Barbara Hughes Shows How Narnia Studios Builds Community

A real community tradition doesn’t start with a committee. It starts with a sidewalk, a few kids with chalk, and one adult willing to say “yes” and then do the hard work of making it safe, fair, and welcoming.

We open with a practical real estate market update for Henderson County and the greater Western North Carolina area. Home sales are still happening, prices are holding relatively steady, and inventory stays tight, but the rhythm has changed: days on market are longer and the path from listing to closing takes more patience. We talk through what those numbers mean for buyers, sellers, and anyone thinking about timing a move when interest rates feel stubborn.

Then we bring on our friend and neighbor Barbara Hughes, owner of Narnia Studios in downtown Hendersonville and the heart behind Chalk It Up, now marking 30 years. Barbara shares how a simple scene outside her shop turned into one of Main Street’s most beloved family-friendly events, why she’s determined to keep it free, and how the rules (no words, no symbols, no signing, no dogs, and no “helping” in the little-kid category) protect the spirit of the day. We also cover the event logistics: categories by age, a professional division, volunteer judges, a participation cap of 150, and how to register through narniastudios.com by printing and delivering or mailing the form. Plus, there’s a special patriotic theme incentive supported by a local partnership with Asheville Regional Airport.

If you love downtown Hendersonville, local art, and the kind of traditions that get people off screens and back into community, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a reason to come downtown, and leave us a review with the tradition you hope never changes.

Transcript

Welcome And Local Connection

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Hello, friends. Thank you so much for being here. This is the George Real Estate Group podcast, which is a production of our live weekly radio shows hosted on multiple radio stations here in Hendersonville, North Carolina. The George Real Estate Group serves Western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina, and it is a privilege to share positive news about our local real estate market and community. Thanks so much for subscribing. And of course, if you have any real estate questions or if we can help you in any way, be sure to reach out. Visit us at George Real Estate Group Radio.com for more information. Good morning and welcome to the George Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here in the queue every Monday morning, bringing you positive news about your local real estate market and community. And I'm so excited about the interview and conversation we're going to have this morning. But before we do that, and before I introduce our special guests, just a quick snapshot. And if you're tuning in for the first time ever, the George Real Estate Group's located in Flat Rock on Rainbow Row, our friends at the Flat Rock Bakery, the Wrinkled Egg, Hubba Hubba Barbecue Campfire Grill. We're grateful to be there. Part of Rainbow Row in Flat Rock. Right now, all the camps are happening, all the families are in town. It is camp season for sure, and grateful to be part of part of that. And uh we serve all of Western North Carolina and the upstate as well. If you're thinking of buying, selling, or investing in real estate or a career in real estate, or want to talk about a 1031 exchange, we're doing all those things and again grateful. I am going to give a snapshot on the real estate market here as well. But you can find us online at realestatebygreg.com. We hear constantly that everybody sees our green signs everywhere, the George Real Estate Group uh signs everywhere. You might see the acronym Greg, uh, and we're so grateful. You can call us directly at 828-393-0134-828-393-0134. Stop in our office or call us or follow us on social media, Facebook or Instagram. And we also podcast all of our radio shows. You can find it on your favorite podcast platform in addition to our live radio shows. You can also go to George Real Estate Group Radio.com to see our blog, to see our podcasts, and love to connect with you there. The real

Henderson County Market Snapshot

SPEAKER_03 2:15

estate market absolutely continues to move. It's fascinating. If you look at the last 12 months versus the previous 12 months, some hundred and thirty single family more homes have been sold, which is amazing. I know there's a lot of news. The sky is falling, but there's actually been more homes, single-family homes sold in Henderson County this current 12 months versus the previous 12 months. The prices are holding within a few thousand dollars. The average single-family home price in Henderson County over the last 12 months at $543 and changed. You might say, how is that possible? Well, we still have low inventory, only 615 active single-family homes in the market. So inventory levels are low, demand is strong. Uh, we've actually had an increase year to date. There's been a almost a 12% increase in pending sales this year to date versus last year year to date. Uh inventory levels, uh, new listings is about up 3.9%. Closed sales just year to date. Again, I mentioned the uh 12 months versus 12 months, but year to date uh through the end of May is up 3.7%. So the probably the biggest change, which everybody's experiencing, is days on markets longer. We've had almost a 25% increase in the days on market, you know, from going on the market to going under contract to going under to going close from listing date to close date average is about 117 days. So it's not the quick, you know, under contract. Sometimes it happens, but on average, it's taking a little bit longer. By the way, interest rates are the interest rates. And the thing I'd like to remind our listeners is life happens, therefore real estate happens. I mean, the the prices are the prices, the interest rates are the interest rates, the economy is the economy, but life happens, therefore real estate happens, and we're continuing to see that here specifically in Henderson County. So, of course, if we can help you in any way, give us a call, 828-393-0134. We have a lot of great inventory. Follow us on social media. We'd love to connect. Today

