dancewater: Upcoming events in the Asheville area this week

(Image by Gerardo Femina)

In Prague’s Wenceslas Square some 1500 people demonstrated yesterday, Saturday 29th March 2015, against Operation “Dragoon Ride” in which US army personnel and equipment are crossing Czech Republic territory starting today on the way to their German base. Speeches were given by several anti-war organisations, including the Communist Party and World without Wars and Violence all of which spoke highly critically of the government for the way that the decision to allow this procession has been made without going through parliament and knowing that 70% of the population is against the presence of foreign troops.

The rest of the story.

UPCOMING EVENTS

03/30/15 VOICES FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE

A free 8 week training in community organizing for low wage workers and people living in poverty. Learn how to raise your voice and organize your friends and neighbors to be agents of change. Together we can help create more living wage jobs, create a better transportation system, advocate for issues we care about, and work for better access to basic needs like child care, health care, housing, etc. This is on Monday nights from March 30th to May 18th in downtown Asheville. Time is 6 to 8:30 PM. Free transportation, dinner, and childcare are provided to all participants. Contact Amy at Just Economics WNC to sign up: 828-505-7466. This is a facebook event.

03/30/15 LECTURE AT WARREN WILSON COLLEGE ON IMMIGRANTS

Warren Wilson College’s 2014-15 Spotlight Series continues March 30 with a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and filmmaker who has a remarkable personal story of his own: undocumented immigrant Jose Antonio Vargas. Born in the Philippines, Vargas revealed himself as an undocumented immigrant in 2011 in a stunning and widely praised essay in The New York Times Magazine titled, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant.” He had discovered, when applying for his learner’s driving permit at age 16, that his green card was a fake, a fact his grandfather later confirmed. Vargas decided to hide his true identity in order to avoid deportation, until he felt compelled to write the Times article. Vargas subsequently testified at a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on immigration reform and has publicly and effectively challenged news media coverage of undocumented immigrants. His free public lecture, “Define American: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant,” begins at 7 PM in Kittredge Theater, at the north entrance to campus. The Vargas lecture is part of Warren Wilson’s Spotlight Series of nationally and internationally known speakers. The series theme for this academic year is “Social and Intellectual Movements.” For more information about the Jose Antonio Vargas lecture, contact WWC Dean of Service Cathy Kramer at ckramer@warren-wilson.edu or 828-771-3774.

04/01/15 GREEN DRINKS/SIERRA CLUB MEETING

Environmental Legislative Update: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly. Join us on April 1 for our Legislative Update with Cassie Gavin. The meeting will include a legislative preview of upcoming issues and legislation related to the environment that may be introduced by the NC General Assembly in the 2015 session. Cassie will update members on the status of current environmental issues affecting North Carolina such as solar energy, fracking, coal ash, water quality, and offshore drilling and discuss the possibility of any legislative action on these issues in the coming year. Socializing begins at 7 PM and program begins at 7:15 PM. Location is the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville on Charlotte Street and Edwin Place in Asheville. Contact: judymattox@sbcglobal.net, or 828-683-2176 for more information.

04/01/15 ISLAMOPHOBIA AND US EMPIRE DISCUSSION AT UNCA

After the horrific shooting of three Muslim Chapel Hill students, mainstream media reported that the tragedy was likely the result of a "parking dispute". As we mourn these three incredible people and try to understand how something so terrifying could happen, it is impossible to ignore the cloud of bigotry and hate hanging over these murders. The current climate in the U.S. is rife with anti-Muslim racism, or Islamophobia. State surveillance, unlawful detainment, racialized prejudice, distorted representation in media, attacks on the street and in private homes, are realities for many Muslims living in America. After September 11, 2001, the Bush administration launched a "war on terror" ushering in an era of Islamophobia. However, 9/11 alone did not create Islamophobia. Anti-Muslim and Anti-Arab racism has both fueled and been fueled by U.S. policy, and is a crucial component of U.S. global domination. Join the International Socialist Organization in Asheville for a discussion about Islamophobia, empire, and resistance. We believe in liberation - from Chapel Hill to Palestine. This is hosted by Asheville Socialists. Time is 6:30 PM and location is Highsmith Union, room 222, at UNCA.

