Planting a Legacy: Local farmers plan for the future
- Volume 31
- / Issue 37
Cover Design Credit:
Scott Southwick
Cover Photography Credit:
Adobe Stock
Across North Carolina, hundreds of farms have been passed down through generations. But without careful planning, many farmers risk having to sell their property to cover rising taxes, health care or estate issues. Locally, NC FarmLink has launched workshops to educate farmers on how to keep their farms in the family.
arts
Smart Bets: Wild Life
Wild Life image courtesy of Hawk HurstSmart Bets: Caitlin Krisko & The Broadcast
Photo of Caitlin Krisko & the Broadcast by Aaron AustinSmart Bets: Music Is Life — Band Day
Photo of the Sound Machine Marching Band courtesy of N.C. Central UniversitySmart Bets: Breast Cancer Journeys — Women’s Stories
Photo courtesy of First Congregational United Church of ChristMoving beyond surf and garage, Seattle’s La Luz shines brightly
BEYOND THE GARAGE: On its latest album, Seattle quartet La Luz expands its musical vision beyond garage rock, taking in flavors of ‘60s baroque pop heroes like The Beach Boys…
food
Beer Scout: Community sustains local breweries post-Helene
SECOND ACT: Six months after the French Broad River flooded its lower level, Mad Co. Brew House in downtown Marshall reopened March 28. Photo by Amanda HiltyA Year in Beer: Turning over a Twin Leaf
BREW CREW: The Year in Beer group added to an already robust crowd on a recent Wednesday at Twin Leaf Brewery. Photo by Christopher ArborWhat’s new in food: Two WNC chefs shortlisted for James Beard Awards
Design by Scott SouthwickDining Out for Life marks 23 years of fundraising for WNCAP
LIFE FORCE: Asheville restaurateur Eric Scheffer, right, joined forces with international Dining Out for Life board member Harry Brown, left, in 2003 to create Asheville's annual DOFL event. Courtesy of…
living
Appalachian Herb Collective offers free clinics and product swaps
PLANTS FOR THE PEOPLE: Starting left, Jeannie Dunn, Lupo Passero and Jamie Bartlet, volunteer at an Appalachian Herb Collective pop-up where free herbal medicines are offered to support a variety…Asheville celebrates 4/20 with hemp events and infused foods
HEMP FOR HEALTH: WagWorld Pub's upcoming HempFest celebrates hemp's medicinal benefits. Pictured are WagWorld staff members Sarah "Squirrel" Martin, left, and Amy Wooten. Photo courtesy of WagWorldRestaurant closures take a toll on WNC growers
GROWING CONCERNS: Restaurant closures are a big problem for farmer Evan Chender, pictured, whose business, The Culinary Gardener, relies on restaurant sales. Photo by Brionna Dallara
news
Sustaining community: Laurel Community Center member reflects on Tropical Storm Helene
STAY SHARP: "Most that have lived along streams and rivers already know: We must be prepared," says Mary Sauls Kelly.Jackson County high school students build and compete in robotics
GO TEAM: Xpress recently sat down with members of the Smoky Mountain Academic Robotics Team to learn about the group's backstory and growing success in the field of robotics. Photo…Sustaining community: Hope as resilience
OPTIMISTIC: Sarah Thornburg, chair of Asheville City Board of Education, shares why she is hopeful about the future of our county's two school systems. Photo courtesy of ThornburgPlanting the seeds for passing down farms
GROWING TOMORROW: Luke Beam and his wife, Kathy, pose with their three children in a photo taken several years ago. Photo courtesy of Beam Family FarmThe music and politics behind Drew Ball
HONKY-TONK: Drew Ball, the newest member of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, is also known to shred a guitar from time to time. Here, he is pictured playing guitar…Warren Wilson and UNCA launch new programs aimed at climate change
OUTDOOR SESSION: Keith McDade, director of Warren Wilson College's applied climate studies program, stands before a group of students outside the lecture hall. Photo courtesy of Warren Wilson CollegeSustaining community: Black Mountain Presbyterian Church works to rebuild WNC
SPREAD THE LOVE: "The most hopeful things are when a family or individual’s life has been changed by the generosity I see coming into our valley," says Mary Katherine Robinson, pastor of Black…Inside the fight to conserve Richmond Hill
Image courtesy of SAHCThe story behind a geologist’s viral tutorial
SCIENTIFIC STUDY: Geologist Phillip Prince poses while making a video at the site of a deadly debris flow in Craigtown near Fairview on Nov. 1 while explaining how landslides became…Sustaining community: Support for educators is key to school success
ALL AROUND SUPPORT: "My multidecade vision for public education is that we become a people that praise educational attainment, uplift everyone who works in education and support students in every…‘Mass confusion’ at the Asheville VA
HIGHLY RATED: VA Claims Insider gives the Charles George Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center high marks for quality of care, but local veterans worry recent moves from President Donald…Sustaining community: Electrify Asheville-Buncombe discusses 2042 renewable energy goals
CLEAN AND EFFICIENT: "As our grid evolves toward renewable energy, transitioning means a cleaner, more efficient environment," says Sophie Mullinax, chief administrative officer of Let's Go Electric/Electrify Asheville-Buncombe. Photo courtesy…InterBeing Festival welcomes collaboration, vulnerability and play
REFUGE: InterBeing Festival's 2025 theme — “Community: Refuge in a Changing World” — was selected long before Tropical Storm Helene's destruction. But in the storm's aftermath, the concept feels more…Environmentalists say federal policies put forests at further risk
PUBLIC HELP NEEDED: Jeff Hunter, Southern Appalachian director of the National Parks Conservation Association, organized a forum on how communities can work together to support federal lands and parks. “Right…From CPP: Mission Health drama continues with accusations of ‘profit over patients’
Mission Hospital in Asheville, seen here on March 9, 2025. Colby Rabon / Carolina Public PressAsheville City Council OKs plan for $225M in disaster recovery funds
BOTTOM LINE: Rachel Cohen, a member of the Sunrise Movement, a local climate activist group, unscrolled 178 signatures of residents who want to build back greener as part of the…From CPP: WNC forest plan under pressure from storm devastation, lawsuit and Trump
STORM AFTERMATH: Fallen trees and debris from Tropical Storm Helene litter the Wilson Creek area of Pisgah National Forest in Caldwell County. Provided / Will Waugh
opinion
Letter: County must return funding to local schools
"How can taking away critical funding from our schools be the solution?"Letter: Spring is time for tick prevention
"Spray your shoes with permethrin, see The Quiet Epidemic streaming free and check for ticks."Letter: Promote native plants, not bamboo
"We have lots of native shrubs, such as American holly, mountain laurel or viburnum, that would make a more biodiverse privacy screen."Work zone
Letter: Concerned for animals at WNC Nature Center
"How people take their children there for entertainment is indicative of how tragically separated most people are from natural animal behavior."Letter: Social district should encompass all of downtown
"Limiting a social district to only the South Slope area would have little to no impact on the greater downtown business district."Function junction
Letter: Speak up for urban forest and how Asheville grows
"If we don’t speak up about how we want to see Asheville grow, then others will make the decisions for us."Letter: UNCA can help Asheville’s housing crisis and save the woods
"If the 19 acres more appropriate for housing development aren’t enough, then let’s have a solution-oriented discussion about what to do next. But don’t lead with bulldozing the woods."
