Hello Friday.
April 26 2024
There’s a brand new reason to anticipate autumn in the mountains. In addition to crisp air, colorful leaves, and pumpkin + apple everything, your new favorite festival will take place this fall. The inaugural The Gathering at Paint Rock Farm is coming to WNC Sept. 24-26, and today we’re bringing you the scoop.
Fest creators hope the event will help folks reprioritize their relationship with the natural world. I Photo courtesy of Paint Rock Farm
Spanning 160 acres at Paint Rock Farm in Hot Springs (about an hour northwest of town), the event will feature 2 nights of camping and 3 days of live music, arts + more. Created by Chris Nelson + Tama Dickerson (co-owners of Paint Rock Farm) to help folks unplug from the digital world and get in touch with nature, the fest will highlight a slew of active and outdoor events, including foraging, guided nature hikes, yoga, and outdoor education classes.
Nelson and Dickerson took inspiration from the pandemic, seeing it as an opportunity to help folks re-envision how they want to live. “We’ve carefully curated a family-friendly experience that blends music, nature, and spirit and transcends beyond just another music festival,” Nelson says.
Paint Rock Farm offers 160 acres of bucolic beauty + opportunities for outdoor fun. I Photo by @nicholas_skylar
As part of this vision, the fest will include some of Asheville’s finest musicians, including West African-infused instrumentalist band Toubab Krewe, steel pan-centric quartet Jonathan Scales Fourchesta, and jazz artist Adi the Monk, among many others. It will also feature off-grid systems + nomadic lifestyle workshops (think: van builds, living on the road, solar, and more), as well as art classes and Bigfoot storytelling sessions.
Wanna get in on the action? Tickets go on sale today at 12 p.m. Even sweeter? Our readers can use the code AVLTODAY through 11:59 p.m. on Sun., July 25 to get advance General Admission passes for $99.
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Show
- Treehouse! & Rockstead | Wed., July 21 | 6-9 p.m. | One World Brewing, 520 Haywood Rd. | $10 | Enjoy brews + psychedelic, reggae, rock tunes. 🎵
Outdoors
- Garden Day | Wed., July 21 | 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. | 190 Amboy Rd. | Free | Help plant a milkweed garden for the upcoming Karen Cragnolin Park + receive your own milkweed plant. Reservations required. 🦋
TryThis
- Fly Fishing Expo | Wed., July 21 | 10 a.m.-3 p.m. | Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education, 1401 Fish Hatchery Rd., Pisgah Forest | Free | Try out various hands-on fishing activities. 🎣
Show
- Well Crafted Wednesdays | Wed., July 21 | 6-8 p.m. | Highland Brewing Co. Taproom, 12 Old Charlotte Hwy., Ste. 200 | Free | Enjoy a brew + hear local artists Cynthia Mcdermott + Zack Page. 🎶
- Beauty Parlour Comedy featuring Winston Hodges | Wed., July 21 | 9-10:30 p.m. | Asheville Beauty Academy, 28 Broadway St. | $12+ | Laugh along with this rural Virginia boy who provides a fun and energetic take on all the things we want to say but never do. 😂
Learn
- Taylor Talk- Appalachian Barn Alliance | Wed., July 21 | 5 p.m. | Madison County Public Library, 1335 N. Main St., Marshall | Free | Learn about the agricultural heritage and architectural history of Southern Appalachia through area barns.
TheBuy
PlanAhead
- Chow Chow: Great Grains | Thurs., July 22 | 5:30-8:30 p.m. | Highland Brewing Co., 12 Old Charlotte Hwy. | $125 | Try specialty crafted tapas and drinks inspired by a wide variety of grains. 🌾
- Love♡Shine♡Play Festival | July 22-25 | 7 a.m.-6 p.m. | Pack Square Park | $100+ | This 4-day festival includes yoga, music, hiking, Acro, a beautiful marketplace, panels, meditation and much more. Ⓟ
Find more of the weekend’s local events in our July PlanAhead.
