The WNC Nature Center welcomes the public to a short dedication event for the Center’s new front entrance, completed in September. The dedication will take place at noon Nov. 1 (Thursday). Representatives from the City of Asheville, Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, WNC Nature Center, and Friends of the WNC Nature Center will be present.
“We’re excited to offer this enhanced guest experience to our visitors,” said Chris Gentile, Director of the WNC Nature Center. “The new front entrance will allow us to better serve our growing number of guests with smoother check in, enhanced parking, a separate entrance for school groups and the use of the Festiva Event Plaza for events.”
The City of Asheville broke ground on the front entrance at the WNC Nature Center in 2017. Improvements include handicapped parking and ramp, sidewalks through the parking area for safety, new guest restrooms, an events plaza, and new exhibits. Guests will now be able to enter the Center’s main grounds through the barn area where they can visit the new chicken habitat, Virginia the opossum, and more.
This project was funded in part by the City of Asheville, and by the Friends of the WNC Nature Center, with support from the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority’s Tourism Product Development Fund, and from Festiva. Other contributors to the project include charitable foundations, businesses, and individual donors.