Please find attached information about a very generous donation of $22,000 which Brother Wolf recently received from Mike and Andrea Heninger, two generous adopters who have decided to purchase new commercial washers and dryers to replace our current used machines.

The Heningers are challenging the community to raise an additional $4,000 to fund a make-over of the laundry and grooming room to give the animals and the people who care for them a cleaner, friendlier, and more efficient space. A photo of the current room is also attached.

Please let me know if you have any questions and are willing to share this ‘makeover challenge!’ Our supporters have given approximately $1,000 so far.

Asheville takes the stage again this summer in the seventh annual nationally renowned comedy festival: Laugh Your Asheville Off. The five-day multi-venue festival spotlights over 40 of the nation’s funniest up-and-coming and established comics. Major TV network casting agents, talent bookers, and comedy club owners come to discover stand-up comedy’s next crop of rising talent. “Our goal is to showcase world class comedians to Asheville in a non-competitive format,” said Charlie Gerencer, festival producer and production company executive. …

Ticket specials and announcement will be made on the festival website here.

About Laugh Your Asheville Off:

The largest non-competitive comedy festival in the southeast, LYAO was founded by stand-up comedian Greg Brown and executive producer Charlie Gerencer. The festival hosts comics, industry professionals, and talent producers during a multi-day, multi-venue event in Asheville, North Carolina. Previous talent have gone on to appear on network sitcoms, half-hour Comedy Central specials, and late night flagship shows like The Late Show with David Letterman, Conan, and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

2013 Laugh Your Asheville Off Comedy Festival Schedule:

Tuesday 8/13 BWAR benefit at The Altamont Theatre 8pm-$10

Wednesday 8/14 Kick off show w/ Landry at 8pm-$12

Thursday 8/15 Super VIP Lazoom Comedy Bus (includes: entertainment, transportation, a beer and admission to The Highland Brewery show)- 7 pm $20

Thursday 8/15 Highland Brewing Company show w/Jen Kober – 8 pm $10

Friday 8/16 LYAO Famous Showcase at DW theatre w/ Hampton Yount 8pm-$18

Friday 8/16 LYAO Live at the Altamont theater 10:30pm w/ Mick Thomas showcase-$10

Saturday 8/17 Ryan Singer’s “Flick My Clip” comedic shorts at the The Altamont Theatre 5 pm, $5

Saturday 8/17 LYAO Famous Showcases at DW theatre w/ Erin Jackson 8pm $18 each

Tickets are on sale here.

Asheville Savings Bank has made it easier to manage your finances and get the information you need from any smartphone. The same Asheville Savings Bank products and services found on your desktop can now easily be found from your mobile device.

The new Asheville Savings Bank mobile website interface has been significantly upgraded to display beautifully on more advanced smartphones, regardless of screen size. The mobile site provides information on key services such as:

* LifeStyle Checking and Savings Accounts

* Personal Lending

* Mortgage

* Home Equity Line of Credit

* BusinessStyle Checking and Savings Accounts

* Business Lending

You can find an Asheville Savings Bank expert on your mobile device, online, by phone or stop by a banking center. For more information visit www.AshevilleSavingsBank.com.

Transformus X will be held at Deerfields near Horse Shoe NC from July 19th to July 22. All tickets are officially sold out. Some tickets will become available before the event when people find they can’t go. The “Transformus Tickets and Rideshares” Facebook group is a good place to look for tickets that may become available.

Transformus encourages its participants to support other regional burns and events this year, whether or not you will be able to attend Transformus. This is a time of transition for the burner community throughout the world and we appreciate your continued support.

The event, like any “burn,” is about “radical self expression” in a welcoming, participatory sort of way.

Transformus on FB.

Image link for Transformus.

Line-up:

David Earle and the Plowshares
Andrew Scotchie and the River Rats
Chris Rodrigues
Shorty Cant Eat Books
Pick Your Switch

Oyster House Brewing officially opened Tuesday on Haywood Road in West Asheville. Oyster House has been around for awhile, but it was formerly located inside the Lobster Trap restaurant downtown. Now Billy Klingel is out on his own. The space is beautiful, and folks were stacked two deep last night trying to get to the bar to sample his delicious brews.

Burial Beer Co. had its grand opening party this past Saturday down on the South Slope. They’re newcomers located at 40 Collier Ave. Try them out – they, too, are making some delicious brews.

And the beat goes on for Beer City USA.

From the guys that bring you the Ugly Christmas Sweater Party:

Myrtle Beach ’93, July 6 at Broadway’s on Lexington Ave.

Let’s get nuts.

Hot 80′s and early 90′s jams spun by DJ’s Kipper and Dr. Awesome all night.

