The Bascom in Highlands, NC, Offers Collective Spirits Fundraiser – May 16 – 18, 2013

More than 500 lucky oenophiles will be wined and dined on May 16–18 at The Bascom’s annual Collective Spirits fundraiser in Highlands, NC. The festivities kick off on Thursday evening with exclusive benefactor-only dinners featuring renowned chefs and notable wines. Chefs include Susan Spicer of New Orleans’ Bayona restaurant, Elliott Moss of The Admiral in Asheville, NC, James Beard award winner, Sean Brock of Husk in Charleston, SC, Reagan Browell of The Willcox Inn in Aiken, SC, Patrick Owens of Charleston’s Opal and Chris Hall of Local Three in Atlanta, GA. These dinners are even more sought after due to their locations in some of Highlands’ and Cashiers’ finest private homes.

Friday begins with two educational tasting seminars in the classrooms at The Bascom. Friday evening will include a VIP Wine Tasting of rare and collectible restaurant-only wine-list wines, followed by the Stock Your Cellar Wine Market and Tasting on the Terrace at The Bascom. The Market will spotlight dozens of award-winning vintners, who will offer tastings and hard-to-find wines for sale by the discounted case. A seated dinner on Saturday at Highlands Country Club will culminate in a live auction conducted by wine specialist Greg Quiroga of Reynolds-Buckley in California. In May 2010, Quiroga built up a six-figure seed fund for The Bascom’s mountain plateau outreach and educational programs benefiting underserved children and families. There is never a charge for gallery exhibitions at The Bascom, which is open year round, seven days a week. More than 40,000 people, including residents of the Highlands-Cashiers plateau, area children youth and adults, and visitors to the community are served each year. Expect even more results from the proceeds, which will continue to enrich the life of the region’s residents through The Bascom’s high-quality educational programs, many at no cost to the community.

Saturday’s live auction items are a fabulous mix of glamorous trips to luxury destinations, exclusive gourmet dinners, private wine tastings hosted by the vintners themselves and carefully curated wine collections. The Bascom announces its Collective Spirits 2013 vintners, with special Guest of Honor winemaker Rick Sayre of the Rodney Strong Winery. Additional notables include Axel Schug, owner of Schug Carneros Estate; winemaker Robbie Meyer of L’Angevin and Pierson-Meyer; Sales Director Kathy Berez of Failla Wines; Robin Lail, owner of Lail Vineyards; National Sales Manager Doug Cohen of Solena Estate; John Anthony Truchard of John Anthony Vineyards; East Coast Sales Sarah Noble of Loosen Brothers Wines; Gabrielle Leonhard, The Gabrielle Collection; Natali Meetze of Falcor Wines; Steve Pignatello, importer of French wines; Bob Singer of Caymus Vineyards; winemaker Joe Davis of Arcadian Winery; Tuck Beckstoffer of Beckstoffer Wines and Chris Bratcher of Bratcher Wines.

Please mark your calendar for the Collective Spirits events as below:

Thursday, May 16 – Private Wine Dinners (Benefactors only*) – 6pm
Friday, May 17 – Educational Tasting Seminars  – 1-3pm
Friday, May 17 – Stock Your Cellar Wine Market and Tasting ($100 per person) – 6pm
Saturday, May 18 – Gala Dinner and Auction ($275 per person) – 6pm

*Benefactor packages start at $2,500.

For additional information regarding events and participating chefs and vintners, please visit (www.collectivespirits.com). For ticketing information, call the ticket office at 828/787-2896.

For other Collective Spirits inquiries, contact Claire Cameron, Events Manager, at 828/787-2882 or e-mail to (ccameron@thebascom.org).

For more information, or for more details on all Bascom activities, visit (www.TheBascom.org) or call 828/526-4949.

The Bascom in Highlands, NC, Offers Tis the Season for “Giving Trees”

For the second year, The Bascom in Highlands, NC, is hosting its fellow non-profit organizations in the Giving Trees event. It’s a wonderful and convenient way to give back to the community by supporting these multiple groups in one place. There will be donation boxes and information about the non-profit by each tree.

