There is still time to stop in for a smoothie! Now through Wednesday November 15th at Clean Juice Asheville, guests will receive a 16oz regular smoothie for free with a $2 donation to the Quarters for Kids charity benefiting Verner (this is an in-store promotion only, while supplies last)!

Whether you start decorating for the holidays before Thanksgiving or well into December, now is the best time to get into the holiday spirit by sponsoring a gift for kids or adults.

Being an adult without a support network, an adult with a disability, or a kid in foster care can be tough over the holidays; this is a great opportunity to let them know that the community cares for them.

Every year, Buncombe County hosts an Adult Wish Tree and a Foster Care Wish Tree that allows members of the community to sponsor a gift for someone this holiday.

Foster Care Wish Tree

Each year, children in foster care in Buncombe County submit a list of wishes they would like for the holidays.

To sign up to sponsor a child, click this link and select the person you would like to sponsor. You will receive an email confirmation that provides a copy of the wish list and all the instructions for drop-off.

A note from Health and Human Services:

Hello and thank you for your generosity this holiday season. We are grateful for your unwavering support for our foster youth. Here at Buncombe County Health and Human Services, we are dedicated to meeting the needs of our foster youth, and having your support means so much to us and our kids. You are not just providing gifts this holiday season; you are telling someone that they matter and that they are important! That is something to celebrate! From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!

If you have any questions about your sponsorship, please call Amber Cook at 828-772-5553 or email [email protected] during business hours of 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Friday.

Adult Wish Tree

When you can’t drive a car or don’t have someone to bring you the things you might need, like a new nightgown or socks, it can be tough. The Adult Wish Tree is a Buncombe County program that works with agencies throughout the county to identify adults and adults with disabilities who don’t have access to a support network to help with these basic needs. The program also identifies young adults in our extended foster care program who will likely not receive a gift this year. Please consider selecting an adult to sponsor this holiday season.

To sign up to sponsor an adult, click this link and select the person you would like to sponsor. You will receive an email confirmation that provides a copy of the wish list and all the instructions for drop-off.

A note from Health and Human Services:

This holiday season we hope you will choose one of the many names that are submitted by Health and Human Services and our partner agencies for adults and adults with disabilities.  It is such a joy to see the smiles on the faces of adults who have their wishes fulfilled, as these are adults who are not expected to have anyone else to provide them with a gift this year.

If you have questions, please email us at [email protected].

Happy Holidays and thank you for supporting those who need a little extra care this upcoming season.

Join us on a journey into the world of butterflies and plants, and see the complex relationship between monarchs and milkweed. “Monarchs and Milkweed” explores how very survival of these majestic creatures has been shaped over time by one another, traveling through the seasons of a calendar year and revealing how both insect and plant grow and interact, culminating in a massive migration that crosses a continent.

Each year, one week before Thanksgiving, the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness partner together to sponsor National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Occurring this year during the week of Nov. 11-18 more than 700 colleges, high schools, and community groups across the country will come together to provide education, draw attention to the issues of hunger and homelessness, and recruit volunteers and supporters for local agencies supporting those experiencing food insecurity and homelessness. Our community will also be holding a variety of events to highlight partnerships between agencies working to address these issues, as well as provide education and opportunities to support these organizations and the individuals they serve.

Why is National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week important? The National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to determine that homelessness has been on the rise since 2017, increasing overall by 6% since then. In 2022, counts of individuals experiencing homelessness reached record highs, with HUD counting around 582,000 Americans experiencing homelessness last year. HUD’s definition of homelessness includes both sheltered and unsheltered individuals. Sheltered homelessness includes people who are living in domestic violence shelters, transitional shelters, safe havens that serve homeless individuals with severe mental illness, or hotels/motels. Unsheltered individuals may be living outdoors, in cars, abandoned buildings, or in other places not meant for human habitation. Concerningly, rates of unsheltered homelessness across the nation are also trending upward, with most racial, ethnic, and gender subgroups disproportionately impacted. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that an estimated 17 million families, or 1 in 8 U.S. Households, experienced food insecurity at some point in 2022 and here too, data demonstrates that rates of food insecurity are significantly higher for racial, ethnic, and gender subgroups. The American College of Physicians reported in 2022 that food insecurity has become a threat to public health in America.

