‘Hope. In the end, that’s George Bailey’s true gift to Bedford Falls — and the gift that Asheville’s churches bestow upon our own community. In this time of difficulty and turmoil, as we confront a new reality, could there be anything more relevant?’
A few local organizations and businesses are highlighting gratitude and strengthening community this Thanksgiving through food-focused events that are open to all.
The Downtown Welcome Table is adding Sunday meals to its community offerings; Favilla’s New York Pizza is opening a North Asheville location; Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center is hosting a fish fry fundraiser; and Mills River Farmers’ Market will operate from a new location, beginning in May.
Four Asheville ministers speak of their vision and understanding about what it means to help those in need. The encounter of helping another person, they say, can be transforming for both the giver and receiver and holds the potential to change the world we live in.
“Just for the record, I’m spiritual, not religious.” If you live in Asheville, this probably sounds familiar. But when does spiritual exploration become more of a distraction than a path to a deepening connection with others and our best selves?
Barbara Bates Smith probably isn’t feeling any butterflies relating to her upcoming theatrical performance at N.C. Stage Company, having already embodied gutsy mountain woman Ivy Rowe more than 700 times over the past 25 years. Rowe, the protagonist in Lee Smith’s bestselling novel Fair and Tender Ladies, brings an Appalachian flair to her exploits, which […]
Just over a year ago, Cúrate co-owner Liz Button introduced an initiative to bring a fine-dining experience to the city’s homeless and food insecure. Once each month since last June, Button has brought some of Asheville’s most prominent chefs into the basement kitchen of the Haywood Street Congregation’s Welcome Table program to share their cuisine with the homeless ministry’s guests. Click through for a story and slide show from August’s Welcome Table meal with The Junction and King James Public House.
Feeding America estimates that 100,000 people in Western North Carolina are experiencing food insecurity. Winter heating bills, new restrictions to food stamp eligibility and rising medical costs may be increasing situational poverty. But if a lack of access to food is a growing problem, some across the region are working on a growing solution. Read more in part two of our series looking at how community gardens are fighting hunger — from the ground up.
Nothing compares to a feast on Thanksgiving Day without any dishes to clean up! If you plan to eat out for the holiday, it’s a good idea to make reservations as soon as possible.
