“I have the worst taste in men,” says comedian Lisa Landry. “If you know a good man with a job and a sensitive vocabulary, I’ll ask if he’s got an unemployed brother with a substance abuse problem.” The Louisiana native has culled material from her tumultuous relationships since her early stand-up days on the New […]
The only thing more awkward than having awkward sex is talking about it. Onstage. To an audience of strangers. But the femmes fatales of Awkward Sex … and the City will do just that at Lexington Avenue Brewery on Thursday, March 19.
A head-on motorcycle collision in Thailand sent Corey Costanzo, co-owner of Still Point Wellness, on an unexpected journey. “It was the middle of the night, and another motorcycle veered into my lane. It was really scary,” Costanzo recalls. “The other guy died.” To make things more frightening, unlike in the United States where one […]
Josh Stack, founder and executive director of Funding America Through Entertainment, first began combining his passion for music with his mission to end hunger two decades ago. “Back in the early ‘90s in the Southeast, everybody went to see Widespread Panic,” he says. “The band let me set up a table and raise money at […]
“This is one of my favorite events of the year because it’s all about mindfully deciding where to spend holiday dollars,” says Lindsey Mudge, communications and operations manager of HandMade in America. She’s talking about the nonprofit organization’s annual Cool Craft Market — an indoor shopping experience featuring more than 40 vendors of crafts (think […]
The Magnetic Theatre’s much anticipated annual holiday show, The 38th Annual Bernstein Family Christmas Spectacular, returns in its — despite what the title would have you believe — sixth incarnation. The ever-evolving play continues its tradition of raunchy humor, inebriated characters and family dysfunction at its finest. Long ago the Bernsteins converted to Judaism, then […]
In Asheville, many restaurateurs realize that cooperation trumps competition. The local culinary scene is well-known for its collaborative spirit, and behindtheapron.com, a new business-to-business website recently unveiled by Asheville Independent Restaurants, aims to enhance and expand that synergy. Unlike AIR’s current website, which is mostly consumer-based, Behind the Apron was created to be a resource for the organization’s 120-plus member restaurants. […]
The performer, best-known as a correspondent and writer for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” unveils a brand-new stand-up act at The Millroom on Friday, Nov. 14.
The highly anticipated openings of two doughnut destinations — Vortex and Hole — are finally upon us. First to officially open, Hole began serving customers on Thursday, Oct. 16. Located in a new building on Haywood Road with a small parking lot, the bright blue truck with its logo is easy to spot. “Eight months ago this […]
Take an accomplished Hollywood writer, director and actress with decades of comedy writing experience, throw her unexpectedly into the flawed and unpredictable American healthcare system, and you’re bound to end up with entertaining anecdotes. Such as: A mysterious accident catapults an Asheville woman into a dystopia of drugs, disillusionment and worst of all, the dreaded […]
A smorgasbord of Greek delicacies to tempt every palate will be part of the 28th Annual Greek Festival this weekend on the grounds of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Asheville in historic Montford. Visitors will be able to sample Greek recipes handed down through generations, all prepared fresh on-site and, fortunately, you don’t have to be able to pronounce […]
“For years I’ve said I need to make a shepherd’s pie,” Connie Pegg says as she reveals her entry for the North Carolina Pork Council’s contest Monday night at the Mountain State Fair. With delicate swirls of both sweet and white mashed potatoes atop the dish, it’s a colorful temptation for the eye as well as […]
At Hollywood’s iconic venue, The Comedy Store, an inscription reads, “Not to be funny, but for three minutes to be yourself.” Comedian Duncan Trussell has never forgotten it. “It’s the purest articulation I’ve ever heard of what stand-up comedy is,” he says. “If you try to be funny, you’re diverging from what you already are, […]
Kevin Patrick Murphy’s New York roots are showing. The founder of The Actor’s Center of Asheville takes huge strides and talks fast — leftover traits from his previous home base. The actor began training in 1991 at the Studio Arena Theater School in Buffalo, N.Y., and has since worked in theater, commercials, television and film. […]
With a brand-new pizza oven just delivered, the last thing Green Room restaurateur Brian Lee had in mind was selling the place. Chris Kronberg and Samantha Rink, owners of Havana Comida Latina restaurant, were sipping beers in the Green Room on June 28 and chatting with friend Richard Barrett (sales coordinator for Lee’s other business […]
By 9 p.m. on June 20, most seats were filled at Off the Wagon’s first themed event: an Elvis-inspired Hawaiian luau. There were several large groups, one table of 20 and quite a few couples. But the minute dueling piano maestros Jess Mills and Eddie Hathaway started tinkling the keys, it was one big […]
You might celebrate Independence Day by getting up at dawn to run a 5K. Or perhaps you’re the sort who cooks veggie burgers on the grill or sips wine with fireworks exploding overhead. Whatever you’re into, we’ve got the lowdown on where to go and what to do this July Fourth. There are plenty of choices nearby and others well worth the drive.
There are camps (s’mores, “Kumbayah”), there are band camps (field formations, show songs) and then there are band camps (electric guitars, amps, penning the next “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll”). The last is just part of the curriculum at Girls Rock Camp. The international movement, which has been building leadership skills and self-esteem since the […]
Pig roast event supports Carolina Ground Flour Mill’s wheat-seed expansion project
Jennifer Lapidus, owner of Carolina Ground Flour Mill, was on a mission to find locally grown, soft white wheat seed to stone-grind at her mill. When she called Paul Murphy, professor of crop science at N.C. State University in Raleigh, she found what she was looking for. Murphy had in fact developed a soft white wheat seed, but he advised Lapidus that there was no market for it. “I told him we are the market,” says Lapidus.
When David Malis was invited to direct Asheville Lyric Opera’s season opener and 15th anniversary production, Don Giovanni, he was determined to accept. So determined, in fact, that he made arrangements to take leave from the University of Arkansas — where he is a voice professor and director of opera— and promptly headed east The […]
Some of Asheville’s best but least expensive eateries have a history steeped in Greek flavors. Name a longtime diner or recall one that’s no longer around, and it’s quite likely it was owned and run by Greek immigrants to the area. Athens Restaurant and Three Brothers come to mind, though both are gone. But (to […]
