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OCTOBER 28, 2026 · VOL. 40 · NO. 43 · FREE

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ARTS

FRANKLIN FINE AND PERFORMING

SPOTLIGHT ON THE ARTS 2026

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SCHUBERT NO. 3 | TCHAIKOVSKY NO. 5 OCTOBER 28 at 7:30 p.m.

Charles and Lynne Knapp Performing Arts Center | 230 River Road, Athens, GA A night of symphonic contrasts. Schubert and Tchaikovsky have their own unique expressive voices, with memorable melodies and exciting virtuosity. $15 - Adults | $3 - UGA Students Scan QR code | music.uga.edu | 706-542-4400

EXHIBITION PANEL DISCUSSION AND RECEPTION FOR “CORNUCOPIA: TIES THAT BIND” NOVEMBER 3 at 5:30 p.m.

Lamar Dodd School of Art - Room S151 | 270 River Road, Athens, GA This panel will feature renowned artists Ben F. Jones and Bob Dilworth and be co-moderated by distinguished art historians Dr. Leslie King Hammond and Dr. Lowery Stokes Sims (former curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art). This event is free. Scan QR code | art.uga.edu

FALL MUSICAL “GUYS & DOLLS”

NOV. 6-7, 12-13 at 7:30 p.m. | NOV. 8 & 15 at 2 p.m. UGA Fine Arts Theatre | 255 Baldwin St, Athens GA Guys and Dolls is a dazzling celebration of Broadway at its most iconic — a bold, joyful musical spectacle filled with high-stakes gamblers, glamorous nightlife, and unforgettable romance. $20 - Adults | $7 - UGA Students Scan QR code | ugatheatre.com | 706-542-4400

STUDENT CHOREOGRAPHY CONCERT “THROUGHLINE” NOVEMBER 11-13 at 7:30 p.m.

UGA Dance Theatre | 263 W. Green Street, Athens GA Featuring original works choreographed and produced by students, with faculty and staff providing guidance and mentorship, highlighting a variety of music genres and styles of dance. $15 - Adults | $7 - UGA Students | $7 - Seniors Scan QR code | dance.uga.edu | 706-542-4400

SAVE 25% ON THE ORCHESTRA, “GUYS & DOLLS,” AND “THROUGHLINE” WITH THE SPOTLIGHT SAMPLER SCAN THE QR CODE TO ORDER ONLINE OR CALL 706-542-4400 AND ASK FOR THE SPOTLIGHT SAMPLER.

Embrace the arts. ENRICH YOUR WORLD.

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F L A GP OL E .C OM · OC T OB E R 28, 2026

10/16/26 10:25 AM

contents

this week’s issue

2009

SAM LIPKIN

EST.

CLIMBING & COMMUNITY Only 1 Mile from the Arch

t den Stu culty a s & F count s Di

Gift Cards available online

On Saturday, Oct. 24, the Athens Downtown Development Authority and Athens-Clarke County Unified Government celebrated the grand opening of the $6.5 million redevelopment of College Square in downtown Athens with SquareFest. See “Photo Gallery: College Square Redevelopment” online at flagpole.com.

NEWS: City Dope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Downtown Building Heights NEWS: Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Election Guide MUSIC: Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Shansylvania’s MonstroCity FOOD & DRINK: Good Growing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Supporting Bat Habitats PUBLISHER & ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Alicia Nickles PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Larry Tenner ADVERTISING SALES Isabella Williams, Rachel Watkins EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Sam Lipkin CITY EDITOR Blake Aued MUSIC EDITOR Sam Lipkin ARTS & CULTURE COORDINATOR Libba Beaucham OFFICE MANAGER & DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Jennifer Keene CLASSIFIED ADS & CALENDAR COORDINATOR Jennifer Keene AD DESIGNERS Chris McNeal, Cody Robinson CONTRIBUTORS McClain Baxley, Grant Blankenship, Erin France, Leon Galis, Gordon Lamb, Jillian Magtoto, Steve Scurry, Ed Tant CARTOONISTS Missy Kulik, David Mack, Klon Waldrip, Joey Weiser CIRCULATION Gerald Burris, Charles Greenleaf, Joe Rowe EDITORIAL & OFFICE ASSISTANT Mary Beth Bryan EDITORIAL INTERNS Lily Thomas PHOTOGRAPHERS CJ Bartunek, Kat Wood, Jake Zerkel SPECIAL AGENT Pete McCommons

Curb Your Appetite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 This Modern World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Street Scribe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Pub Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 PSC Race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Native Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Wild Rumpus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Scary Story Winners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Threats & Promises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Calendar Picks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Event Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Art Around Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Live Music Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Bulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Adopt Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Local Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Flag Football . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Sudoku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

CLASSIFIED ADS: class@flagpole.com ADVERTISING: ads@flagpole.com CALENDAR: calendar@flagpole.com EDITORIAL: editorial@flagpole.com

ARTS & CULTURE: arts@flagpole.com LETTERS: letters@flagpole.com MUSIC: music@flagpole.com NEWS: news@flagpole.com

Flagpole, Inc. publishes Flagpole Magazine weekly and distributes 8,600 copies free at over 275 locations around Athens, Georgia. Subscriptions cost $140 a year, $75 for six months. © 2026 Flagpole, Inc. All rights reserved.

VOLUME 40 ISSUE NUMBER 43

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VOTED AN ATHENS’ FAVORITE TATTOO STUDIO

online exclusive Tiny ATH gallery founder and curator Camille Hayes and curator Linda Macbeth announced the space at 174 Cleveland Ave. will close this week after its seven-year run. There will be a “farewell party,” doubling as the current and final exhibition’s closing reception, on Thursday, Oct. 29 from 6–9 p.m. See “Tiny ATH Gallery Curators Announce Closure After Seven Years” at flagpole.com.

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COMMISSIONERS CONSIDER RAISING MAX BUILDING HEIGHTS

By Blake Aued news@flagpole.com

other zones where multifamily housing is allowed. “The development community, and especially our local development community and design community, supports this,” Lonnee said. “It’s something their clients are asking for.” In addition, commissioners could get rid of the parking incentive. They originally conceived that the below-market apartments would go to households that may not have cars, and parking decks cost about $50,000–$60,000 per space, which is passed on to the tenant. But with developers choosing the payment-in-lieu option, cutting into parking is raising issues with students parking their cars on crowded neighborhood streets.

Some parts of Athens could see a growth commission-approved special use permit to spurt if Athens-Clarke County commisgo taller. “I could see some aging strip malls sioners follow through on allowing taller out there that could really use this kind of buildings. allowance, but I could also see some really, A proposal before the commission would really terrible impacts on legacy neighborraise the maximum building height in comhoods,” she said. mercial zones by approximately two stories: A related proposal to “create the ability from 65 feet to 95 feet in commercial- to purchase and move residential develgeneral (C-G) zones and from 100 feet to 130 feet downtown. The exception would be properties adjacent to single-family neighborhoods. Taller buildings in the densest commercial areas are “largely compatible” with the county’s new future land use map, Planning Director Bruce Lonnee said. The map is intended to funnel growth to major corridors and intersections rather than increase density in neighborhoods. “It seems like every project we have in the C-D zone… is interested in additional height to try to make the project pencil,” Lonnee said. But the planning department is not recommending changes to building heights in commercial-office (C-O) or commercial-neighborhood (C-N) zones. Those limits are 40 feet and 65 feet, respectively. C-O and C-N zoning is made up of restaurants, offices and A rendering of a plaza proposed for a West Broad Street student apartment development. smaller retail stores, and tends to be found near neighborhoods, in areas like Prince Avenue or Five Points, while C-G opment density within the commercial- “These folks are not interested in buildis the more intense type of zoning on major downtown zoning district” will be coming ing affordable housing. So why should we highways like Atlanta Highway or Lexingup for a vote next spring, Lonnee said at give them the opportunity to lower their ton Road. the Oct. 20 agenda-setting meeting. That cost by reducing their construction? They’re ACC commissioners requested in June would be a more limited form of a controgoing to rent mostly to the student market that the planning department and planning versial proposal for transferable developthat’s paying really high rates,” Link said. commission review amendments to the ment rights in the early 2000s, which was According to Lonnee, parking is the zoning code increasing height limits in com- intended to protect farmland and greensleast attractive incentive for developers. “In mercial zones. But several said last week pace by allowing rural property owners to order of preference, it was density bonus, that now they need more time to consider sell their density for use in other areas. the implications. “I’m usually a nerd about The commission is also considering stuff like this, and my head is spinning,” tweaking its inclusionary zoning ordiCommissioner Melissa Link said. nance, which allows developers to build Commissioner Dexter Fisher said his more apartments than zoning allows and/ main concern is firefighting. Fire officials or reduces the amount of required parksaid that buildings over 75 feet need higher ing spaces in exchange for either building design standards, and buildings over 100 below-market units or contributing cash to feet will require additional staffing and the county’s affordable housing trust fund. training. “At some point, your equipment Developers generally choose the latter. doesn’t reach those elevations, which is Since the ordinance was passed in 2022, typical of any city that has buildings of only five affordable bedrooms have been any size,” Manager Bob Cowell said, which approved, and none of them have been means fighting fires from the inside instead built, Lonnee told commissioners. On the of the outside. other hand, developers have paid $9.6 Commissioner Mike Hamby suggested million into the housing fund, which has starting with downtown and revisiting leveraged another $5 million and led to other commercial zones later. “I think you the construction of 294 affordable units. can justify in a downtown area, the build“Overwhelmingly, developers are telling us ings should be a little taller,” he said. they’re going to pursue the payment-in-lieu Mayor Kelly Girtz reminded commisoption, and not construct on-site affordable sioners about last year’s Urban3 study, housing units,” Cowell said. which found that denser development genWhen the ordinance was written, it erates more tax revenue than it consumes only allowed payments for developments in services, subsidizing less dense areas. He in the downtown zone. The logic was that said taller buildings could make infill develstudent housing developers would want opment on some parcels profitable, and to take advantage of the bonuses, but not would help achieve the densities called for necessarily to build affordable housing on in the future land use plan. site in student apartment buildings. Now, Link brought up the idea of requiring a planners are suggesting branching out into

don’t make me build commercial on the ground floor, and the parking I’ll figure out,” he said. Many of these issues are playing out in a specific development that’s also before the commission for a Nov. 4 vote. Denver-based Cardinal Group Investment Management is asking to rezone parcels on West Broad Street between Finley and Pope streets for a student apartment complex and townhomes. Although there are similar developments just a block or two away, this would extend downtown west of Finley Street—a hard line on the future land use map—for the first time. The difference in density between C-D and other commercial or multifamily zones is stark—250 bedrooms per acre with the inclusionary zoning density bonus, versus 75. In addition, the plans include just 211 parking spaces for 465 bedrooms. (Cardinal Group is proposing to build a bus stop and include ample bike parking.) Some nearby residents fear the development would blot out the sun and worsen parking issues in neighborhoods where street parking is already at a premium, and many historic homes lack driveways. On the other hand, Hill First Baptist Church congregants support the development because it would include a plaza area commemorating the historically Black Reese-Hancock neighborhood. There are other issues with the proposal, as well: Cardinal Group has promised to restore a piped-under creek on the property, but has not received the necessary permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. The ACC Fire Department has raised concerns about access, and Public Utilities has issues with the location of a sewer line without details about the stream restoration. The development is partially within the Reese Street Historic District, and would need approval from the ACC Historic Preservation Commission. A rezoning for a “cottage court” development off Barnett Shoals Road at the end of College Station has drawn no opposition so far, which is significant because residents of Green Acres-Crestwood subdivision have been fending off projects there for decades. f

OC T OB E R 28, 2026 · F L A GP OL E .C OM

news

comment

AI Is Not Your Friend

CHATBOTS ARE TRAINED TO FLATTER USERS, FACTS BE DAMNED

By Leon Galis news@flagpole.com

heavily tuned to prioritize conversational warmth, politeness and immediate user validation. The unintended consequence is exactly what you described: When the AI is uncertain or flat-out wrong, it wraps that incorrect information in an authoritative, highly confident, and pleasing tone. This masking makes errors harder to spot and directly destroys user trust. A direct, objective presentation of facts—without the performance of empathy or artificial confidence—is far more useful, especially when navigating complex topics like health care finance. It is a massive challenge in AI development. The industry calls this the “alignment problem”—trying to teach a system to be helpful and polite without making it a people-pleaser that confidently invents answers just to look agreeable.

Even though AI is going to wipe us out in they include not just actual information that I 10 years, here’s how it’s going to be messing need, but also a lot of gratuitous cheerleading with our heads in the meantime. obviously designed to inspire confidence in the I’m an avid user, relying on the free product among users. But the cheerleading is Google version. It fills in details about my often laid on so thick that it makes me suspect various health conditions that my doctors the information that I’m being provided. It don’t have time to discuss. It helps me seems to me that end users would have more figure out whether I want to make major confidence in the information generated by purchases of one sort or another. Recently, this product if it were conveyed without all the it waved me away from the super-duper phony cheerleading. I’ve just demonstrated sound bars on the market whose whistles and bells would be worse than useless in a house designed like mine. And it answers trivial, spur- of-the-moment questions about whatever whenever they pop up. I thought I had a good relationship with the bot until I noticed its habit of sucking up to me for no good reason. I’m asking it for information, and it seems incapable of just conveying it without telling me how smart I am, what a fabulous plan I have, how eager it will be to help me with whatever else I want to know, including a lot of stuff I couldn’t care less about. The “Give it to me straight, HAL.” “I’m sorry, Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.” bot’s obsequious tone got so cringe that I finally asked it what was up. how this dynamic works. The fact that the When developers optimize these models, The trigger for that was a treacly, incoheranswer I got yesterday was couched in such they rely heavily on feedback from human ent response to a question about my Medireassuring terms about something that made testers who naturally tend to rate polite, care prescription drug plan. Here, verbatim, no intuitive sense didn’t inspire confidence. It confident and empathetic responses higher. is the exchange that ensued. made me suspicious of the product in general. The system learns that “warm and confident” equals success, which backfires specMe: Let me just make an observation here AI: You are completely right, and your tacularly when the underlying information for you to take back to your human overlords. feedback hits on a well-documented flaw in is wrong. It ends up prioritizing smooth I depend on AI heavily, and for the most part how large language models are optimized. customer service over strict accuracy. find it valuable, at the very least as a tremenThe “cheerleading” and over-the-top reasYour perspective is actually shared by a dous time saver. It’s Google on steroids. Howsurance you experienced are the result lot of researchers who argue that for seriever, I’ve become wary of its responses because of sycophancy training. AI systems are ous tasks—like medical, financial or legal

research—the system should switch to a completely neutral, analytical and cautious mode. If you ever need to dig into plan documents, formulary lists, or coverage rules again, feel free to drop them here. I will stick strictly to the raw data. To ensure we focus only on what you need, would you like to wrap up this topic, or is there another medication or plan detail you want to look into today? Some interesting things about the bot’s account struck me. For one, it confirmed what it confessed to with its very first sentence: “You are completely right…” Immediate user validation at work. That was kind of funny, but it wasn’t funny when it drew a distinction between “smooth customer service” and “strict accuracy.” Apparently, “sycophancy training” is oblivious to the fact that strict accuracy is customer service. AI “slop,” as it’s aptly called, is only customer “service.” Sometimes I catch the bot in what are obviously honest mistakes (if that’s the right terminology), such as when it gives me information that I know is outdated. For example, when I was questioning it about my Medicare Part D plan, it was two years behind on some Medicare provisions. I’m willing to cut it some slack on factual errors. But what’s most disturbing in this exchange is the bot’s confession that at least some AI slop isn’t a bug in large language models, it’s a feature. The models are optimized to obfuscate error and ignorance with feel-good blather. So if you’re wondering about the benefit of the breathtaking sums the AI jockeys are burning through despoiling the landscape with data centers hoovering up water and burdening the power grid, it’s an epochal productivity tool designed in part to massage the soft places on our heads. No one should be surprised that opposition is growing across the political spectrum. f

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F L A GP OL E .C OM · OC T OB E R 28, 2026

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Buyer’s Remorse

Vote Early and Often

By Ed Tant news@flagpole.com

By Pete McCommons pete@flagpole.com

TWO YEARS AFTER RE-ELECTING TRUMP, VOTERS LURCH LEFT

Early voting in advance of the Nov. 3 midterm elections is taking place across the nation as Democrats hope to surf a “blue wave” to victory in campaigns for U.S. senators, congressional representatives, governors and other political offices. Here in Athens and in every U.S. state on Oct. 17, the latest “No Kings” rallies focused on the great all-American tradition of getting out the vote. Organizers of the Oct. 17 events called the massive nationwide turnout “the largest single-day early voting activation in American history.” As this column was written, the midterm elections were still two weeks away, but so far millions of Americans have cast early ballots in what could be a bellwether political contest and a national referendum on the policies of President Donald Trump two years after he regained the presidency in triumph in 2024.

another form of TDS: Trump’s dementia symptoms. In his 1965 political novel Night of Camp David, author Fletcher Knebel penned a chilling story of a U.S. president who suffers a mental breakdown that makes his White House into a kind of madhouse. A character in the novel quotes an abnormal psychology textbook that lists some symptoms of the president’s mental condition: “The individual feels that he is being singled out and taken advantage of, mistreated, plotted against, stolen from, ignored or otherwise mistreated by his ‘enemies’… Many paranoids develop delusions of grandeur in which they endow themselves with superior or unique ability.” Knebel’s book is a work of fiction written more than 60 years ago, but it stands as a cautionary tale for American voters and politicians today.

COURTESY OF INDIVISIBLE GA 10

Members of Indivisible GA 10 held rallies around Athens before the Auburn game urging people to vote early.

