon, which is in the collection of The White House.

Jamie Wyeth (born 1946), like his father and grandfather, paints subjects of everyday life, in particular the landscapes, animals, and people of Pennsylvania and Maine. In contrast to his father—who painted with watercolor, drybrush, and tempera—Jamie works in oil and mixed media, creating lush painterly surfaces. The 18 paintings in the exhibition represent all periods of his career.

This exhibition has been loaned through the Bank of America Art in our Communities® program.

Useful and Beautiful: Silvercraft by William Waldo Dodge features a selection of functional silver works by Dodge drawn from the Museum’s Collection. Organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Whitney Richardson, associate curator, this exhibition will be on view in the Debra McClinton Gallery at the Museum from February 23 through October 17, 2022.

William Waldo Dodge Jr. (Washington, DC 1895–1971 Asheville, NC) moved to Asheville in 1924 as a trained architect and a newly skilled silversmith. When he opened for business promoting his handwrought silver tableware, including plates, candlesticks, flatware (spoons, forks, and knives), and serving dishes, he did so in a true Arts and Crafts tradition. The aesthetics of the style were dictated by its philosophy: an artist’s handmade creation should reflect their hard work and skill, and the resulting artwork should highlight the material from which it was made. Dodge’s silver often displayed his hammer marks and inventive techniques, revealing the beauty of these useful household goods.

The Arts and Crafts style of England became popular in the United States in the early 1900s. Asheville was an early adopter of the movement because of the popularity and abundance of Arts and Crafts architecture in neighborhoods like Biltmore Forest, Biltmore Village, and the area around The Grove Park Inn. The title of this exhibition was taken from the famous quotation by one of the founding members of the English Arts and Crafts Movement, William Morris, who said, “have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” Not only did Dodge follow this suggestion; he contributed to American Arts and Crafts silver’s relevancy persisting almost halfway into the 20th century.

“It has been over 15 years since the Museum exhibited its collection of William Waldo Dodge silver and I am looking forward to displaying it in the new space with some new acquisitions added,” said Whitney Richardson, associate curator. Learn more at ashevilleart.org.

Round Up for RiverLink

Shoppers at any Mast General Store during the month of May will be invited to round up the last dollar of their purchase to benefit RiverLink! Those small gifts do add up over a month–often up to $5,000–so if you visit Mast General, please do round up for RiverLink!

Join us and find out more about Pisgah Legal Services with a behind-the-scenes look at the work we are doing in Western North Carolina to improve the lives of more than 20,000 local people each year.

Pre-registration required. FREE for the 2021-2022 school year
August 23, 2021-June 3, 2022 | Monday-Friday | 2:45-6pm
K-6th graders.
Does your child enjoy having fun and making new friends? Offering
arts, crafts, special events, homework assistance and more!
Families currently enrolled in the school system’s reduced or free
meal program, please contact your recreation center for discount
fee information.
Locations: Burton, Grant, Montford, Shiloh, Stephens-Lee

Hosted by: The Buddhist Studies Institute

FREE – ONLINE – 30 MINUTES – DAILY
🌺Guided meditation support and community🌺

🌸Stabilization and Liberation:
In order to liberate our minds– we need stable calm.

🌸Consistency & Commitment:
Stabilizing in calm clear presence takes consistent training.

🌸Support & Community:
Daily Meditation is a container and support for your meditation focus.

Expand your meditation circle- join us online any day or every day!

Formerly known as 100 Days of practice to support a Tibetan Yogis tradition to practice 100 days in the winter, this has now been expanded to continue daily. To learn more and register: https://buddhiststudiesinstitute.org/daily-meditation/

Find fresh, local produce and handcrafted goods each Thursday through
October in Flat Rock.  This market is made of a diverse group of local produce farmers, makers, bread bakers, wild crafters and
merry makers.  You will love the friendly, informative, creative vendors that set up for the market.  Be sure you stop by each one to
introduce yourself and ask questions, Free, Pinecrest ARP Church, Hendersonville, [email protected],

Montford Pre-Teen Afterschool Program
Pre-registration required. FREE for the 2021-2022 school year
August 23, 2021 – June 3, 2022 | Monday-Friday | 3:30-6pm
5th-6th graders.
New program designed to meet the needs of your pre-teen.
Providing time dedicated to school assignments, life skills, arts,
communication, leadership, fitness, nutrition, and loads of fun.
Location: Montford

Teen Leadership Program
Pre-registration required. FREE for the 2021-2022 school year
August 23, 2021-June 3, 2022 | Monday-Friday | 3:30-6pm
6th-9th graders.
Looking for a cool and enriching alternative for your Teen to attend
this school year? We offer creative activities, diverse projects,
field trips, and more.
Locations: Grant, Shiloh, Stephens-Lee

Before you even begin thinking about volunteering, ask yourself – Am I well enough to volunteer?

