Mountain Xpress

Mountain Xpress is an alternative news publication that focuses on delivering stories related to news, arts, local politics, and events in Asheville and the broader western North Carolina region. It is released every Wednesday in both print and digital formats, boasting a print circulation of approximately 29,000 copies. Mountain Xpress is proud to be one of the 130 member newspapers affiliated with the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies.

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Buncombe commissioners take funding questions from education community

1 week ago | mountainx.com | Greg Parlier

With a week to go before a consequential vote on Buncombe County’s fiscal year 2025-26 budget, a majority of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners was seeing red — and green — May 27 at A-B Tech’s Ferguson Auditorium.
Report: 86% small WNC farms damaged by Helene

1 week ago | mountainx.com | Brooke Randle

The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP), a nonprofit agricultural support organization, reported May 7 that 86% of its certified farms reported physical damage during Tropical Storm Helene, although for most, the damage was 25% or less. Through surveys, phone calls and farmer-to-farmer meetings, ASAP researchers focused on a group of nearly 900 small-scale, family-owned farms growing food for local market outlets.
Smart Bets: More Disgruntled Fumes

1 week ago | mountainx.com | Edwin Arnaudin

With nearly 50 years of acting experience, Athens, Ga.-based writer/performer Stephanie Astalos-Jones has carved out a niche for herself with the one-woman show Disgruntled Fumes. “I once went to a poetry open mic, and the hilarity I found in the sincerity of bad writing, the poignancy of good writing and the mix of unusual characters made me want to create this show,” Astalos-Jones says.
Smart Bets: Didanisisgi Gadagwatli

1 week ago | mountainx.com | Edwin Arnaudin

Over the course of an intensive three-month workshop, Tara McCoy (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) instructed her Mud Dauber Community Workshop students in the art of Cherokee ceramics. On Thursday, May 29, the group’s creations will be debuted in the exhibition Didanisisgi Gadagwatli (ᏗᏓᏂᏏᏍᎩ ᎦᏓᏆᏟ) at the Museum of the Cherokee People (MotCP) and kept on display through May 2026.
UNCA students publish alternative zine in response to the current political climate

1 week ago | mountainx.com | Jessica Wakeman

The pamphlets are the size of an open hand, brightly colored and eye-catching. But whether The Red Banner, an eight-page zine published by the Student Vanguard for Liberation at UNC Asheville, will catch readers’ attention remains to be seen. “UNCA says it’s an institution of shared governance, and that just isn’t true,” Amity Martino, a junior and the general secretary of the Vanguard, tells Xpress.
Looking for Home: Foster youths face uncertain futures in WNC

1 week ago | mountainx.com | Edwin Arnaudin |Kay West |Morgan Sykes

Western North Carolina’s foster care system struggles with a shortage of foster families, overwhelmed courts and limited resources for aging-out youths. Additionally, high turnover at the Department of Social Services worsens the problem, making the region one of the hardest in the state for foster kids to find stability.
Oscar Wong, founder of Highland Brewing Co., dies at 84

1 week ago | mountainx.com | Thomas Calder

“Oscar was a brilliant engineer-turned-entrepreneur who always embodied generosity, humility, and above all else, connection,” the post reads. “Oscar had a gift for making people feel seen and valued and often Oscar reminded us that success is not just about achievement but about giving back.”Last year, Xpress covered the brewery’s 30-year anniversary. Below is a fun exchange captured in the article between Wong and his daughter, Leah Wong Ashburn, Highland’s president and CEO.
Smart Bets: Mendelssohn Mania

1 week ago | mountainx.com | Edwin Arnaudin

While actor Ben Mendelsohn dominates the small screen in the Disney+ series “Andor,” Asheville-based chamber music organization AmiciMusic celebrates composer siblings Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel and Felix Mendelssohn with a series local performances. Appropriately titled “Mendelssohn Mania,” the concerts run Friday-Sunday, May 30-June 1, and features local pianist Daniel Weiser alongside a pair of Baltimore-based musicians, violinist Andréa Picard Boecker and cellist Alicia Ward.
What’s new in food: A wave of restaurant openings, reopenings and closings

1 week ago | mountainx.com | Gina Smith

New restaurants are rolling out and several are reopening after closures after Tropical Storm Helene. Meanwhile, longtime downtown vegetarian restaurant Laughing Seed and two other local spots are shuttering. Also, local forager Alan Muskat has found a culinary use for this summer’s cicada brood, and two Asheville tailgate markets have relocated. Click the story below to view the full-size version.
NuWray Hotel restaurant launch marks end of restoration project

1 week ago | mountainx.com | Kay West

Everything old is new again at the NuWray Hotel. Built in 1833 on the Burnsville town square, North Carolina’s oldest continuously operating hotel celebrates the official opening of its first-floor main restaurant on Saturday, May 31. The launch marks the completion of renovations begun in October 2021 when Amanda and James Keith purchased the property.