04/01/15 SLIDE SHOW OF SELMA TO MONTGOMERY MARCH IN 2015

There will be a slideshow and discussion of the 50th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March. Time is 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM. Location is the Battery Park Roof Garden at 1 Battle Square in downtown Asheville. Please call Clare at 828-242-5610 for more information including building access code.

04/01/15 ASHEVILLE CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY

Asheville is forming a chapter of the Citizens Climate Lobby. Bill Blancato from the Winston-Salem chapter will be joining us to describe what a Citizen's Climate Lobby chapter looks like and how we can get started. Our mission as a group will be to convince our national Representative Meadows to support carbon fee and dividend legislation. Time is 6:30 to 9:30 PM at Kairos West Community Center at 742 Haywood Road in west Asheville. For more information, contact Jamie at jameswdemarco@gmail.com.

04/02/15 to 04/04/15 ASHEVILLE QUEER STUDIES CONFERENCE

Navigating Normativities: 2015 Queer Studies Conference at UNC Asheville, April 2-4, 2015.The UNC Asheville Queer Studies Conference, a biennial event established in 1998, attracts an international audience of activists, academics, and artists who showcase a range of creative and scholarly pursuits related to the investigation of genders and sexualities. For more information, please contact Lorena Russell at lrussell@unca.edu, 828-251-6594. Time is 7:30 AM to 10 PM on Thursday and Friday and 7:30 AM to noon on Sunday. Location is Laurel Forum in Karpen Hall at UNCA.

04/03/15 LECTURE AT UNCA

Urvashi Vaid: Beyond The Wedding Ring: Confronting Race, Class and the Assumptions of LGBT Politics – Vaid is a community organizer, writer and attorney who has been a leader in the LGBT and social justice movements for nearly three decades.Event is sponsored by Inquiry ARC, Center for Teaching and Learning, Office of the Provost, Department of Sociology, University Programs, Department of Management and Accountancy, Cultural Events and Special Academic Programs, and the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program and others. Free and open to public. Time is 4 PM to 6:20 PM and location is Carmichael Humanities Lecture Hall at UNCA.

04/06/15 WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL LECTURE

“Russian and the Near Abroad” by Steve Solnick, professor at Warren Wilson College. As calls for closer ties with the EU failed to be met, Ukrainians took to the streets in in November 2013. As the movement later known as the Euromaidan, or “Euro Square,” pulled western Ukraine closer to its European neighbors, another powerful force threatened to tear away the country’s eastern half: Russia. Putin’s pushback against European expansionism has the West wondering: If Putin’s Russia isn’t afraid to take an aggressive stance against Europeanization in Ukraine, what does that mean for the rest of Russia’s neighbors? Not to mention what of Putin’s relationship with Russia’s oligarchs as world-wide oil prices plummet and the ruble diminishes. Free admission for WAC members and students; $10 general public. For more details about programs, consult the WAC website. Time is 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM and location is Reuter Center Room 102A at UNCA. This was rescheduled from February 24 due to adverse weather on that date.

04/07/15 CURRENT EVENTS BOOK CLUB

Join host Bruce Roth for a lively discussion on topics of current interest including war and peace, the economy, the environment, and other hot political topics. The April pick is “If Mayors Ruled the World: Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities” by Benjamin Barber. Time is 7 PM. For more information, contact Bruce at bruceroth@charter.net.

04/08/15 JUST PEACE FOR ISRAEL/PALESTINE MEETING

This meeting will be at 9:30 AM at Black Mountain Presbyterian Church at 117 Montreat Road in Black Mountain. This group was formerly called “Western Carolinians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East”.

