This Week in the Swannanoa Valley

Pottery studio holds open house

Sarah Sunshine Pottery,118 Beech Street, Black Mountain, will be open for a Christmas Pottery Show from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12. Local Potter Sarah Vekasi will have new works, established glaze collections, kiln openings, demonstrations and more. For more, call 333-1884 or visit sarahsunshinepottery.com.

Sales benefit Montreat College Friends of Music

When you shop Dec. 9 at Ten Thousand Villages and mention the Montreat College Friends of Music at check-out, the Montreat store will donate 15 percent of the purchase to the organization. Montreat College Friends of Music is an auxiliary organization of the college, which sponsors musical performances on campus for the educational benefit of students and the enjoyment of the local community. It also provides financial and volunteer support on behalf of the Montreat College Music Program.

Resident releases her new e-book

Local author Bobi Vickery has just released a Christian fiction e-book entitled “Log Mountain Emeralds.” Vickery was born in Pineville, Kentucky where the story takes place. A resident of Black Mountain for 37 years, she has a longtime career as a dental assistant in Asheville. “Log Mountain Emeralds” is available for download through amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. Vickery has scheduled a meet-the-author session Dec. 11 at Mountain View Church in Black Mountain. Follow her at bobivickery.com.

Riverview Station holds holiday market

On Saturday, Dec. 12 from 4 to 8 p.m., more than 20 studios at Riverview Station in Asheville’s River Arts District will welcome the holiday season with their second annual Holiday Market. The block-long structure at 191 Lyman St. is home to more than 60 fine art and craft studios, several artists’ co-ops and is the closest RAD building to Biltmore Village.

The holiday market features more than 20 open studios. There will be a food truck on premises, a roving Santa Claus and door prize entry forms at each studio (no cost to participate), with a drawing at River Oaks Studio, Suite 160, at 6:30 p.m. For a list of participating artists, visit RiverviewStation.com.

Museum celebrates it hike series finishers

The Swannanoa Valley Museum will celebrate the finishers of this year’s Swannanoa Rim Series and Valley History Explorer Series with a dinner at Lakeview Center at Lake Tomahawk in Black Mountain at 5 p.m. Dec. 12. In its sixth year, Swannanoa Rim Series is a sequence of 11 monthly historic hikes that traverse the highest peaks encircling the Swannanoa Valley. The more moderate Valley History Explorer Series, now in its second year, consists of seven three-mile hikes to the communities that shaped the Valley’s history.

All past and present hikers, series finishers and their families are welcome to attend the celebration, which is free for all this year’s finishers with a suggested $10 donation for all others. For more, visit swannanoavalleymuseum.org or call 669-9566.

The High School Equivalency classes to be resumed

After a two-year absence, High School Equivalency preparation classes, formerly referred to as GED classes, will resume in Black Mountain, this time at the Opportunity House at Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry. Classes will be 6-8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning Jan. 12 and will be in addition to current daytime classes held 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday. A-B Tech offers the classes free of charge. Evening classes, held for decades at the Carver Community Center, were discontinued by A-B Tech in December 2013, due to budget constraints.

Max Woodcock Bridge Club reports results

With five tables of players for the Dec. 1 game, the Max Woodcock Bridge Club played a Mitchell rotation. In the North/South direction, Chuck Murdock and Ron Gibson came in first. This was the first time those two players partnered together, and they certainly formed a strong team. A close second went to David Hirsch and Roger Fenna. The East/West winners were Julie and Lee Wilcox, with Myra and Peter Schoen coming in second.

The club plays Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. Contact Walt Tolley at 669-4563 to join in.

Half price book sale at Swannanoa Library

The Swannanoa Library is having a half-price book sale through Dec. 30. Hardcover and large paperbacks are 75 cents, and mass market paperbacks are 35 cents. Children’s hardcover books are 35 cents, and children’s paperbacks are 20 cents. CDs, videotapes, books on tape and DVDs are 50 cents each, and several items in one package will be half their usual price. Special books will behalf their regular price.

Babies return to BM Center for the Arts

The Reasonably Priced Babies are bringing their comedy improvisation to the Black Mountain Center for the Arts at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18 and 19. Tickets are $15 with tax and available at BlackMountainArts.org and 669-0930. This will be the fourth time the Babies have performed at the arts center. Audiences can expect fast-moving hilarity and audience participation, all along the holiday theme. The arts center is at 225 W. State St.

‘A Christmas Carol’ gets a one-man treatment

On Dec. 20 at 3 p.m. at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts, actor and Dickensian scholar Jamieson Ridenhour will do a Victorian-style reading of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” performing each character as Dickens himself did. This special reading is a gift to the community, and donations will be appreciated. The arts center is at 225 W. State St. For more, visit BlackMountainArts.org or call 669-0930.

Montreat College holds winter commencement

Montreat College will celebrate Winter Commencement exercises at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12 in Anderson Auditorium in Montreat. The college will award diplomas to 97 students who have completed undergraduate and graduate degrees. Shanda Woody, a School of Adult and Graduate Studies graduate, and Emily Matheny, a School of Arts and Sciences graduate, will give addresses to their class. The Rev. Scott Bowen, senior pastor of Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, will be keynote speaker.

Christmas concert is held at Light Center

Join the UR Light Center for its Holiday of Light concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13. The Light Center will host a diverse group of talented, local musicians for an afternoon of inspirational and holiday music. There will be hammered dulcimer, a holiday brass band, a Christmas carol singalong and more. The suggested donation is $15. For more, contact the center at 669-6845 or dome@URLight.org.

More yoga at Black Mountain yoga

Yoga for Athletes with Cinnamon Kennedy will be 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8 at Black Mountain Yoga. Parents Night Out is 6-8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9 with Ms. Brandon, so drop the kids off for some time to yourself (or holiday shopping) while the studio has fun with the kids. For more, contact blackmountainyoga.com or 669-2939.

Cheshire Fitness offers free holiday yoga series

An Advent yoga and meditation series will take place at Cheshire Fitness Club on Mondays Nov. 30-Dec. 21 from 6:30-7:45 p.m. Yoga practices will be gentle, appropriate for all levels and will include movement, breathing, relaxation, reflection and prayer. All are welcome as everyone integrates their bodies and spirits in worship and centers themselves on the themes of advent - hope, peace, love and joy.

Arrive early, wear comfortable clothes and bring a mat, if you have one. The class is free; childcare is available. For more, call 664-0400.

Benefit will help BM greenways

Ten Thousand Villages in Montreat will hold a benefit for Black Mountain Parks and Greenways Foundation from 1-5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13. Funds raised will be directed specifically to the Black Mountain Greenway Commission, which works with town staff to develop a greenway system in Black Mountain to safely connect our schools, parks, and natural attractions.