Sunday, January 04, 2015

Upcoming events in the Asheville area this week


UPCOMING EVENTS

01/05/15 DINNER WITH PROGRESSIVES
Dinner with Progressives is a social outlet for thoughtful people in Asheville NC. The gathering includes time to eat together and then enjoy presentations which focus on solutions for a brighter future. This happens on the first Monday of the month. Dinner is at 5:30 PM and the speaker/program  is at 6 PM. Our speaker is Jess Messer, host of The Jeff Messer Show with 880AM, The Revolution.  This local talk show is one of only a handful of local, progressive talk shows in the country!  Jeff just released his book “Red State, White Guy Blues” and would like to sit and talk about it with us. Please RSVP so we can give Green Sage (Westgate) a head count.  Contact Cheryl at ctorengo@gmail.com for more information.

01/06/15 A TASTE OF THE CONNECTION PRACTICE
“A Taste of the Connection Practice” with Cathy Holt. Start the new year with connection! Learn effective, empathic communication skills that can transform relationships by connecting at the heart, helping everyone's needs get met.  For more information: cathyfholt@gmail.com or 828-545-9681. Location is West Asheville Library at 942 Haywood Road. Time is 7 to 9 PM. Free and open to all.

01/06/15 ASHEVILLE TRANSIT COMMITTEE MEETING 
Time is 3:30 - 5 PM and location is the 1st Floor Conference Room at City Hall.  

01/06/15 CURRENT EVENTS BOOK CLUB
Current Events Book Club discusses “THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING”. Time is 7 PM and location is Malaprops on Haywood Street in downtown Asheville. This is organized by Veterans for Peace.

01/07/15 SIERRA CLUB MEETING & GREEN DRINKS & WNC ALLIANCE
The Wilderness Act Celebrates 50 years! Brent Martin will speak on the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act and its relevance to North Carolina. He will also speak about current opportunities for new Wilderness in North Carolina with the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest plan revision and how citizens and organizations can become involved in this process. Meeting location is Unitarian Universalist Congregation at 1 Edwin Place in Asheville. Time is 7 PM. For more information, contact Judy at Judymattox@sbcglobal.net or call 828-683-2176.

01/08/15 CREATION CARE ALLIANCE TALK
Creation Care Alliance of WNC has invited Jay Boyette, an expert on the US Farm Bill from the NC Farm Bureau to speak at 7 PM as part of their GROW (Gardens Rolling on Wheels) Project. Dr. Jere Brittain, professor emeritus at Clemson University and Patryk Battle, Director of the Living Web Farm, will respond. This will be in the Fellowship Hall. Location is Mills River Presbyterian Church at 10 Presbyterian Church Road, off School House Road, in Mills River. Call 891-7101 for more information. 

01/10/15 KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE OPPONENTS MEETING
Keystone opponents!  Time to prepare for a last battle, as Congress vows to push the Keystone Pipeline to the front of their agenda next week.  Those who took the Pledge of Resistance and trained for possible civil disobedience last year, plus anyone else who wants to join us, are gathering Saturday, January 10 at noon for a potluck and planning session at St Mary's Episcopal Church fellowship hall, 337 Charlotte Street in Asheville. Come along and refresh your inspiration to kill this bad idea once and for all!  For more information, contact  dgenz@skyrunner.net.  

01/13/15 ASHEVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Asheville City Council to vote on resolution opposing fracking,  Tuesday, Jan 13 at 5 PM. Please attend to support the council to vote for the resolution opposing fracking;  Asheville City Hall Building, 2nd floor.

01/13/15 VETERANS FOR PEACE MEETING
Time is 6:30 PM and location is VFP HQ at the Phil Mechanic Studios: 109 Roberts Street in Asheville. 

01/14/15 WESTERN CAROLINIANS FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
This meeting will be at 9:30 AM at Black Mountain Presbyterian Church in Black Mountain.