04/07/15 RIVERLINK TOUR OF NORTH FORK RESERVOIR

Interested in where your drinking water comes from? Join us for a tour of the North Fork Reservoir, and discover the process by which our water is treated and distributed. The tour will last about two hours and will address watershed dynamics, filtration and chlorination, water quality testing, distribution and control operations. There will be a carpooling meet-up location at 1:30 PM and the tour will start at 2 PM. If you are interested in attending this tour please email our education coordinator to sign-up at education@riverlink.org.

04/08/15 GREEN DRINKS

Join Asheville Green Drinks on April 8th for a compassionate panel presentation of the literacy needs in our area and how programs in our community help with these needs. Panelists include Julie Wade the founder of The Snake, Rabbit, and Snail non-profit bookmobile, Laura Hope-Gill Associate Professor of Writing at Lenoir-Rhyne Univserstiy, and Brantlee Eisenman Development Director of the Literacy Council of Buncombe County. Time is 5:30 PM for socializing and 6PM for the program. Location is the Green Sage Cafe in downtown Asheville.

04/09/15 AND 04/10/15 URBAN WATER CYCLE TOUR BY MOUNTAIN TRUE

Urban Water Cycle Tour. Location: THURS Wastewater Treatment Plant in Asheville, FRI Water Treatment Plant in Black Mountain. Time: THURS 9:45 AM, FRI 9:45 AM. Join MountainTrue for two separate tours which will help get you better acquainted with the water you use every day. Where does our water come from, and where does it go? Thursday we will tour Buncombe County's Wastewater Treatment plant (where our water goes), and Friday we will tour the City of Asheville's Water Treatment Plant (where our water comes from). Both tours will last up to two hours. For more information and to register, please contact Rachel at rachel@mountaintrue.org.

04/10/15 SOCIAL JUSTICE FILM AT UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST

On Friday, April 10th, at 7 PM, we are screening the award-winning documentary, “Gen Silent” a film about discrimination against LGBT seniors in the health care system. Four out of five LGBT elders say that they don't trust the health-care system. Fifty percent of nursing home workers said their fellow workers would be intolerant of LGBT people. What would you do to survive if you were old, disabled and ill – afraid of discrimination or abuse? “Gen Silent” is the LGBT documentary from award-winning director and documentary filmmaker Stu Maddux, that asks six LGBT seniors if they will hide their lives to survive. They put a face on what experts in the film call an epidemic: gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender seniors so afraid of discrimination, or worse, in long-term/health care that many go back into the closet. There will be a discussion afterwards. Time is 7 PM and location is Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Charlotte and Edwin Streets in Asheville. Free, donations accepted. Call Charles at 612-860-6628 for more information.

04/11/15 JUST PEACE FOR ISRAEL/PALESTINE PROTEST

Street Protest at Vance Monument. Time is noon to 2 PM. This will focus on stopping the flow of our tax dollars that support Israel’s military occupation.

04/11/15 ASHEVILLE GREENWORKS PLANTING EVENT

With the support from the residents from Hillcrest apartments and grant from TD Bank we're creating a community orchard and park that will be a benefit to the neighborhood as well as the local environment. Join us for a major volunteer day as we install our 6th community orchard in partnership with Hillcrest Apartments. We will be planting 24 ball and burlap apple trees and 36 blueberries to promote better access to food. We will need lots of volunteers to help us put these trees and blueberries in the ground. Tools, gloves, training, snacks and refreshments will be provided. Please dress for digging and getting dirty. Email or phone our offices with questions including how to register: volunteer@ashevillegreenworks.org or 828-254-1776.

