Community News

  www.wildwnc.org Late Tuesday afternoon, we learned that the City of Asheville has proposed to close the WNC Nature Center, along with a number of other city resources and programs, to balance the city budget, which will be short $5.7 million if recent bills introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly are passed. Information on the list of bill names, sponsors, descriptions and considerations about how the bills may impact city residents, can be found on the City’s website, along with the proposed expenditure reductions. The City of Asheville is hard-pressed to find solutions to balance the budget if these bills are passed. In 2011, the Center adopted a new 2020 Vision  that outlines a strategic business plan as well as a site plan for improvements and additions to the Nature Center. This plan includes initiatives to alleviate demands on the City of Asheville budget to operate the Center and to reconfigure the Center into a public/private partnership. The beauty of this plan is that we have already started thanks to our supporters with exhibit updates, corporate sponsorships, and a Wild Vision Society. And now, we need your help to spread the word as we work to protect one of our city and region’s …

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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 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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Hello Beer and Now readers! I'm sorry there hasn't been much content here lately. I have big plans for the site though, so stay tuned.I'm afraid I have been spending quite a bit of time focusing on tiny houses. See, I started writing for two tiny house...

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During an Asheville City Council meeting on December 11th, 2012, the topic of pub cycles was brought to a vote. For those that don’t know what a pub cycle is, let me fill you in. A pub cycle is also referred to as a party bike, cycle pub, or beer bike. Generally these pub cycles are powered by the passengers, whom are perched atop their individual seats on the cart, facing a bar. The steering and braking of the bike is controlled by the driver. Each cycle is equipped with its own bar, and provides beer and spirits to the cyclists on board. According to the City Council, two new businesses are already interested in bringing this beer bikes into the town. The council voted unanimously to allow them into downtown, as well as on roads with speed limits under 35 mph. This proposal will have to pass a second reading at the next council meeting, happening January 8th, 2012. I suppose this means that soon Asheville’s tricycle riding nun will have to share the road with pub cycles – this should be fun to watch!

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Lowes Foods, currently located at 1378 Hendersonville Road, is closing the store doors. This email was sent out to all customers who have a Lowes Foods Card: Dear Customer, In June, Lowes Foods acquired the Asheville store at 1378 Hendersonville Road from Harris Teeter. Over the past several months we have enjoyed serving and getting to know the customers in this community. We appreciate your support, but we have made the difficult decision to close this store effective December 15, 2012. Since entering Asheville, we unfortunately have not realized the results we expected. The lease on the store is ending, and we have decided not to renew. We regret having to close the store and have offered all employees either a relocation or a severance package. Lowes Foods views its employees as a top priority because without them, we could not have served you so well. We want to thank all of our Asheville employees for their hard work and dedication. It has been a pleasure serving you. For questions, please contact: Lowes Foods Customer Care 1-888-537-8646

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