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Today’s Email Announcements

What’s Happening This Week at Lost Province Brewing Company

Thursday December 20

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

7:30-Closing College Night and Live Music with Daniel Brake. Join us for a night of a wonderful mix of singer/songwriter tunes. Daniel Brake is a senior at App State who is building a reputation through his solo work and playing with his band, Summer Dogs. There will be a variety of songs from originals to covers that everyone is sure to know!

Friday December 21

7:30pm-Closing Live Music: Kyle Sigmon. Located in the Appalachian Mountains of Western North Carolina, Kyle is a husband, father of 4, a pastor at Faithbridge, and multiple instrument singer/songwriter whose music is a product of his own creative and contemplative explorations, but exists to do more than entertain. The hope is to inspire and stir listeners to find their own art that is their lives given back to the world.

Saturday December 22

7:30pm-Closing Live Music: Alice Osborn. Based out of Raleigh, Alice Osborn’s Americana music is truly homegrown with upbeat tempos, poignant lyrics, and powerful vocals. An accomplished poet and history buff, Alice’s originals are influenced by Celtic, bluegrass, and folk, and frequently return to the themes of home, yearning, and identity. She also plays Celtic fiddle and bluegrass banjo.

TAC Talk: Praise Songs for the Mountains: Mongolian Fiddling Traditions in Environmental Context 

Statue of the Morin Khurr, horse head fiddle overlooking the province in Mongolia where Hutchins does his research.

Kip Hutchins will be at the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum on Thursday, December 27 at 6 p.m. for a special TAC Talk on Mongolian fiddling traditions.

In Mongolia, the heart of traditional music is the morin khuur or “horse-head fiddle,” a two-stringed, bowed instrument with a sound that is in some ways very similar to Appalachian fiddles and in other ways quite distinct. An integral part of the horse-head fiddle’s music is its close relationship with the nomadic lifestyle, livestock, and rural landscapes in the steppe. Through a combination of oral presentation and musical performance, Kip Hutchins will give an overview of Mongolian traditional fiddling, with a focus on how the music draws upon nomadic approaches to relating with animals and the environment.

Kip Hutchins is a Ph.D. candidate in cultural anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, currently writing his dissertation on the relationships between cultural heritage and environment in Mongolia. Raised in a musical family in the Blue Ridge, he is interested in rural fiddling traditions and their connections with the landscape around the world. He has been working with traditional musicians in Mongolia since 2010 and recently conducted two years of research for his dissertation funded by the Fulbright-Hays and the American Center for Mongolian Studies Cultural Heritage fellowships.

Thursday Art and Culture (TAC) Talks bring collegiate level lectures to your museum. Featuring scholars from around the country, the lectures are selected to provide supplemental information on our current exhibits, or highlight the history and heritage of the mountains.
Beginning at 6 pm these events have an hour long lecture with audience question and answer session at the end. Unless otherwise posted, all TAC talks are free for members and $5 for non-members.

This event is free for members, $5 for non-members.

Kip Hutchins

Wells Fargo Foundation Presents $47,000 Grant to High Country United Way 

Representatives from Wells Fargo Foundation recently presented a $47,000 grant to High Country United Way. HCUW was awarded this grant by Wells Fargo Foundation to support programs in the High Country that meet a mutual goal of helping people lift themselves out of poverty and attain self-sufficiency.

“I am honored to once again be given the opportunity to present a check on behalf of Wells Fargo Bank to the High Country United Way.   In 2017 Wells Fargo employees volunteered 2 Million hours, representing an estimated $48 Million in volunteer time.  Our employees also pledged $85 Million to nonprofits, topping United Way’s workplace giving campaign for the ninth consecutive year and we are projecting to top that number again in 2018,” said Taylor Vickrey, Wells Fargo VP Senior Business Relationship Manager. “In 2017 we gave the High Country United Way a check for $25,500.00.  Those monies went towards local agencies in the High Country focused on helping families get back on their feet and stay on their feet.  It’s because of our shared vision of being an effective resource in our communities and their continued success that we wanted to give more, so this year so I am presenting a check to High Country United Way for $47,000.00 and look forward to your partnership in the years to come. We cannot thank you all enough for the time, work and compassion you provide for all of us 24/7/365 days a year.”

Gary Childers, the Executive Director of High Country United Way, said “High Country United Way is grateful for the long-standing relationship it has with Wells Fargo Foundation. For more than 14 years Wells Fargo Foundation and Wells Fargo employees’ contributions have supported the work of High Country United Way. Our best estimate shows that through the generosity of both these groups a total of at least $160,000 has been donated to High Country United Way over these 14 years to help meet immediate and emergency needs and improve lives in the High Country.”