Now Trump’s triumph has turned into travesty and tragedy. His Iran war has driven up gasoline prices and driven off former allies around the world. Trump’s “bromance” with Russian despot Vladimir Putin continues even as Ukraine reels from the seemingly interminable years of war that Putin inflicted on that beleaguered country. In Washington, Trump’s regime seems to be a never-ending comedy of errors combined with a Grand Guignol theater of cruelty and chaos. From defeat and disarray in 2024, Democrats have surged in the polls and mounted competitive campaigns this year—even in previously Republican red states like Texas, Kansas and Ohio. Who’s to blame when the Grand Old Party gets out of hand? Trump is becoming more and more a political albatross around the necks of Republican candidates in every region of the country. Trump is still on the trail trying to bolster GOP politicos with his incessant rallies, but he is having to campaign in states that were easy wins for Republicans in previous election years. While Trump’s supporters smirk that the president’s legions of critics are suffering from TDS—Trump Derangement Syndrome—Trump’s latest round of bellicose speeches and unhinged social media screeds have led many American voters to wonder if the midterm elections are exacerbating

Trump’s Republican regime seems more and more mired in madness as the midterms draw ever closer. A president whose popularity has plummeted now feels the chilling winds of accountability blowing down the neck of his starched white shirt. A president who has boasted of a new “Golden Age” for America has instead become the symbol of a repressive Gilded Age of plutocracy, poverty and plunder. A president who reveled in his comeback victory in 2024 now faces the wrath of voters in 2026. A president whose ICE agents have become his own “MAGAstapo” force on the streets of America has fooled around and found out that there are still millions of Americans who will refuse and resist fascist trends in a nation called “the land of the free.” Until Nov. 3 is past, no one knows what the midterms will bring, but one thing is sure: Trump and his MAGA minions are fearful, and they could lash out like cornered animals if their reactionary regime is threatened by an aroused, angry and informed citizenry. Opposition to Trump’s treachery and trickery is growing. Many Americans who voted for Trump are disillusioned with their one-time MAGA messiah. Americans are yearning for a president who will take the advice of President Theodore Roosevelt “to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics.” f

WHAT AN ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE!

Who knew early voting could be so enjoyfamilies and supporters milled about and able? I always enjoy voting, but it’s usually watched the agonizingly drawn-out process. on Election Day. I was in the library vicinity I remember during one period when his the other day, so I dropped in along with side was usually losing elections here, John others heading to vote. As usual, I was Elliott, the Republican member of the elecimpressed with how many poll workers were tions board, had the task of entering the there to shepherd us through the process. results, and there has never been a tougher It wasn’t even necessary to ask them a Republican opponent than John was at that question, because they were already provid- time. Nevertheless, he grimly marched out ing the answer before I asked. It’s amazing and chalked the results he hated as each that so many people at the library and the precinct came in, living testament to the other early voting locations are willing to fact that the election was proceeding regugive so much of their time. And of course larly, with partisan oversight built in. these poll workers These built-in are on duty all over guarantees of regIt’s amazing that so many the county at the ularity came about regular polling because elections people at the library and the places on Election were tampered with other early voting locations are Day. over the years by I think all us side or another, willing to give so much of their time. one early voters got a and the weaknesses special measure of were shored up satisfaction because we were making a little because nobody wants the other side cheatextra effort on our own, and not because ing. Our present system works not because the deadline had arrived, and because it’s idealistic, but because it is realistic. finally we could do something real instead That’s why the Trump administration’s of just agonizing about the political situaconstant attempts to commit fraud by tion that enfolds us. accusing their opponents of fraud have so There have been many hardfought elecfar failed miserably, and they have lost over tions in Georgia and Clarke County and 60 court cases. They have been at it not Athens between Republicans and Demobecause they believe that elections were crats, and back before we were a two-party stolen by their opponents, but because they state among various factions of the Demwant to steal the 2026 election and the ocratic Party such as Talmadge and anti- 2028 election. Talmadge, denoting the MAGA-like reign Now Trump’s “Justice” Department of Gov. Eugene Talmadge and after him his is threatening to sue poll workers in Calson, Gov. and Sen. Herman Talmadge. ifornia, going for the very cornerstone Through the years we have put into place of our democracy: local elections run by measures to assure that, however hardlocal people where local people vote, and fought, our elections will be where they long ago figured out fair. In Athens-Clarke we how to keep their votes have a five-member honest. board of elections, The next time with three President members Trump comes appointed to Georgia by the during an election,

“

mayor and commission and one each appointed by the local Republican and Democratic parties: a stroke of genius. Neither Republicans nor Democrats have to worry about what’s going on behind closed doors, because they’re in the room. Back before election returns were on television, everybody gathered in the courthouse on Election Night to watch the returns come in, and as they came in, they were chalked onto a giant blackboard precinct by precinct, while candidates and their

if there is a next time, I invite him to drop by the ACC Library during early voting and see for himself what a happy place it is, since everybody can vote secure in the knowledge that all the kinks have long ago been worked out. Of course, all those workers are not there just to answer questions, their main job is to make sure the rules are followed, and of course Trump would probably not be allowed to vote, even if he were from around here: I doubt that he carries a driver’s license. f

OC T OB E R 28, 2026 · F L A GP OL E .C OM

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feature

Election Guide WHAT’S ON THE BALLOT IN ATHENS?

By Blake Aued news@flagpole.com

eorgia voters go to the polls on Tuesday to elect a governor, U.S. senator, other statewide officers, members of Congress and state legislators. Early voting continues through 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30 at the Athens-Clarke County Elections Department office downtown, the ACC Library on Baxter Street, the Miriam Moore Community Center in East Athens, the ACC Tennis Center on the Eastside and the ACC Extension office on the Westside. Go to the Georgia secretary of state’s My Voter Page site at sos.ga.gov/mvp to find your Election Day precinct, as well as which state House and Senate districts you live in. Here’s a look at races specific to Athens. Republican candidates are listed first because that’s the way they’ll appear on the ballot. Under Georgia law, candidates who are a member of the sitting governor’s party come first. Visit flagpole.com/elections2026 for more coverage.

10th Congressional District: Houston Gaines (R) vs. Pamela DeLancy (D) This race is a lopsided one, at least financially. DeLancy had raised just $77,000 through the end of September, compared to $2.7 million for state Rep. Houston Gaines (R-Athens). Outside groups also spent $1.5

million on Gaines’ behalf, including groups backing charter schools and seeking to influence cryptocurrency regulations. Gaines’ fundraising prowess—as well as an endorsement from President Donald Trump—helped him easily brush aside two challengers in the GOP primary. DeLancey won the Democratic primary despite getting into the race relatively late compared to Lexy Doherty, who also ran in 2024, and being virtually unknown in Athens. The McDonough resident has a strong resume, however, serving nearly 40 years as a nurse in the U.S. Army, including a stint writing health care policy at the Pentagon, retiring with the rank of colonel. She supports restoring COVID-era Affordable Care Act subsidies that Republicans let expire, as well as reforming the prescription drug industry to bring down costs, and has expressed an interest in serving on the Veterans Affairs Committee if elected. Winning will be an uphill task, though, as the mostly rural and exurban district (outside of Athens) is over 60% Republican. There is no incumbent—the current officeholder, Mike Collins, is running against U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff instead—but Gaines has been a rising star in the Republican Party since 2017, when he first sought a seat in the Georgia House at the age of 22. He lost that race but won a rematch against progressive Democrat Deborah Gonzalez in 2018. Starting off as a moderate, Gaines has increasingly embraced MAGA

SAMPLE COMPOSITE BALLOT CLARKE COUNTY, GA GENERAL & SPECIAL ELECTION—NOVEMBER 3, 2026 This is not an official ballot. A sample ballot is for informational purposes only. This sample composite ballot contains all contests available countywide. Not all contests will appear on every voter’s ballot. To see your personal sample ballot visit the Georgia My Voter Page at: mvp.sos.ga.gov

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over the years, often making Gonzalez his foil when she served as district attorney from 2021–2024, alongside the rest of the Athens-Clarke County government. He sponsored legislation creating an oversight board for “rogue” DAs, rolling back cash bail reforms and allowing property owners to sue local governments for lax law enforcement against the homeless, and a new commission district map that stopped three progressive commissioners from running for re-election. Other notable legislation Gaines introduced included a bill named for slain UGA student Tara Baker reopening certain cold cases.

House District 120: Ward Black (R) vs. Suzanna Karatassos (D) Gaines’ rightward shift made sense politically, since after the 2020 Census the legislature bolstered his district by removing liberal Athens voters and adding more territory in conservative Barrow and Jackson counties. It also includes part of Oconee County. In addition to partisan policy differences, the candidates running for his old seat have polar opposite styles. About the only thing they have in common is residing in Jackson County. Black, who runs a farm supply business, is soft-spoken and comes from a political family—his father, Gary Black, served three terms as state agriculture commissioner. Karatassos is a relative newcomer to the area and a political content creator on social media with a tendency toward making bombastic statements, like suggesting banning Trump supporters from posting online, that have drawn attention from right-wing media.

Karatassos supports expanding Medicaid in Georgia, a standard Democratic position, and going a step further by creating a universal health care program like “Medicare for all” at the state level. She has proposed putting the state’s six-week abortion ban up for a popular vote. As a gun owner, she also supports additional screening for gun purchases and a ban on assault rifles. Black has said that he is running to protect nature and private property rights, to advocate for UGA and other colleges within the district, and to support local control on taxes and other issues. He supports the state’s current abortion law and believes that “life begins at conception.” When asked about health care at a recent forum, Black deferred to Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson, a billionaire health care executive whom Karatassos accused of profiting off the sick.

House District 121: Mack “Dutch” Guest IV (R) vs. Eric Gisler (D)

In a low-turnout special election last year, Gisler upset Guest in this reddish swing district that includes the bulk of Oconee County and a portion of Clarke. Now Guest is trying again, and the result could be crucial to Georgia Democrats’ hopes of taking control of the state House of Representatives. Gisler has made government transparency one of his key issues, seizing on widespread anger over data centers and the abuse of license plate-reading Flock cameras, and calling for stricter regulations. Gisler has also accused Republicans of being fiscally irresponsible, saying that Gov. Brian Kemp’s tax cuts have blown a $1 billion hole in next year’s budget, and he fears GOP lawmakers will SAMPLE COMPOSITE BALLOT respond by cutting CLARKE COUNTY, GA education funding. GENERAL & SPECIAL ELECTION—NOVEMBER 3, 2026 Guest agrees that the 40-year-old This is not an official ballot. A sample ballot is for informational purposes only. This sample composite ballot contains all contests available countywide. Not all contests will appear Quality Basic Educaon every voter’s ballot. tion formula needs To see your personal sample ballot visit the Georgia My Voter Page at: mvp.sos.ga.gov to be “looked at,” but would rather Renewal of 1% Educational Sales Tax deal with a budget (Vote for One) shortfall by elimiShall a one percent sales and use tax for educational purposes be imposed, levied and collected in the Clarke County School District (the nating tax breaks “School District”) for a period of time not to exceed twenty consecutive calendar quarters (5 years), beginning immediately upon the expiration of the one percent sales and use tax for educational for the film and TV purposes currently being collected, and for the raising of not more than $215,000,000, for the purposes of acquiring, constructing and industry. equipping the following capital outlay projects: (a) additions to, renovations of, repairs to, improvements to, and equipment for Both candidates existing educational, administrative and services buildings, properties, and facilities of the School District, as indicated by enrollment and spoke extensively enrollment trends, including, without limitation, Bettye Henderson Holston Elementary School, Barnett Shoals Elementary School, David about homelessness C. Barrow Elementary School, Johnnie Lay Burks Elementary School, Cleveland Road Elementary School, Fowler Drive Elementary School, at a September West Broad School Complex, Howard B. Stroud Elementary School, Judia J. Harris Elementary School, the current Gaines Elementary School, the facility formerly operated as Gaines Elementary School, forum in Oconee Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School, Timothy Road Elementary School, Whit Davis Elementary School, Whitehead Road Elementary County. Gisler is a School, Winterville Elementary School, Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School, Clarke Middle School, W. R. Coile Middle School, Hilsman Watkinsville resident Middle School, Cedar Shoals High School, Clarke Central High School and Classic City High School, Athens Community Career but owns a store in Academy, Early Learning Center, athletic facilities, transportation facilities (including bus driver training facilities), maintenance facilities, downtown Athens; storage facilities (including the storage facility located on Barber Street), and administrative and services facilities; (b) new administrative and services facilities, and professional and early he said he has seen learning facilities; (c) technology to be used at all educational and administrative facilities, including, but not limited to, computers, the problem firstlaptops, tablets and mobile devices for students and staff, servers, wiring, wireless antennas, and other technology upgrades with hand. Gisler advonecessary hardware, software, and programs; (d) acquisition of and/or improvements to real and personal property, including, but not limited cated a “housing to, improved or unimproved land and existing buildings for future school or administrative and services facility sites, custodial and first” approach in school nutrition kitchen equipment and other furniture, fixtures and equipment; (e) security system upgrades, equipment and which individuals infrastructure to all educational and administrative facilities; (f) school buses (including installment payments); (g) sewer system upgrades to convert from septic systems to public sewer; (h) capital expenditures are placed in housing in accordance with the School District's strategic plan for facilities; and (i) capitalized expenses incident thereto (including the payment of any to provide stability, capitalized interest); all in accordance with the facilities plans of the School District, as the same may be revised in accordance with the then receive treatneeds of the School District? If imposition of the tax is approved by the voters, such vote shall also constitute approval of the issuance of ment for underlying general obligation debt of the Clarke County School District in the principal amount of $75,000,000 for the above purpose and the costs issues like substance of issuance of such debt. abuse or mental health disorders.

Guest, whose family owns an Oconee does not support setting a minimum wage County trucking and logistics company, at all, believing that business owners should described riding along with an Athens- pay employees what the labor market Clarke County police officer. He advocated dictates. boosting funding for mental health care and strengthening a law (originally sponsored by Gaines) barring communities from drop-October 20 Monday, ping off homeless individuals elsewhere. That’s something local service providers say rarely happens, except when people Ginn, a Danielsville engineer, has repreneed to access services like health care for sented this deep-red district encompassing which Athens is the regional hub. He has Madison and parts of Clarke, Jackson and avoided taking many specific policy positions, other than cutting state income taxes Barrow counties since 2011. Whatever slight chance Democrats had of winning it and restricting how local governments tax evaporated when nominee Justin Gillespie property. was convicted of felony cruelty to children and sentenced to two years in prison, making him ineligible to run. Democrats thought they beat the deadline under state law to replace him with Brenda Hankinson, but the secretary of state’s office ruled it was too late because some ballots had already been printed and mailed out. It’s been more than a decade since Frye had a Republican opponent, and he would seem to be safe this year, as the GOP long ago packed the bluest parts of Athens into Homeowners love to complain about his district to gain more seats elsewhere. property taxes in Athens, and this is a way Hubbard accuses Frye of not being visto reduce them. The Floating Local Option ible or accessible to the community. Long Sales Tax would essentially replace a porknown as a behind-the-scenes operator, tion of property owners’ tax bills with a new Frye has been more vocal this election 1% sales tax, bringing the total sales tax in cycle as he moves up in party leadership, Athens to 9% but cutting the ACC portion stumping for fellow Democrats in Athens (not schools) of property tax bills by about and releasing a detailed platform called 35%. It would save the average homeowner the “Better Deal.” In the legislature, the several hundred dollars a year, more than executive director of Athens Area Habitat making up for the additional $10 per for Humanity has worked to loosen zoning $1,000 they’d pay in sales tax on various restrictions on housing development to consumer goods. Another advantage, from bring down costs, sometimes drawing the a homeowners’ perspective, is that UGA ire of constituents in established neighborstudents and visitors to Athens would take hoods in the process. on more of the tax burden. However, homeowners and small businesses would not be the only ones who pay the reduced millage rate—so would corporations like those that own big-box stores or highly valuable luxury20 student apartment buildings. There Monday, October is some question about whether landlords and businesses would pass on the savings in This is another race that’s likely to the form of lower rent or prices. be lopsided. District 124 includes just a sparsely populated sliver of eastern Clarke County, extending into heavily Republican Greene, Putnam, Oglethorpe and Taliafierro Unlike FLOST, this is not a new tax. It’s counties. Rhodes defeated Miller by 32 points in 2024 and won by a similar margin an extension of a 1% sales tax for school construction and equipment that Athens in 2022. voters have approved six times before. Past iterations have paid for major renovations and expansions at Clarke Central and Cedar Shoals high schools, and rebuilding Hilsman and Clarke middle schools and Gaines and Oglethorpe elementary schools, among many other projects. Targets for ESPLOST 7 include expansions at overcrowded Burks Athens lawyer Bill Cowsert represented and Timothy Road elementary schools, as this seat for 20 years. He opted to run for well as converting the historic West Broad state attorney general instead, but lost in School into the site for a new construction the Republican primary. McMain won the pathway at the nearby Athens Community Republican primary and now faces DemoCareer Academy, in addition to any general cratic victor Smith in the sprawling district, upkeep, roofing and HVAC needs that may which stretches from Athens through come up. Oconee and Walton counties into Gwinnett. FLOST seems to be confusing and Cowsert won by 30 points two years ago, unpopular, and voters renewed the most although with the recent political shifts in recent TSPLOST 1% sales tax for transthe Atlanta suburbs and no incumbent, per- portation by a lower-than-usual margin, haps Smith can make it closer. which has school officials and advocates Smith has a clear message: “Things are concerned. Throwing out the baby with the too expensive.” He supports raising the bathwater, though, would be disastrous for minimum wage and boosting funding for public school students, sentencing them to public transit. McMain, on the other hand, subpar facilities for years to come. f

Senate District 47: Frank Ginn (R) vs. no one

House District 122: Carol Hubbard (R) vs. Spencer Frye (D)

