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    Sunday, December 30, 2007

    Town Hall Meeting

    The NAACP is holding a town hall meeting at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Asheville, for people to express grievances with the city of Asheville, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 4:30 p.m.

    The event is free and open to the public.

    UUCA is located at 1 Edwin Place (at the corner of Edwin and Charlotte Street), in Asheville.

    Thursday, December 27, 2007

    Tiny Green House

    Tiny Green House is an Asheville blog I recently became aware of. The website description reads:
    "from a life in Suburbia to 3 years of Permaculture Sustainability in the Georgia woods, and now to an Urban setting, follow the adventures of me, Isabel, and my "Permaculture on the Cheap" farmer/partner, Bob as we try to have fun while creating a lifestyle with a light footprint in the city of Asheville, NC"
    Go read about their life in a little "green" renovated 1925 Bungalow in West Asheville, NC.

    The house is really coming along nicely. WELCOME to Asheville!

    link

    Thursday, December 20, 2007

    Solstice Celebrations

    Friday

    * Winter Solstice celebration, 4-5:30 p.m., The Botanical Gardens, 151 W. T. Weaver Boulevard, Asheville. Song and dance, spoken word, a science lesson and shared silence. Rain or shine. Donations encouraged. Presented by Earth Celebrations, an unaffiliated group of artists, gardeners, and others who co-create public gatherings of participatory song and dance, spoken word, science lessons, and shared silence. We co-create in order to deepen our vision and remember our responsibility on Earth and our place in the cosmos. For more information, call 254-0943, e-mail mms@mhc.edu, or contact Cathy Holt, (828) 216-8708.

    * Comes The Sun: The Midwinter Rite, 7 p.m. Mystic Journeys’ Sacred Space, 333 Merrimon Ave., Asheville. A love offering will be collected for the use of the space, and CERES is collecting canned foods for MANNA. For more information, call 230.5069.

    Saturday

    * Winter Solstice celebration, 7 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Swannanoa Valley, Montreat Road, Black Mountain. “Roots Down Deep: Coping with the Long Nights and Longing for Light,” led by H. Byron Ballard. For more information, call 669-8050.

    Tuesday, December 18, 2007

    Raging Grannies Caroling, and a Partidge in a ...

    From the INBOX:

    The SAG (street action group) has made a plan to go to the Asheville Mall on December 22nd. We will meet at Earth Fare parking lot in the Westgate Plaza at 1pm and shuttle in for our action at 2pm.

    Our unified message will be "STOP BUYING BUSH'S WARS".

    I believe we will not be allowed in the mall with signs but if a bunch of people wear shirts with the message, it would have an impact. Make your own shirt or bring a shirt, we will have a template.

    We have also thought of carrying shopping bags with body parts hanging out of them. We will pass out flyers and the Raging Grannies will be caroling with alternative holiday tunes.

    Any ideas or comments you may have, call Kindra at 696-5218.

    Hope they have a good turnout

    Friday, December 14, 2007

    Christmas Jam

    Grammy-winning rock hero Warren Haynes is home for the annual sold-out Christmas Jam on Saturday night at the Asheville Civic Center.

    The pre-jam show: Friday night (December 14) at The Orange Peel, 101 Biltmore Ave. It’s sold out, but you can listen at home 6-11 p.m. on WNCW-FM/88.7.

    Tickets are gone for the 2007 Warren Haynes Christmas Jam, Dec. 15 at the Asheville Civic Center. The concert, hosted by Grammy-winning Asheville native Haynes, features such stars as Jackson Browne, Peter Frampton, Bruce Hornsby, Stockholm Syndrome, G Love and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Haynes’ jam rock band Gov’t Mule also plays. The concert will benefit Habitat for Humanity.

    Warren and his wife, Stefani Scamardo, just dashed over to London to catch the Led Zeppelin reunion show before heading back here for Friday night’s pre-jam at The Orange Peel and the Saturday night main show at the Civic Center. And Dec. 28-31, Haynes and his band Gov’t Mule play the Beacon Theatre in New York.

    link

    Tuesday, December 11, 2007

    Spiritex



    Spiritex is a sustainable clothing warehouse that offers the finest quality fabrics, apparel, and home products made from organic cotton, hemp and bamboo fibers.



    SPIRITEX
    61 1/2 N Lexington Ave
    Asheville, NC 28801
    (828) 254-8949

    Sunday, December 09, 2007

    Aluminum Tree Museum

    Located near Asheville in Brevard, North Carolina, this is the world's only museum dedicated to the preservation and public display of vintage aluminum trees.



    link

    Wednesday, November 28, 2007

    White Flour

    WHITE FLOUR - A Terrific Poem by David LaMotte - November 28th, 2007 by Christine Kane

    (a true story about events that occurred on May 26, 2007. © 2007 Lower Dryad Music)

    The day was bright and sunny as most May days tend to be
    In the hills of Appalachia down in Knoxville, Tennessee
    The men put on their uniforms and quickly took their places
    In white robes and those tall and pointed hoods that hid their faces

    Their feet all fell in rhythm as they started their parade
    They raised their fists into the air, they bellowed and they brayed
    They loved to stir the people up, they loved when they were taunted
    They didn’t mind the anger, that’s precisely what they wanted

    As they came around the corner, sure enough, the people roared
    They couldn’t quite believe their ears, it seemed to be – support?
    Had Knoxville finally seen the light, were people coming ‘round?
    The men thought for a moment that they’d found their kind of town

    But then they turned their eyes to where the cheering had its source
    As one their faces soured as they saw the mighty force
    The crowd had painted faces, and some had tacky clothes
    Their hair and hats outrageous, each had a red foam nose

    The clowns had come in numbers to enjoy the grand parade
    They danced and laughed that other clowns had come to town that day
    And then the marchers shouted, and the clowns all strained to hear
    Each one tuned in intently with a gloved hand to an ear

    “White power!” screamed the marchers, and they raised their fisted hands
    The clowns leaned in and listened like they couldn’t understand
    Then one held up his finger and helped all the others see
    The point of all this yelling, and they joined right in with glee

    “White flour!” they all shouted and they felt inside their clothes
    They pulled out bags and tore them and huge clouds of powder rose
    They poured it on each other and they threw it in the air
    It got all over baggy clothes and multi-colored hair

    All but just a few of them were joining in the jokes
    You could almost see the marchers turning red beneath white cloaks
    They wanted to look scary, they wanted to look tough
    One rushed right at the clowns in rage, and was hauled away in cuffs

    But the others chanted louder marching on around the bend
    The clowns all marched along with them supporting their new friends
    “White power!” came the marchers’ cry — they were not amused
    The clowns grew still and thoughtful; perhaps they’d been confused?

    They huddled and consulted, this bright and silly crowd
    They listened quite intently, then one said “I’ve got it now!”
    “White flowers!” screamed the happy clown and all the rest joined in
    The air was filled with flowers, and they laughed and danced again

    “Everyone loves flowers! And white’s a pretty sort!
    I can’t think of a better cause for marchers to support!”
    Green flower stems went flying like small arrows from bad archers
    White petals covered everything, including the mad marchers

    And then a very tall clown called the others to attention
    He choked down all his chuckles, and said “Friends I have to mention
    That what with all the mirth and fun it’s sort of hard to hear
    But now I know the cause that these strange marchers hold so dear

    “Tight showers!” the clown blurted out, and hit his head in wonder
    He held up a camp shower and the others all got under
    Or at least they tried to get beneath, they strained but couldn’t quite
    There wasn’t room for all of them, they pushed, but it was tight

    “White Power!” came their marchers’ cry, quite carefully pronounced
    The clowns consulted once again, then a woman clown announced
    “I’ve got it! I’m embarrassed that it took so long to see
    But what these marchers march for is a cause quite dear to me!”

    “Wife power!” she exclaimed and all the other clowns joined in
    They shook their heads and laughed at how mistaken they had been
    The women clowns were hoisted up on shoulders of the others
    Some pulled on wedding dresses, “Here’s to wives and mothers!”

    The men in robes were angry and they knew they’d been defeated
    They yelled a few more times and then they finally retreated
    And when they’d gone a black policeman turned to all the clowns
    And offered them an escort to the center of the town

    The day was bright and sunny as most May days tend to be
    In the hills of Appalachia down in Knoxville, Tennessee
    People joined the new parade, the crowd stretched out for miles
    The clowns passed out more flowers and made everybody smile

    And what would be the lesson of that shiny southern day?
    Can we understand the message that the clowns sought to convey?
    Seems that when you’re fighting hatred, hatred’s not the thing to use
    So here’s to those who march on in their massive, silly shoes

    link | Via: Asheville native performer, Christine Kane

    [Read the back story Right Here about a KKK rally in Knoxville, TN, about "White Power" and a counter protest with the of "White Flour".]

