Outdoor Journal

Gently down the stream: The Asheville Rowing Club will hold a “Learn to Row” class on Saturday, June 9, beginning at 11:00 a.m. at the club’s boathouse on Lake Julian.  Visit www.ashevillerowing.org for details and registration. For more information, call Cindy at 337-3011 or Neil at 230-5268. Opie’s got Heelys on: Your kid fishes for […]

About a dog

Alone on stage during Chesapeake, actor Charlie Flynn-McIver has a few questions to answer: Why is the National Endowment for the Arts the Right’s perennial whipping boy? Where do we go when we die? And more importantly, what do dogs really want? Dogged by the Right: In Chesapeake, a beleaguered performance artist struggles against a […]

Grass towers

The nursery’s sign is a weathered slab of wood, bearing three Japanese characters. Translation: “Bamboo Moon.” Appropriate, it would seem, for a business with the word “Haiku” in its name. Culm to papa: Haiku Bamboo nursery owner Keiji Oshima inspects last year’s stems, or “culms.” photo by Amy Rowling Nearly 30 years ago, Keiji Oshima […]

Outdoor Journal

A heap o’ stuff: The Garhwalis need your help. Granted, this may be the first time you’ve heard this, on account of they’re so far away and all, but it’s no less true. Through May 19, Mast General Store, along with partners at Appalachian State University and Georgia Southern University, is collecting donated gear to […]

Girls 4 Girls: Singing the body eclectic

Young women’s appraisals of their bodies have been under assault at least since the invention of the corset. Since then, things have gotten markedly worse. Tugged between the beauty standard of the knock-kneed model and the realities of the modern-American lifestyle—i.e. TV, empty calories and inactivity—many girls today don’t know how they should be shaped, […]

Outdoor Journal

Dig a little deeper: The Carolina Mountain Club invites you to join them for a little maintenance this weekend along the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Granted you could spend Saturday, May 12, drowsing in your hammock, but wouldn’t you rather spend it clearing downed limbs and digging out water bars? Dress for hiking and bring your own […]

Buncombe County Commission

It was a night of hisses and cheers, of impassioned statements and more than a few mumbled expletives. But hours of public comment at the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners’ April 24 meeting—mostly opposing the measure—did not deter the board from adopting a countywide zoning ordinance. Read it and weep: Commissioners passed a new zoning […]

Outdoor Journal

What time is it?: It’s time for kids to run amok. Or close to it. Despite your best wishes, parents, school will soon be out. If the warmer months make your home feel like an air-conditioned prison and the ice-cream truck’s distant jingle has a sinister ring, you’ll be happy to know that Asheville Parks […]

Outdoor Journal

Just passing through: The 12th annual Trailfest will seize downtown Hot Springs on April 27, 28 and 29. It’s a celebration timed to coincide with the brief window when northbound Appalachian Trail hikers are stoically marching through the Madison County town. If only they’d step off the trail for a moment, hikers would get to […]

Outdoor Journal

Go easy on yourself: Cycle North Carolina, the state’s only “fully supported” bike tour, is preparing the route for its “Mountains to the Coast” tour of the Tar Heel state. The ninth-annual ride will set out from West Jefferson on Sept. 29 and arrive in Currituck on Oct. 6. Cyclists will average 65 miles per […]

Spare me

The walls are painted mauve and a muted blue. In the middle of the floor stands a stainless steel table where animals are held and comforted as they receive a lethal injection. A nearby shelf holds discarded syringes. One sick puppy: Veterinarian Teresa Warstler looks after an unhappy intern at the Buncombe County Animal Shelter. […]

Outdoor Journal

Get your trout on: The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will open approximately 1,120 miles of “Hatchery-Supported Trout Waters” in 25 of the state’s western counties beginning at a bleary-eyed 6 a.m. on Saturday, April 7. The season will run from then until one-half hour after sunset on Feb. 29, 2008. Anglers can harvest a maximum […]