Cherokee County NC Blog

Dwight Otwell, former editor of the Cherokee Sentinel, started working as a staff writer for the Cherokee Scout in December 2007. He will cover, primarily, public safety and county government.

Laura Woodring started writing at the Cherokee Scout in January 2008. She will cover education and city government, primarily.

Christie Rayburn has returned to the Cherokee Scout and will design display advertisements.

They can be reached at the Cherokee Scout via their contact us page or you can call 828-837-5122 or fax 828-837-5832.

A new Modern Woodmen of America Youth Service Club is starting in Marble, North Carolina.

The club will have its first activity at 6:00 pm on Monday, June 18, 2007, at the Marble Community Center.

Children through age 16 are invited to the activity to learn about the benefits of membership.

Anita Chastain of Marble, North Carolina, will head the club, and Steven W. Brown of Knoxville, Tennessee, a local Modern Woodmen representative, will sponsor the club’s monthly activities.

“Since 1942, Modern Woodmen Youth Service Clubs have focused on volunteering, patriotism, education, and fun. Currently 750 clubs across the country serve thousands of children,” Brown said. “As a fraternal life insurer, our core values tie to helping children, their families, and their communities. And that’s why we’re proud to sponsor positive activities for our members.”

For more information about becoming a member of this new Youth Service Club, call Steven W. Brown at 865-688-2090.

Modern Woodmen of America is a fraternal life insurance organization based in Rock Island, Illinois. Modern Woodmen serves more than 750,000 members offering life insurance, annuity and investment products, along with fraternal member benefits for families and their communities.

With the help of Modern Woodmen of America’s Matching Fund Program, members of the fraternal financial services organization helped raise funds for Andrews Elementary School Parent Teachers Association through a spring carnival.

The event, held on April 21, 2007, raised $5,000, including $2,500 matched by Modern Woodmen’s home office.

The funds will be used for “Dream Playground ‘O7.”

Modern Woodmen members from Andrews, NC, are part of a nationwide network of camps or chapters that help their communities through social, educational, and volunteer activities.

“With the matching fund program, we help carry out Modern Woodmen’s mission to improve quality of life for members and their communities,” said Linda May, local Moden Woodmen camp secretary. “And thanks to the hardwork of members nationwide, Modern Woodmen makes donations totalling more than $5 million annually.”

Founded in 1883 as a fraternal benefit society, today Modern Woodmen of America offers financial services and fraternal member benefits to individuals and families throughout the United States of America.

The organization’s Andrews camp provides a number of volunteer services and social activities.

(Clyde NC)

(Baltimore, MD) HandMade in America and Haywood Community College partner with the Arts Business Institute (ABI) to present an art business boot camp March 3-5, 2006 in Clyde, North Carolina. Returning for a fourth consecutive year, Haywood ABI brings fresh faculty and a new perspective this year.

Nancy Markoe will lead the weekend with an inspiring keynote address, sharing her lessons learned as a successful art potter and American craft gallery owner. Says Markoe, “Like most artists, I never intended to own a gallery. I was focused on the day-to-day of making. Now that I have walked a mile in gallery owner shoes, I know things I never knew as an artist traveling the show circuit. I hope to help Haywood attendees open their eyes to a new connection between making great work and passionately selling to collectors.”

Other weekend workshop faculty include glass artist and author, Milon Townsend; web expert, Mark Zelis; American Craft Council exhibitor, Luann Udell; and Carol Summers, planner of the HandMade in America Guidebooks series.

Haywood ABI registration cost of $150 includes morning and afternoon meals, workshop materials, a full notebook of handouts and source material, and discounts for sponsoring supplier programs and services. Limited scholarships are available. Those who register early will be paired with a mentor for a free, one-on-one business counseling session.