    Saturday, November 17, 2007

    FBI Operation Focused on Asheville Ends in Raid

    If you have never heard of Liberty Dollars, see here. I think that the degree to which the APD was party to this undercover investigation is directly relevant to our work as Citizens' Awareness Asheville. Were local law enforcement resources expended in this dubious assault on alternative currency?

    The future of an Evansville-based company that produces a "private voluntary barter currency" known as the Liberty Dollar is in question after federal agents raided the facility this week, according to an e-mail sent by its founder... Von NotHaus developed the Liberty Dollar in 1998 as an "inflation-proof" alternative currency to the U.S. Dollar, which he has claimed has devalued since the Federal Reserve was established in 1913. The silver medallions are produced by a private mint in Idaho on behalf of Evansville-based Liberty Services, which also issues paper notes which the group says are backed by silver reserves. (courierpress)

    For approximately six hours [FBI agents] took all the gold, all the silver, all the platinum and almost two tons of Ron Paul Dollars that where just delivered last Friday. They also took all the files, all the computers and froze [Liberty Dollar] bank accounts. (libertydollar.org)

    As for the mysterious connection to the Western District of North Carolina, [the affidavit filed] names William Innes of Asheville as a Regional Currency Officer for Liberty Dollar and an executive committee member of the company. Undercover government agents made Asheville a focus of their investigation as a result, attending area meetings of Liberty Dollar prospective buyers and sellers. (reason) via

    Thursday, November 15, 2007

    MELLOW MUSHROOM




    This is the pulse of Asheville. Downtown's Mellow Mushroom in Asheville taken during Bele Chere in July 2007 is both a local and tourist favorite.

    Red Roof In

    Bitch and the Exciting Conclusion singing "Red Roof In" at Asheville's Club Hairspray last month.

    See: www.myspace.com/bitchmusic

    Wednesday, November 07, 2007

    Dennis Kucinich @ Malaprops

    Malaprops - Sunday, November 11

    6PM: Dennis Kucinich, Congressman and Presidential Candidate, will offer a public address at our store. We are honored and excited to host Dennis Kucinich, and expect this will be very well-attended, so please come early. Kucinich’s book, The Courage to Survive will be available at this event. We hope to have signed copies available, and we recommend calling or emailing ahead to reserve your copy.

    MOBILES Over Asheville


    Eighteen Asheville artists have created individually-designed mobiles using materials ranging from blown glass to bent aluminum to origami paper for the first annual MOBILES over Asheville gala. This fundraising event on Nov. 15th will support the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center. Mobiles, suspended in space, turning and spinning with the currents of the wind, are captivating and elegantly artful creations.

    UPDATE: MOBILES over Asheville gives Asheville artists and residents an opportunity to celebrate this extraordinary art form more fully.

    Thursday, Nov. 15 at Mobilia, 43 Haywood Street in downtown Asheville.

    More info here

    Tuesday, November 06, 2007

    Tyler Ramsey

    Asheville's Tyler Ramsey - now playing with Band of Horses

    Sporting a beard that would make most men jealous and a talent that would make most women swoon, Tyler Ramsey is a songwriter who clearly values intricacy, quality songwriting, and atmospheric credibility. A guitarist whose stylistic range varies anywhere from gentle finger-picking treats to bluesy riffs of utmost enjoyability, Ramsey has the ability to capture a broad spectrum of emotions in his highly impressive solo material. Though he will likely be remembered for his solo career, Ramsey also serves as a backing and studio guitarist for a variety of acts located around his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. More recently, he has been recognized as the opening act and part-time guitarist for Band of Horses. Though the highly touted indie-rock trio is based out of Seattle and not Ramsey’s own North Carolina, they are giving Ramsey a well-earned opportunity to try his hand at stardom. With the way that his new album sounds, I would not doubt that he reaches it.

    link

    Wednesday, October 31, 2007

    The United States of Appalachia Jeff Biggers


    Activist/US of Appalachia author Jeff Biggers will be at Malaprops Bookstore in Asheville on Sunday, November 11th, 1-3pm

    "Read it and your faltering hopes will rise." --Studs Terkel

    "Biggers has fashioned a masterpiece of popular history . . . revelations abound." --Citizen-Times


    Appalachia has long been a vanguard region in the United States, a cradle of freedom and independence and a hotbed for the arts, ranging from the American Revolution to the abolitionist, labor and civil rights movements, and groundbreaking literary and musical inventions. Far from being in the backwash of American history, Appalachia has produced some of our country's most important innovators, including Cherokee inventor Sequoyah, Black History Month founder Carter Woodson, folk, jazz and country music legends Bessie Smith, WC Handy, Nina Simone, the Carter Family, Stanley Brothers and Loretta Lynn, NY Times publisher Adolph Ochs, legions of authors including Pearl S. Buck, Thomas Wolfe, Edward Abbey, Cormac McCarthy, Henry Louis Gates, James Still and Rebecca Harding Davis, and social activists John Rankin, Martin Delany, Myles Horton and Walter Reuther, to name only a few. With humor, intelligence, and clarity, Jeff Biggers shows that to understand American history it is essential to know Appalachian history.

    "Biggers tells his story with verve and vivid detail, a story that will at once provoke and inspire." --Robert Morgan, author of Gap Creek and Brave Enemies

    "Biggers' book educates us as to just how biased and ignorant we really are about this region and its rich legacy of cultural, political, and intellectual pioneers.."The United States of Appalachia" is full of historical insights..." --San Antonio Express-News


    Jeff Biggers has worked as a writer, radio correspondent, and educator across the United States, Europe, India, and Mexico. His award-winning stories and programs have aired on NPR and PRI and have appeared in various magazines and newspapers. Author of In the Sierra Madre, he also coedited No Lonesome Road: Selected Prose and Poems of Don West, which won an American Book Award.

    For more information, visit his website: www.jeffbiggers.com

    link

    Tuesday, October 23, 2007

    Danse Macabre II

    Danse Macabre II Halloween Costume Party @ The Garage Friday


    Halloween Costume Party @ The Garage
    presented by Get Up and Trinumeral Productions

    Fri. Oct 26th


    With performances by:

    Menage

    GFE

    Avec La Force Drum and Dance Ensemble

    Jenny Greer from Jen and the Juice

    Gavin McGowen

    Unifire Theatre

    DJ Bowie

    DJ Aouel

    DJ Par



    Visual effects by 6 Helioglyphs


    Photo booth by Curve Theory


    Fashion show by More Than Mammal recycled clothing and costumes


    French Broad Brewery draft beer for only $2!!


    Costume contest with $100 cash prize and other prizes


    Tickets $10 in advance and $15 at the door


    Tix available at Malaprops and Ragtime Vintage Clothing





    Location: The Garage
    101 Fairview Rd #C
    Next door to French Broad Brewery
    more info call: 676-9431

    Thursday, October 18, 2007

    Asheville Fringe Festival

    Proudly Weird & Wonderful - Asheville Fringe Festival

    Call for Artists for 2008 Festival- Apply now!

    Application deadline for this festival is: Nov 2, 2007

    EXPLORE YOUR FRINGE!

    link

    Asheville should be synonymous with Fringe Festival by now. Come on, all you beautiful freaks! Come on out and play.

    Wednesday, October 17, 2007

    Friday, October 12, 2007

    Eaties Cereal Bar



    Eatie's Cereal Bar is not just for Breakfast.

    It is a fun place to eat in downtown Asheville that opened in March of this year and has quickly become a favorite eating and meeting place. You can order from over 25 cold cereals as well as hot ones, plus bagels, muffins, and much more along with all the beverages you could possibly want.

    SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS!!! ALL DAY SAT (Thunder Cats, Smurfs, HeMan, SheRa and much more) Cartoons will be playing most of the time but the cool ones are SAT all day! Adult Swim late night Sat unless there is an event.

    Have a pajama party! Rent out the space for private parties. More info coming soon!

    Prices:
    -Babies eat free!
    -Kids under 6 $1.99/bowl
    -Single bowl for $2.99
    -3 bowls for $5.99 -BOTTOMLESS BOWL $7.99(all you can eat!!!)

    *THE MEGA-BOWL* -Equal to an entire box of cereal! Clean this bowl OUT and you WIN a T-shirt and your photo goes up on the Mega-Bowl wall of FAME -$10

    Eaties is located at 48 Commerce Street, right beside Hookah Joes. That is the corner of Coxe and Commerce, one block south of Patton Avenue downtown! We also have a Patton Avenue entrance under the Winehaus awning to the right. Just go in the silver door, down the steps and to the right!

