Haitipalooza: From Asheville With Love

featuring Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band, GFE, Asheville Horns & Vertigo Jazz Project
Sunday, February 28th
9:00 PM (8:00 PM doors)
$10.00 - All proceeds go to Haiti Relief
All Ages

Buy tix here

The Laudanum Express: Bootstraps Burlesque March 5 and 6

Bootstraps Burlesque: The Laudanum Express
March 5 and 6, Fri and Sat
Club 828
Doors 9:30, show 10:30

with
Keith Campbell
Sneaky MCFly
Carolina Music Band
Strings Attached Marionettes

"It is a tribute to silent film and all takes place on a train."

More Sponsor Shout-Outs

We're got three more Spookypalooza sponsors to thank! We'll say it again: a great way to support BlogAsheville is to support any local business, especially one of our sponsors.

Thanks fans! Thanks sponsors! See everybody AGAIN at Posana Cafe on March 18 for the Revived Blogger Meetup!

Short Street Cakes

Short Street Cakes is a local, mama-owned Cake Shop and Bakery specializing
in Southern Style, handcrafted, all natural wedding cakes, cupcakes, and
whole cakes. We strive to make celebrations more meaningful by creating
beautiful, natural, delicious works of art. The cake shop is located at 225
Haywood Road in West Asheville between the river district and I-240, and is
open from noon until 6pm Wednesday though Monday.

Mountain Xpress, AVLLive.com and the WNC Online Ad Network (coming soon!)

Do we at BlogAsheville need to say more about Mountain Xpress other than it's the true hub of Asheville's digital culture, has KICKASS local coverage, and it's free? Read it in print or online for all the haps around town.

And check out Mtn X's newest digital offering, AVLlive.com. AVLlive.com is a work in progress by Mountain Xpress. Suggestions are encouraged as we add to and evolve the site.

AVLlive.com is a one-stop portal site for Asheville's emerging online voices and content showing a wide spectrum of participants: from newspapers and television to blogs, forums and Tweets. In addition to text it shows the most recently uploaded local videos and photos.

The WNC Online Ad Network (coming soon...) is designed to help area blogs and Web sites generate ad revenue by offering local merchants a simple way to get their advertising message out locally. The network allows merchants to buy ads on WNC’s most active and creative blogs and Web sites.

The network is a collaborative project spearheaded by Mountain Xpress, based on the belief that by organizing from the grassroots up, the area's blogs and web sites work together to strengthen our own voices and connections. Ad revenues will be split among the participating sites based on impressions served.

ohia design

designohia@gmail.com

ohia has been composing visual art since she was a small girl. Her art strength has always come naturally and absolutely and so is passed on to each of her creations with fluidity and passion. ohia design creates award-winning graphic design for a collection of varied clients. her strengths include branding, print layout and web design and development. Please visit her website at ohiamakesart.com.

Freaks of Asheville Pageant Video, Need I Say More?

I would like to thank Kitty Love of Arts 2 People and Eleven on Grove for allowing me to film this event, and of course, all the performers for being so open to allowing me to capture their interesting lifestyles. I'm sorry that I was unable to capture usable footage of all 11 performers.

Thanks for watching...
More at Freaks of Asheville Pageant, February 2010...

Hey Google! Asheville wants your new trial 1 Gbps fast internet service!

Want Asheville to be a test city for a cutting-edge new Google initiative providing internet connectivity at 1 Gbps?

(To put this in perspective, 1 Gb per second is more than 20 times faster than the fastest and most expensive Charter connection currently offered to home users in this area. My AT&T home DSL is currently downloading at 2 Mb per sec, or less than 1/500 of the 1 Gbps speed Google is talking about. Test your own speed here. 1000 Mb = 1 Gb.)

Google has plans to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks in one or more trial locations across the U.S. According to Google, this new broadband offering will deliver internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to.

Google says it will offer this new hyperfast internet service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.

We at BlogAsheville hear that economic development people at the Chamber of Commerce are partnering with institutional entities to create the official application. Ordinary people who want ultrafast Google broadband in Asheville have a part to play, too.

Until March 26, Google asks interested people to provide them with information about their community through a Request for Information (RFI), which Google will use to determine where to build a broadband network.

Learn more about Google's fiber optic broadband plans in the short video here.

