This article originally appeared in the Charlotte Observer Attention, North Carolina shoppers: The back-to-school sales tax holiday weekend, around for more than a decade, is ending. This coming weekend, Aug. 2-4, is the final year in North Carolina for the tax holiday, which provides shoppers with discounts on everything from computers to backpacks to clothing. There’s no change to South Carolina’s sales tax holiday, which is also the same weekend. North Carolina’s change comes as part of a major tax reform measure signed into law last week by Gov. Pat McCrory. The tax overhaul includes a provision to eliminate the state’s back-to-school, tax-free weekend beginning in 2014. Also going away next year is the annual tax holiday for Energy Star-rated appliances. North Carolina lawmakers and opponents of the sales tax holiday said the state lost millions on the weekend. North Carolina lost an estimated $13.6 million in tax revenue during last year’s sales tax holiday, according to the N.C. Department of Revenue. But that state revenue loss has been shoppers’ gain. Retailers have been big fans of the tax holiday since it was launched in 2002. For some retailers, the annual event is the second-most profitable weekend of the year …

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ASHEVILLE, NC. – Chris Schieman Media and Marketing is excited to announce the launch of Asheville Music Today, which will be streamed live on www.ashevillemusictoday.com starting Sunday July 21st, 2013 at 7 p.m. The show’s first guests will be The Bread and Butter from Asheville and Terina Plyler from Brevard. Asheville Music Today is an innovative weekly one-hour live talk show featuring and promoting local music of all genres from Asheville, Western North Carolina and East Tennessee. The show is hosted by national broadcasting veteran Chris Schieman. “This show is going to generate buzz because it’s going to be unpredictable while giving musicians a real voice,” Schieman said. “It’s not a normal talk show where the usual questions are asked. It’s going to be deeper, funnier and edgier than a traditional talk show.” Asheville Music Today will feature two musical guests each week. “We’ll talk about a variety of topics. Things going on in the world, the music industry, whatever may be annoying me that particular day,” Schieman said. “I’m a student of Jack Paar and David Letterman. This show will reflect that brand of intelligent and fun, sometimes silly conversation.” Asheville Music Today will also include live performances of …

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Where: West Asheville Who: Citizens of the West Asheville Neighborhood What: A walk, using proper crossing places, to increase and show awareness of pedestrians and bikers in the area Why: Increasing traffic and inattentive motorists are making walking and biking in the West Asheville community dangerous at times. This walk is to remind everyone of where the proper crossing places are, and promote safety. You can check out the Facebook event here : Walk for Safety  

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  Here is a downloadable copy of the flyer – > Spay-ghetti_flyer2013

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If you are LGBT and/or an ally in Asheville, you are never alone. A local saying goes that, “if you throw a rock in Asheville, you’ll hit a (insert non-normative label here)”. One Google search for LGBT Asheville shows that the stereotype holds true: Asheville is one queer city! Statewide and nationwide groups like Equality NC, HRC, and other well-known LGBT advocates find local chapters to be loud, proud, and diligent. On Facebook and other social networking sites there are several pages for local business listed in the Carolina Purple Pages. There is even an extensive “Gay and Lesbian Travel Guide” section on one of Asheville’s most popular tourist websites. But aside from the internet presence of queer folks in Asheville, there is also a wealth of local organizations here for support. Networks, support groups, and volunteer opportunities vary in scope and cover different niches within the community. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list; it is simply an overview of LGBT Asheville. The best way to get involved is to try one or several of these groups and see which ones best fit your wants and needs. Youth OUTright provides a support system for 14-23-year-olds who might not otherwise have …

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Join UNC-Asheville’s student LGBT group Alliance for one of the university’s craziest annual events. Dancing, drinks and snacks, a photo booth, and a drag show packed into one evening? It must be Drag Ball 2013! The event is first a competition for amateur drag talent of all sorts. The most popular type of drag is female or male impersonation, but there are no limits in drag performance. You might see a man dressed as a woman; a woman dressed as a man dressed as a woman; a student dressed as a teacher; or a person dressed as a pig. It is all about expression and performance. A winner will be chosen based on factors such as outfit, charisma, and the audience’s enjoyment. Alliance has also reeled in local professionals from Club Hairspray, which calls itself “Asheville’s Most Diverse Nightclub”. Queens and kings from the club, including Mr. Brian Sparx, Mr. Jackson K. Starr, Ms. Serena Nox, and Ms. Coco Capone, will all make appearances. Drag Ball will be held on March 28th in the Highsmith University Union from 21.00 to 01.00. (01.00 is the scheduled ending time, but don’t be surprised if someone decides to throw an after party!) Drag Ball …

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Asheville’s Newest Immersive Live Action Zombie Experience Hosting Auditions this Week 2/19/13, Asheville, NC – Zombie Town will be hosting auditions for both videographers and zombie actors this weekend at Metropolis in Downtown Asheville. The live action zombie experience will be taking place every weekend at Metropolis which will be transformed into a post apocalyptic world where participants must shoot zombies with airsoft guns and find “Patient Zero” to save the world. Zombie Actors must come in full makeup and costume at the exact time of the audition and will be expected to stay through the end. Videographers must bring their own equipment. They will film the auditions, which will be similar to the actual experiences. Video must then be edited into a minimum 2 minute reel as an audition for videographers who will be hired for actual shows. Videographers will have 10 days to submit their videos. Auditions will take place at Club Metropolis at 38 N. French Broad Ave, Asheville, NC 28801 When: Friday, February 22, 2013 – 6-8pm Saturday, February 23, 2013 – 6-8pm Sunday, February 24, 2013 – 1-3pm Website is not complete yet, but wil be available at www.zombietown.net soon To schedule your audition, email …

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Asheville High School’s marching band was chosen to march in the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Parade, representing the state of North Carolina. The band was only started in competitions six years ago after the current band director Will Talley took the helm. As such a young band, it is an extreme honor to be selected as one of 90 groups out of the 2,807 original applicants. The band worked hard to raise the $90,000 it cost for this trip, doing a variety of fundraisers including a pre-inaugural support concert, and a 5k. The band embarked to Washington DC on Friday, January 18th, and arrived home on Tuesday, January 22nd. In addition to marching in the parade, the students had the opportunity to enjoy the varying aspects of Washington DC culture and get a tour of the capital, tour museums, attend the Inaugural Gala Awards Ceremony, and top the trip off with a celebratory dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe after the parade. Over the weekend, the band was also honored the title of “Grand Champion”. Way to go, Asheville High Marching Band! Want to see USA Today’s coverage of the event? Click here You can also see WLOS’s coverage of the …

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Dawes is an american rock band from Los Angeles, CA has cast aside their post punk sound in favor of folk rock flavor. They are releasing their 3rd album titled Stories Don’t End on April 9th of this year. If you aren’t familiar with the band, Dawes is composed of brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith, along with Wylie Gelber and Tay Strathairn. Rolling Stone reports that this much anticipated album was recorded here in Asheville. Recorded in five weeks last September in Asheville, North Carolina, Stories Don’t End features clean production from King (Tom Waits, Norah Jones), who helped the band break out of its vintage mold, though they don’t completely strip away that Laurel Canyon sound. “These are the same four guys that you’ve gotten to know very well on the first two records, but at the same time, this album feels like a growth,” [Taylor] Goldsmith says. The band toured last summer opening for the popular Mumford & Sons as they released their album Babel.  

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