04/11/15 and 04/12/15 MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR

This is a family-friendly sustainable living event that features 200 hands-on workshops and demonstrations from experts on real food, organic gardening, homesteading, renewable energy, green building and remodeling, DIY projects, small-scale livestock, green transportation, natural health, and related topics.Also on the grounds: hands-on children’s projects; heritage-breed livestock; an alternative-fuel vehicle display; vendor, livestock and craft demonstrations; and local and organic food offerings. Pre-order weekend wristband passes for $25. Passes will cost $30 at the gate. Children 17 and under get in free. Time is 9 AM to 7 PM on Saturday, and 9 AM to 5 PM on Sunday. Location is WNC Agricultural Center.

04/11/15 MEDICAID EXPANSION TOWN HALL

Event of Interest: Medicaid Expansion Town Hall. Planned Parenthood is hosting a town hall discussion with Representatives Ager and Van Duyn, as well as community experts on the topic of Medicaid expansion. Time is 1 to 3 PM and location is First Congregational UCC at 20 Oak Street in downtown Asheville. Register for the event here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1FrLJl0qIiFwkiUFGALUHNRpoTLolyy7DKff2Zmn7sDY/viewform

04/13/15 TRANSITION ASHEVILLE SOCIAL

The topic will be “Humanitarian Consequences of Nuclear War” by Steve Gilman, MC from Physicians for Social Responsibility. The location is St. Mary’s Episcopal Church at 337 Charlotte Street in Asheville. Time is 6:30 to 8 PM. For more information, contact transitionAsheville@gmail.com.

04/13/15 AUTHOR EVENT AT MALAPROPS

Leading a State Department Provincial Reconstruction Team on its quixotic mission, Van Buren details, with laser-like irony, his yearlong encounter with pointless projects, bureaucratic fumbling, overwhelmed soldiers, and oblivious administrators secluded in the world’s largest embassy. Peter van Buren will speak about his book at Malaprops. Time is 7 PM.

04/14/15 AUTHOR EVENT AT UNCA

04/14/15 RIVERLINK TOUR OF NORTH FORK RESERVOIR

04/14/15 VETERANS FOR PEACE MEETING

Time is 6:30 PM and location is VFP HQ at the Phil Mechanic Studios: 109 Roberts Street in Asheville.

04/15/15 OUR ENERGY SOLUTIONS BY MOUNTAIN TRUE

Our Energy Solutions: A look at the impacts of fracking and the promise of renewable energy. Join Brook Lenker from FracTracker Alliance to explore the impacts of oil and natural gas extraction in America and the potential impacts for North Carolina. Learn about the promise and potential of renewable energy in our state. Join a discussion with leaders from national and regional organizations examining these issues. Share your vision for the energy future! Staff from Environment NC and MountainTrue will get you up to date on how you can get involved. Time is 6:30-8:30 PM and location is The Millroom at Asheville Brewing Company at 66 Asheland Avenue in Asheville. Cost is free. Light fare provided, beverages available for purchase. Register at MountainTure website.

04/16/15 LECTURE ON MIDDLE EAST AT WARREN WILSON COLLEGE

“The Turbulent Middle East,” presentation by Prof. Paul Magnarella. This will be at 7 PM in Jensen 315 (3rd FloorLecture Hall) at Warren Wilson College. Free and open to the public. Contact Paul at pmagnarella@warren-wilson.edu for more information.

04/17/15 AND 04/18/15 LGBT IN THE SOUTH CONFERENCE

The conference will combine workshops to build organizing skills, facilitated discussions about topics impacting LGBT* Southerners, and Continuing Legal Education (CLE) sessions for attorneys on topics of LGBT* law. We are honored to have Mandy Carter, a dynamic Southern leader and long-time activist in the civil rights and LGBT movements, as our keynote speaker. At this critical time for the equality movement in the South, the conference will connect and educate Southern organizers and local practitioners to better serve the LGBT* community. The core themes of this year’s conference are intersectionality and collaboration. Just 2 blocks from each other, Trinity Episcopal Church and Pack Place are perfectly situated in downtown Asheville, surrounded by downtown life and culture.Workshops will take place in both locations throughout Friday & Saturday. The conference is a project of the Campaign for Southern Equality. Go to http://www.lgbtinthesouth.com to register or for more information.

