Marquee Blog

Asheville ZombieWalk Seeks Braaiiinnns
Posted November 2nd, 2008 / by suzanne

Downtown Asheville, N.C., typically quiets down a bit on Sundays, with many shops closed and the streets emptier, but not on this past Sunday, October 26th. Just as dusk was falling, hundreds of folks gathered at Asheville’s Montford Ballfield to take part in a new annual Asheville tradition: the ZombieWalk. Appropriately, death metal bands rocked the park while both young and old enthusiastically dressed up for the act, eventually becoming a shambling army of the undead roaming the downtown streets moaning for “braaaiiiinnnnsss”.

Zombie-tongue-in-cheek humor and creativity was as much in evidence as the mandatory blood and gore, witnessed in the three-legged “zombie dog”, various “zombie babies” and political-minded “zombie voters”. Most participants, however, weren’t out to make a clever statement. They just wanted to have some good old fashioned Halloween-time family fun, playing startlingly realistic reanimated corpses. The 3rd Annual Asheville ZombieWalk, an official part of World Zombie Day, was lifelessly pronounced another success by its founder, Dan Burrello.


Post a Comment »

Back to Top

Beauty and the Beast at Barter
by Phaedra Call-Himwich
Posted September 29th, 2008 / by Emily

This Fall, the lobbies, rehearsal halls and stages of the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Va., will be ringing out in resounding praise of love: magical, fantastical, Disney storybook love. In a world starved of romance, where text messages have replaced love letters and ballrooms host politicians rather than dancers, the Barter Theatre’s production of Beauty and the Beast steps in to remind us that love is in fact still in the air, still the answer and still all you need.
In this simple story with a complex plot, love blossoms for the most unlikely of creatures: a prince once blessed with charm and charisma, now cursed with hideousness and solitude. But by a twist of fate and a stretch of the imagination, the beast abandons his boorish ways in the hopes that he will attract the devotion of the fair beauty Belle. In doing so, he will regain the hope of becoming a prince once again. Simple enough, right? But there’s another tale behind that—a love story of how this fable took on epic and iconic value in American culture.
Enter Disney. Their 1991 movie production of Beauty and the Beast was tag lined: “The most beautiful love story ever told.” Nearly two decades later, the statement holds true, as Beauty and the Beast has become a classic tale of love among both children and adults. It’s the ultimate Disney dream.
And while singing teapots, virtuoso coat racks and romantically inclined candlesticks might seem a little too dreamy, theatre director Evalyn Baron is living proof that the Disney dream can become reality and, as such, she’s the perfect directorial fit for Beauty and the Beast.
After all, once upon a time Baron was just a wide-eyed, impressionable child in front of those Sunday night Disney television programs. Then, as if her fairy godmother had waved her magic wand, Baron found herself a grown woman reciting her marriage vows in the wedding location of her dreams: Disney World. Beauty and the Beast holds a power for her that’s more than skin deep, though. “[My] generation has really been spoon-fed on the Disney vision of how life can be and this particular story of Belle and her Beast feeds the human soul as a story about the transformative power of love,” she says.
The enthusiasm surrounding this production from the director to the actors to the costume and set designers is about as contagious as a heartfelt rendition of “Be My Guest.” Sure, there are plenty of enthusiastic ten year olds who could probably recite Beauty and the Beast word for word, gesture for gesture, song for song. But in talking with everyone involved in this production one gets the sneaking suspicion that these adults will be able to hold their own with the small set of groupies. And it’s a good thing, too, because come opening night there’s likely to be whole rows of them.
While everyone involved in this production sustains a level of reverence for the innocent excitement of the throngs of child-fans, they also find the leverage to offer their own artistic execution of the Disney vision. “The simple part is satisfying the kids and their expectations and paying homage (without copying) to what Disney has done because they’ve done it so beautifully,” says Baron. “The complicated part is taking a story which is, at it’s heart, the only story to tell…that love transforms everything.”
So how do you tell the “only story to tell?” “It’s a complex process [to take something] that is so iconic already and [to make] it stage-worthy, [to turn] it into something that is not just three dimensional but eight dimensional. And of course we do that with stage lighting, costuming, set decoration, choreography, and live music,” says Baron.
But the orchestration of all that is all just icing on the big theatrical (and since we’re talking Disney) most likely singing and dancing cake. The real heart of the production is the moral of the story. It’s a moral that Hannah Ingram, who headlines as Belle in her third starring role on the Barter stage, thinks is worth telling and retelling.
“Everyone can always use a reminder of true love,” says Ingram. And while the term “reminder” may be an understatement for the rush of magic and emotion that will take place on the Barter stage this Fall, we’ll all be happy to be reminded–and even happier to be their guests.