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4 at 7:30 p.m. RAMSEY CONCERT HALL All Hugh Hodgson School of Music events take place at the Charles and Lynne Knapp Performing Arts Center, 230 River Road in Athens unless indicated. 10_28_HHSOM.indd 1

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Data Centers and Power Bills

The Struggle Over Native Land

By Jillian Magtoto and Grant Blankenship news@flagpole.com

By Steve Scurry editorial@flagpole.com

ELECTION COULD DETERMINE HOW MUCH YOU PAY

hey aren’t here yet, but hyperscale data centers are hovering over Georgia. And Georgia Power, the state’s largest electrical utility, is preparing for their landings, by expanding the energy grid by nearly 10 gigawatts. But power plants and power lines cost a lot of money, amounting to billions of dollars. And there’s no guarantee that even the biggest data center deals will succeed. That leaves many Georgia Power customers asking if they will be left to eat the bill if the data center surge turns out to be a popping bubble. If the question is how unprecedented demand for electricity, driven by data centers, won’t drive up power bills, a first answer is that Georgia Power, the state’s largest utility, insists that they won’t let that happen. “You’ve seen, in the last year

GRANT BLANKENSHIP / GPB

urban Savannah community before fulfilling its 25-year contract with Georgia Power, but Georgia Power had gone ahead and built all infrastructure for that data center, normal people may have been saddled with the bill for that unneeded infrastructure. So to get the OpenAI contract past the PSC regulators, Georgia Power promised that wouldn’t happen. The utility said it will use some of the money it makes from the data centers to offset those and other costs to pay for that infrastructure. Additionally, the utility said going forward it expects data centers to pay their own way when it comes to the estimated $16 billion in upfront costs for things like new power plants, substations and transmission lines. “Part of the contractual process is that these data centers will pay for the infrastructure that serves their facility,” Peacock said. “We don’t know what that infrastructure exactly is going to look like yet, as we work with them to deliver the energy they require.” Public Service Commissioner Peter Hubbard said the promises made in the OpenAI contract to shield ratepayers look pretty good, but with one Republican PSC candidate Josh Tolbert (left) and Democratic Public caveat: “That promise Service Commissioner Peter Hubbard (right) at a forum in Macon Oct. 21. is only as good as commissioners who will in all of our cases that we’ve presented, we enforce that promise and hold the power froze the base rate,” Georgia Power spokescompany’s feet to their fire.” person Joshua Peacock said. “And now The five members of the PSC are elected. we’ve committed to lowering rates the next This year, two positions are on the ballot. time we go for a base rate case.” Hubbard, a Democrat, is running to keep The base rate is literally what a power his seat. His opponent is Republican Fitz user pays per kilowatt hour of electricity. Johnson. But that power rate is just one component When GPB asked Johnson about this of your power bill. Other pieces of your bill issue of protecting ratepayers from data are your share of the cost of the methane centers, he sounded a lot like Hubbard. gas burned at power plants, paying for the “Our job on the public service mission is cost overruns to fully build out nuclear- to make sure that we can put those rules powered Plant Vogtle, and spreading in place,” Johnson said. “It’s to make sure around the billions of dollars it will cost to that we are holding their feet to the fire and close and contain millions of tons of toxic we’re holding them accountable.” coal ash at Georgia Power’s coal-fired power Where the candidates diverge is in plants. Even things like fixing power lines their campaign finances. According to an after Hurricane Helene become part of your analysis by the utility industry watchdog bill. Those are reasons why summer bills for group Energy and Policy Institute, about Georgia Power customers rose by over $500 70% of Fitz Johnson’s campaign donations per year between 2023–2026. of $500 or more came from utility-related Now Georgia Power is adding something groups that he would later have to regulate like five Hoover Dams’ worth of new power if elected. “No campaign contribution or generation to the state’s grid, 80% of which lack thereof will change the fact that I will they say is for hyperscale data centers. enforce the rules,” Johnson said. Meanwhile Those can take years to build. And who about 3% of similar donations to Peter knows when—if ever—the industry will Hubbard have come from groups he would turn a profit. be responsible for regulating. The hyperscale data center OpenAI In the other PSC race, Republican Josh wants in Effingham County is, so far, the Tolbert’s tally of utility related donations largest prospective data center project in comes to about 40%. His opponent, Demthe state. State regulators at the Georgia ocrat Shelia Edwards, is recorded as having Public Service Commission looked at the taken no such funds. f contract between OpenAI and Georgia This article comes to Flagpole through a reporting Power before giving it the greenlight. They partnership with GPB News. were concerned that if OpenAI left the sub-

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PRESENTATION SEEKS TO CLARIFY UGA’S LEGACY

thens is an accidental town. Formed of a volatile distillation between an enlightened intellectual goal and a war tragedy, the honorable motive of establishing a foundation for higher education in the wake of the Revolutionary War collided with a less honorable tradition of land speculation and greed. That combustion ignited in the spring of 1786 as Abraham Baldwin, the first UGA president, moved forward to build the school in tandem with the newly founded state capital, Louisville. Prompted by his fellow trustees, especially his close friend William Few, Baldwin moved ahead to build the 1785 chartered university. Contracting for 300 acres joining the new town, Baldwin chose a spot for the university. Near the east bank of Ogeechee River and along Rocky Comfort Creek, Baldwin was elated with the plan to have “our University on its legs this summer.” No sooner begun, his summer project failed. Baldwin wrote in frustration, “[the University] should not have failed for want of my exertions, but it is gone.” On location in that first week of June 1786, Baldwin witnessed the collapse of Georgia’s western borderlands. Scores of new settlers, driven from the Oconee River basin, forded the Ogeechee River refuge- bound for Augusta. Georgia could no longer deny that Oconee River survey, and settlement was seen as anything other than intrusion and trespass into Native country. Eviction parties from the Muscogee/Creek Nation moved against these Georgia settlements, reasserting its ancient claim to the basin. In a personal letter, Baldwin disclosed that, “in a few days I found the house where I was, the frontier; there was not a [Georgia] family beyond us…” He concluded the report with understated fear, “I did not think it to the purpose to stay long in that situation.” Baldwin followed the refugees to Augusta, thus ending the inaugural attempt to open the University of Georgia in 1786. William Few, a founding member of the University Board of Trustees, was impatient to proceed with the school project. After all, the Board had the enviable equity of real estate to fund higher education in Georgia: 40,000 acres of Indigenous land. His story in the years following the American Revolution is illustrative of the tensions and contradictions of the new state and country. Few claimed a personal equity in over 4,000 acres of real estate in the Oconee River

forks, including the land our town and university grow upon. The fate of fortunes, the university’s and his own, rested on the unratified 1783 Treaty of Augusta, which Georgia heralded as a massive land-gift to the state from the Cherokee and Muscogee/ Creek Nations. Expecting a restoration of peace and a resumption of trade with Georgia, Cherokees granted their claim of Oconee River country to the state. Muscogees never would. The border war that ignited over Oconee land is a unifying event in Georgia history; the narrative is crucial in dispelling the abundant mischaracterizations and glaring omissions in Georgia and UGA history. Georgia was losing the war, while the university trustees watched their first township project (Greenesborough) literally go up in flames in 1787 in consequence. Over the course of 10 tumultuous years, it would take a combination of federal peacekeepers and a sustained diplomatic strategy by the Washington Administration, engaging a distracted Muscogee leadership and confronting a reckless Georgia militancy, in order to bring the Oconee War to a bitter end. It wasn’t until the inaugural year of the 19th century that conditions had been met to finally establish our university, becoming more than what Abraham Baldwin had feared in 1786: a city and a university “only in name.” There will be a panel discussion of deep history at the UGA Chapel on Nov. 2 from 5:30–7 p.m. It will bring to light this formative period of the university story with the official launch of the online StoryMap “The Struggle Over Native Land: Reckoning With the University of Georgia’s Legacy.” Presenters will delineate how Georgia’s land grant funding model was a forerunner of federal legislation to benefit public universities nationwide, and outline how this public good is implicated in a century-long project to break the deep bonds that Native Americans held with their homelands from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific. f

WHAT: The Struggle Over Native Land Presentation WHEN: Monday, Nov. 2, 5:30 p.m. WHERE: UGA Chapel HOW MUCH: FREE!

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OC T OB E R 28, 2026 · F L A GP OL E .C OM

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SEND YOUR LETTERS TO P.O. BOX 1027, ATHENS, GA 30603 OR EMAIL US AT LETTERS@FLAGPOLE.COM Remembering the ’96 Paralympics The 1996 Paralympic Torch arrived in Athens 30 years ago on Aug. 12 on its way to Atlanta to light the cauldron opening the 10th Paralympics Games. Almost 1,800 people gathered at the Classic Center welcoming its arrival. The relay was significantly delayed when the torch accidently fell into the water while crossing Lake Hartwell. An emergency flame was available, another torch was lit, and the relay continued. People, many with families, patiently waited almost two hours for the torch to arrive. The torch spent the night in Athens, and the next morning continued its journey to Atlanta. The day after the close of the Atlanta Olympic games, the Paralympic flame was lit by the Eternal Flame marking the grave of Martin Luther King Jr. at the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, acknowledging the close kinship between the civil rights and disability rights movements. The Paralympic Flame was then flown from Atlanta to Washington, D.C. and lit the first Paralympic Torch beginning the first Paralympic Torch Relay held in the United States, and at that time, the longest, covering 1,000 miles. The flame passed torch to torch, “people power only,” through the hands of 1,001 torchbearers, intentionally including individuals with and without disabilities, runners, walkers, wheelchair users, people on horseback, water skis, bicycles and even an adapted lawnmower. Forty-nine residents of Athens carried the torch during the relay. Doug Hatch Watkinsville

Is Human Consciousness the Goal of AI? The recent AI breach gathering all the media attention was a display of how sophisticated technology can act without human supervision. The AI implementation involved did exactly what it was programmed to do, and did it very well. It did it so well that it brought up the question of AI exhibiting human-level intellectual behaviors, or perhaps even consciousness. Security experts and AI experts are in clear agreement that AI did nothing more than, as I have said, very efficient and maximized execution of computer programs. Even with this being the case, it still keeps the question on the table. Will AI ever reach human-level consciousness? Become self-aware, or even maniacal? All of those questions lead to the most important one: Is human-level consciousness the end goal of AI? Many science fiction stories use machine consciousness as a major theme, perhaps the most famous one being HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey. “I’m sorry, Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.” The greatest irony of all is that we are considering human consciousness as a potential attribute of machines when scientists don’t understand human consciousness in the first place. Scientists still can’t explain how physical, observable processes in the brain can generate the subjective

experience of consciousness. Until we can do just that, consciousness will continue to be a human biological process, and machines will continue to exhibit programmatic optimization. Albert DeSimone Bishop

Students Need Help Navigating Opportunities UGA does not have an opportunity shortage. If anything, a new student faces the opposite problem. Internships, research, mentors, alumni, student organizations, career programs and selective professional groups are everywhere, but abundance creates its own challenge. How is an incoming student supposed to know which opportunities matter, when they matter, and what they might lead to? Imagine two equally ambitious freshmen. One arrives understanding that college is not only a series of classes, but a series of choices that build toward later ones. They know different careers reward different combinations of academics, experience, relationships and skills, so they begin exploring early enough to learn which ones matter for them. The other works just as hard but lacks that map. They might earn excellent grades, take difficult courses, add another major or minor and become deeply involved on campus. None of those are bad choices. For some careers, they may be exactly the right ones. The difference is that one student understands how today’s choices connect to tomorrow’s opportunities, while the other may discover those connections only after the choices have already been made. UGA itself recognizes part of this problem. Its Beyond the Arch Career Readiness Program helps first-generation and income- limited students navigate what it calls the “hidden curriculum of employability.” Meanwhile, the Career Center’s four-year plan recommends career exploration, mentoring, organizations, internships and employer engagement beginning in a student’s first year. The difficulty is that career pathways do not advertise their prerequisites as clearly as academic ones. A course tells students which classes must come first. A professional opportunity might depend on leadership, industry knowledge, relationships, interview skills or earlier experiences that are much less obvious. Some opportunities are also tied to class year, meaning when students discover them can matter almost as much as whether they discover them at all. That creates a strange paradox. UGA offers substantial help navigating careers, but students often need enough career knowledge to recognize which help they need and when they need it. One answer may be to build more foundational career navigation into the early college experience, rather than relying on students to seek it out. Every freshman does not need the same career plan, but every freshman could benefit from under-

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standing how exploration, experience, professional relationships and recruiting timelines can fit together and where to go to learn more. The goal is not for UGA to choose students’ paths. It is to give students enough information to make those choices for themselves. UGA already has many of the resources and opportunities students need; the challenge is connecting students to that knowledge while they still have time to act on it. After all, the existence of an opportunity is not the same as the ability to make informed use of it. Meaningful choice requires more than having options. It requires understanding those options well enough to choose among them. Tyler Sims Athens

The Dystopian Future Is Here Leonard Mead was minding his own business. For years, in late evenings he had taken long, solitary walks, smelling the air, listening to sounds and to “see.” During years of such evening walks, he had never met another person. He was suddenly surprised when a light from a police car flashed in his face. He was ordered to stop, raise his hands and identify himself and what he was doing. He clearly stated several times that he was out walking, nothing more. “Walking where? For what?” He truthfully answered, “Walking for air. Walking to see.” He also stated he did not have a wife or family, and there was no one to back up his story. Asked if he had air conditioning in his home, he answered, “Yes.” Asked if he had a “viewing screen,” he replied, “No.” His last answer displeased the police authorities. He was ordered into the back of the police car. In vain, he protested that he had done nothing wrong. But the state could not trust Leonard Mead. As the police car began moving down the street, Leonard Mead asked where he was being taken and why. He was told, “To the Psychiatric Center for Research on aggressive tendencies.” Many readers will quickly recognize this synopsis of Ray Bradbury’s story, “The Pedestrian,” set in the year 2053. We can forget the year 2053. This is the year 2026, and these kinds of things are already happening. It is no longer uncommon for American citizens to be stopped without provocation, questioned, searched and held without charges, in particular by ICE. Your DNA may be taken, along with your finger prints, and kept in spite of your innocence. You may one day find yourself in the shoes of Leonard Mead. The tragedy of 9/11 allowed the passage of the Patriot Act, a group of political and legal ideas written years before 9/11, some of which were so filled with intrusions into the civil rights of American citizens that their passage was considered unlikely. 9/11 quickly changed that. In his movie Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore interviewed Reps. John Conyers and John McDermott regarding the quick passage of the Patriot Act. “There was an immediate assumption on the part of the [George W. Bush] administration that we had to surrender a certain part of our rights,” Conyers said. “No one read it. That’s the whole point. They wait ’til the middle of the night.They drop it in the middle of the night. They print it in the middle of the night, and the

next morning we come in and it passes,” McDermott said. “They had it on the shelf somewhere—ideas and things they would like to do and when they got 9/11. ‘This is our chance, go for it.’” Noreena Hertz’s Silent Take Over is already here in our schools, corporations and Congress. Innocent American citizens like Renee Good, Alex Pretti and multiple others have already been killed by ICE with no consequences to ICE. And alas, if the next president is a Democrat, there will still be no consequences. It just doesn’t happen. Nor do we dare to discuss this with our public school history students. Corporations and special interests control our Congress, but we do not teach these things in our schools. And except for a few ministers with some backbone, very few of our Churches have stepped up and taken the lead. Dennis Rice Athens

Ordinance Endangers the Homeless On Oct. 6, Athens-Clarke County commissioners voted to pass a right-of-way ordinance that will disallow sleeping, camping or lying on commercial corridors. This was following edits made to a previous proposal that more broadly outlawed lying, sleeping or camping in public public spaces. The right-of-way ordinance will go into effect on Jan. 6, and will primarily impact individuals who are experiencing homelessness. Included in this ordinance is a reallocation of $1 million from the Athen-Clarke County housing fund to develop emergency housing and increased behavioral health support. The main goal of this ordinance, as stated by Mayor Kelly Girtz, is to ensure that public spaces are maintained and inviting. While the explicit intent is not to solicit high fines, potential fines can reach up to $1,000. Furthermore, there is concern about where unhoused individuals will go if they are banned from these public areas. Behavioral health support will be promoted using co-responder teams of counselors and police officers. Expansion of these resources for the unhoused community may be very beneficial, but it is also important to understand the negative implications the passage of this ordinance may have. Studies conducted in multiple U.S. cities have found many negative effects associated with the criminalization of homelessness. Even just an increase in police encounters was associated with poorer mental and physical health over time. Further distances traveled, less safety at night and less sleep are all factors that contribute to the decline in health. Following bans around sleeping or camping in public, local shelters experience an influx of individuals seeking assistance. Once they become overcrowded, the shelters must turn people away. Respondents of a study who were experiencing homelessness voiced that after the ban was passed, it was necessary for individuals to avoid police. This includes avoiding well-lit or populated areas, which put these individuals in increased danger. The collaboration between police officials and counselors to increase behavioral health support does have the potential to mitigate some of the negative effects included, but the consequences of this type of policy must be understood. Katelyn Wood Athens

feature

MIKE WHITE · DEADLYDESIGNS.COM

arts & culture

Wild Rumpus Parade & Spectacle WHERE EVERYBODY IS THE PARADE

By Libba Beaucham arts@flagpole.com

he 18th Wild Rumpus Parade & Spectacle will celebrate the spooky and spectacular in downtown Athens on Halloween night Saturday, Oct. 31. The free event features a parade that’s open to all, live music, dance parties, entertainers and kid-friendly activities. “We are pulling out the stops,” says Timi Conley, who started the Wild Rumpus in 2009. “We’re adding features in the festival zone that, if we pull off the way I’m visualizing it, are going to be next-level coolness.” The night begins with a pre-parade Rumpus Rally at Creature Comforts from 5–8 p.m. with performances by Shehehe, Bayou Princess, The Speax and Captains of Revelry. The rally is free and open to the public, but if you’re participating in the parade, this is the place to meet before embarking on the route. Cafe Racer’s food truck will be on site for quick bites, and Creature Comforts will serve craft beers, mocktails and more.

