Current News the Black Mountain Center for the Arts

	Travel to western NC is OPEN Even though there has been a rock slide on I-40 three (3) miles from the TN border (and 61 miles from Black Mountain), the good news for travelers and leaf peepers is that people CAN travel to Black Mountain and WNC mountains during this eventful time, as we reach peak fall color and move toward a festive holiday season. Roads from the North, South, and East travel are OPEN and NOT impacted. Travelers from the west have detour options that are actually scenic drives that we recommend, and can add as little as 30-50 minutes to the drive. 25/70 Dixie Highway route through Hot Springs is a lovely, winding scenic mountain road that should only add roughly 30 minutes to the drive, and is not open to commercial vehicles. Interstate 26 through Johnson City, TN is one of the nation’s only interstate scenic byways and has observations points, overlooks and views of the highest peaks in the east. Adds 50 minutes to travel time. Click on the linked map to see how travelers can get to Western NC and the Black Mountain/Asheville area area from all points. Despite a hitch for travelers coming from the west, fall color is here, holiday festivities are right around the corner and it’s a great time to visit the mountains. Black Mountain is accessible and open for business, the temporary detour is along I-40 well west of Asheville. Travelers heading west from Asheville to Cherokee, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cataloochee Ski Area and points west should take Exit 27 off I-40 (Great Smoky Mountains Expy/US-19/US-23/US-74).
	Fifth Annual “Auction for the Arts” set for March 13 at BMCA On Saturday, March 13, at 6 pm the 5th Annual Auction for the Arts, a fundraiser for the Black Mountain Center for the Arts, will be held at the Center at 225 W. State Street. Ticket holders will enjoy a heavy hors d’oeuvres and beverage bar and silent raffle/auction before the live auction at 7 pm. Auctioneer John Hill again wields the gavel. Tickets, limited to 100, are $15 in advance or $20 the day of the auction. To make reservations, call 828/669-0930. read more >>
	BMCA Hosts Red June in Concert February 27 Red June, a musical collaboration from Asheville, NC, brings together three contrasting but complementary musicians in a beautifully distilled form. Will Straughan, John Cloyd Miller, and Natalya Weinstein as Red June will play on Saturday, February 27 at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts, located in the beautifully renovated old City Hall at 225 W. State Street. Admission per person is a $10 donation at the door for a 7:30 concert time with general seating and no reservations in advance. read more >>
	BMCA’s Annual February Local College Art Show to Feature UNC-A Faculty In February of each year the Black Mountain Center for the Arts hosts a show in its Upper Gallery to feature art from one of the local nearby colleges and universities. For 2010 the show will be made of works from a dozen artists on the faculty at UNC-Asheville. The show will open with a reception for the public to meet the artists on Sunday, February 7 from 3-4 pm, and will continue through Saturday, March 13, which is also the date of BMCA’s annual Auction for the Arts. read more >>
	4th ART IN BLOOM in Black Mountain to Honor Blue Ridge Parkway 75th Anniversary The 4th Annual Art in Bloom is scheduled for June 17-20 at the Black Mountain (NC) Center for the Arts, located in the renovated original City Hall at 225 W. State Street. Art in Bloom is a celebration of art and flowers similar to events held in museums and galleries throughout the nation since 1976, where it started at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The theme for this year’s Art in Bloom in Black Mountain is “Naturally Blue Ridge,” as the Center for the Arts collaborates with the Blue Ridge Parkway to celebrate its 75th anniversary amidst local natural beauty. The Town of Black Mountain lies in the Swannanoa Valley south and east of one section of the Parkway, where its crosses from Asheville to the area in and around the Black Mountains and Mount Mitchell. read more >>
	How Our Town Recycled An Old Building Into A Work Of Art Black Mountain is justifiably proud of its newly renovated City Hall on Midland Street. The building on Montreat Road that housed City Hall from the early 1990’s until this year is now defunct. But a previous City Hall still stands, and this community can also be justifiably proud of the Black Mountain Center for the Arts, which inhabits the original City Hall at 225 W. State Street, at the west end of town. read more >>
	Suzuki Violin Lessons Offered at BMCA Starting in the Fall of 2009, we have Suzuki violin lessons for children ages 4-6. Since the 1960's, the Suzuki Method has grown in acceptance and success worldwide and is used to teach all stringed instruments, flute and piano. Taught by Alice Keith “Keithie” Knowles, lessons will be offered on Tuesday afternoons. Knowles, currently a violinist with the Symphony of the Mountains, the Asheville Symphony, and the Paramount Chamber Players, and a graduate of Oberlin College, has taught the Suzuki method since 1984. She is retired from the faculty at East Tennessee State University, and has taught in the Suzuki Institute at Furman University since 1998. The Suzuki Method or "mother tongue approach", also called Talent Education or Ability Development, is an educational philosophy used in teaching instrumental music (originally violin) to young children. It was developed by Shinichi Suzuki, a traditional violinist who was searching for ways to enrich the lives of Japanese children so devastated by World War 2. Observing that children as young as two or three years of age speak their native tongue fluently, Dr. Suzuki used the principles of language development to teach the violin. Initially, learning is by hearing or rote, with many repetitions. Reading comes later. Suzuki students listen daily to recordings of music to be performed, beginning with simple folksongs. A parent must attend weekly private lessons with the student, acting as the "home teacher" and supervising daily practice. Skills are mastered in small steps, always with the support and encouragement of the parents and teacher. For additional group lessons, included for reinforcement and the joy of playing together, students are grouped according to their performance levels.
	Photos from Art in Bloom 2009 now posted view now >> Additional Information in our Archives Art in Bloom Honorary Chair Ann Vasilik Will Participate with Garden Tour Painters AIB 2009 Pam Beck Best Garden Plants for NC Press Release 2009 Art in Bloom set for Black Mountain Center for the Arts June 18-21 A Spring Afternoon of Flowers and Tea at Art in Bloom in Black Mountain AIB 2009 Brochure
	Current Pottery Class Schedule Attend a pottery class this fall in our newly renovated pottery studio. We offer classes for both children and adults. download a current schedule >>

OUR MISSION: To bring arts to the people and people to the arts by providing a center for celebrating the arts
and a forum for stimulating artistic endeavor.