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Today’s Email Announcements

1) Sneak Peek of “After Coal” Film at BRAHM on Aug. 25

Ever wonder what happens when fossil fuels run out? How do communities and cultures survive? Join filmmaker Tom Hansell at the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum on Tuesday, August 25, at 6 pm, as he explores how two mining cultures are facing the challenge of their dependence on coal-driven economies through his documentary film, After Coal: Welsh and Appalachian Mining Communities.

“The question of what happens when a community’s economy relies on a single industry – be that furniture, tourism, or, in this case, coal, is an interesting one and very apropos to our time. Hansell’s film explores the loss of industry and the devastation as well as opportunity that that can create,” says Leila Weinstein, BRAHM’s Education and Outreach Coordinator. “The film looks at people focusing on that opportunity – people who are working to build sustainable communities in the former coalfields of south Wales and central Appalachia.”

Hansell is a documentary filmmaker who spent twenty years as a filmmaker and teacher at Appalshop, a media arts center in Kentucky, and he currently teaches Appalachian and Documentary Studies at Appalachian State University. His work has been broadcast nationally on public television and has screened at international film festivals. He is the recipient of grants and fellowships from the Kentucky Arts Council, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.  His documentary The Electricity Fairy premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 2010.  

After the hour-long film, Hansell will lead a Q & A and discussion session. Admission to the film is $5 for members and students and $7 for nonmembers. The film will be followed by a complimentary wine and cheese reception.

The Blowing Rock Art & History Museum is located at 159 Chestnut Street on the corner of Chestnut and Main in Blowing Rock, NC. The Museum is open 10am – 5pm Tuesday and Wednesday, 10am – 7pm Thursday, 10am – 5pm Friday and Saturday, and 1pm – 5pm Sunday throughout the Fall. General admission to the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum is $7 for adults and $6 for students, seniors, active military, and children ages 5 and up. Donations are accepted for full admission to the Museum on Thursdays. For more information, please call (828) 295 – 9099 or visit www.blowingrockmuseum.org.

2) Weekly Events at Lost Province Brewing Co.

Wednesday August 19

½ Off Beer and Wine Specials.

7pm-9pm Trivia Night: Beginning at 7pm, Lost Province will be hosting Trivia Night with Zak Norris. Compete on your own or on a team! The competition gets started at 7pm so come a little early for a pizza and a pint and get your seat!

Thursday August 20

$3.00 Thursday-$3.00 pints on all Lost Province brewed beers (except high gravity)

8pm-Closing Live Music: Folk and Dagger. Folk and Dagger are a folk rock group from Boone, NC, whose original trio formed in 2007. The band includes singer-songwriter Doris Bazzini Crothers on rhythm guitar and vocals, Colin Crothers on lead guitar, and Colleen Tarantino Utter on vocals. The band was joined by Charlie Ochoa and then Jimmy Puchalski on percussion. More recently, the foursome includes Boone native, John Fulkerson on djembe, shaker, and tambourine. The band’s soulful harmonies and Crothers’ acoustic lead guitar style have been likened to “Indigo Girls meet the Beatles.” Bazzini Crothers’ songs focus on love and life’s dramas including annoying co-workers, juggling marriage and children, and the occasional need to carry whiskey in one’s purse.

Friday August 21

Freakin’ Firkin Friday at Five continues with a special keg of Dry Hopped Mosaic IPA.

8pm-Closing Live Music: The Paper Crowns. The Paper Crowns make two piece acoustic music sound huge! They are stomping on drums while they are plucking strings and singing harmonies often all at the same time! There’s nobody doing it like The Paper Crowns are doing it. It’s hard to find a truly unique band…on top of that it’s hard to find a band that delivers the emotional spectrum from sweet and heartbreaking earnest ballads to barn burning gypsy raving conga frenzied sweaty dance tunes. The Paper Crowns will bring you all that and then some! The Paper Crowns are solid players on their instruments….see this amazing band live! They pride their sets on improvisation mixed with fine compositions and great lyrics. Most of all, The Paper Crowns want you to feel good and feel recharged when you listen to their music….it’s full of heart and soul and all of the good old spirit that’s still roaming the land.

