Buoyed by the success of their soundtrack to the hit film Friday Night Lights, the Texas quintet Explosions in the Sky finds itself at the head of the all-instrumental-rock-band class lazily labeled “post-rock.” The band employs similar soft-loud dynamics pioneered by the likes of Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, but with a panoramic twist: … Read more
Out? Wolfe. In? Dykeman. Last December, noted local author Wilma Dykeman died at 86 due to complications from a fractured hip. In books like The Tall Woman, Dykeman memorably documented the flawed-yet-resonant lives of mountain people. She was also an early conservationist, as recognized by the influence of her 1955 book The French Broad. No … Read more
There’s no better way to lower my expectations for a meal than to have it emerge from my own oven. Keep your kitchen out of it: Super Suppers owner Tamara Benton. Hers is one of at least two Asheville businesses riding the meal-prep wave. photos by Jodi Ford I’m not a naturally talented cook. I … Read more
With the recent opening of Azteca #2, Asheville now has two Mexican bakeries—both on Patton Avenue in Asheville. “I don’t know why he doesn’t open on Tunnel Road—maybe he’s wanting a fight,” mused a staffer at La Espija, which has already built up a steady clientele at its Patton Avenue location since its July opening. … Read more
“This area has become the training ground for extreme kayakers,” Woody Callaway told me recently when we sat down to discuss the kayak-manufacturing business. “People come to Asheville for the winter to train for their big summer trips to California, Idaho, British Columbia, wherever. This is this hot spot to live if you’re serious about … Read more
Paddy go lightly: Bicycling has never been a more virtuous act, what with the news of global warming and all. So why not get together with some of your two-wheeled friends and raise a glass to a greener future? This St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, Asheville on Bikes will team up with the French Broad … Read more
April may be the cruelest month for poets, but for Western North Carolina gardeners, March takes the cake. Winter water: This 6-foot-diameter pond will be hopping with life in April. photo by Cecil Bothwell Springlike days abound, weeds sprout like mad, and you itch to get your fingers into the soil. Yet you know that … Read more
Curricular roots: The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, with funding from the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund, is doling out seeds and supplies to area schools for their garden projects. Through its Growing Minds project, ASAP has helped launch garden projects at Asheville High School, Evergreen Charter School, Hall Fletcher Academy and elementary schools including … Read more
Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their county. Ask not what your county can do for you but what you can do for your county. These familiar (if slightly altered) words of two of this country’s most prominent presidents are right on target for our … Read more
On Tuesday, March 20, Asheville’s Bahá’í community will gather to celebrate the new year (164 Bahá’í Era). This festive day, which runs from sunset to sunset, is also the vernal equinox—the first day of spring. All over the world, Bahá’ís celebrate Naw-Ruz (pronounced “no-rooz”) according to local custom. American Bahá’í communities typically have a potluck … Read more