    Photos from the Citizen-Times | Eatie's Cereal Bar

    My friend and I went there this morning and I enjoyed some Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal and hot tea. He had some granola and took advantage of the WiFi service.

    Tuesday, October 09, 2007

    FUNKTION

    Sunday, October 07, 2007

    Freakinasheville.com


    Are you different? Do you refuse to be normal? Are you a freak in the mainstream? GREAT!

    Freakinasheville.com is building a progressive community of thinkers, doers, movers and shakers who live and groove outside the box. If you are ready to tap into a social consciousness that thinks for itself and is ready to express it all, this is it!

    You’re adopted! Your ideas are welcome! You now have friends! Ok, we admit we are slightly off-center - but our funky functionality and creative info-tainment make up for what hygiene and good manners we’re lacking. We may be a little sarcastic at times but our twisted nature gives us the ability to break down barriers, soar with the park pigeons and move mountains of mental baggage that makes way for people who are ready to shift gears to a winning slot in the human race.

    Are you into FreakinPolitics? Maybe you are a FreakinNewYork or a FreakinSeattle or perhaps you’re interested in everyFreakinThing we have to offer. Well here it is, here’s your chance to launch yourself into FreakinUniverse.

    Wednesday, September 26, 2007

    October 5th Fundraiser: Spahgetti/Salad Dinner*Drum Circle*Live Auction

    Stop by and buy a meal for a good cause before going to Pritchard Park!

    River Guerguerian, Daniel Barber, Sunny Keach and Jerry Donoghue will be leading the drumming.

    Starting 6:00 pm at Odyssey School in Montford (90 Zilicoa Rd.)

    A new K-8 alternative school. The purpose of this event is to raise funds for Compassionate Communication class scholarships. This is one of the few school communities in the world that is making the commitment to train, parents, children, staff, and teachers in using Compassionate Communication (also known as Nonviolent Communication).

    http://www.ashevilleccc.com/Sketty_Dinner.pdf

    Tickets $12 adults, $8 kids (under 13), under 3 free.
    To purchase tickets contact Ellie at
    776-5514 or e-mail: Ellie100r@aol.com.

    Monday, September 17, 2007

    Autumnal Equinox / Mabon

    Sept. 23, 2007
    5:51 A.M. EDT, SUNDAY


    Mabon, or Autumnal Equinox, wil soon be celebrated. The Wiccan calendar contains 13 full moons (Esbats) and 8 Sabbats, or days of power, making 21 Wiccan ritual occasions. The Esbats are for celebrating the Goddess. The Sabbats mark the sun's yearly cycle and tell the story of The Wheel of the Year. On this day, the length of night time is equal to the length of daytime.


    Blessed be this season of Mabon, time of the second harvest, the harvest of fruit and wine.
    Tonight all things are in balance: Goddess and God, Life and Death, Light and Dark.
    Tonight the darkness will conquer the light, leading us deeper into the waning year.
    [More...]


    Mystic Journeys
    333 Merrimon Ave
    Asheville, NC
    828-253-4272 Sunday, September 23, 2007, 7:00 PM. Equinox Rite with Byron Ballard

    Event Details: "Modron's Children: a Celebration of the Second Harvest"

    Modern Pagan practice in the West often honours the Autumnal Equinox as the second of three harvest festivals. Come learn the lore of Mabon and dance the Harvest Ring! This will be a joyous rite as we bid farewell to Summer's bounty and prepare ourselves for the time of introspection that leads us to the final harvest at Samhain. We will begin promptly at 7, so please arrive in time to get ready. Ritual dress is always a beautiful addition to any rite but not required. A love offering will be collected for use of the space. RSVP for Mabon Ritual | Co-sponsored by CERES

    Blessed Mabon


    Sunday, September 16, 2007

    Local Drum Circles

    Feeling that primal urge? I have a special place in my heart for Drum Circles. It's not just the sensual, tribal rhythms that calm your soul. It's the whole spirit of good hearts surrounding the event. When my daughter was 15, some sweet soul at the local drum circle in Pritchard Park in Asheville, NC, gave her his beautiful drum. First he let her play it and when she was through, guru drummer dude bends over with his hands cupped prayer-like and said to her, "My child, you can have it. (a $200 drum) It's yours." Pritchard Park drumming is a little tourist-y, but what the hell? It radiates such a positive vibe so I can't complain one bit.

    I've listed some area Asheville drumming events here for you.

    * Tribal Beats - Drum Dance Gatherers - Asheville, FRIDAYS from 8-11pm at Pritchard Park, weather permitting. Free and open to all. Come play with us! Info: Larry at 828-670-7287 or Rita at 828-259-9121 or drumdance@att.net

    * WildBodema - Women's drumming troupe in Asheville NC called Wild Bodema. We are a beginners semi-professional women's drumming troupe. We meet Thursdays in East Asheville. email Drumming at WildBodema.com for further info. A Troupe is different from a circle in that we learn specific rhythms and all play together (with some different parts). All drums and playing levels welcome including Djun-djun, etc. You can see them in action HERE.

    * Drumming, Dancing & Toning Gathering - Asheville African Drumming Lessons:, and drum circle Mondays, 7:15-8pm – Movement and Learning Center upstairs at the French Broad Food Co-Op. Free with any co-op receipt, otherwise $2 per class. Afterwards, stay and join the drum circle from 8-10:30pm. Info: Larry, 828-670-7287, or info: fbfc.com/

    * Folk School Drum Circle I get conflicting dates on this event so I'll list both of them:
    -- is now held on the last Thursday of the month at 7p. It only runs from the last Thursday in April with the last circle for the year held on Halloween night. Info 828-835-4704 or email at kim@kimscreationsonline.com. John C. Campbell Folk School's Open House. Starts at 7PM, goes till... Open to all. Usually extra drums and other noise makers are available, 1 Folk School Road, Brasstown, NC 28902. We will now be gathering year round. Check for locations and times.
    --Folk School Drum Circle meets the last Tuesday every month at the John C. Campbell Folk School Open House. Starts at 7p, goes till... and is open to all. Usually extra drums and other noise makers are available, sometimes drums for sale. Just ask. 1 Folk School Road, Brasstown, NC 28902. Call Kim at 828-835-3506 email: smokeinthemountainspottery@yahoo.com for info and directions.

    * Skinny Beats Drum Shop - located at 4 Eagle St, Downtown Asheville, The number is 828-768-2826, website is skinnybeatsdrums.com. Beginner hand drum classes twice a week and have drum circles periodically.

    Drum Circle List - Find more events near you.

    Baraka Mundi - The Bandit Queens of Bellydance

    Live Music and Dance Ensemble - Baraka Mundi


    Better late than never?

    Triboriginal - September 14 - 16, 2007

    Wednesday, September 12, 2007

    Bid for World’s Record Fails


    Daredevil Michael Mooney rides a 12-foot bicycle around a parking lot at North Lexington Avenue and Hiawassee Street during the Lexington Avenue Arts and Fun Festival last Sunday. Mooney tried to break a world record by riding a 43-1/2-foot bicycle, but injured his knee after falling from the smaller bicycle. Undeterred, Mooney attempted to ride the taller bike, but his knee gave out and the bicycle collapsed. Above, a safety line attached to a crane catches Mooney mid-fall. Mayor Terry Bellamy was on hand to be an official judge for the event. About 10,000 people attended the annual street festival.

    Staff photos by MATTHEW DOTSON, Asheville Daily Planet

    Friday, September 07, 2007

    Lexington Avenue Arts and Fun Festival

    Date: Sunday, September 9, 2007
    Time: 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM
    Location: Bobo Gallery
    22 Lexington Ave.
    Asheville, NC 28801

    More Info:

    * www.arts2people.org/laaff.html
    * LexFest

    Get yo LAAFF on...

    WACK Radio coming @ ya outside Bobo Gallery, Sunday, Sept. 9th...

    Startin' it off! All day, all night, as well as between times in the meantime.

    Many great sounds on stage, with only the WACKest in bemixst.


    Thursday, September 06, 2007

    How to Exercise Your Right to Dissent

    September 5, 2007

    Re: How to Exercise Your Right to Dissent:
    An Educational Forum for Community & Student Activists

    Date, Time & Place: Thursday, September 27, 2007, 7pm,
    UNCA Highsmith Center, Room 221

    Professor Mark Gibney, UNCA’s Belk Distinguished Professor of Humanities, moderates an educational forum at UNCA’s beautiful north Asheville campus on September 27, 2007, at 7 o’clock in the evening. Professors Mark Gibney and Dwight Mullen along with Attorney Frank Goldsmith and other distinguished panelists will offer expertise on the rights and restrictions that apply to student and community activists.