Meet Barbara Hughes Of Narnia Studios

SPEAKER_03 4:20

we have the privilege of welcoming my friend and neighbor, Barbara Hughes, the owner of Narnia Studios in downtown Hendersonville. She's the creative uh heart behind one of our communities, really one of our most beloved traditions. Uh chalk it up. And this year is their 30th year in the the beauty, the imagination, the joy you bring to Main Street, not only, of course, in your shop, but events like this uh that bring the community together. I'm so honored to have you here and to have a conversation about this and the story behind it. I mean, this this is this is such an incredible part of our community, and you're a pre incredible part of our community. Again, 31 years with Narnia Studios, but but welcome.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

Good morning, Noah. I'm happy to be here, and I'm a little red in the face, even though you can't see it. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_03 5:12

We're so grateful uh for what you do for our community. Let's go back. I know we were talking before we got on the air. Just how it's unbelievable to even think this is that you started Narnia Studios 31 years ago.

SPEAKER_00 5:25

It's amazing and haven't really aged at all, just to let it be. But uh we did reference the fact that showing up is 90% of the job. Uh 31 years, I've been there six days a week for the whole time, and I only sell American-made goods, so this is my claim to fame. You know, we interact with every customer and try to explain what we have and all the artists in our area. It's, you know, we're living in paradise here. So why wouldn't you want to come into Narnia and just, you know, be part of it?

SPEAKER_03 5:59

It's true. Yeah, and I I tell people I'm so biased. I mean, I think we live in one of the most uh special places in in literally the whole world. It's true.

SPEAKER_00 6:08

And uh I look out the window and I say it's like living on vacation, even though I have to go to work six days a week, and I enjoy every minute.

SPEAKER_03 6:15

Which is amazing. Yeah.

Moving To Hendersonville And Opening Shop

SPEAKER_03 6:17

Let's back it up. I I I joke I got here as quick as I could when I was six years old. My family moved us up here from Florida, which a lot of people where are you from originally?

SPEAKER_00 6:26

Um most of my life I've spent in Florida. We were children when we moved to Florida, so that was 1966. Okay. Not gonna give you the rest of the dates. Um, and so we lived there until I guess we moved here in '94. So that would have been, yeah, 32 years ago, but I opened Narnia 31 years ago.

SPEAKER_03 6:43

What was your first ex I have not asked you this question. What was your first experience with Hendersonville, or how did you even find our community?

SPEAKER_00 6:50

Oh, so my neighbors across the street and also one of my co-workers for a very long time. Uh we were florists together at the fanciest hotel in South Florida. Um they moved here, and you all know them. It's uh Ann and Chuck Carter. Uh they lived across the street from me. And so we came up to see To visit them. You wanted to see what the heck? Where have you gone? You know, they talked about, I guess the year before or something, the snow was like I don't know, eight feet.

SPEAKER_03 7:21

Well, no, oh that's right. Actually, it was a blizzard of 93. It was two feet. It was it was it was unbelievable.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

It was unbelievable. Yeah, and they were walking through drifts to get to work from where they lived on, you know, in the flat rock.

SPEAKER_03 7:34

Yeah, I mean, like, and I remember that as a as a child. It shut down. It shut us down.

SPEAKER_00 7:39

Yeah, our youngest Caleb was born 11 days after this thing hit, or no, it was before the thing hit, so we had no power and all that, and the little brand new baby, and we just couldn't believe what was even happening in South Florida, and then they were referencing what was happening up here. So we went to see them, visited with them, saw this nice nursery they had put together, and she was doing floral work still. And I had a flower shop in Florida for 15 years, and we're just like, that is a beautiful place.