Photo Booth by Sarah Nix

Dress in your fliest 90′s, Myrtle Beach, Spring Break, Proto Grunge, Post Wave, Redneck, or Biker attire.

WINE COOLERS WILL BE ON SPECIAL!

David Byrne

Bryne also reported what he described as a scary confrontation between a bicyclist and a motorist:

Carter (Trumpet and Flugelhorn) was at the same music store, and after leaving he witnessed a local cyclist get into an altercation with a driver. One of them (the driver or the cyclist) had cut off the other. The angry cyclist pulled around to the driver’s window to exchange words, only to throw his hands up and quickly back away when confronted by a gun.

It sounded like this cyclist has a little bit of a short fuse, which might need to be addressed, but it also shows the ease with which a gun comes into play in many parts of this country. Easy to see how a random stupid confrontation or bit of road rage could quickly escalate into someone’s death. Scary.

Byrne writes about it all on his blog. Check it.

Thanks to loyal reader White Lightnin‘ for the heads-up.

Image link for David Byrne and St. Vincent.

The Bull & Beggar, from the guys who brought us The Admiral, are set to open in the next thirty days or so. They’re located in a new space on the dock side of the Wedge Studios building in the River Arts District.

And The Local Taco says on FB that it’s ready to open on Lexington Avenue in the former Boca space:

We’re opening Monday, June 24th at 11am! Hope to see you there!

Asheville’s food scene just continues to explode. Enjoy.

Last year, a private equity firm bought an 80 percent stake in Earth Fare. From supermarketnews.com:

Oak Hill Capital Partners said it has acquired an 80% ownership stake in Earth Fare in a move it said would prepare the 25-store natural food chain for “its next phase of growth.”
Oak Hill, a New York-based private equity firm, is buying the share from Monitor Clipper Partners, the Cambridge, Mass.-based firm that had owned Earth Fare since 2006. Monitor Clipper, along with Earth Fare’s current management team led by Jack Murphy, its chief executive officer, will retain a minority ownership. The transaction values the company at $300 million.

It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see to Earth Fare change hands again. This is what private equity firms do, just as we saw last week with the sale of the Grove Park Inn.

Earth Fare started in 1975 as Dinner for the Earth, and its healthy foods would be in line with Whole Foods corporate philosophy. Whole Foods is already planning to build its first store in Asheville, down along Tunnel Road. Earth Fare has locations on the west and south sides of town. With Publix scouting Asheville locations, and Trader Joe’s on the way, could Whole Foods be looking to solidify its place in the Asheville market?

So, just throwing this out there. Anyone have any deets either way?

Image link for Whole Foods.

The Coloradoan

Some Colorado companies are banking that customers and investors are willing to pay for a clean conscience.

Until now, directors of corporations in the state have had a legal duty to mind the bottom line with tunnel vision. For the first time, do-gooders in the business world can look beyond the profit margin to commit resources to social causes by forming public benefit corporations that balance their priorities between profit and social principles.

Fort Collins-based New Belgium Brewing Co. stands at the front of a line of businesses that plan to incorporate under the new law. …

New Belgium plans to cover both of those categories when it adopts new bylaws next year to establish a public benefit corporation.

“It’s basically that we will consider the impact of our decisions on our co-workers, on the community, on the environment and our supply-chain and retail partners,” said Jenn Vervier, director of strategy and sustainability at New Belgium.

After months of fine-tuning its bottling and labeling equipment, Hi-Wire Brewing’s beers are just about ready for distribution in 12-oz. six-packs! With our beers available on tap throughout Western North Carolina and select locations throughout the state, Hi-Wire is extremely excited to finalize its beer roll-out.

Starting on Wednesday, June 26th, look for Hi-Wire’s beer in 12-oz six-packs at the following local, independent retail outlets:

 Appalachian Vintner

 Asheville Wine Market

 Bruisin’ Ales

 French Broad Food Co-op

 Hops & Vines

 Weinhaus

 West Village Market

Beginning on Friday, June 28th, Hi-Wire’s six-packs will also be available at a host of other retail outlets as well as in area bars and restaurants.

To celebrate, we’re partnering on a big Bottle Release Party with The Southern Kitchen and Bar on Lexington in Downtown Asheville! Come enjoy a Hi-Wire bottle on Saturday, June 29th from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Upcoming Events

Hi-Wire’s upcoming events are always posted on its website: hiwirebrewing.com. The next few include:

 Wed., 6.19.13 Welcome Hi-Wire to Hendersonville! @ the Poe House in Hendersonville

 Thur., 6.27.13 Casked Pale Ale/Food Pairing Night @ the Jack of the Wood in Asheville

 Sat., 6.29.13 Bottle Release Party @ The Southern Kitchen and Bar in Asheville

Hi-Wire on FB.