Before there was Bele Chere—way before there was Bele Chere—there was the Craft Fair. The first Craftsman’s Fair, a joint effort by Southern Highlanders and Southern Mountain Handicraft Guild, was held in Gatlinburg, Tenn., in 1948. The event moved to Asheville three years later, and stayed. This photo was taken in 1953. photo by Edawrd … Read more
Just because Asheville doesn’t have a comedy club doesn’t mean it’s not a funny place. Big fun: Duke of deadpan Todd Barry will headline a roster that includes Asheville’s own Brian Fox, a 3’4” actor and comedian. “Our improv scene is fantastic,” says Greg Brown, author, chef and comedian-turned-festival-organizer. “The Oxymorons and Feral Chihuahuas are … Read more
It almost sounds like a film-school student’s nightmare: Create, from script to screen, an entire short film in 48 hours. That means everything—all the writing, the casting, the rehearsing, the acting, the filming, the editing, the post-production voice work and scoring—must be done at a hellish pace against ever-increasing fatigue. Team Smokey, last year’s 48 … Read more
New Album, Dead Band When last we heard from badly named local band Autumn Rising, they were in the process of putting together their first studio demo. The Christian-oriented group released Starting Over (an ironic name for a band that’s been around a whopping total of 2 years) in late 2006, and then immediately announced … Read more
Most service-industry positions come with a uniform. If not a prescribed one (think flight attendants and postal workers) then a suggested one (the all-black attire of waitstaff; the aprons donned by baristas). Still, Asheville manages to make work wear not so, well, uniform after all. • The staff at the Chocolate Fetish (36 Haywood St., … Read more
Will it ever stop? Years after his death, President Richard Nixon’s secrets keep rising from the archives—as the latest batch did just last week. illustration by V.C. Rogers With the release of each classified memo and secretly recorded tape, more is learned about the inner workings of the Nixon White House—and of the people who … Read more
Most home cooks have a go-to dish that they’ve prepared so many times—often to the vocal dismay of whomever they’re feeding—that the recipe, long ago lifted from an instant-rice box or an in-flight magazine, is seared into their brains like grime on a frying pan. Even the most ambitious amateurs often resort to putting meatloaf—or … Read more
The other day, a young mother from the Midwest called the Tick-Borne Infections Council of North Carolina. She had just visited North Carolina, had gone hiking, and upon her return home had found a tick embedded in her skin. She couldn’t identify what kind it was, but when a circular, growing rash developed around the … Read more
In the old days most food was local, but in the modern era, it’s become more and more an interstate, even international affair. In 2005 the U.S. turned a little-noticed corner, becoming a net importer of food—a major milestone in the outsourcing of basic necessities. Yet even as imports have grown, interest in “eating local” … Read more
Make it purty: The Buncombe County Extension Master Gardener Volunteers will host a flower-arranging demonstration on Saturday, July 28, from 10 a.m. to noon at the WNC Ag Center Youth Building, gate #1. The demo, for individuals interested in entering the Mountain State Fair Flower and Garden Show, will include info on how to prepare … Read more
