Looking to jump start your holiday shopping while keeping your dollars local? Craft fairs offer unique gifts from area craftspeople — along with plenty of fun, festive spirit.
Faces in the crowd: WNC crowdfunding initiatives
Each week, Xpress highlights notable WNC crowdsourcing initiatives that may inspire readers to become new faces in the crowd. This week features a clean and eco-friendly accessory for cats plus a Sylva band’s first professionally recorded album.
Deck the halls: Madison Has Heart holds Dec. 5 Christmas sale of vintage collectibles at historic Walnut church
Wintertime in the mountains, with its temperature variances and extreme weather conditions, can be a harsh season for residents of western North Carolina. For those with limited financial means living in isolated areas of the region, the cost of simply heating one’s home can be difficult to manage. To help support those in need of […]
Smart bets: Hand to Heart Holiday Crafty
The free semiannual festival is at Pack Place (weather permitting) and Asheville Art Museum Sunday, Dec. 6, from 1-6 p.m.
Holiday Events Roundup for 12/2 through 12/10
There is no shortage of holiday events in Western North Carolina in the coming weeks! Asheville has everything ranging from holiday craft shows to volunteering opportunities to theater productions. In order to help you navigate your way through this busy season we will be sharing a roundup of holiday oriented events every week until the […]
Faces in the crowd: WNC crowdfunding initiatives
Each week, Xpress highlights notable WNC crowdsourcing initiatives that may inspire readers to become new faces in the crowd. This week features local band Lyric’s forthcoming EP plus one cat lover’s cozy and eco-friendly invention for felines.
Smart bets: Wish List Celebration
American Folk Art compiled a “gift closet” stocked with special works from the 40 artists who the gallery showcases. The show opens for Black Friday, Nov. 27, at 10 a.m.
Holiday Events Roundup for 11/25 through 12/3
In order to help you navigate your way through this busy season we will be sharing a roundup of holiday oriented events every week until the new year. This is the roundup for Wednesday, Nov. 25 through Thursday, Dec. 3.
Faces in the crowd: WNC crowdfunding initiatives
Crowdfunding platforms make it possible for individuals and organizations of any size to harness social networks and raise start-up capital for projects that might otherwise fail due to lack of funding. Each week, Xpress highlights notable Western North Carolina crowdsourcing initiatives that may inspire readers to become new faces in the crowd. An indoor studio […]
Flat Iron sculpture gets a sweater
The stealthy stitchers of Purl’s Yarn Emporium are at it again. On Wednesday, Oct. 21, Wall Street was transformed with knit and crochet creations. As with their installations last spring and fall, the stitchers will be adorning many fixtures along the quaint street. This fall, however, they have added a much larger target to their yarn-bombing: the Flat Iron sculpture.
Smart bets: Weaverville Art Safari
The free, self-guided, multi-venue tour of the town runs Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 24-25, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Plus, Weaverville Town Hall will host a kickoff fundraiser with entertainment and food to benefit the community Friday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m.
Locals compete in the Martha Stewart American Made event
The Martha Stewart American Made awards is an annual nationwide event focusing on local and handmade products in the categories of craft, design, food and style. With more than 500 finalists, our region is well represented by the following Western North Carolina-based makers.
The Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands showcases color, pattern and texture
This season’s Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands held Thursday to Saturday, Oct. 15-18 in the U.S. Cellular Center, will showcase the wares of nearly 200 craft artists.
Craft happenings
The 2015 iteration of American Craft Week is held Friday, Oct. 2 to Sunday, Oct. 11, so it’s really a week-plus. That’s a good thing, because with more than 30 Western North Carolina-based craft galleries and organizations involved, it’ll take all 10 days to visit each showroom and explore every exhibit.
WNC celebrates American Craft Week
American Craft Week actually spans 10 days — from Friday, Oct. 2, to Sunday, Oct. 11 — with participating organizations in every state. Many states, however, only have an event or two. North Carolina boasts 40 entries on the American Craft Week website, and so many of those (34) are based in Western N.C. that the region is just one of three with its own webpage.
Regional textile crafts gain momentum
Flow Gallery in Marshall, Local Cloth in conjunction with the Asheville ARea Arts Council and the fiber program of Haywood Community College all hold fiber-arts exhibitions during American Craft Week.
Southern Appalachia’s first craftspeople
Discoveries at Garden Creek, an archeological site near Canton, suggest it served as a home for native craftspeople who produced artifacts for a religious and cultural movement that swept ancient North America nearly 2,000 years ago.
In photos: Venture Local Fair and WNC Garlic Fest
Despite the gray skies and blustery mountain winds that cloaked the day on Saturday, Sept. 26, the city’s first Venture Local Fair put the vibrant colors of Asheville’s local business community on display.
Faces in the crowd: WNC crowdfunding initiatives
Each week, Xpress highlights notable WNC crowdsourcing initiatives that may inspire readers to become new faces in the crowd. This week features one woman’s quest to revive her elders’ traditions and a West Asheville server’s full-fledged street festival.
Smart bets: Back South
Back South’s danceable, Appalachian-crafted and blues-inspired rock set takes place at the Bywater on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 5 p.m.
Smart bets: Kathleen Lewis
A selection of work from the artist’s Kenilworth-based company Kathleen Lewis Designs will be displayed in Woolworth Walk’s front gallery for the month of September, with a free meet-and-greet reception planned for Friday, Sept. 4, from 5-7 p.m.