    How can I exercise my right to free speech and free assembly within the bounds of the law? When do I need a permit? Where and how can I display a sign or banner? Am I allowed to demonstrate on private property? May I use a bullhorn or other amplification equipment? These as well as your own questions will be answered.

    Topics will include important local issues raised by the flag desecration case and the Bank of America protest as well as recent constitutional law and the law of trespass. The laws that apply to rallies, demonstrations and protests will be made clear to participants.

    The forum is sponsored by a large coalition of student and area organizations eager to learn more about their rights, including the UNCA and WNC chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union, Veterans for Peace, Students for A Democratic Society, Carolina Animal Action, Women in Black, Grandmothers for Peace, the Department of Peace, Asheville Buncombe Citizens for Quality Government, Buncombe Greens, WPVM, and others.

    For more information, please contact Alex Cury at 253-5088



    Tuesday, August 28, 2007

    Woman's Ayahuasca Journey


    The House of La Matrona, Holistic Midwifery and Doula Workshop in Asheville, NC, is offering a Woman's Ayahuasca Journey into the Peruvian Amazon - Nov 6-14, 2007.

    We will gather in Peru for our annual Ayahuasca Journey. We meet in Iquitos, in the Amazon basin, and from there we travel upriver into the jungle. Under the tutelage of Juan Paimos, we will make the ayahuasca brew and have the opportunity to partake of this plant spirit medicine three times during our stay. Cost is $799 + airfare, and includes lodging and most meals, travel on the Amazon, Plant Spirit Medicine, fees for portage in the jungle, plus stipends for teachers, cooks and helpers...basically everything you will need in Peru. We'll return home via Iquitos on November 14th. Check tickets from the U.S. to Lima, Peru and then on to Iquitos. See The Matrona's website for the complete itinerary and more logistics.

    If you are unfamiliar with ayahuasca, or would like more information, you may enjoy this article from the National Geographic.


    At The Matrona, we believe that birth is a sacred and profound experience, and we teach midwifery as a Sacred Art. We believe that childbearing is a time of transformation and empowerment for parents, and the work of the midwife is to return birth to the family. Our house is dedicated to serving women and families by providing opportunities to access knowledge of Women's Healing Arts. We believe that the knowledge of birth and midwifery is among those arts, and belongs to all individuals and all families. We educate women to be competent, confident, compassionate and caring midwives and doulas who serve families in the traditional ways.

    The Matrona in Motion Blog

    The Urban News

    The Urban News, GATEWAY TO THE MULTICULTURAL COMMUNITY, features community events, entertainment, and highlights local businesses.

    Need to feel empowered to write and speak poetry? This class is for you, an intensive yet, gentle workshop offering a door to a deeper and more meaningful relationship with poetry. Glenis Redmond is offering a dream class for up and coming poets. Permission to Go Within: Poetry on a Deeper Level – A Poetry Workshop

    Also, don't miss the Block Gazette. Up to the minute news put out by the Eagle Market Streets Development Corporation.

    Take A Stand For Peace

    Tuesday, 28 Aug 2007, 8:00 PM

    Downtown Asheville, NC
    96 registered participant(s) (300 maximum)
    City/County Plaza
    Asheville, NC 28806

    Directions: take 240 to Merrimon exit. Go towards downtown. You can park anywhere on broadway/Biltmore or turn left onto Patton (through construction zone)and park on college. There are also some parking lots on College St. that are not used after 6pm. City/county plaza is by the county court house and city hall off College St. (approximately 150 College St.)

    Carpooling is recommended. There is limited parking downtown and along college. Description vigil is handicap accessible, open to the public, no pets please. We will gather at city/county plaza.

    NO CANDLES ALLOWED.
    Bring other sources of light - flashlights, glow sticks, etc. - any light without open flame.

    link

    Monday, August 27, 2007

    Walk the Labyrinth

    TWO AREA LABYRINTHS TO CHOOSE FROM

    Unity Center
    2041 Old Fanning Bridge Rd - 5 minutes from Avl Airport
    Fletcher (Mills River) NC 28732
    684-3798 or 891-8700

    Wednesday August 29, 2007
    7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
    This event repeats every 3 months on the last Wednesday.

    Labyrinths are energy patterns placed on the ground for people to walk. They are used for healing, introspection, meditating, prayer, pilgrimage, and transformation. Come walk a 5-Path Labyrinth set up inside Unity Center by facilitator Sam Richardson. Love Offering.

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


    The Labyrinth Center
    58 Dark Star Way
    Fairview, NC 28730
    828-628-1706

    Hours of Operation - Open All Year During Daylight Hours
    Night Walks and Groups by Appointment
    There is no fee for walking the labyrinth.

    When we opened the space to others, it opened us as well. Now people come all the time to walk the labyrinth and sit in the energy of this peaceful place. They share their energy with the earth, they seek answers and respite, and they heal and renew. They leave pieces of themselves and their individual journeys. We feel blessed to be the labyrinthkeepers. It is a constant reminder that life is an inward, and an outward journey.


    Saturday, August 25, 2007

    Warren Wilson College Named Top School For "Higher" Learning

    Warren Wilson College in , North Carolina is the nation's most marijuana-friendly campus, according to The Princeton Review's annual sourcebook, "The Best 366 Colleges," released this week. The report, which is based on candid survey results from 120,000 students nationwide, ranks hundreds of colleges in various categories such as academic achievement and quality of life.

    Warren Wilson College topped Bard College (New York), the University of Vermont, the University of California at Santa Cruz, and Lewis & Clark College (Oregon) to emerge as this year's top school for "higher" learning. The US Air Force Academy ranked #1 on Princeton's "Top 20" list of least pot-friendly campuses.

    Warren Wilson College was also ranked by The Princeton Review as one of the most politically active campuses in America.

    For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500. Princeton Review’s rankings are available online at: http://www.review.com/college/rankings.cfm.

    • 1 - Reefer Madness - Parties
    • 13 - Most Politically Active - Politics
    • 1 - Students Most Nostalgic For Bill Clinton - Politics
    • 14 - Most Beautiful Campus - Quality of Life
    • 3 - Birkenstock-Wearing, Tree-Hugging, Clove-Smoking Vegetarians - School Type
    Also, what kind of college has no football, no fraternities or sororities, and believes that one person can change the world? Warren Wilson College

    link

    Thursday, August 23, 2007

    Citizens Meeting on Preserving Rights


    It wasn't your average activist meeting at the West Asheville Library on Tuesday night. A diverse crowd of roughly 60 people showed up to talk about recent abuses of power by local law enforcement and how to restore Constitutional rights in Asheville.

    Several independent journalists showed up to cover the meeting, as well as the Mountain Xpress and the local TV news station WLOS. Young and old, people from several different activist groups attended. Groups represented include: Asheville Indymedia, Veterans for Peace, Women in Black, the WNC Peace Coalition, Asheville Rising Tide, the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, several shows on WPVM (the Progressive Voice of the Mountains, local community radio station) and on URTV (local public access TV station), among others. Libertarian City Council candidate William Meredith was present, along with unaffiliated candidate Lindsey Simerly. Jonas Phillips, who was arrested for holding the sign last Wednesday, was there. One person even risked his job to show up.

    [Read More »]

    Monday, August 20, 2007

    Patriots Meeting


    Patriots Meeting: August 21, West Asheville NC Library
    In the past two weeks there have been two illegal arrests in West Asheville, NC of people simply exercising their right to free speech.

    Neither Mark Kuhn, for hanging the US flag upside down, nor Jonas Phillips for holding a sign saying "Impeach Bush-Cheany, "broke any laws.

    Mayor Terry Bellamy said in city council on August 15, that she wil not tolerate civi disobedience in her city, and has instructed the Asheville Police Department to quell all such portesting. Counciwoman Robin Cape went on record seroiusly objecting to her comments

    On Tuesday, August 21, 6:30-8PM, a special meeting of patriots will covene at the West Asheville Library, 942 Haywood Rd. to actively discuss what is to be done.

    Plesae tell everyone!

    Info 828-254-6620

    link

    Thursday, August 16, 2007

    Abuse of Power in Asheville?

