There are many inspirational forces at work behind The Asheville Ballet's production of An Appalachian Romance. The music of late composer Aaron Copland, a connection with local chamber music ensemble…
“It has the feel of a town where you can write something,” author Gail Godwin says of Asheville. It’s the town where she grew up, and it often appears in…
If you like your bluegrass a little bit rough around the edges, this Friday, May 17, brings a double bill of exactly that sort of sound. Love Canon, from Charlottesville,…
The Montford Music & Arts Festival has been doing what many of our much-loved local fests end up going: growing bigger than its neighborhood. While all of its acts (and…
Printing on clay is not a new process. However, this technique’s recent spike in popularity could lead one to that conclusion. And printing on clay is popular for good reason.…
The first time that Kelsey Kopecky and Gabe Simon played together, they were barely more than strangers and yet, "it felt like we’d known each other forever," says the Kopecky…
NPR listed Black Twig Pickers' Rough Carpenters as one of its most-anticipated releases for 2013, which is a pretty good way to start a year. But the Appalachian old-time band,…
Electronic and experimental musicians from around the world — and right here at home — as well as two days-worth of workshops, demonstrations and collaborations all take place under one…
WNC-raised author Wiley Cash is the honoree at this year's Blue Ridge Bookfest. His 2012 novel, A Land More Kind Than Home, was mentioned in O Magazine's “10 titles to…
“Steak pizza,” reads the sign outside of Carmel's. “Tourist food,” I think: approachable, nearly absurd and totally decadent. Heck, who wouldn't want a steak pizza? But I have a different…
Last week CNN named Asheville one of the eight “Best Beer Towns.” It wasn’t for our beer history (which scored just 5 out of 10). Turns out, it was largely…
Foods in the wild As gardeners till the soil, work in compost and dream of cultivating the perfect tomato, it's important to remember that edibles are growing right below our…
As far as fresh produce is concerned, Cera McGinn and Mallory McCoy want to see more people living hand to mouth — putting the seed in the ground and nurturing…
As a private psychotherapist, Paul Fugelsang understands the struggle between saying “yes” to middle-class clients who can't afford his services and “no” to people in need. “Once you have your…
As Asheville geared up to file a lawsuit against state legislation that transfers the city's water system to the Metropolitan Sewage District, Buncombe County officials released documents showing a series…
Earlier this spring, a new local group started meeting, discussing and thinking about ways to apply “new economy” concepts and approaches in the Asheville area. On May 8, Co-Creating the…
A state-mandated transfer of the Asheville water system will be tested in court. At a special May 7 meeting, Asheville City Council members voted unanimously to sue the state of…
After millions of gallons of raw sewage spilled into the French Broad River last week, RiverLink, a nonprofit supporting the river’s economic and environmental revitalization, saw an educational opportunity. “If…
On April 30, a malfunctioning pump spewed millions of gallons of raw sewage into the French Broad River. While the problem was repaired the same day, Metropolitan Sewerage District General…
In recent weeks, the Buncombe County commissioners had debated stringent standards that would have limited nonprofits’ ability to request county funding for years to come. In the end, however, the…
On Crescent Street, just off of Charlotte Street, some local residents are reviving a form of agriculture, and trying to put food on the plate in the process. The Charlotte…
While setting up the new gardening initiative, Charlotte Got Crops, (see “Growing in Unison”), Julian Dominic and his fellow growers realized they were missing something. Tools. “You start this garden,…
After renting a Biltmore Avenue building for about 15 years, Planned Parenthood’s Asheville Health Center will begin providing sexual and reproductive health services in a permanent setting by the end…
The River Arts District continues to grow: Local nonprofit RiverLink announced May 10 that a residential-retail complex will be built on the vacant Dave Steel Company site at Clingman Avenue…
In the 1920s, Western North Carolina was a hotbed of agricultural cooperatives. For farmers here, the Great Depression began well ahead of the stock market crash. Overproduction, monopoly control of…
It is frustrating that we continue to hear some education officials and “experts” naming charter schools among the “threats” to public education [“Back To School,” May 1 Xpress]. This attitude,…
I understand that nostalgia is popular, but I have to ask, at what cost? A horse sharing the pavement with motor vehicles has never been a good mix, and the…
I just wanted to let the Montford Park Players know that they do a great job doing Shakespeare in the Park at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheater. I enjoy every play…
My name is Tyshaun Johnson. [I am] a junior at Asheville High School, a youth leader with Asheville’s Real Food Active Living team and, most importantly, a citizen of the…
“Despicable, unconstitutional, ridiculous, immature, idiotic and mendacious.” And that’s just how Tennessee newspapers characterized the state’s “ag-gag” bill now awaiting [the] governor’s signature. "Ag-gag" bills criminalize whistle-blowing that exposes animal…