Here's how to get behind this initiative:

* Offically nominate Asheville as a Google test site here (requires Google account)
* Join a Facebook group supporting Asheville as a Google test city here.
* Join a listserv for supporters here.
* Local YouTube video supporting Asheville's bid for Google fiber here. Can our creative community do more to help spread the word that we want that fiber?

There's also an ongoing conversation about Google fiber in Asheville on Twitter. Looks like a popular hashtag is #googleavl.

What do you think of all this, Asheville? We welcome your comments!

Mother hopes film about son’s breakthrough will inspire others

From Jason Sandford at Mountain Xpress:

Chris Mueller-Medlicott joined a unique Durham theater group in 2005 and had a breakthrough.

Director Richard Riho had created what he called The Community Inclusive Theater Project, and he invited the young man with cerebral palsy to take part in a theater production. The experience brought Mueller-Medlicott new friends and a new voice in the form of an assisted typing method that helped him communicate.

Free Film Screening at Jubilee at 7 p.m. on March 7th. Workshop about being more inclusive on March 8 from 7-9 p.m. $10 donation suggested. More here.

Blogger Meetups Reimagined! Revived! Thurs March 18

(An image from BlogAsheville meetups: the early days.

Farewell, yellow messenger bag! You served Gordon well.)

Blogger Meetup! Beer and Good Times March 18!

We asked what you wanted, and you said something social followed by something constructive.

You got it.

Join Asheville's online community for:

ASHEVILLE BLOGGER MEETUPS: The Reinvention

if you're online, come on out -- Tweeters and Facebookers also welcome

6-8 p.m. Thursday March 18

Posana Cafe (in the back room), 1 Biltmore Ave.

6-7 is meatspace hangout time (bring beer money)

At 7, city councilblogger extraordinaire Gordon Smith of Scrutiny Hooligans talks with us about how we can use social media to make the change we want to see in Asheville. Yes, Gordon is a democrat, and to be frank, so are most of our bloggers. But this event welcomes bloggers of all political stripes. Come on out!

At 7:20 or so, stick around for more hangout time

See you there for beer and good times! Let the Pisgah Pale Ale flow!

BTW, Posana has a big screen in the back room. Anyone got any incriminating old vids of Asheville bloggers?

Movie about mysterious WNC photog Thurs in Black Mountain

Seven Sisters Cinema, a 225-seater small theatre in Black Mountain, hosts a new series of documentaries of regional interest. I was bummed to miss the Popcorn Sutton doc and am even more bummed to miss this one about a WNC character I'd love to know more about.

Another reason to come out: our local clubs are suffering (some now hanging by a thread) after this winter's NONSTOP weekend snow. Clubs depend on weekend business; I hear this winter is close to putting some spots out of business.

If you've got cabin fever, make it count. Support a locally owned venue with your dollars for fun, food and beer. Plus this movie is only $5!

The Mystery of George Masa
7 pm White Horse Blk Mtn
105C Montreat Road
Black Mountain, NC 28711
(828) 669-0816
$5

From a press release:

Seven Sisters Cinema Presents "The Mystery of George Masa" at White Horse Black Mountain

Contact: Jerry Pope 686-3922 jerry@serpentchild.org

Seven Sisters Cinema launched in January of 2010 with a screening of the documentary film, The Last One. A standing room only crowd of over 250 people enjoyed the documentary about moonshiner Popcorn Sutton.

The second offering of the Seven Sisters Cinema, "The Mystery of George Masa" will screen on Thursday, February 18th at 7pm at White Horse Black Mountain in downtown Black Mountain.

Filmmaker Paul Bonesteel will answer questions and discuss the film after the showing.

In 1915, a Japanese man named Masahara Iizuka came to the mountains of North Carolina. Masa's mysterious past, his untimely death, and the passage of time have clouded our knowledge and appreciation of George Masa, until now. "The Mystery of George Masa" chronicles the life of this mysterious Japanese immigrant who became well known in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina as a great photographer, hiker and explorer.

Masa was instrumental in the founding of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the mapping and building of the Appalachian Trail. Told through interviews with a few living acquaintances, historians' accounts, Masa's own words from personal letters and journals, subtle re-creations, and a wonderful collection of the subject's own photographs, "The Mystery of George Masa" uncovers many of the secrets that surround this immigrant's story.