01/14/15 GREEN DRINKS
Join us on Wednesday, January 14th to hear from Physicians for Social Responsibility panelists on nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is the use of exothermic nuclear processes to generate useful heat and electricity. There is an ongoing debate on whether nuclear power is sustainable and safe. Physicians for Social Responsibility is the medical and public health voice working to prevent the use or spread of nuclear weapons and to slow, stop and reverse global warming and the toxic degradation of the environment. Socializing starts at 5:30 PM and program starts at 6 PM. Location is the Green Sage in downtown at 5 Broadway Street, Asheville.

01/15/15 IMMIGRATION REFORM LUNCH & LEARN
This is hosted by Children First Buncombe County. We value opportunity for children and families in our community to reach their full potential. Many immigrant families and children face barriers to safety, health, and education - keeping them on the margins of our communities and educational systems. Asheville based Immigration Attorney Natalie Teague of Teague Immigration Law Office will give a brief presentation on recent federal executive action and answer questions. Bring your bag lunch and join us to learn more about this initiative. Time is noon to 1 PM and location is Room 1 at the United Way Building at 50 S. French Broad Avenue in Asheville. For more information, contact GregB@childrenfirstbc.org.

01/16/15 WESTERN CAROLINIANS FOR PEACE & JUSTICE IN THE MIDDLE EAST EVENT
Rachel Rasmussen will be in Asheville from the first of the year through January 21 when she goes back to the Occupied Palestinian Territory to study Arabic for a week before returning to her work as Christian Peacemaker Team member in Hebron. On Friday January l6, at 7 PM, there will be a conversation with Rachel at the Swannanoa Valley Friends Meeting (137 Center Avenue) in Black Mountain. Donations will be welcomed to support Rachel’s work. Refreshments will be served. All are welcome.

01/16/15 WNC PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY MEETING
The next WNC PSR monthly meeting will be at a private home near the VA Hospital. Brown Bag lunch at noon with meeting from 12 noon to 2 PM. Everyone is welcome. Please go to www.wncpsr.org  for more information, which includes how to get there and other details.

01/17/15 34TH ANNUAL MLK PRAYER BREAKFAST
Celebrate the Legacy: from Dreams to Actions. Duke Professor and award-winning author Dr. Thavolia Glymph will speak at 2015 Breakfast. The 34th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Breakfast will be held at 8:30 AM at its new location at the Crowne Plaza resort in Asheville. The Prayer Breakfast is the largest, most diverse event of its kind in Asheville, each year bringing more than a thousand people of all races, faiths, and backgrounds together to recommit to Dr. King’s Dream and ensuring that the community and the society continue taking steps to make it reality, whatever obstacles we find in our path. Tickets for the 2015 Prayer Breakfast are $30 for adults. To order tickets by telephone call 828-335-6896 or 828-281-1624. And to order by email, contact editor@myowneditor.com. It is also possible to order via their website.

01/17/15 GREEN GRANNIES SING FOR THE CLIMATE
Green Grannies Sing for the Climate at Vance Monument at 4 PM. Google "Singfortheclimate" and come out and sing with us! This happens on the third Saturday of every month. 

01/19/15 PEACE MARCH AND RALLY ON MLK DAY
Meet at 11:30 AM at St. James AME Church at 44 Hildebrand Street and MLK Drive in Asheville. At noon, we will march to City-County Plaza. Everyone is invited. More information at mlkasheville.org. All are welcome. Free.

01/22/15 SEEING SYSTEMS: PEACE, JUSTICE & SUSTAINABILITY
It’s time for WNCA’s annual NWEI discussion course! Join us this winter for Seeing Systems: Peace, Justice & Sustainability to address the connections between three of society’s most pressing challenges, and become equipped to promote peace, justice, and sustainability within our community. To register for the course is $45 for WNCA members, and $60 for non-members (includes 1 year WNCA membership!). Your books are included, and will be distributed during the first meeting. Registration deadline is January 14. Go to http://wnca.org/thursdays-starting-january-22-seeing-systems-peace-justice-sustainability/ for more information and to register. This will be held every Thursday from 1-22-15 to 2-26-15. Location is the Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar, and time is 6 to 7:30 PM. 