Barter Theatre’s production of Beauty and the Beast opens Sept. 19 and runs through Nov. 15. For more details or ticket information, contact Barter’s box office at (276) 628-3991 or visit them online at bartertheatre.com.


Post a Comment »

Back to Top

Fundraising Events Aid RiverSculpture Festival
Posted September 19th, 2008 / by Emily

          When sinuous dancers, rollicking bands, and laughing children all combine in a riverfront park teeming with exquisite sculpture, you end up with a cultural event that packs a powerful, profound punch. For three years now, Arlene Winkler and her husband, sculptor Robert Winkler, have teamed up to foster a larger-than-life love of sculptural culture through their brainchild, the annual RiverSculpture Festival. It’s a popular, free outdoor art exhibition held this year from September 27 through January 5, 2009, at Reynolds Village in Woodfin, N.C. (just north of the Asheville, N.C., city line).

          Initially launched to great fanfare in 2006 in Asheville’s French Broad River Park, RiverSculpture has found its firmest feet and widest artist draw yet. The new Reynolds Village venue combines the best of all worlds to showcase the select RiverSculpture talent. During the Festival’s run, on-site music, dance and theatre performances will play off the abstract backdrop of the sculptures in the brand new 24-acre riverside park. Ongoing children’s programs (art or interpretive dance workshops and storytelling shows) and work-in-progress conceptual pieces like the “green” bamboo structure going up will ensure an ever-changing liveliness to the Festival.

          RiverSculpture enjoys the sponsorship of the Asheville Area Arts Council, Reynolds Mountain, the Town of Woodfin, and the YMI Cultural Center, as well as generous corporate and private contributions but still depends heavily on the individual grassroots community support to survive. If you missed the fabulous September 18 benefit reception at Blue Spiral 1 gallery, don’t fret: there are still tickets available to a posh private benefit reading by a former Poet Laureate on September 24. There’s also a fundraiser book signing at the Asheville Barnes & Noble on September 25.

          Every dime of individual financial support is incredibly helpful; having the whole community pull together and financially support the event and the artists is absolutely critical to its success, says Arlene. For more details and to purchase tickets to the September 24th event, contact Arlene Winkler at (828) 225-3766.


Post a Comment »

Back to Top

Sweet Southern Smoothies
Posted July 2nd, 2008 / by suzanne

Boiling car interiors, sweltering yard work, clothing you don’t so much wear as apply with a damp sponge … another sticky summer is here. We in the Mountain South have several ways to take the edge off the heat, though—our marvelous water; soft drinks like Dr. Enuf; and that traditional Southern beverage, sweet tea. But something new has taken hold here: the tasty, ice-cold, guilt-free smoothie. Never too sweet or tangy, smoothies are life-affirming elixirs with evocative names like Passion Paradise, Celestial Cherry High and Tropical Replenisher. They can be whipped up fresh at home, or conveniently found at such retailers devoted to the frosty drink like Smoothie King and Kèva Juice, as well as most ice cream or yogurt stores.

And it’s all GOOD—deliciously refreshing and downright stimulating. Forget coffee or those canned energy drinks; smoothies offer vitamins, carbs, dietary fiber and antioxidants in the mix. Resembling a cross between a slushy and a milkshake, most smoothies are non-dairy concoctions which derive their wonderful flavor and consistency from a creative blend of fruit, grains and natural flavors like peanut butter, honey and green tea. Low in saturated fat, averaging around 300 calories a cup, you can’t deny the appeal, or the flavor. How could something this good for you taste … this good?

