Local minority-owned businesses were recognized at the Minority Enterprise Development Week award ceremony on Sept. 29 at Ferguson Auditorium at A-B Tech.
Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority celebrates a year of success at annual meeting
Business leaders, nonprofit representatives, elected officials and political candidates from across Buncombe County gathered at the Biltmore Estate’s Lioncrest venue Wednesday, Oct. 28 for the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority’s annual meeting.
Living soul: Goombay Festival partners with GO Kitchen Ready culinary training program
Asheville’s annual Goombay Festival offers learning and networking opportunities for culinary trainees.
New busking regulation proposals
The people’s market: WNC flea markets offer culture, community and commodities
Whether you’re hunting for a bargain or looking to make some extra cash, gathering with neighbors at a local flea market could be just the ticket. Flea market regulars say the connections that form between buyers and sellers are a unique aspect of the experience, and their value can equal or exceed the monetary rewards.
An interview with Asheville Downtown Development Specialist Dana Frankel
New downtown development specialist and Asheville native Dana Frankel took time from her busy schedule to speak with Xpress about growing up in the city, her role among downtown stakeholders, facilitating equity around the central business district and what makes Asheville special to her.
UPDATED: Asheville residents gather to provide feedback on downtown shuttle proposal
Scores of Asheville residents met with city staffers and representatives from Nelson Nygaard, a national transportation consulting firm, on Wednesday, August 17 to learn about and provide feedback on an early-stage proposal on instituting a city shuttle service in and around downtown Asheville.
Main Street renaissance: WNC’s small towns confront growth, change
Asheville may be a top dream destination for many folks, but for an increasing number of newcomers and old-timers alike, the No. 1 dream destination may be just down the road a ways. With the challenges of urbanization besetting Asheville, newcomers and locals alike are turning to surrounding towns and communities in search of cheaper […]
Caffeine Crawl combines coffee, cycling and international philanthropy
A coffee and cycling event on Saturday, June 25, is designed to highlight Asheville’s coffee and bicycle scenes while helping international nonprofit The Chain Collaborative build a school in Uganda.
Step one, Hackathon: Asheville network coalesces to grow area B Corp community
What the heck is a hackathon? It may sound like an epic, machete-wielding footrace through the jungle, or a competition to see who can break into computer systems the fastest, but, in fact, it’s both tamer and more noble — it’s about bringing people together to collaborate. The term is borrowed from collaborative computer programming […]
Body and soul: 12 Baskets Cafe offers free meals and fellowship to all
In a town where tourists come for the food, people who live on the margins of society often feel unwelcome in restaurants, even if they have the money to pay for a meal. But at 12 Baskets Café, they are welcome and valued.
Rainbow Community School aims to reinvent learning
What would you do if you were given the chance to reimagine the American high school — and perhaps have your vision made real? The folks at West Asheville’s Rainbow Community School are enthusiastically tackling that ambitious challenge. Last September, West Willmore, Rainbow’s curriculum director, learned through social media about XQ: The Super School Project, […]
Asheville’s Awesome Foundation hosts pitch party, awards $1,000 grants
The Asheville Awesome Foundation funds projects that will help make this area even more, well, awesome.
Making local tourism sustainable
What does a catchphrase like “sustainable tourism” mean here in Western North Carolina? How do you make it work at the ground level? Local businesses, organizations and public officials weigh in on what such a model might look like in the region.
George Masa and the birth of Great Smoky Mountains National Park
“These efforts really are about protecting places for all Americans and for future generations,” notes Brent Martin of The Wilderness Society. The leaders of the national parks movement, he maintains, “all saw a much bigger picture, not only for all human beings, but for all living things.”
Zaniac brings innovative STEM education to Asheville
A recent Forbes magazine article asked whether Asheville could be “an emerging Silicon Valley.” And while some locals might wonder where the jobs that one might expect to come with such a claim are to be found, there’s little debate about the importance of getting young students interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics — […]
Tool library aims to build community, sustainability
The long-awaited Asheville Tool Library will hold its grand opening Saturday, April 9. The collaborative effort has been several years and a couple of false starts in the making, beginning with a crowdfunding campaign and a series of community meetings in the spring of 2013. “We couldn’t be more pleased to have finally found a […]
Trade and Lore Coffee is set to open on Wall Street
A new downtown coffee shop aims to create a hub for community building and social justice in the wake of Waking Life.
Small bites: Great American Vegan Chili Cook-Off
Full Circle Farm Sanctuary is holding its second vegan chili cook-off with entries from professional and amateur chefs; Folkmoot’s programming includes a community dinner celebrating the food and dance of India; Hops & Vines explores single hop beers at a free workshop; and Chai Pani’s Kids Eat Free program is replaced by a new method of giving.
Smoke and mirrors: the death of tobacco in WNC
Few crops have been as central to North Carolina’s economy and culture — or as controversial — as tobacco. Historically, its high market value and the relative ease of growing it made tobacco a staple for many Western North Carolina farmers. As late as 2002, 1,995 mountain farms grew tobacco. The crop’s prevalence, however, was […]
Local read: The Rise of Asheville by Marilyn Ball
In her 2015 book The Rise of Asheville: An Exceptional History of Community Building, author Marilyn Ball looks at an often-ignored historical period: the recent past.