HOLIDAY THEATRE AT ACT, FLAT ROCK & NC STAGE • GIFT GUIDE December 2006 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 10, No. 4 Vol. 10, No. 4 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — December 2006 Rapid River® ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE Volume Ten, Number Four Established in 1997 Distributed at 300 plus locations throughout eight counties in WNC and South Carolina DECEMBER Publisher/Editor: Dennis Ray www.rapidrivermagazine.com Associate Publisher: Byron Belzak Managing Editor: Beth Gossett Inside Art Director: Dennis Ray 5 Cover Marketing: Dennis Ray, Byron Belzak Asheville Area Arts Center . 5 Staff Photographer: Dennis Ray Accounting: Sharon Cole 6 Performing Arts Blue Ridge Orchestra . 6 Book Editor: Beth Gossett Asheville Choral Society . 1 Distribution: Dennis Ray Asheville Lyric Opera . 19 Poetry Editor: Jeff Davis 6 Theatre The Santaland Diaries . 6 CONTRIBUTING WRITers It’s a Wonderful Life . 1 Dr. DeWayne Butcher, Best Christmas Pageant Ever . 17 Byron Belzak, James Cassara, Michael Clark, Jeff Davis, Amy Downs, 7 Columns Beth Gossett, Mountians of Art . 7 Dr. Max Hammonds, MD., Bill Quam . 8 Phil Hawkins, Marcianne Miller, Bill Walz . 8 Michael F. Parker, Dennis Ray, Mike Stewart, Patrice Tappeé, 10 Music Bill Walz Steep Canyon Rangers . 10 Dave Rawlings . 11 INFO Shawn Mullins . 1 CD Reviews . 1 Rapid River Art Magazine is a Aaron Price . free monthly publication. Address correspondence to: 16 Books [email protected] or write 18 Poetry to" Rapid River Arts & Culture Magazine, 20 Feature Story 85 N. Main St.., Canton, NC 28716. Dine Phone: (828) 646-0071. 22 Wine Guide . www.rapidrivermagazine.com Honest Food Reviews. All materials contained herein are owned and copyrighted by Rapid River Art Magazine 24 Holiday Gift Guide and the individual contributors unless oth- erwise stated. Opinions expressed in this 27 Health magazine do not necessarily correspond with the opinions of Rapid River Art Magazine or the advertisers found herein. 28 What to Do Guide © Rapid River Magazine, December 2006. Corgi Tales . 1 Mediabear, a local Asheville firm, Movie Reviews provides original and local writing 32 services to Rapid River Magazine. 35 Gallery Updates Cover design by Dennis Ray 36 The Greener Home December 2006 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 10, No. 4 RAPID RIVER ARTS Silver Fox Gallery COVER Standing: Councilman Brownie Newman, Councilman Bryan Freeborn, Councilwoman Robin Cape, Councilman Carl Mumpower. Seated: Vice-Mayor Holly Jones, Mayor Terry Bellamy, Councilman Jan Davis 2006 Holiday Gift Collection City plans new Area Center American Craft … from $10 for the Performing Arts BY LLEN UCKER Silver Fox Gallery A T 508 North Main Street, Hendersonville 828-698-0601 silverfoxonline.com players, and variables involved. But, it OPEN 7 DAYS/WEEK . FRIDAY TO 8 PM s there ever going to be an may be possible to sort through much Asheville Area Center for the of this information and come up with a Performing Arts?" few critical questions, maybe even sug- Though this has been a gestions. topic of discussion off and on First, let’s not assume everyone for about 30 years, the current knows all about PACs. round"I of efforts goes back to late 2002. What is a PAC? Most of us are Now, four years later, there are those familiar with Lincoln Center for the who are optimistic that significant prog- Performing Arts in New York and the ress has been made and that we’re at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts threshold of a significant breakthrough in Washington, D.C. If so, forget about in making this a reality. There are oth- them. In two significant ways, it’s not ers who insist that, though we know a really what we’re talking about. Lincoln lot more about performing arts centers and Kennedy centers are huge com- (PACs) that we did four years ago, we’re plexes with multiple, specialized venues not one step closer to having one. within them: a large concert hall, an Where, exactly, are we now? How opera house, a recital hall, two or three did we get here? Do we move forward? theaters of varying size, etc. When a city If so, how? To date, hundreds if not the size of Asheville builds a PAC it is thousands of pages have been generated primarily one, multi-purpose venue that on this topic. One fairly brief article can’t is designed to accommodate symphonic begin to thoroughly review the history, ‘Center’ continued on pg. 26 Vol. 10, No. 4 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — December 2006 5 RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE HOLIDAY A free down home Christmas concert at the Folk Art Center BY NEIL HARRIS artist, and arts and crafts from local and regional conductor. artisans. The Folk Art Center is located on he Blue Ridge Orchestra will The orchestra the Blue Ridge Parkway, easily accessible offer its annual holiday concert is composed from I-40 or Tunnel Rd. For