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Twestival Local Asheville 2009

2009-09-10T19:49:14Z

In February, people from all over the world joined together for Twestival and community by community raised over $250,000 for 55 different clean drinking water projects. All of this was organized using Twitter, the social networking tool where "micro-bloggers" post "tweets" in 140 characters or less. Twestival Asheville raised three times the international average.

This weekend, cities all over the world are participating in Twestival Local and the international event promises to be even better, with the hopes of raising one million dollars in one month.

Asheville, North Carolina, known for it's staggering natural beauty and vibrant arts community is also home to a an active Twitter community that will be out in full force for Twestival Local.

On Sunday, September 13th at Asheville Pizza & Brewing at 77 Coxe Avenue from 2PM-8PM, Twestival Local Asheville will be raising money for the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP), a non-profit that promotes environmentally sound, economically viable, and healthy local farming. Asheville's Twestival Local will include farm fresh produce, a photo booth, a pizza pie creation contest, Corn Hole contest + some incredible raffle items. In addition to a live musical cakewalk, Asheville's own Now You See Them will be headlining the musical entertainment.

This is an event not to be missed in Western North Carolina! It will be a great place to hear some Asheville bands and network with internet savvy, influential people in the community while raising money for a good cause. So while we support buying and eating local, let's take a day to celebrate that at a local gathering!

Purchase tickets here: http://asheville.twestival.com/Asheville Pizza & Brewing: http://www.ashevillepizza.com/ To find out how you can help, email Twestival Asheville at avltwestival@gmail.com & follow them on Twitter http://twitter.com/avltwestival. Find them on Facebook at Twestival Local Asheville. This press release was donated to Twestival by Leaflet PR. http://Leafletpr.com

Tuesday's scores

2009-09-09T10:59:40Z

SOCCER
Owen 2, Asheville 1
Enka 7, Pisgah 0
Reynolds 1, Shelby 0
North Buncombe 7, Franklin 2
Shannon Forest 1, Christ School 0
Brevard 3, Veritas Christian 0
Rabun Gap 2, Carolina Day 1

VOLLEYBALL
Owen 3, Mitchell 0
Brevard 3, Tuscola 0
Reynolds 3, Asheville 0
McDowell 3, North Buncombe 0
Enka 3, Erwin 0

TENNIS
Roberson 6, Asheville 3
Carolina Day 9, Rabun Gap 0
Franklin 9, North Henderson 0

Brevard-N. Buncombe JV game moved

2009-09-08T16:09:03Z

Thursday's junior-varsity football game between Brevard and North Buncombe has been moved to Transylvania County. The two varsity teams also play Friday at Brevard.

North Buncombe athletic director Rick High said the switch means his school will host both games in 2010.

Twestival This Sunday

2009-09-09T12:55:00Z

Last year's Asheville Twestival -- an event for Twitter users supporting an amazing charity, charity:water, was organized by a handful of locals in nine days. Offering a silent auction, great live music and beer, it was a runaway success, raising $6000 that, combined with funds raised from all over the world, was later used to drill wells in the developing world.

This year Asheville Twestival goes local, benefiting the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, a WNC nonprofit with this vision:

A future food system throughout the mountains of North Carolina and the Southern Appalachians that provides a safe and nutritious food supply for all segments of society; that is produced, marketed and distributed in a manner that enhances human and environmental health; and that adds economic and social value to rural and urban communities.

Local food for local people. I like.

This year's event offers music, games, a cake walk and a raffle. Stay tuned to BlogAsheville for more details.

Asheville Twestival is this Sunday at Asheville Pizza at 77 Coxe, 2-8 p.m. Tix are $10. You can get them here.

HUGE restaurant savings

2009-09-09T14:22:59Z

From CouponMom.com:

90% off Restaurant.com Certificates (because it's 9/9/09!)
Save 90% with code NINETY, pay only $1 for a $25 certificate

These last for a full year, so stock up at this unbelievable price!
This is a REAL deal. For example, a $1,000 certificate would cost $40, and you'd get 40 certificates for $25 each over the year. You could also stock up on gifts:

Buy gifts now for the holidays--everyone likes to eat out!
Buy general gift certificates for teacher gifts (they can select their own restaurant later)
Buy a large gift certificate for yourself and redeem it for individual restaurant certificates over the year
Send them to friends and family via email as a fun gift now
Buy Dinner of the Month memberships for gifts to give later

Order now to save 90% on dining out!

Half-price admission to The Health Adventure

2009-09-08T16:20:14Z

The Health Adventure needs to close its top floor for the next couple of weeks to prepare for its new exhibit, "Grossology." To compensate for that, the museum is offering half-price admission from today to Sept. 24.