Why such a large investment by Wells Fargo through HCUW to help meet needs in the High Country? Fortunately for the High Country both organizations have identified a similar priority. High Country United Way’s Income Stabilization Visioning Council established a goal of helping individuals move out of poverty and learn how to remain self-sufficient. One of Wells Fargo Foundation’s main goals is supporting programs that “enable and sustain independence for individuals and families”. Upon discovering these common goals 3 years ago High Country United Way representatives spoke with Wells Fargo Foundation’s regional director, Peggy Reingold, about our interest in pursuing funds to support these effort in the High Country. She felt if we could demonstrate that our regional presence would allow their funds to have a greater impact in the High Country it might help secure additional resources from the Foundation. Board member emeritus Ms. Susan Poorman and Dr. Childers wrote an initial grant 3 years ago and were awarded $21,000 to support WAMY’s Total Family Development and Hospitality House’ Rise programs serving Avery, Watauga, and Mitchell counties. Two years ago, Wells Fargo Foundation was willing to increase their support for these programs to $25,500. This past year it was proposed in the grant request that Self Sufficiency programs be expanded to Ashe and Alleghany counties. Once again Wells Fargo Foundation supported the request and awarded $47,000 to expand the work in the High Country of helping people move out of poverty. The joint efforts of Wells Fargo Foundation and High Country United Way have resulted in support for programs that are truly having a regional impact through the agencies represented here today.

Each of the following agencies is receiving Wells Fargo Foundation and HCUW funds to support their program that is helping people lift themselves out of poverty. They are BROC’s Alleghany Self Sufficiency; BROC’s Ashe Self Sufficiency; WAMY’s Total Family Development serving Watauga, Avery, Mitchell and Yancey; and Hospitality House’s RISE serving Ashe, Watauga, Avery, Mitchell, Yancey, Alleghany, and Wilkes.

Gary Childers, Taylor Vickrey, Johnny Carson, Keith Shockley
Tina Krause, Lynette Walker, Taylor Vickrey, Shane Johnson, Johnny Carson, Keith Shockley, Stacey Howell
Terri Lockwood, Tom Hughes, Jennie Stultz, Joel Wise, Taylor Vickrey, Gary Childers, Johnny Carson, Scott Elliott, Keith Shockley, Kate Gavenus, Fred Pfohl, Nancy Reigel.

Hobby Lobby Grand Opening is December 31

Everyone is invited to attend the Hobby Lobby grand opening ribbon cutting at 9 a.m. on Monday, December 31.

Please join Hobby Lobby and the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce for refreshments and shopping.

The Hobby Lobby is located at Boone Mall, 1180 Blowing Rock Road.

2019 Governor’s Volunteer Service Awards Seek Nominations

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2019 Governor’s Volunteer Service Awards. High Country United Way staff and volunteers have been assigned the collection of the nominations and judging the entries to submit to Governor Roy Cooper’s Office of Volunteer Service.

The awards program, created by the Office of the Governor in 1979, recognizes North Carolina’s most dedicated volunteers. Through the years, the award has been bestowed on thousands of North Carolinians who have shown concern and compassion for their neighbors by volunteering in their community.

Each county selects up to ten individuals, businesses, groups/teams and one paid Director of Volunteers to be recognized for their outstanding contributions to their communities. Nominees may be in the following categories: Family, Group/Team, Youth, Senior, Perseverance in Voluntarism, Faith Based Entity, Corporate/Business, National Service and Director of Volunteers.

Awards will be given in the following service categories; Veteran/Military, Serving Youth, Disaster, Animals, Cultural, Environment, Health and Human and Human Services and Other. One of the nominees will be eligible for the Governor’s Medallion Award for Volunteer Service, which is awarded to the top 20 volunteers in the state. A local committee will evaluate the nominations.

Nominations forms are available online at volunteernc.org or acquire a hard copy of the application at the High Country United Way office at 1675 Blowing Rock Road, Suite 400 ( Lifestore Bank Building), Boone, NC   28607. Nominations must be typed and delivered to High Country United Way or submitted online to volunteernc.org no later than 5pm on January 15, 2019. No nominations will be received after that time. Local winners will be notified and announced in late January.

For more information, contact Marti Phillips at director@highcountryunitedway.org or call 828-264-2111.

Watauga High School Hosting Annual Parent Night Open House

Watauga High School is set to hold it’s annual parent night open house Jan. 15 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. for Blowing Rock, Hardin Park, and Valle Crucis students, and Jan. 29 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. for Bethel, Cove Creek, Green Valley, Mabel, Parkway, and Two Rivers students.

Students and parents will get general information about Watauga High School and have the opportunity to explore the school and talk to teachers about specific classes or programs that interest them.

For more information contact Watauga High School at 828-264-2407.

High Gravity Adventures Offering Special Discounted Holiday Pricing for 2019 Tickets

Is your Christmas shopping done yet?  High Gravity Adventures has discounted a limited number of 2019 adventure tickets and are down to the last few remaining!  Check it out to get the deepest discounts of the year. Don’t pick a date, don’t pick a time, just get your tickets and use them when you’re ready to!

There are also sweatshirts, shirts, stickers and other swag if you’d like to round out your adventure gift.