Come Together and Create

UNC Asheville presents a two-day showcase and celebration of local performing artists on Friday and Saturday, January 20 and 21. These performances, part of the university’s Martin Luther King Jr. Week, will take place in the Carol Belk Theatre on the campus of UNC Asheville.

The performances will include spoken word and poetry, African dance and
percussion, hip-hop dance, theater, and traditional and contemporary
gospel singing. In addition to providing an exciting two nights of
entertainment, the event aims to strengthen campus connections with the
broader Asheville community and also provide a platform for further
civic engagement through the East Riverway Sustainable Communities
Initiative.

On Friday, January 20, performances will begin at 6:30 p.m., featuring
UNC Asheville’s Percussion Ensemble, La’Ney West African Dance Ensemble,
DeWayne Barton aka BLove, Jonathan Santos, and Greg Lynch aka Alpha
Lee. At 8 p.m., the Urban Arts Institute will present an original play,
I Hope You Dance. These performances are free and open to the public.

Saturday, January 21 will bring “Asheville’s Sunday Best,” the second
round of a gospel singing competition. The performances, which begin at
6:30 p.m., will benefit A Bridge to Independence, Inc., a nonprofit
organization dedicated to helping homeless youth. Tickets are $6 in
advance, available at Venus Beauty Salon, 891D Patton Ave. in West
Asheville, and $8 at the door.

Sponsors of “Come Together and Create” include a number of UNC
Asheville offices and academic programs, including Arts and Ideas,
Africana Studies, Drama, and the Key Center for Community Citizenship
and Service Learning.

For more information, contact Lise Kloeppel, UNC Asheville assistant
professor of Drama, at (828) 251-6940 or [email protected].