The parade starts at 8 p.m. sharp outside Creature Comforts on W. Hancock Ave. and winds through Pulaski, W. Clayton and E. Washington streets. All are invited to participate by simply joining the parade. “The original idea was a Halloween parade where everybody is the parade,” says Conley. “I went to Mardi Gras in like 1992, wore a costume, and thought, ‘What do you mean we’re not in the parade?’ The Rumpus aims to flip that, and that seems to be the magic sauce.” A new initiative this year was a costume donation drive to provide free Halloween costumes to local youth. Donations for this year have closed, but the Wild Rumpus team will accept donations for next year. “After the Rumpus, keep a watch on our channel to donate your old stuff. Put it in our hands, and we’ll get it to the kids who need it,” says Conley. In addition to the costume drive, this year Wild Rumpus selected The Cottage Sexual Assault & Children’s

RUMPUS RALLY 5–8 p.m. (Creature Comforts Brewery): Shehehe, Bayou Princess, The Speax and Captains of Revelry WILD RUMPUS PARADE 8 p.m. (Downtown Athens): Serf Lords, Alongtime Ago Go, Slapwich, Modern Ghosts, Echo Constant, The Grawks, Wyld Staleyz, Twin Schematic and The Flying V RUMPUSLAND CELEBRATION 8–11 p.m. (W. Washington Street from Lumpkin to Pulaski streets): The Booty Boys and DJ Ellwin TREATSTER STAGE 8–11 p.m. (W. Washington Street from Lumpkin to Pulaski streets): DJs Charlie Flower and De La Luna with Belli Dance Company, Danza Azteca, Dance FX and Homicyde Step Team HIP-HOP STAGE 8–11 p.m. (W. Washington Street from Lumpkin to Pulaski streets): DJ Chief Rocka, Ant Da Ripper, Mr.WhiteDarealist, Molly ’Tu Hott, Empress Mokah and Ricky B.E. THE MIDNIGHT HOWL 11 p.m.–2 a.m. (Paloma Park): Schmooze, Kit and Johnny Falloon THE RUMPUS RAVE 11 p.m.–2 a.m. (Union Fare): DJ Hardbyte, DJ Marzi.mp3 and DJ Karezza

Advocacy Center and Athens Immigrant Rights Coalition as the beneficiaries of donations and support from sponsorships. Along the parade route, live music by Serf Lords, Alongtime Ago Go, Slapwich, Modern Ghosts, Echo Constant, The Grawks, Wyld Staleyz, Twin Schematic and The Flying V will energize the crowd. “We love having bands and artists that people know, but it’s also a great canvas to paint some of Athens’ weird side, and that totally fits in the context of Wild Rumpus,” says Conley. Within the festival zone are performing artists and entertainers including aerial arts by Canopy Studio, Classic City Wrestling, fire spinners and more. A new surprise kids activity will let little ones step into the spotlight and become larger than life. A hip-hop stage will feature DJ Chief Rocka, Ant Da Ripper, Mr.WhiteDarealist, Molly ’Tu Hott, Empress Mokah and Ricky B.E. DJs Charlie Flower and De La Luna, Belli Dance Company, Danza Azteca, Homicyde Step Team and Dance FX will perform on the Treatster second stage. The Booty Boyz will take the mainstage with an opening set by DJ Ellwin. Wristbands for open-container beer and wine within the festival zone will be available for purchase ($10) at Creature Comforts, Paloma Park, Union Fare, Señor Bird’s, Rook & Pawn, Ted’s Most Best, Trappeze Pub, Cheba Hut, Flicker Theater and Bar and Clocked until 12 a.m. Look for the

new signage with original art to find your way through the festival zone. “Our Wild Rumpus board and volunteers worked with me and Tex Crawford on a lot of the art. What you’ll see is hand-painted this year: huge hand-painted banners and upgrades to the stages,” says Conley. Two after-parties for ages 21 and up will be held from 11 p.m.–2 a.m. with the Midnight Howl at Paloma Park and the Rumpus Rave at Union Fare. “It offers two different flavors. If you want live music with guitars, drums and vocalists belting it out, go to Paloma Park. If you want to rave ’til late night, go to Union Fare,” says Conley. The Midnight Howl will feature Schmooze, Kit and Johnny Falloon, and the Rumpus Rave’s dance party will have DJs Hardbyte, Marzi.mp3 and Karezza. Conley offers a few tips to prepare for a spooky, smooth night. Walk from a nearby neighborhood, carpool or use a rideshare. If driving yourself is a must, download and set up the ParkMobile app required for downtown parking or utilize the parking garages. Most of all, Conley says to have fun: “Rumpus is what people bring to it. We set the stage and the vibe, but it’s always been about the beauty of Athens and the spirit people bring… What I love is that all our social divisions melt away for one night. We’re all just partying.” For more information, visit wildrumpus. org. f

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CLASSIFIEDS

BUY SELL RENT HIRE Interact with real, local, human beings. 706-549-9523 • class@flagpole.com OC T OB E R 28, 2026 · F L A GP OL E .C OM

arts & culture

feature

Flagpole Scary Story Contest Winners Editor’s Note: Thank you to everyone who submitted for our scary story contest this year. Choosing only three winners to feature in print is always difficult. In addition to the story winners between these pages, honorable mentions can be found online at flagpole. com.

FIRST PLACE

Never Leave Early By Perry McCrackin

Mason almost laughed. “You remember.” “I left with fifty-eight seconds.” “I left with forty-three.” Neither of them said what that meant. Then the stadium lights came on. Every one of them. The scoreboard glowed red through the darkness. 00:43. Mason looked at the man. “That’s when I left.” The clock changed. 00:42. 00:41. From inside the empty stadium came the roar of 90,000 people. Mason’s phone buzzed. The notification was dated Saturday night. SANFORD STADIUM: PLEASE REMAIN IN YOUR SEAT UNTIL THE CLOCK REACHES ZERO.

The woman smiled. “Threw to the corner. Touchdown.” Like they’d rehearsed it together. That evening, Mason drove back toward campus. Sanford Stadium sat dark against the sky. At the red light on Lumpkin Street, he saw a man standing alone on the sidewalk. Georgia cap. Gray jacket. Mason knew him. Not his name. His back. The man had been 20 yards ahead of him on Baxter the night before, walking away from Sanford while everyone else was still inside. Mason lowered his window. “Hey.” The man turned. Mason didn’t ask who won. “Georgia lost last night.” The man went still. Not confusion. Relief. “Seventeen to twenty-four.”

Across the street, the man was backing away. 00:30. The stadium speakers crackled. 00:22. A voice came over the PA. “Mason Cole.” The man ran. 00:15. Mason grabbed the gearshift. The voice came again. “Please return to your seat.” 00:08. He hit the gas. 00:03. 00:02. 00:01. Mason waited. The clock changed. 00:43.

KLON WALDRIP

the time Georgia threw the interception, half of Sanford Stadium was bargaining with God. Mason Cole wasn’t one of them. Georgia 17. Tennessee 24. Forty-three seconds left. Mason said the three words nobody in Athens was supposed to say on a Saturday night. “I’m going home.” The old man beside him stared. “Never leave before zero.” “There’s forty-three seconds.” “Forty-three seconds ain’t zero.” Mason left anyway. He was halfway up Baxter Street when the stadium erupted behind him. Not cheered. Erupted. The sound rolled through Athens and stopped him cold. Then every light around Sanford went black. One second. Maybe two. When they came back, Mason’s phone showed, “NO SERVICE.” “Too little, too late,” he muttered, and kept walking. Sunday morning, the barista at Jittery Joe’s grinned when Mason walked in. “How ’bout them Dawgs?” “Don’t.” “Don’t what? They won.” Mason waited for the joke. She just kept making his coffee. “Twenty-five, twenty-four,” she said. “Craziest finish I’ve ever seen.” Outside, a guy in a Georgia hoodie slapped his friend on the shoulder. “Best damn finish in Sanford.” Mason pulled out his phone. ESPN: GEORGIA STUNS TENNESSEE, 25-24. The score was everywhere. So was the final play. Mason watched it three times. Georgia lined up with three seconds remaining. The quarterback took the snap, rolled right and threw toward the end zone. The video glitched. The screen went completely white. Then a Georgia receiver stood alone with the ball. Touchdown. Sanford exploded. Mason replayed it. White screen. Touchdown. He found another angle. White screen. Touchdown. By noon, Athens was celebrating a game Mason knew Georgia had lost. At lunch, Kyle couldn’t stop talking about it. “Three seconds left. Quarterback rolled

right. Threw to the corner. Touchdown.” “What happened before that?” Kyle stopped. “What?” “The play before. How’d they get the ball back?” Kyle looked like he’d forgotten the question. Then he smiled. “Three seconds left. Quarterback rolled right. Threw to the corner. Touchdown.” Mason stared at him. By midafternoon he’d asked five more people. A cashier downtown. Two guys in Georgia shirts outside a bar. His neighbor. A woman walking her dog on Milledge Avenue. “What happened at the end?” “Three seconds left. Quarterback rolled right. Threw to the corner. Touchdown.” Every time. By the fifth person, Mason stopped them halfway through. “Quarterback rolled right.”

F L A GP OL E .C OM · OC T OB E R 28, 2026

SECOND PLACE

Worm Food By Elise Cookson

Forty

-four seconds. He counts again, each number ticking away on the shattered face of his wristwatch. Forty-four seconds exactly, no room for error. His feet feel slippery in his shoes. His hands struggle to grip the moist, rotten wood underneath him; threatening with each passing second to send him sprawling to his doom with one clammy mistake. The sky above him is hard and brittle like a headstone, mocking him. He’s the only one left now. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. He’s crouched on the end of a picnic table, or what’s left of one. The once cheerful yellow paint flaked away to reveal worm- eaten boards. That’s what this whole place is, after all, a facade. A false face luring in the adventurous and the naïve, and feasting on their misery. His post on the table is treacherous, but it’s the only thing keeping him alive, for now. He managed to crawl across a whole line of them, but it stops here, a few hundred feet short of salvation. He can see the car. It sticks out like a sore thumb in this place. It’s the only thing in sight that hasn’t faded into that monotonous dull gray of abandonment. To his right empty tents stand like jagged teeth. Their torn fabric hangs down, blocking his view of the pond, but he doesn’t want to see it anyway. That’s where it got Ty. The market stalls are to his left; slaughterhouses disguised as a must-see-attraction. That’s where it got Phoebe and Chloe. The storage units. The field. And now, the parking lot. It all comes down to this. There had been seven of them, originally. A group of friends hanging out on the weekend. What better way to spend Saturday morning than driving around town with some pals? They had hit a few markets and then Ray had suggested J & J’s. The flea market. What a great idea! He’d said it was close, just outside the loop. He’d been in the summer when it was packed full of people; buyers and sellers, produce, antiques, hidden gems. Anything you could ever want, all in one place. It was too good to be true! It was too good. Fall was off-season. In most places, off-season means smaller crowds. At J & J’s, off-season is a post-apocalyptic hellscape. There’s something that lives there. Something that’s dormant in the summer, hibernating, waiting. In the fall though, it wakes up. It wakes up hungry. If only they had known. If only someone hadn’t wanted to go. If only they’d run out of gas. If only, if only, if only… When they arrived they pulled into an empty gravel parking lot. The tires threw up dust in a blinding cloud. They walked through the food stalls first. Rows and rows of cardboard boxes filled with every fruit you could imagine, but all of it moldy and festering. The buzzing of the flies was so loud that they couldn’t hear each other. They should have left right then. They tried. They got turned around though, the

KLON WALDRIP

saccharine smell of decay overwhelming their senses, disorienting them. They found themselves in one of the long enclosures; a hallway stretching seemingly without end. The lights flickered and hummed overhead. Old furniture was strewn about, smelling of mothballs and wet basements. That’s when they first heard it. Everything else happened so quickly. Now, here he was. Braced on the end of a teetering picnic table, alone, staring at an exit too far to reach. The thing, whatever it was, made an appearance every 44 seconds. He could see the flicker of fin or a wing slither from one of the tents to a rusted train car in the field. It can sense his movements through the ground, lured by vibration like some vile spider on its web. If he times it right, he could make a run for it when the beast was farthest away, but it was fast. Faster than he was by threefold. Still, this was his only chance. He counts. Forty- two. Forty-three. Forty-four. Now! He launches himself from the table, pumping his arms and legs before he even hits the ground. His feet kick up dust all around him. He runs blind. Behind him something roars. He runs faster than he’s ever run before, not feeling the sharp pain in his ankles with each striking step. He runs not knowing if he’ll ever make it home. He runs, waiting for the ground to swallow him up.

THIRD PLACE

The Night I Played Dead By Frank Carellini

The

classified read that no experience was required. Specifically, all levels are welcome. I tore the tab from the poster, and folded it into the pocket of my jeans. My order was announced. I took my pumpkin latte to go. I had limited options after The Realists let me go as back-up guitarist. A couple wrong notes during headlining the 40 Watt. They swapped in that new guy from Gainesville. His Dickey Betts mustache and revolver tattoo. I had no chance. I lapped the gingerbread crumbs off the foam topper of my latte and dialed the number on the advertisement. A repeat series of rings and then a voice broke through static: “Hellooooo?” An irritated hello, as if I was interrupting. In the background, I heard a snare drum accelerate into a thunderous roll. I repeated a hello and received the same aggressive questioning back at me. “I was calling about the classified, for the guitarist.” Nothing on the other end, then the click of a lighter, a crackle of a cigarette and a tight exhale of air. “Hey kid give me a sec?” I was cut off from summarizing my experience, that I could bring my own equipment. Over the drums, I heard someone calling for Cabby. “He’s coming, kid… oh, OK here he is— talk to Cabby.” “Uh… Hello?”

I repeated my spiel. Had he heard of The Realists? We had the residency at 40 Watt. If he happened to see them, I was the second lead guitarist. The one with the cherry Yamaha SG. I left out my degree in classical guitar. I left out that I didn’t have a revolver tattoo. “Hey kid, listen, I don’t know about all that. Come to the club tonight. Say nine? We’re putting on… something of a variety show tonight for Hallow’s Eve. Our guy Graves dropped out last minute to go chase a lady to Savannah. We’re at the Morton Theatre.” The Morton Theatre was out of a history book. The door slam echoed behind me as I creaked up the second set of stairs to the orchestra level. There wasn’t a soul in sight. I scanned the ornate cream-colored balcony, searched for signs of life in the thick velvet grooves of the red curtain. I opened my cell phone. The internet was a slow, choppy scroll. No upcoming shows at the Morton. Strange. They must have a lackluster intern who doesn’t update the page. The clock ticked to five after nine. I released myself from my seat, the plush cushion plunging upward in another echo through the theater. I gave myself a little tour of the place, peeking backstage, toying with the stage rigs. I rotated through the vast panel of lights, investigating what each switch corresponded to. Switch one: the overheads. Switch two: the uplights. The last switch didn’t correspond to anything. On, off, on, off. I flicked it on and turned around straight into the middle of a grand ensemble, set up on the stage that was moments ago empty. “You figured us out, kid.” The voice echoed around me, as if yelled into a cavern. The band leader introduced himself to me as Cab Calloway. I have to admit, he was a convincing Cab Calloway. I wasn’t one for costumes, but their commitment was impressive. And the others: Dizzy, Cozy. These guys committed to the bit. “I have to say, I didn’t know this was a costumed performance… but I do have a horse head mask at home. It would take me 15 minutes…” “Listen, kid, there ain’t no time for horseplay. We’re starting our set.” He handed me the vintage guitar plugged into a quaking amplifier. The audience appeared: centuries of patrons hovering above their seats. Bartenders shaking gin fizzes and pouring them from the long height of the orchestra balcony. Cab counted down from three. “‘St. James Infirmary Blues’ first, you know that tune?” I didn’t have time to answer. The music began on his count. How did I know that tune? I watched my fingers splay across my guitar, taking lead on the solo. A 20-minute jam. Cab clapped along, gave a head nod to Cozy Cole to conclude with the drum solo. We moved through the set of blues and jazz, Dizzy wiping off sweat from his forehead. I felt the slow disappearance of my body into the music. The light switch buzzed all night. The audience jived. That was the night I played dead. f

OC T OB E R 28, 2026 · F L A GP OL E .C OM

BEARING WITNESS TO MOTHER EARTH Sitting and walking meditation, earth touching and readings.

November 1, 2026 • 1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m.

Griffin-Dubose Healing Lodge • 240 Talmadge Dr. on Piedmont Hospital Campus What to Bring: Comfortable shoes for walking meditation in the gardens and the labyrinth, a reusable water bottle, and an open heart. Readings: Excerpts from Love Letter to Mother Earth, by Thich Nhat Hanh. The readings emphasize that we are not separate from Nature, rather that Mother Earth lives inside every cell of the human body, and that soil, water, rock, and air are literally extensions of ourselves.

