Hello Go Local Loyalists,

Happy Summer y’all!  While I could take the humidity being about 30% lower, there are so many great things about Asheville in the summer.  Hiking, bustling outdoor venues, beautiful blooms, early morning walks, long days, and summer evenings on the porch are some of my favorites. But my favorite thing? Fresh fruits, vegetables, and handmade products that come from our local farmers’ markets. The farmer’s market scene in Asheville is amazing.  One of the big reasons we have such a robust local food and farm community right in our city is ASAP, one of Go Local’s cherished partners.

ASAP – Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project

When I was first introduced to Go Local, I was thrilled to learn that ASAP was one of our partners.  With a tagline of Local Food. Strong Farms. Healthy Communities., well of course they’d be a great partner! I’m sure many of you know about ASAP, but I thought I’d share some “factoids” from their 2021 annual report to give you an idea of the impact they have in Asheville and the surrounding areas.

• 854 farms, 371 partners, and 104 farmers markets participated in the Appalachian Grown program.
• 130 farms, 35 buyers, and 33 farmers markets were provided with training and technical assistance through workshops, events, and one-to-one assistance
• 70,000 copies of the Local Food Guide were printed and distributed across the region.

I had a chance to sit down with ASAP’s Executive Director, Molly Nicholie, and we walked through the ASAP Connection on-line directory, which is a user-friendly source for finding all the local farmer’s markets as well as farm tours, roadside stands, u pick locations…the list goes on. You can find the directory here.

Asheville alone has 8 Farmer’s Markets. To find the locations, days and times of operations, you can search in their on-line directory here. ASAP operates Asheville City Market, located at N. Market Street in downtown Asheville on Saturday mornings.  Recently I visited Go Local members Tamana Candle, Hominy Creek Farms and Mother Ocean Market booths at the City Market to say hi and thank them for being part of our community. I also bought candles, microgreens pesto and salmon from them while there!

In Go Local’s business listings, members can be recognized as local food certified through ASAP. Currently, 38 of our business members are certified. If you’d like to support these businesses, they’re recognized in our print guide, on-line directory and app with this icon:

As you can tell, Go Local is a big ASAP and Farmer’s Market fan. I hope each of you have the opportunity to visit one of the many in our area, and be sure and look for our Go Local members!

Welcome to our Newest Go Local Members!

We’re so thankful to all of our beloved business members and want to officially welcome our June 2022 Go Local Members to the Movement. You can find them in our on-line directory or smartphone app. Over 580 businesses and counting!

DJ’s Pickles | Go Local Asheville – 10% off on-line (use code GOLOCAL), tailgate mkts, festivals

Tamana Candle Co. | Go Local Asheville – 10% off farmer’s market & online (code GOLOCALAVL) purchases

Buzz Radio Asheville | Go Local Asheville – Take an additional 10% off Traditional Advertising Packages.

Biz Radio Asheville | Go Local Asheville – An additional 10% off Traditional Advertising Packages.

Comfort and Wellness Massage | Go Local Asheville – $5 off 60 minute treatments, or $10 off 90 minute treatments

Things We’re Excited About

Here are a few things we’re excited to highlight in our newsletter this month.

1). UNCA Leadership Asheville’s Summer Buzz Series – 2nd breakfast on July 27th

I mentioned the first “Creating a Diverse Workforce”  breakfast on June 29th in last month’s newsletter. We had a great turnout and a very robust discussion from the panel on opportunities and ideas for helping fill the gap between staffing supply and demand in Buncombe County. The second breakfast is next week, July 27th and will focus on retaining youth in our community, whether they stay local after high school or college, or leave and come back after college. For this discussion, we’ll actually have 2 panels, one of adults who will share programs that currently exist to retain our young adults, and another panel of young adults on factors influencing their decisions on whether to stay or leave their community.

All Events take place at the Crowne Plaza Asheville. Individual tickets are $25 per event.  Table sponsorships are also available. Click here to learn more and to buy your tickets today! I’d love to see you there!

2). Go Local will participate in Blue Ridge Pride Festival

I’m excited to share that Go Local Asheville will have a booth at the Blue Ridge Pride Festival on September 24th. We proudly support the LGBTQ community and hope to see everyone there. So be sure and mark your calendars for September 24th! If you’d like to learn more about the festival, click here.

3). Art in the Heart – August 1st deadline!
I recently met with Karli Stephenson, an urban planner for the City of Asheville. She shared information about the Art in the Heart project, which is a temporary public art installation where 10 local (meaning having a connection to Buncombe County)  artists’ works will be featured in public spaces. It sounds like an awesome way to showcase the diversity of our local art community. To read more about the program, click here.  For artists who are interested in applying, click here.  Deadline is 5PM on August 1st!

4). Calling local restauranteers – Asheville Wine and Food Experience is looking for you

The Asheville Wine & Food Experience, presented by USA TODAY and to be held October 8th at Salvage Station, is looking to showcase the top culinary talent and restaurants from our local community. Space is limited, so if you’re interested in participating, or have any questions,  contact Jared Bobkin at [email protected] soon!

5). 103.3 FM 2022 Record Fair looking for business sponsors and food donations for this year’s event

We at Go Local love our local Asheville FM station and all the work they do to support local musicians and businesses. So when I saw in my inbox their 3rd annual Record Fair call for business sponsors and food donations, I stopped the presses to make sure I included this request in my newsletter. Not only does your tax-deductible donation support the important community-building work at Asheville FM, but you’ll get tons of exposure to their obsessive local listeners, record-lovers, and tourists who come by the Record Fair. To learn more, click here.

If you have any comments, or would like to suggest a story or event to include in our newsletter or on social media, please email me at [email protected]