More of what’s going around:
-Actor Sean Bridgers was recently doing some recording at Sound Temple Studios. He’s been cast in a new Epix dark comedy, Get Shorty.
-There’s an Asheville City Council candidate forum on policing at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Edington Center on Livingston Street. The event is hosted by One Mission for the People. The candidates who have said they’ll attend are: Kim Roney, Rich Lee, Cecil Bothwell, Gwen Wisler, Dee Williams, and Sheneika Smith.
-Presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin is the featured speaker for The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina’s annual Power of the Purse fundraising luncheon May 23 at the Expo Center at the Crowne Plaza Resort in Asheville. The luncheon is a celebration of women’s philanthropy in Western North Carolina and features the announcement of $270,000 in grants from the Women for Women giving circle, with more than 1,000 are expected to attend, according to a press release.
-Thirsty Monk Brewery & Pub’s Not So Big BIG Beer Festival is set for 5:30 p.m. on May 31, during Asheville Beer Week. The festival will be held at the Thirsty Monk warehouse space, 92 Thompson St. in Biltmore Village.
-The annual Memorial Weekend Music Festival will be held May 28 at The Social in East Asheville. Music performances will run on the outdoor stage from noon to 10 p.m., and the indoor stage from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., with local musicians Joe Lasher Jr. and Lyric leading the way, according to a press release.. Tickets are just $5 at the door. One hundred percent of the event’s ticket sales will be donated to Homeward Bound, a non-profit organization that provides, among other services, resources to veterans battling homelessness.
-Riverbend Malt House recently announced big expansion plans. From a press release:
These plans include a recently signed long term lease on a 74,000 square foot facility in Asheville and the placement of orders for capital equipment which will lead to a 500 percent increase in production capacity by January 2018. The company recently closed a successful capital raise of $4.7 million in equity and debt to fund the expansion. Riverbend’s new facility will be located at 12C Gerber Road in Asheville. Production capacity will increase to 3 million pounds of malt per year, according to the release.
-ZaPow art gallery has reopened on the South Slope at 150 Coxe. Ave. A grand re-opening party is set for 7 p.m. on June 3.
-Catawba Brewing and Eagles Nest Outfitters are collaborating again on a beer they made last year. It’s called ENO Pilsner, a European-style lager. This specialty beer will be released on May 26 with ENO-related festivities planned at all Catawba locations. ENO Pilsner will be available through August, according to a press release.
-Jeff Messer, the host of a liberal talk radio show 880 the Revolution on iHeart Radio’s WWNC, was laid off this week after four and a half years on the air. Messer is a Western North Carolina native who has worked in film and theatre as a playwright, actor, director and producer since the early 1990s. He will be missed. From Messer’s Facebook post announcing the change:
I’ll be sad to not see the on air opportunities for musicians, artists, local political figures, and the myriad of others who found an inviting home on my show. There will be a period of adjustment, naturally. But voids have a way of being filled, and who knows? Maybe I’ll even be there to fill them at some point.
1 Comment
Really disappointing to see iHeartMedia cut out local progressive voices like this. I notice the “cost-cutting” did not affect conservative host Pete Kaliner. Asheville is a progressive market, yet we lost our only mainstream radio progressive talk show. We need Jeff back on the air.