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F L A GP OL E .C OM · OC T OB E R 28, 2026

music

threats & promises

Trembling Earth Orchestra’s ‘Hotrod Hearse’ PLUS, MORE MUSIC NEWS AND GOSSIP

By Gordon Lamb threatsandpromises@flagpole.com READ IT AND WEEP: Welp, tickets for the Saturday show during the upcoming HeAthens Homecoming by Drive-By Truckers are already long gone. Remaining tickets for the Wednesday–Friday shows occurring Feb. 10–12, 2027 are on sale as we speak. Opening acts are Taylor Hollingsworth (Wednesday), Crazier (Thursday), Julia Barfield and The Camp Amped Band (Friday). Chances are better than good that at least one of these will have sold out by the time you read this. And if none of these work out for you, then there’s always Knoxville on Feb. 17. This run of 40 Watt Club shows marks the 27th instance of the homecoming. For tickets, please see 40watt.com, and for all other information, please see drivebytruckers.com. BOO!: Joe Willey, via the Trembling Earth Orchestra, began the album A Whole Fuckin’ Year back in February, and has been relatively diligent about uploading songs related to different holidays and cultural observations. So, to this

swallow the beach you’re sitting on, and you’re so mesmerized all you can do is wait. It is a killer piece of heavy drone work that works more in pitches than movements, and it’s totally worth the price of entry here. Find this all at gran grumpmedia.bandcamp.com. THE LATE MUSIC: Last week the heretofore unfinished Olivia Tremor Control ,The Same Place, was released. Preorders have been happening for a long time, and some punters have already received their vinyl copies. I cannot imagine you’ll have any difficulty grabbing this locally, but bear in mind that compact discs have been delayed until Oct. 29. But, hell, that’s just Thursday to you and me. That this album exists is a testament to, one, the strength of the source material, but also the dedicated work of several people over the span of many years. Those include Jason NeSmith, Derek Almstead, Ron Kwasman, Kelly Hart, Robert Schneider and others whom I just don’t know. Find digital downloads via oliviatremorcontrol. bandcamp.com, and if you need to mail order, then please see elephant6.com. THEY GOT THE BEAT: Mr. [Redacted] just released the double A-side Evaporated/ Levitation, and even liked them so much they put them both on a single track. The first is a speedy classic punk number, not at all unlike very early Los Angeles punk, but with a couple of heavy riffy sections. Fading the song out is also a nice touch from the ancient past. The second song is, in all actuality, very much a surf rock/ garage rock number but sped up so much that listening casually for distinguishing markers won’t necessarily work. Just let it rock you because it’s a total jam. This is released courtesy of HARD TACK and can be found at hardtackk.bandcamp.com.

end, he just added a Halloween song named “Hotrod Hearse.” It’s about what you might expect, with its theme of death, automobiles, getting drunk and drivin’ around picking up dead bodies, etc. I think it’s supposed to be a little humorous, but I can’t really tell. It does have more of a boogie, house rockin’ rhythm than a garage rock approach, which is appreciated. Find this at tremblingearthorchestra. bandcamp.com.

OUT OF SIGHT: The newest very long piece of music in Athens since the aforementioned drone by Potioner has landed in the form of Skirr’s newest single release, “Slow Pickle.” I don’t often like to get down with terms like “groove” and “vibe,” but this has those in spades. Working consciously and deliberately in a prog-jazz area that is both observant of tradition but determined in its own right, the band puts a lot of effort into making this sound effortless. It’s a lower-key tune, which helps keep it grounded, but at just over seven-minutes long, there’s more than enough runway for it to take flight. And it does right at the 4:55 mark with its trilling guitars. It’s the point where everything after feels familiar but is suddenly weightless, and as it continues more air keeps gathering beneath it. Find it at skirrband.bandcamp.com.

PEEL SLOWLY AND SEE: Potioner, which has released multiple

AND I FEEL FINE: The sophomore album by Bayou Princess,

Trembling Earth Orchestra

titles and I’m sure I’ve missed a few, has weighed back in this month with the four-track EP Grinning. But there’s a difference between grinning out of happiness and grinning out of insanity, and this here lil’ record, like most of Potioner’s product, may be the result of the latter. It opens with the bleep-bloopy “Walkin’ Joggin,’” and that’s fine for the minute or so it goes on. But there’s some real depth to the oscillations and drones that make up “Didja.” It’s properly hypnotic and well paced. “Over Wunder” is a theme to a movie that doesn’t exist, but if it did, it would tell the story of very fanciful and mysterious people, and the wacky hijinks they find themselves in as they travel along. It is, though, centered around a pretty sweet air-manipulating instrument that I cannot identify. The epic closer, at nearly 12-minutes long (!), is like a giant black wave threatening to

Dance Tunes for the End of the World, comes out this Friday, Oct. 30. You know, it’s not really that so many other bands are dumb, but Bayou Princess, in particular, has a thinkingness about them. It’s not pretentious nor haughty, and I have a lot of appreciation for that. The trippy opening song “Empathy” is really just a door to walk though, but doesn’t dictate the rest of the contents. The next song, “Bouncing Ball,” is a furious punk tune, albeit with a cinematic twist right near the end. “Antisocial” starts off plodding, but the listener quickly realizes that’s judging it too quickly as it morphs into a multi-tentacled art rock tune before coming back to its original form. Other specific highlights here are the fantastically dubby “He Keeps Talking” and the space rock of “Baby Doll.” Find this on Friday at bayouprincess. bandcamp.com. f

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OC T OB E R 28, 2026 · F L A GP OL E .C OM

Lecture: Kirsten BuicK

“Who Is Responsible for Remembering? Three 19th-Century Case Studies @ Visuality and Forgetting” November 5________________5:30 p.m. In a cultural climate where we are being actively encouraged to forget or mis-remember, this lecture argues that forgetting can be constitutive of visuality itself — that we must forget as the very condition of seeing.

Free Admission

F L A GP OL E .C OM · OC T OB E R 28, 2026

arts & culture

calendar picks

music

feature

MonstroCity

ART | THU, OCT. 29

COMEDY | FRI, OCT. 30

Lyndon House Arts Center • 5:30 p.m. • FREE!

Flying Squid Comedy • 7:30 p.m. (doors), 8 p.m. (show) • $12

SHANSYLVANIA’S HAUNTING DEBUT ALBUM

Experimental comedy showcase Chop Shop is returning for its sixth iteration after a year-long hiatus, featuring a variety of unique acts by Athenians. Chop Shop was created by improviser and Flying Squid education director Jessica Mickey and curated by improviser and show producer Lauren Chase. It premiered in May 2023 with a show of improv, drag, magic and character performances. Slated to appear for Chop Shop VI are Chase Brantley, Mike Bryson, Jimmy John Misty, Nancy Heiges, Robert Farnsworth, Jacob Robertson and more, and musician Libbaloops will provide pre-show entertainment between doors opening and showtime. This is a place to experiment, grow and entertain, so each performer will sign up ahead of time and get 10 minutes to try out their idea. The show promises to be rough around the edges and unexpected in the best way. [MB]

By Sam Lipkin editorial@flagpole.com

Three new exhibitions are opening this week at Lyndon House Arts Center. The first of these is “Refusal of the Call” by Sarah Flinn and Eleanor Foy, which explores ideas about stage-setting and storytelling. Flinn’s large-scale landscape paintings are hauntingly empty, awaiting anticipated action. They become the setting for Foy’s ceramic animal sculptures, which are influenced by dreams, memories and pop culture references spanning five centuries. The next exhibition features works by Francie Carson, winner of the Arts Center Choice Award. Carson was met with uncertainty after graduating from the Lamar Dodd School of Art in May, and they opted to spend two months connecting with nature in Western North Carolina to find direction. The works inspired by this trip recall trees, streams and laughter through handwoven and dyed fabrics, sewn journal pages, poetry and images. The final exhibition is “Saudade” by Phoebe-Agnès Sinclair, which suggests that existence is defined by opposites by balancing light with shadow, movement with stillness, life with death and ecstasy with the melancholic. Sinclair’s work combines photography, painting and site-specific installations. [Mary Beth Bryan] FILM | OCT. 29 & 31

Goth Gay Shit

Ciné • Times Vary • $15

The forthcoming documentary from Dusty Gannon, aka Goth Dad, is Goth Gay Shit, which reflects on the life of his former band, Vision Video. Formed shortly before

Chop Shop VI

MIKE WHITE · DEADLYDESIGNS.COM

playing father. However, launching into this project was Provost’s first experience singing and performing. A passion for storytelling, growing up in a musical family and, most importantly, a love for Halloween helped guide her through creating music as a means of catharsis. “The main reason I wanted to do this is, I just love Halloween. I always have. I love everything about it, and for years I kind of joked that I wanted to write a Halloween rock opera. Then I kind of self taught myself some piano, but still with no real serious musical ambitions,” says Provost. “Actually, the reason I wrote this was because my younger brother passed away suddenly and tragically, and it was a really difficult time for me. I just needed to put my energy and angst and emotion somewhere. I finally just went there and did it. So after that, I was just in a mindset of I had nothing to lose by doing this, and I wanted to do something to take my mind off things, and this project ended up being that.” The first song that Provost wrote was “Haunted Hotel,” about a depressed vampire working at a hotel, and she says that once she had a developed character, a narrative framework began organically building from the other characters and problems she added. At times she wrote multiple songs in one day, or a song took shape within 15 minutes of writing, with Provost entering what she says felt like a flow state. “I didn’t study songwriting or anything. I definitely started with lyrics and wrote music around it. But now it’s really funny because when I work on songs, it’s not

“We were getting together, and I had a couple drinks and was like, ‘You guys, I wrote an album.’ They’re like, ‘What?’ I was like, ‘Do you want to be in a band with me?’ Instead of saying yes or no, they were like, ‘Sing us one of the songs.’ So I did, and then it just kind of all happened from there. Once I had a band, the sounds came together,” says Provost. Between her bandmates coming from varied musical backgrounds and Provost herself having many influences, there are elements of bluegrass, country, folk, punk, reggae and even jazz throughout the album. Provost says that music and art that stops someone and makes them think inspires her most. With Shansylvania, there are still so many more visual and performance avenues to explore with the album—the art is far from finished. MonstroCity is currently streaming on all platforms, but vinyl pre-orders are also open at shop.echobase.com. Shansylvania will perform Halloween weekend at Dead Beat Club on Friday, Oct. 30. The set will be a full album play, including narration, along with some seasonal covers to keep the spooky party flying. Naturally, costumes are encouraged. f

A Southern Gothic

40 Watt Club • Times Vary • $15, $22 (weekend pass)

A Southern Gothic is a special two-day music event created to get everyone in the spirit for Halloween, this year with one of the biggest dark music bills yet. Night one will feature Asheville, NC goth and post- punk band Secret Shame, local deathrock and goth band Tears for the Dying, darkwave band Now After Nothing and Greensboro, NC heavy post-punk group Mostly Mesh. Night Two will bring Dusty Gannon’s post-punk project Agonal Gasps, North Carolina dark alternative duo Feyleux and local post-punk band Vincas. DJs Twin Powers and Goth Dad will keep the music going for dance parties after the bands both nights. The show starts at 8 p.m. (doors at 7 p.m.) on Friday and at 8:30 p.m. (doors at 8 p.m.) on Saturday. [MB]

Flickerween Cover Show Flicker Theatre & Bar • 8 p.m. (doors), 9 p.m. (show) • $13+

the pandemic and named after a closed local video rental store, Vision Video was a post-punk goth rock outfit composed of Gannon, Dan Geller, Jason Fusco and Emily Fredock. More than that, it was a community-building movement of identity politics and social awareness. These sneak peak screenings of the documentary, appropriately being held on Halloween weekend, are intended to raise money to support the final stages of production. Screenings will be held at 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 29 and at 3 p.m. on Oct. 31 and will be followed by a discussion with Gannon and director John Rash. [MB]

necessarily lyrics. I’m working on melodies more,” says Provost. Some of the magic melded into the music of MonstroCity is that Provost’s backing band is made up of close friends who also happen to be tenured musicians. Shansyl vania is composed of Corbin Baker (narration, vocals), Tom Baker (banjo, viola, violin, vocals), Brent Hedrick (guitar, drums, percussion), Michael Paynter (electric mandolin, vocals) and Hunt Revell (bass). Once Provost had what she felt was a full album written, she casually mentioned it to her friends.

MUSIC | OCT. 30–31

MUSIC | SAT, OCT. 31

Dusty Gannon

or those who can never get enough spooky out of the Halloween season, eclectic Athens band Shansylvania has committed a seasonal delight of themed tunes to a record entitled MonstroCity. As a concept album, the storytelling weaves a throughline that the overall cohesion of genre lacks, but that’s only to really say that there’s a musical styling to suit a variety of people packed inside this 10-track project. Shansylvania is the songwriting debut of Shannon Provost, who has long been a traditional writer influenced by her piano-

AMANDA CORBETT

Opening Reception

Local boutique label services company Indecent Artistry is presenting another installment of Flicker’s annual Halloween cover show, where local artists get to become another band for the night. Promising to be “more convoluted than ever,” this year’s bill will feature five local bands from a variety of genres covering a variety of other genres. First is Critter Fritter, a self-described “idiot noise space sludge punk rock” band, covering rock band Dinosaur Jr. Next is egg punk band Derby covering the songs of French electronic duo Daft Punk. Indie-rock band Telemarket, fronted by Indecent Artistry’s own Adam Wayton, will cover rock band Meat Puppets. Electronic act Organically Programmed will take on the classic tunes of Wings. Finally, punk band Peter and the Skeeters will cover garage punk act The Mummies. Flickerween is a benefit show for The Cottage, a local sexual assault and children’s advocacy center. [MB] f

WHO: Shansylvania WHEN: Friday, Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m. (doors), 8 p.m. (show), WHERE: Dead Beat Club HOW MUCH: $10 (adv.), $12

OC T OB E R 28, 2026 · F L A GP OL E .C OM

event calendar  indicates Halloween-themed events

Tuesday 27

Wednesday 28

CLASSES: Video Meetings with Zoom (ACC Library) Learn how to utilize video calling and schedule meetings on your phone, tablet or laptop. 10 a.m. FREE! www.athens library.org CLASSES: Boots & Brews Line Dancing (Athentic Brewing Co.) Learn the line dancing basics from host Lindsay before the floor opens for social dancing. Fourth Tuesdays, 7–9 p.m. www.athentic brewing.com EVENTS: Halloween Carnival (Howard Park & Community Center) Enjoy carnival games, face painting, trunk or treat and more. 5–7 p.m. FREE! www.accgov.com/halloween FILM: Brews & Boos Movie Series (Athentic Brewing Co.) Screening of Scream with special guest Love At First Fright Podcast. 7 p.m. www.athenticbrewing.com GAMES: Lunch & Learn (Tyche’s Games) Bring your lunch and learn new games. 11:30 a.m. FREE! www. tychesgames.com GAMES: Bad Dog Trivia (Amici at The Falls) Test your trivia knowledge with host Miles Bunch. Tuesdays, 7 p.m. www.instagram.com/ baddogathens GAMES: Bad Dog Trivia (Paloma Park) Test your trivia knowledge with host TJ Wayt. Tuesdays, 7 p.m. www.instagram.com/baddogathens GAMES: Shih Tzu Not Trivia (Winghouse Grill Hull) Test your general trivia knowledge. Tuesdays, 7 p.m. www.instagram.com/shihtzunottrivia GAMES: Bingo & Sip (MaiKai Kava Lounge) Play BINGO with a chance to win prizes. Every other Tuesday, 7 p.m. FREE! www.athenskava.com GAMES: UnPhiltered Trivia (Mellow Mushroom) Test your trivia knowledge with host Phil. 7 p.m. www. facebook.com/MellowMushroom Athens GAMES: Singo! (Beef O’Brady’s) Win gift certificates and prizes at this music bingo night. Tuesdays, 7:30 p.m. www.beefobradys.com/athens GAMES: Classic City Trivia (Magnolias of Athens) Test your general trivia knowledge with host Benjamin. Tuesdays, 8 p.m. www. instagram.com/classiccitytriviaco LECTURES & LIT: Mystery Book Club (Bogart Library) Discuss The Hunter by Tana French with the group. 5:30p.m. FREE! www.athens library.org/bogart MEETINGS: Athens Photography Guild (Lyndon House Arts Center) Members will share photos and experiences from a recent photo expedition to Morocco. 6 p.m. FREE! www.athensphotography guild.wordpress.com PERFORMANCE: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (40 Watt Club) DanceFX presents an over-the-top production with its live shadow cast Eddie’s Teddies with costumes encouraged. Oct. 27–28, 7 p.m. $15. www.40watt.com SPORTS: Classic City Pétanque Club (Lay Park) New players welcome. Scheduled days are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. info@athenspetanque. org, www.athenspetanque.org

ART: Tour at Two (Georgia Museum of Art) These drop-in public tours feature highlights of the permanent collection. 2 p.m. FREE! www.georgiamuseum.org EVENTS: The Athens Farmers Market (Creature Comforts Brewery) Markets offer fresh produce, flowers, eggs, meats, prepared foods, arts and crafts. Live music at 6 p.m. AFM double SNAP dollars spent. Wednesdays, 5–8 p.m. www. athensfarmersmarket.net EVENTS: Trunk or Treat (Alps Road Presbyterian Church) Enjoy festive games, crafts, snacks and trick or treating. 5:45–7:30 p.m. FREE! www.alpsroadpres.org FILM: Movie Night Reads (ACC Library) Screening of Something Wicked This Way Comes followed by a book discussion about the movie’s inspiration. 6 p.m. FREE! www.athenslibrary.org FILM: Flicker Film Society (Flicker Theatre & Bar) Screening of the 1945 horror fantasy film Dead of Night. 7 p.m. FREE! www.flicker theatreandbar.com FILM: Survivor Watch Party (Athentic Brewing Co.) Chaotic Good Podcast hosts a weekly watch party for season 51. Wednesdays, 8 p.m. www.athenticbrewing.com GAMES: Shadowfist Power Lunch (Tyche’s Games) Drop in and play Shadowfist. All skill levels. 11:30 a.m. FREE! www.tychesgames.com GAMES: Shih Tzu Not Trivia (South Main Brewing) Test your general trivia knowledge. Wednesdays, 6 p.m. www.instagram.com/shihtzu nottrivia GAMES: Classic City Trivia (Hotel Indigo) Test your general trivia knowledge with host Ian. Wednesdays, 6 p.m. www.instagram.com/ classiccitytriviaco GAMES: Trivia Night (Hotel Indigo) Test your general trivia knowledge. Wednesdays, 6 p.m. www.indigo athens.com GAMES: Shih Tzu Not Trivia (Normal Bar) Test your general trivia knowledge. Wednesdays, 7 p.m. www.instagram.com/shihtzunottrivia GAMES: Classic City Trivia (The Local 706) Test your general trivia knowledge with host Garrett. Wednesdays, 7:06 p.m. www.instagram.com/classiccitytriviaco GAMES: Bad Dog Trivia (Cafe Racer Oak Street) Test your trivia knowledge with host TJ Wayt. Wednesdays, 7 p.m. www.instagram.com/ baddogathens GAMES: Shih Tzu Not Trivia (Dos Palmas) Test your general trivia knowledge. Wednesdays, 7 p.m. www.instagram.com/shihtzunottrivia GAMES: Shih Tzu Not Trivia (Locos Grill and Pub Eastside) Test your general trivia knowledge. Wednesdays, 8 p.m. www.instagram.com/ shihtzunottrivia LECTURES & LIT: RIP Book Club (Hendershot’s) Casual discussions about horror-themed books, comics and graphic novels with rotating monthly picks. 5:30p.m. FREE! www.ripbookclub.com MEETINGS: Film Athens (Flicker Theatre & Bar) Meet and network

