National Public Gardens Day at the NC Arboretum

May 15th, 2012

ASHEVILLE NC – The North Carolina Arboretum will participate in National Public Gardens Day on Friday, May 11. The event celebrates all public gardens, arboreta, botanical gardens, educational gardens, specialty gardens, entertainment gardens, farm gardens, historical landscapes, and zoos with each institution participating in its own unique way.

Now in its fourth year, National Public Gardens Day is a national day of awareness in which communities nationwide are invited to visit and learn about the important role their public gardens play in promoting environmental stewardship and awareness, plant and water conservation, and education. The day was created in partnership between the American Public Gardens Association (APGA) and irrigation product and service provider, Rain Bird. The 2012 National Public Gardens Day will showcase the contributions of public gardens with special events at many of the more than 500 North American public gardens.

National Public Gardens Day is not only a great time for families and enthusiasts to enjoy the gardens, but the public also witnesses the achievements and expertise provided by public gardens, especially in the area of environmental stewardship. Regardless of their size, all public gardens share a common commitment to providing outreach programs aimed at engaging their communities and educating future generations on the irreplaceable value of plants.

As a participating public garden, The North Carolina Arboretum will waive the parking fee for those visitors who present the National Public Gardens Day coupon, which may be printed from the Better Homes and Gardens magazine website, www.bhg.com. The coupon is only valid for May 11, 2012. Coupons must be presented to receive free admission, and must be surrendered upon entry.

For more information, please call (828) 665-2492 or visit www.ncarboretum.org. The central mission of The North Carolina Arboretum, an affiliate institution of the 17-campus University of North Carolina system, is to cultivate connections between people and plants.

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The Health Adventure Mobile Learning Adventure

May 15th, 2012

ASHEVILLE NC – This weekend, The Health Adventure is hosting PNC’s Mobile Learning Adventure, an entertaining and interactive traveling exhibit sponsored by The PNC Foundation.  The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC), is helping children in Asheville explore their career dreams while highlighting the importance of early education with the Mobile Learning Adventure.

The hands-on exhibit offers educational games for children and  their parents to do on two touch-screen kiosks. Activities include the “When I Grow Up” station, where kids dress up as different professionals and have their picture superimposed on an appropriate background. In addition, parents can take home an activity book and a Sesame StreetTM learning kit created for PNC as part of a continuing partnership.  The kit includes a magazine for parents and caregivers, children’s activity cards and a book, along with an original Sesame Street DVD that demonstrates how to take everyday moments and turn them into learning opportunities.

The PNC Mobile Learning Adventure is free and open to the public.

What:                       Experience hands-on activities for children and learn about early childhood education at the PNC Mobile Learning Adventure

When:                      May 19th 10:00 am to  4:00 pm and May 20th 1:00 to 5:00 pm

Where:                    800 Brevard Road, Asheville NC 28806

Biltmore Square Mall, Outside of The Health Adventure

General admission fees or membership required for entry to The Health Adventure.  Admission is $9.50 for adults and $6.50 for children ages 2 through 16.   Family memberships start at $75.00 for an entire year of admission.

About The Health Adventure:

The Health Adventure is now located in the Biltmore Square Mall off of I-26 at Exit 33.  Providing our community with science and health education for over 44 years, The Health Adventure is an accredited museum and is a non-profit 501(c)(3).   The Health Adventure is a proud partner of Park Ridge Health.  Open Monday through Saturday from 10 am until 8 pm and on Sundays from 12:30-6 pm.  For more information visit thehealthadventure.org or call 828.665.2217.

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Southeastern Sports Medicine Free Sports Physicals May 16 and 17

May 14th, 2012

ASHEVILLE NC – Southeastern Sports Medicine will provide free sports physicals on Wednesday, May 16, and Thursday, May 17, at their walk-in clinic at 35 Valley View Terrace in Waynesville from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.  The physicals will be available to young athletes ages 5 through 18, and will include a vision test, blood pressure check and orthopedic screening.

“Dr. Maxwell, Dr. Motley, Dr. Jones and Dr. Rudins of Southeastern Sports Medicine have been dedicated to working with the local high schools in Buncombe, Henderson, Haywood, Madison, Yancey and McDowell counties over the past 13 years, not only providing leading orthopedic care, but fulfilling a need by helping kids receive physicals who cannot otherwise afford one in order to participate in school sports,” said Darren Cady, director of the sports medicine program at Southeastern Sports Medicine.

Southeastern has provided approximately 40,000 screening physicals – including about 5,000 free of cost – to young athletes throughout the region over the past 13 years, and has donated approximately $175,000 back to athletic programs at local high schools in Buncombe and Yancey counties. These schools include Owen High and Middle schools,  T.C. Roberson High School, Cane Creek Middle School, Valley Springs Middle School, A.C. Reynolds High School, Enka High and Middle schools, North Buncombe High and Middle schools and Mountain Heritage High School.