Following development of the groundbreaking Waring blender around 1939, companion cookbooks for this new kitchen appliance listed recipes for fruit drinks as “smoothees.” According to Wikipedia, the frozen drink took on a West Coast connotation sometime in 1967 when a juice bar in Laguna Beach, Calif., started selling them “to beachgoers and hippies strolling by …”

Then, New Orleans, late ’60s. Nothing is hotter than the Big Easy in August. Perhaps out of desperation, a lactose intolerant, allergy-ridden former soda jerk named Stephen Kuhnau developed a line of healthy non-dairy frozen drinks. Apparently coining the term “Smoothie” on his own, Kuhnau officially licensed the name in 1973 and founded Smoothie King, starting a revolution in refreshment. Today Smoothie King is the second largest smoothie franchise in the United States, with about 11 stores in the Appalachian region alone.

Focused almost exclusively on nutrition, “Smoothie King … has a smoothie for every function you’re looking for,” says Chris McKinney, owner of the Johnson City, Tenn., location. “Weight loss, weight gain, energy, immunity build-up. We have a smoothie designed for people going through chemotherapy called the ‘Hulk.’ It helps you bulk up and is a great meal replacement, and that’s really where smoothies are taking off.”

Rather than hit the usual fast food junket, busy consumers like Larry Dison have become sold on smoothie luncheons. “My kids once wanted smoothies after I picked them up at high school, and I said no. But I finally tried one and said ‘man, this would be great for lunch,’” Dison admits. “Now I drink one about three times a week.”

Kèva Juice, another area smoothie hotspot, angles more for atmosphere. Besides the usual list of drinks you can customize with energizers or “blend-ins,” Kèva Juice stores have tribal graphics, and some locations have bins full of board games for customers to play. Kèva also specializes in wheatgrass juice—literally, sod from San Diego put through a special juicer. The resultant murky green drink smells like freshly mowed grass and tastes like … well, freshly mowed grass. “For most people it’s an acquired taste,” says Anthony Rainbolt, the helpful Kèva clerk. A bit like tangy cauliflower and not totally unpleasant, it’s estimated that one ounce of wheatgrass has the same nutritional value of two and half pounds of garden vegetables.

Nutritious boosts aside, smoothies can be terribly comforting in the midst of the Mountain South summer heat. In fact, right now I’m noshing on this nice cold smoothie with an energizer designed to relieve anxiety and tension. Just one more sip and—aarrgh, brain freeze! That’s really the only caveat as you have your own smoothie adventure.

The writer/producer of “Bidding Wars” and “Mothers Car Show Competition” for ESPN2, Robert Bravender enjoyed his first smoothie while on a location shoot.


1 Comment »

Back to Top

The Man Behind the Music: Josh Kear
by Emily Sikora Katt
Posted May 10th, 2008 / by suzanne

You know a good song when you hear one. It’ll perk up your ears, get your spine loosened up, may even bring up some goosebumps. For Sulphur Springs, Tenn., native songwriter Josh Kear, though, a good song is a bit more complicated.

It’s his bread and butter. And going from nothing to hit recording is his specialty.

Kear has been working in Nashville since 1996, doing what he loves best—putting together a great song. His recording industry minor from Middle Tennessee State University and proximity to the Music City USA helped propel him from graduation to a position with Big Yellow Dog Music. He’s had his songs recorded by the likes of Jimmy Buffett (“‘Bama Breeze”), Hank Jr. (“How They Do It In Dixie”), Kenny Rogers, Garth Brooks, and Tim McGraw. “I don’t usually write for anyone in particular, though,” says Kear. “The idea is to find the best idea you can and write it as well as you can.”While Kear, 33, nabbed a Grammy this past February for Best Country Song (“Before He Cheats”), he’s been in love with music for far longer, cranking out songs even as a youngster. According to his father, Gary Kear, Josh made a pretty accurate—and ambitious—prediction as a 13-year-old: “I’ll have my first Grammy by the time I’m 30.”

