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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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More of what’s going around:

Green Opportunities is buying a food truck. J. Hackett, the newly named executive director of the nonprofit game me news during a recent interview. The nonprofit already has an established reputation for a program, called the GO Kitchen Ready Program, that trains people to work in commercial kitchens. Green Opportunities serves a community lunch during the week, as well as dinner, at its Southside Kitchen and offers catering services. More details to come on the food truck.

-The UNC Asheville women’s basketball team is headed to the NCAA tournament after winning their conference tournament last week in high style. The Bulldogs were the first seventh-seeded team to ever win the Big South Conference Tournament (UNCA beat Radford), and the first team to ever win four games in four days to take it all. UNCA will play one of the NCAA tournament’s four #1 seeds in South Carolina. They’ll tip off Friday in Columbia, S.C. This is the second year in a row that the UNCA women’s team has earned a berth in the Big Dance. One key to their success – Coach Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick, who was hired in 2012. Kirkpatrick is a Waynesville native who played college basketball at Wake Forest and worked as an assistant coach at several programs, including the University of Florida before moving to the mountains.

-Construction on 31 condos built atop two levels of parking at a lot along Collier Street on Asheville’s South Slope is set to begin this summer. The project was the target of an effort last year to

-A project to build 78 family residential units in downtown Asheville is headed to the Asheville Technical Review Committee for a look in April. The project at 55 South Market Street calls for the construction of a building and parking deck adjacent to the Asheville Foundry Inn, which is currently under construction on Eagle and South Market streets.

-A project calling for the construction of a 114-unit multi-family development on 5 acres along Hazel Mill Road will also be discussed at the April TRC meeting. The project is called White Oak Grove Apartments.

-Tom Savini, known for his special effects and make-up work on cult-classic films like Friday the 13th, as well as his acting and directing work, will talk about his career and screen film excerpts in a free public lecture at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28, in UNC Asheville’s Humanities Lecture Hall, according to a press release. Seating is first-come first-served with no advance reservations. Savini’s special effects make-up work spans dozens of films including creating Jason of Friday the 13th as well as the zombies for George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead – his work in the latter film earned a Saturn Award for Best Make-Up Effects.

-There’s a new history tour in town. A free (donations are encouraged), guided tour of Grovewood Village will be offered Wednesdays through Thursdays from April through December. Grovewood Village, housed in the historic weaving and woodworking complex of Biltmore Industries, was a groundbreaking enterprise in the history of American craft and textiles, with ties to George and Edith Vanderbilt, Edwin Wiley Grove, and Fred Loring Seely, according to a press release. More:

In its heyday, Biltmore Industries had a total of 40 looms in steady operation, producing bolts of some of the highest quality homespun fabric in the country, worn by U.S. presidents, first ladies, and many American icons.

The tour includes a visit to the historic Dye House in Grovewood Village (usually closed to the public), where the original looms, carding machines, mule spinners, and dye vats used to make Biltmore Handwoven Homespun can still be viewed. Tours last approximately 45 minutes and are geared towards adults. There is no charge to take the tour, but donations are appreciated. Spots are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. Maximum 25 people per tour. Meet your guide at the Biltmore Industries Homespun Museum, next door to Grovewood Gallery.

2017 marks the 100th anniversary of Biltmore Industries’ home at Grovewood Village. A centennial celebration will be held from noon until 5 p.m. on June 17. The event will include a special exhibition of fiber art by seven regional weavers, artist demonstrations, guided history tours, a cake cutting ceremony, and a historical presentation by Bruce Johnson, director of the National Arts & Crafts Conference at The Grove Park Inn since 1988.

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

  • 1

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