Pop Art gala coming Saturday

ASHEVILLE – Pop Art, the annual Benefit Gala for the Asheville Art Museum will be 6 p.m. June 21 at Morris Hellenic Cultural Center, 227 Cumberland Ave.

The evening will include a live auction, food, drink and more. Attire is “spectacular.” Tickets are $150. To learn more, call 253-3227 or visit www.ashevilleart.org.

Solstice Soiree to benefit ASAP

CANTON – Sunburst Trout Farms will host Sunburst’s second Summer Solstice Soiree to benefit the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project from 5:30-10 p.m. June 21 at its headquarters, 128 Raceway Place in Pisgah National Forest.

The soiree will also be the first chance for the public to try the Rainbow Trout Burger, the latest product from Sunburst Trout Farms.

The theme for the evening will be “The Convenience of Local Food,” and the culinary staff of Sunburst, led by research and development chef Charles Hudson, will prepare the food. Harry’s On the Hill will provide carpool service to and from Asheville.

Tickets are $100, or a 10-person table for $850. VIsit www.asapconnections.org or call 236-1282.

Pardee to raffle African safari

HENDERSONVILLE – The Pardee Hospital Foundation gala June 21 at Blue Ridge Community College may be sold out, but the opportunity to participate in a raffle for an all-inclusive African safari for two is open to everyone.

Just 225 tickets will be sold for $100 each, and ticket buyers do need to attend the gala to win.

The winner will be notified by email and phone June 22.

Proceeds will go to the Pardee Hospital Foundation, including funds for Pay it Forward, an African food project near Kruger National Park.

The trip includes airfare from New York or Washington, four nights in Cape Town, three nights at the plush Thornybush safari camp and many meals. Learn more at www.pardeehospital.org/foundation/events.

Ten Thousand Villages celebrates expanded store

ASHEVILLE – Ten Thousand Villages is celebrating the grand re-opening of its newly expanded store at 10 College St. with an event beginning at 10 a.m. June 28. The shop has doubled its square footage. The grand re-opening will include craft demonstrations, food and drink samples, live music, door prizes and more.

Ten Thousand Villages in Asheville opened part-time in 1990 with an all-volunteer staff; it is now a living-wage certified business with a small number of paid staffers and more than 45 volunteers.

Ten Thousand Villages is a nonprofit, fair trade retailer with more than 70 stores in North America. All products are fairly traded, a system that offers artisans a fair, living wage for their work. To learn more about the Asheville store, call 254-8374 or visit its Facebook page.

Magic show benefit scheduled

ASHEVILLE – The next monthly benefit show known as Magic, Mirth Meaning will be 6:30 p.m. June 28 at St. Mary’s Church, 337 Charlotte St. Additional shows are planned for July 26, Aug. 23 and Sept. 20.

Each family-friendly, 90-minute show includes magicians, storytellers, musicians and theatrical entertainers, all helping to raise money for local nonprofit The Vanishing Wheelchair. The group seeks to create monthly dinners and art workshops for people with disabilities, as well as a universally accessible hands-on children’s museum of arts, crafts and sciences.

The show is free, but the suggested donation is $10, or $5 for children. RSVP at VanishingWheelchair.org or contact 645-2941, shimeldt@vanishingwheelchair.org or Magic Central, 175 Weaverville Highway, Suite L, Asheville, NC 28804.

Magician Ricky Boone and T.J. Shimeld, co-author of Boone’s biography, “The Four-Foot Giant and the Vanishing Wheelchair,” will be available to sign books after the shows.

Run to support Shindig

ASHEVILLE – The third annual Run For Shindig on the Green 5K Race Fun Walk/Run begins at 8:30 a.m. June 28 in Carrier Park.

The 5K is $25 until June 26, $30 on race day. It’s $10 for the Fun Walk/Run. Register online at www.active.com. Same-day registration is 7:30-8:15 a.m.

To learn more, visit www.folkheritage.org or call 258-6101, ext. 345.

Duck Race to benefit Kreative Kids

BREVARD – A Duck Race will launch at 5 p.m. July 4 to raise money for Kreative Kids, a program of the Transylvania Community Arts Council. The race will be at Brevard College near the gymnasium on Kings Creek.

Ducks are $5 each, six for $25 or $100 for 25. Buy ducks at the TC Arts Council, 349 S. Caldwell St., or by contacting 884-2787 or tcarts@comporium.net, or download a form at www.duckraceforkids.org.

Prizes include gift baskets, gift cards and up to $250 in cash.

Funds raised will provide scholarships to art and pottery camps and more Arts In Schools programming in Transylvania County schools. Duck sponsors do not need to be present to win.

Kiwanis Firecracker provides scholarships

WEAVERVILLE – The Kiwanis Club of North Buncombe is accepting registrations for its 21st annual Firecracker 5K race, beginning at 8 a.m. July 4 in downtown Weaverville. The race provides scholarships for North Buncombe High School students planning to attend a college or technical school.

The race will begin and end at PNC Bank on Weaver Boulevard. Register online at www.active.com. Entry fee is $25 until June 20 and $30 thereafter. Awards will be presented to top overall male and female finishers and the top three males and females in each of seven age groups. E

ach participant who pre-registers will receive a T-shirt. To learn more, contact 645-4656 or Kiwanisfirecracker@yahoo.com.

Coats for Kids gearing up for winter

CULLOWHEE – The sixth annual Coats for Kids of Jackson County is gearing up for another year of helping local families. This year, along with warm clothing, the local mission project will offer food-only Ingles Gift Certificates to families who attend the event.

Cash donations are accepted through Sept. 30 at Cullowhee United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 1267, Cullowhee, NC, 28723-1267. Please note “Coats for Kids” on the memo line. Warm clothing donations will be collected at a later date.

Schools foundation welcomes Boone

ASHEVILLE – Celebrated football coach Herman Boone, subject of the movie, “Remember the Titans,” will be keynote speaker at Buncombe County School Foundation’s 30th anniversary luncheon on Sept. 16.

In 1971, racial tensions ran high at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia, as three schools merged to form a newly integrated one. Out of this experience the story of “Remember the Titans” and its undefeated football team emerged.

Registration is open for the luncheon, at the Asheville Renaissance Hotel, which will celebrate the teachers, students, volunteers and donors who have helped and benefited from the foundation’s 30 years of support of Buncombe County Schools.

Admission is $35, and sponsorships are still available. To register or learn more, visit www.bcsf.net or the foundation’s Facebook page or call 232-4190.

Hearts With Hands Mustang drawing

ASHEVILLE – Sponsor Asheville Ford is supporting the nonprofit Hearts With Hands’ Feed the Children program with a raffle for a 2014 Ford Mustang. Tickets are $100 and only 1,500 will be sold.

Taxes on the car will be paid by Hearts With Hands. Purchase tickets online at heartswithhands.org or call 667-1912 or toll free 855-435-7494. Or mail a check to P.O. Box 6444, Asheville, NC 28816. Maximum of seven tickets per person.

To have your event listed, send info and a contact phone number two weeks in advance to Features Editor Bruce Steele at bsteele@citizen-times.com. Send info as text only; no fliers. Call 232-5848.