Established in 1994, HandMade in America works in partnership with more than 20 local, regional and state organizations to support the creation of traditional and contemporary crafts in the region, to protect natural resources and to promote community development. To learn more about HandMade in America, call 828.252.0121, email bettyhurst@handmadeinamerica.org, or go online to www.handmadeinamerica.org.

Haywood Community College is located on the college campus in Clyde, NC, just a few miles west of Asheville and right at the edge of the Smoky Mountains. It was begun in recognition of the strong heritage of craft in the region. The college wants to create a place where students can learn the basics of their craft media as well as how to transform that craft into a business. To learn more about Haywood Community College, call 828.627.2821 or go online to www.haywood.edu/index.php.

Arts Business Institute (ABI) is an independent non-profit organization serving the educational needs of individual artists through traveling workshops across the U.S. and Canada. To learn more about ABI workshops or to register, call 1.800.224.5106, email alishavincent@comcast.net, or go online to www.artsbusinessinstitute.org.

(Asheville, NC)

(PRWEB) February 1, 2006 - The Asheville art scene is booming. Each year, more galleries and art shows appear. Artists continue to flock to this area, and it’s now has one of the largest concentration of artists in the United States. The top 2006 events to see regional arts and crafts have been named by RomanticAsheville.com, an online guide to Asheville in the Blue Ridge Mountains. For all the details, go to www.romanticasheville.com.

February 17-19, 2006, Arts & Crafts Antique Show and Conference: For the past nineteen years, arts and crafts enthusiasts (including new collectors, veterans, curators, craftsperson, authors, builders, architects, designers, editors, and bungalow owners) have traveled to the famous Grove Park Inn resort for this show.

April 7, June 2, August 4 and October 6, 2006, Center City Art Walk: Dozens of galleries in downtown Asheville stay open late on these Friday evenings to showcase new shows and artists. Stay for dinner at one of the 50+ restaurants downtown.

April 29-30 and November 4-5, 2006, Weaverville Art Safari: The charming village of Weaverville, 10 miles north of Asheville, is the home and workplace of many artists. This self-guided driving tour takes you to artists’ studios, often tucked away in the scenic mountain valleys of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

May 12-14 and October 20-22, 2006, Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF): Celebrate music, discover community, and experience culture in a beautiful lakefront setting near Black Mountain (about 12 miles from Asheville). Enjoy five stages of music, purchase handcrafts and folk art, dance, listen to the Poetry SLAM, attend healing arts workshops and camp onsite.

June 10-11 and November 11-12, 2006, River District Artists Studio Stroll: Tour the studios, meet with the artists and purchase artwork. Within just a few blocks is an eclectic mix of creative artists, ranging from traditional to cutting-edge.

June 10-11 and December 2-3, 2006: Toe River Studio Tour: Tucked in the lush mountains about an hour north of Asheville is an amazing collection of artists and craftsmen and the acclaimed Penland School of Crafts. More than 100 fine artists and crafts people in every medium open their studios for a self-guided cultural adventure.

July 20-23 and October 19-22, 2006: Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands: This show, held in the Civic Center in downtown Asheville, has been an eagerly anticipated event in the mountains since 1948. The fair showcases work by members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, with over 900 members throughout the mountain regions of nine states. Members’ work must be juried and accepted by a committee of peers, based on quality, design and craftsmanship.

July 28-30, 2006, Bele Chere: Hundreds of artists display their creations at the largest free outdoor street festival in the Southeast. The streets in downtown Asheville are filled with 300,000+ visitors enjoying eight stages of music and plenty of food and art. Arts Park features fifty of the region’s premier artists.

August 5-6, 2006, Village Art & Craft Fair: Held on the grounds of the Cathedral of all Souls in Biltmore Village near the entrance to the Biltmore Estate, the fair hosts 125 artists from 20 states representing the full spectrum of craft media, including jewelry, ceramic, wood, fiber, metals, two-dimensional art and more.

For more details on these events and art galleries in the Asheville area, go to www.romanticasheville.com/Art_Guide.htm.