Pride Celebration featuring Christie Lenée with Katie Marie

Kick off Pride Month at Highland!

Kick off Pride Month at the Highland Meadow with live music, pick-up volleyball, and a mini-night market.  All month long, $1 from each Highland Pride shirt sold will be donated to Helpmate. Helpmate works with our community to eliminate abuse and fear by providing safety, shelter, and support for victims/survivors of intimate partner domestic violence.

Christie Lenée

“Acoustic Guitarist of the Year” and celebrated singer/songwriter Christie Lenée is more than a musician – she’s an experience. Symphonic compositions flow from her fingertips effortlessly, with sound ranging from transcendental folk-pop to virtuosic instrumentals.

Christie has been described as “Dave Matthews meets Joni Mitchell and Michael Hedges,” integrating melodic pop lyricism with catchy hooks and percussive, harmonic textures. Since achieving 1st place at the International Fingerstyle Guitar Championship in 2017, her captivating performances have been seen on stages with Tommy Emmanuel, Tim Reynolds (Dave Matthews Band), Andy McKee, Amy Ray (Indigo Girls), Melissa Etheridge, Antigone Rising, Kaki King, Jake Shimabukoro and Christopher Cross to name a few.

Featured on the Grammy Museum’s virtual program streaming from Los Angeles, a 2x Finalist in the USA Songwriting Competition, plus a variety of articles in Guitar Player Magazine, Acoustic Guitar Magazine, and the recent notability of “Best Acoustic Guitarists in the World Right Now” (Guitar World Magazine), Christie continues to awe crowds with the unique essence of her music.

Lenee’s newly released album Coming Alive reminds devout listeners of her spiritual and sublime songwriting, inspirational lyrics, and of course, sensational guitar playing. The first line of the intro title track (“I’ve got a feeling deep inside”), tells you everything you need to know: Lenée’s sixth album is a chronicle of joy and hope, of self-confidence and empowerment, of renewal and light.

Coming Alive features iconic guitar hooks and powerhouse vocal performances. She collaborated with a bevy of talented musicians on the album, including co-producer Matthew Odmark (Jars of Clay), drummer Keith Carlock (Steely Dan, Toto, Sting, John Mayer), bassist Adam Nitti (Kenny Loggins, Carrie Underwood, Susan Tedeschi), and keyboardist Charlie Lowell (Jars of Clay). It was a dream lineup put together to create Lenée’s quintessential statement piece.

Christie was recently featured in Go Magazine, Americana Highways, Bluegrass Situation, Country Queer and Acoustic Guitar Magazine. With a new album in hand, she’s Coming Alive – right on time.

Highland Live Music

Highland Brewing weekend live music showcases amazing bands including local favorites, talented regional acts, and national touring bands hailing from the East Coast and beyond. Free and open to guests of all ages (unless noted otherwise), bring your crew to dance, listen and vibe to a myriad of genres including soul, bluegrass, acoustic, country, folk, R&B and more!

In warmer months, live music is held on the scenic Meadow stage. Shows are rain or shine – if the skies don’t cooperate, the music moves indoors to the Taproom where we’ve got plenty of room for you to boogie down!

Helpmate

Helpmate began as a task force of the Buncombe County Commission on the Status of Women in 1978. Our mission and goals have been consistent ever since; to support survivors, educate our community about healthy relationships and to create systems that are responsive to survivors’ needs. Helpmate was incorporated in 1981 and staffed by volunteer advocates who established a safe house network. Among our first volunteer advocates was former Representative Wilma Sherrill, who was later instrumental in reforming NC’s domestic violence laws.

Our emergency shelter program started with a small apartment in 1981 and a second apartment a year later. In 1985, we bought a house and replaced with a larger home 5 years later. During this period, Helpmate was instrumental in the formation of additional organizations serving local victims, including the former Interlace transitional housing program and My Sister’s Place in Madison County. Helpmate became established as a statewide leader in the work to address violence against women, and was among the first members of the NC Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

In 2006, Helpmate launched a capital campaign to purchase our current emergency shelter, which houses 225 adult and child victims who are in imminent danger each year. In the years since, we have seen remarkable growth. We helped lead a systemic overhaul in 2013, which helped survivors access Helpmate’s services in record numbers. Helpmate now serves 80% more victims, answers triple the number of hotline calls and forms 5 times as many safety plans as we did in 2012. The most visible evidence of this collaboration is the Buncombe County Family Justice Center, which co-locates advocates, law enforcement, prosecution, child protection, legal aid, childcare and medical services into one safe location. We also now offer several collaborative evidence-based programs, such as the Lethality Assessment Protocol, in which law enforcement connects victims to our hotline immediately from crime scenes. We also offer Safe and Together, a program with Child Protective Services to respond to co-occurring domestic violence and child maltreatment.

We believe in the power of prevention to save lives. Helpmate has worked with Our VOICE, Mountain Child Advocacy Center, Pisgah Legal Services, and a community-based task force to implement the Pathways to Prevention Plan. The Plan is the first of its type in NC, using CDC-endorsed strategies to prevent domestic violence, sexual assault and child maltreatment. We aim to teach residents of Buncombe County how to form healthy relationships, resolve conflicts without violence, and respect boundaries so that we end the cycle of domestic violence.