In our community, the Point-In-Time (PIT) count is conducted annually to get a snapshot count of individuals experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness. Conducted on a single night in January each year, the PIT count is conducted by communities nationwide, and is intended to be an unduplicated count of people experiencing homelessness within the community. Our most recent PIT count was conducted on Jan. 31, 2023, and showed that there are around 402 sheltered and 171 unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness here.While this is slightly lower than last year’s count, this total of 573 unhoused individuals is still significantly higher than pre-pandemic counts. Additionally, in our area, more than 8 in 10 children experience poverty, and 1 in 4 children in Western North Carolina do not have access to three square meals daily.

National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week represents a time when we can come together as a community to share knowledge and identify resources to end hunger and homelessness. It invites us to consider joining efforts to help people in immediate need, and to take part in identifying and supporting long-term solutions. Haywood Street Congregation, a local urban ministry, will be highlighting collaboration between service agencies, faith communities, the County, and the City throughout the week of Nov. 11-18 with a variety of events ranging from the Homelessness Learning Series provided by the City of Asheville, volunteer trainings for Code Purple and ABCCM’s Transformation Village, and tours of the Haywood Street Congregation Campus and Homeward Bound’s Permanent Supportive Housing Project, Compass Point Village.

Other notable events include Lunch at the Crossroads at First Baptist Church of Asheville on Thursday, Nov. 16, and an awareness gathering facilitated by the Buncombe County Homeless Coalition at New Belgium Brewing on Sunday, Nov. 19. To see the full calendar of events, visit Haywood Street Congregation’s Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week event schedule.

Tuesday, November 14th

Partner: Bounty and Soul

Event Title/Description: Community Market Tour

Time: 11:00-12:30 (with flexibility)

Location: 999 Old US 70 Highway, Black Mountain

Partner: Haywood Street Congregation

Event Title/Description: Campus Tour

Time: 12:00-12:45

Location: 297 Haywood Street. Meet in the Sanctuary.

Partner: Haywood Street Congregation

Event Title/Description: Conversation in front of the Haywood Street Fresco with Fresco model, James Blount; Founding Pastor, Rev. Brian Combs; and Principal artist, Christopher Holt.

Time: 1:00-2:00

Location: 297 Haywood Street, Asheville

Partner: ABCCM Transformation Village

Event Title/Description: Code Purple Volunteer Training

Time: 6:00 pm

Location: 30 Olin Haven Way, Asheville

Wednesday, November 15th

Partner: Haywood Street Congregation Downtown

Event Title/Description:  Downtown Welcome Table Lunch and/or Campus Tour

Time: 10:00-12:00

Location: 297 Haywood Street. For a tour, meet in the Sanctuary.

Partner: Buncombe County Public Health

Event Title/Description: Mobile Clinic offering vaccines and other services

Time: 9:00-2:00

Location: 297 Haywood Street, Asheville

Partner: ABCCM Transformation Village

Event Title/Description:  Volunteer Orientation

Time: 2:00 

Location: 30 Olin Haven Way, Asheville

Thursday, November 16th

Partner: City/Buncombe County

Event Title/Description: NAEH Work and Update Session at Harrah’s Cherokee Center, open to the public.