So, give or take a couple years, young Kear had it right; that doesn’t mean, however, that he’s slowing down or letting it go to his head. “Personally, it’s very rewarding as a justification for a lot of hard work getting there…it’s nice to ring the bell, “ says Kear of his new Grammy. “Now the trick is ringing it again.” The ultimate goal, he says, is to be able to write songs for a living as long as he feels like doing it. “That means always recreating yourself,” Kear states. “Not getting caught up in past successes.”

He credits his wife, country singer Carly Goodwin, and the grounded approach to life his parents instilled in him as helping him continue to thrive in his career. His father, Gary Kear, confirms that success “has not changed him one bit.”

Kear’s parents still live in Sulphur Springs and look on Josh’s career with pride. “He knew what he wanted to do, set his sights on songwriting,” Gary Kear recalls. “We told him, ‘Go for it!’ And music has been very, very good to him.”


2 Comments »

Back to Top

Marquee Mountain South Blog Takes A Gold For Designers
Posted May 7th, 2008 / by Emily

The one-year anniversary of the unveiling of Marquee Mountain South’s redesigned website and blog is just around the corner, but in the meantime, the blog has nabbed a Horizon Interactive award for its designers, n•tara, Inc. of Johnson City, Tenn. The Horizon Interactive awards, a prestigious “best-of-the-best” international prize considered the “Oscars” of the web design and interactive media world, announced Friday the winners of its 7th annual competition.
Along with their long reputation of excellence in the region, n•tara gained further distinction internationally with their gold Best of Blog award as well as winning the 2008 Best In Show award for their work on the Xerox Global Services XGS Tour application. To find out more about their award-winning design, visit: horizoninteractiveawards.com/index.htm or the n•tara website at ntara.com.


1 Comment »

Back to Top

Red, White and Oooh!
Posted April 9th, 2008 / by suzanne

April 10 – 13
Blue Ridge Wine Festival
Blowing Rock, N.C.
(877) 295-7965
blueridgewinefestival.com

Try a Blush in the full flush of spring, mellow out with a warm Cabernet Sauvignon, sweeten your buds with a smooth Reisling or simmer your senses in a Sparkling Red. Whether you’re a connoisseur or someone who thinks wine only comes in red and white, you’ll enjoy a stirring of the senses at the annual Blue Ridge Wine Festival, held in picturesque Blowing Rock, N.C.

Activities will flow as freely as the wine in Blowing Rock, with festival-goers being treated to four full days of sipping, dancing, dining and demonstrations. Celebrity chef Suzie Blanchard will be on hand before tasting events, offering classes in everything from identifying wine scents and flavors to coupling wine with chocolate and fruit. In a head-to-head battle among local chefs, things will heat up and then go down smooth with musical performances at the Mariam & Robert Hayes Performing Arts Center.

Attendees to the open wine tastings can root for their favorites from over 100 local wines or pick up some sip tips as professional judges—including guest judge Jane Garvey—elect the best of the best in North Carolina regional wines at the Commercial Winery Competition. More than 20 area wineries will be sharing their best this year, including Biltmore Estate Winery, Banner Elk Winery, Childress Vineyards, Hanover Park Vineyard, Chatam Hill Vineyards, Rag Apple Lassie and many more.

After a day of heady education and epicurean competition, wine lovers can then take a leisurely stroll through the participating Blowing Rock art galleries before choosing where to settle in for a decadent five- to seven-course meal—served, of course, with festival wines. Participating restaurants include Ciao Bello, Crippen’s Restaurant, the Laurel Room, The Gamekeeper, Gideon Ridge Inn, Hound Ears Club and Blowing Rock Grille.

This festival promises to awaken all the senses with an abundance of food, wine and live music complementing nearly every event. Just in case the glass is only half empty by the end of the celebration, festivities will conclude with a classic Champagne Brunch.