Your safety and limiting the spread of COVID-19 is everyone’s main priority. We encourage you to review and adhere to the recommendations on the Buncombe County readiness site on how best to avoid COVID-19 and what to do if you think you might have it.

Literacy Together (formerly the Literacy Council of Buncombe County) is a nonprofit organization working with children, youth, and adults to increase comprehensive literacy and English language skills through access to literacy resources and specialized instruction by trained volunteer tutors. Literacy Together relies on volunteer tutors to offer students personal instruction and high-quality materials through various programs.

The Youth Literacy Program is seeking tutors to meet with students K-5 twice a week for 50 minutes, between 3:30 pm and 5:30 pm. The Youth Literacy Program works with two after-school programs that primarily serve youth of color.  The two locations are in Asheville.

Youth Literacy tutors work with children from low-income families who read, write, and/or spell below their grade level. Tutors in this program complete an initial orientation and a 16-20 hours training, which includes some pre-course work and/or homework (short articles to read, short videos to watch). They then receive follow-up support and the option to attend in-service training throughout their tutoring commitment. Youth Literacy tutors commit to working with their students for at least one school year.

Time Commitment:

• Twice a week for 50-minute sessions between 3:30 pm and 5:30 pm.
• Youth Literacy tutors commit to working with their students for at least one school year.

Requirements: 

• GED or High School diploma
• Excellent customer service skills
• Ability to work patiently with various levels of literacy skills
• Access to reliable internet
• Ability to navigate virtual meetings with minimal distractions
• Complete a background check

Training:

• Tutors must complete 16-20 hours of training prior to being assigned a student

$1 off draft beers every Thursday!

Before you even begin thinking about volunteering, ask yourself – Am I well enough to volunteer?

Your safety and limiting the spread of COVID-19 is everyone’s main priority. We encourage you to review and adhere to the recommendations on the Buncombe County readiness site on how best to avoid COVID-19 and what to do if you think you might have it.

Getting Back to the Basics/Project Lighten Up is a unique summer and afterschool educational opportunity for low-income and minority youth that supports students’ recreational and educational learning. We provide meaningful educational support and develop self-esteem in a positive environment through mentoring and enriching activities.

Project Lighten Up is seeking in-person volunteers to assist students attending the afterschool program during the school year with spelling and reading 1-2 times a week for 1 hour.  

Time Commitment:

• Commitment to a 5-week session
• Volunteers are asked to commit to a minimum of 1 shift per week
• Volunteers choose from one, 1-hour session per week OR two, 30-minute sessions per week
• Volunteer shifts are Tuesdays & Thursdays between 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
• Please arrive 15 minutes prior to shift start for health screening and transition time

Requirements/Training:

• Respond above to the opportunity
• Answer all health/safety and opportunity related questions prior to submitting your response
• Phone interview with the program director
• Volunteer application
• Complete a background check
• Attend training by program staff
• Adheres to all CDC guidelines and safety protocols

Skillset: 

• Enjoys working with youth in different grade levels
• Enjoys working in a learning environment
• Remains patient and calm with students experiencing technical or learning challenges
• Demonstrates a positive attitude and empathy for students and Lighten Up team
• Non-judgmental, fair, firm, and friendly
• Models excellent verbal and non-verbal communication

Health/Safety:

• Health and safety screening prior to every shift start:
  • List of health and safety questions asked
  • Temperatures taken
• We are asking volunteers to wear/bring their own face covering (masks available upon request)
  • Fabric or disposable face mask
• Asking volunteers to maintain a physical distance of 6 feet or more when possible
  • Note: there are times when the volunteer task requires volunteers to engage with students closer than 6 feet. Please do not sign up if you feel uncomfortable.
• Volunteers will be asked to adhere to proper hand hygiene

Cook teams of 4-6 individuals are invited to bring ingredients and prepare meals onsite or bring meals that have been prepared elsewhere.  To meet our dietary standards, we ask that each meal provides a meat, vegetable and starch.

