Feb. 21-27 This Week in the Swannanoa Valley

Make quilts with Project Linus this week

Project Linus is a group of sewers and non-sewers who enjoy making quilts and other items for children and adults at Mission Hospital and in the community. It focuses on children’s quilts, which are given out by the regional Project Linus group to children in crisis in the local area.

Project Linus meets next on Friday, Feb. 23 from 1-3 p.m. on the lower level of the Lakeview Center at Lake Tomahawk in Black Mountain. It will be pinning quilts, cutting and stuffing pillows for Hospice and learning to sew magazine holders for Mission Hospital.

Thomas Chapel celebrates Family & Friends Day

Thomas Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church will celebrate Family & Friends Day at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25. The church will be worshiping in songs. Dinner will be served after morning worship. Everyone is invited.

Ten Thousand Villages helps Asheville Humane Society

Ten Thousand Villages in Montreat will host a shopping benefit for the Asheville Humane Society from 1-5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25. Extending its store hours for the event, Ten Thousand Villages will donate 15 percent of sales to the Humane Society. 

As a special treat, a furry advocate from the Humane Society will be present during the benefit. Asheville Humane Society has been saving homeless Buncombe County animals for more than 30 years. It operates a state-of-the-art Adoption and Education Center and Buncombe County's only open door shelter where no local animal is turned away. It reunites, rehabilitates and "re-homes" abandoned, abused, injured and lost animals.

ABC store to close for remodeling

The Black Mountain ABC store will be closed on Monday-Tuesday, Feb. 26-27 to prepare for upcoming remodeling. The store, located at 207 N.C. 9, will reopen on Feb. 28.

Grovestone Wrestling Club invites participants

The Grovestone Wrestling Club is holding practice on Mondays and Thursdays from 5-7 p.m. at the Owen Middle School Gym. Participants in grades 3-12 are welcome. For more, call 828-275-7794.

Celebrate Recovery has veterans, bikers groups

Celebrate Recovery features inspiring teaching and testimonies of God’s healing power for people in recovery. “Welcome Home Veterans” is a special open-share small group for men led by a veteran for veterans. "Broken Chains" is an outlet for bikers to combine their love of riding with their need for recovery.

Celebrate Recovery meets every Tuesday evening at Mountain View Church, 2221 North Fork-Right Fork Road, Black Mountain. Meetings begin with a free meal at 6:15 p.m., then 7 p.m. for worship/testimony/lessons, 8 p.m. for small groups (open share and 12-Step studies), 9 p.m. for dessert. Free child care is available. For more, contact Connie at 669-1981 or Jeanie at 669-4146.

Duplicate bridge group posts results 

The Lake Tomahawk Duplicate Bridge Group played at the Lakeview Center on Lake Tomahawk in Black Mountain Feb. 6 and 13 and had a great time. If you would like to join in, whether you are local or from out of town, email rongibson1@yahoo.com for information.

Coming in first Feb. 13 were David Hirsch/Roger Fenna. Coming in second were Lynda Briggs/Ron Gibson. Coming in third were Dam McGaughey/Larry Pearlman. 

Coming in first Feb. 6 were David Hirsch/Roger Fenna. Coming in second were Dan McGaughey/Larry Pearlman. Coming in third were Suzy Harter/Les Harter.

Hear some tales of Old Swannanoa and Grovemont

If you'd like to learn more about the fascinating history of Swannanoa, then come to the Swannanoa Library on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 6:30 p.m. to hear Swannanoa Valley resident and historian Bill Alexander share stories of Grovemont and old Swannanoa. Alexander's Swannanoa history programs are always well-attended and highly entertaining.

This program is best suited for teens and adults. For more, call the library at 828-250-6486.

Want to help beautify Swannanoa?

Friends and Neighbors of Swannanoa (FANS) is starting a beautification committee to explore ways to make Swannanoa even more beautiful than it already is. It is looking for residents and business owners who would like to brainstorm ideas and help put some of them into action. Some of the project suggestions so far include plantings and landscaping in the business district and welcome banners for the light poles along U.S. 70.

If interested, send your name and contact info to info@SwannanoaFANS.org or call 828-581-9848.

And coming up ...

Swannanoa Library group discusses "Lincoln on the Bardo"

The Swannanoa Library book group gathers every four to six weeks for a lively discussion of a fiction or nonfiction book selected by the group.  The next meeting is Thursday, March 1, at 6 p.m. at the library (101 West Charleston Ave. in Grovemont) to discuss "Lincoln on the Bardo" by George Saunders.

For more, call the library at 828-250-6486.

Project Linus meets to make blankets for kids

The local chapter of Project Linus, a national organization that provides handmade blankets to children in crisis, is sponsoring Make-A-Blanket Day on Saturday, March 17 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. This is an opportunity to participate in creating blankets for seriously ill or traumatized children.

The event will be held at Eliada Home, 2 Compton Drive, Asheville. Sewing skills are not necessary as there will be instruction on "no-sew" fleece blankets. In addition, there will be an assembly line of volunteers using sewing machines to create quilts. All supplies will be provided.  Volunteers who prefer to knit and crochet are asked to bring their own projects.

Chapter members will gladly accept finished blankets or donations of yarn, fabric, or gift cards. Refreshments will be provided. For more, contact Ellen Knoefel (828) 645-8800 , Ennis Julian (702) 499-3567 or Janet Stewart (828) 575-9195.

Seed Money Awards applications still open

The Black Mountain Beautification Committee is still accepting applications for the 2018 Seed Money Award. The award or awards will be given to applicants who submit a gardening project that best exemplifies the mission of the Beautification Committee - honoring the natural beauty of the surrounding mountains while seeking to reflect that beauty on the streets and in the lives of the citizens.

Applications are available at blackmountainbeautification.org, at Town Hall, at the Black Mountain Library, at the Black Mountain Chamber of Commerce and at the Black Mountain Beautification Committee Facebook page. Deadline is Monday, March 12. For more, call Susan Edwards at 828-458-5907.

Tickets on sale for production by Broadway actors 

The Black Mountain Center for the Arts welcomes two Broadway stars for a one-night-only concert. Kara Lindsay, star of Broadway’s "Newsies," "Wicked" and "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" will join her husband, Black Mountain native and Broadway veteran Kevin Massey, in their original musical cabaret "A Broadway Romance" on Saturday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m. in the Charles D. Owen High School auditorium, 99 Lake Eden Road, Black Mountain. 

Tickets are $25 before March 17, and $30 day-of, based on availability. Tickets can be purchased at 828-669-0930 and blackmountainarts.org.