Each participating non-profit will display a decorated holiday tree from Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012, through Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013. Live potted trees will be located outside the center; artificial trees will be assembled inside The Bascom. The groups may partner with florists, decorators, architects or other creative types to embellish their trees. You may see a tree boasting cheery decorations made by children from a class at The Bascom, or an all-natural tree that celebrates the beauty of the mountains with woodsy ornaments. Endless possibilities will offer fabulous ideas for your own holiday decorating.

Non-profit groups who are participating include REACH of Macon, Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival, The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center, Performing Arts Center, Gilliam’s Promise, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Highlands, Cashiers Valley Preschool, Community Care Clinic of Highlands and the Literacy Council of Highlands.

Join The Bascom at its third annual Egg Nog-Off on Saturday, Nov. 17 from 9am to 5pm to kick off this festive event. The reception and Giving Trees are free and open to all. It’s the perfect way to begin the holiday season!

A dynamic regional arts center set in a breathtaking natural setting, The Bascom serves audiences of all ages in western North Carolina and beyond with celebrated exhibitions, top-notch programs, and approximately 400 classes and workshops scheduled in 2012. With free admission year-round, The Bascom is a nonprofit visual arts center and a welcoming community-gathering place.

Visit (www.TheBascom.org) for more information and up-to-date schedules of events.

The Bascom in Highlands, NC, Benefits from Bel Canto Recital

Making beautiful music for local arts organizations for the past 20 years, the annual Bel Canto recital held in September has announced that it has awarded The Bascom in Highlands, NC, a gift of $15,000 from its latest proceeds. This support will go into a fund established to purchase outdoor sculpture for The Bascom’s breathtaking six-acre campus in Highlands.

Founded by Richard Joel in 1992, the Bel Canto Recital features some of the top opera singers, musical theater and chamber music in the country. Its Steering Committee, headed by Stell Huie, supports the visual arts and music education through its primary beneficiaries—The Bascom, the Highlands School music program and Highlands Community Child Development Center’s music education.

“The stunning surprises of nature that first attracted artists, craftsmen, homesteaders and vacationers to the Highlands-Cashiers plateau 200 years ago continue to delight and inspire,” says Jane Jerry, executive director of The Bascom. “It is no wonder the leaders of The Bascom chose the Crane horse property to expand the region’s art center. One of the works of art we are considering is a piece with an equine theme, which is particularly appropriate for The Bascom given its location at the original Crane Horse Barn. The Bascom is deeply grateful for Bel Canto’s ongoing support of our organization. We have hosted more than 100,000 visitors since opening our new campus in 2009.”

A dynamic regional arts center set in a breathtaking natural setting, The Bascom serves audiences of all ages in western North Carolina and beyond with celebrated exhibitions, top-notch programs, and approximately 400 classes and workshops scheduled in 2012. With free admission year-round, The Bascom is a nonprofit visual arts center and a welcoming community-gathering place.

Visit (www.TheBascom.org) for more information and up-to-date schedules of events.

 

 

 

The Bascom in Highlands, NC, Announces, 2012 Mountains in Bloom Garden Festival Flower Show Awards!

The 2012 Mountains in Bloom Garden Festival Juried Flower Show featured a breath-taking display of dazzling beauty and color with award-winning floral, horticultural and photography entries.

Flower arrangement entries were showcased throughout The Bascom’s early 1800s hand-hewn post and beam barn. The show also featured a horticulture exhibit in the Dave Drake Studio Barn as well as a nature photography exhibit in the education gallery.

The flower arrangement division awarded blue ribbons in the following classes:
Interpretaion – Cecile McCaull of the Grass Roots Garden Club

“V” is for Vase – Susan Collins, who also received a “Best in Show’

Fired and Flowered – Prissy Wilson of the Montrose Garden Club

Mass Class – Tom Roddy

Twenty entries from Bascom students were featured in the Who’s Wearing Flowers Class and the Celebrity Challenge featured several of the Flower Show judges. Their arrangements were displayed in the garden tour homes on Friday and Saturday. A Professional Class comprised of entries from five local floral experts received an overall judges commendation for their amazing waterfall interpretations.

This year’s Horticulture Division included over 150 entries in 9 classes. Forty-two blue ribbons, thirty red ribbons, eighteen yellow ribbons and twenty-nine honorable mentions were awarded. Best in Class designations included Judy Allison of the Laurel Garden Club for her Native Cut Thimbleweed as well as her Trough which also received the award for the most outstanding display of a native plant or cut specimen in the Horticulture Division, The Balentine Award.