Seven Sisters Cinema, a new documentary film series focusing on documentary films of regional interest for Western North Carolina, is a production of Serpent Child Ensemble. SCE is a local non-profit company that creates community-based art projects such as the successful, long-running "Way Back When" play series at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts. SCE is currently working on a documentary film about the Beacon blanket mill in Swannanoa. As a part of their commitment to the Western North Carolina community, Serpent Child created the Seven Sisters Cinema, to encourage appreciation for local history, culture and the art of the documentary film.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students with ID.

You can buy your tickets online here.

For more information visit series website: www.sevensisterscinema.com or call Jerry Pope at 686-3922.

Bike Love is Feb. 20

From an email: Beer, food, local music and fun.

Asheville on Bikes, Arts 2 People and French Broad Brewery are ready for Bike Love 10'. This is our fourth year hosting Bike Love, and as pedal culture continues to thrive so does our annual celebration.

We’ve enhanced the evening and changed the venue space so make note and save the date. Invite your friends to ride your city to Bike Love. Be sure to spread the word and invite your friends and family.

Asheville on Bikes is excited to have Patsy Keever join us in order to get the evening in motion. Patsy Keever will kick off the evening.

Bike Love
Saturday, Feb. 20th
Doors open at 8:00pm.
Admission is $15.
Dr. Neon’s Laboratory, located at 11 Richland St. near the River Arts District.

$15 gets you in the door for an evening of French Broad Brewery’s finest and the best in local music.

Performing at Bike Love:

The Secret B-Sides
Jonathan Scales Fourchestra, featuring Jeff Sipe
Red Dirt Floor (featuring Marty Gallagher of ProBikes).

Bike Love Enhancements:
Bicycle Raffle

Liberty Bicycles has donated a Trek 7.1 FX commuter/hybrid bicycle to be raffled at Bike Love. The winner can choose between the bicycle or a $440.00 gift certificate to put toward the purchase of another bicycle. Raffle tickets are currently on sale at Liberty Bicycles located on 1378 Hendersonville Rd.

Rolling Stone Pizza Company will have their mobile wood fired pizza oven.

Castell Photography hosts a bicycle photo booth, so be sure to style up your attire and capture the evening with a photo. $10

Jeff Zimmerman's Stop Motion Project
Jeff Zimmerman has documented AoB''s events from the beginning. This year he captures Bike Love with stop motion.

Slide Show
Arts Director, Rachel Reeser has prepared a slide show to air on the big screen. Enjoy the highlights of Asheville’s vibrant bicycle culture.

This year’s Bike Love is brought to you with the support of local shops and organizations who believe in Asheville’s bicycle movement. Without their support Bike Love would not be possible. Bike Love is brought to you by:

Asheville on Bikes, Arts 2 People, French Broad Brewery
ProBikes, Liberty Bicycles, BioWheels, Youngblood Bicyles, Ski Country Sports, Carolina Fatz, Pisgah Works, Suspension Experts, Sound Mind Media, and Beauty Parade.

Save the date for Saturday Feb. 20th at Dr. Neon’s Laboratory located at 11 Richland St. near the River Arts District.

Walk Like a Man

Short and completely charming video of local men (city councilmen/BlogAsheville bloggers Cecil and Gordon, plus the Hip Replacements Guy and LaZoom's Jim Lauzon) wearing killer hooker pumps and dancing in support of our Voice. It's adorable.

Thanks guys.

What do you say to a cabaret?

From the Vortex Cabaret:

The Vortex Cabaret is a multi-media live variety show put on every Thursday at 11 on the Grove, above Scandals. The movie is from 9 PM to 11 PM, and the live acts are from 11 PM to 1 AM. Admission is $5.

Winter is Over! if you want it.

