Community Briefs

Weaving camp to be held

"Fun with Fiber Summer Day Camp" will be held on Friday, Aug. 15, and Saturday, August 16. A wide variety of weaving experiences will be available to choose from. There will be a morning session and an afternoon session each day. Morning sessions are from 9 a.m. to noon, afternoon sessions from 1 to 4 p.m. Each session is $15 per student, limited to 12 students per session. The camp is led by the Heritage Weavers of the Opportunity House. The camp is for ages 8 through middle school, adults if space is available.

The nature trails and grounds are free and open to the public from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. The farm has picnic tables, a gift shop and resident animals that include two donkeys and their new baby named April, Jacob sheep and chickens.

Guided tours are offered as well. This is an intriguing, personalized viewing of the historic buildings and museum, and a visit with the animals. $5, adults, $3, students and free for preschoolers. Times are 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays.

Arboretum hosts orchestra and exhibit

The Arboretum hosts The Low Tech Ensemble for the third Twilight Tuesday event of the season from 5 to 7 p.m. Light refreshments and several free activities are available throughout the evening, and the Arboretum's beautiful mountain setting, blooming gardens and natural trails are other great reasons to visit.

The Low Tech Ensemble from Western Carolina University will perform a concert of gamelan music in the lobby of the Baker Exhibit Center. A gamelan is an orchestra of tuned percussion instruments originating in Indonesia and coastal Southeast Asia.

Visitors will also enjoy the Arboretum's newest exhibit, "Our Precious Land: Visions and Scenes of North Carolina," featuring oil paintings by internationally recognized artist Luke Allsbrook. A self-guided tour of the Arboretum's outdoor sculpture exhibit "Kaleidoscope" is another highlight of the evening.

The Baker Exhibit Center and Connections Gallery will be open until 7 p.m. for the occasion. The Bonsai Exhibition Garden will be open until 7 p.m. and a bonsai docent will be available to answer questions.

North Carolina Arboretum events and activities are free unless noted; no parking fee on Tuesdays. For more information, call 665-2492 or visit www.ncaboretum.org.

Nicholas Warr of Flat Rock, author of Phase Line Green: The Battle for Hue, 1968, will present a book signing and lecture from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday in the Community Room, Historic Courthouse, Hendersonville. The event is sponsored by the Henderson County Heritage Museum. Tours of the museum will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. The program is free. Books may be purchased in the museum's gift shop.

The book is on the Marine Corps reading list, is assigned reading for every Marine at the rank of staff sergeant and above, has sold more than 35,000 copies and sits on the bookshelves at the Marine Corps Museum at Quantico, other Marine bases and in the gift shop at the Heritage Museum.

For Warr, writing the book began as a catharsis, a way to release emotions and memories buried in the darkest recesses of his mind. As he wrote the story of his experiences in the Battle for Hue, during the Tet Offensive in 1968, a second motivation surfaced, to tell the truth, a truth that contradicts the official history of the battle. And, most importantly to Warr, the lessons learned are studied by today's Marines for use in urban fighting in Iraq.

After Warr presents his lecture and discussion, Pamela Alexander War, a native of Henderson County, will read selected excerpts from the book. The book signing will follow.

For more information,call 694-1619 or visit www.hendersoncountymuseum.org.

- T-N Staff