Around Town: Cauley to perform No Crystal Stair; Ranky Tanky coming to Tryon

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Henderson County's own Crystal Cauley will present No Crystal Stair, Evolutionary Struggle of the Black Woman, a performing arts event, on May 15 at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville.
Henderson County's own Crystal Cauley will present No Crystal Stair, Evolutionary Struggle of the Black Woman, a performing arts event, on May 15 at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville.

Here are things happening around town in the next few weeks.

Cauley's No Crystal Stair, Evolutionary Struggle of the Black Woman

No Crystal Stair, Evolutionary Struggle of the Black Woman, a performing arts event, will be presented by Crystal Cauley at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, May 15 at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville located at 2021 Kanuga Rd.

Inspired by the famous Langston Hughes poem, Mother to Son, the program will feature spoken word poetry, singing and interpretive dance. The event also pays tribute to the Black women in America who have endured hardships since the Transatlantic Slave Trade which involved the transportation by slave traders of various enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade existed from the 16th to the 19th centuries.

A native of Henderson County, Cauley is a community and cultural event planner and creative writer. She was recently nominated for the Athena Leadership Award of Henderson County.

In 2019, Cauley created the Black History Collective of Henderson County, NC. This business venture’s mission is to preserve local African American history with art, exhibits, dance and spoken word poetry. All are welcome to attend this free program, which will have a sign language interpreter. Additional information is available at uufhnc.org.

Encore presentation of moonshine history film coming soon

As a result of the enthusiastic response to last year's world premieres, the Center for Cultural Presentation recently announced that there will be an encore presentation of its new moonshine history film at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 28, as a virtual event.

The program will include a discussion and Q&A by the director and a local moonshiner. The film, The Spirits Still Move Them, by award-winning director David Weintraub is one of the first to document the true history of Southern Appalachian moonshining history, leaving the myths and fabrications in the dust while telling a story about moonshine history.

Tickets can be purchased in advance on the Center for Cultural Preservation's website SaveCulture.org. Advance registrants also get a special DVD offer which provides them with a substantial discount on the DVD price, a $10 value.

Grammy-winning group Ranky Tanky coming to Tryon Fine Arts Center

The Grammy-award winning group Ranky Tanky will be performing at the Tryon Arts Center on May 8.
The Grammy-award winning group Ranky Tanky will be performing at the Tryon Arts Center on May 8.

The Grammy-award winning group Ranky Tanky, the headlining quintet out of Charleston, South Carolina, will be performing at the Tryon Fine Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 8.

The group is spreading Gullah music around the world, according to a press release.

“Ranky Tanky brought down the house in 2017,” the Executive Director of the Arts Center Marianne Carruth said. "And I believe they will do it again this year. Tryon is a sophisticated community, the kind of people who appreciate and enjoy quality music and entertainment. And although we might appreciate the cultural significance of Ranky Tanky, I strongly suspect we’ll see people dancing in the aisles again. When Ranky Tanky cranks up, you just can’t help yourself: You just feel moved... moved by the rhythms, moved by the lyrics, moved by their energy, moved to have a good time.”

Tickets are available for $35 and $40 via the Center’s website: www.tryonarts.org/events. Call 828-859-8322 with questions. The Box Office is open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. The concert is sponsored by Around Tryon Properties Real Estate, Parsec Financial and North Carolina Arts Council.

Bullington Gardens spring plant sale begins April 28

Bullington Gardens, a horticultural education center and public botanical garden, will hold its annual spring plant sale from April 28 through April 30, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Friends of Bullington Garden will receive a 10% discount and an exclusive early-bird shopping day. To become a Friend, visit bullingtongardens.org/support-bullington/membership/.

Kick off your gardening season with Bullington’s selection of annuals, vegetables, herbs, perennials, shrubs and trees. For a listing of available plants, visit bullingtongardens.org/2022-spring-plant-sale/.

Bullington Gardens is located at 95 Upper Red Oak Trail in Hendersonville. For more information, call Bullington Gardens at 828-698-6104 or visit bullingtongardens.org.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Around Town: Cauley to perform No Crystal Stair; Ranky Tanky coming to Tryon