    The following post came from Gaia's Tears this morning
    UPDATES at the bottom of post

    Yesterday morning at about 9-9:30 am my husband called. This was the usual time he would call after he got to work. He left a little early to do some freeway blogging before he went to work as he had been doing off and on for the past couple of months. He says to me, "Hey, I need you to come pick me up...I got arrested." I laughed at him. We have often joked about similar things especially after what happened recently to another couple in West Asheville. He had to tell me three times before I took him seriously. In his own words, my husband relates what happened:

    I am writing to tell you about an abuse of power in Asheville, NC by a police sergeant. I occasionally stand on an interstate overpass near my place of work in the mornings and hold a sign that says 'IMPEACH BUSH / CHENEY'. On Wednesday August 15, I was standing alone with my sign for about 10 minutes, when I was approached by Police Officer Russell Crisp. He asked me how long I was planning to stay there and I told him just a few more minutes because I had to go to work at 8:00. He asked for my ID and I obliged. I asked him if I was doing something wrong, and he said that his Sergeant was on the way and he was going to wait for him. SO, I went back to my sign holding over the interstate. A few minutes later Sergeant Randy Riddle showed up with a paper in his hand. He spoke briefly to Crisp, then walked over to me and told me to put down my sign, put my hands behind my back, and that I was under arrest! I was shocked and almost thought he was joking until he told me again to put down the sign and put my hands behind me and I was under arrest. So I peacefully agreed and he cuffed me. I asked him why I was being arrested, he told me I was in violation County Ordinance 16-2, (the print out in his hand that he didn’t bother to read to me or show me.) He told me I was obstructing the sidewalk. I told him I was not and that officer Crisp had witnessed a guy walk by me moments before. Riddle yelled at me, "You were obstructing the sidewalk!" and "I'm sick of this shit!" then he said, "Here’s your 15 minutes of fame buddy!" I looked back to see his name plate and he said in a mean condescending tone, "Yea, that's 'Sergeant Riddle’ get it right!" He then put me in Officer Crisp's police car. Riddle took my sign with him and I was taken downtown and booked by Crisp.

    I was never read my Miranda rights. While at the jail I was asked several times about what groups or organizations I was with, like a local group Veterans for Peace. And more specifically the Southeast Convergence for Climate Action group that had protested at the Bank of America on Monday. I was told by officer Crisp that since that protest the police had pulled out this ordinance. I was searched, and they took pictures of me and my tattoos. Since I haven’t been in trouble in 15 years, I was given a court date and allowed to sign a written promise to appear in court.

    This is an example of an American citizen having his/her civil liberties tread upon. In Asheville, you are allowed to protest on city sidewalks without a permit. The sidewalk is about 5 feet wide. I never blocked the sidewalk; I knew about that ordinance already and was not trying to be arrested. It was obvious to me that Riddle had a problem with my sign because there is no way I could block the sidewalk all by myself. I feel like my rights were trampled by this harassment from Riddle. I got the feeling that he was trying to scare me away, but he only strengthened my resolve to protest more!

    By the way, I never got my sign back from Sergeant Riddle.

    He stood on Haywood Road in West Asheville on the bridge that overpasses I240. At lunch time, after contacting all the local media about my husband's ordeal, I went to the Flint Street bridge downtown to do some freeway blogging myself. Other local activists often use this bridge with 'Honk to impeach' signs. Meeting me there was Barry Summers, co-host of Making Progress: News for a Change on WPVM 103.5FM, a local progressive radio station. I consider it one of the only sources of unbiased news in the area. He brought along a photographer friend. He came to catch it on film if I too were to be arrested. One and a half hours in the hot midday sun later and I had not been arrested. During an interview with Barry, he asked if my goal was to get arrested. I answered him, "No. Our goal has always been to get people to wake up to what is happening in our country and it still is."

    At 4:30 PM my husband and I planned to return to the same bridge, on Haywood Road, that my husband was removed from, accompanied again by Barry. Joining us this time was Virato, host of Virato-Live!, and his wife, Dhiraja. Virato has planned a community action meeting at the West Asheville Library next Tuesday at 6:30pm. He will mention it on his show on Saturday.

    We will continue to stand up for our freedoms and against the blatant abuse of power in our government, on the local and national level. Please join us!

    link

    **UPDATE: August 17, 2:49 AM
    "We have an update on our situation. We have contacted the ACLU and they are very interested in our case and are searching for an attorney. They will be even more interested now."
    [Read More »]

    **UPDATE: August 17, 11:02 AM
    "
    During an interview with Asheville Citizen-Times reporter Adam Behsudi yesterday evening, my husband Jonas was informed that the APD has plans to possibly change his charges. Apparently they want to charge him with a state charge concerning endangering motorists."
    [Read More »]

    **UPDATE: August 18, 2:08 PM
    "A letter forwarded to me from the Chief of Police, William A. Hogan, to Gary Jackson, City Manager regarding my husband's arrest. Very interesting..."
    [Read More »]



    This story is moving fast around the blogosphere.

    Saturday, July 28, 2007

    Save Asheville's Magnolia Tree


    Please show up at Asheville City Hall on August 2 at 7 PM

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    Local Witches to Publicly Spell to Save Asheville's Magnolia Tree

    Asheville, NC -- Spiritual activist group Coven Oldenwilde has issued an open call for area Nature-lovers, Pagans, and Wiccans to join them in publicly casting magic spells to stop a developer from destroying one of Asheville's most beloved flourishing icons — the majestic Magnolia tree in front of City Hall.

    Buncombe County Commissioners have drawn much ire from residents when the media recently revealed that they sold the public park land the grand old tree calls home to a developer with plans to cut it down or remove it to an undisclosed location.

    Led by High Priestess Lady Passion (Dixie Deerman) and High Priest *Diuvei (Steven Rasmussen), the group will encircle the area, give the tree offerings to reinforce its resistance to perishing by chaimsaw, and chant Barbarous Words of Power to thwart the developer.

    "The tree clearly thrives where it is, and could be mortally injured if yanked up by its roots," notes Lady Passion.

    "Everyone loves this august Magnolia," *Diuvei adds. "It's a vibrant part of our lives, from seeking shelter from the sun and rain beneath it, to dancing around it during Shindig on the Green."

    "The merit of any society rests in how it protects its defenseless -- the young, the old, and the natural," Lady Passion states.

    The rite is slated to take place near the Wiccan Sabbat of Lammas, Friday, August 3rd at 7 PM in front of the Asheville's city hall. All reverent folk are invited to participate.

    WHEN: Friday August 2nd (the Lammas Sabbat) at 7 PM
    WHERE: Downtown Asheville by the Courthouse
    CONTACT: Coven Oldenwilde, Asheville, NC 828-251-0343 oldenwilde@aol.com


    * UPDATED: Photo Credit

    Ecoheroism and John Cram

    "Ecoheroism and the Beaucatcher Overlook, by James Dye"

    The term ecoqueer, sporting an entirely superfluous hyphen, slipped into the language a few years ago. It is applied to intrepid environmental activists, incidentally gay, whose sexual orientation is somehow linked to social responsibility, in this case to ecology. As Australian documentary filmmaker Pip Starr, himself an ecoqueer, noted, “[N]ature created people to be queer for good reason...we tend to become artists, storytellers, and spiritual guides or leaders.”

    Among the ranks of the ecoqueer is Stephanie Hillman, who, in a very visible protest, camped for several days in the pouring rain on a ledge high above the city of Rio de Janeiro, in the company of large, Amazonian rats. Or there is Eric Heijselaar, who leapt onto a derelict storage rig from a helicopter and spent six days on the platform, nursing a broken ankle but thereby compelling Shell Oil not to dump the rig into the ocean. The contributions of Hillman and Heijselaar are in every sense heroic, the stuff of books and film. But Asheville has her own ecoqueer, a quiet, soft-spoken, and modest hero who has, through his efforts, saved thirty forested acres within the city limits for use as a public park.

    John Cram’s name is synonymous with Asheville’s renaissance. With his Blue Spiral 1 Gallery and the Fine Arts Theatre, he breathed new life into the city’s decaying downtown. His New Morning Gallery and Bellagio have done the same for Biltmore Village. That he has an eye for art is unquestioned, and it is doubtless this visual sensibility, perhaps combined with that gay Frodo-environmentalism of the 1970s, that drives his campaign to save western North Carolina from itself.

    Raise Your Hand Auction - A Call to Artists


    Raise Your Hand Auction - A Call to Artists

    On Saturday October 27th, 2007, the Western North Carolina AIDS Project (WNCAP) will hold its’ annual “Raise Your Hand” auction and dinner at the historic Grove Park Inn and Spa.

    As you may be aware, WNCAP started a tradition several years ago of choosing a “Signature Piece” to represent this most important fundraiser. The Signature Piece is used on all printed promotional materials, advertising, the auction program and the artist is highlighted in news articles. This provides us a great opportunity to provide additional recognition to our generous local artists who participate annually.

    Many artisans have requested that we begin the Signature Piece selection process earlier in the year, to allow them time to possibly create a work specifically for the event itself. We are therefore letting you know that we will be soliciting artwork for the 2007 Signature Piece beginning July 1, 2007. The Signature Piece will be selected in August, and then photographed for all promotional applications.