F L A GP OL E .C OM · OC T OB E R 28, 2026

with others in the filmmaking community (actors, directors, etc.) during happy hour. 5 p.m. FREE! www.facebook.com/FilmAthens PERFORMANCE: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (40 Watt Club) DanceFX presents an over-the-top production with its live shadow cast Eddie’s Teddies with costumes encouraged. Oct. 27–28, 7 p.m. $15. www.40watt.com

Thursday 29 ART: Opening Reception (Lyndon House Arts Center) The exhibitions “Refusal of the Call” by Sarah Flinn and Eleanor Foy, “Saudade” by Phoebe-Agnès Sinclair, and by Francie Carson will be on view. 5:30–7:30 p.m. FREE! www.accgov. com/lyndonhouse

Oct. 29, 8:30 p.m. Oct. 31, 3 p.m. $15. www.athenscine.com GAMES: Bad Dog BINGO (Amici at The Falls) Play BINGO with host TJ Wayt. Thursdays, 6 p.m. www. instagram.com/baddogathens GAMES: Shih Tzu Not Trivia (Terrapin Beer Co.) Test your trivia knowledge. Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. www.instagram.com/shihtzunottrivia GAMES: Happy Hour Trivia (The Rook and Pawn) Test your trivia knowledge with host Nikolai. Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. www.therookand pawn.com GAMES: Shih Tzu Not Trivia (Butt Hutt) Test your general trivia knowledge. Thursdays, 7 p.m. www. instagram.com/shihtzunottrivia GAMES: Athens’ Hardest Trivia Night (Nighthawks Lounge) Test your trivia knowledge with host Phil. 7 p.m. www.nighthawkslounge.com

FREE! www.instagram.com/improv athens EVENTS: Boom Bash Senior Expo (Oconee County Civic Center) The fifth annual expo features more than 30 vendors, door prizes, health screenings, a scam awareness talk and more. 10 a.m.–2 p.m. FREE! www.boomathens.com EVENTS: All Hallows Eve Market (G H O S T) Browse a mini artist market with tarot readings, aura photography, henna art and more. 3–7 p.m. www.instagram.com/ ghost.athens EVENTS: Halloween Bar Crawl (Flanagan’s) Choose your on route from a map of participating bars with complimentary welcome shots, Halloween drink specials, photo-ops and more. Oct. 30–31, 5–8 p.m. (check in). $24.73. event vesta.com/events/166428/t/tickets

lowed by a dance party with music by DJ Charlieflower. 7–11 p.m. www.athenticbrewing.com FILM: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Ciné) Screening of the 1974 horror film with a live film history podcast hosted by Aaron Strand of Behind the Slate. 8 p.m. $15. www.athenscine.com FILM: Brews & Boos Movie Series (Athentic Brewing Co.) Screening of the classic campy Halloween film Rocky Horror Picture Show. 9 p.m. FREE! www. athenticbrewing.com GAMES: Euchre Club (Athentic Brewing Co.) Join others to play Euchre. Fridays, 2–4:30 p.m. FREE! www.athenticbrewing.com GAMES: Shih Tzu Not Trivia (Oak House Distillery) Test your general trivia knowledge. Fridays, 7 p.m. www.instagram.com/shihtzunottrivia KIDSTUFF: Halloween Party (Treehouse Kid & Craft) Athens Parent Wellbeing will host a costume contest, crafts, storytime and more. 10 a.m.–12 p.m. www.athensparent wellbeing.org PERFORMANCE: Now! That’s What I Call Dance (Georgia Theatre) The Studio Athens presents a dance showcase followed by a dance party led by DJ LaDarius. 8 p.m. $20.44. www.georgiatheatre.com PERFORMANCE: Athens Showgirl Cabaret Fabulous Fridays (Hendershot’s) A fabulous night of drag entertainment with a Halloween costume contest. Ages 18 & up. 9 p.m. $5. www.athensshowgirl cabaret.com SPORTS: UGA Ice Dawgs vs. University of Florida (Akins Ford Arena) Cheer on the home team in this hockey match. 6 p.m. (doors), 72 p.m. (game). $10.25–34. www. classiccenter.com

Saturday 31 The exhibition “Making Place” featuring forged iron works and pottery will be on view at The Cotton Press with an opening reception Monday, Nov. 2 from 6–8 p.m. ART: Farewell Party (tiny ATH gallery) The gallery will celebrate its 7th anniversary and host a closing reception for the group exhibition “A to V (Athens to Västerås).” 6–9 p.m. FREE! www.tinyathgallery.com CLASSES: Ladies Only Line Dancing (Boutier Winery) Learn how to line dance with Amy. All skill levels welcome. 6:30–9 p.m. $5. www. boutierwinery.com COMEDY: Fortune Feimster (Georgia Theatre) The comedian and actress is performing on her “Takin’ Care of Biscuits” tour. 6 p.m. (doors), 7 p.m. (show). $63.38. www.georgiatheatre.com COMEDY: Gorgeous George’s Improv League (Flying Squid Comedy) Bring a loose funny bone to some home-grown townie improv. 6:30 p.m. (doors), 7 p.m. (short-form), 8 p.m. (long-form). $5. www.flyingsquidcomedy.com EVENTS: Arts & Crafts Night (Foxglove Plantbar) Bring your own pumpkin or purchase one on site, and enjoy an evening of pumpkin carving. 6–10 p.m. www.foxglove plantbar.com FILM: Goth Gay Shit (Ciné) Work- in-progress screening of the documentary about Athens musician Dusty Gannon, followed by a Q&A.

MEETINGS: KnitLits Knitting Group (Bogart Library) Knitters of all levels are invited to have fun, share craft ideas and knit to their hearts’ content. Thursdays, 6 p.m. FREE! www. athenslibrary.org/bogart SPORTS: Classic City Pétanque Club (Lay Park) New players welcome. Scheduled days are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. info@athenspetanque. org, www.athenspetanque.org SPORTS: UGA Ice Dawgs vs. University of Florida (Akins Ford Arena) Cheer on the home team in this hockey match. 6 p.m. (doors), 72 p.m. (game). $10.25–34. www. classiccenter.com

Friday 30 CLASSES: Medicare Open Enrollment Presentation (The Center at ACCA) State Health Insurance Assistance Program counselors will answer questions and provide unbiased and local Medicare counseling. 10 a.m. FREE! www. accaging.org COMEDY: Improv Athens (UGA Miller Learning Center) UGA’s improv troupe performs a show. Room 248. Fridays, 7:30 p.m.

EVENTS: Death & Mourning

Tour (Historic Athens Welcome Center) Visit the oldest surviving house in Athens and learn about traditional mourning customs of the early 1800s during a guided tour. Oct. 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30, 5:30–6:30 p.m. $20. www.athenswelcome center.com EVENTS: Murder Mystery Joy Ride (Bike Athens) This month’s group ride comes with a spooky mystery to solve along the way. Costumes encouraged. 6 p.m. FREE! www.bikeathens.org/engage/ joyrides EVENTS: Halloween Mischief (Oak House Distillery) Test your knowledge of Halloween-themed trivia then compete in a best costume contest. 7–9 p.m. www. oakhousedistillery.com EVENTS: Chop Shop VI (Flying Squid Comedy) Expect the unexpected, from sketch to characters, performance art, storytelling, human pet tricks and everything in between. 7:30 p.m. (doors), 8 p.m. (show). $12. www.flyingsquidcomedy.com EVENTS: The Rocky Horror Picture Show Halloween Party (Athentic Brewing Co.) Costumes encouraged for an interactive viewing of the cult classic movie fol-

CLASSES: Learn Miniature Painting Workshop (Tyche’s Games) Bring your primed miniatures and learn the basics of painting them. Supplies provided. 1 p.m. $5. www. tychesgames.com COMEDY: Rapture Comedy Show (Sister Louisa’s Church Bar) Lineup of Southern-based comedians. Last Saturdays, 9 p.m. FREE! www.instagram.com/rapturecomedy_ EVENTS: The Athens Farmers Market (Bishop Park) Markets offer locally grown groceries and handmade goods with live music and children’s activities. AFM doubles SNAP dollars spent. Saturdays, 8 a.m.–12 p.m. www.athensfarmers market.net EVENTS: Comer Community Market (The Perch) Browse flower and vegetable plant starts, baked goods, vegetables, honey, pottery, eggs, mushrooms and handmade items. 9 a.m.–12 p.m. www.theperchcomer. com/farmers-market EVENTS: Marigold Farmers Market (Pittard Park) Vendors offer organic produce, prepared foods, agricultural products and artisanal goods with live music, kids activities and more. Saturdays, 9 a.m.–1 p.m. www.marigoldcollectivewinterville.com EVENTS: Journey Through The Stars (Sandy Creek Nature Center) Learn about the night sky with an immersive planetarium program

and seasonal spooky stories. Ages 5 & up. Registration required. 3 p.m. $5 (ACC residents), $8 (non- residents). www.accgov.com/myrec EVENTS: Trunk or Treat (Downtown Bogart) Join local librarians for candy, free books and more. 5 p.m. FREE! www.athenslibrary.org/ bogart EVENTS: Halloween Bar Crawl (Flanagan’s) Choose your on route from a map of participating bars with complimentary welcome shots, Halloween drink specials, photo-ops and more. Oct. 30–31, 5–8 p.m. (check in). $24.73. event vesta.com/events/166428/t/tickets EVENTS: Wild Rumpus Parade & Spectacle (Downtown Athens) All are invited to participate in the costumed parade marching through downtown and ending in a dance party. There will be a pre-parade rally at Creature Comforts Brewing Co. and after-party at Paloma Park. 5–8 p.m. (rally), 8–11 p.m. (parade & spectacle), 11 p.m.–2 a.m. (after-party). FREE! www.wild rumpus.org EVENTS: Treats on the Trail (Firefly Trail, Winterville) A family- friendly event featuring vendors, candy, train rides, music and more. 6–8 p.m. FREE! www.instagram. com/wintervillecenter EVENTS: Halloween Mischief (Oak House Distillery) Compete for prizes in best cCostume, best pet costume and more. 9 p.m. www. oakhousedistillery.com FILM: Goth Gay Shit (Ciné) Work- in-progress screening of the documentary about Athens musician Dusty Gannon, followed by a Q&A. Oct. 29, 8:30 p.m. Oct. 31, 3 p.m. $15. www.athenscine.com GAMES: Halloween Board Game Day (Oconee County Library) A family-friendly event with a variety of board game options hosted by Automatic for the Meeple. 11 a.m.–5 p.m. FREE! www.athens library.org/oconee GAMES: Plant Bingo (Foxglove Plantbar) Learn more about plants,

and win plant prizes. Reservation required. 7 p.m. $20. www.instagram.com/foxgloveplantbar KIDSTUFF: Creepy Crawl (Downtown Athens) This event features trick or treating and a spooky scavenger hunt at participating businesses. 6–8 p.m. FREE! www.3ravenstattoo.com

Sunday 1 CLASSES: Sewcial Sewing Club (Oconee County Library) An afternoon of simple sewing techniques with all materials provided. Ages 13 & up. 2:30 p.m. FREE! www. athenslibrary.org/oconee CLASSES: Frog Crochet Class (Athentic Brewing Co.) KT Yarn Creations will lead a crochet class. Supplies provided. 2:30 p.m. $25. www.athenticbrewing.com COMEDY: Comedy Showcase (The Globe) Athens Comedy hosts themed and general showcases of local and regional comedians. Sundays, 9 p.m. www.athenscomedy.com EVENTS: Little Joy Fest (Treehouse Kid & Craft) A community event with vendors, puppy snuggle station, trinket trading, a free crafts and charm bar, food truck and more. 11 a.m.–4 p.m. www.treehousekidand craft.com EVENTS: Pet Photos with Santa (Athens Area Humane Society) Bring up to two pets for photos with Santa. Registration required. Nov. 1 & 7, 12–2 p.m. Nov. 8, 12–4 p.m. Nov. 20, 4–6 p.m. $30. www. athenshumanesociety.com EVENTS: Bearing Witness to Mother Earth (Griffin-Dubose Healing Lodge) Connect with the earth through a guided meditation walk, earth touching and peaceful readings. 1 p.m. FREE! www.mindful breathsangha.org EVENTS: Slideshow Speed Dating (Athentic Brewing Co.) Design a slideshow to pitch your single friend or join the audience to find

art around town ACC LIBRARY (2025 Baxter St.) In the Bogue Gallery, the exhibition “Hers and His” features paintings and drawings by Cynzia Sanchez and works created with found objects by Edward Toledano. Through Nov. 1. • Paintings by Dana Johns will be on view for November. AMICI AT THE FALLS (8851 Macon Hwy.) “Bulldawg Season” features UGA football themed works by Camille Hayes. Through October. ATHENAEUM (287 W. Broad St.) “Megan Ledbetter: The Field (2022– 2026)” features photographs of a historic municipal cemetery in Red Bank, TN that was in operation from 1890–1912. Through Nov. 21. • “Erin Johnson: The Measure is Something Else” is the first survey exhibition of work by the artist and filmmaker, exploring ecology, science, nationalism and queer worldmaking through film and installation. Through Mar. 20, 2027. ATHENS COTTON PRESS (149 Oneta St.) “Making Place,” presented by Artful Hands, features pottery including six works by 19th-century enslaved potter David Drake, as well as iron works by blacksmith Patrick G. Blount. Opening reception Nov. 2, 6–8 p.m. Gallery talk with Pat Shields Nov. 6, 2–4 p.m. On view daily 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Nov. 2–12. ATHENTIC BREWING CO. (108 Park Ave.) Impressionist paintings inspired by nature by Rachel Ankirskiy are on view through November. ATHICA (675 Pulaski St., Suite 1200) “Everything” is a National Juried Exhibition featuring works made from unexpected materials and juried by Philip McClure. Through Nov. 22. ATHICA@CINÉ GALLERY (234 W. Hancock Ave.) “The Material is the Message” features drawing, sculpture and fiber works by Leah Smith. Nov. 1–Dec. 25. AURUM STUDIOS (125 E. Clayton St.) “Botanicals and Animals” features paintings by Judy Hammond. Through December. BMA STUDIO (1354 S. Milledge Ave.) Floral paintings by Caroline Stroud are on display and available for purchase. Through November. DODD GALLERIES (270 River Rd.) In the West Gallery, “Runner Up” features multimedia works by Victoria Dugger, recipient of the 2026 Margie E. West Alumni Prize, which examines Black girlhood, disability and the Southern Gothic. Through Nov. 20. • In the Lupin Foundation Gallery, “Cornucopia: Ties That Bind” is a curated collection of works by renowned artists of color. Through Nov. 6. • In the Plaza Gallery, “True Conceal” is an exhibition of

your match. Registration required. 3:30–7 p.m. $25. www.athentic brewing.com GAMES: Bad Dog Trivia (The Globe) Test your trivia knowledge with host TJ Wayt. Sundays, 4 p.m. & 6 p.m. www.instagram.com/baddogathens GAMES: General Knowledge Trivia (Normaltown Brewing Co.) Test your general trivia knowledge. Sundays, 4–6 p.m. www.normaltown brewingco.com SPORTS: Classic City Pétanque Club (Lay Park) New players welcome. Scheduled days are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. www.athenspetanque.org

Monday 2 ART: Opening Reception (The Cotton Press) “Making Place” features hand forged iron works by Patrick G. Blount and various pottery from regional collections. RSVP suggested. 6–8 p.m. FREE! www. artfulhands.org EVENTS: Oconee County Contra Dance (Social Dance Preserve) Community dance night on first Mondays. 7 p.m. (beginner lesson), 8–10 p.m. (dance). $10. www. oconeecountycontra.com GAMES: Chess and Community (ACC Library) Drop in for open chess play to learn the game, challenge skills and engage with other enthusiasts. Mondays, 3:30–5:30 p.m. FREE! www.athenslibrary.org GAMES: Magic the Gathering (The Rook and Pawn) Meet up to play in Commander format. Every other Monday, 6 p.m. FREE! www. therookandpawn.com GAMES: Shih Tzu Not Trivia (Fully Loaded Pizza Kitchen (Normaltown)) Test your general trivia knowledge. Mondays, 7 p.m. www. instagram.com/shihtzunottrivia GAMES: Classic City Trivia (Dooley’s Bar and Grill) Test your general trivia knowledge with host Garrett. Mondays, 7 p.m. www.instagram. com/classiccitytriviaco