As I sit here in my house on Short Street, with my son sleeping, the wind howling, and the aeromancers predicting from zero to 8 more inches of snow, my mind is on... Spring. My mind is also on the Cake Shop- I can't say I haven't enjoyed the last few months- when business-as-usual has come to a grinding halt due to winter weather for which our sleepy Southern mountain town is not prepared- (I've spent many beautiful days at home cooking slow meals and cleaning out corners) but let's just say that I could really use a rocking Valentine's weekend and multiple wedding cake deposits to round things out. And coming up on our one year anniversary at the Cake Shop, and having passed the two year mark of relentless blogging about my endeavors, I'm feeling pensive and in need of some inspiration- inspiration I have found in the form of the happy coincidence this week of myriad celebrations of Spring. So, towards that end, dear reader, I begin my epistle on the Celebrations of Spring- and the hope of warmth and growth that it entails:


February 1 and 2: Imbolc/Feast of St. Brigid/Candlemas/Groundhog Day:
From School of the Seasons:

February 1st is the feast day of St Brigid, who began her life as a pagan goddess and ended up a Christian saint. The great high goddess, Bride or Brigid, was a fire and fertility goddess, perhaps embodied in the stars in the constellation we view as Orion. In her temple at Kildare, her priestesses tended an eternal flame. She presided over all transformations: birth and brewing, metal-smithing and poetry, the passage from winter to spring.

Imbolc, February 1st, marks the cross-quarter between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox. In ancient Ireland, it represented the first day of spring, and its rituals were likely subsumed into the celebrations of St. Brigid. (Just to stay on topic: Cakes made with apples are traditional in Ireland for St. Brigid's Feast Day- it was also considered good luck to churn butter and bake with it on this day) What I love about Imbolc, and what it shares with our modern Groundhog Day, is that it acknowledges the first stirrings of life despite the cold of winter. Even now, in the 25 degree weather, I can see daffodil leaves breaking through the soil in my front yard. And, now that I think about it, right about now is the time that we used to go daffodil picking at my great-great-grandparent's homeplace in Cartersville, GA, in the cattle pastures where the daffodils that my great-grandmother must have planted naturalized all over the hillsides. This is the beginning of Spring- not the basking-in-the-sunshine-swimming-at-the-beach kind of spring, but the cold, bright, chilly, muddy, giddy kind of spring. Here's a picture of me and Duncan being big hippies in the Cartersville daffodils circa February 2002:



And then comes Valentine's Day, February 14. Again, I quote Waverly Fitzgerald's thorough and well-researched seasonal calendar School of the Seasons:

There is no connection between this holiday and either of the two St Valentines (a Roman priest martyred in the third century and a martyred bishop) although many legends have been invented to explain it. One story says that Claudius II, during a time of unpopular military campaigns, cancelled all marriages and engagements, hoping thereby to channel the energy of the young men into the martial arts. Supposedly Valentine, a priest in Rome during this time, secretly married couples.... The custom of sending valentines may derive from the custom of drawing lots (names of partners) at the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, or with the worship of Juno Februata.... There was a folk superstition, mentioned by Shakespeare that the first person you meet on Valentine's Day will be your true love. Ophelia plays with this idea when she says to Hamlet:

Good morrow, 'tis St Valentine's Day
All in the morn betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your valentine.

To dream of your future mate, pin five bay leaves to your pillow on the eve of St. Valentine's (one in each corner and one in the middle). Or you can adopt the divination method used by young people in England: write the names of prospective lovers on slips of paper, roll them in clay balls and drop them in a bowl of water. The first to rise to the surface will be your valentine...

The happy accident of this weekend is that Valentine's Day shares it's feast with Chinese New Year- generally the second new moon after the Winter Solstice. This February 14 marks the beginning of the year of the Tiger!



Here is a link to a recipe for Chinese New Year Cake, which is apparently a deliberately very sticky offering to a family's Kitchen God, in hopes that his mouth will be too full and gooey to tell Heaven about all the trouble you've been up to that year (a brilliant plan- I think I'm going to try it).

And, then, of course, there is Mardi Gras, which falls this year on Tuesday, February 16. (can I get an Amen? Can I get a Geaux Saints?) Mardi Gras is the season before Lent, Lent being the traditional time of sacrifice and fasting, therefore Mardi Gras being the traditional time of Debauchery. The ritual and historical significance of this holiday throughout time is so rich and so deep, and our regional connection to this holiday so strong via the traditions of Mobile, New Orleans, and environs, that I won't try to comprehensively treat it here, but will encourage you to research, and more importantly, respectfully experience Mardi Gras in all of its splendor.




