More than a century ago, one of Asheville’s most successful and influential visionaries, E.W. Pearson, established the Buncombe County District Agricultural Fair. On Saturday, Sept. 7, the Burton Street Community Association (BSCA) will honor Pearson and his legacy of neighborhood resilience by continuing the annual tradition.
The free event, running from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Burton Street Community Center, will celebrate the harvest season by offering all food free of charge, courtesy of the BSCA. Food from local vendors such as DreadLife Kitchen and Strictly Wings will range from fish, chicken, hot dogs, burgers, collards, and mac and cheese to funnel cakes and fried Oreos.
Born in Glen Alpine in 1872, Pearson served as a buffalo soldier in the U.S. Army and spent time in Chicago before moving to Asheville. He opened several businesses and created housing subdivisions for Black residents in West Asheville, among them the Burton Street neighborhood. In 1913, Pearson launched the Buncombe County District Agricultural Fair in West Asheville. He also organized the city’s first Black semiprofessional baseball team, the Royal Giants, and founded North Carolina’s first chapter of the NAACP, says Clifford Cotton, a BSCA board member and Pearson’s grandson.
“When I was young, I wasn’t interested in [the history] that much, but as I grew older and found out the things that he did, it was just so encouraging for me to pass on the legacy,” says Cotton.
The agricultural fair continued annually until 1947, eventually drawing up to 10,000 people of all races, according to BSCA historical information. The event was resurrected in 2012 by former BSCA President Vivian Conley, with a focus on locally grown food and fellowship. The fair retains its original name but is also sometimes referred to as the Burton Street Agricultural Fair.
“[Pearson] wanted to make sure that people understood how important it was to come together as a community, to grow and harvest our own food, to share and to take care of each other,” says BSCA board member Yvette Jives.
Fellow board member Margaret Fuller says the fair is also meant to inspire community members, particularly youths, with Pearson’s spirit of resilience. “That was a time when the Jim Crow laws were so strict, but he took a lemon and made it lemonade,” she says. “We focused the fair around that concept of being self-reliant, bringing everyone together, uplifting our community with food, with music, with fun things for the family to enjoy.”
DJ Twan will spin music of all genres, and there will be children’s activities such as bounce houses, face painting and basketball shootouts. Local organizations, including the Buncombe County Board of Elections, HERS, Bountiful Cities, Shiloh Community Garden, CoThinkk, Asheville Buncombe Institute of Parity Achievement and others, will be on hand to help connect attendees with fresh food, health and voting information and other community resources.
“Our community is no longer predominantly African American,” says Fuller. “But we still want the legacy of our founder to be remembered, stepping off the shoulders of people who stepped forward. It all had to do with faith and sticking together.”
The Burton Street Community Center is at 134 Burton St. For more information, call the community center at 828-254-1942.
Late-night dogs at Dizzy’s Glizzies
Plans are in motion for downtown, second-floor cocktail and mezcal bar Imperial to expand into the building’s first-floor space, which previously housed Zella’s Deli. In the meantime, co-owners and local industry veterans Darrick Teeter, Drew Hendrickson and Ted Rautio have found a creative use for the street-level kitchen and service window: Dizzy’s Glizzies, a late-night hot dog concept that launched quietly in early July.
“It was a quick, fun way to do something out the window, kind of operating like a food truck but with a full kitchen,” says Teeter, who runs Dizzy’s kitchen.
The menu features seven specialty dogs that range from chili-cheese to regional varieties, like the New York, Carolina All the Way, Chicago and Seattle franks. Teeter also offers specials — recent options include Hawaiian- and street corn-themed dogs — and diners have the option to DIY their own creations.
Footlongs and vegan dogs are available. Sides include curly fries, chili cheese fries, coleslaw and chips. Guests need to be prepared to eat on the fly — Dizzy’s is window service only and has no seating.
The co-owners plan to eventually expand the menu to include a selection of global street food. They have also been opening the space to other businesses for pop-ups — on recent Tuesdays, MorE ModdiSh has been slinging soul food favorites.
Hendrickson estimates Imperial’s downstairs taproom will be ready to open in late October or November, with more details to come.
Dizzy’s is open 8 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Thursday and 8 p.m.-1:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday at 48 College St. For more information, visit avl.mx/e3a.
Asheville Charcuterie Co.’s new brick-and-mortar
After years of working in corporate sales, Lindsey DiMartino started arranging artful charcuterie boards as a creative outlet during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, she started Asheville Charcuterie Co., offering charcuterie boxes, boards and grazing-table spreads from a commercial kitchen and workshops hosted at local businesses. On Wednesday, Sept. 4, DiMartino’s company will debut its first brick-and-mortar location across from the Grove Arcade.
