2008 will be over before you know it, and that much-marked calendar of yours is about to become obsolete. But you can make plans and set schedules for 2009 with local style, thanks to several area groups and artists that produce calendars focused on various corners of Western North Carolina.
For example, Asheville Greenworks (formerly Quality Forward), has a new edition of its Treasured Tree Calendar (pictured here). With photos by Benjamin Porter, John Widman and Dana Irwin, the calendar features black and white images of 12 of Buncombe County’s “largest, rarest, oldest and prettiest trees.” A new twist this year: The pictures serve double duty as postcards, so once a given month has passed, you can separate the picture and mail it to a friend. Click here for info on how to obtain the Treasured Trees Calendar, which costs $13.
Xpress will publish a roundup of local calendars in our Dec. 23 issue, and we want to make sure we don’t miss any. Here are some others we’ve heard of; please share news about other local calendars in the comment field below.
• The UNCA Weather Calendar
Published by UNCA’s Atmospheric Sciences Department for the past 24 years, this calendar features Asheville climatological data, including monthly temperature and precipitation normals, monthly heating and cooling degree days, plus daily normals for maximum and minimum temperatures. Its also got info on moon phases, daily sunrise and sunset times, and a climatological data table of normals, means and extremes for Asheville. The calendar costs $6, postage included. Make checks payable to “Weather Calendar” and mail to Dr. Alex Huang, UNCA Atmospheric Sciences Dept., One University Heights, Asheville, NC 28804-8511.
• Men of Westville Pub
One of the funnier local calendars to grace local walls in this Men of Westville Pub, a fundraiser for domestic-violence agency Helpmate. This will be the calendar’s third outing, and while it’s still being produced, you can count on each month presenting a Westville man in all of his, um, natural glory. Click here for details as they become available.
• SouthWings
Asheville-based nonprofit SouthWings practices “conservation through aviation,” highlighting environmental threats with aerial photography. Their new calendar features beautiful large-scale prints of some of the organization’s best work. Available for a donation online at www.southwings.org, or at Malaprop’s Bookstore.
• RiverLink’s The River Through out Children’s Eyes
Each year, the nonprofit group RiverLink, which tends to the French Broad, holds a Children’s Art and Poetry Contest wherein kids from kindergarten through the 12th grade pay tribute to the river with their art. This year’s calendar, available for $18 at www.riverlink.org, features a dozen works from the most recent contest.
• A Portrait of Nature
Asheville-based photographer Laurie McCarriar has produced area-specific calendars for 2009. A Portrait of Nature features her distinctive local nature photos. Order online for $18 at www.gingerprintpress.com or call McCarriar’s studio at 398-4190.
• Reflected Asheville
McCarriar’s other local calendar features her photos of reflections in the windows and waters around Asheville. Order online for $18 at www.gingerprintpress.com or call McCarriar’s studio at 398-4190.
— Jon Elliston, managing editor
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