About Park Ridge Health:

Park Ridge Health was built by Henderson County residents, and more than 100 years later is still a beloved piece of our growing community’s health care network, providing quality, compassionate care in a Christian environment. In 1986, Park Ridge Health partnered with Adventist Health System, joining a family of more than 43 exceptional not-for-profit community hospitals across the country. Leading the way in many medical firsts for the region – including state-of-the-art surgery suites, a boutique baby delivery experience and North Carolina’s first 64-slice CT scanner in  2006 – Park Ridge Health provides personalized care throughout the region, offering a network of nearly 80 family and specialty physicians, nationally accredited cancer services, a comprehensive wound care and hyperbaric center and full-service orthopedic care.  For more information about Park Ridge Health or to find a physician, please visit http://www.parkridgehealth.org or call 855.PRH.LIFE (855.774.5433).

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Pharmacy Tech Program at WCU

May 14th, 2012

ASHEVILLE NC – Western Carolina University’s Office of Continuing Education will offer a pharmacy technician certificate program beginning Tuesday, June 12, and continuing through Tuesday, July 31.

Classes will be held from 6 until 9:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Room 143 of WCU’s Cordelia Camp Building.

The comprehensive 50-hour course will prepare students to enter the pharmacy field and to take the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board exam. A high school diploma or GED is required to sit for the exam.

Course content will include medical terminology specific to the pharmacy, reading and interpreting prescriptions, defining drugs by generic and brand names, and other topics. The WCU program includes a graded final exam to help students prepare for the certification board exam.

The program is being offered in collaboration with Condensed Curriculum International Inc. Cost of the program, including textbooks, is $999.

For more information or to register, call 828-227-7397 or go online to http://learn.wcu.edu and click on “professional development programs.”

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Asheville Fire Department Middle School Summer Fire Camp

May 14th, 2012

ASHEVILLE NC – Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a firefighter? Now is the chance for 25 middle school aged children to do just that.  Fire Escape is a 3 day summer camp put on by the Asheville Fire Department and is FREE of charge. This summer camp will open the eyes of a child to life as a firefighter and will allow them to participate in some fun firefighter activities. Fire Escape is a safe and fun way for a child to spend a few days out of their summer by meeting local firefighters, learning firefighting skills and making new friends!

Here is a list of some activities the campers will be involved in:
Hose handling
Use of firefighting gear
Use of fire extinguishers
Use of vehicle extrication tools
Search and rescue techniques
Patient care
Water safety
Speed competitions
Aerial rides

Fire Escape will be held June 11, 12 & 13 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Local 865 Firefighters Association camp off Clayton Rd. If you know of a middle school aged child who would like to attend this fun filled fire camp, please visit www.ashevillenc.gov/fire to download an application under FIRE ESCAPE. There are only 25 slots available so hurry and apply today.

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Planting for Pollinators May 16

May 14th, 2012

Learn which plants the pollinators love!ASHEVILLE NC – The Extension Master Gardeners’ popular Gardening in the Mountains programs run through October.

The lectures are the third Wednesday each month from 10 to 11 a.m., and the next program is on May 16 and is “Planting for Pollinators “.

Classes are held at the Cooperative Extension Office, 94 Coxe Avenue in Asheville. The programs are free and no pre-registration is required.

The Extension Master Gardeners’ Garden Hotline is open for the season. To ask your gardening questions, call 255-5522.

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Friends of Ag Breakfast May 15

May 14th, 2012

ASHEVILLE NC -

Buncombe County Friends of Ag Breakfast
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
7:00 a.m.

WNC Ag Center, Virginia Boone Building
1301 Fanning Bridge Road

 Join us for the Friends of Ag Breakfast!

Come join us for the Buncombe County Friends of Ag Breakfast. Enjoy a complimentary country breakfast including local products. Chat with farm friends old and new.

Guest Speaker: Jim Mines, KM Agricultural Services. Erosion Control, Grass Waterways, Tailwater Recovery, Precision leveling, and Carbon Neutral Practices.

To RSVP, email Maria.wise@buncombecounty.org or call (828) 250-4794; or email mdrober2@ncsu.edu or call (828) 255-5522.

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Minority Student Leadership Academy Receives Grant from Sisters of Mercy

May 14th, 2012

ASHEVILLE NC – A-B Tech Community College recently received a $30,000 grant from the Sisters of Mercy Foundation for its Minority Student Leadership Academy.

The Academy works to improve retention and graduation rates among minority students by providing services ranging from tutoring to workshops.  The grant will allow the Academy to collect data related to semester-to-semester retention, academic progress, and conduct an analysis of which services members are using throughout the grant period.

The Academy will also establish a cohort of minority students registering for ACA 115, Success and Study Skills, and will track the students’ progress as they work one-on-one with an academic success advocate. Students will also be encouraged to work in study groups.

The Academy is in its fourth year at A-B Tech. The program was established through a grant from the North Carolina Community College System aimed at increased retention and graduation rates among minority males. A-B Tech broadened its program to include female students.  The program currently serves 90 students of various backgrounds.