    If you are interested in participating in this year’s Signature Piece selection process or if you simply intend to submit a piece for the auction, please contact either Tracey Whitehouse at 828-230-0596 2june1990@charter.net or Harry Brown at 828-215-3222 nc1leo@aol.com to get additional information. Your support is greatly appreciated

    Thursday, July 26, 2007

    Flagged down: Activists arrested in row over protest flag, allege abuse by Buncombe deputy



    by David Forbes

    The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office arrested activists Mark and Deborah Kuhn in West Asheville Wednesday morning after a complaint that the couple was desecrating an American flag. They say a deputy invaded their home and used excessive force. [The photo at right, taken by a neighbor, shows Mark on the ground, with Deborah standing by, during the arrest.]

    The flag was hung upside down as an act of protest and had several statements pinned to it, including a picture of President Bush with the words “Out Now” upon it and one explaining the meaning of the upside down flag, a sign of distress.

    The Kuhns, along with several neighbors and witnesses, assert that a sheriff’s deputy violently invaded their home at 68 Brevard Road. The sheriff’s office claims that the couple assaulted deputy Brian Scarborough and resisted arrest.

    According to the report from the sheriff’s office, Scarborough arrived at the home at 8:45 a.m. in response to a complaint about the desecration of a flag.

    Lt. Randy Sorrell says that while the address was in the city of Asheville, “when we receive a complaint that the law is being broken, we have to respond.”

    Under a rarely enforced state statute, it is a misdemeanor to desecrate or trample a U.S. or North Carolina flag. The Kuhns said the flag was taken as evidence, though the sheriff’s department has no record of it.

    After knocking on the door, the couple answered it and, after being shown the statute, said they complied and took the flag down. Scarborough then asked for their identification.

    “The flag covered our whole front porch; he comes up with this printout about the law and tells us that we can’t attach things to the flag, that we’re desecrating it,” Deborah Kuhn said. “We tell him we’re not meaning to desecrate it — all we had was a picture of [President] Bush with ‘out now’ on it and a note saying this was not a sign of distress or disrespect. We did this because the country is in distress and we don’t know what to do.”

    Read More »

    Saturday, July 21, 2007

    Asheville Green Drinks

    Every Friday Night at 6:30 pm at Bobo Gallery (22 Lexington Ave) a group of people interested in the environment meet for networking and a micro-forum (http://www.ashevillegreendrinks.com). The micro-forum has had good programming including these topics and featured guests:

    Cathy Holt - Green Roofs Presentation (for civic center)
    Rebbecca Bowe - The Gray Area Between Green and Greenwashing
    Paul Gallimore - On his book Healing Appalachia
    Wally Bowen - Media Reform (and saving URTV)

    In conclusion I would like to invite you out tonight for "Bioregional Issues: Katúah Then and Now" with featured guest David Wheeler to see what we are about. AGD starts at 6:30, forum starts at 7:30. Hopefully it will be exciting enough that you are inspired to participate. Bobo serves organic/local beer and wine so come on and join the fun.

    Much appreciation,
    AGD Organizers

    P.S. Please forward this on to your Green friends if you can!



    Saturday, July 14, 2007

    Asheville's Americana, Burlesque, and Sideshow Festival



    JULY 13 - 15 Going on this weekend at the Orange Peel

    Astounding performers will be gathered from sea to shining sea to share their venerable craft with you, from the exotically titillating to the absolutely disgusting.
    * The Rebelles
    * Princess Farhana of Hollywood
    * Baraka Mundi aka The Bandit Queens of Bellydance
    * Mab just Mab of the Accidental Circus
    * Swordplay by Temple Valor
    * Lady Lindsey of NYC's Firefly Aeriel Theatre
    * and even more stars of glitter and gutter!


    Asheville's Americana, Burlesque, and Sideshow Festival

    Thursday, July 12, 2007

    Asheville Ghost Tours


    A leisurely walking tour taking approximately
    90 minutes and covering less than a mile.

    9:00 PM Departure Nightly

    Inside Haywood Park Hotel
    1 Battery Park Ave. & Haywood St.
    RESERVATIONS REQUIRED
    (828) 355-5855

    ADULTS $17 CHILDREN* $9
    * 8 to 14 years old. 7 and under free.

    link |

    Thursday, June 28, 2007

    Laugh Your Asheville Off!

    The First Annual Laugh Your Asheville Off Comedy Festival is on July 19th and 20th at the Diana Wortham Theatre in downtown Asheville, NC.

    This stand-up comedy festival brings some of the most talented comedians in America right here to Asheville to make your belly swell with laughter with two nights of innovative and creative humor.

    Festival headliner Todd Barry has been on Sex and the City, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and Comedy Central Presents: Todd Barry (go figure).

    The Laugh Your Asheville Off Comedy Festival is the brainchild of chef/writer/comedian/Ashevillean Greg Brown.

    I hope they see a lot of success with the comedy fest. Go to website for ticket information, etc.

    Link

    Waiting On An iPhone



    According to the Fnokd website, these guys are first in line for an iPhone. First guy is Greg Mayer from Charlotte Street Computers waiting at a Cingular/AT&T store.

    tag

    Wednesday, June 27, 2007

    Asheville Stonewall Rally!

    Sunday July 1st!

    Come commemorate the anniversary of the beginning of the contemporary queer movement with us this Sunday at Pritchard Park! June 29th, 1969 gays, lesbians, drag queens, transgenders, and queers of all kinds rioted in the streets for 3 days after a routine raid of the Stonewall Inn, NYC. This resistance was the first of it's kind in the US queer movement and we remember those who fought by celebrating every year in Asheville!

    Pritchard Park, Downtown Asheville
    2:00 Rally
    3:00 Parade
    4:00 Ice Cream
    Come dressed wonderfully, bring signs, instruments, bikes, families, friends, allies, etc... be prepared for one hell of a celebration!

    After Party, Jolie Rouge
    9:00
    w/ Anaturale, Robo Sapien, and Trouble, Trouble, Trouble
    And of course, Tranzmission Drag Troupe
    $3-5 to cover event costs

    Tell your friends, come support Asheville's Radical Queer Movement and honor the people who made this possible!

    Louise
    Louise138@gmail.com
    tranzmission_asheville@yahoo.com



    Asheville Community Hoop Circle



    This is a group open to anyone and everyone who loves hooping or wants to learn to hoop dance.

    We meet at Carrier Park on Amboy Rd. in West Asheville every Wednesday - starting usually a few hours before sunset (6pm currently, earlier as the days get shorter) and hooping it up until sunset.

    There are usually plenty of extra hoops to play with, so even if you don't have a hoop of your own, you can still join in the fun!

    All skill levels welcome - from absolute beginners to advanced hoop masters.
    So come on out to get your hoop groove on and feel the Hoop Joy!!! :)

    Asheville Hoopers

    Sunday, June 24, 2007

    June 24, 2007 - New photos from first Asheville show!



    Smashing Pumpkins :: Not to even remotely take away anything at all from the Smashing Pumpkins, but locally you have to think that it's just as much a successful 80s alt-rock band making their return as it is that they chose Asheville to open their US tour in. Asheville is a great music scene before the Smashing Pumpkins came to town, and the publicity on a national scale is always welcomed.

    I hope the band enjoys their stay and the fans enjoy themselves as well. We're honored to have you with us.

    **UPDATE: There is a Smashing Pumpkins @ The Orange Peel pool on Flickr. And a Smashing Pumpkins pool, and an Asheville pool.

    With these websites and the Citizen-Times newspaper photos, and the SMASHEVILLE and Smashing Pumpkins sites, fans at the Asheville, NC, event are pretty well represented.

    |

    Powered by ScribeFire.

    Saturday, June 23, 2007

    S M A S H V I L L E

    People are rolling into town from all over today for the big Smashing Pumpkins residency at The Orange Peel. The first of 9 concerts begins tonight, June 23, and many people are going to more than one concert.

    Asheville newspaper, the Citizen-Times, has set up a website called SMASHVILLE where fans can blog about the Smashing Pumpkins in Asheville, and find out where to stay and what to do, etc, in the Asheville area.

    I hope everyone was able to find accommodations and tickets. I see where Asheville Craig's List has tickets posted, but please beware of all the tickets not bought through regular channels. The Orange Peel website has important information regarding which tickets are acceptable.

    Sunday, June 17, 2007

    Blue Ridge Rollergirls

    Blue Ridge Rollergirls is Asheville, NC’s first all female, flat track roller derby league! Yes, roller derby is back! And yes, roller derby is a fast-paced, aggressive, REAL SPORT!