Time: 9:00-12:00 

Location: 87 Haywood Street, Asheville

Partner: First Baptist Church of Asheville

Event Title/Description: Lunch at the Crossroads

Time: 11:30-1:00

Location: 5 Oak Street, Asheville

Partner: Homeward Bound WNC

Event Title/Description: Tour de Ahope

Time: 1:00

Location: 19 North Ann Street, Asheville

Partner: Homeward Bound WNC

Event Title/Description: Tours of Compass Point Village

Time: 10:00-12:00

Location: 201 Tunnel Road, Asheville

Friday, November 17th

Partner: Bounty and Soul

Event Title/Description: Community Market Tour

Time: 3:00-5:30 (with flexibility)

Location: 999 Old US 70 Highway, Black Mountain

Saturday, November 18th

Partner: Food Connection and Bounty and Soul

Event Title/ Description: Food Connection and Bounty and Soul Collaboration

Time: 11:00-1:00

Location: In the parking lot next to Beacon Animal Hospital at 101 Whitson Ave., Swannanoa

Partner: First Presbyterian Church of Asheville

Event Title/Description: Free hot lunch in a warm and safe space (continues every Saturday through February)

Time: 11:00-2:00

Location: 40 Church Street, Asheville

Sunday, November 19th

Partner: Haywood Street Congregation Downtown

Event Title/Description:  Downtown Welcome Table Breakfast

Time: 10:00-12:00

Location: 297 Haywood Street. For a tour, meet in the Sanctuary.

Partner: Buncombe County Homeless Coalition

Event Title/Description: Awareness Gathering at New Belgium Brewing

Time: 1:00-4:00

Location: 21 Craven Street, Asheville

Monday, November 20th

Partner: Helpmate

Event Title/Description: Training for Service Providers. More information can be found here.

Time: 9:00-5:00

Location: Land of Sky Regional Council-339 New Leicester Highway #140 Asheville

IN-PERSON DEMONSTRATION

Location: NC Cooperative Extension , Buncombe County Center, 49 Mount Carmel Road , Asheville, NC 28806

Presenters: Pat Strang and Joyce Tromba, Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers

Learn how to set up an organic indigo vat using a few simple ingredients and witness the magical creation of blue as the fiber comes out of the vat. We will use traditional resist techniques to dye cotton bandanas.

$10 dollar donation requested. Cash only

This class will be in the garden, please dress appropriately..

Food Scraps Drop Off

The City of Asheville, in partnership with Buncombe County and the Natural Resources Defense Council, is offering a FREE Food Scrap Drop-Off program in

two locations for all Buncombe County residents.  This organic matter will be collected and turned into good clean compost, keeping it OUT of our landfill and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Register for Food Scraps Drop Off

Need a handy kitchen countertop food scrap bin?  Let us know on the registration form! We’ll be having bin giveaways at city and county facilities and would love to give you one.

Locations

West Asheville Library – “Food Scrap Bin Shelters” on the south side of the building

942 Haywood Road, Asheville

Library open hours

Stephens-Lee Recreation Center “Food Scrap Shed” next to the Community Garden on the North side of the parking lot

30 Washington Carver Avenue, Asheville

• • Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.
  • Saturday, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
  • Sunday, 12 – 4 p.m.

Murphy Oakley Community Center and Library – “Food Scrap Bin Shelters” on the east side of the parking lot

749 Fairview Road, Asheville

• • Dawn – Dusk

Buncombe County Landfill – Convenience Center85 Panther Branch Road, Alexander

• • • • Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
      • Saturday, 8 a.m. – 12:30 pm

Learn Asheville’s history, discover hidden gems, and laugh at LaZoom’s quirky sense of adventure.

• Guided comedy tour bus of historical Asheville
• 90-Minutes – tours run daily
• 15-minute break at Green Man Brewing
• $39 per person (ages 13+ only)

National Novel Writing Month is here and North Asheville Library has you covered!
We’ve set aside a quiet space for all our aspiring novelists to come work towards their word count goals. So come spend an hour or two with us and get into the creative flow. Refreshments provided

Tyger Tyger Gallery is pleased to present Reckoning: Adornment as Narrative, a group exhibition curated by Asheville-based artist and curator Erika Diamond.