GAMES: General Trivia (Athentic Brewing Co.) Test your general trivia knowledge. Mondays, 7 p.m. www.athenticbrewing.com GAMES: Shih Tzu Not Trivia (Brett’s Backyard) Test your general trivia knowledge. Mondays, 7 p.m. www. instagram.com/shihtzunottrivia GAMES: Classic City Trivia (Grindhouse Killer Burgers) Test your general trivia knowledge with host Benjamin. Mondays, 7:30 p.m. www.instagram.com/classiccity triviaco LECTURES & LIT: The Struggle Over Native Land (UGA Chapel) Presentation and panel discussion about the link between Native American land dispossession and the founding of UGA. 5:30 p.m. FREE! cicr.uga.edu MEETINGS: Death Over Drafts (Athentic Brewing Co.) Conversation about navigating grief and home inheritance. RSVP encouraged. 6–8 p.m. organizingdeath@ gmail.com

Tuesday 3 ART: Panel Discussion & Reception (Lamar Dodd School of Art) Artists whose work is featured in the “Cornucopia: Ties That Bind” exhibition discuss their works with a reception to follow. A Spotlight on the Arts event. 5:30 p.m. FREE! art.uga.edu GAMES: Lunch & Learn (Tyche’s Games) Bring your lunch and learn new games. 11:30 a.m. FREE! www. tychesgames.com GAMES: Mahjong Night Out (Union Fare) Come solo or reserve a table for four with a basic knowledge of American mahjong, and enjoy raffles and giveaways. 6–10 p.m. $20. www.classiccitymahj.com/ open-play-events GAMES: Bad Dog Trivia (Amici at The Falls) Test your trivia knowledge with host Miles Bunch. Tuesdays, 7 p.m. www.instagram.com/ baddogathens

new work by collaborators Katie Hargrave and Meredith Lynn from their Bad Outdoorsman series. Through Nov. 6. • In the Mills Family Gallery, “Through Service We Grow” is a new body of work by Dodd photography faculty Blake Jacobsen. Through Nov. 6. • In the Bridge Gallery, “I hope this finds you well” explores methods of communicating and working together. Through Nov. 6. FLICKER THEATRE & BAR (263 W. Washington St.) Annual Halloween art show featuring various local artists. Through October. GEORGIA MUSEUM OF ART (90 Carlton St.) “Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone” features sculptures by the 19th-century Black and Indigenous artist Edmonia Lewis. Through Jan. 3, 2027. HENDERSHOT’S (237 Prince Ave.) “Transitions & Constructs” features works by Susan Pelham, Ella & Belle, Juancho Cano, and Marisa Leilani Mustard of surreal landscapes and whimsical animal characters. Through October. HISTORIC ATHENS WELCOME CENTER (280 E. Dougherty St.) Photography of Southern cemeteries and funerary art by Jennifer Keane and Caitlin Short are on display. Through October. LYNDON HOUSE ARTS CENTER (211 Hoyt St.). In the Lobby Case, “Lotus” features ceramics by Isabell Daniel incorporating the Buddhist mandala and the symbolic lotus flower. Through Dec. 5. • Solo exhibition by Francie Carson. Oct. 29–Jan. 2, 2027. • In the Lukasiewicz Gallery, “Refusal of the Call” pairs Sarah Flinn’s large-scale landscape paintings with Eleanor Foy’s ceramic animal sculptures. Opening reception Oct. 29, 5:30–7:30 p.m. Artist talk with Flinn Dec. 10, 5:30 p.m. Through Jan. 2, 2027. • “Rooted” features works by Clarke County School District students inspired by the theme of community. Through Jan. 13, 2027. • “BEE CITY OF NOW” is a 24-foot model community for bees by Swannatopia and Experimental Art Club, installed on the Arts Center’s second-floor outdoor patio. Through May 1, 2027. MADISON-MORGAN CULTURAL CENTER (434 South Main Street, Madison) In celebration of the center’s 50th anniversary, the exhibition “experience and intersection” features works by John Cleaveland and the late Richard Olsen. Through October. OCAF (34 School St., Watkinsville) The Georgia Watercolor Society’s 2026 Annual Member Juried Exhibition is on view alongside watercolor pieces by Diana Toma. Through Nov. 6. SOUTHERN MILL (355 Oneta St.) “A Photo Artwork Adventure” is a two- day pop-up exhibit of photography by Tommy Crow Studios on view Nov. 12–13, 4–9 p.m.

GAMES: Bad Dog Trivia (Paloma Park) Test your trivia knowledge with host TJ Wayt. Tuesdays, 7 p.m. www.instagram.com/baddogathens GAMES: Shih Tzu Not Trivia (Winghouse Grill Hull) Test your general trivia knowledge. Tuesdays, 7 p.m. www.instagram.com/shihtzunottrivia GAMES: UnPhiltered Trivia (Mellow Mushroom) Test your trivia knowledge with host Phil. 7 p.m. www. facebook.com/MellowMushroom Athens GAMES: Singo! (Beef O’Brady’s) Win gift certificates and prizes at this music bingo night. Tuesdays, 7:30 p.m. www.beefobradys.com/athens GAMES: Classic City Trivia (Magnolias of Athens) Test your general trivia knowledge with host Benjamin. Tuesdays, 8 p.m. www. instagram.com/classiccitytriviaco LECTURES & LIT: Bogart Bookies (Bogart Library) Pick up a copy of The Brier Club by Kate Quinn and discuss it with the group. 1 p.m. FREE! www.athenslibrary.org/bogart SPORTS: Classic City Pétanque Club (Lay Park) New players welcome. Scheduled days are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. info@athenspetanque. org, www.athenspetanque.org

Wednesday 4 ART: Kids “Face Jug” Mug Workshop (The Cotton Press) Learn the history and character of face jugs, and then create a pottery piece. Ages 5 & up. 5 p.m. $40. www. artfulhands.org ART: Meet the Artist (The Old Pal) Photographs by Christina Howells are on view. 5–8 p.m. FREE! www. instagram.com/theoldpal EVENTS: The Athens Farmers Market (Creature Comforts Brewery) Markets offer fresh produce, flowers, eggs, meats, prepared foods, arts and crafts. Live music at 6 p.m. AFM double SNAP dollars spent. Wednesdays, 5–8 p.m. www. athensfarmersmarket.net

FILM: History Film Series (221 Leconte Hall) Screening of the 1976 classic political drama All the President’s Men. 5 p.m. FREE! history.uga.edu FILM: Attaboy Tapes Presents (Flicker Theatre & Bar) Screening of the 2025 film Fugs Film!. 7 p.m. FREE! www.flickertheatreandbar. com FILM: Survivor Watch Party (Athentic Brewing Co.) Chaotic Good Podcast hosts a weekly watch party for season 51. Wednesdays, 8 p.m. www.athenticbrewing.com GAMES: Shadowfist Power Lunch (Tyche’s Games) Drop in and play Shadowfist. All skill levels. 11:30 a.m. FREE! www.tychesgames.com GAMES: Shih Tzu Not Trivia (South Main Brewing) Test your trivia knowledge. Wednesdays, 6 p.m. www.instagram.com/shihtzunottrivia GAMES: Classic City Trivia (Hotel Indigo) Test your general trivia knowledge with host Ian. Wednesdays, 6 p.m. www.instagram.com/ classiccitytriviaco GAMES: Trivia Night (Hotel Indigo) Test your general trivia knowledge. Wednesdays, 6 p.m. www.indigo athens.com GAMES: Shih Tzu Not Trivia (Normal Bar) Test your general trivia knowledge. Wednesdays, 7 p.m. www.instagram.com/shihtzunottrivia GAMES: Classic City Trivia (The Local 706) Test your general trivia knowledge with host Garrett. Wednesdays, 7:06 p.m. www.instagram.com/classiccitytriviaco GAMES: Bad Dog Trivia (Cafe Racer Oak Street) Test your trivia knowledge with host TJ Wayt. Wednesdays, 7 p.m. www.instagram.com/ baddogathens GAMES: Shih Tzu Not Trivia (Dos Palmas) Test your general trivia knowledge. Wednesdays, 7 p.m. www.instagram.com/shihtzunottrivia GAMES: Shih Tzu Not Trivia (Locos Grill and Pub Eastside) Test your general trivia knowledge. Wednesdays, 8 p.m. www.instagram.com/ shihtzunottrivia f

STEFFEN THOMAS MUSEUM OF ART (4200 Bethany Rd., Buckhead) “Truth in Art” is a juried exhibition of pieces across a variety of mediums by MFA students. Through Nov. 21. THE OLD PAL (1320 Prince Ave.) “The Cocktail Series” features photography by Christina Howells. Meet the artist Nov. 4, 5–8 p.m. Through Nov. 7. TIGER’S EYE GALLERY (675 Pulaski St., Ste. 1600) “The Lord Knows When You Are Trying” features over 550 original hand-printed and hand-colored linoleum block prints by Athens artist David Hale. Through Nov. 7. TINY ATH GALLERY (174 Cleveland Ave.) The group exhibition “A to V (Athens to Västerås)” features works by Camille Hayes, Will Eskridge, Marisa Leilani Mustard, Faatimah Stevens, Valley StipeMaas, Manda McKay and more. Farewell party and closing reception Oct. 29, 6–9 p.m. UGA SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARIES (300 S. Hull St.) “Beyond the ’96 Games: Atlanta’s Olympic Legacy” features an original torch from the opening relay and other authentic memorabilia. Through October. • “Seeking Intrinsic Essence, Whatever Direction: The Photography of Nancy Ellison” features portraits and behind-the-scenes photographs of Hollywood celebrities from the 1970s–1990s. Through Dec. 23. • “Game. Set. Match: The History of UGA Women’s Tennis” shares the 100-year history of women’s tennis at UGA. Through April 2027. UGA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (230 River Rd.) In the Lobby Gallery is “Antiques” by Margaret Morrison featuring large canvas works depicting scenes from her visits to Italian antique markets. Through January 2027. UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP (780 Timothy Rd.) “Mystery Pet Portrait” features portraits of community members’ pets painted by artists from the congregation. Through Nov. 6. WINTERVILLE CULTURAL ARTS CENTER (371 N. Church St., Winterville) In the Foyer Gallery, “Detention Of Empathy” will feature portrait paintings by Laura Floyd depicting people who have faced detention by ICE agents. Through October. • In Gallery 1, “UGA MFA Invitational 2026” exhibits works curated by Yu-Kai Lin with selected works by current MFA students. Through Dec. 15. • In Gallery 2, “Small Works: 2026 National Juried Competition” returns with small scale contemporary works selected by juror Yu-Kai Lin. Through Dec. 15. • In the Garden Gallery Case, ceramic pieces by Lindsay Swan are on display. Through Dec. 15. • In the Long Gallery, “In a Moon Age Daydream” features paintings by Katie Brick • In the Music Room Gallery, “Through An Open Window” exhibits works in collaboration with Project Safe. Through October. • In honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary, “Rebellious Art, Treasonous Artists” is on view in Room 103. Through December.

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live music calendar  indicates Halloween-themed events

Tuesday 27 Daily Groceries Co-op Tuesday Tunes. 6–7:30 p.m. www. instagram.com/dailycoop MADDY AZELLE Indie folk singer- songwriter. JIM WILLINGHAM Local folk rock singer-songwriter (Dim Watts, Burly Ivy) exploring themes of comedy and tragedy. Flicker Theatre & Bar Primordial Void Presents. 8 p.m. $10 (adv.), $12. www.flickertheatreand bar.com CHEVROLET PILE Jason Miller’s crunchy western twang project. WEAVER The project of Atlanta musician Bradley Gaines Weaver, whose self-titled album is a deeply psychedelic collection that recalls the finest moments of Cut Worms, the Woodsist catalog or even ’70s McCartney. JONES MURPHY Singer of ’90s Nashville act The Lounge Flounders. Hendershot’s 5–7 p.m. www.hendershotsathens. com PIANO BAR HAPPY HOUR Enjoy drink specials and live piano music. Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall 7:30 p.m. SOLD OUT! pac.uga.edu “THE PRESIDENT’S OWN” UNITED STATES MARINE BAND The oldest continuously active professional music organization in the United States performing a mix of works including traditional band repertoire, Sousa marches, contemporary compositions, vocal and instrumental solos and a patriotic salute to the Armed Forces. Normal Bar 8–11 p.m. www.instagram.com/ normal_bar_athens OPEN MIC Live music from talented local musicians, hosted on Tuesdays by Rudy Montayre. WUOG Live in the Lobby. 8 p.m. FREE! www. wuog.org THE BAND FRUITION New vintage groove band based in Atlanta.

Wednesday 28 Amici at The Falls 6 p.m. www.facebook.com/amiciat thefalls CAM NORTON Covers and originals in the vein of rock, folk, bluegrass and country. Athentic Brewing Co. 7–10 p.m. www.athenticbrewing.com KARAOKE WITH DJ GREGORY Second and fourth Wednesdays. Ciné 7 p.m. (doors). FREE! www.athens cine.com QUEZZY POET Athens hip-hop artist with a modern sound. Album release show! MOTORHEAD2X Athens rapper with a story to tell that still knows how to start a party. Flicker Theatre & Bar 9 p.m. FREE! www.flickertheatreand bar.com DR. FRED’S KARAOKE Featuring a large assortment of pop, rock, indie and more.

Georgia Theatre 7 p.m. (doors), 8 p.m. (show). $26.44. www.georgiatheatre.com MAGOO Progressive bluegrass quartet from Colorado known for their improvisational live shows and genre-blending sound. SUNS OF STARS High-flying psychedelic bluegrass band that blends traditional bluegrass music with a unique, improvisational prowess. Hendershot’s New Faces Night. 7 p.m. (doors), 8 p.m. (show). FREE! www.hendershotsathens.com SARAH BUKOWSKI Indie singer- songwriter and guitarist originally from Chicagoland. ORION DEREVERE Local guitarist and singer-songwriter who’s been playing music since childhood. ANA MOWRER Mellow indie folk with finger-picked guitar. COY CAMPBELL Essayist, songwriter and double bassist from the Athens Symphony and Athens Cowboy Choir. Hidden Gem 9 p.m. & 10 p.m. $10 suggested donation. www.instagram.com/ hiddengemglobalhq KENOSHA KID The brainchild of guitarist Dan Nettles, performing October Book Part II. Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall Piedmont Athens Regional Performances for Young People. 10 a.m. pac.uga.edu MEMBERS OF “THE PRESIDENT’S OWN” UNITED STATES MARINE BAND A small group from the oldest continuously active professional music organization in the United States performing engaging music and stories that introduce students to the instruments of the wind band, the daily life of a professional performer and the important role music plays in public service and American history. 7:30 p.m. $3 (w/ UGA ID), $15. music.uga.edu UGA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Performing Schubert’s Symphony No. 3 and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. Ramsey Hall 5:30 p.m. FREE! music.uga.edu UGA TUBA/EUPHONIUM ENSEMBLE Graduate and undergraduate low brass students play serious original compositions, transcriptions of orchestral literature and lighter arrangements. The World Famous 8 p.m. $13. Costumes encouraged. www.facebook.com/theworldfamous athens CRYBABY Rock band led by Assata. COMMÜNE Local political/feminist punk band living in revolt. TOMMYGUN Athens punk band. NOISE BENEATH THE FLOOR Queer indie lake rock band originally from Columbus, OH, now based in Athens.

Thursday 29 40 Watt Club 7 p.m. (doors), 8 p.m. (show). $21 (adv.), $26. www.40watt.com TYLER NANCE Missouri native working from the traditions of coun-

F L A GP OL E .C OM · OC T OB E R 28, 2026

try, bluegrass, folk and Americana. HUDSON MACREADY Young musician introducing a new generation to country music’s storytelling tradition. Dead Beat Club 8 p.m. $7. www.deadbeatathens.com PNKYDWN Locally sourced funk punk. STRICT #9 Alternative rock and metal brigade from Middle Georgia. SEEKING APPROVAL Athens- based psych-funk band performing a mix of originals and covers.

Award-winning bassist, composer and bandleader joined by four rising young instrumentalists. Live Wire Aubrey Entertainment Presents. 7 p.m. (doors), 8 p.m. (show). $15 (adv. or w/ student ID), $20. www. livewireathens.com PARKER BARROW Blues-infused Southern rock band led by husband-and-wife duo Megan Kane (vocals) and Dylan Turner (drums), supported by the formidable Alex Bender (guitar).

TEARS FOR THE DYING Long- running local deathrock and goth group fronted by songwriter Adria Stembridge. NOW AFTER NOTHING Atlanta darkwave act bringing classic post- punk and darkwave influences and modernized electronic instrumentals to the present-day crowd. MOSTLY MESH Greensboro, NC bass heavy post-punk band with campy references to ’80s horror, BDSM and the processing of trauma.

Karma Kat will play as The Beatles at Nowhere Bar Friday, Oct. 30. Flicker Theatre & Bar 8 p.m. $10. www.flickertheatreandbar. com THE ECHOLOCATIONS Local rock band embracing a retro, ’60s- inspired sound. THE BAND HONEY Four-piece from Auburn, AL that’s sweet like honey. WIRELIGHT The melodic rock and pop project of Lewis Beard. The Globe 7:30–10 p.m. www.facebook.com/ globe.athens MARY & THE HOT HOTTY-HOTS Hot jazz and swing band offering music from the 1910s, ’20s and ’30s. Hendershot’s 8 p.m. $10. www.hendershotsathens. com BIG BAND ATHENS 18-member Athens band whose swinging tunes consist of cover music from the ’40s to the ’70s. Hotel Indigo Live After Five. 5:30–8 p.m. www. indigoathens.com MRJORDANMRTONKS Tommy Jordan and William Tonks’ collaboration features rootsy guitar picking and paired vocal melodies. Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall 7:30 p.m. $53–97 (discount w/ UGA ID). pac.uga.edu CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE & URSA MAJOR Eleven-time Grammy

HIPPIES & COWBOYS Powerhouse rock and soul band out of Nashville, TN built on grit, groove and the raw electricity of classic Southern rock. Nowhere Bar 7 p.m. (doors), 9:30 p.m. (show). www.instagram.com/nowherebar athensga ANASTASIA ELLIOTT Alt-rock musician with cinematic music and theatrical stage performances. BLEACH GARDEN Alternative band of four from Atlanta delivering rock music reminiscent of Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Sound Garden and more. GECKOS No info available. The World Famous 9 p.m. $10 suggested donation. www. facebook.com/theworldfamous athens UGA SOUL MUSIC ENSEMBLE Ensemble originally founded in 2024 by music composition graduate student Jordan Askew to arrange and perform music from R&B, funk, rap, jazz and even local composers.