Other Best in Class awards went to Dollie Swanson of Highlands for her Non-Native Cut Fragrant Yellow Lily; Judy Logan’s Pink Phalaeonopsis Orchid in the Container Class; Betty Harrison for her Old Friend Class Shortia Trough; John Bills’, of Highlands, Succulent; and Nina Burke for her Par Collection entry.

The photography division, which is still on display in The Bascom’s Education Gallery, presented it’s Best in Show ribbon to Larry Street for “Age of Lilies”. A blue ribbon went to Rob Travis’ “Dutchman’s Breeches” in the Focus on Flora Class and Jack Martin was awarded a blue ribbon for “Green Light” in the Scenic Settings Class.

Balentine is the lead sponsor for the 2012 Mountains in Bloom Garden Festival. Additional support is provided by Delta Air Lines, Old Edwards Inn and Spa, The Outdoor Lights, the “Laurel Magazine”, Franklin Ford and Moss Robertson Cadillac.

The Bascom is open year-round – Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday, 12 noon to 5 pm. Enjoy workshops, exhibitions, special events and quality programs throughout the year at The Bascom.

For more information, to register for Bascom workshop offerings or for more details on all Bascom activities, visit (www.TheBascom.org) or call 828/526-4949.

 

 

 

The Bascom in Highlands, NC, Welcomes Three Seagrove, NC, Potters to Demonstrate Their Skills – Aug. 18, 2012

Enjoy simultaneous pottery making, story swapping and audience and artists interaction with renowned Seagrove, NC potters, Ben Owen, Fred Johnston and Will McCanless, Aug. 18, 2012, from 10am-3pm, at The Bascom in Highlands, NC.

Ben Owens at work

Ben Owen has made pottery since he was 13 years old at the site where his grandfather and father established the Old Plank Road Pottery in the Seagrove area of Piedmont, North Carolina in 1959. He produces work in the shapes, glazes and traditions of his grandfather.

Work by Fred Johnston

Fred Johnston learned to make pots in the Seagrove area in the 1980s. Working odd jobs around different potteries, Johnston worked for Mark Hewitt, Ben Owen and Dover Pottery. His origins in clay are rooted in the southern folk pottery traditions of North Carolina.

Work by Will McCanless

Will McCanless, a second-generation Seagrove potter, established McCanless Pottery in October of 2006. He produces work infused with his own individual and ever evolving style. This work includes zinc silicate crystalline glaze, hand decorated stoneware and Seagrove red glaze.

An event not to be missed! Throw times are from 10am to noon and from 1 to 3pm. This event is free and open to the public.

The Bascom is open year-round – Monday through Saturday, 10am to 5pm and Sunday, noon to 5pm. Enjoy workshops, exhibitions, special events and quality programs throughout the year at The Bascom.

For more information, to register for Bascom workshop offerings or for more details on all Bascom activities, visit (www.TheBascom.org) or call 828/526-4949.

The Bascom in Highland, NC, Offers Lecture on Harvey Littleton and the Studio Glass Movement by Joan Falconer Byrd – July 7, 2012, 2012

The Bascom in Highland, NC, will offer a lecture on Harvey Littleton and the Studio Glass Movement by Joan Falconer Byrd, on Saturday, July 7, 2012, from 3 – 4pm.

The Bascom celebrates the 50th anniversary of the studio glass movement in America and its founding father Harvey K. Littleton with Joan Byrd. A member of Littleton’s first glassblowing class at the University of Wisconsin in 1962, Byrd now teaches ceramics at the College of Fine and Performing Arts, Western Carolina University, in Cullowhee, NC. Join The Bascom for a presentation and book signing.

The Bascom, A Center for the Visual Arts is located at 323 Franklin Road in Highlands, NC.

For further information call the center at 828/526-4949, ext. 121 or visit (www.TheBascom.org).

Last Call for Flower Show Entries for The Bascom’s 2012 Mountain in Bloom Garden Festival in Highlands, NC

Don’t miss your last chance to enter the 2012 Mountains in Bloom Garden Festival Flower Show at The Bascom in Highlands, NC. Entries are being accepted for the flower arrangement, photography and horticulture divisions.