    Asheville, our first public bout is finally here! Come out to support us in our expo bout on Saturday, June 30th, as our two teams, the Wham Bam Thank You Ma'ams and the Candy Apple Razorblades, duke it out on the rink! Gates open at 6:30 p.m. at Carrier Park on Amboy Road in West Asheville. Bout begins at 7:00 p.m. Two 20-minute action-packed periods. Half-time entertainment. After party. GOOD TIMES!!! Tickets: $8; children 12 and under, free. Email blueridgerollergirls@yahoo.com for more info or message us here at MySpace!

    Founded in June of 2006, the Blue Ridge Rollergirls make up Asheville, NC's first all-female, flat track roller derby league. The league’s mission is to actively create, promote, and sustain an environment that fosters strength, courage, vitality, and the empowerment of women in the roller derby sport. Each member of the league shall be challenged and supported in her pursuit of personal growth in and through the sport. The league itself shall remain deeply rooted in the spirit of good sportswomanship so as to bring honor and distinction to the league, women in the sport, and roller derby as a whole.

    Rising Appalachia


    Rising Appalachia

    This ain't #@&$%*! bluegrass music..."

    Sisters Chloe and Leah each play some odd combination of vocals, the fiddle, banjo, jaw harp, kalimba, and some killer spoons. With their newest band member, Forrest Kelly, on a fine array of hand percussion, their tunes just got kicked up a big handful of knotches.

    With many a fine guest appearence from such madd musical magicians as the incredible Jan Smith, Larkin Grimm, Maurice Tunner (play that trumpet!), the ferocious Cailen Campbell, Barbara Panter (Hair of the Dog), and Witt Connah (the most bad-ass blues harmonica player around)...and a conglomeration of other fantastic and fine-tuned additives- their sweet sounds are bound to delight, sooth, or mystify.

    Rising Appalachia are now living in Asheville and their new cd can be found at CDBaby.

    pinched: blogasheville | link | myspace

    x-posted : easy bake coven

    Tuesday, June 12, 2007

    Asheville Food Not Bombs

    Can You Volunteer Your Time?

    Asheville Food Not Bombs is putting out a call for some help the next four Saturdays. They do such an outstanding job of feeding anyone who wants it at Pritchard Park with donated food from the (always happy to help) French Broad Food Co-op and bread from the City Bakery.

    from the email:

    This project was restarted by a group of primarily Warren Wilson College students but has since expanded to include a variety of cookers, servers, cleaners...

    Overall, Food Not Bombs in Asheville has become a multi-generational, family-oriented, activist gathering of sorts where people from many different socio-economic backgrounds blend with others who they might not interact with on a day-to-day basis.

    We especially need people to do the pick-up, cooking, serving, and cleaning for the following days:
    -June 23rd
    -June 30th
    -July 7th
    -July 14th

    I am trying to put together a rough outline of folks who can commit to a task before I head out so that this project does not fall down while some of us are gone. If you are interested in helping out, please contact me at 303-929-9713 or jamim@riseup.net and I will give you more
    information!
    The Warrior Princess, Hattie

    Saturday, June 09, 2007

    NAKED BIKE RIDE in Asheville

    I keep forgetting to post this...

    Asheville Naked Bike Ride, part of the global World Naked Bike Ride began today in Asheville at 1:00 PM at the French Broad Food Co-Op on Biltmore Avenue. Ride naked, or not.

    There is an Asheville Yahoo Group. There wasn't a bike ride last year, but 2004 and 2005 held them.

    **Here we go. Updated June 9 @ 10:00p


    PHOTO: Asheville Yahoo Group.

    Global photos I saw on Flickr.

    Tuesday, June 05, 2007

    Faces Of Asheville


    See Larger Image or visit Faces Of Asheville website for information. If you're part of Asheville, you may want to be part of this upcoming exhibit.

    from the page:
    A S H E V I L L E, N C
    "Freak Capitol of the World"
    "Paris of the South"
    "Aspen of the East"
    "Little San Francisco"
    to the artist.... Home.

    Thursday, May 31, 2007

    Asheville Indymedia

    Asheville Indymedia has just gone global this week and it's really off to a respectable beginning. The time is overdue for Asheville to have a global voice, (of which there are over 170 autonomous local collectives all around the world) and this is one way to do that.

    Anyone can post news to the AIMC website, including text, photos, audio, and video. News appears on the open publishing newswire on the right side of the website. The AIMC editorial working group decides what news is important and pressing enough to deserve to be featured in the center-column and what news needs to be hidden or deleted, all the while keeping the Editorial Guidelines in mind, which are posted on the website and decided on democratically by the AIMC collective.

    Asheville Indymedia is truly independent. No corporation owns AIMC, no government manages the organization, no single donor finances the project. AIMC is not the mouthpiece of any political party or organization. People involved with Indymedia have a wide variety of political and personal viewpoints.

    Go have a look around. You may want to contribute to the newly launched Asheville Indymedia.

    Tuesday, May 29, 2007

    Asheville Yard Sales

    I happened upon a website called Asheville Yard Sales & Garage Sales Map. It's a free local listing of private yard sales, garage sales and more. Place a free ad for your upcoming yard sale or find some in Asheville and the surrounding area with our detailed map.

    Ties in with my favorite mantra, Reduce, Recycle, Re-use!

    link | via

    Crop Circles in Asheville?


    Asheville resident Danny Tetrault sent in this photo of what he called a crop circle he saw in West Asheville on Sunday, May 27.

    It's not very intricate looking enough to be authentic. And then there's the whole track thing leading up to it but it's been fun to imagine "what if".

    See the article in Asheville Citizen-Times and see more photos

    Monday, May 28, 2007

    Clowns defeat Nazis!


    From Asheville Indymedia
    A white power march in Knoxville, TN, composed of Klansmen and Nazis met serious (sic) resistance from a group of organized clowns. Or Klowns. Here's about how it went:

    "White Power!" the Nazi's shouted, "White Flour?" the clowns yelled back running in circles throwing flour in the air and raising separate letters which spelled "White Flour".

    "White Power!" the Nazi’s angrily shouted once more, "White flowers?" the clowns cheers and threw white flowers in the air and danced about merrily.

    "White Power!" the Nazi’s tried once again in a doomed and somewhat funny attempt to clarify their message, "ohhhhhh!" the clowns yelled "Tight Shower!" and held a solar shower in the air and all tried to crowd under to get clean as per the Klan’s directions.

    At this point several of the Nazi’s and Klan members began clutching their hearts as if they were about to have a heart attack. Their beady eyes bulged, and the veins in their tiny narrow foreheads beat in rage. One last time they screamed "White Power!"

    The clown women thought they finally understood what the Klan was trying to say. "Ohhhhh…" the women clowns said. "Now we understand…", "WIFE POWER!" they lifted the letters up in the air, grabbed the nearest male clowns and lifted them in their arms and ran about merrily chanting "WIFE POWER! WIFE POWER! WIFE POWER!"

    Some of the Klowns are from the Asheville area

    Monday, May 21, 2007

    For Catherine



    Asheville Based Film to be Released Wide-ish

    "For Catherine," the first feature film from Asheville writer/director Ethan Hunter, will be available on Netflix and in stores on Tuesday, May 22, 2007.

    Inspired by his bedeviled relationship with a young lady named, "Catherine," Hunter wrote the screenplay while still an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina Asheville, and he and his cast and crew would spend the next four years bringing to life this brutally funny, unflinchingly honest and ultra low-budget look at character and love in the twenty-first century.

    Beginning with a satirical stab at the unbearable Hollywood Romantic Comedy paradigm, "For Catherine" quickly dispenses with the clichés of so many terrible films before flashing forward to show the viewer what happens after the leads in the Romantic Comedy walk off together into the sunset. Two years later we witness the young Duo Black (Grant "Stemage" Henry of Metroid Metal fame) feeling so suffocated by his life and so desperate for solitude that he Fed Ex’s everything he owns to himself. We watch as his friends and the delivery guy try to help him reclaim his life along with his belongings.

    This uniquely sincere comedy, produced for less that the price of a decent used car and filmed entirely in Asheville, NC, has been fortunate enough to gather a devoted fan base and receive several awards, high acclaim and exceptional reviews in dozens of countries on every continent except Antarctica (and we’re working on that to be sure) and on May 22nd will be finally be available on Netflix and in stores everywhere.

    Related:
    Asheville Citizen-Times
    Website | For Catherine
    IMDB | For Catherine

    Friday, May 18, 2007

    Who's Got The Homegrown?

    Apples don't cut it. Neither do mangoes. Nor do cherries or grapes or grapefruits or oranges. A bottled strawberry smoothie? Almost, but still not quite there.

    At the market today the strawberries looked absolutely ghastly. Those huge offerings of boxed, hydroponic delight wouldn't be coming home with me today. So what's a internet-savvy, strawberry-craving gal to do?

    Buy Appalachian Tailgate shows me where to find the strawberries from local farms, farmers and tailgate events by county and city.