SPEAKER_03 8:12

And so So and then at some point you'd made you're like, we we've too long after we visited because that story is is I mean, that story is such a common theme. People come here for the first time ever and they're like, How do we make this happen?

SPEAKER_00 8:27

And it was so different. And the one thing that I remember is that local people, including Anne, she would say, Now you don't honk your horn here. Not that I was a horn honker, but it was true that that was just such a, you know, I like the laid back and I like the manners and the pleasant way of life without that hubbub that we had down there by then, even it was very busy when we left. And uh I thought, you don't honk your horn even if they're common at you. I wasn't really sure how that went. And the finger does not mean the bad finger when you put your finger up when you're driving. That's just hello to a stranger. But I was like, okay.

SPEAKER_03 9:06

What a riot.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

I love the whole idea of that laid back, and that the children would grow up without computers in their classrooms because by then they were already very digital in Florida.

SPEAKER_03 9:15

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

We had no such thing when I got to Hillendale elementary school. So it's true. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:21

And so you move up here, and then you had this, and you already had you were again, you had the experience of running your own shop before, and so it was a natural progression of like, I'm gonna have my shop. Yeah. And you decided on Main Street, and I know you're in a different location than where you're at now. That's true. And so you started Narnia Studios in 1995.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

95, that's right. 31. Yeah. Doing the math here.

SPEAKER_03 9:46

So you started Narnia Studios, and uh again, you know, it's again, you keep showing up. You you you it's the persistence, it's the and then let's talk about here we're gonna be talking about chalk it up, but this is part of the story, right? Your children, you'd take them to the shop, you'd bring them to Oh yeah, they didn't have like sitters or whatever they call them.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

Yeah, this is just part of our life. They went to work with you. And um, even when they were getting old enough to be in school, then I would pick 'em up after school, had to put the ten minute note on the store, drive to the school, pick them up, bring them over, and they enjoyed their life there. And they, you know, played out front. And

The Sidewalk Moment That Started It

SPEAKER_00 10:24

it's really the you know, the beginning of chalk it up.

SPEAKER_03 10:28

The unofficial chalk it up. Your kids would draw on the sidewalk in front of the shop.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

To keep 'em busy. Yeah. And they had fun. And one day some rather rough looking boys came along and actually politely came in the store and said, Would it be okay if we sat down with your kids and drew with them? And I said, Yes, no bad words, and no smoking. And because they were like notorious. And they did, and they sat and they made the most beautiful drawings, as you know, ruffian as those boys were.

SPEAKER_03 11:05

And art can do, I mean, is an equalizer, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:09

It was, and the light bulb went off over my head, and it became a long process of trying to figure out because you have to jump through hoops with the city and this and that, even though we don't disrupt any of the business and we don't close the street and we don't have vendors. But this has always been the way. It's a free, fun, family-friendly event. And so the very f and I when I knew it was a real thing was this boy was his parents were um important over at the synagogue, which was right behind us on Main Street at that time. And um he was already kind of edgy and he drew some beautiful stuff in that at night, one night they came after services a Friday night. They brought the whole synagogue up to see what he had drawn. And I knew it made a big difference by letting him draw with the children, even though it made me nervous. Um and it was so beautiful, and they all came in the next day. Oh, is it working, you know. It was great. Zach, I think his name was. That's amazing. And they still remember that. People the old they're old now. I can't imagine how they got old and I did. And it was it was wonderful because I thought, wow, that one kid, you know, he changed because they gave him the affirmation for what he did instead of all the discipline for what he was otherwise doing.

SPEAKER_03 12:28

Have you heard that what you focus on expands?

SPEAKER_00 12:31

Yeah. It's great.

SPEAKER_03 12:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:33

And when you're that young, you're still applying. You can change. Yeah. And he did. That's remarkable. Yeah, it's a great story.

SPEAKER_03 12:41

So so when you first was that first year like though?