You might be familiar with The Times Bar & Coffee Shop as an intimate, sophisticated spot for a late-night craft cocktail — but did you know they also have a sensational selection of all drinks bright + summery? Or an impressive lineup of craft coffee creations?
This posh, elegant locale recently upgraded its menu + expanded its daytime hours. We checked it out so you can #TryThis for yourself. 👇
The Espresso Martini, shaken with fresh espresso, vodka + amarula cream liqueur, is not to be missed | Photo by the AVLtoday team
What we tried (with pricing):
Thanks to The Times’ new hours, you can start drinking (coffee, booze, or mocktails) at 10 a.m. Their coffee is available until 6 p.m. + signature cocktails through 1 a.m.
We started with the specialty Cardacoco Latte ($5), a creamsicle dream of an espresso drink that involves coconut, cardamom + delicate slivers of orange zest.
The Summer Bellini is available in 4 delightful flavors: strawberry, guava, pineapple or kiwi | Photo by the AVLtoday team
We also tried the effervescent Summer Bellini (think: lemon, bubbles, slightly tart + very drinkable, $8), and the Espresso Martini ($12), which is officially all-the-rage again — for good reason. Ⓟ
This content was created in partnership with The Times Bar & Coffee Shop Ⓟ
Weather
- 91º | Mostly sunny | 7% chance of rain
Announced
- Soul singer-songwriter Leon Bridges will perform an outdoor concert at Rabbit Rabbit on May 18, 2022. We’re giving you advanced notice, because it’s likely to sell out fast. Tickets are $55 and go on sale Fri., July 23 at 10am.
Development
- The 120 Charlotte St. development (situated at the previous site of Fuddruckers) will move forward to Asheville’s Planning and Zoning Commission on Aug. 4, and eventually City Council, after gaining approval from Asheville’s Technical Review Committee on July 19. See the latest plans. (Asheville Citizen-Times)
Health
Stat
- 40%. The percentage of people in WNC above pre-pandemic numbers that still need food, according to Manna FoodBank’s May impact report. Donate to help the nonprofit or get more info on how to help here.
Arts
- Congrats to this year’s WNC-based 2021 Black Mountain College Radio Artists: Thom Nguyen, Mike Holmes, Cilla Vee, Zazie Karnwar-Torge, and Michael Hatch. Selected by BMCM + AC, AshevilleFM, and instrument makers Make Noise, these artists will take part in a series of innovative works for the radio. 🏆
- Sand Hill Artists Collective supports + features artists in the following WNC zip codes: 28715, 28716, 28728, 28806, and 28810. Membership is free and includes benefits like art news, programs, events, and more. Wanna join? Apply here. 🎨
Cause
- The United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County’s School Supply Drive is underway through Thurs., July 22. Help out area elementary + middle grade students by purchasing a fully stocked backpack on the org’s online store. You can also make a donation. 🎒
- Wanna help combat the affordable housing crisis? Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity is seeking volunteers to assist with its new West Asheville construction site and the Asheville + Weaverville ReStores. 🔨
DYK
- Brevard-based Black Folks Camp Too strives to increase minority participation outdoors, especially among the Black community. The biz partners with state parks systems, as well as a variety of other bizzes, to reduce barriers to outdoor recreation and boost community. 🥾 (Smoky Mountain News)
Outdoors
- The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy has added an additional 236 acres of Haywood County farmland to its conservation easement. The total acreage in the Crabtree community that will now be protected from development is 620 acres.
State
- In WalletHub's 2021 Best & World States to Start a Business report, NC ranked No. 9, scoring a 54.01 overall. The states were ranked based on 28 key indicators, including business environment, access to resources + business costs.
Great news, indie + horror movie fans. Local filmmaker and actor Jennifer Trudrung’s latest film, The Nest, is now available well, pretty much everywhere.
Jennifer, aka “The Horror Queen of Asheville,” has been involved in some of our favorite spooky scenes through the years, like the Stephen King short story “Here There Be Tygers.” We can’t wait to see the latest hair-raising offering, even if it’s through our fingers and from under a blanket.
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Have you watched The Nest yet? Horror movie lover Editor Brook plans to watch it this weekend, and she can't wait.
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