However, get ready, because we're going to do some math. Mardi Gras is a holiday tied to the only lunar (and most important) holiday in the Christian Calendar: Easter. Easter falls each year on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox- and Mardi Gras falls the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of Lent, which is forty-six days (or forty days, not counting Sundays) before Easter. Are you with me? Good. Get your calculator. My friend, astrologer DK Brainard, pointed out that the significance of forty days (as in 40 days and nights of rain for Noah, 40 days in the wilderness for Jesus, 40 days of fasting for Lent) was the division of the 360-day religious year by 9. 360 days was the religious year because ancient religions recognized the year as a circle, and a circle consists of, as we all know, 360 degrees. That was just one way of breaking up the year into months, much like the Roman solar calendar gives us 12, and the Jewish Lunar calendar gives us 13. Which blows my mind and makes me happy. And now that we've had our spiritual math lesson, and speaking of circles, let us now return to the subject of cake.

Sunday! February 14! The feasts of St. Valentines, Bacchus, Zulu, Eris, Venus! Here are the things that are happening in Asheville to mark the season:

1) Cake Shop Birthday Party.


Special Cakes!
-Sweethearts and Broken Hearts.

These little cakes can show that special someone just exactly how you feel. Chocolate cake, covered in ganache, and lined with a raspberry cream cheese icing or a lavender white chocolate icing. $3 each.
-King Cakes still available! Click on the link in the upper right hand margin of this blog for more info.
-Heart Shaped Flourless Chocolate Gateau, with Flowers and a Message: $25, by special order only. (order by Friday at 6pm for Sunday pick-up)
-And, we will have a variety of luscious and romantic cupcakes for your gift-giving (and eating) pleasure.

2) Next door to the cake shop, at Farm Girl Flower Shop:

On Sunday Farm Girl/Bury Me Naturally will be hosting a Valentine's Day celebration featuring handmade valentines, floral arrangements, and herbal elixirs. Here's a sampling of what they have to offer:





3) Also, speaking of love, Marco's Pizzeria is hosting a benefit on Valentine's Day for the Progressive Education Program of Buncombe County in Memory of Meryl Snyder- "Serving students with disabilities to promote independence and challenge individuals to reach their full potential." On Valentine's Day, 20% of all proceeds at both Marco's locations will go to the PEP program in memory of Meryl Snyder, a TC Roberson student who loved Marco's Pizza.

4) Mystic Mountain Krewe Presents: Wild At Heart: Asheville's Mardi Gras Parade. Mardi Gras 2010 will roule from the corner of Walnut and Market at exactly 2:37 pm on Sunday, February 14. There are also rumors of Masqued Balls, Speakeasies, Mardi Gras Indians, and general misbehavior. Enjoy the revelry!


Friends, may you all find luck and love this weekend. Remember to spread the love and luck locally- the beautiful community that Asheville is needs your support and love in this blizzard-y time.
xo
jodi

Asheville Mardi Gras Parade Sunday

Cross-posted: info on this year's local Mardi Gras Parade, happening downtown on Valentine's Day.

Mardi Gras Ball/afterparty after the parade at the LAB.

The Mystic Mountain Krewe proudly presents...

Asheville Mardi Gras - 2010

THIS YEAR'S THEME: Wild at Heart

DATE: Sunday, Feb. 14th at 2:37 p.m.

PARADE LINEUP: Corner of Walnut & Market Street starting at 1:00

The Mystic Mountain Krewe is an all-volunteer community based organization made up of New Orleans ex-pats, aficionados of that culture, and --okay, some folks who just LOVE a good party!

We are an arts and culture group. Our purpose is to strengthen community connections through promoting creativity, frivolity and celebration, based on the traditions of New Orleans, LA and we have close links to that region.

Mardi Gras, or Carnival, is an ancient world-wide tradition of feasting and celebrating before entering a time of atonement. This parade is our gift to the city, a zany, exuberant and irreverent downtown event in the dead of mid-winter.

We invite residents to get together with friends, neighbors, and coworkers to create high quality surprising and entertaining entries, add upbeat music, and strut their stuff tossing those ubiquitous beads to the crowd. Zaniness, political satire, and amazing displays of populist art appreciated!