SPEAKER_00 12:45

I mean, you made the decision and you you So financially it's it's a big commitment buy-in. So from and it was all it's still, you know, 99% all on me. So there was I said, well, I could do 50, I could control 50 people. Sure. I think and figure out how I can go from there super organized even to this day, and buy the 50 boxes of chalk and whatever. We never did reuse chalk in a way that a kid would get reuse chalk. They would always get a brand new box or a grown-up. Everybody gets a brand new box every year for 30 years. I think we're at 98,000 pieces of chalk or some insane. If you do the math, it's crazy, Bill. Um, and so that worked. And the city was happy, which was the main thing to see how it all played out.

SPEAKER_03 13:31

Sure, because it had to be a win-win. I mean, like Right.

SPEAKER_00 13:34

Well, they also had to be like, there's not gonna be any like people like running in the street with chalk. I don't know what they were thinking, but even the fire at the time was like, how does it come off the sidewalk? And I said, you know, the next range. Yes. Um, and so then then the next year we moved to 75, 100, 125, and now we're at the net the final year I moved to 150.

Categories Prizes And Patriotic Theme

SPEAKER_00 13:55

I said, That are all the cats I can herd.

SPEAKER_03 13:57

Yeah. That's it. Sheard 150 participants. Remarkable.

SPEAKER_00 14:03

Every age group, uh, five and under, six to eight, nine to twelve, thirteen to twenty, twenty-one and over, and professional. And the categories. The cat there's categories. So anybody can say they want to be in a professional category. It doesn't mean you've gotten paid for a painting. People always say that, oh, I'm not a professional.

SPEAKER_03 14:22

But they want to compete in that category.

SPEAKER_00 14:23

But if you want to, it's the only one that has only one winner, and it's a hundred dollars. It's it's always been thus. The other categories all have five winners each. So you'll have a better chance in the other category, 21 and over, whatever. But you'll get the hundred bucks if you win in the professional. This year, because it's the 250th birthday of my beautiful country, um, and I already have an alliance with the Asheville Regional Airport because we did a mural on the tarmac 15 years ago when they turned 50. Wow. And we turned 15, we did this massive mural called Chalk It Up Up in a Way, and you've got to go look at it on YouTube. And uh so this year, because they're having construction, we can't redo that. But they're going to give $250 to the patriotic theme. Wow. So anybody from any age category that doesn't, you know, necessarily be equivalent because a five-year-old can't do it at 20, but still, if they did something patriotic, and we hope they do, sure, um, they could be part of that.

SPEAKER_03 15:30

That's amazing. And so I again want to acknowledge the partnership with the absolutely with the airport.

SPEAKER_00 15:35

Yeah, I mean, and yeah, Tina and Angie have been great. Tina's the I don't know, the grand pooba of the airport. I don't know. I don't just get this big title that I don't know what it is. The director, maybe. And then Angie's like into the marketing section. So it's gonna be wonderful.

SPEAKER_03 15:50

It's amazing. Let's talk about the specifics, and then there's more things we're gonna talk about. But the you're the the registration's open. You're not full now. Are are you?

SPEAKER_00 15:59

I uh that was just started last week.

SPEAKER_03 16:01

But it does fill up quickly, by the way.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

The first week we had like 50 already. A lot of them are the people who are already been in it, and they don't want to miss it. No, of course not, you know. Um and some of the the backstory is that in that very first one that only had 50, we have a very wonderful woman who has 12 children, and 10 of them did the first chalk it up. It was easy to fill up the 50 places. And lots of them still do it, but now they have children. Oh, that's amazing. So it has spread. Um, they're all artists. She's taught them, they were all homeschooled and they're all very artistic. It's quite lovely. What a story. Yeah, and they come here for their family reunion so that they're here when chocolate happens.

SPEAKER_03 16:43

But their family was part of the original Chock It Up. Incredible. And there's no cost, by the way, for the participants.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

Absolutely free.

SPEAKER_03 16:53

Um, this is amazing. And did you did you ever imagine it would be to what it is to this day? I mean, when at what point did you realize this is something bigger than myself?

