It’s autumn, and that means storytelling season. And there’s no better place in the country for storytelling than right here in the mountains of Western North Carolina, where the ancient stories have been kept alive and nurtured through generations. Today, mountain storytelling is enjoying a revival as impressive as what’s happening with mountain music. Every … Read more
“Poetry should be great and unobtrusive, a thing which enters into one’s soul, and does not startle or amaze it with itself, but with its subject.” –John Keats In Asheville, there seems to be an almost slavish devotion to poetry. Perhaps it’s the mountains, with their mystery of shadow and fog, that inspire this freest … Read more
No one is more serious about cider than Kevin Kilpatrick, who produces fall’s quintessential beverage at The Apple Barn and Cider Mill, a virtual El Dorado of apples (including a winery, restaurant and sweet shop) over in the Tennessee Smokies. At the height of apple season, the Cider Mill cranks out about 1,000 gallons of … Read more
I’m not one for meditation or inner exploration, but Cold Mountain can have that effect on a person. The Indian farmers and hunters of yore knew about its pulling power; so do uptight New York City publishing moguls. Many times, I’ve stared in mouth-open amazement at the mountain’s gaunt sides towering over the Bethel and … Read more
Did you know that a bushel of corn contains approximately 72,800 kernels? That the largest corn plant ever reported in the United States grew to be 31 feet tall? That finding your way out of a corn maze is not exactly a walk in the park? Yep, I said “corn maze.” Actually, it’s officially called … Read more
When the salesman mentioned “ceramic-enhanced polyurethane,” my eyes glazed over the way they used to do in chemistry class. Before me was a red Sierra Designs jacket — just one example of the hottest thing in outdoor gear. I was on a mission to find the latest-and-greatest stuff in the way of colder-weather camping clothes … Read more
Get ready, you sensory gluttons. Western North Carolina’s annual riot of colors traditionally reaches its peak around the second or third week in October, providing an unparalleled color fix for those who revel in gaudy visual displays. And to make sure you’re fully prepared to gape at leaf pigment, we’ve compiled a few fall-color facts … Read more
A parking-lot debate, a new grocery store for West Asheville, affordable housing and a condominium development for Clingman Avenue — not the juiciest of fare, but for the sixth-grade students of Carolina Day School, it was the menu du jour at the Asheville City Council’s Sept. 26 formal session. The 49 students attended Tuesday’s session … Read more
Five months ago, seven black-robed men and women in Raleigh made a couple of decisions that could uncork a flood of lawsuits against local governments across the state. On April 7, the N.C. Supreme Court trashed a legal defense cities and counties have used for decades to get certain kinds of negligence cases thrown out … Read more
The saga of the Asheville Wingate Inn involves millions of dollars, thousands of building-code violations, a toxic-mold infestation, a couple-dozen lawyers — and a lot of finger-pointing. A growing catalog of documents at the Buncombe County Courthouse charts the story of a hotel so poorly constructed that it had to be stripped back to its … Read more