Reckoning: Adornment as Narrative is an exhibition of diverse practices, anchored at three points: methods of reckoning; the function of adornment; and the fusing of personal and cultural narrative. It features acts of glitz, embellishment, and homage by Shae Bishop, David Harper Clemons, Kashif Dennis, Annie Evelyn, Margaret Jacobs, Julia Kwon, Katrina Majkut, Heather Mackenzie, and Luis Sahagun. Through material language, each artist tells the story of their identity. Inherent to these stories are contradictions—between labor and value, feminine and masculine, natural and fabricated.

 – Tuesdays through December 12, 10-11 a.m. & 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

FREE | Ages 17 and older, designed for individuals with disabilities

The Therapeutic Recreation team hosts a variety of cooking and crafts each Tuesday. Starting November 14, the focus is on the holidays:

• November 14 – No Bake Pumpkin Pie
• November 21 – Thankful Tree
• November 28 – Festive Chicken Salad
• December 5 – Holiday Ornament
• December 12 – Cookies for Santa

Join us every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month in the library community room for open play! We’ll be rolling out the mats and play equipment for an hour of active fun. This program is for toddler aged children.

Sigal Music Museum’s current special exhibition, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred, highlights items from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, which hails from all over the world. Showing November 2023 – May 2024, Worlds Apart uses a diverse range of historical instruments, objects, and visuals to bring together musical narratives from seemingly disparate parts of the globe.

 

Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred aims to increase public access to historical instruments from around the world and improve visitors’ understanding of musical traditions at the global level. Expanding beyond the typical parameters of the Western musical canon, Worlds Apart seeks to expose audiences to musical instruments and customs that are often overlooked or exotified. The instruments and other exhibit materials will offer visitors new perspectives on global music and a chance to consider how music is used for prayer and leisure in cultures around the world. By celebrating these stories, the museum intends to further its mission to collect and preserve historical musical instruments, objects, and information, which engage and enrich people of all ages through exhibits, performances, and experiential programs.

 

Displaying various objects from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred focuses on international musical instruments and cultures, celebrating rites and traditions with ancient histories and contemporary legacies. Frank Edwinn, a successful basso in the mid-20th century, studied and toured internationally, eventually settling in North Carolina, where he taught music at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Throughout his life, he purchased various objects from around the world, aiming to expose students, and himself, to the wide and wonderful world of musical instruments. This impressive collection occupies a unique position for educating audiences unfamiliar with the vast scope of global music.

And, UNCA’s Ramsey Library Special Collections is now processing the Edwinn’s papers and a few recordings that will be accessible next semester!

Join us for a fun and interactive story time designed for children ages 18 months to 3 years.

Opening Reception for the Artist Nov. 3, 6-8PM.

Tracey Morgan Gallery is pleased to present A Mirror, Not a Window, an exhibition of new and recent work by artist Hannah Cole. This is Cole’s second solo exhibition with the gallery. A reception for the artist will be held Friday, November 3 from 6-8PM.

This collection of paintings and sculptures continues Cole’s interest in creating, completely by hand, reproductions of small details and objects culled from her everyday life, turning the viewer’s attention to often overlooked aspects of our surrounding environment and reframing the very definition of representational art. With nods to pop art, trompe l’oeil, and modern American painters, Cole poses big questions about the nature of the artist’s hand, and the drive to (re)create.

A grouping of wall sculptures of nearly exact replicas of books which are hand-painted on wood blocks are included in the exhibition. These books are all non-fiction, mostly art related, though now un-readable. Instead of looking to books for answers, these objects force the viewer to provide the substance. The most self-referential of the group is Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation in which the French philosopher talks in dense prose about our culture of signs and signals eventually becoming copies without any originals. In Cole’s tongue-in-cheek nod, her faithful replica of Baudriallard’s philosophical work becomes an art object whose meaning has shifted completely from the original. Cole’s painted wood block cannot be read and has no actual utility at all, except as an object to contemplate.