SPEAKER_00 17:04

Oh, right away. Even when the boy was drawing on the sidewalk, I was like, oh, oh, he's great. You know, I didn't know because mine were still doing the square. Sure, which is beautiful too. They're little, and just I thought, yeah, it's fun, but and then he made something awesome, and then these people can come up and they give me stories. Some of those 12-year-olds are like, and then the river was flowing really fast, and you know, this boat just couldn't keep up, so he capsized. And I'm like, oh my gosh, they had really, yeah, they'd put a lot of thought into it. And you know, a few years back somebody did the planting of the flag uh An Iwo Jima and in black and white. Wow. Only the flag was red, white, and blue. And I said, You should have saved that for 2026 when she was a kid when she did it, basically. Wow. But she was and all those all those images are available on our website.

SPEAKER_03 17:52

So wow. Phenomenal. It's crazy. I mean, it's a powerful story. What do you think this does for I mean, this this is such so important for our community and for downtown? And you've been, and you are, a champion of our downtown.

SPEAKER_00 18:06

Absolutely. I mean, it's probably the most beautiful little town in all of America. Um, it's still very old-timey looking with a family-friendly feel, because especially after they did the redo a few years back. You mean the snake? No, not the snake, but the the new uh plazas and the places where people can sit. I mean, I've seen people have tea parties out there. You know, it's a place where you can belong.

SPEAKER_01 18:30

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 18:31

And uh then all the shops are very, you know, not edgy, but they're all up to date. It's not old timey stuff. It's it looks old timey, and then you walk in and it's a whole nother world. I mean it's Americana. It is. Yeah. It's just the best place. And I look forward to going every day if you can imagine.

SPEAKER_03 18:47

You I I can't I I do you love it. You can and you can and it's evident of that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:53

So I'll give you the dates. Uh

Dates Rules And How Registration Works

SPEAKER_00 18:55

chuck it up. This year is the latest it can be. It's July 18th. And the why I say it in that phrase is because it's always the second Saturday after the 4th of July. Well, the 4th of July is on a Saturday, so it puts you two Saturdays back, and that's the latest it can be.

SPEAKER_01 19:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:09

Two rain dates. Uh one is the 25th of July and the other is August 1st. Um, the official start time is 9 a.m. However, if you need extra time, you are welcome to start at 8:30. Not a minute before, and you may not be a minute after 9 because we're that organized that we don't want you stepping over other people's papers and drawings and whatnot. Um of course there's no dogs allowed because that's an impediment not only to the draw person who's drawing, but also a danger. Right. Uh, it is part of the ordinance that the or uh event organizer can say such a thing and also have it enforced. Um you know, I just probably the third chalk it up, my Caleb got bit because you're on your fours and the dog's on his fours. And so he's like, Well, there's somebody at a nab, and he didn't hurt him badly, but he came up with bleeding, and I'm like, whoa, what happened? So I thought, well, let's uh never have that happen again. And of course, you can't ride bikes anyhow on Main Street and that sort of thing. But there's so many thousands of visitors that come throughout the day, and it's available to view until the next rain.

SPEAKER_03 20:13

It's amazing. July 18th. And the registration is open right now. It is open now. You can go to your website.

SPEAKER_00 20:21

You can go to the website, download the form, you must bring it in. That's your buy-in, or mail it in. I will not accept a digital copy of that.

SPEAKER_03 20:30

Yeah, must physically be brought in or mailing up.

SPEAKER_00 20:32

Otherwise, you don't feel like well, I might not have to show up. No, you do.

SPEAKER_03 20:36

There's some there's some ownership.

SPEAKER_00 20:37

Yeah, a little by it.

SPEAKER_03 20:38

I love it. Uh we're going to continue the conversation. We have a short break we have to take right now. And so grateful to have barbecues with Narnia Studios and the 30th anniversary of Chalk It Up. We'll be talking more about that. You're listening to the George Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here in the queue every Monday morning. So grateful to be here with you. But this is what it's all about, our community and sharing incredible stories about what's going on. And I hope you'll consider participating or at least coming out uh for the 30th uh Chalk It Up uh event going on. Uh but stay tuned in. We have a short break. We'll be right back. Good