Membership in the Academy is open to all students, but workshops and seminars have a special emphasis on challenges faced by minority students.  Components of the Minority Student Leadership Academy are Leadership Development, Personal Accountability, Academic Preparation, and Entrepreneurship.  The Academy’s foundation consists of free academic tutoring, a mentorship program, academic preparation and career development workshops, online tutorials, and entrepreneurship development workshops.  The academy also sponsors a math and computer lab, which members can use for additional assistance.

Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation, Inc. operates exclusively for the benefit and support of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas South Central Community, and assists it in furthering its charitable, religious and educational mission. The Foundation is managed in accordance with the teachings and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church and the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. The Foundation seeks to promote systemic change and help individuals empower themselves, especially women, children and those who are elderly, to improve the quality of their lives.

For more information on the Minority Student Leadership Academy, contact Dr. Joseph Fox, Chairperson of A-B Tech’s Business Administration, at (828) 398-7664, or josephlfox@abtech.edu.

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Readings from UNCA’s “The Great Smokies Review”

May 14th, 2012

ASHEVILLE NC – The Writers at Home spring series concludes with readings by contributors to recent issues of “The Great Smokies Review,” the online literary magazine published by UNC Asheville’s Great Smokies Writing Program. This event is free and open to the public and begins at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 20, at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café, 55 Haywood St., Asheville.

Pete Solet and Pam Ruatto will read short stories set in New York City and Shishmaref, Alaska. Bon Parker will read an excerpt from her memoir featuring her weekend at Woodstock in 1969. UNC Asheville senior Caitlin Donovan will read from a piece that has just won the university’s Wilma Dykeman nonfiction award. Jerry Willis, Nina Hart, and Jean Cassidy will read their poetry, and Mark Prudowsky will discuss the serendipity of being both a poet and an electrician. Current and past issues of “The Great Smokies Review” are available online via this link.

The Writers at Home Series is sponsored by UNC Asheville’s Great Smokies Writing Program. After this final Writers at Home event of the spring, the series will resume in the fall with 3 p.m. readings the third Sunday of each month at Malaprop’s. For more information, visit the program website or call 828/.250.2353.

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LEAF Lake Eden Arts Festival 2012

May 11th, 2012

ASHEVILLE NC – WHAT: LEAF | Lake Eden Arts Festival
WHEN: May 10-13, 2012
WHERE: at Camp Rockmont in Black Mountain, NC.

LEAF Celebrates the Blues with Their 34th Festival Performing Arts Lineup

LEAF is excited to Celebrate the Blues at Spring LEAF 2012, taking place May 10-13, 2012 in Black Mountain, NC. Headlining the 34th twice-annual festival are blues legend Taj Mahal, afrobeat progeny Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, and New Orleans institution Preservation Hall Jazz Band. In addition to Taj Mahal, several other artists will be helping to celebrate blues traditions (with support in part by a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. Art Works), including The Wood Brothers, Corey Harris & The Rasta Blues Experience, David Bromberg, Gaye Adegbalola (formerly with Saffire – The Uppity Blues Women), The Shane Pruitt Band and Music Maker Relief Foundation artists Captain Luke and Cool John Ferguson.

From the dark, smoky clubs of Chicago & St. Louis, all the way down through the Hill Country and into the bayous of the Deep South, you’ll be introduced to an sampling of Blues artists, intermingled with the diversity of cultural names and faces you’ve come to love at LEAF - The Golden Dragon Acrobats (China), Sarazino(Ecuador), The Nuala Kennedy Band (Ireland), and Msafiri Zawose (Tanzania). Rounding out the top of the lineup are dance-pop-meets-afrobeat sensations Rubblebucket, bhangra funk masters Red Baraat, North Carolina folkies The Red Clay Ramblers, Americana up-and comers The Black Lillies, and world-renowned DJ King Britt presenting his Sister Gertrude Morgan multimedia experience.

This lineup is the soundtrack to a diverse weekend festival experience that also includes a juried art show; over 50 free healing arts workshops; a dance hall with plenty of contra, salsa, swing, and professional instruction; outdoor adventures with camping and lake activities; the LEAFlet Kids Village, with two stages and an extraordinary amount of activities; a Poetry Slam with $1000+ in prize money; great food, plenty of vendors, and much more. LEAF’s Blue Ridge Mountain setting is spectacular, and the event is truly magical. LEAF is a family and friend tradition that “recharges our batteries” twice a year.

New to LEAF this May is “HayMow – A Raised Art Experience”. HayMow, in the historic Black Mountain College Barns, will feature four visual outsider artists who will showcase and sell their works of “Uncommon Art,” conduct workshops, and hold conversations with the underlying philosophy of folklore as action. This spring’s first league of HayMow artists features Lamar Sorrento of Memphis, who will be honoring Robert Johnson’s 100th birthday celebration, as part of LEAF’s Blues focus.

LEAF is a non-profit organization established to build community and enrich lives through the Arts – locally and globally – with festivals, community events, and arts in education programs. LEAF’s mission is Connecting Cultures & Creating Community Through Music & Arts. LEAF’s three branches include the twice-a-year festival, LEAF in Schools & Streets, and LEAF International.

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