WNC Craft Week
Volume
21
/ Issue 10
Cover Design Credit:
Megan KirbyCover Photography Credit:
artist/blacksmith Elizabeth Brim by Robin Dryer
American Craft Week, as the name suggests, a national observance. But in Western North Carolina, where craft is knit into our heritage, Craft Week seems especially apropos. Xpress rounds up craft-related events and looks at local metalworking from small-form to large-scale public projects.
arts
The Afghan Whigs play The Orange Peel
These days ’90s alt-rock band reunions are a dime a dozen. Then again, there really wasn’t another ’90s band like The Afghan Whigs. When its major-label debut, Gentleman, dropped in…Smart bets: Rural Academy Theater
The Rural Academy Theater will “clop its way into your backyard and heart,” claims a press release by the horse-pulled production’s organizers. This year, the annual mobile mini-circus includes a…Mars Hill’s Bascom Lamar Lunsford Festival celebrates a folk hero
While many people wear multiple proverbial hats and dabble in more than one career, Madison County-born Bascom Lamar Lunsford epitomized that concept. A lawyer and a folklorist, the Mars Hill…Smart bets: Noam Pikelny and Stuart Duncan
We’ve all heard of “Dueling Banjos,” but Noam Pikelny and Stuart Duncan are two string virtuosos who work together. Collectively, the musicians have collaborated with a brimming Rolodex of A-list…Participation required: Small-form metalwork sparks connection
Metalwork is more like problem-solving than artistic expression, says Ian Henderson: “It will do exactly what you want it to: be shaped, melt at known temperatures, harden and soften predictably.”…Asheville Barnaroo benefits local music projects
Asheville Barnaroo isn’t just a cleverly named music festival — it’s kind of a DIY Cinderella story. Andrew Scotchie, the frontman for blues-rock band Andrew Scotchie & The River Rats,…All crafts, all the time
American Craft Week is, as the name suggests, a national celebration. But in Western North Carolina, where craft heritage is knit into our history and culture, Craft Week — Friday,…Smart bets: Die Fledermaus
“Die Fledermaus,” a libretto often rewritten and performed with local flair, will soon transform into its Asheville incarnation with the help of Asheville Lyric Opera. Set in Western North Carolina’s…Form and function: Large-form metalwork makes its mark on WNC
Asheville probably has more public sculpture than most cities of similar size — a direct result of the region’s rich arts-and-crafts heritage. For starters, there’s Passage, Albert Paley’s abstract steel…Smart bets: W. Scott Poole
Halloween is just around the corner, which means it’s the perfect time to crack open a spooky read. But W. Scott Poole, author of Monsters in America, brings us no…Blue Ridge Pride Festival focuses on marriage, family and fun
Blue Ridge Pride’s Yvonne Cook-Riley estimates that 35-40 percent of attendees at Pack Square Park for the organization’s festival on Saturday, Oct. 4, will be straight allies. That is, people…Asheville buskers rally as city considers restrictions
Asheville's busking community came out in force Sept. 22 to urge city government not to place new restrictions on street performances.food
Angling for fish: Fresh seafood in the mountains
At quick glance, fresh fish — other than the supermarket catch — may seem as rare in Asheville as a quiet night on Patton Avenue. But dig a bit, and you’ll…Beer Scout: Wicked Weed opens the Funkatorium
My wife and I visited Portland, Ore., earlier this year. While we could only hit a small fraction of the city’s 50-plus breweries, we made sure to stop at Cascade…Small Bites: Over Easy Café, Herbiary to host book signing events
A dinner with author Robin Rose Bennett at Over Easy Café, new tabletop grills at Korean House, changes in the food-truck scene, a class on the science of cooking with…living
Beyond the studio: Yoga as a public health strategy
Kristine Kaoverii Weber is a big-picture person. So although she’s the creator of Subtle Yoga, she spends less time thinking about yoga studios, complicated poses or the latest yoga pants…Back to the hills: Asheville’s fight for a sustainable farm-to-table system
Mike Fortune started Green Hill Urban Farm nine years ago. It currently spans the yards of three West Asheville homes. Now, however, one of those properties is for sale.news
Motherhood and livelihood: Asheville women juggle multiple roles
Women-owned businesses are on the rise, both nationally and in North Carolina. Locally, women owned 29.3 percent of Asheville’s 12,773 businesses, putting the city above both national and state averages…Bothwell questions APD surveillance; Council approves 56 S. Lexington incentive
Asheville Council members extended a graffiti-cleanup initiative and approved $250,000 to fund burying power cables for a residential/commercial project on S. Lexington Avenue. Council member Cecil Bothwell was the lone…opinion
Cop Recordings
Asheville Disclaimer 10/01/14
Why is the APD filming protests?Reflections of an Asheville counter-culture explorer
I moved from metro D.C. to Buncombe County in 1976 as a “back-to-the-land flower child,” aspiring to off-the-grid homesteading along with my neighbors in Sandy Mush and Spring Creek. At…Tipping Point
Murmurs and rumors of potentially onerous metropolitan emolument costs cause buskers to cluster and abjure future censure.Writer supports Miranda DeBruhl for county commissioner
Miranda DeBruhl will bring fiscal responsibility to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners. I am supporting Miranda DeBruhl because of her commitment to fiscal responsibility, local small business and private…Wise Woman of Co-op dealing with terminal illness
Since Roz Marlowe (the “Wise Woman” of French Broad Food Co-op) was lovingly mentioned in a recent Mountain Xpress [“The Early Days of Blue Spiral 1 and the Best Years…Some signs are city-approved graffiti
I certainly applaud the efforts of City Council to remove spray-painted graffiti from the downtown area where I live. Graffiti, like pornography, is something “you know it when you see…Protect dogs, residents from unattended chaining
We’ve all seen them: “Man’s best friend” chained out in backyards their entire lives, pacing back and forth on a small piece of dirt, day in and day out, in…Customer diversity should be considered
In response to Dennis Hill’s letter, “Why the lack of diversity in Asheville’s breweries?” [Sept. 24, Xpress]. You asked about lack of staff diversity. There is a notable lack of…Letters to the editor
Music to mine eyes Kudos to your publication, and particularly to staff writer Tracy Rose, for her nicely written article on Southern-gospel music and its strong ties to this area…