Birthday Reflection And Perspective

SPEAKER_03 21:18

morning and welcome back to the George Real Estate Group Live radio broadcast here in the queue every Monday morning. So thankful to be here with you. Um before we proceed, I want to take a moment and wish my father a happy birthday. I'm very thankful for you and just grateful for you, and again, wish you a happy birthday. Uh, I'm gonna say it. You I mean, turning 87 today, born in 1939, remarkable. I mean, just talk about perspective, right? A generation that was born into a world with I mean, the the you know, coming out of the Great Depression, watching their parents stretch every penny, working, you know. I mean, hard work was expecting, you know, it was without expecting it to get any easier. I mean, again, it's Remarkable. I think when we talk about people born in 1939, we talk about a generation that that came into the world just before America entered the Second World War and then grew up in one of the most transformative periods in our in our country. I mean, how about some context? This a g a gallon of gas was around 10 cents, a loaf of bread was about eight to nine cents. Milk, 45 cents. A new car costs about $700 to $800. And we got to talk about houses. A modest home could have been a couple thousand dollars. Whoa.

SPEAKER_00 22:32

That's awesome. Happy birthday, Howard.

SPEAKER_03 22:34

Happy birthday. So thankful for you. And again, happy birthday. Just grateful for you and all the just so much, so so much to be thankful for. And I hope you uh you heard this. Um Barbara, we're so grateful to have you here and what everything you're doing with our community.

Keeping Chalk It Up Free

SPEAKER_03 22:49

And we're talking about Chalk It Up. We're talking about Narnia Studios too. I mean, you this is remarkable, and I know I know the community's come together, and this, you know, how does that what does it say about Hendersonville though, and how an event like this continues to grow and thrive and you know for nearly 30 years. And what's your vision of it for the next thirty years?

SPEAKER_00 23:12

Oh, thank you for thinking I might live that long. I mean I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_03 23:16

The legacy continues.

SPEAKER_00 23:17

Oh, it would. Absolutely. Um it's it's quite daunting because of course I'd always want it to be as uh charming, childlike, innocent, family friendly as it is now. And you know, yeah, what you gotta guess. One day I won't be able to do it anymore, and somebody else will have to, you know, pick up that photon and and go with it. But I hope that they don't alter it. I hope they never charge for it. Um, because I said that the first year, oh, you're gonna have to get money from these people, and I said, Oh, I don't think so. Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_03 23:50

That's not part of the vision.

SPEAKER_00 23:51

It wasn't my thought that they'd ever have to pay because the things that stick in your head are those childhood memories. They'll never be taken from these people. It doesn't matter how old they are now. I still hear people go down the sidewalk, even when they don't know that's my store, and go, that was my square when I was and I think to myself, wow, they have ownership of Hendersonville when they feel like that. That was my square, they'd say. And I think, yes, it was. Yeah, yes, it was. And I've had people who've done every single, every single event. Everyone since the beginning, a mother and daughter who are extraordinary, um, Beverly and Eureka, um, Michelle and Rachel. It's it's great, you know, besides the mom with all the children, she's always there, and then the children randomly as they've grown up have come and gone. But you know, I love that they come back for their family reunion and do it all together.

SPEAKER_03 24:47

And you you see all types of of expressions in this art.

SPEAKER_00 24:53

I mean it's wonderful. It's quite we you know, we have one, we have I f I started with one rule, which was have fun. Then I realized that you have to make rules after people do something wrong. Like, oh my gosh, you can't do that. You know. Um I'm gonna digress for a second.

SPEAKER_03 25:08

Every single paragraph in our contract is because somebody did something wrong, and it's a paragraph that sets the boundaries and the rules. Like, like we have that paragraph in our contract because somebody tried to do that at some point.

SPEAKER_00 25:22

Like well, in the store I have that as well. And people will comment it because they laugh. I try to make everything kind of lighthearted, but there's a big bathtub in the miller store that has our best product in it, and it says, Do not play in the bathtub, signed mother. And they go, What's that mean? I said, Well, every rule, law, regulation, and sign you've ever seen was because somebody did it first. Right. So you have to go along with that.

SPEAKER_03 25:44

Boundaries are for our good.

SPEAKER_00 25:46

So then I had two rules, and now I'm up to nine. But you know, um, early on I did put in that we didn't want, and this was mostly because I would hear, you know, what the city was saying to me is um no words, no symbols. We don't want it turning out like graffiti. Sure. Art is art.