On Friday and Saturday, July 13th – 14th, 2012, from 10am-5 pm, at The Bascom campus, don’t miss the free-admission, juried Flower Show with nationally recognized judges. The magnificent juried flower arrangement and photography entries will be showcased throughout the art center’s early 1800s hand hewned post and beam barn.

The Her Impressions exhibition’s White Fox by Jeanie Gallup Mottet (pictured) will be the focal point of the Flower Arrangement division’s Interpretation class at this year’s Mountains in Bloom Flower Show.

The Flower Arrangement division includes six classes: Interpretation of Jeanie Gallup Mottet’s White Fox; In the Biedermeier Style; “V” is for Vase; Fired and Flowered; Mass Blass; Waterfalls of the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau (professional class); Who’s Wearing Flowers (youth); and the Celebrity Challenge. Photography classes include “Focus on Flora” and “Scenic Settings”.

The show will also feature juried horticulture entries in the Dave Drake Studio Barn. Horticulture division entry cards will be available at The Bascom prior to the show. Balentine, the lead sponsor for Mountains in Bloom, will present the award in the Horticulture Division for most outstanding display of a native plant, single or collection, that is indigenous to the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau.

To submit an entry in the flower arrangement or the photography division, please visit (www.TheBascom.org/mountainsinbloom) and visit the flower show registration page or stop by The Bascom and pick up a form.

The 14th annual Mountains in Bloom Garden Festival is a multi-day garden festival (July 13-15, 2012). For more information, visit (www.TheBascom.org/mountainsinbloom) or call 828/787-2896.

Balentine is the lead sponsor for the 2012 Mountains in Bloom Garden Festival. Additional support is provided by Delta Air Lines, Old Edwards Inn and Spa, The Outdoor Lights, the Laurel Magazine, Franklin Ford and Moss Robertson Cadillac.

The Bascom is open year-round – Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday, 12 noon to 5 pm. Enjoy workshops, exhibitions, special events and quality programs throughout the year at The Bascom.

For more information, to register for Bascom workshop offerings or for more details on all Bascom activities, visit (www.TheBascom.org) or call 828/526-4949.

You are invited to The Bascom’s 2012 Mountains in Bloom Garden Festival in Highlands, NC – July 13-15, 2012

A breath-taking display of dazzling beauty and color awaits you at The Bascom’s 2012 Mountains in Bloom Garden Festival, July 13-15, 2012, in Highlands. NC.

During the Festival, eight fabulous gardens in the Ravenel area will be featured on the 14th annual garden tour. Garden hosts are: Nina and Bill Bugg; Virginia and Mike Campbell; Marion and George Mayer, Diane and Ray McPhail; Libby and Gene Pearce; Connie and Bill Rea, Wyn and Bill Shoptaw; and Peggy Woodruff.

Garden Tour participants will also enjoy a gourmet box lunch served on the Terrace at The Bascom between 11:30am-2:30pm. Tickets for the garden tours are $80 per person. Group discounts are available.

At The Bascom campus, on Friday and Saturday, July 13 – 14, from 9am-5pm, don’t miss the free-admission juried Flower Show with nationally recognized judges. Flower arrangement entries will be showcased throughout the art center’s early 1800s hand-hewn post and beam barn. The show will also feature horticulture entries in the Dave Drake Studio Barn as well as a nature photography entries in the education gallery.

For the second consecutive year, Balentine is the lead sponsor for Mountains in Bloom. Balentine CEO Robert Balentine will present the Balentine Award in the Horticulture Division for most outstanding display of a native plant, single or collection, that is indigenous to the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau.

And there’s more. Mountains in Bloom benefactors will have a private tour of the “Southern Highlands Reserve” at Lake Toxaway by invitation of Betty and Robert Balentine, on Sunday, July 15, from 1-3pm tour. The Southern Highlands Reserve is a private native plant garden and research center dedicated to the preservation, cultivation and display of plants native to the Southern Appalachian Highlands.