Saturday August 22

8pm-Closing Live Music: Swing Guitars. Boone’s own gypsy band “Swing Guitars” has been active for almost a decade performing acoustic “Hot Club” style jazz in area restaurants, music festivals and civic concert series. Playing a mix of gypsy jazz standards, swing classics, originals and modern jazz tunes, the acoustic group focuses on the music of Django Reinhardt and other early jazz pioneers. Guitarists Andy Page, Jim Schaller and Jay Brown along with Ben McPherron on bass are experienced musicians widely known to High Country music fans. An evening with Swing Guitars promises a variety of sounds perfect for socializing, eating, drinking and dancing!

Sunday August 23

Lost Province Sunday: Residents of “The Lost Province” (Watauga, Ashe, Avery and Alleghany) receive 10% off food with verification of residency.

3) Register Now for Women in Leadership Simply Southern Picnic on Aug. 23

Good Ole Fashioned ‘Pig-Pickin’ with all the fixins

and Covered Dish!

We’ll also have chicken and veggie burgers available for our non-pork eaters.

AUGUST 23rd, 2 pm until 5 pm

Address:  409 Monte Verde Road,Deep Gap, NC 28618

(about 15 minutes from downtown Boone)

Come join in the fun and fellowship with many of the women you have had the opportunity to meet at past events ……

but would like to know better!!

Wear your favorite T Shirt new or old.

Come comfortable!

Wine donated from Lynne Lear, the Country Vintner

Beer donated by Lynne Mason, Lost Province

Sure to be a great afternoon of games, conversation and wonderful food and drink.

 $10.00 per person.

Please register online with your information

REGISTER NOW

Be sure to sign up to bring a dish or volunteer in the link provided with the confirmation email!

3) Western Square Dancing at Linville Land Harbor

Linville Land Harbor Mountain Mixers Dance Schedule for

Friday No Western Square Dance

Sunday Aug 23, 2015

Western Square Dance

Our Western Square Dance will be held at Linville Land Harbor

Recreation Center, 22 Land Harbor Plaza, Newland

1:00-1:30PM is A2. 2:00-4:00PM is a plus dance.

Caller is Johnny Preston, Fultondale, AL. Dress is square dance attire or dressy casual.

No shorts please.www.mountainmixers.com

A2 Square Dancing from Monday June 1, 2015-Sept 28, 2015 Mondays

7:00-9:00PM A2 Dancing with Jerry Biggerstaff, Marion, NC

Wednesdays 7:00-9:00PM A2 Review and Dance with

our resident caller Ron Libby

5) Grants for Diversifying Farmers Now Available

WNC Agricultural Options is now accepting grant applications from farmers diversifying or expanding their businesses. With funding from the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, WNC AgOptions is distributing a total of $178,000 to western North Carolina farmers in 2016. The application deadline is Nov. 13.

WNC AgOptions helps offset farmers’ risk of trying new ventures with $3,000 and $6,000 grants. “The WNC AgOptions program is an excellent example of grant funds providing direct support to those who need it most,” said Ross Young, Madison County Extension Director and WNC AgOptions steering committee leader. “Our farmers are arguably the most important people in our society. I sincerely appreciate the Commission’s interest in supporting western North Carolina agriculture.”

 The Commission has supported the mountain region throughout major changes in agriculture, ensuring farmers continue farming. “Farmers in western North Carolina have proven time and time again that they are very innovative, resourceful and creative in how they produce and market their products,” said Bill Teague, Chairman of the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission. “Our board is committed to the success of farmers in the targeted counties and we know these grants will encourage many successful projects.”

 Applicants should contact their Cooperative Extension Agents by Oct. 16 to set up an appointment to discuss their projects. Applications are available at www.wncagoptions.org or at local Cooperative Extension Centers. Extension Agents remain a resource for farmers throughout the year as they complete their projects.

 Since 2004, WNC AgOptions has awarded nearly $2 million to farmers. Grants often pay for a simple improvement that make a big difference, such as the purchase of an air-forced refrigerator at Perry’s Berry’s in Burke County. The cold storage reduced Owners Debbie and Terry Perry’s blueberry losses from 20 percent in 2014 to less than 5 percent in 2015. Cooling their berries immediately after harvest enhances the quality of their product, which they sell to a variety of customers, including Food Matters in Transylvania County, Fonta Flora Brewery in Burke County and Blind Squirrel Brewery in Avery County.

