Coming out party

There's more to a gay-pride event than drag queens and disco. That's what a local group of Asheville residents decided after last year's Asheville Pridefest, which by all accounts was a poorly attended affair held in the parking lot of Scandal's, the gay night club on Grove Street. Without criticizing past events, they began building […]

First, the bad zombie news; then, the good zombie news

Disappointing the town's legion of brain-starved undead, the annual Ashtober Zombie Walk has been postponed until next year. After an unprecedented turnout last year, likely due in part to vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's concurrent Asheville appearance, city staff applied regulations that were prohibitively expensive for its organizers, says Ashtober Zombie Walk founder Dan Burrello. […]

RENCI opens doors at Grove Arcade to help educate public and decision-makers

Walking through the Renaissance Computing Institute's new Engagement Center at the Grove Arcade feels a lot like touring NORAD, minus the nuclear-war part. The ultra-high-tech displays, including wall-sized plasma computer monitors and a Geo Dome (sort of a mini Imax) show maps and computer models of, among other things, weather events, drought-prone areas and projections […]

A Basilica birthday bash

Rafael Gustavino gets well-deserved recognition for his architectural accomplishments, especially for his patented arches and domes. And in fact, he is entombed within the domed Basilica St. Lawrence, which he designed and which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. A Century note:The Basilica of St. Lawrence turns 100 this week, celebrating with concerts and a […]

The Green Scene

A fireside chat with naturalist John Muir Imagine spending an evening with John Muir — conservationist, naturalist, mountaineer, explorer, author, philosopher, storyteller and founder of the Sierra Club (those 19th-century folks stayed busy). As local author Thomas Crowe writes, "As if by some kind of time-warp or reincarnation intervention, John Muir will be returning to […]

At home and abroad

The Lake Eden Arts Festival, poised for its 29th installment, has a tradition of bringing both top-notch world-music performers and acts near and dear to the hearts of local festival-goers. And if that seems a rather tall and precarious order, the twice-yearly music, arts and camping event makes it look downright easy. Variety, fusion, festival: […]

A clearer re-view

Though Black Mountain College closed its doors more than 50 years ago, its legacy has flourished and evolved ever since. This weekend, scholars the world over will congregate in Asheville to observe the reverberations of its experimental and often courageous manifestos. Painting with geometry and constellations: Keynote speaker Dorothea Rockburne draws from math and science […]

Opera, intimate and Asheville-style

Sequels are often a disappointing flop. Not so, The Marriage of Figaro: Not only did this opera make it, but it made it big. Following in the legendary steps of its predecessor, The Barber of Seville, this stirring sequel is funny and uplifting, says Asheville Lyric Opera's general and artistic director David Starkey. The theme […]

Soundtrack

Though downtown Asheville's streets are full of buskers — especially on a warm weekend night when the tourists and dinner crowds swarm Battery Park and the Grove Arcade — a stand-out act still does just that: Stands out. That's the story with Leeda Jones, aka Lyric. Nothing's going to break her stride: Lyric Jones performs […]

Spork

If this column were a city block, it might have a boutique hotel next to a yurt. If this column were a dinner, it might be mashed potatoes with a side of blueberries. Our point? Spork is often a mix of disparate stuff that doesn't necessarily go together. This week, we hop from the upcoming […]

Clear-cutting Tiger’s woods

OK, I admit it: I play golf. I like to think of myself as a leftist liberal with a pure passion for social justice, yet I play a game that many consider a major symbol of wasteful wealth. And no one knows better than we in Western North Carolina that golf courses are also the […]

Clear-cutting Tiger’s woods

OK, I admit it: I play golf. I like to think of myself as a leftist liberal with a pure passion for social justice, yet I play a game that many consider a major symbol of wasteful wealth. And no one knows better than we in Western North Carolina that golf courses are also the […]