Benefactors are also invited to the premier event for Mountains in Bloom, the “Flower Drum Song” Benefactor Party on Sunday, July 15. Enjoy an unforgettable evening in an atmosphere of elegance and romance. Stroll through the magical and enchanting, lushly landscaped gardens at The Farm at Old Edwards Inn. The sound of beautiful music by Jim Gibson of Hickory Cove Music will drift through the setting. A seated candlelight dinner with exquisite cuisine prepared by New Mountain Events will follow.

Members of the Board of Directors of The Bascom and the Mountains in Bloom Committee (pictured from left to right – Dick Boger, Harriet Boger, Marcia Weber, Lana Jordan and Robert Balentine) gathered at the home of Betty and Robert Balentine to celebrate Balentine’s commitment as lead sponsor for the 2012 Mountains in Bloom Garden Festival.

Balentine, an independent, employee-owned investment management firm with offices in Atlanta and North Carolina, is the lead sponsor for Mountains in Bloom. Other Mountains in Bloom partners include Old Edwards Inn and Spa, The Outdoor Lights, Franklin Ford and Moss Robertson Cadillac. Delta Air Lines is the official airline of The Bascom.

For more information and ticketing on the 2012 Mountains in Bloom Garden Festival, please contact The Bascom at 828/787-2896 or visit (www.TheBascom.org/mountainsinbloom).

The 14th annual Mountains in Bloom is a multi-day garden festival (July 13-15, 2012) in the mountain resort community of Highlands, NC. More than 1,200 people attended last year’s event. Mountains in Bloom features a tour of magnificent mountain gardens, a juried flower show, a Benefactor Tour of the “Southern Highlands Reserve” in Lake Toxaway and the “Flower Drum Song” Benefactor Party. Proceeds benefit The Bascom, a nonprofit visual arts center.

Mountains in Bloom is presented by and benefits The Bascom, a nonprofit center for the visual arts in the Western North Carolina resort community of Highlands. The Bascom occupies a state-of-the-art six-building, six-acre campus with over 30,000 square feet of exhibition, studio and instructional space for adults and children – including a fully equipped pottery studio and firing barn – where artists and non-artists can enjoy world-class cultural experiences and in-depth workshops with leading practitioners. Through the support of over 25,000 participants (students of all ages, members, friends and visitors), as well as over 1,100 capital campaign donors, The Bascom thrives as an outstanding destination and resource for Highlands, Cashiers and the surrounding region. The Bascom is open Monday-Saturday from 10am-5pm and Sundays from noon-5pm.

For more details on all Bascom activities, visit (www.TheBascom.org) or call 828/526-4949.

The Bascom in Highlands, NC, Offers a Day Full of Fun Activities on June 9, 2012

Saturday, June 9, 2012, is full of fun and activities at The Bascom in Highlands, NC, starting with Family Fun Day from 10am to 1pm. For children of all ages, parents and grand-parents, this free event includes a Bascom-wide scavenger hunt, self-guided birding activities and a performance from local youth band, Heed the Warning. Bring a picnic and a blanket and enjoy lunch on the grounds. For more information, please contact Helen Gentry, membership coordinator at 828/787-2898 or e-mail to (hgentry@thebascom.org).

You can also celebrate World Wide Knit Day with The Bascom Community Knitters from 10am – 1pm.

At 4pm, Dr. Lloyd Newberry presents The Early Birders – Antique Nature Prints and Decoys. Dr. Newberry, an art collector and active conservationist living in Cashiers, NC, and Townsend, GA, will present a short history on the lives of the early bird artists including J. J. Audubon, Alexander Wilson and Mark Catesby as well as discuss his collection of antique bird decoys that are included in “Chicks! It’s All Gone to the Birds” and lead a tour of the exhibition to highlight examples.

Work by Alex Matisse

While at The Bascom visit our other world-class exhibitions including “Alex Matisse: Ometto” (through October 21); “Tim Curtis Suspended” (through August 26); “Green Art” (through July 8); and “From Mud to Art, Highlands High School Ceramics” (through July 8). These exhibitions showcase the quality and excellence of exhibits and programs at The Bascom.

The Bascom is open year-round – Monday through Saturday, 10am to 5pm and Sunday, noon to 5pm. Enjoy workshops, exhibitions, special events and quality programs throughout the year at The Bascom.

For more information, to register for Bascom workshop offerings or for more details on all Bascom activities, visit (www.TheBascom.org) or call 828/526-4949.