Wehrloom Honey in Graham County has exceeded their expectations since opening a new retail store in Robbinsville in May. With the help of a WNC AgOptions grant, Owner Jessica Wehr added new products such as spun honey, which is a thick spreadable honey, and bee pollen, which is considered a superfood due to its rich source of vitamins.

Hoopers Creek Botanicals expanded production with a 2015 WNC AgOptions grant, and Owner Wallace Souther says he is able to sell all the medicinal herbs that he can grow. He also secured a contract with Sow True Seeds in Asheville to grow winter squash, which he says he wouldn’t have been able to do without the grant. “I feel so honored,” Souther said.

WNC AgOptions offers grants to farmers in the following counties/units: Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga and Yancey counties as well as the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Applicants are encouraged to attend information sessions, which will be held throughout the region in the next two months. Check the WNC AgOptions website for exact dates and locations or call Project Coordinator Jennifer Ferre at (828) 252-4783.

The administrator of WNC AgOptions is WNC Communities, a non-profit organization that has been improving agriculture in the region since 1947. WNC Communities provides a unique forum for leaders in western North Carolina to carry out innovative programs to improve the quality of life for rural communities and to enhance the agriculture economy. “WNC Communities is delighted to serve as administrator for WNC AgOptions,” said L.T. Ward, Vice President of WNC Commuities. “We are grateful to the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission and North Carolina legislators for their support for twelve years.”

Members of the WNC AgOptions steering committee include: representatives from N.C. Cooperative Extension, N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services–Marketing Division, WNC Communities, Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project and other leaders in agribusiness. For more information, see the following: WNC Agricultural Options: www.wncagoptions.org; N.C. Cooperative Extension Centers: www.ces.ncsu.edu; N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission: www.tobaccotrustfund.org; WNC Communities: www.wnccommunities.org.

6) The Farm Hands to Perform in Boone on Sept. 6

The community is invited to attend a concert by the award-winning bluegrass gospel band The Farm Hands Quartet on Sunday, September 6 at 6:00 pm at Rutherwood Baptist Church, 142 Don Hayes Road, Boone, NC.

The Farm Hands is an award-winning band based out of Nashville, Tennessee, consisting of industry veterans Tim Graves, Daryl Mosley, Keith Tew, and Bennie Boling. Among the four members are a Grammy Award winner, a member of the Preservation Hall of Greats, two Song of the Year award winners, 10-time Dobro Player of the Year winner, and 2 long-time veterans of the Grand Ole Opry stage; in addition, as a band they have been honored with awards for Gospel Band of the Year, Entertaining Band of the Year, and Album of the Year. These are top-notch singers, songwriters, and instrumentalists! They put on a very entertaining, funny and inspiring program appropriate for all ages.

“These guys are awesome! I don’t know when I’ve laughed so much or had so much fun. It has been the best concert we have ever had,” raved Bill Lewis, pastor at a church where the band recently performed.

There will be no admission charge, but a love offering will be taken; CD’s and DVD’s will be available for purchase. For additional information, contact Gary Lawrence at (828) 264-5319 or Patty Lindley at (502) 262-0428.

7) Registration Open for Fall Craft Enrichment at ASU

Registration is open for the Craft Enrichment Program at Appalachian State. Currently there is limited space available for every topic offered this semester. Fall classes include Woodworking Techniques, Introduction to Arduino, Watercolor Doors and Windows, Beginning Drawing Techniques, Adventures in Acrylics, Beginning and Advanced Bowl Turning, Introduction to Welding, Glass Beadmaking, Pottery, Stained glass, Glass fusing and slumping, Jewelry Making, Quilting, and Weaving.

Small class sizes provide individual attention from instructors who are dedicated professionals committed both as teachers and craft artists.Craft Enrichment has classes for novices, advanced students, and people ready to explore a new hobby. Affiliation with the university is not required. These are community programs open to anyone age 16 and older.

Read more at http://craftenrichment.appstate.edu/.  

You may also call 828-262-2530.