We love and respect our community, and Asheville is not Bourbon Street. Alcohol and nudity are not part of our twist on Mardi Gras in the mountains. We are promoting a fun, safe event for all ages that will grow into one of Asheville's most beloved festivals.

Website with more info here

BlogAsheville Pick: 69 Love Songs Live

Saturday at the Grey Eagle local musicians gather to perform the Magnetic Fields' quirky three-volume concept album 69 Love Songs in order, all the way through.

Great article on the event here from Mountain Xpress including interviews with the bands on their relationship to the songs and the album.

The story goes like this: Stephin Merritt sat at an Upper East Side piano bar, drinking alone and writing songs. And lo, the idea came. He would write a musical revue, a comprehensive survey of "every kind of song there is to be written about love, from country to punk to krautrock to Irish folk ballad." This according to Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, the label that released the three-album set in 1999.

The all-local lineup includes, in order:

• Electric Owls
• Fox-Teeth
• Erika Jane & Remember the Bees
• Wilson the Rocker
• Now You See Them
• Pilgrim
• Night's Bright Colors
• Aaron Price and Gladhammer
• Jay Martin

Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 at the door, on sale now at Harvest Records, Orbit DVD, Static Age, The Grey Eagle & available online here.

Show is 8-11 pm, standing room only (not a seated show). Stay tuned for info about a live webstream...

Presented by Chall Gray and James Richards along with Harvest Records.

Facebook link

Sample Magnetic Fields song: "I Don't Want to Get Over You"

Vortext Cabaret the Thursday

From the Vortex Cabaret website:

The Vortex Cabaret is a weekly variety show put on for the benefit of the avant garde art community in Asheville. It features comedians, singers, burlesque, performance art, bands, dancers, straight-up surreality, and a whole lot more. Admission if $5, 18+, every Thursday, 9 PM, at 11 on the Grove above Scandals. We also feature $5 all-you-can-drink PBR.

We love this vid: Royal Peasantry Boutique Moving

Royal Peasantry Boutique downtown is moving from 70 College to 80 Lexington next to Octupus Garden. 15-20 percent off!

TEDxAsheville needs volunteers, videographers

photo of TEDxAsheville 2009 by Jason Sandford of the almighty Ashvegas blog

A local nonprofit needs help! Cross-posted from the Media Arts Project website:

TED fans: 2010 TEDx Teams Need PAID Videography Help and Volunteers

Sponsored by the TED conference but independently organized by local people, TEDxAsheville returns in 2010 after rave reviews and a sold-out show last summer at the Orange Peel. And it returns with double the fun: 2010 marks the debut of TEDxNextGenerationAsheville, a new event where young people present visions, passions and ideas for the future to an audience ready to be inspired.

As fan-organized, Asheville-centric events, TEDxAsheville and TEDxNGA bring homegrown great ideas and virtuoso performances to a local stage, sharing Asheville's most exceptional talent (of all ages) with the whole world through digital recordings of the day's performances.

VIDEOGRAPHERS NEEDED

TEDxAVL and TEDxNextGen are taking proposals for videotaping this year's events. A paid videography team will record all talks and performances, edit them, and upload them to the TEDxTalks YouTube channel.

Learn more about TEDxAsheville videography here.

All videos are hosted online indefinitely on the TEDxTalks channel, and all are considered for broadcast as a TED talk on TED.com.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Other than the videography team, TEDxAVL 2010 and TEDxNextGen are largely run on volunteer efforts. Volunteer organizers are needed in the following areas. If you are interested or know someone who might be, send email to TEDxAVL@gmail.com and indicate which area interests you.

Stay tuned for information on the nomination process for 2010...

Both TEDx groups seeks help in the following areas:

• Stage Direction
• Marketing
• Writing
• Publicity
• Outreach to 12-18 year-olds
• Social Media/Blogging
• Overflow Venue Management
• Technical
• Speaker Selection
• Performers/Product Demos/Video
• House
• Hospitality
• Website
• Accounting
• Graphic Design

TEDxAVL 2010 and TEDxNGA 2010

coming this summer

official website

wrap-up of the 2009 TEDxAVL event

Help Haiti Heal: All-Star Benefit Sat and Sun

Organized by local singer Nikki Talley, Help Haiti Heal is a two-day mega-benefit gathering some of the most outstanding talent in the area. The snow and slush is looking less and less like a threat, and the benefit is on as scheduled. Whew!