01/22/15 HOOD TALK
Time and location TBD.

01/22/15 MLK KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT UNCA
MLK Keynote Speaker is Byron Hurt. He is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, published writer, anti-sexist activist, and lecturer. For more than 20 years, Hurt has been using his craft, his voice, and his writings to broaden and deepen how people think about gender violence, race, music, visual media, and food justice. Byron's latest film, Soul Food Junkies offers a fascinating exploration of the soul food tradition, its relevance to black cultural identity, and its continuing popularity despite the known dangers of high-fat, high-calorie diets. This event is free and open to the public. Time is 7 to 9 PM and location is Lipinsky Auditorium. For more information, contact Cori at ceander2@unca.edu or call 258-7727.

01/22/15 FORUM ON ‘POWER THROUGH PARTNERSHIP’ AT UNCA
Laurel Forum Power through Partnership: How Women Lead Better Together. Betsy Polk and Maggie Chotas have learned something powerful: when women work together they discover a level of support, flexibility, confidence, accountability, and freedom to be themselves that they rarely find in other work relationships.They will discuss their book and research findings during this discussion. Drawing on their own twelve-year partnership and from interviews with 125 women business partners, Polk and Chotas demolish the myths that keep women from collaborating and offer advice for handling a host of potential challenges. This groundbreaking book shows that when women team up—combining complementary skills, channeling their egos into the partnership, and encouraging each other—they can work as full equals to achieve something that’s exponentially greater than each woman alone. Sponsored by the UNC Asheville Department of Accountancy and Management and the UNC Asheville Family Business Forum. Contact information: Cindy Clarke, office 232-5091; cell 273-6223. Free and open to the public. Time is 6 PM to 8:30 PM, and location is Karpen Hall 139 at UNCA. 

01/23/15 MEMORIAL FOR RON HARRAYDA
Funeral will be held at noon at State Veterans Cemetery in Black Mountain. This will be followed by a celebration (at 3 PM) of Ron’s life at Lake Tomahawk at 401 S. Laurel Circle Drive in Black Mountain. All donations, flowers and condolences are being accepted by his daughter, Sara, at 3046 Willamette Valley Drive, Charlotte, NC 28215.

1/24/15 HARD TO RECYCLE EVENT
This will be at Aaron's Rent to Own parking lot at 1298 Patton Avenue in west Asheville. Time is 10 AM to 2 PM. If you have questions, call GreenWorks at 828-254-1776.

01/26/15 BUILDING BRIDGES SESSION STARTS
The Mission of Building Bridges is to enable our community to confront and overcome racism through a continuing process of changing attitudes and hearts through education, consciousness raising, nurturing, and ongoing support. Our goal is to be intentional in respecting diversity within our community. The session runs from January 26 to March 23, 2015. Time is 7 to 9 PM and location is MAHEC at 119 Hendersonville Road in Asheville NC. Cost is $30, and you must register. Go to their website to sign up. More information below.

01/29/15 CREATION CARE ALLIANCE MEETING
Creation Care Alliance of WNC will hold their first meeting of the year at 5:30 PM at the First Baptist Church in Asheville. Room MB 306. Provide input into our 2015 events and learn about our exciting new partnership with Audubon North Carolina.  

01/30/15 WESTERN CAROLINIANS FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
This meeting will be at 3:15 PM at Brooks-Howell Home on Merrimon Avenue in Asheville. Meet in the media room. 

02/03/15 WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL ON SYRIA’S REFUGEE CRISIS
The World Affairs Council Great Decision Lecture series is scheduled for the winter and spring terms on these dates - February 3, 10, 17, 24; March 3, 10, 2015. On February 3rd, the topic is Syria's Refugee Crisis with speaker Nora Nassri of the University of South Carolina. Meetings are scheduled for 7:30 PM in the Reuter Center's Manheimer Room. For more details about programs, consult the WAC website. Time is 7:30 PM. 