A recurring element in Cole’s paintings is a hand-rendered tape measure running along the edge of her canvases. By including this common, easily recognizable object, Cole calls to question the “truth” of representation. Can we trust these measurements simply because they have identifiable markings? Other paintings on Styrofoam show painted wood grain edges, subverting the viewer’s expectation of where the painting itself is, and what it’s made of. We expect a painting to be on the outward-facing surface, but what if the faithful representation is painted on the sides?

In this contemporary age of Artificial Intelligence flooding us with copies, reproductions, fakes, and deliberate decep-tions, anxieties regarding authenticity and authorship run high. Cole’s work invites contemplation of these deeply philosophical issues with a playful tone, presenting serious questions by way of common objects.

Hannah Cole studied at Yale University and Boston University. Her work has been exhibited at The Turchin Center for Visual Arts, NC; the Drawing Center, NY; the University of Maine Museum of Art; the Sherman Gallery at Boston University, MA; Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Greenville, NC; and the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, among other national and international institutions. She currently lives and works in Asheville, NC.

Thanks to our Homelessness Manager Lacy Hoyle for this look at National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Community Market Tour with Bounty + Soul.

Each year, one week before Thanksgiving, the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness partner together to sponsor National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Occurring this year during the week of Nov. 11-18 more than 700 colleges, high schools, and community groups across the country will come together to provide education, draw attention to the issues of hunger and homelessness, and recruit volunteers and supporters for local agencies supporting those experiencing food insecurity and homelessness. Our community will also be holding a variety of events to highlight partnerships between agencies working to address these issues, as well as provide education and opportunities to support these organizations and the individuals they serve.

Why is National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week important? The National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to determine that homelessness has been on the rise since 2017, increasing overall by 6% since then. In 2022, counts of individuals experiencing homelessness reached record highs, with HUD counting around 582,000 Americans experiencing homelessness last year. HUD’s definition of homelessness includes both sheltered and unsheltered individuals. Sheltered homelessness includes people who are living in domestic violence shelters, transitional shelters, safe havens that serve homeless individuals with severe mental illness, or hotels/motels. Unsheltered individuals may be living outdoors, in cars, abandoned buildings, or in other places not meant for human habitation. Concerningly, rates of unsheltered homelessness across the nation are also trending upward, with most racial, ethnic, and gender subgroups disproportionately impacted. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that an estimated 17 million families, or 1 in 8 U.S. Households, experienced food insecurity at some point in 2022 and here too, data demonstrates that rates of food insecurity are significantly higher for racial, ethnic, and gender subgroups. The American College of Physicians reported in 2022 that food insecurity has become a threat to public health in America.

In our community, the Point-In-Time (PIT) count is conducted annually to get a snapshot count of individuals experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness. Conducted on a single night in January each year, the PIT count is conducted by communities nationwide, and is intended to be an unduplicated count of people experiencing homelessness within the community. Our most recent PIT count was conducted on Jan. 31, 2023, and showed that there are around 402 sheltered and 171 unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness here.While this is slightly lower than last year’s count, this total of 573 unhoused individuals is still significantly higher than pre-pandemic counts. Additionally, in our area, more than 8 in 10 children experience poverty, and 1 in 4 children in Western North Carolina do not have access to three square meals daily.

National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week represents a time when we can come together as a community to share knowledge and identify resources to end hunger and homelessness. It invites us to consider joining efforts to help people in immediate need, and to take part in identifying and supporting long-term solutions. Haywood Street Congregation, a local urban ministry, will be highlighting collaboration between service agencies, faith communities, the County, and the City throughout the week of Nov. 11-18 with a variety of events ranging from the Homelessness Learning Series provided by the City of Asheville, volunteer trainings for Code Purple and ABCCM’s Transformation Village, and tours of the Haywood Street Congregation Campus and Homeward Bound’s Permanent Supportive Housing Project, Compass Point Village.