directions, on Sunday, Dec. 17, at 3pm at of western visit www.southernhighlandguild.org. the Folk Art Center. North Carolina For more information on the Blue Ridge The concert is being musicians ranging Orchestra and Voices in the Laurel, visit T presented as a musical gift to from talented www.blueridgeorchestra.org and the community; it is free and open to the high school www.voicesinthelaurel.org. public. players to veteran The program will include medleys professional of familiar holiday classics, including The Blue Ridge Orchestra musicians. The excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker group presents Suite and Handel’s Messiah. The orchestra and are trained in singing techniques and five concerts each If you go: will be joined by Voices in the Laurel, a reading music. They perform challenging year in Asheville, including masterworks choral group featuring talented children repertoire in different languages, dialects, programs, a holiday concert, a family WHAT: Blue Ridge Orchestra's and teenagers from the western North and styles, including music from a variety concert, and presentations of Peter and Annual Holiday Concert Carolina area. of musical eras. The Blue Ridge Orchestra the Wolf in conjunction with the Asheville WHEN: Sunday, Dec. 17 Voices in the Laurel, now in its 11th is delighted to be partnering with this Ballet. WHERE: Folk Art Center season, is comprised of three performing talented group of young people. This holiday concert is free and 382 Blue Ridge Parkway groups for children ranging from the third The Blue Ridge Orchestra is under open to the public. Come early to do through the 12 grades. Members hail from the direction of Ronald Clearfield, an some Christmas shopping at the Folk Art Asheville all over the western North Carolina region Asheville area cellist, composer, recording Center, home to a diverse array of unique 'Santaland Diaries' returns again to ACT BY NEIL HARRIS Groundlings, Second atre underneath Asheville “This American Life” and has published City, and comedy Community Theatre. With several volumes of hilarious essays, nota- icon Del Close. Josh the move to the larger bly “Naked,” “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” sheville Community Theatre Batenhorst makes his venue of the Mainstage last and his most recent “Dress Your Family in announces the fifth remount of ACT directorial debut, year, ticket sales were just as Corduroy and Denim.” their smash hit The Santaland though he recently staggering. When Sedaris read the essay version of Diaries by David Sedaris, adapt- directed Birth as a “Last year, we weren’t “The Santaland Diaries” during an install- ed for the stage by Joe Mantello. part of the NC Stage sure how the show would ment of “This American Life,” it gener- A Tom Chalmers will once Company’s Catalyst translate to a much, much ated one of the largest and most enthusi- again don the pointed shoes of Crumpet Series. Chalmers and larger space, but it was a astic responses from the listening audience the Elf for Asheville’s newest holiday Batenhorst first col- huge success. We went that NPR had ever experienced. A dark tradition. The Santaland Diaries will be laborated in Hometown from 700 to 1200 audi- comedy, The Santaland Diaries follows a directed by Josh Batenhorst, who joins the Security, a short film ence members,” explains Macy’s department store elf throughout Santaland team for his ACT directorial which was awarded Program Director Jenny the duration of the Christmas season. Full debut. Best Film in the 2005 Bunn. “Tom Chalmers of dry insights, Sedaris comments on the Described as “one terrific talent” by Asheville 48 Hour Film Tom Chalmers brings a fresh energy and best and the worst of people and culture Jim Cavener of the Asheville Citizen- Project. sense of fun to this piece. He during the holiday season. Times, Chalmers is the former Artistic The Santaland Diaries sold out has taken the show in a different direction Reservations are strongly recom- Director of NYC’s Gotham City Improv/ nearly every seat when it was performed and made this piece his own.” mended for this production. Groundlings East and has studied with the in 35below, the intimate black box the- David Sedaris rose to fame on NPR’s This show contains graphic language and is not recommended for children. The Santaland Diaries is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc. If you go: WHAT: 'The Santaland Diaries' WHEN: Dec. 14-16, Thursday- Saturday, 8pm; additional late-night performance Saturday night at 10pm WHERE: Asheville Community Theatre, 35 E. Walnut St., Asheville TICKETS: $10 all performances. INFO: (828) 254-1320 6 December 2006 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 10, No. 4 RAPID RIVER ARTS MOUNTAINS OF ART Is there a national hunger to create? BY BYRON BELZAK There may be answers. A local artist here’s something going on across who always has something interesting to America.