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Community Foundation honors Sauer Award winner

Hendersonville Life

Picking a fresh apple is her dream come true

Many Henderson County residents might take apple picking for granted. But for a little girl from Florida, picking and eating an apple directly off the tree is a “dream come true.”Six-year-old Olive Vasquez of Jacksonville, Florida was diagnosed with Wilms Tumor, a rare type of kidney cancer, shortly before entering pre-kindergarten. Results from an imaging test showed a tumor on one of her kidneys. Physicians removed Olive’s kidney and she began a regimen of intense chemotherapy. Throughout the treatment, Olive needed a feeding tube, lost her hair and experienced extreme energy loss.Olive’s physicians notified Dreams Come True of Jacksonville Inc., which helps children battling life-threatening illnesses to achieve their dream wish. The organization quickly got to work making her apple-picking dream a reality.Trip considerations were made since Olive is only allowed to go a limited distance from her home base. In addition, she would need easy access to hospitals with physicians trained to treat her in the case of an emergency.The team from Dreams Come True did a Google search and quickly found that Henderson County, one of the Southern-most apple growing regions, would be the best place to visit for apples. As they dug deeper, they found the N.C. Apple Festival website, where they discovered that a picturesque mountain town celebrated apples every year for four days. Anyone that loves apples that much, festival organizers thought, deserves some recognition from the town that’s famous for growing them.“We could have just had her come up, go to the festival and pick some apples, but we wanted to do more than that,” said Cheryl Gudger-Thompson, this year’s Apple Festival president. “Olive, her mom and dad, her 9-year-old sister and her 1-year-old sister are driving from Jacksonville to Hendersonville on Thursday, Aug. 30, and are staying at Cascades Mountain Resort until Tuesday, Sept. 4. She will be able to enjoy the pool and waterslide at Cascades. She will be introduced during the opening ceremony Friday morning. Her and her family will go to Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard on Sunday to pick apples. Then on Monday, the Farm Bureau Association is sponsoring a float for Olive and her family to ride in the King Apple Parade.”Dreams Come True of Jacksonville is not affiliated with a national organization. It relies strictly on the generosity of individuals and corporate supporters to provide the funding and in-kind resources necessary to create unforgettable memories for children who live or are treated in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia. They will provide Olive’s family with spending money and pay for their accommodations. Meals are being provided by local restaurants and Goldsmith by Rudi is making Olive a special charm commemorating her trip.“Many sponsors have come together to make this little girl’s dream come true,” Gudger-Thompson said. “Right now she thinks she is just coming to pick apples so we are doing a video to send to her before the trip of all the things she will be doing.” Dreams Come True fulfills a variety of kids’ “wishes,” including week-long trips to theme parks, swimming with dolphins and meeting celebrities. “She had all these options laid out before her and she still just wanted to pick apples,” Gudger-Thompson said. “That is what I think makes this story so special.”     Read Story »

Henderson County Life

Local foundation wins grant for Appalachian roots music show

The Will & Deni McIntyre Foundation has been awarded a $15,000 grant by the Community Foundation of Henderson County to help fund Season 4 of David Holt’s State of Music, an Emmy-nominated public television series distributed nationally by PBS.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Life

Don't miss this week's Hendersonville Lightning (186)

You won't want to miss this week’s Hendersonville Lightning.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Life

Longtime HHS band director gets new gig

After 32 years as a high school band director, Fran Shelton was ready to take up music again — as a musician and not a teacher.   Read Story »

Flat Rock Life

Abba Dabba Doo! 'Mamma Mia' rocks Playhouse stage

Contrary to the typical destination wedding where a group of friends join the bride and groom on the shimmering sandy beach of a Greek isle, “Mamma Mia,” the latest high energy Flat Rock Playhouse musical, is organized around a wedding where the Greek Isle in question is home.   Read Story »

Flat Rock Life

'Mamma Mia' a box office smash before it opens

When it opened the season, the Flat Rock Playhouse schedule had a fill-in-the-blank for what it teased would be a "blockbuster summer musical." The marketers turned out to be right. "Mamma Mia" has already sold out its four opening weekend performances and tickets are going fast for the entire four-week run.   Read Story »

Laurel Park Life

Young entrepreneur crusades 
for low-cost college alternative

Grayson Marshall, a fresh-faced 21-year-old with brown eyes and a thick shock of dark hair, believes student debt is a national crisis —an avoidable one at that.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Life

Dance studio nominated for national award

On the heels of their Walt Disney World Resort performances, staffers from Pat’s School of Dance will head to Hollywood, California for the 7th Annual Industry Dance Awards & Cancer Benefit Show on Aug. 15.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Life

Intrepid explorer finds
 hundreds of waterfalls

On an overcast day, when the sky is threatening rain, I find myself deep in the Pisgah National Forest, completely off-trail, with no sense of how to get back on. Fortunately, I am not alone.   Read Story »

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