04/18/15 LILLIAN’S LIST WESTERN SPRING FLING

We're headed back to Asheville to kick off the spring season. Spend a Saturday afternoon with us and our special guests while we discuss how we can move NC forward through electing pro-choice, progressive women to office. We hope to see you there. Time is 5 to 7 PM and location is Urban Orchard Cider Company and Bar at 210 Haywood Road in Asheville. Tickets start at $25. Contact Lillian’s List PAC for more information.

04/19/15 EARTH DAY VIGIL

This is sponsored by Creation Care Alliance and will be held at All Souls Episcopal Church in Biltmore Village in Asheville. Time is 5:30 PM. There will be a reception following the vigil.

04/22/2015 EARTH DAY MOVIE: GROWING CITIES FILM & PANEL

In their search for answers, filmmakers Dan Susman and Andrew Monbouquette take a road trip and meet the men and women who are challenging the way this country grows and distributes its food, one vacant city lot, rooftop garden, and backyard chicken coop at a time. Join them as they discover that good food isn’t the only crop these urban visionaries are harvesting. They’re producing stronger and more vibrant communities, too. Cost is by donation at the door. No advance sales. First come first serve. Sponsored by Transition Asheville. Time is 6:30 to 9:30 PM and location is The Boardroom (2nd floor) at Lenoir Rhyne at 36 Montford Avenue in Asheville.

04/24/15 PESTICIDES: USE, MISUSE AND ALTERNATIVES

This free, four-part series will take place on the last Friday of March, April, May and June. The series runs as follows: March 27: Dream of a Toxic-Free NC; April 24: Pesticides Kill More Than Pests: Keeping Bees and Other Wildlife Safe; May 29: Towns That Are Reducing Their Pesticide Footprint; June 26: It All Starts At Home: Alternatives to Chemical Pesticides. Sessions are being held at the Center for Graduate Studies of Asheville - Lenoir-Rhyne University from 6:00 to 9:00 PM on the above dates. It is our intention to celebrate Asheville as a city in transition, a city willing to take a hard look at what it’s going to take to create the kind of resiliency necessary for a sustainable future.In addition to educating our citizenry – and no doubt learning from you all as well – we want to draw attention to the need for city governments to set an example and model best practices in pest management. Light refreshments will be served each evening. "Join" us for more information, and save these dates! March 27, April 24, May 29, and June 26. We are looking for volunteers and additional sponsors to cover refreshments. Tabling is free, so please do consider sharing your passion with like-minded folk. Time is 6 to 9 PM and location is Lenoir Rhyne University on Montford Avenue in Asheville. They will be using the second floor boardroom. This is a facebook event, and since it is multi-day, you probably want to sign up if you are interested in this topic.

04/24/15 ASHEVILLE GREENWORKS CELEBRATION

Come out to French Broad River Park to help us celebrate everything trees and Asheville's 35th designation of Tree City USA. This is an all ages event. Activities are: Tree City USA proclamation from the City of Asheville's Mayor; Tree Plantings at the French Broad River Park; Activities for the kids; Walking riverside cleanup. Interested? email: volunteer@ashevillegreenworks.org to register.

04/25/15 HARD TO RECYCLE EVENT

This will be held at the Asheville City Market tailgate. Time is 8 AM to 1 PM. Accepting TVs, styrofoam, books, electronics, bicycles, children's books, batteries, pet supplies, spent cooking oil and working appliances for Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity. Wanna help us out with this H2R? These events are super fun and run only because of the volunteers. Contact volunteer@ashevillegreenworks.org or call 828-254-1776 if you wish to volunteer.

