Flat Rock ice cream social June 2

From the Times-News:

Flat Rock Ice Cream Social

The annual Ice Cream Social for the Village of Flat Rock will be from noon until 4 p.m. June 2 on the grounds of the Flat Rock Village Hall and throughout the village.(Rain date is June 3.)

Events include:

• Performances by Letters to Abigail, Applachaian Fire Bluegrass Band, the Bishop Brothers (who grew up in Brevard) and North Henderson High School Jazz Band conducted by Steve Sigmon
• The Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site will host free walking tours of the grounds of Connemara at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
• Cassie and the Clowns of Glory will entertain all with face painting, balloon making and temporary tattoos

The Village Merchants Association will have hot dogs, chips and soda for sale to benefit their Christmas Charity Program.

The Blue Ridge Fire Department is arranging for an appearance from the sheriff's K-9 unit, bomb squad and SWAT team.

Bring your lawn chair and leave your pets at home. Handicapped parking will be available.
For info, call 828-697-0208.

Movie themed concert to benefit HHS band, Flat Rock Cinema

From the Hendersonville Lightning:

The Hendersonville High School Concert, Symphonic and Jazz Bands will present a movie-themed Memorial Day concert to benefit the HHS band program and Flat Rock Cinema's digital conversion project on Monday, May 28, at 4 PM in the HHS auditorium.

The concert will feature music from composer John Williams and from Disney and Pixar films, among many others.

HHS band director Fran Shelton says the Flat Rock Cinema has always been a supporter of local schools and the band programs by offering the cinema for a place to host fundraisers to help pay for their competition trips.

"When the students learned about the situation at the cinema, the kids immediately said 'The Moltons and their staff have always supported us and helped us raise money, so now we should step up and help them.'...

The Moltons' son, Brice, plays trombone in the band and their daughter, Jessica Owenby, played clarinet when the band won the national competition at Carnegie Hall in 2004.

All of the funds raised for this concert were originally designed to go towards items not covered by their loan but the Moltons insisted on giving half of the money back to the HHS band program.

Doors open at 3:30 for pre-concert music. Tickets are $10 and are available at the HHS office, Speranza's Weather House at 100 6th Avenue East in Hendersonville, and at Flat Rock Cinema. Visit www.FlatRockCinema.com for more information.

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Update on the Flat Rock Cinema's digital project

From the Flat Rock Cinema:

Flat Rock Cinema recently secured a loan from Macon Bank with help from the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center....

A special THANK YOU goes out to MACON BANK for financing the digital conversion project and a special THANK YOU goes out to all of the people who made donations to help us raise the down payment!

Blue Ridge Bookfest and Georgia Bonesteel

Highland Lake's very own Georgia Bonesteel will be one of the presenting authors at the Blue Ridge Bookfest on May 19 to be held at Blue Ridge Community College, Flat Rock campus. According to the Bookfest write-up:

A longtime seamstress, Georgia Bonesteel attended Iowa State University and graduated from Northwestern University. A Home Economics and Merchandizing degree enabled her to get a job in the Fashion Department of Marshall Field & Co. after college. Marriage and three children took the Bonesteels to New Orleans where she renewed her love of sewing. She was a guest on a television series, Sewing Is Fun, sponsored by Sears and Roebuck & Co. where she learned valuable television skills. She is the author of a number of notable books on quilting including Easy Does It Quilts, Bright Ideas for Lap Quilting, Lap Quilting Lives, and Georgia Bonesteel's Quiltmaking Legacy.  She also created and hosted Lap Quilting with Georgia Bonesteel, produced with North Carolina Public Television (UNCTV) and has shared her love of quilting on television since 1979.
Saturday 8:45 a.m. Technology Building Room 213

Flat Rock: Gallery rezoning clears hurdle

From the Hendersonville Lightning:

A rezoning request that would extend retail use across Greenville Highway to the historic Andrews house sailed it through a public hearing untouched by opposition, and now heads to the Village Council for final approval on May 17. Applicants Fred and Angie Le Clercq, both retired from the University of Tennessee faculty and now residents of Charleston, S.C., appeared before the council at Bonclarken Monday morning because the Village Hall is currently occupied by one-stop voting.

"I think the interest of historic Flat Rock and the village of Flat Rock go hand in hand, plowing down more or less the same furrow," said Le Clercq (pronounced LeClair), using the same descriptive language he applied to his written request, which drew on the couple's long connection to Flat Rock, their record restoring historic properties in the past, and his service on the Historic Flat Rock board....

The couple, who also have a cottage on Lake Summit, plan to open a gallery in the Andrews house, which is across from Hand in Hand gallery and abuts the Ravenswood neighborhood.

"The name of our gallery is Alkyon, and so that there will be six or seven people in Flat Rock who know what Alkyon means, the Alkyon is a mythological bird, likened to the kingfisher, that nests on the highways at sea and is a symbol of prosperity and success."

The rezoning request won a unanimous recommendation from the Flat Rock Planning Board....

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