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.
Local businesses drive Asheville vibe
Walk any downtown Asheville street and you’re likely to encounter some quirky storefronts offering unusual products. Together, these “specialty shops” or boutiques, most of them locally owned businesses, are a key component of the city’s distinctive flavor, attracting thousands of tourists each year and helping fuel the economy.
The tipping point: Is Blue Dream Curry paving the way for no-tip restaurants in Asheville?
It’s taken for granted in our culture that tipping the server or bartender is inherent to the experience of dining and drinking out. However, a recent move by the owners of Blue Dream Curry House may indicate that changes are coming to Asheville’s restaurant scene.
Green Side Up Foundation holds fundraisers Jan. 30 – Feb. 4 to support child cancer patients
As we roll into 2016, it’s easy to neglect the resolutions for the new year many of us made a month ago. But for children and their families battling cancer and dealing with the side effects of treatment, giving up or forgetting isn’t an option. To assist these children and their families in their time […]
Vortex Doughnuts gives back to coffee-growing community with new partnership
This month, Vortex Doughnuts and 1000 Faces Coffee are raising awareness and encouraging conversation about coffee farming and sustainability through a partnership with nonprofit organization The Chain Collaborative. A special pour-over bar at Vortex’s South Slope shop is part of the plan.
Ole Shakey’s to host food-focused benefit for Bountiful Cities
Now in its second year, Bountiful Cities’ Put Your Hoe Down fundraising event on Saturday, Dec. 5, will feature food by celebrated local chefs, cocktails, live music and dancing.
Ready Hands: Local chefs partner with Green Opportunities culinary students for Blind Pig Supper Club benefit
During the Blind Pig Supper Club’s Kitchen Ready Hands dinner on Sunday, Nov. 8, four of Asheville’s top chefs collaborated with students of Green Opportunities Kitchen Ready to present a meal that raised thousands of dollars to support the culinary training program.
Keep on the sunny side: Green Side Up Foundation brightens children’s cancer center
A diagnosis of cancer is a terrifying prospect for anyone. The long, arduous process of treatment and recovery not only physically drains a patient, but also takes an immense emotional toll. For children who’ve just begun their life’s journey, the experience can be especially difficult. In an effort to show compassion for young people battling […]
Racetrack to rodeo: Taylor Earnhardt Putnam carries on family legacy in SRA finals
Putnam comes into this weekend’s Finals competition as the leading “All Around Cowgirl,” having scored more points in multiple categories than her competitors, in addition to being ranked fourth overall in barrel racing and ninth in breakaway roping. True to her family legacy, she has established herself as a top competitor in her chosen sport, translating her heritage of winning and love for speed from the asphalt to the cow-pen.
It takes a village: French Broad Food Co-op announces expansion proposals
The iconic community-owned food market and grocer has announced initial plans to expand its current space on the 60-100 block of Biltmore Avenue and is reaching out to community organizations and the city of Asheville to begin discussions on the possibility of a massive multiuse facility.
Food for thought: City Council candidates weigh in on local food policy
From improving food access to supporting urban agriculture, the six Asheville City Council candidates shared their views on local food issues at a recent forum hosted by the Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council.
Hidden in plain sight: WNC’s Eastern European subcultures
Asheville is a city full of transplants that loves to celebrate its diversity. Yet the area’s third-biggest immigrant population goes mostly unnoticed.
Green Opportunities’ new director gets his feet — and his shoes — wet
As the new executive director of Green Opportunities, the green jobs training program that works with low-income Asheville residents, George C. Jones plans to continue the environmental consciousness that was practiced by previous leadership, but his tenure will be guided by his business background.
No place to go: Foster care system can’t keep pace with kids in need
As of March 31, there were 2,386 kids in foster care in the 28 western counties. While innovative agencies and evolving state standards are making strides in streamlining the system and reuniting families, the available resources can’t keep up with the growing numbers of children needing foster care.
Building hope from the dirt: Asheville group seeks to create earthbag homes in Nepal
The massive earthquake that rattled Nepal in April left entire villages flattened and hundreds of thousand of people homeless. But here in Asheville, a team of natural builders believe they can help by teaching locals how to build superadobe domes.
In photos: Hillcrest get an organic boost from GreenWorks
Asheville GreenWorks partnered up April 11 with volunteers to transform an empty green lot at Hillcrest Apartments into an orchard. GreenWorks received a grant to plant its sixth community orchard at Hillcrest, with 24 ball-and-burlap apple trees and 36 blueberries. The goal is to promote better access to food, greenspace, shade, community pride and jobs.
How to be a sustainable employer
From the Get It! Guide: Whichever way employers define “sustainable,” incorporating the effort into the workplace requires creative thought and effort.
Alternative energy may be the key to a self-sustaining economy for N.C.
From the Get It! Guide: Alternative energy has long been considered a fringe service provider. But with efficient and affordable advances in technology, juicy state and federal tax incentives and the ability to keep both jobs and cash local, proponents say its time to consider alternative energy a serious plan for the future.
Farm to School’s taste-test program steers kids from french fries to kale
For many children, the links between food supply and school lunch are murky at best. But the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project’s Growing Minds Farm to School program aims to shine some light on the problem, helping forge connections that can lead to a lifetime of better health.
Boys club: My Daddy Taught Me That youth program provides positive role models
If you think your day is busy, try keeping up with Keynon Lake. Lake parlayed his pro basketball and sports medicine experience into a career with Buncombe County Health and Human Services, where he is a community service navigator and prevention social worker. Driven to address the questions raised by his line of work, Lake penned the book My Daddy Taught Me That.
The roots and reason of Asheville’s buy-local sensibility
The city’s local push has transformed from mere trend to full-fledged movement, a move that now seems natural, but how did local businesses get whipped into such a unified front?