Review of A Christmas Carol

If you have never encountered the original Dickens tale,or have only the vaguest recollection of it, The Montford Park Players offer you an excellent opportunity to make up this deficiency with their authentic adaptation. Watching it, you may feel yourself transported back to the nineteenth century, not only by the story and its setting but by the acting and staging, too.

The 21st noel

Now in its 21st iteration, the annual Christmas Jam — the charitable brainchild of local hero/guitar god Warren Haynes — is as exciting as ever. It's also a tried-and-true event. Fans know the deal: Haynes' musician pals and collaborators are invited to take part in the fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity. Instead of wielding hammers […]

Artillery

In general, the stereotype of a painter is that of a solitary figure, probably dressed in black, cooped up in his studio and creating work in isolation. This typecast might explain why the act of live painting is so fascinating for audiences. The opportunity to see an artist working in the flesh is a chance […]

Soundtrack

It's a well-documented fact at this juncture: Asheville's sound is a melting pot, a smorgasbord, a sonic gumbo. But just in case you needed further proof, this week's roundup — pulled at random from a stack of submitted CDs — turns up rock, Americana, world/spiritual, bluegrass and jazz guitar.  Consider it potluck listening. Shed by […]

From felted figures to burlesque dancewear, it’s gonna be a party in West Asheville

Support local businesses, independent artists and crafters, and just plain have a good time this Saturday, Dec. 12, at the second annual East-West Asheville Holiday Art Walk — which teams up with the inaugural Shop West Asheville event, a day of sales and discounts that includes some 50 businesses and artists. Simone Wilson’s marionettes — […]

As the dreidel turns

Dreidel: A Yiddish word meaning "turn around." Sevivon: the Hebrew word for the same. The dreidel itself is a four-sided top, with a Hebrew letter on each of the four sides: nun, gimmel, hey, shin for a dreidel spun in the diaspora; nun, gimmel, hey, pei for a sevivon spun in Israel. The letters stand […]

Junker’s Blues

For the last several months I've shared some of my adventures acquiring junk around the Asheville area, but I haven't really talked a whole lot about what I do with it. This is only natural – it's a whole lot more fun to hunt for junk than it is to sell it. Acquisition rocks. Dissemination […]

Review of Asheville Vaudeville

Asheville’s got talent far out of proportion to the size of its population. Our lovely town’s got the market in eccentricity pretty much cornered, too. Asheville’s also got a generous heart, and its audiences are warm and indulgent. Put them all together and you’ve got Asheville Vaudeville, the latest entry in a burgeoning world of live, variety entertainment.

Be Love fashion show

Artist/dsigner Rachel Stack of Red Moon Rising Studios held the opening of her Be Love show at Ananda. Stack makes two-dimsensional art prints; she also creates body conscious clothing onto which she often sews or silk screens her trademark trilobite and marionette designs. Instead of a typical runway show, the Be Love opening included an […]