The Sat and Sun lineup includes:
David Holt
Kat Williams
Skinny Legs and All (feat. American Idol contender Jesse Barry)
Members of Steep Canyon Rangers
Mariam Matossian
Free Planet Radio
River Guerguerian
Nikki Talley
Sons of Ralph
Menage
Paco Shipp
Sirius.B
Buyaka
Peggy Ratuscz
Taylor Martin's Engine
Daniel Barber
RiYen Roots
Kimberly Hughes and Richard Inman
and more...

Saturday Feb 6
Music starts at
7pm and goes until 11:30

Sunday Feb 7
Music starts at
2pm and goes until 6pm

Following the concerts
the benefit continues

with a special treat:

White Horse Black Mountain

will be showing the
SUPER BOWL

on their 17x9 foot MegaScreen
from 6pm until the game ends

All ticket sales and other donations go directly to the work of SOIL:
Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods

A non-profit organization working directly with the peopleof Haiti to build a better future.

One-day Ticket: $15.00

Two-day Ticket: $25.00

White Horse Black Mountain

is located at

105c Montreat Rd

Black Mountain, North Carolina 28711

(828) 669-0816

www.whitehorseblackmountain.com

Online tix available here
Multi-camera live webcast here

Sirius B at JotW tonight

Let's hope that tonight's snow melts and stays slushy and kind, so we can all go see Sirius B at Jack of the Wood! Sirius B supported our BlogAsheville community at the 2007 bash -- and watching live absurdist gypsy folk-punk (and drinking Green Man Ale) is way better than staying home.

It's Friday. Don't let the snow win. Go have some fun.

Sirius B

Jack of the Wood

9:30 p.m.

Asheville FM - Online Community Radio

On this week's episode of Asheville Update, I cover Asheville FM, the new online community radio station located behind the Izzy's Coffee Shop in West Asheville.

Learn more or listen live at Asheville FM.
Asheville Update is a production of Asheville Now. Thanks for watching!!!

Domestic Partner Benefits - Gordon Smith

Comments appreciated on the YouTube video page. Thanks for watching!

Drinks and Dialogue: Community Talk Series Tries to Cross Color Lines

From an email: a new informal community forum, Drinks and Dialogue, is trying to cross gender and color lines with a talk series (over drinks!) at Sazerac. Colors lines don't get crossed nearly often enough on Asheville, IMO. Come on out:

Drinks and Dialogue is an open conversation where people come to talk about relationships, dating, parenting and other social issues. Basically a battle of the sexes.

Questions will be thrown into a hat, picked randomly, and talked about with a 10 min time frame. I'm asking those who attend to bring one question. Questions such as "Will a relationship work if 2 people have different political/religious views?" Or "What do you consider cheating?" Etc.

It will be held Sat Feb 6th a Sazerac (upstairs) 69 Broadway. Entire community invited. Goal: To answer male/female questions and to have mixed, diverse crowd.

Drinks and Dialogue

Sat. Feb 6

Sazerac, 69 Broadway (corner of Broadway and Walnut)

Info: ctstimmy19@gmail.com

On Twitter at @socialifeavl

reBlog from Rev. Johnny Lemuria: Vortex Cabaret

Want to do something really fun this week?

Braving both ice and sickness, the Vortex Cabaret is back again, building on the success of last week's great show. This week, we bring the sexy, with our movie selection Forbidden Zone (read the review by the Mountain Xpress' Ken Hanke here.) We also have readings from the work of noted erotica author Anais Nin, read by my good friend Meg Hen. Top that off with the always-excellent stand-up comedians of Tomato Tuesday, and another great Asheville rock band, and it promises to be a helluva night.Oh, and did I mention the all you can drink PBR for $5? Yep, all you can drink PBR for $5. You should drink some. The Vortex Cabaret. Thursday night, February 4th, 9 PM. 11 Grove Street, Asheville, above Scandals. 5$ admission, 18+. Come for the PBR, stay for the art. Or vice-versa, we don't care.Rev. Johnny Lemuria, Vortex Cabaret, Jan 2010

Support art. Support weirdness. Support Ahseville. Support the Vortex Cabaret.