02/14/15 HISTORIC THOUSANDS MARCH ON JONES STREET (HK on J) 
This is in Raleigh, and there will be more information soon.


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ONGOING EVENTS
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TUESDAY
Veterans for Peace have a weekly vigil at 4:30 PM at Pack Square, Vance Monument

WEDNESDAY
Haywood Peace Vigilers have a weekly vigil at 4 PM at Haywood County Courthouse in Waynesville

THURSDAY
Asheville Homeless Network meeting at 1 PM at A-Hope on North Ann Street in Asheville.  
Youth Outright Poetry Night at United Church of Christ in Asheville at 5 PM

FRIDAY
Women in Black have a weekly vigil at noon at the City Hall in Hendersonville
Women in Black have a monthly vigil at 5 PM at Vance Monument in Asheville (first Friday only)

SATURDAY
Transylvanians for Peace and WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility have a weekly vigil at noon in front of the courthouse in Brevard
Third Saturdays – Asheville’s Green Grannies invites the public to “sing for the climate” at Vance Monument at 4 PM.

SUNDAY
Youth OUTright meeting from 4 to 6 PM at First Congregational United Church of Christ at 20 Oak Street in Asheville. Ages 14 - 23 only.

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ACTIONS AND READINGS
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BUILDING BRIDGES PROGRAM COMING UP
Winter/Spring Registration is now open.
This seminar is an introduction to the dynamics of racism and is an opportunity to explore how race has impacted our relationships, communities and institutions.  Past participants are welcome. Registration is required and is limited to 90 people. Encourage and recommend individuals as well as organizations that you know to participate in Building Bridges. If you are an alumni of the Building Bridges Seminars, you may apply to become a Co-Facilitator. To apply for a Co-Facilitator position, send an email to info@buildingbridges-ashevillenc.org for more information about Co-Facilitator Trainings. A celebratory pot luck supper will be held for all participants at the ninth meeting. Families are welcome to attend the potluck. You may call (828) 777-4585 for more information. Please go to their website for instructions on how to register.
http://www.buildingbridges-ashevillenc.org

Since 1993, Building Bridges has profoundly impacted people and institutions throughout Western North Carolina. To date, more than 1500 participants have attended the program from: Asheville, Hendersonville, Black Mountain, Lake Junaluska, Franklin, Cherokee, Waynesville, Madison County and Rutherfordton. The program has been hosted at the following churches and schools: New Mount Olive Baptist, Grace Covenant Presbyterian, Hill Street Baptist, Mount Zion Missionary Baptist, All Souls Episcopal, Jubilee!, St. Paul's Methodist, Nazareth First Baptist, Berry Temple United Methodist, Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Temple Beth Ha-Tephila, Central United Methodist Church, BahaĆ­ Faith Center, Reid Community Center, Francis Delaney School, A-B Tech and MAHEC.

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From local activist Anne Craig:

Jewish Voice for Peace members are inspired by Jewish tradition to work together for peace, social justice, equality, human rights, respect for international law, and a U.S. foreign policy based on these ideals. A chapter is forming in Asheville. If interested, please contact Anne at ennagiarc@gmail.com.
Thanks!

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From local activist Craig Klawuhn:

A Peace Education Program = 10 week course meeting 1x per week for Veterans facilitated by Veterans , starting in January ~ 6 PM to 7:30 PM

The purpose of the Peace Education Program (PEP) is to help participants discover their own inner resources--innate tools for living such as inner strength, choice, and hope--and the possibility of personal peace. 

Please RSVP by email to herbzone@gmail.com  

Please forward to Other Veterans from WW2 to Now -thank you

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Please email Craig for a link to the website about this Peace Education program and to find out when in January it starts.


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