It’s always been cool to be French. They created the Bohemian style, Amélie and the phrase meant to describe a certain indefinable something, “je ne sais quois.” These days, all things African are also cool—as in Afrobeat music, South Africa as the new fashion mecca, and cute, adoptable kids. But that’s another story. Uncommon grace: […]

The instructions for the upcoming Zombie Walk (Asheville’s second such event) are simple: Get ready by burying your clothes. The family that decays together, stays together: Organizer Dan Burrello (above, in suit) wants to keep the Asheville Zombie Walk a family friendly event. Sounds gross, right? But, according to the forum on Zombiewalk.com, planting your […]

Reggae music is the perfect accompaniment to a festival. The deep grooves and pulsating rhythms beg listeners to dip their knees and sway their hips. Island-inspired sounds call to mind relaxing ocean waves and intoxicating … er, sunshine. Two heads are better than one: Brooklyn-based performers Majestic TwinSound bring their “ghetto roots” groove to the […]

Though Mickey Hart was an integral part of the Grateful Dead, he always seemed less of a hippie than the rest of the jam-band pioneers in the group. Perhaps his otherworldly Vulcan looks account for the rift, or his collection of wildly printed shirts. But the more plausible reason is Hart’s decades-long flirtation with percussion […]

There’s a certain smugness to the portraits of communal living in Diana Leafe Christian’s latest book, Finding Community: How to join an Ecovillage or Intentional Community (New Society Publishers, 2007). But, since Christian is the editor of Communities magazine and herself a resident of Black Mountain’s Earthaven Ecovillage, she’s well versed in the perks and […]