Admission Prices September 8 – 24, 2009:
Adults - $4.25
Students (12 & up) - $3.75
Children (2 – 11) - $3.00
Children under 2 are always FREE!

For more information, visit www.thehealthadventure.org.

Free corn maze tickets

2009-09-09T13:37:27Z

Eliada's Castle of the Corn Maze opens Sept. 25. It's the organization's first corn maze and is only 5 minutes from downtown.

To make it succeed, Eliada needs almost 600 volunteers. Have some spare time? Volunteer for a 3-hour shift and receive 2 complimentary maze admission tickets (a $16 value) as well as a small snack.

Find more info and sign up to volunteer online at www.castleinthecorn.com/volunteer/

Bluegrass and Old Time music competition

2009-09-05T13:00:00Z

FLETCHER -- The wanted sign is out for fans to attend the 2009 N.C. Mountain State Fair mountain music competition.

Asheville glass artist featured in Our State

2009-09-06T04:15:00Z

ASHEVILLE -- Asheville artist Alex Gabriel Bernstein is featured in Our State magazine's September issue.

Celebrate the arts with food, wine event

2009-09-06T04:15:00Z

ASHEVILLE -- The Asheville Art Museum is hosting wine, craft beer and food vendors are Pack Place for A Taste of Art + Wine, 6:30-9 p.m. Sept. 10.

Naked Cowboy drops bid to become NYC mayor

2009-09-06T12:50:00Z

NEW YORK -- The Naked Cowboy of Times Square says he's dropping out of the race for mayor of New York City.

Renovations close NC Museum of Art until April

2009-09-06T12:56:00Z

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The North Carolina Museum of Art is temporarily closing.

Arboretum expert to speak at West Asheville Library

2009-09-06T11:00:00Z

ASHEVILLE -- Alison Arnold, director of horticulture at The North Carolina Arboretum, will speak on "Urban Gardening: Bringing Community, Creativity, and Connection into Our Hearts, Homes, & Lives" on Saturday, September 12 at 10:30 a.m. Sept.

Fisher serves on education panel

2009-09-06T10:00:00Z

RALEIGH -- State Rep. Susan Fisher has been reappointed to a legislative committee that oversees the state's education programs.

Bonesteel film will put focus on Connemara

2009-09-06T13:08:26Z

Good story here by the Hendersonville Times-News:

As part of a month-long celebration of America's national parks and historic sites, the local focus will zoom in on one of the Blue Ridge's crown jewels: the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock.

To prepare for this special month, which will peak with the airing of the new Ken Burns national parks documentary at the end of September, a series of special local events are planned.

The first and most dramatic is the premiere of "Where To? What Next?"-- a new short film by filmmaker Paul Bonesteel, who grew up in Henderson County.

The film, paid for through $25,000 in grants and gifts awarded to the Carl Sandburg site, stars a new generation of poets -- nine middle school students who are all members of the Boys and Girls Club in Hendersonville.

The red carpet will literally be rolled out Friday night as the kids arrive to watch the 10-minute premiere of "Where To? What Next?" at 7 p.m. at the Boys and Girls Club of Henderson County.

"I hope this film is a big motivator for kids -- as a challenge to find their own voice," says Bonesteel. "Sandburg always looked for subject matter that was relevant. This film pushes kids to see what is relevant in their own lives -- like family, though they may not see it."

The film, narrated by Asheville poet Glenis Redmond, takes a cue from Carl Sandburg, whose life came into focus as a poet, author and musician, emphasized where he was from and where he was going.

Redmond asked the nine kids chosen to participate in the project to write a poem based on one of her signature themes, "Where am I from?"

Acting coach offering workshop on how to succeed in a television commercial audition

2009-09-06T11:53:45Z

From loyal reader Kellin. Thanks Kellin! I may go just to learn how to "own my power":

Television Commercial Audition Workshop w/ Kevin Patrick Murphy

Date: Sunday September 27, 2009

Location: Asheville, N.C.

Cost: $150

Former teacher at The Actor's Lab in Hollywood and 20 YEARS of teaching experience, Kevin Patrick Murphy has appeared in several television commercials for clients such as Microsoft, Snicker's, H and R Block, The Yellow Page's, AT&T, and Bailey's to name a few.

The workshop will cover:

What to expect at a commercial audition

The power of the slate

Improv auditions

Auditions with dialogue

How to own your POWER

The workshop will be on-camera and interactive. This workshop is filling up quickly and space is limited to insure that everyone will have plenty of opportunity to work and learn.