Other notable events include Lunch at the Crossroads at First Baptist Church of Asheville on Thursday, Nov. 16, and an awareness gathering facilitated by the Buncombe County Homeless Coalition at New Belgium Brewing on Sunday, Nov. 19. To see the full calendar of events, visit Haywood Street Congregation’s Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week event schedule.

Tracey Morgan Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of paintings by artist Stella Alesi in our project space. This is Alesi’s first exhibition with the gallery and is presented in conjunction with Hannah Cole: A Mirror, Not a Window in our main gallery space. A reception for both artists will be held Friday, November 3 from 6-8PM.

The works on view are from the SQUISHY series, a group of geometric, abstract oil on oil paper paintings. With the use of simple shapes and a limited color palette, these works explore the visceral experience of living at this current moment. Alesi’s colorful, “squishy” shapes bend to the demands placed on them by their seemingly heavy, unforgiving counterparts. With this work, Alesi confronts contemporary issues such as climate change and political turmoil, as well as personal trials, using basic shapes, both hard and malleable to express a state of being. The shapes are gestural, fluid, and animated – sometimes resembling body parts even in their minimalism. The effect is a playful interpretation of heavy topics – a visual play on the deep and multi-layer well of human emotions.

Stella Alesi works across several styles and mediums, including drawing, painting, photography, collage, and large wall works. Their practice is characterized by a willingness to try new approaches in the ongoing investigation into new materials and visual languages, always exploring new ways to represent the visceral nature of the human experience. Born on Long Island, New York in 1963, Alesi was raised in New Jersey. They studied at Parsons School of Design, New York City; University Hampshire, Durham; and University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Their work has been purchased by many private and commercial collections. Career highlights include a recent solo exhibit (spring of 2023) at the Northern-Southern gallery, Austin, TX and a large-scale permanent installation in the lobby of The Foundry, Austin TX. Alesi currently lives and works in both Austin, TX and Asheville, NC.

Meet in the Sanctuary.

Each year, one week before Thanksgiving, the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness partner together to sponsor National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Occurring this year during the week of Nov. 11-18 more than 700 colleges, high schools, and community groups across the country will come together to provide education, draw attention to the issues of hunger and homelessness, and recruit volunteers and supporters for local agencies supporting those experiencing food insecurity and homelessness. Our community will also be holding a variety of events to highlight partnerships between agencies working to address these issues, as well as provide education and opportunities to support these organizations and the individuals they serve.

Why is National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week important? The National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to determine that homelessness has been on the rise since 2017, increasing overall by 6% since then. In 2022, counts of individuals experiencing homelessness reached record highs, with HUD counting around 582,000 Americans experiencing homelessness last year. HUD’s definition of homelessness includes both sheltered and unsheltered individuals. Sheltered homelessness includes people who are living in domestic violence shelters, transitional shelters, safe havens that serve homeless individuals with severe mental illness, or hotels/motels. Unsheltered individuals may be living outdoors, in cars, abandoned buildings, or in other places not meant for human habitation. Concerningly, rates of unsheltered homelessness across the nation are also trending upward, with most racial, ethnic, and gender subgroups disproportionately impacted. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that an estimated 17 million families, or 1 in 8 U.S. Households, experienced food insecurity at some point in 2022 and here too, data demonstrates that rates of food insecurity are significantly higher for racial, ethnic, and gender subgroups. The American College of Physicians reported in 2022 that food insecurity has become a threat to public health in America.

In our community, the Point-In-Time (PIT) count is conducted annually to get a snapshot count of individuals experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness. Conducted on a single night in January each year, the PIT count is conducted by communities nationwide, and is intended to be an unduplicated count of people experiencing homelessness within the community. Our most recent PIT count was conducted on Jan. 31, 2023, and showed that there are around 402 sheltered and 171 unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness here.While this is slightly lower than last year’s count, this total of 573 unhoused individuals is still significantly higher than pre-pandemic counts. Additionally, in our area, more than 8 in 10 children experience poverty, and 1 in 4 children in Western North Carolina do not have access to three square meals daily.