SPEAKER_01 26:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:04

You know, create something that's beautiful or humorous or whatever, but no words and no symbols, and do not sign your art because there's judges walking around. And we don't want them to be able to do that. Anybody anybody influence. That's right. No influence on that.

SPEAKER_03 26:18

Um, let's talk about the judges.

SPEAKER_00 26:20

Who

Judges Fairness And No Helping Hands

SPEAKER_00 26:21

do you have volunteer judges? So uh yeah, they're all volunteers. Nobody gets paid.

SPEAKER_03 26:24

Well, I know that. But like, but are do you are you are they are when I say volunteering, but I mean are they people that have come to you or the people you've identified and said, hey, or people said, I'd love to be a uh a judge.

SPEAKER_00 26:36

People have said that, and then I say, Do you have any artistic background?

SPEAKER_03 26:40

Right, it matters.

SPEAKER_00 26:44

Uh chief, I don't want to call you out, but the chief of police is my um newest judge.

SPEAKER_03 26:51

But my hand.

SPEAKER_00 26:52

Yeah, you gotta love him. Um but I did say, I'm sure you don't have artistic background, but you could probably do five and under, couldn't you? And he was always so kind about it, but a lot of it is in the five and under, and this is another rule, it's an individual effort. So your 35-year-old mom can't help color it in with you. Yeah. So it either is Judge My Hand, who's what dressed in his police blues, also is their judge. And so we don't say, Mom, you can't do that. We just kind of mark it off that your your mother finished it for you. Oh, yeah. Because that's some 35-year-olds are not competing against five and understanding. That's right. That's just not fair.

SPEAKER_03 27:34

We're gonna keep it fair.

SPEAKER_00 27:34

We're gonna just have stick figures, we're gonna mark on the stick figures, you know, and the fact that they did them by themselves.

SPEAKER_01 27:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 27:41

So yeah, he's been a great sport, and then his wife, who is an artsy kind of girl, she's done it once or twice. Um and so no, I did have a a big uh group of judges that are local artists, but if you can only imagine that we all aged over those 30 years, that some of them can't do it anymore. And I've lost a couple, one of my favorites, um, Will Irvin, and he did it, I bet he did I don't see it was 30 years. I bet he did at least 22 years. He's probably been gone that long now at 93, he passed, but he was still out there walking those seven blocks three times, both sides, and always normally he was in the professional category because he was himself a professional. So uh yeah, we've had great judges over the years, and they've all been happy to come back.

SPEAKER_03 28:27

Yeah, it's amazing. There but again, it's being part of something bigger than yourself and in our community. Uh what I ha maybe you don't know this number off the top of your head, percentage of of adults versus children that are participating. I mean, like, is it pretty spread across the board? Or I mean, like, I imagine how about this?

Why Adults Should Try Drawing Too

SPEAKER_03 28:47

If there's some adult out there that's like always wish they would do this, take a s d take a step outside of your comfort zone and come draw.

SPEAKER_00 28:55

So last week I did have a lady bring in her dad, who's eighty-three, and apparently chalk it up's been on his bucket list, and he just went fishing for the first time at age 80. He caught a fish, so now he felt like he was going to accomplish chalk it up as well. Um, and he did sign up for the 21 and over group. We don't call him 83, we call him 21 and 20.

SPEAKER_03 29:20

So again, it it I mean, welcome to all.

SPEAKER_00 29:23

Everybody. Yeah, you know, even if it's your first time ever I mean it's the great equalizer because sometimes people who are great professionals and can paint anything in oil or watercolor. Trust me that chalk and cement are not the same. Right. It's not the same. And the perspective has to be different because it's four and a half feet by four and a half foot square. It's not a canvas in front of you, it's below you. So they do love it. You have to be on the ground. I've had an artist say, I'll be a judge next and a great artist, I'll be a judge next year. This is too hard for me. It is challenging, it's challenging. It is. So we've had so many different like extraordinary experiences from people. Um everybody loves to participate, but they do find it uh more difficult. And they've learned things from the other artists. How to use the negative space as black. Oh, yeah. Because we didn't used to have black chalk, now they do. But when you use negative space, it appears black compared to the bright yellow. Yeah. So they've they've learned some things over here. Some tricks from other artists. How'd you do that, they'd say? And they talk with each other and whatnot. As long as you don't color in there square, you're good.