04/25/15 ICE CREAM SOCIAL WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS

Ice Cream Social with Elected Officials. Join us for a FREE ice cream sundae bar and celebration of democracy! This year we are hosting an ice cream social at The Hop Ice Cream (640 Merrimon Avenue) with a sundae bar. Children and non-members welcome. Please bring a friend or family member who might like to get involved, meet their representatives, and learn more about civic engagement in our community. Time is 2 to 4 PM and location is The Hop at 640 Merrimon Avenue in Asheville.

04/28/15 PRESENTATION BY PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Western North Carolina Chapter, Physicians for Social Responsibility (WNC/PSR) invites you – and those in your network who share our goals for health and a sustainable future: Nuclear Weapons: Our Prevention is the Only Cure - WNC/PSR’s recent work on the medical consequences of nuclear war. Time is 6:30 to 8:30 PM, with hors d’oeuvres and social at 6:30 PM and program at 7 PM. Location is MAHEC, Biltmore Campus, Education Center, Balsam Room, at 121 Hendersonville Rd. (up the hill from TGI Friday’s and Double Tree Inn). For: Physicians, Nurses, Health Care professionals and anyone: we will share hope, progress and actions to take now! Speakers are Mary Olson, Southeast Director, Nuclear Information Resource Service, Member WNC/PSR and Steve Gilman, Member PSR National Board, Member WNC/PSR.

04/29/15 PUBLIC HEARING ON PERMIT FOR DUKE’S COAL BURNING PLANT

A public hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 29, 6 PM at the Clyde A. Erwin High School Auditorium (60 Lees Creek Road) in Asheville for individuals to comment on the announcement by the Western North Carolina Regional Air Quality Agency (WNCRAQA) of its intent to renew a Title V permit for Duke Energy’s coal-burning electric plant in Arden.

The primary purpose of the Title V permit is to consolidate and identify existing local and federal air quality requirements applicable to the plant and to provide practical methods for determining compliance with these requirements. This permit will be enforceable by the WNCRAQA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and citizens as defined under the Federal Clean Air Act. Individuals may register to speak at the hearing and/or submit written comments. All written comments received on or prior to April 30 will be considered by the WNCRAQA in making its final decision to issue the Title V permit. For additional information, please contact Betsy Brown, Air Quality Supervisor, at (828) 250-6787 or betsy.brown@buncombecounty.org.

05/01/15 CHILD WATCH TOUR IN ASHEVILLE

Children First/Communities In Schools and the Junior League of Asheville present the 2015 Success Equation Child Watch Tour. This field trip for adults focuses community attention on important child and family issues. This year, we will explore the Child Care Subsidy Program that promotes opportunity and success for working parents and their children. The program serves over 2,200 children in Buncombe County. Tour participants will: hear from parents and providers about the recent eligibility changes' negative impacts on working parents with school aged children; learn about new federal guidelines that will help improve this long-standing program; get involved in advocacy that supports working families and child development. More information and registration details are coming soon. Time is 4:45 PM. For more information, contact Greg Borom at gregb@childrenfirstbc.org.

*******************************************

ONGOING EVENTS

*******************************************

TUESDAY

Veterans for Peace have a weekly vigil at 5 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 Pritchard Park at 5 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.

*******************************************

ACTIONS AND READINGS

*******************************************

Say NO to drilling off NC Coast!

President Obama wants to open the mid-Atlantic to offshore leasing for oil and gas drilling, and now the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement to examine the impacts of drilling off the NC coast. YOUR COMMENTS can make a difference! Comments are due March 30th.

The Atlantic has not been drilled before, and for good reason! Offshore drilling would put the NC coast at risk for an environmental disaster like the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster. It could harm tourism, fishing, and other coastal industries which are the economic backbone of coastal communities. No regulations have changed since the BP Disaster -- there is still the same weak level of oversight and safeguards.

To submit comments online:

a) Go to http://regulations.gov

b) In the search tab, type in Docket ID: Boem-2014-0085

c) Click on the “Comment Now!” button

dancewater

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Upcoming events in the Asheville area this week

No comments: