Potable water is running through the pipes once again. | Photo via City of Asheville
Asheville received good news yesterday morning — and earlier than expected. At yesterday’s Buncombe County briefing, Water Resources Department PIO Clay Chandler declared that the boil water notice has been lifted.
Water Resources lab staff completed the sampling of the distribution system over the weekend, and results confirmed no presence of E. coli or coliform. They also showed that the flushing process that began Wednesday, Oct. 30 has turned the system over and that all raw water has been replaced with treated water. Normal use of municipal water may resume, including consumption.
Yesterday morning at the North Fork reservoir, the turbidity level was ~14.5 NTUs, but after the water is sent through the filtration process and reaches our taps, it reads at 0.1 NTUs — the normal, pre-storm levels.
Chandler acknowledged that with the notice lifted, there is an expected increase in demand — he asks customers to temporarily avoid activities that require large volumes of water such as filling bathtubs or swimming pools, abnormally long showers, landscaping, and watering plants.
Tuesday, Nov. 19 Wise Words Open Mic | 6-7:30 p.m. | Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center | Free | Express yourself artistically — stories, songs, poems, or just creative articulation.
Sarah Squirm: Live + In The Flesh | 8 p.m. | The Orange Peel | $30+ | The SNL cast member (who you may know better as Sarah Sherman) will grace the stage for a night of stand-up.
Wednesday, Nov. 20 No More Climate Havens: Educating for Reality | 12-1 p.m. | Virtual | Free | Hosted by Warren Wilson College, the panel will explore how higher education institutions can make climate change action a central part of their missions.
Thursday, Nov. 21 The Moth Presents: Asheville StorySLAM | 6:30 p.m. | The Grey Eagle | $7+ | The theme has changed from “Yes, Chef!” to “Asheville,” inviting you to share memories and stories of resilience — if you’ve prepared a story for the previous theme, you can still share it.
Trauma-Informed Learning Session | 6:30-7:30 p.m. | Lantern Health South | Free, RSVP | A team of health coaches and a licensed therapist will help you put words to the impacts of trauma, as well as provide tools to move forward — join in person or virtually.
Punch Bucket Lit Reading Series | 7-8:30 p.m. | rEvolve Mercantile | Free | Sit in for an evening of readings from prose writers Jessie Van Eerden and Brook Shaffner.
Friday, Nov. 22 She’s Crafty AVL Hat Bar | 5-8 p.m. | The Cottage Collections | $10 | Customize a Western burned hat that fits your style — ticket price goes toward the purchase of your hat.
Rosetta Stone’s lessons focus on real-world images and scenarios to help users learn faster + retain more. | Photo provided by Rosetta Stone
Whether you’re a travel bug planning your next trip, wanting to connect with another culture, or looking to learn something new, the holidays arethe perfect time to dive into a new language — or 25.
Gift yourself (or a friend) lifetime access to all of Rosetta Stone’s languages with their Lifetime Unlimited plan at Black Friday pricing. With one low payment, you can immerse yourself in engaging language lessons whenever you want, forever.
Although the boil water notice has been lifted, water distribution and other services will continue at community care stations and food + water distribution sites. Find the up-to-date locations.
Civic
The official rollout of Buncombe County’s private property debris removal program begins today, Nov. 19. Tetra Tech, the county’s recovery partner, will share details of the program at this morning’s briefing. Find more about the application process + additional updates from yesterday’s briefing.
Award
Eda Rhyne Distilling Co. earned a win in the Drink category of Garden & Gun’s Made in the South Awards for its herbaceous Appalachian Fernet. Production has been paused as the team evaluates the damage to its Biltmore Village production facility — so if you see a bottle from a local distributor, don’t hesitate to pick it up.
Biz
The owners of Poppy Hand-Crafted Popcorn, SoulKu, and Plum Print have joined to form WE ARE, the Women Entrepreneurs Asheville Recovery Endeavor. Together, they have established a grant fund to support woman-owned businesses in WNC — you can support the fund by donating or purchasing raffle tickets.
Cause
WNC Mutual Aid Switchboard can help connect you to ongoing mutual aid projects at its weekly Volunteer Info Nights. Every Monday at 5 p.m., the group will set up a table outside Firestorm Books.
Seasonal
Soon you’ll be walking in a Winter Wonderland with Asheville Plays. Next Friday, Nov. 29, the Winter Wonder Walk, a family-friendly, immersive, live-action storybook trail, opens at the Asheville Adventure Center. Bonus: For every ticket sold, MANNA FoodBank will donate four meals.
Arts
A new exhibition is on view at the Asheville Art Museum. American Made: Paintings and Sculpture from the DeMell Jacobsen Collection features 70+ pieces, spanning a multitude of American art styles from the past two centuries. The museum is currently offering pay-what-you-can admission for WNC residents.
Biz
Small Business Saturday, a day dedicated to highlighting + supporting locally-owned small businesses, is on Nov. 30. Let us know some of your favorite small businesses in the Land of the Sky for a chance to be featured in an upcoming newsletter.
Civic
Asheville City Council will hold a work session this morning, Nov. 19 at 9 a.m. to discuss Helene recovery efforts. Public comment isn’t taken during work sessions, but you can tune in online. Plus, see the schedule for upcoming meetings.
Featured Home
This stunning mid-century modern home sits on two acres with over 1,000 sqft of outdoor space to explore. Embrace seclusion while only being 10 minutes from downtown Waynesville. See the unique interior.*
This the last call to secure your spot in our 2024 Holiday Gift Guide. Get your giftable product or service in front of 57,000+ potential shoppers before the season ends.
Category
Featured
French Broad Chocolate is Oprah’s favorite
The set makes for a great local gift. | Photo via French Broad Chocolate
Oprah’s popular “Favorite Things” list is out for 2024 — and this year, it includes a local favorite. French Broad Chocolate was highlighted for its rich and delectable Classic Hot Chocolate Collection.
The hot chocolate not only got Oprah’s stamp of approval. Her longtime friend Gayle King is also a fan, as Oprah explains in the gift guide, “When it comes to hot chocolate, I trust Gayle, who loves this trio in vanilla bean, classic, and cinnamon flavors.”
French Broad Chocolate’s factory along Riverside Drive experienced flooding damage, and co-founder + CEO Jael Skeffington said that “This recognition has been a silver lining as we work to get back on our feet after a challenging and devastating time for our community.”
If you want to gift the decadent Classic Hot Chocolate Collection, you can purchase it directly from the chocolatier.
The Buy
The Buy
This 3-in-1 portable charger. Ditch your knot of clunky charging cords for Anker’s ultra-compact charger that includes a built-in USB-C cord, power bank, and foldable charger.
Eda Rhyne’s Appalachian Fernet wasn’t the only local item to get a nod from Garden & Gun for its Made in the South Awards. Asheville-based company PyreLogs was a runner-up in the Outdoors category. The innovative, reusable campfire bases are designed to help you get a fire started faster, even in less-than-ideal conditions — I’ve personally never been nominated as the designated fire-starter on any group camping excursions, but these bases might help me earn that title.