Requirements:

• Background Check
• Brief orientation prior to service
• Ability to Multi-Task
• Friendly Demeanor

Health & Safety:

• We are asking volunteers to wear/bring their own face mask if you have not been fully vaccinated
• Temperatures will be checked and a COVID-19 disclosure will be signed at the volunteer entrance

• Before you even begin thinking about volunteering, ask yourself – Am I well enough to volunteer?

  Your safety and limiting the spread of COVID-19 is everyone’s main priority. We encourage you to review and adhere to the recommendations on the Buncombe County readiness site on how best to avoid COVID-19 and what to do if you think you might have it.

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  ABCCM Transformation Village provides up to 100 beds of transitional housing and will provide emergency shelter beds, post Covid-19.  Transforming lives is through four developmental phases called Steps to Success including stabilization, life skills, education and reintegration.  We are honored to report that 8 out of 10 leave us with a living wage job and permanent housing.

  Transformation Village gives hope, healing, health and a home to single women, mothers with children, and female Veterans experiencing homelessness.  We provide residents a fresh start and a place to heal surrounded and supported by Christian love, trust, education and companionship.

  We are seeking energetic volunteers to prepare and serve meals for our residents for lunch and dinner. This opportunity provides you with the chance to prepare meals in our commercial kitchen alongside our trained staff while serving the women and children of Transformation Village. 

Are you looking for a way to develop your Spanish language skills or a way to keep your skills fresh? Join this friendly and welcoming Spanish Language Practice Group organized by Pack Library. Newcomers are always welcome on the first Thursday of each month at 5 p.m. This group meets online and is focused on providing an intermediate level, immersive discussion experience. This event is free, but you do need to register. Please visit the library web page and use the link on the calendar for this program to sign up.

Friends of Downtown Hendersonville welcomes the public to witness the unveiling of 20 new works of bear art! Each bear will be revealed individually along with a background story on the artist’s design and the nonprofit that will benefit from the bear’s sale at auction in October.

Following the reveal, the bears will take their places on the sidewalks of downtown through late October before being sold at auction.

• 

• 6:00pm – 8:00pm

  Open mic comedy every Thursday from 6-8pm at Ginger’s Revenge Tasting Room.

  Rotating hosts each week Clay Jones, James Burks and Katy Hudson

  No cover
  Signup starts at 5:30, and signup order will not necessarily be show order. Each comic gets 5 mins of stage time

Beginning in early 1942, Axis diplomats, consular staff, and families—particularly Japanese and Germans living in Central and Latin America, along with many individuals of Japanese descent living in Hawaii—were detained in several inns or resorts in southern Appalachia and WNC. Among these facilities, many were transported to the Grove Park Inn and the Assembly Inn at Montreat. This program specifically focuses on the predominantly Japanese-American individuals detained and housed at Montreat 1942-1943 as they awaited exchange or repatriation.

About the Speaker:

Ronald Vinson has served as Executive Director of the Presbyterian Heritage Center in Montreat since 2007. The Presbyterian Heritage Center at Montreat is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization to educate (onsite and online) people about the Presbyterian and Reformed heritage, the church’s tradition of worldwide mission and the history of Montreat.

Ron has served as consultant to many museums and clients on historical projects, including:

• The Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution
• The National Center for the Study of History
• Discovery Place
• The Schiele Museum of Natural History
• Gaston County Museum of Art & History
• North Carolina Business Hall of Fame
• Centennial of Golf (Golf Magazine, PGA et al)
• Insurance Information Institute (Bicentennial of Insurance) Columbia Theological Seminary
• North Carolina Business Hall of Fame

Tickets: $5 for WNCHA members/ $10 for General Admission. We also have no-cost, community-funded tickets available. We want our events to be accessible to as many people as possible. If you are able please consider making a donation along with your ticket purchase. These donations are placed in our Community Fund, which allows us to offer tickets at no cost to those who would not be able to attend otherwise.

Viewing: Registrants will receive a Zoom link with which to view the program. It will also be recorded and later available on our website.

(Image: Several Japanese women and girls at Montreat, courtesy Presbyterian Heritage Center)

For questions or more information, email Trevor Freeman at [email protected]

We are a group of women who love to sing a cappella harmony in a variety of styles. We are seeking Leads but welcome other parts too—Baritone, Bass, Tenor.
Because we care about quality, we require user -friendly auditions.

We meet weekly.

Check us out!