Van life: When the road leads to Asheville
Volume
24
/ Issue 1
Cover Design Credit:
Scott SouthwickCover Photography Credit:
Hokey Pokey (aka David Schick)
An inside look at the world of van life (or #vanlife, depending on your social-media inclinations) — from the freedom of life on the road to the realities of making a living, along with the occasional catastrophic van fire.
arts
Festival aims to boost Appalachian literature and literacy
On their honeymoon, New York Times bestselling novelist Amy Greene and her now-husband, Trent Thompson, rambled off the Appalachian Trail and onto the grounds of the Laughing Heart Lodge in…Smart bets: Charles Walker Band
The three-piece band — including Walker's partner and vocalist Porsche Carmon and David Johnson on drums — plays Isis Music Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 2.Asheville Anime Regional Convention returns for a fourth year
The gathering of all things illustrated and rendered takes place Saturday, July 29, at the U.S. Cellular Center.Evil Note Lab pushes the boundaries of live musical improvisation
Each Wednesday at 10 p.m., Evil Note Lab — the name is an anagram of the software upon which the project is based — blends traditional instrumentation and high technology…Smart bets: Summer Soul Party
The Secret B-Sides, Window Cat and King Garbage play Pisgah Brewing Co. on Saturday, July 29.The latest exhibit at Adler Gallery looks to the sky
On Thursday, July 27, Constance Vlahoulis and 18 other local and regional artists will come together for Clouds, the latest exhibit at the Adler Gallery in Posana Restaurant.Smart bets: Xavier Rudd
Emmanuel Jal and Christina Holmes also take the stage at New Mountain on Friday, July 28Smart bets: Gwenda Ledbetter and Scott Ainslie
Their performance at Habitat Brewing and Commons on Friday, July 28, will be their first together.Theater review: ‘Gruesome Playground Injuries’ at 35 below
The play is a deeply moving and decidedly quirky look at two damaged people trying to come to terms with their mortality and failings across 30 years. The show is…food
Carolina Beer Guy: Archetype joins West Asheville beer scene
Archetype Brewing celebrates its grand opening on July 29 with a day of family-friendly events.Close call: Recent fears over loss of food aid highlight need in WNC
Although it never made it into the approved budget, a provision included in North Carolina's spending plan this spring calling for statewide cuts to food assistance had WNC hunger-relief organizations…Small bites: Milk & Honey Café opens in South Asheville
Milk & Honey Café brings a chef-driven food menu plus cold-pressed juices and smoothies to Arden. Also, Dobra Tea benefits Rise as One, The Hop hosts a fundraiser for ASAP…living
Ashevilleans jump off the sugar train
Eliminating sugar from your diet can be a drastic improvement to your health, say local experts. Sugar-sweetened beverages are the major culprit, they add, representing half of Americans' sugar intake.movies
Screen scene: Local film news
The Grey Eagle hosts a rare screening of 'The Sad and Beautiful World of Sparklehorse,' BMCM+AC shows a documentary about former faculty member Robert Motherwell and his New York School…news
Krazy with Kudzu looks at good and bad of invasive vine
While pretty much everyone agrees kudzu is a big problem across the South, there seem to be as many philosophies for dealing with it as there are leaves on the…Start from seedling
The N.C. Forest Service offers a range of tree seedlings from varieties that flourish in the state. Customers can place their orders online now for fall delivery at distribution centers…Van life: What happens when the road leads to Asheville?
Rising housing costs, a longing for travel, the opportunity to leverage technology to work remotely: It's not any one trend alone that's driving a resurgence of interest in life on…Community land trust project has bumpy launch
If trust is a function of time, an innovative approach to affordable housing may already be in trouble. On July 13, about 30 community stakeholders gathered in an echoey auditorium…Multilingual government services grow in fits and starts
When activists hired Spanish-language interpreters for the May 23 meeting of Asheville City Council, some community members questioned why local government bodies aren't already providing interpretation services at all public…Conscious Party: Asheville Celebrates Teachers Extravaganza
WHAT: A self-care celebration for Western North Carolina educators WHEN: Wednesday Aug. 2, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. WHERE: Asheville Music Hall WHY: With the start of the school year…Bond lawsuit calls Asheville’s 3.5-cent tax increase ‘illegal’
Retired attorney Sidney Bach and former Asheville vice mayor have filed a motion to amend the lawsuit they brought against the city of Asheville over its general obligation bond program…Buncombe County candidates file for municipal offices
With the deadline for filing to run for municipal elected office — noon on July 21 — now past, the slate of candidates for Buncombe County elected officials is complete.opinion
Letter: Missing ‘Cranky Hanke’
"I really do not care how big the reviewer’s vocabulary is, I just want to know if the movie is worth seeing or not."Letter: Brevard Road, an unattended speedway
"You would think you were at a drag strip sometimes the way people open the throttle on their machines. It's dangerous, it's noisy, and it reminds me of aggressive drivers…Letter: Physical education in schools is essential
"Show your support for physical education by reaching out and contacting N.C.’s Department of Public Instruction and the N.C. State Board of Education to encourage them to include PE in…Unaffordable disorder
Four books to entertain and disturb: One on One with D.G. Martin
"Earlier editions of Waynesville’s Kevin Adams’ North Carolina Waterfalls sold more than 65,000 copies. That is an amazing report, but easier to understand when the reader and viewer see his…Social media-care expansion
Asheville, NCLetter: Erasing past deprives us of understanding
"We should not be afraid to talk. And we should not cherry-pick Confederate monuments to tear down so that we may pat ourselves on the back and say, 'Yay, I…