>Reserve your space now! Call 323.252.2042

NYT: Surge in homeless children hits public schools in Buncombe County, around the U.S.

2009-09-06T11:26:18Z

New York Times story here. A sad story:

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — In the small trailer her family rented over the summer, 9-year-old Charity Crowell picked out the green and purple outfit she would wear on the first day of school. She vowed to try harder and bring her grades back up from the C’s she got last spring — a dismal semester when her parents lost their jobs and car and the family was evicted and migrated through friends’ houses and a motel.

While current national data are not available, the number of schoolchildren in homeless families appears to have risen by 75 percent to 100 percent in many districts over the last two years, according to Barbara Duffield, policy director of the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, an advocacy group.

Charity is one child in a national surge of homeless schoolchildren that is driven by relentless unemployment and foreclosures. The rise, to more than one million students without stable housing by last spring, has tested budget-battered school districts as they try to carry out their responsibilities — and the federal mandate — to salvage education for children whose lives are filled with insecurity and turmoil.

The instability can be ruinous to schooling, educators say, adding multiple moves and lost class time to the inherent distress of homelessness. And so in accord with federal law, the Buncombe County district, where Charity attends, provides special bus service to shelters, motels, doubled-up houses, trailer parks and RV campgrounds to help children stay in their familiar schools as the families move about.

Still, Charity said of her last semester, “I couldn’t go to sleep, I was worried about all the stuff,” and she often nodded off in class.

Charity and her brother, Elijah Carrington, 6, were among 239 children from homeless families in her district as of last June, an increase of 80 percent over the year before, with indications this semester that as many or more will be enrolled in the months ahead.

Idea from the TEDx Asheville idea people: TEDx Jr.

2009-09-06T02:32:57Z

I attended the feedback session today for TEDX Asheville, and heard lots of good discussion about how next year's version of the event can improve on the amazing first-year start held a couple of weeks ago at the Orange Peel. There was lots of constructive criticism. But the idea I like the most was the creation of a TEDx Junior event.

Imagine part, or all, of the event featuring speakers younger than 18 talking about their great ideas. Teachers could be paired with young speakers to help them work on their public speaking skills, or flesh out their ideas. Maybe there's a sideline event where young people come together to put ideas into action.

The possibilities are endless. And as far as I can tell, nobody else is doing this under the TED umbrella. I think this is an idea that could spread like wildfire.

Thanks, once again, to Jennifer Saylor and all the organizers, volunteers, participants and audience members who made this independent TED event a great success. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Blog bits: Questions about Boyd, Blue Ridge Savings Bank and more

2009-09-05T11:25:48Z

Some of what's going around:

-Did Boyd resign or was she laid off? Did former Asheville Citizen-Times reporter Leslie Boyd get laid off, or did she resign? That's the question that Erika Franzi, the Asheville Tea Party organizer, asks and answers over at her blog, Jane Q. Republican. Franzi notes that Boyd gave a statement to me that she resigned. But Franzi says Boyd told her she was laid off. Boyd's change in status came after some local bloggers, including Franzi, pointed out that Boyd was in violation of the newspaper's ethics policy by participating in a news event that she covered.

-Blue Ridge Savings Bank troubles: This Charlotte Observer story about a Charlotte bank having a tough time with federal regulators notes that Blue Ridge Savings Bank is also still operating under a "cease-and-desist" order from regulators. Despite the name, the order doesn't require the bank immediately close, but to follow certain orders from the feds. Background is here.

-SeePeopleS give away music: Here's the press release:

SeepeopleS is proud to announce the release of their long-awaited 4th full length album, Apocalypse Cow Vol.2. Over two and half years in the making, the release is a landmark in the evolution of SeepeopleS' unique sound and a return to the hybrid rock and electronica sound that made their second album, The Corn Syrup Conspiracy, a true underground classic.

The album is being released FOR FREE beginning September 4th at midnight on SeepeopleS' website, www.seepeoples.com as a musical financial bailout (you're welcome America). The twelve track version of the album will be available for download for six full months until the hard copy 17 track version is released in early Spring 2010, in time for the band's 10 year anniversary.

Tourists Shutout Drive for Playoff Berth.

2009-09-05T02:09:00Z

(Greenville, SC) Dan Houston pitched Asheville to the post season on Friday in a 4-0 win. With the magic number at two and a loss from Augusta just moments prior, the Tourists win completed their worst-to-first season turn around. Houston tossed seven scoreless innings and Asheville (68-67, 42-24) received three of their four runs in the first three innings for their second consecutive trip to the post season. The win moves Asheville to over a .500 record for the first time this season.