Weekly Picks and Group Spotlight | Mountain Xpress

Spotlight on: Get There Asheville

Photo by Esmée Dorf

Whether you know it or not, you’re probably a member of Get There Asheville.

The multimodal transit advocacy group—which formed this year to press municipal candidates to make a smart, sustainable local transportation network a top priority—aims to represent the interests of bus riders, cyclists and pedestrians.

“Even if you don’t slap on spandex for a road ride or take the bus to work, you might bike with your kids on the weekend or take an evening walk,” explains group member Rachel Reeser. “We all stand to benefit from better transit options in our community.”

Get There Asheville’s goal this year is to ensure that every mayoral and City Council candidate thoroughly understands the issues pertaining to local transit, and that every voter knows where the candidates stand on these important issues.

Group member Sandy Tarantino says, “No matter how voters travel to their polling places, we hope they will all consider the importance of multimodal transit to Asheville’s economic and environmental future when they cast their ballots.”

To familiarize voters with candidates’ transportation platforms, Get There Asheville has collected candidate responses to a 10-question survey on local transportation issues. Voters can read the responses online at http://www.getthereasheville.com and in a printed booklet, available free at area bike shops and libraries.

Get There Asheville’s next event is a candidate forum at the Asheville Design Center, 8 College St., on Wednesday, Oct. 14, from 7 to 9 p.m. To submit questions for the candidates, shoot an e-mail to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), or visit the group’s Web site.

Weekly Picks

David G. Moore, Warren Wilson College professor of anthropology and archaeology, will lead a discussion on "Excavations at First Lost Colony: Recent Excavations at the Berry Site," a noted Burke County archeological site, Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 7:30 p.m. at UNCA's Reuter Center. Info: 251-6290.

Join the creative team behind the Freaks of Asheville Calendar as they present the story behind the calendar, which showcases some of Asheville's most eclectic cultural figures, Thursday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. at Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe, 55 Haywood St., Asheville. Info: 254-6734.

Listen to works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry Friday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m. at the first reading of The Juniper Bends Reading Series, featuring writers Lori Horvitz, Antonio Del Toro, Tamiko Ambrose Murray, Shad Marsh, M. Owens and Mesha Maren, at Downtown Books & News, 67 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville. Info: 253-8654.

The 2009 Asheville Holiday Parade, "Our Appalachian Holidays," will be this Saturday, Nov. 21, starting at 11 a.m. in downtown Asheville. The parade will feature Grand Marshals David Holt and Laura Boosinger, colorful floats and a precession of Clydesdale horses. Info: www.ashevilleparade.org.

Stop by the Haywood County Arts Council, 86 N. Main St. in Waynesville, Sunday, Nov. 22, between noon and 5 p.m. for the opening reception of It's a Small, Small Work, an exhibit featuring small works of art by WNC artists at modest prices. Held in conjunction with downtown Waynesville's holiday open house. Info: 452-0593.

Attend the unveiling of mural-sized images of the Milky Way Monday, Nov. 23, at noon at the Health Adventure, located inside Pack Place in downtown Asheville. View the Milky Way as seen by NASA's Hubble Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope and Chandra X-Ray Observatory. Info & admission details: 254-6373.

The WNC AIDS Project will be displaying portions of the AIDS Memorial Quilt Tuesday, Nov. 24, through Wednesday, Dec. 2, at Pack Place Community Gallery, 2 S. Pack Place Square, Asheville. Info: 257-4530.