Buzzworm news briefs

TLC for women with cancer

As a breast-cancer survivor, Susie Tarantino knows the importance of a little self-pampering. “As women, we tend to focus on everyone else’s needs,” she notes.

To help correct this imbalance, Tarantino (who owns the concierge service TLC) and Teresa Bennett (who owns Vanity Flair, a new day spa) have paired up to offer “A Special Day for You,” a fun afternoon of pampering happening Sunday, May 16, 2-6 p.m. at Vanity Flair (1270 Hendersonville Road). The free event is aimed at women who “have gone through cancer, are going through cancer, or have just been diagnosed,” says Tarantino.

Participants can enjoy mini-massages, pedicures and paraffin treatments, as well as wig stylings, food and wine (catered by the Wildflower Restaurant and Creative Cuisine), flowers (compliments of South Forest Florist), door prizes and more.

It’s also a chance to make new friends, share experiences and, as Tarantino puts it, “come on in and whip your wig off and say, ‘I just hate this!'”

To register, call 670-1379 or 274-2321.

— Lisa Watters

Asheville greenway on its way

Drive by the Glenn’s Creek Greenway — the stretch of green space along W.T. Weaver Boulevard, bordering the UNCA campus — and you’ll probably see people taking advantage of this corridor’s natural beauty, whether they’re running, biking, walking their dogs or pushing children in strollers. But this is only the first leg of a whole web of greenways that have been in the works for more than a decade.

Plans are already well under way for the next segment, the Reed Creek Greenway, which will pick up where the Glenn’s Creek Greenway ends (at the Botanical Gardens) and then travel up Broadway Street (on the Montford side) as far as Starnes Avenue (only a block or two from the Interstate 240 overpass). All of the needed land has been acquired via purchases, donations and easements, reports Executive Director Paula Robbins of the Asheville Parks and Greenways Foundation — and work on the greenway is slated to begin in earnest once the Metropolitan Sewerage District has replaced the aged sewer line along the creek (about a year from now).

But funds for construction will have to be obtained from many sources, notes Robbins, including government and foundation grants, a city budget allocation — and private donations. Evidence of community support for the project is also crucial in securing grant funding, she reports.

To kick things off, May has been designated Reed Creek Greenway Month. For a free tour of the proposed route, meet at the Eblen Short Stop convenience store (on the corner of Cauble Street and Broadway Street) at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 15. (This date was chosen to coincide with Strive Not to Drive Week.)

The fund-raising target for the month is $35,000 — the cost of one of the two bridges across the creek that will be needed due to the terrain. Community donations are being solicited in a number of different ways. Earth Fare has chosen the Reed Creek Greenway as its designated charity for the month of May. In addition, members of the community are hosting a series of fund-raising dinner parties, and local businesses have been asked to match the funds raised at these events or to donate a percentage of their sales during the month.

In addition, a fund-raising reception will be held Sunday, May 30, 3-6 p.m. at the Montford Arts Center and Pyper’s Place (223 and 235 Montford Ave., respectively). The event will feature live music and a silent auction featuring nature photographs donated by the Carolinas Nature Photographers Association. Refreshments will be available for purchase.

For more information, call Robbins at 281-3253. Donations (made payable to Asheville Parks and Greenways Foundation) can be sent to P.O. Box 7148, Asheville NC 28802.

— Lisa Watters

Louder than words

“Good art can foster a greater awareness of environmental concerns … [than] slogans or cliches,” proclaims Kim Bennett, co-owner and curator of the Long Shot Gallery in downtown Asheville.

If that’s true, then What I Can See From Here?, a photography exhibit to benefit the Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project, should speak volumes. The featured work — by well-known photographers Stephen Moody and Jon Holloway — presents “nuanced visions of our region that convey its enduring beauty without shying away from its scars,” notes Bennett.

Moody, Holloway and Long Shot Gallery will donate all proceeds from the sale of these photographs to the Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project. This Asheville-based, nonprofit environmental group works to protect the Southeast’s national forests from commercial logging through legal action and public-education efforts.

An opening reception happens Thursday, May 13, 6-8 p.m. at Long Shot Gallery (13-1/2 Eagle St.). Thereafter, the exhibit will be open by appointment only.

For more information or to make an appointment to see the exhibit, call Long Shot Gallery at 877-4552.

— Lisa Watters