Addendum to previous Hidden River Events Press Release: (10/7/2024)
Hurricane Helene (9/27/24), described as a once-in-a-thousand-years storm, unleashed unprecedented flooding along the Swannanoa River valley, near Asheville, NC, decimating many farms, homes, and businesses and tragically leading to the loss of numerous animals and people in the region as a whole. Hidden River Events was not spared this loss, with the tragic loss of a donkey (JJ).
In the chaos of that Friday morning at Hidden River, two pressing concerns emerged for the employees who were on duty that day but who were unable to get there due to the storm: the safety of guests who arrived on Thursday to go through with their wedding, and the urgent need to protect the animals. While guests were largely unaware of behind-the-scenes efforts being made to get help to the farm by the staff, a guest reached a staff member by phone. The guest was told more than once not to go get the animals because of the guests’ safety and when a guest said he was going to do it anyway, the staff person gave advice on how to do this. While Hidden River disagrees with the wording in the video that circulated online, the venue wholeheartedly acknowledges the pivotal role played by the guests and neighbors in saving the horses and goats. Without their brave actions, the outcome could have been devastating, and for that Hidden River Events is profoundly grateful. JJ was not simply an animal; he was a beloved member of the Hidden River Events family. Hidden River Events is also grateful to the staff who were trying their best to communicate. No one could have anticipated this; if they had, there would not be the massive amount of death and destruction that exists all over western North Carolina, but especially in our community, which appears to be a ground zero point for the devastation. Never, in nearly 20 years of having floods and hosting events, has the water threatened our horse pasture, let alone covered the whole valley and beyond.
Every employee at Hidden River continues to mourn the loss of JJ, particularly the owner, who had left for vacation earlier in the week, unable to return until Sunday due to blocked roads and mudslides. Employees and friends worried about the owner, as no one could make contact with her from Thursday until Saturday evening and, even then, for just brief moments due to cell tower and internet outages. The owner had left the farm and care of the business, land, and animals in the trusted hands of long time, loyal and gifted employees who did the best they could to handle what became an unimaginable situation, despite being unable themselves to reach the property because of the rapid escalation of the flood on Friday morning. The grief shared by the venue’s team of employees, vendors, and past and current couples who know the character of the staff and know our animals, also underscores the profound bond the larger Hidden River family has with every animal on our farm.
The tragic loss of one animal (JJ) out of a herd of eight is sadly not isolated to us and other events venues. Our neighbor on the other side of the river lost their hogs. Dead animals washed up on our property; ten days later FEMA is searching the river bank for human cadavers; and other venues, such as the Biltmore Estate and Hickory Nut Gap Farm, also lost some of their herds. The hateful judgments from those who viewed only a snippet of a much larger story and who appear to be primarily from outside of the region and with no knowledge of the character of the venue staff or the intensity of the suffering the Swannanoa valley is enduring. Those who watch nightly news will see that Swannanoa is “ground zero” for the flooding. The loss of all types of life is tremendous and photos cannot convey the reality.
Hidden River Events has felt the weight of social media’s destructive tendencies and recognizes the video creator has felt it too. Hidden River Events believes that there was no ill intent and that the wedding party had no idea of the visceral hate and death threats the video would generate, particularly toward the owner herself, who was able to be identified through a link to the couples’ bridal registry, also posted on the creator’s Tik Tok page. Neither does Hidden River Events believe the creator of the video has currently profited in any way. Hidden River is grateful for the individual who stepped up to save the horses. They also share their heartfelt regrets for the distress this incident has caused the bride and groom.
Hidden River Events has a seventeen year history of being rooted in loving kindness toward people, land, and animals. This has been a hallmark of the business. We kindly ask for understanding and support as we, the couple, the video creator, and the business, all strive to move forward from this difficult experience. Let us heal and focus on the bonds we share, rather than the shadows cast by this event.
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Hidden River, the Swannanoa region, and western North Carolina have endured catastrophic damage from Hurricane Helene. Communication remains limited, and neighbors and family members continue to be rescued. On 9/27/24, when the river was reaching its unprecedented peak, circumstances were changing rapidly from bad storm conditions to catastrophic flooding and cell phone service was scant to non-existence during this rapid change.
Amid this crisis, we have been made aware that some guests for a wedding that was to occur on Saturday at Hidden River have shared a video of the miraculous rescue of our animals. We are deeply gratified with the efforts of our guests and the neighbors who were able to do this. All but one of our livestock survived. Two employees who would have been there on Friday morning, including the owner, were unable to reach the venue because of the flooding. During the height of the crisis our employees were on the phone with a neighbor who was trying to volunteer his aid in the rescue since none of our team could reach the venue. Cell phone access cut off mid conversation. The owner was only able to reach the venue on Sunday, due to mudslides and downed trees closing most of the roads in western North Carolina. We are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of even one of our animals as well as the loss of other neighbors’ animals in the region. While we are still trying to ascertain the fullness of what has happened, these are the facts as we know them.
While we are grateful for these heroic efforts, we are also disheartened about social media reports suggesting that our guests were encouraged to abandon the animals with disregard for the animals’ lives. No guests were told to abandon the animals. During the panic of these rapidly changing conditions, we were not able to instruct or require any guests to risk their lives. At the same time, an employee was coaching a neighbor via phone who voluntarily offered to rescue the animals and their conversation was cut off. In 17 years of business, our animals have been one of our most treasured family members. At the time of the crisis, they were located in a paddock that has never flooded in at least twenty years of “historic” flooding. We thought the animals would be safe in the paddock. What we and other members of our region are experiencing is unprecedented. We understand the gravity of what the animals, our guests and our neighbors have experienced. It is heartbreaking.
We ask for your grace and understanding while we try to restore some sense of normalcy and grieve the losses within our community. Due to the social media posts, some employees–including the owner–are receiving death threats via phone and email, along with other messages of hate and disinformation via ongoing social media posts and misleading reviews.
We wish now to place our focus instead on the process of healing and restoration and upon the gratitude we owe to these neighbors and individuals who helped when we could not. To this end, we will remain closed for the entirety of 2024, dedicating ourselves to restoring the venue and planning for the future. We offer many thanks to the hundreds of previous, current, and future couples guests and friends of the business who have reached out.