    Buy Appalachia, celebrating fresh foods from Western North Carolina and East Tennessee. Indeed.

    Monday, May 14, 2007


    The Orange Peel and AC Entertainment announce:
    THE SMASHING PUMPKINS
    NINE SHOWS AT THE ORANGE PEEL JUNE 23 - JULY 5


    Monday May 14th - AC Entertainment and The Orange Peel are proud to announce that alt-rock legends THE SMASHING PUMPKINS will perform a nine-show residency June 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 30, and July 2, 3 and 5 at THE ORANGE PEEL in Asheville, NC.


    In anticipation of the release of ZEITGEIST, their sixth album and first of new material since 2000, The Smashing Pumpkins announced this special and intimate residency, in addition to eight nights at the legendary Fillmore in San Francisco. The band's set lists will vary from night to night to include songs from Zeitgeist, Pumpkins' classics, retooled songs that didn’t make it onto the new disc, and even tunes written the day of the show. Fans get the unique opportunity to see the Pumpkins inside the process of impromptu creation and taking chances in the hope of taking fans, and their music, to new places. Fans are invited to capture the concerts with audio and video recorders.


    Tickets for these special general admission all-ages shows go on sale Sunday, May 20, at 1pm ONLY via http://www.theorangepeel.net/ or http://www.ticketweb.com/. Tickets are $20, plus applicable service fees. Two-ticket limit per person. Purchaser must pick up tickets at the box office night-of-show only. Ticket-holders must immediately enter the venue. Photo ID required for ticket pick-up. Tickets are non-transferable. No refunds or exchanges.


    http://www.smashingpumpkins.com/
    http://www.concertwire.com/

    The Orange Peel 101 Biltmore Avenue Asheville, North Carolina 28801


    * They've not toured since 2000 and this is one of just two venues for their US tour. Word around town is that they'll be staying in Asheville for one month.

    Sunday, May 06, 2007


    CICADA FESTIVAL
    May 25-28, 2007
    Deerfields
    Asheville, NC

    OUR MISSION
    There exists an interconnectivity in todays world which is unprecidented. We belive that Now is the time to embrace such ideals as: Clarity, Balance, Acceptance, and unfettered interchange of thought. Come join us in celebrating life.

    PERFORMERS
    MOONTRIBE, Los Angeles - moontribe.org
    ORACLE GATHERINGS, Seattle - oraclegatherings.com
    EVOKE COMMUNITY, Asheville - evokecommunity.com
    TOUCH SAMADHI, Asheville - touchsamadhi.com
    DANIEL PINCHBECK, Author - breakingopenthehead.com

    ...and much, much more

    Link

    Monday, April 23, 2007

    Drum Circle at Pritchard Park


    feel the power of the drum
    Originally uploaded by onelungbreathin.

    great shot from flickr on last weekend's drum circle at Pritchard Park in Asheville, NC. Would you say this guy is feeling it?

    Bobo Gallery Events

    Date & Time: 2007-04-27 10:00 PM
    Location: Bobo Gallery

    Wack Radio!!! Rev returns to Bobo Gallery for another downtown get-down night of:
    dub, soul, downtempo, experimental, deep, tech, and house, house, HOUSE!

    Also, every Friday at 6:30 pm at Bobo Gallery:
    Asheville Green Drinks is part of the self-organizing global grass roots movement to connect communities with environmental ideas, media and action will be hosted every Friday at 6:30 pm at Bobo Gallery on 22 N Lexington Ave in Asheville, North Carolina. Select organic wines and beers will be available at special prices from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm ~ Sponsored by Seven-Star, Inc., and TopFloor Studio .

    Upcoming Events:
    Full Moon Gathering: May 1st-3rd www.ashevillefullmoon.com
    Cicada Music Festival: May 25th-28th www.cicadafestival.com
    Transformus: July 20th-22nd www.transformus.com

    Sunday, April 22, 2007

    Scapegoat Theatre Collective

    Scapegoat Theatre Collective is proud to present. . .Take Me Out ! ! !

    This smash hit, by Richard Greenberg, is winner of the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Play! In it, sports and sexual politics collide when a star baseball player "outs" himself in a press conference. With both humor and hard-hitting questions about masculinity, sexuality, and race, Take Me Out hits a home run that invariably delights baseball fans and theater-goers alike!

    WHO: Scapegoat Theatre Collective
    WHAT: Take Me Out by Richard Greenberg
    WHERE: Asheville Arts Center, 308 Merrimon Avenue
    WHEN: April 26,27,28 & May 3,4,5 8:00PM
    HOW MUCH: $15 General Admission each show except:

    Thursday April 26th Preview/Pay What You Can Minimum $5

    Friday April 27th $35 Tailgate Benefit Party 6:30PM, Show 8PM

    TICKETS ON SALE: Malaprop’s Bookstore or online at www.scapegoattheatre.org

    INFO: Call (828)333-0399 or visit www.scapegoattheatre.org

    *For mature audiences: show contains adult situations and language.

    Join us for the Tailgate Party April 27th at 6:30pm!

    This shindig will feature all-American games, music, complimentary Green Man Ale and refreshments you’d find in the Baseball Park! Tickets $35. Proceeds benefit I-RISE! Game starts at 8pm!Notable Quotes from 'Take Me Out'

    Darren Lemming: "Oh, so you had this sorta neo-comfy image floatin' through your head, I see. Kinduva Hallmark card with sodomy. Sorry. Not happenin'.....Maybe someday."

    Mason: "Play is suspended for a celebration. A man rounds four bases, and if he's with the home team, the crowd has a catharsis. And from the way he runs, you learn something about the man. And from the way they cheer, you learn something about the crowd....And it seems to me that to conduct this ceremony not before a game or after a game but in the very heart of a game is...quite...well, does any other game do that? That's baseball."

    via

    Saturday, April 14, 2007

    DILO - Day In The Life Of Asheville

    Flickr fanatics in Asheville, NC, will document a day in the life of our wonderful mountain town.

    This event: Satuday, April 14, for DILO Ashvegas. Get out your cameras and go. Then upload your pictures to the group on Flickr. Asheville Midnight photo by Bill in Ashvegasa.

    Thursday, April 12, 2007

    LaZoom Tours


    Get On The Bus! LaZoom has created, just for you, a totally Asheville experience aboard their fun tour bus. Through captivating stories, outlandish comedy skits, and an enthralling musical soundscape, experience Asheville's history, current culture and counterculture. The tour will stop for a 15 minute break at the Asheville Brewing Co. in the middle of the tour.

    Looks like wild and crazy fun!

    Saturday, March 31, 2007

    Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force Upcoming Events

    KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN FOR INFORMATION ABOUT STRIVE NOT TO DRIVE, APRIL 20!

    Friday, April 20, is the big day, complete with prizes, promotions, and even breakfast!

    Asheville Transit is offering 25-cent bus fare, the film festival will be at UNCA, and there will be prize drawings for folks who register at www.gettingaround-wnc.com and then do something besides drive alone on Friday.

    If Friday, the 20th doesn’t work for you, you have until the 29th to register and complete your own strive not to drive day. So far, I know that prizes have been provided by Liberty Bicycles, Asheville Transit, Greenlife Grocery, the Asheville Citizen-Times, Malaprops, the Tweetsie Railroad, Asheville Regional Airport, and Chimney Rock Park. (There are seriously good prizes available.)

    The bicycle workshop will be Saturday morning (see below), and on Sunday, April 22, the Beat the Bounds Ride begins at 9 (details available at www.blueridgebicycleclub.org), and then the earth day celebration will begin at 12:30 at the Cathedral of All Souls in Biltmore Village. Information (and prize registration!) will be on http://www.gettingaround-wnc.com/.

    HOW TO LEAVE YOU CAR AT HOME – USING YOUR BICYCLE FOR TRANSPORTATION WORKSHOP IS SATURDAY, APRIL 21

    This beginning transportation workshop will be from 9-1, with an optional short ride afterward. The workshop is free, but please reserve a space by contacting Claudia Nix. The workshop will include a panel discussion by folks who use their bicycle to get around, and sessions on safety, riding skills, equipment, and route planning. Asheville Transit is bringing a bus so there will be a chance to practice using the bicycle racks. At the end of the workshop, there will be a chance for a short group ride. Michael Sule rightly observed that by sending out news of the workshop to this mailing list, we are "preaching to the choir." He proposes we think of the workshop as a “bring a friend to church” activity. Tell someone you know who isn’t riding in Asheville about the workshop. Bring them if that’s what it takes.

    Barb Mee, Transportation Planner
    French Broad River MPO
    P.O. Box 7148, Asheville, NC 28802
    (828) 259-5457
    http://frenchbroadrivermpo.org/