Here’s something you don’t see every day – free flyt-tying classes. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is offering two fly-tying clinics in January through the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education near Brevard, about 40 minutes south west of Asheville.

Both events are free and require pre-registration on a first-come, first-served basis.

•              Fly-Tying: Level I – Jan. 15, 9 a.m.-noon. For ages 12 to adult. Spend a relaxing morning with experienced fly-tiers who teach the fundamentals of fly-tying. Work at your own pace to tie a basic pattern. Equipment and materials provided.

•              Fly-Tying: Level II – Jan. 17, 9 a.m. – noon. For ages 12 to adult. If you have learned the basics of fly tying and feel ready to take the next step, then come spend a day with experienced fly-tiers who will teach advanced patterns and techniques. Equipment and materials provided.

For more information, call 828-877-4423 or sign up online.

The Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education is located near Brevard, just south of Asheville, alongside the Davidson River in Transylvania County. The center features nature trails and five large aquariums representing different aquatic habitats. Visitors to the center also can walk next door to the Bobby N. Setzer Fish Hatchery, where trout are

Article source: http://blogs2.citizen-times.com/outdoors/2014/01/13/nc-wildlife-commission-offers-free-fly-tying-clinics/ If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

JERUSALEM â?? Tens of thousands of Israelis came to Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, on Sunday to say farewell to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who died Saturday, eight years after he was felled by a massive stroke.

Following a memorial service at the Knesset on Monday morning, which will be attended by foreign dignitaries including U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Sharon will be buried at his beloved ranch in southern Israel, next to his late wife, Lily.

At the Knesset Sunday, dark clouds hovered over the plaza, where Sharon’s coffin, covered with a crisp blue-and-while flag, lay in state. The coffin, below which colorful flowered wreaths sat, was flanked by an honor guard. Flags flew in the cold wind at half staff. Some of the mourners lit memorial candles placed on the ground.

The steady stream of visitors, though respectable, was much smaller than the huge numbers who stood for hours in line after the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. That murder, committed in 1995 by an Orthodox Jew who wanted to stop the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, shocked the nation.

Sharon’s death, in contrast, was due to the stroke, and had been expected for more than a week.

Still, visitors at the Knesset

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Taylor performed as soprano soloist in the Flat Rock Playhouse’s “A Celtic Christmas” in December 2012. Asheville Lyric Opera accompanist Vance Reese will accompany Taylor.

The concert will feature songs that audiences know and love from a wide range of Broadway hit shows, including “Funny Girl,” “The Music Man,” “The Sound of Music,” “Kismet” and many more. There will be a few contemporary favorites mixed in, so audiences will also enjoy some of the best songs from composers Kurt Weill, George Gershwin and Duke Ellington.

An Asheville native now living near Nashville, Taylor has appeared in oratorio, concert, musical theater and opera performances throughout the North and Southeast. She earned a Master of Music degree in vocal performance from The New England Conservatory in Boston, where she studied voice and pedagogy under Mark St. Laurent. Her Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance is from Furman University, where she studied with mezzo-soprano Trudy Hines Fuller.

In the WNC area, in addition to her 2012 Christmas performance with the Flat Rock Playhouse, Taylor has performed several times with the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre and the Asheville Lyric Opera. She was also the headlining soloist in the 2010 Asheville Bravo Concert’s “Arts in the

Article source: http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20140112/ARTICLES/401121004/1042/NEWS?Title=-Dames-Divas-and-Drama-Queens-at-Candlemas-concert If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

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