“The whole idea was for us to merge under one umbrella and do all of our events here, have all of our pickups here and do our deliveries out of here,” says DiMartino.
Previously home to plēb urban winery’s The Aventine Wine Bar, the roomy space features tables and bar seating. DiMartino’s parents’ baby grand piano is a focal point against the back wall’s lush mural of enormous leaves painted by Cori Anna Klepac.
A grab-and-go case will offer pre-made charcuterie boxes and local products like pickles and pimento cheese. Another refrigerator will feature build-your-own-picnic items, including a selection of meats and cheeses. “We want to have accessible snacks and food so people from nearby hotels and downtown employees can just walk [here and] pick up something real fast that’s affordable,” says DiMartino.
While the business works on getting alcohol permits, juices, sodas and other nonalcoholic drinks will be available. Spirits, beer and wine will be added this fall. In the meantime, guests are welcome to take their charcuterie next door for mixed drinks at Cultivated Cocktails.
At press time, hours were slated to be 11 a.m.-7 p.m., with the space available for private events in the evening.
Asheville Charcuterie Co. is at 25 Page Ave. For more information, visit avl.mx/e2x. For updates on hours, follow the business on Instagram at avl.mx/e2y.
Brother Wolf’s Wine Walk Asheville
Local animal rescue nonprofit Brother Wolf will host its annual Wine Walk Asheville fundraising event Sunday, Sept. 8, 2-5 p.m., starting at Sparky’s Bardega.
The event will offer two downtown walking options — the Metro Wines Route and Sparky’s Bardega Route — featuring a total of 16 businesses. At each stop, participants can taste two wines (one white and one red), and each business will offer a snack.
Regular tickets are $60; VIP passes are $75 and include early access plus a 1 p.m. Champagne Fête with Champagne, food and live music. A portion of proceeds directly benefits Brother Wolf.
Sparky’s Bardega is at 23 Broadway. For tickets and more information about the event, visit avl.mx/e30.
New kitchen, anniversary party at Foothills Grange
Foothills Meats owners Amanda and Casey McKissick will mark the second anniversary of their Black Mountain eatery and bar, Foothills Grange, as well as the August opening of Grange’s new kitchen space, with a community celebration on Saturday, Sept. 7, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
The new kitchen is Foothills’ first phase of planned renovations to Black Mountain’s historic brick icehouse building, which is next door to the Grange. The kitchen replaces Grange’s existing food truck and was designed to accommodate an elevated restaurant that’s also planned for the icehouse building.
The party will feature food and drink specials throughout the day, an evening raffle and live music and dancing with local musician Pierce Edens from 6-8 p.m. The event is for all ages, and admission is free.
Foothills Grange is at 120 Broadway Ave., Black Mountain. For more information, visit avl.mx/e3j.
Tupelo Honey releases documentary film
In August, Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar debuted a minidocumentary film, A Journey Through Appalachia. A new menu item inspired by the movie — a sorghum pork bowl — is featured at all Tupelo Honey locations through Saturday, Nov. 30.
The film follows the restaurant’s executive chef, Eric Gabrynowicz, as he explores the cooking traditions of Southern Appalachia through conversations with UNC Asheville professor and author Erica Abrams Locklear, Cherokee basket weaver Mary Thompson, Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams owner Allan Benton and 88-year-old farmer and seed conservationist Bill Best.
Proceeds from sales of the sorghum pork bowl will support organizations selected by the four people featured in the documentary.
For more information and to view the documentary, visit avl.mx/e39.
Workshop focuses on container gardening
Bountiful Cities will host a Container Garden Workshop at the Pearson Garden on Sunday, Sept. 8, 4-5:30 p.m.
The Asheville Buncombe Community Garden Network’s co-coordinator, Tarinii Shanai, will teach participants how to plant a garden in pots and planters that can fit in indoor spaces, porches and decks. Shanai is a mother, community gardener and educator with experience in both home- and farm-scale food production. Refreshments will be provided, and the workshop is free to the public.
Bountiful Cities is a nonprofit organization founded in 2000 that teaches sustainable agriculture skills and sharing resources to promote social justice, economic viability and community resilience. The organization’s Community Garden Network connects dozens of edible gardens in the greater Asheville area with resources such as a tool library, shared financial development programs and food distribution across WNC.
Pearson Garden is at 408 Pearson Drive. For more information, visit avl.mx/e3d.
Additional reporting from Oby Arnold.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.