SPEAKER_03 30:29

That's amazing. Okay, again, the details, the dates, how to register. Let's again remind and where to go online.

Website Details Store Hours And Sign Up

SPEAKER_03 30:38

Okay. I mean, all these things we want to make sure our listeners very good are aware of.

SPEAKER_00 30:42

So our website is uh www.narnia studios.com. Go to the events page, go to chalk it up, because we did have many, many events over the last 30 years, and you'll see on the main page the registration form is below, and all the information about the event itself is on that page. You click it, it'll be a PDF, which is a registration form with all the info. You print it up. You print it off, bring it in. Or if you don't have a printer, walk in the store and you can fill it out here. Yeah. But you may not send it to me digitally. I want you to feel like you've participated in this event.

SPEAKER_03 31:21

Yeah, a lot of people are pressing buttons all day and they just Well, by the way, I mean, again, just people are outside, they're doing something physical, they're they're with the community, they're off their screens.

SPEAKER_00 31:33

I mean, like the best thing. Everything we ever did was about that, the kite flying and everything. Yeah. So and then the other thing is it's July 18th.

SPEAKER_03 31:42

Right.

SPEAKER_00 31:42

And two rain dates, the 25th of July, August 1st. It starts at 9 a.m., not 9 01.

SPEAKER_03 31:48

And you can be there as early as 8 08 uh 8 30, not a penny earlier. A minute earlier.

unknown 31:53

Or a penny.

SPEAKER_00 31:54

You'll find one on the sidewalk.

SPEAKER_03 31:56

Amazing. Barbara thank you.

SPEAKER_00 31:58

And registration is ongoing. It's ongoing.

SPEAKER_03 32:00

Until it's full of it. Until it's full. Yes. Which is which is capped at 150 participants.

SPEAKER_00 32:05

We do have a wait list when it comes to that. But if you just go ahead and register. Register now because that doesn't help you any if you're on the wait list, really.

SPEAKER_03 32:14

Yeah, no guarantee with the waiting list. Yeah. It's just part of the boundaries and rules. I got it and how about the your hours and days of Narnia studios.

SPEAKER_00 32:25

So we're open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. I only work two Sundays a year and they almost kill me. And that is uh Garden Jubilee and Apple Fest. Right.

SPEAKER_03 32:37

That's honest. That's honest. Thank you so much. We're so grateful to have you. And again, thank you for what you're doing with the community.

SPEAKER_00 32:45

I'm happy to be here with you.

SPEAKER_03 32:46

It

Wrap Up And Real Estate Help

SPEAKER_03 32:47

is awesome. Again, we're this is the George Real Estate Group Live Radio Broadcast. We're here every Monday morning. Uh thankful to be here. Again, with all if we can help this is what our community is about, but if we can help you in any way with real estate, of course, give us a call, 828-393-0134. Be sure to check out our podcast. We'll have this up here shortly.

SPEAKER_02 33:06

Have a great day, and we'll see you next Monday. The George Real Estate Group has the experience of selling over 1,200 properties and serving over 1,200 families with their real estate needs in Henderson County and throughout Western North Carolina. The George Real Estate Group is located in Flat Rock, North Carolina, near Hendersonville in Henderson County. You can find them online at realestatebygreg.com. The George Real Estate Group can be reached at 828-393-0134 or stop by their office at 2720 Greenville Highway, Flat Rock, North Carolina. Tune in live each week on Monday mornings at 905 on WTZQ FM 95.3 and 1600 AM or stream online at WTCQ.com.

SPEAKER_03 34:00

Maybe the house feels a little too big these days. The stairs a little steeper. The pace of life a little too fast. But what if your next move wasn't about letting go? It was about making space for peace, for freedom, for what matters most. At the George Real Estate Group, we understand that real estate isn't just about the house. It's about transitions, timing, and trust. We've helped thousands of families in Western North Carolina make smart, thoughtful moves. Closer to nature, closer to family, closer to home. So when you're ready to ride-size, simplify, or start fresh, we'll be here. The George Real Estate Group. Local, trusted, proven. Call us today, 828-393-0134. Find us online at realestatebygreg.com because your next chapter deserves to feel just right.