Post a Comment »

Back to Top

Good Food and the Good Life
Posted February 21st, 2008 / by Emily

Here in the Mountain South, we take our good food seriously. Where other parts of the country might talk mistily about locovores and slow food, we answer casually with a bushel of our neighbor’s tomatoes and a pot of long-simmered greens. Where some places feverishly tout “exotic” and “nouveau” as an endless rat-race, we share dining secrets as friendly gossip—whether it’s a posh wine bar visited with girl pals in the city center or a remote, tiny Thai cookery discovered while on a mountain motorcycle ride.
It should therefore come as no surprise that we here at Marquee Mountain South treasure good food in all its forms, enthusiastically digging up new culinary destinations for our dining guide and whipping up special recipes to spice up a home meal.
Which leads me to what’s really on my mind—the exquisitely fresh-tasting, stunningly colorful cherry salsa I sampled yesterday at the photo shoot for the upcoming Spring issue’s recipe cards. Of course, it’s a welcome treat to watch a master cook and a master photographer work their professional magic, but the real showstopper is always the food itself. The Mediterranean-themed menu features tender lamb (which we are fortunate to locally source either directly from the farmers or via Food City stores) as well as bright flavors of lemon and green herbs, so welcome just now when we are all hungry for a bit of vivid spring. Be sure to look for it in the upcoming issue.
Personally, though, I’m just eager to get my hands on those recipes now that I’ve had a taste because part of the art of food is the wish to share it. All of us here at Marquee Mountain South have got that one down pat.


Post a Comment »

Back to Top

Brazilian Couple to Perform Leads in Giselle
Posted February 20th, 2008 / by Mel

Marquee Mountain South is delighted to support the wonderful Arts found here in our region. It is so interesting to see the international flavor that is taking hold throughout the Arts community.  Bertina Dew over at the Kingsport Ballet asked me to post this.  Here you go Bertina…

Kingsport Ballet’s production of Giselle 2008 will feature the usual slate of accomplished guest artists from the US and abroad, but this year promises an unexpected treat:  Andre Velladon and Carla Amancio are married ballet professionals.  They are both currently principal dancers with Dance Alive! National Ballet in Gainesville, Florida, and this March, they will be tormented in a love triangle on the Eastman stage as they play out the roles of Giselle and Albrecht, March 14th through 16th.Students from area schools have the opportunity to see this favorite ballet classic free of charge during the Friday 10am school performance.  Comprehensive educational workbooks and teachers guides will also be available at no cost.  Teachers may access registration forms through Kingsport Ballet’s website:  www.kingsportballet.org and fax them in for a quick and easy registration process.  School performances are sponsored by Eastman Chemical Company.  

Public performances are slated for 7pm Saturday, March 15th and 3pm Sunday, March 16th.  All seats are reserved.  $20 front and center, $18 adult gen. admission, $16 students and seniors and $15 for groups of 15 or more.  Call box office at Kingsport Ballet:  423/378-3967 or purchase tickets at the Eastman Employee Center Gift Shop.  Major credit cards accepted.Giselle will also feature solos by Kingsport Ballet artist in residence Rostislav Dzabraev, Dance Alive! Principal Stephanie Heston,  seasoned professionals Evgueny Tourdiev and Tak Khuan Chu, as well as performances by company dancers and students from the Kingsport Ballet school.
 


8 Comments »

Back to Top

A Food Extravaganza
Posted February 19th, 2008 / by Mel

Beverly Jenkins with Main Street Catering has sent along some photos from our recent party at Bank of Tennessee.  The food was delicious and I thought I would share the menu with you along with Marquee Mountain South’s highest recommendations for great food and great service. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Thanks for sharing Beverly!

Hors d’oeuvres Menu:
Filet of Beef Arugula & Artichoke Crostini
Bacon Chicken Skewer with Dipping Sauce
Asian Crusted Salmon on Baguette
Seared Ahi Tuna Nicoise Platter
Zucchini Crisps w/Fresh Mozzarella, Oregano & Roasted Tomato
Prosciutto and Kalamata Pizzette’s
Pesto Melted Brie with Crackers
Signature Marinated Garlic Olives
Assorted House Made Sweets and Truffles


1 Comment »

Back to Top

Displaying the latest 10 blog posts

Next Page >