This Week in the Swannanoa Valley

Local libraries have September events

Swannanoa Book Club will meet at 6 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 10 to discuss “A Confederacy of Dunces” by John Kennedy. The library is at 101 W. Charleston St., Swannanoa. Contact it at 250-6486.

At 6:30 p.m., Sept. 29, the Swannanoa Library will have a Monarch butterfly migration program presented by Van Burnette of the Hop Blueberry Farms of Black Mountain. He will share the story of monarch butterfly migration, as well as ways people can help bring back clouds of brilliant orange and black wings throughout the Valley. There will be beautiful images and real caterpillars and cocoons for the audience to see. The program is free and open to the public for school ages and adults.

The Black Mountain Mystery Book Club will meet at the Black Mountain Library to discuss “The Treatment by Mo Hayder,” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15. The library is located at 105 Dougherty St. Contact it at 250-4756.

Honor 9/11 by giving blood in Swannanoa

The American Red Cross is partnering with 9/11 Day to offer people a chance to commemorate the events of Sept. 11 by giving blood or platelets or volunteering their time with the Red Cross. Donors might be inspired to give blood or platelets as a way to remember those who lost their lives on 9/11 and to honor the first responders who rose up in response to the attacks. Harley Davidson of Asheville in Swannanoa will host a drive from 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Sept. 12. Visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or for more information.

Carolinas Dahlia Society holds annual show

The Carolinas Dahlia Society will hold its annual flower show and sale in the educational building of the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville on Sept. 12-13. More than 800 blooms are expected to be shown. The show is open to the public from 1-5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. Admission to the show is free, but there is a charge to park at the Arboretum.

At 3 p.m. Saturday, Buddy Dean will teach a class on dahlia judging. Dean is an American Dahlia Society senior judge, a prize-winning dahlia hybridizer and the owner of Hilltop Gardens. At 1 p.m. Sunday, Allen Haas will teach a class on growing dahlias for fun or show. Haas is an American Dahlia Society judge and grower of prize-winning dahlias.

Cut flowers from members’ gardens will be available for sale both days. The show flowers will be sold beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday. The Court of Honor flowers will be sold at 4 p.m. Growers wishing to exhibit their dahlias

should check Carolinasdahliasociety.org.

Gospel quartet sings at First Baptist, Swannanoa

Southern Sound Quartet from Nashville will be at the First Baptist Church, Swannanoa, 503 Park St., at the 9:30 a.m. traditional worship service on Sept.13. The quartet has have sung at the National Quartet Convention and Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame. It has made countless personal appearances from Michigan to Florida and from Texas to Pennsylvania. A love offering will be received at the service. For more, call 686-5123.

Red Rocker Inn dessert is sweet on musicians

The Red Rocker Inn is inviting apple pie lovers to help support its September fundraising project, Montreat College Friends of Music Scholarship Fund. Dinner guests will savor Pecan Praline Apple Pie with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream in support of the education of young musicians. The scholarship, in honor of Dr. Eunice Stackhouse, is an award given to the top six performers in the annual Friends of Music Scholarship Competition.

Each month, half the sales price of The Red Rocker Inn’s designated “Dessert of the Month” is donated to the charity or project of the month. The Red Rocker Inn, at 136 N. Dougherty St. and open Monday through Saturday, can be contacted at 669-5991.

Knitters and crocheters to meet again

The WNC Knitters & Crocheters for Others will be meeting on Thursday, Sept. 17 (and the third Thursday of every month, except December) from 1-3 p.m. at Givens Highland Farms, Building G-H on Brookside Avenue in the Birch Room, (formerly the Upper Core Room 1), upstairs. All knitters and crocheters are welcome. It makes items for single mothers, homeless shelters, ill, abused or traumatized children, victims of domestic violence and newborns at Mission Hospital. It welcomes acrylic yarn or new Teddy bear donations. For more, call Betsy Stobbs at 669-0680.

Class of ’95 has October reunion

The Owen High School Class of 1995’s 20-year reunion will be Oct. 2-3. On Oct. 2, there will be a tour of the high school at 6:45 p.m., followed by the game at 7:30 p.m. (a section will be reserved for the reunion). On Oct. 3, there will be a picnic at noon on the front lawn of school (bring your own picnic lunch and yard toys). That night, all are invited to the Ale House from 7 p.m. until.

Bee event and exhibit opens at arts center

The Black Mountain Center for the Arts will start its month-long bee awareness event and art exhibit “What’s the Buzz about Bees?” with an artists’ reception from 6-8 p.m. Sept. 10 in the upper gallery. Showcased will be more than 25 different artists working in a wide range of media, all featuring one or more of the world’s 20,000 bee species.

The reception includes a dynamic presentation in the theater space by Phyllis Stiles, founder and director of Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA, and a national pollinator educator. The gallery show, free, will run through Oct. 9. The arts center is at 225 W. State St.

Traditional music program open to students

JAM (Junior Appalachian Musicians) sessions begin Sept. 9 at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts. The program, designed for public, private and homeschooled students in third through ninth grades, is led by professional musicians Cary Fridley, Ben Nelson and Hannah Seng, who teach JAM students to play traditional Appalachian tunes by ear in small groups on banjo, guitar and fiddle. The arts center has some instruments available for affordable rental. Classes are Wednesdays from 3:30-5 p.m. The 14-week first session costs $140, payable in two parts.

Workshop connects yoga and prosperity

Black Mountain Yoga will host Prosperity Now, Abundance Workshop with Dr. Brad Rachman on Tuesday, Sept. 15 from 7-9 p.m. The workshop will cover the yogic principles of abundance, right action and intention and how they help us weather (and prosper) through turbulent economic times. No prior yoga experience is required. Space is limited. The workshop will be held at 116 Montreat Road, Black Mountain. For more, blackmountainyoga.com or call 669-2939.

Vets chapter performs Missing Man Table ceremony

The Korean War Veterans NC Chapter 265 will perform the ceremony of The Missing Man’s Table on Friday, Sept. 18 beginning at 10:15 a.m. All are invited to the service at the Veterans Cemetery in Black Mountain. For more, call Bill Williams at (704) 545-1829.

Old Fort toots own horn at Railroad Day

Railroad Day will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19 at the Old Fort Depot and the Mountain Gateway Museum. The free event celebrates Old Fort’s rail-related history with vendors, food, music and model railroad displays. There will also be displays of vintage cars and trucks too.

In addition to muscle cars, there will be model trains, a trackless train for kids to enjoy and a hand-pump train car to examine. Local model railroader and McDowell News reporter Mike Conley will speak about the trains in Western North Carolina and bring some artifacts. He will focus on how the railroads in McDowell County were impacted by the great flood of 1916.

Estate planning is topic of first meeting

The Friends of the Black Mountain Library will hold the first of its fall programs at 7 p.m. Sept. 22 at the library. At the first program, Walton Davis will present a guide to estate planning. All programs are open to the public.