National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week represents a time when we can come together as a community to share knowledge and identify resources to end hunger and homelessness. It invites us to consider joining efforts to help people in immediate need, and to take part in identifying and supporting long-term solutions. Haywood Street Congregation, a local urban ministry, will be highlighting collaboration between service agencies, faith communities, the County, and the City throughout the week of Nov. 11-18 with a variety of events ranging from the Homelessness Learning Series provided by the City of Asheville, volunteer trainings for Code Purple and ABCCM’s Transformation Village, and tours of the Haywood Street Congregation Campus and Homeward Bound’s Permanent Supportive Housing Project, Compass Point Village.

Other notable events include Lunch at the Crossroads at First Baptist Church of Asheville on Thursday, Nov. 16, and an awareness gathering facilitated by the Buncombe County Homeless Coalition at New Belgium Brewing on Sunday, Nov. 19. To see the full calendar of events, visit Haywood Street Congregation’s Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week event schedule.

This month we’re discussing Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver.   The Leicester Library Book Discussion Group meets the second Tuesday of each month at 1 pm in the Community Room at the library. Newcomers welcome!
A Zoom link is available for those who want to attend but cannot make it in person.

“The Notebook” is a captivating and deeply romantic film directed by Nick Cassavetes, based on the best-selling novel by Nicholas Sparks. Released in 2004, this epic love story is set against the backdrop of the 1940s and follows the enduring love between Noah Calhoun (played by Ryan Gosling) and Allie Hamilton (played by Rachel McAdams).

The film begins in a nursing home, where an elderly man, Noah, reads a love story from his notebook to an Alzheimer’s-stricken woman, Allie. As he narrates their poignant tale, we are transported back in time to a small coastal town in South Carolina. Noah and Allie, two individuals from very different backgrounds, meet and fall deeply in love during the summer of 1940. Their love story is passionate and all-consuming, but societal pressures and the outbreak of World War II force them apart.

Despite the passage of time and the challenges that life throws their way, Noah and Allie’s love endures. “The Notebook” beautifully captures the essence of true love, commitment, and the idea that love can transcend time and circumstance. It’s a heartfelt and touching portrayal of the power of love, memory, and the importance of holding onto the things that matter most in life. This timeless film has resonated with audiences around the world and remains a beloved classic in the realm of romantic cinema.

LEAF isn’t just for kids! Join us in the Mezzanine while you wait for your youth to finish their class or just to hang out!

Trying out your new reading skills in front of other people can be intimidating! But dogs always listen and never judge, even when we make mistakes. Practice reading with a furry pal at the library every Tuesday afternoon and improve your skills with the listening ear of a certified therapy dog from the Alliance of Therapy Dogs.

Read with Flora the Golden Retriever every first and third Tuesday from 4 – 5 p.m.

Read with Rascal the King Charles Spaniel every second and fourth Tuesday from 3 – 4 p.m.

All participants must register and sign a waiver to take part. Call the library at 828-250-4738 or e-mail [email protected] for more information.

Join us for a lively language enrichment story time designed for children ages 4 to 18 months.

Even though it’s getting colder, you can still find fresh, local food at area farmers markets. Nine markets in Buncombe County will offer extended seasons or special holiday dates in November and December. In addition to seasonal produce, meats, cheeses, eggs, and bread, these markets will feature local artists and handmade goods, such as wreaths, pottery, jewelry, and more.

ASAP’s Double SNAP for Fruits and Vegetables and Farm Fresh Produce Prescription. Both programs offer participants free market tokens that can be spent on fresh fruits and vegetables. That includes in-season fall produce such as root veggies (including carrots, beets, radishes, and turnips), tubers (potatoes and sweet potatoes), brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage), winter squash, greens, and fruits like apples and persimmons.