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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, including the opening of The Whale Craft Beer Collective in West Asheville:

-The Whale Craft Beer Collective has opened at 507 Haywood Road. The Whale location is the back side of a former pawn shop building, with the front under construction as a new restaurant called Haywood Common. The Whale will feature world beers and obscure brews. The beer bar is the work of Andrew Ross and Jesse Van Note, formerly of Wicked Weed Brewing, reports Scott Douglas for Mountain Xpress. The story notes that the term “whale” refers to rarities in beer trading circles.

-Van Winkle Law Firm in Asheville has, for several years, issued intricate pop-up Christmas cards featuring the firm’s attorneys. This year, Van Winkle issued a holiday cover album with music played by the firm’s employees, as well as well-known musicians such as banjo master Marc Pruett. Van Winkle calls its group Band Winkle and they even posted a behind-the-scenes video of the recording. Here are the credits for its record:

Engineered and mixed by: Billy Seals
Produced by: Joe Pinkston
Recorded in:
The MAP Room, Canton, NC
Mastered by: Sterling Sound, Inc., New York

-In case you missed it, Zagat recently included Asheville as one of the 30 Most Exciting Food Cities in the U.S. for this past year. Asheville came in at number 30, with the author noting Curaté, Nightbell, Rhubarb and Buxton Hall Barbecue, as well as newcomers like Little Jumbo cocktail bar.

-Also in case you missed it, the website Mic, which caters to Millennials, has put Asheville on its list of “The 26 best places to visit in 2018.”

-777 Brewhouse, the new brewery space that is the work of Westville Pub and adjacent to the West Asheville watering hole, is now open. While the space is open and being used, the brewery hasn’t issued any beer quite yet.

-The Lloyd Johnson Foundation is a newly established non-profit organization created to honor the memory of beloved bluegrass performer and music fan Lloyd Johnson, who died in June, according to a press release. The goal of the foundation is “to grow and nurture the musical spirit of Western North Carolina.” The Lloyd Johnson Foundation will serve as primary sponsor of the notable MerleFest 2018 Band Competition, which highlights local, national, and international artists at MerleFest, with the winner receiving a prime-time performance slot, according to the press release. Johnson’s son, Steve Johnson, will serve as the foundation’s executive director. Steve Johnson also works as the events and artist relations manager for MerleFest.

-North Fork Dam, the dam at Asheville’s North Fork Reservoir, is getting major renovations this winter. The goal is to protect the dam and reservoir from natural disasters such as flooding or earthquakes. The reservoir serves as the main source of drinking water for Asheville. It provides 70 percent of the city’s water. Phillips & Jordan will do the construction work, which includes raising the dam by four feet, improving the principal spillway and adding an auxiliary spillway and adding earth buttressing to reinforce the main dam.

 

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Jason Sandford

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

  • 1

1 Comment

  1. Barry Summers December 24, 2017

    Speaking of ‘In Case You Missed It’ and the water system, Chuck McGrady has spent the past year preparing to try, try again to seize control of Asheville/Buncombe’s water and sewer infrastructure. And last week’s MSD overwhelming 10 – 1 vote to reject Henderson County’s bid to join their Board, well that gives him the Bloody Shirt to wave around when his new study committee meets in January. Yay! Here we go again! Wheeee!

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