Antique Appraisal to Benefit WNCAP

Have you ever wondered what that old peice of silver that Grandma left you is worth? Or if that old porcelain vase you picked up at a yard sale is a Ming vase worth a million dollars? Here is your chance to find out and support the work of WNCAP at the same time. Nostalgique Antiques is sponsoring an Antique Appraisal Fair to benefit the Western North Carolina AIDS Project (WNCAP) on Saturday, January 7 between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. at Nostalgique Antiques and Interiors, located at 126 Swannanoa River Road in Asheville.

Antique appraisals will be provided by Bonnie Rose of Bonnie Rose Appraisal Services. The price for appraisals will be $10 per item or 3 items for $25, and WNCAP will receive 100% of the proceeds from the event! Bonnie Rose is certified by the “Certified Appraisers Guild of America” as a personal property appraiser. She has worked in antiques and collectibles for more than 30 years.

The mission of WNCAP, founded in 1986, is to provide HIV-related services to the people of Western North Carolina through client support, prevention education and outreach in a collaborative and financially responsible manner. The agency serves approximately 400 HIV-positive men, women and youth in the WNC region each year and reaches thousands more with lifesaving HIV/AIDS prevention information and resources. For more information please contact WNCAP volunteer, Jim Crowley at jim@citycountrygallery.com or visit www.wncap.org.

A collaboration between Western Carolina University and the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, this exhibit focuses on the work of painter Pat Passlof, an accomplished Black Mountain College alumna. The show will occupy space in the two venues simultaneously and will feature a selection of 50-60 paintings by Passlof, representing more than 60 years of her career. This long-planned retrospective is among the first since Passlof’s death from cancer at 83 in November. The artist helped select the work represented in the months before her death.

WCU will host an opening reception at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, January 26, at the Fine Art Museum (in the Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center on the WCU campus). The Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center will host a reception at 5:30 p.m. Friday, January 27, at 56 Broadway, in Asheville. The receptions and exhibits are free of charge. The exhibits will run from Thursday, January 26, through Sunday, May 27.

Leaf In Streets and Schools Benefit

Abigail Washburn and partner Kai Welch are sure to entertain audiences with their unique style of music which blends Appalachian songwriting and instrumentation with traditional Chinese roots, and an occasional punch of pop sensibility.

Benefit features Abigail Washburn with Kai Welch, plus a solo performance from fiddler Casey Driessen, a clog dance performance by Leaf in Schools and Streets Students, and a silent auction. Thursday, January 12 beginning at 2 p.m., at the White Horse. Tickets at www.theLEAF.org or (828) 686-8742.

If You Go: The White Horse, 105C Montreat Rd., Black Mountain, NC. Phone (828) 669-0816 or visit www.whitehorseblackmountain.com.

Deborah Henson-Conant — Fusing Music and Story

Deborah Henson-Conant is a Grammy-Nominated, genre-bending, Blues-Flamenco-Celtic-Folk-Jazz dynamo. She plays an instrument that was invented specifically for her, so that she could fuse music and story in every way she can imagine.

The onstage experience of Deborah brings one of the oldest traditions – the story-telling harper – into the unique cross-genre musical trajectory of the 21st century. She’s performed throughout the U.S. and Europe – and on PBS stations across the U.S. in her public television special “Invention & Alchemy.”

She’s collaborated onstage with scientists, journalists and actors in her cross-discipline exploration series “Inviting Invention.” She’s committed to exploring new ways to fuse music and story as a solo artist, and to reinventing the electric harp as the foremost crossover instrument of the 21st century.

If You Go: Deborah Henson-Conant, Sunday, January 15 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets $25. The Altamont, 18 Church Street in Asheville. Phone (828) 348-5327 or visit www.myaltamont.com for details.