Events Calendar

Reedy River Duck Derby is May 5 from 10:00 – 4:00 in Falls Park. Family friendly event, with live music all day, food, games. Ducks race at 2:30 from the Main Street Bridge, over the falls. Winning duck wins groceries for a year from Publix, 2nd place wins $1500, 3rd place wins a Golf Weekend at Embassy Suites. Many other prizes.
Derby Hat contest at 1:30. Register for the hat contest at LocallyEpic.com/derbyhats

The Botanical Gardens at Asheville and numerous local plant vendors will offer a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and flowers. BGA members will get a 10% discount on BGA-grown plants that we sell at the gazebo. As always, this event will take place rain or shine. The Botanical Gardens receives no city, state or federal funds. Instead, we receive our funding exclusively through memberships, donations, gift shop sales and the spring and fall plant sales. Free admission and parking on site or nearby. On Saturday, we have a food stand which features Sharon Turner’s world famous Chocolate Kahlua Cake.

Diamond Brand Outdoors and Frugal Backpacker are teaming up with the
WNC Nature Center for a day of camping-themed activities for families to enjoy! Camping Day
at the WNC Nature Center takes place on Saturday, May 5, from 10am-2pm.
The child-oriented event will include an interactive campsite, map and compass instructional
classes, a nature themed scavenger hunt with prizes, educational classes about the do’s and
don’ts of camping in Western NC, and educational animal programs with the Nature Center’s
otters, bears, owls and racoon.
Please note that this event does not include overnight camping. Participants should not bring
camping gear with them into the Center.
Admission to Camping Day is included with regular WNC Nature Center admission and, as
always, Friends of the WNC Nature Center members get in for free.

arth Skin is based upon the forms and textures of the earth using inspiration from aerial photography of Western North Carolina and topographical maps of local areas, including Pisgah National Forest and Balsam Range. Created by ceramic artists Trish Salmon and Crystal Allen, Earth Skin includes wall structures and pieces designed for mantles, shelves and tables. All works are available for purchase and a portion of the sales will be donated to The North Carolina Arboretum Society.

About the Artists

Trish Salmon

Trish has been studying clay for many years through the various classes available to her when she lived in the Atlanta area. Taking classes at Penland was a life changing experience and a turning point in her desire to become a studio ceramicist. She and her husband moved to Western North Carolina in 2007, and she has pursued her claywork full time after her career as a kitchen designer. Immediately after retirement, she enrolled in Haywood Community College’s Professional Crafts Program in clay where she received her Associate’s Degree in 2014. She currently is a member of the Odyssey Coop Gallery in the River Arts District in Asheville, NC. She is also a founding member of Artisans on Main in downtown Weaverville where her studio is and where her work is primarily displayed.

Crystal Allen

Before discovering ceramics, Crystal earned a degree in Graphic Art and Design. She has also taught calligraphy, dabbled in watercolors and and learned how to felt, dye and spin natural fibers from her own llamas and sheep. Most recently, Crystal completed the Professional Crafts: Clay Associates degree at Haywood Community College.  Her pottery is primarily functional, with altered or hand built additions. Her pieces are produced in her studio, one of her favorite places on earth!

The AAAC is excited to welcome the kindergartners of Ira B. Jones Elementary into the Hall Gallery. The kindergarten classes are working on a new social studies unit called Our Community. In this unit they will be exploring questions like: Why do people work? How we can help our community? What are our community’s needs and wants? The students will be learning about different kinds of neighborhoods like rural, city, suburban, and why they are important.
In art class the students will apply their understanding of these topics by creating a paper collage of their neighborhood. They will use various paper shapes to create a collage of a neighborhood. The neighborhoods will “link” together with a road that “unites” us all as one community.
The creations inspired by this lessons will be on display Monday – Friday, 10 am – 5 pm from May 4 – June 29, 2018.