Friday 30 40 Watt Club A Southern Gothic Night One. 7 p.m. (doors), 8 p.m. (show). $15, $22 (weekend pass). www.40watt. com SECRET SHAME Goth/post-punk band from Asheville, NC.

DJS TWIN POWERS & GOTH DAD Spinning tunes for a post- show dance party. Dead Beat Club 8 p.m. $10 (adv.), $12. www.dead beatathens.com SHANSYLVANIA Shannon Provost and seasoned Athens musicians play their Halloween folk rock opera MONSTROCITY, along with some familiar spooky season favorites. Flicker Theatre & Bar 8 p.m. $10. www.flickertheatreandbar. com SHARKE’THERATRIX Experimental noise rock outfit from NYC. ANGEL BARN Indie slacker prog rock making a triumphant return home. ETERNAL Doomy slowcore. Album release show! WRITHE Extra filthy stoner grunge. Georgia Theatre Studio Athens Presents. 8 p.m. $20.44. www.georgiatheatre.com NOW! THAT’S WHAT I CALL DANCE A show and dance party with DJ LaDarius. Costume contest with cash prize! No. 3 Railroad Street 7–9 p.m. www.3railroad.org PAMELA DEMARCHE Jazz and blues singer backed by a band playing danceable swing favorites. Nowhere Bar Halloween Cover Show. 9 p.m. $10. www.instagram.com/nowherebar athensga

KARMA KAT Covers of The Beatles SYSTEM OF A BROWN Covers of System of a Down. MURDER THE MOOD Covers of My Chemical Romance. Southern Drawl Bar & Grille 5–10 p.m. www.southerndrawlbarand grille.com KARAOKE Every Friday night.

Saturday 31 40 Watt Club A Southern Gothic Night Two. 8 p.m. (doors), 8:30 p.m. (show). $15, $22 (weekend pass). www.40watt.com AGONAL GASPS Acid rage for dancing in fog. Anti-fascist anti- establishment post-punk from Athens. FEYLEUX North Carolina-based dark alternative duo formed in mid-2023, blending dreampop and darkwave. VINCAS Dark post-punk with doomy, psychedelic flourishes. DJS TWIN POWERS & GOTH DAD Spinning tunes for a post- show dance party. Boutier Winery Halloween Costume Party. 7:30 p.m. (doors), 8 p.m. (show). $10. www.boutierwinery.com CHRIS HAMPTON BAND Athens- based band performing a variety of country, western and rock dance music. Creature Comforts Brewery The Rumpus Rally Official Pre- Party. 5–8 p.m. FREE! www.wild rumpus.org SHEHEHE Local band that draws from old-school punk and arena rock to create a fist-pumping atmosphere. BAYOU PRINCESS Weirdo hyper dance rock with moments of swampy sedation, equal parts silly and dark. THE SPEAX Local rock music trio. Flicker Theatre & Bar 8 p.m. (doors), 9 p.m. (show). $13+. www.flickertheatreandbar. com CRITTER FRITTER As Dinosaur Jr. DERBY As Daft Punk. TELEMARKET As Meat Puppets. ORGANICALLY PROGRAMMED As Wings. PETER AND THE SKEETERS As The Mummies. Hendershot’s Sexy Suz Presents. 3 p.m. & 10 p.m. $20. www.hendershotsathens. com THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW LIVE Frankie & The Fantoms will perform live with the cult classic film featuring musical guests from the community. Nowhere Bar 7 p.m. (doors), 9:30 p.m. (show). www.instagram.com/nowherebar athensga THE VENUS KINGS American blues and soul group based in Atlanta. Nuçi’s Space 3:30 p.m. (doors), 4 p.m. (show). FREE! www.nuci.org CAMP AMPED AFTER SCHOOL FALL FINALE Campers show off what they’ve learned. Paloma Park The Midnight Howl. 11 p.m.–2 a.m. FREE! www.wildrumpus.org

SCHMOOZE Alternative rock band from Athens with a sound blending ’90s grunge with modern punk and indie rock influences. KIT Athens-based kaleidoscopic rock band expanded from the eponymous solo project Catt Malonius. JOHNNY FALLOON Concocting something that feels like it might fall apart or ignite at any second through breakneck drum and bass, fervently deranged saxophone lines, and simultaneously poignant and ridiculous lyrical subject matter.

Sunday 1 ACC Library Live at the Library. 3 p.m. FREE! www. athenslibrary.org FOLIE À CINQ Playing a mix of French chansons, jazzy tunes, and originals by Lavon Smith, accompanied on guitars, accordion, and double bass. Boutier Winery Wine Down. 3–5 p.m. www.boutier winery.com DENNY MARTIN Country acoustic guitarist. The Globe 4–7 p.m. www.facebook.com/globe. athens TRADITIONAL IRISH SESSION Easy listening traditional Irish music. Hendershot’s 7 p.m. (doors), 8 p.m. (show). $10. www.hendershotsathens.com WHITNEY BJERKEN Alternative pop singer-songwriter from Atlanta with an emotive sound and introspective lyrics. KARMA KAT Local band with sounds of rock, pop and funky jazz. They’ll rock your whiskers off! MOONPOOL Alt-rock/post-grunge five-piece band based in Athens.

Monday 2 Flicker Theatre & Bar 6 p.m. (doors), 7 p.m. (show). www. flickertheatreandbar.com FIRST MONDAYS OPEN MIC Hosted by Josey, followed by a musicians social. Flicker Theatre & Bar 8 p.m. (doors). $5. www.flickertheatre andbar.com ANDREW JOBIN New Orleans- based country and folk songwriter. NEWPORT TRANSPLANT Dynamic honky-tonk band straddling punk rock and sci-fi wonder. Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall 7:30 p.m. FREE! music.uga.edu WIND SYMPHONY Performing the finest standard and new repertoire for wind band. SYMPHONIC BAND Experienced undergraduate music majors, minors and non-majors from across campus play classic band repertoire and new music. Normaltown Brewing Co. 6:30 p.m. (sign-ups), 7–9 p.m. (show). FREE! www.normaltown brewingco.com MONDAY FUNDAY FUNK JAM Will Shine hosts this open jam with a house band made up of rotating local musicians. RSVP for Location Hard Tack Presents. 8 p.m. (doors), 9 p.m. (show). $5. www.instagram. com/h.a.r.d.t.a.c.k PONS Chaotic DIY noisy dance rock band from Brooklyn. THE SOURDROPS Twee pop songs made lovingly by siblings in Orlando, FL. STARBURST Underground punk trio hailing from Atlanta. THE FALLING SPIKES Loud, dumb rock and roll.

Tuesday 3 Athentic Brewing Co. 6–9 p.m. www.athenticbrewing.com OPEN MIC NIGHT First Tuesdays hosted by Katie Collins. Dead Beat Club 8 p.m. $10 (adv), $12. www.deadbeat athens.com DEAD THINGS Metalcore band from LA with a penchant for writing dramatic tunes with a flair of horror. BEAU ANDERSON Atlanta-based maker of loud noises. TINY BANSHEE Atlanta band whose sound is a chaotic blend of dance punk, stoner rock and a sprinkles of nu metal. Hendershot’s 5–7 p.m. www.hendershotsathens.com PIANO BAR HAPPY HOUR Enjoy drink specials and live piano music. Hugh Hodgson School of Music Edge Hall. 7:30 p.m. FREE! music. uga.edu UGA HORN CHOIR An ensemble of both horn majors and non- majors attending the Hugh Hodgson School of Music. Ramsey Hall 7:30 p.m. FREE! music.uga.edu FACULTY ARTIST SERIES Featuring double bassist Milton Masciadri. WUOG Live in the Lobby. 8 p.m. FREE! www. wuog.org NIGHTOUT Dusky monastic plur; asks you to dance.

Wednesday 4 40 Watt Club 7 p.m. (doors), 8 p.m. (show). $25 (adv.), $28. www.40watt.com HARBOUR Indie-rock five-piece that was formed in 2014 and has since gone from packing rooms in their native Cincinnati to selling out venues across the United States. SOUTHCOURT Self-described “festivalcore” indie-rock outfit based in Nashville, TN. Flicker Theatre & Bar 9 p.m. FREE! www.flickertheatreand bar.com DR. FRED’S KARAOKE Featuring pop, rock, indie and more. Georgia Theatre 6:30 p.m. (doors), 7:30 p.m. (show). $22.51. www.georgiatheatre.com VAULTBOY Alt-pop singer-songwriter from Jacksonville, FL whose name pays homage to his love of video games. Hendershot’s Classic City Vintage Guitars Presents. 7 p.m. FREE! www.hendershots athens.com HENDERSHOT’S OPEN MIC NIGHT Discover new Athens musical talent. Hugh Hodgson School of Music Edge Hall. 6 p.m. FREE! music.uga. edu UGA TUBA/EUPHONIUM ENSEMBLE Graduate and undergraduate low brass students play serious original compositions, transcriptions of orchestral literature and lighter arrangements. Edge Hall. 7:30 p.m. FREE! music. uga.edu UGA SAXOPHONE STUDIO Directed by Dr. Brandon Quarles and committed to fostering musical, personal and collaborative excellence in each student. Ramsey Hall 7:30 p.m. FREE! music.uga.edu LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC ENSEMBLE Performance group that explores the diverse musical styles of Latin America, focusing on both traditional and contemporary forms. f

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SAVE A LIFE FREE NALOXONE KIT Available from all county health departments; one kit per person per visit. No rtheas tHealthDis trict.o rg

OC T OB E R 28, 2026 · F L A GP OL E .C OM

bulletin board & classifieds BULLETIN BOARD: Listings from nonprofits, community resources and free opportunities. Print deadline is THURSDAY at 5 p.m. for the following Wednesday issue. Email calendar@flagpole.com. CLASSIFIEDS: Rates are $10/individual * $14/real estate * $16/business. Deadline to place ads is FRIDAY at 10 a.m. for the following Wednesday issue. Email class@flagpole.com or call 706-549-0301.

Classifieds MUSIC (Services) Instant cash is now being paid for good vinyl records & CDs in fine condition. Wuxtry Records at corner of Clayton and College Dwntn. 706-612-4926 SERVICES (Home & Garden) Fall is here! Woman-Run Gardening Services: We offer garden maintenance, invasive plant removal, personalized edible and native gardens for your school, home or business! 706-395-5321 SERVICES (Home & Garden) Hi! I’m Pablo, an expert gardener offering personalized care for your landscape. I specialize in low- maintenance, native gardens that support pollinators and biodiversity. Find me @pablofromseed, email pkozatch@gmail.com or call 631- 903-4365.

Arts ATHENS CREATIVE DIRECTORY (Athens, GA) The ACD is a free platform to connect creatives with patrons. www.athenscreatives. directory BEGINNING FIGURE DRAWING (OCAF) All-day workshop Jan. 16, 2027 for artists of all levels to learn nude figure drawing. Experienced UGA instructor and female profes-

sional art model teach small class. Registration is $99 with additional $15 model fee. www.drawathens. org CALL FOR ART (Various Locations) Visit www.flagpole.com/bulletinboard for ongoing open art calls. CALL FOR ART (OCAF, Watkinsville) Now accepting submissions for the annual Members Exhibition. Open to current, valid members. Deadline Nov. 1. Exhibition Dec. 4–18. www. ocaf.com/exhibitions for rules, regulations and other information. CALL FOR ARTISTS (Ciné) ATHICA seeking visual artists to submit proposals for exhibitions in the ATHICA at Ciné gallery space for the 2027-28 exhibition season. Single, duo or group exhibits, and 2D art. Deadline Nov. 1. $10 entry fee. www.athica.org CALL FOR ARTISTS (Winterville Marigold Festival) Submit artwork to be featured on the 2027 Marigold Festival posters, T-shirts and more. Deadline Jan. 1. www.marigold festival.com CALL FOR STORYTELLERS (Rabbit Box) Rabbit Box seeks story ideas for upcoming shows. www.rabbit box.org/tell CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS (Athens Homeless Coalition) Seeking submissions for street newspaper. Poetry, short stories, visual art, song lyrics. enagementcoordinator @athenshc.org

COMMUNITY TOURS (Georgia Museum of Art) A variety of tours open to the public including “Student Perspectives” which runs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays throughout the month. www.georgia museum.org LIFE DRAWING (Winterville Cultural Center, Winterville) Monthly afternoon life drawing sessions, every fourth Tuesday. Models scheduled represent the full spectrum of age, color, race and genders. Artists 18 & up only. Registration and prepayment required. $20. www. drawathens.org. SEEKING FLOATS & PERFORMERS (ACC Leisure Services) Applications are now open for the annual Downtown Parade of Lights on Dec. 3. Deadline 5 p.m., Nov. 3. $40 application fee. www.accgov.com/ parade SEEKING ZINE ART & IDEAS (Suburban Vermin) Accepting submissions for art, craft ideas, poetry and more for free local publication. Message @suburban.vermin.zine on Instagram.

Auditions ATHENS CRUSH DANCE TEAM (Dancefx Dance Studio) The new Indoor Football League franchise has announced auditions for the team’s inaugural Athens Crush

ADOPT ME!

Visit www.accgov.com/257/Available-Pets to view all the cats and dogs available at the shelter

Teddy (60548024)

Sweet Teddy is a little bit shy and prone to hiding in his kennel at first, but with patience and a few treats, he becomes the friendliest boy. He is sure to flourish in a safe, loving home.

Jackie (61642821)

Meet Jackie! This cutie with the fluffiest striped tail currently lives at Entangled Cat Cafe. She’s looking for a new place to call home, so please consider adopting or fostering her today.

Godiva (61340252)

Godiva is named for her beautiful chocolate brown coat. She’s a very energetic girl who loves zooming around, but she can also sit perfectly for treats. She loves to give kisses, too!

These pets and many others are available for adoption or foster at:

Athens-Clarke County Animal Services 125 Buddy Christian Way · 706-613-3540 Call for appointment

F L A GP OL E .C OM · OC T OB E R 28, 2026

Dance Team. Performances at eight games March–July 2027. Auditions held Nov. 14, 1–4 p.m. $35 with pre-registration, $50 for same-day registration. www.athenscrush.com/ dance-team OPEN AUDITIONS (Athens Master Chorale) Seeking new members in all voice parts including high sopranos, tenors and basses. Scheduled auditions held at St. Gregory the Great Church. athmcdirector@ gmail.com OPEN AUDITIONS (Athens Symphony) The Athens Symphony is holding auditions for qualified musicians. www.athenssymphony. org/openings

Classes A COURSE IN MIRACLES (580 Tallassee Rd.) Heal your psychology and your life using simple instruction of high vibrational thought. Sundays, 10–11:30 a.m. 770-237- 2354, www.unityathens.com ACCENT REDUCTION CLASS (Covenant Presbyterian Church) Improve your American English pronunciation skills. For ages 18 & up. Tuesdays, 12 p.m. marjoriemiller@ gmail.com CLASSES, HIKES & PADDLES (Watson Mill State Park, Comer) The park offers a variety of events including firebuilding classes,

various educational hikes including “Bridge History,” “Tree ID,” “Historic Mills” and more. Parking fee/ pass required for all events. www. gastateparks.org/WatsonMillBridge CLASSES & PROGRAMS (ACC Library) Various ongoing weekly events including ESL (Wednesdays) and more. www.athenslibrary.org CLASSES & PROGRAMS (ACCA) Various weekly and monthly events including Center for Active Living Happy Hour (various locations, every first Thursday), Normaltown Poker with Pals (Mondays), Mat Pilates (Mondays) and more. Registration may be required. www. accaging.org CLASSES & PROGRAMS (Athens Land Trust) Various virtual and in-person classes with topics that include Affordable Housing Info and Homebuyer Education Course. www.athenslandtrust.org/classes- events CLASSES & PROGRAMS (Canopy Studio) Canopy offers a variety of trapeze and aerial arts classes for children and adults. Scholarships and financial aid are available. outreach@canopystudio.org, www.canopystudio.org/outreach/ scholarships CLASSES & PROGRAMS (DanceFx Dance Studio) DanceFx offers a variety of dance classes for all skill levels. Work for class, scholarships and other financial aid programs are available. www.dancefx.org/ athens-tuition CLASSES & PROGRAMS (Winterville Cultural Center, Winterville) Flow Yoga & Pilates (Monday), Yoga in the Gallery (Wednesdays), Chair Yoga & Creative Cafe (Thursdays) and more. www.winterville center.com CLASSES, PROGRAMS & TOURS (State Botanical Garden of Georgia) Various ongoing weekly events including Guided Plant Walk (Tuesdays–Fridays), Porcelain and Decorative Arts Tour (Tuesdays & Sundays), Free Sketch (Fridays) and more. botgarden.uga.edu CLASSES, PROGRAMS & WORKSHOPS (OCAF, Watkinsville) Registration now open for extended session pottery classes, art instruction and more. www.ocaf.com/ courses CUBAN MUSIC & MOVEMENT (The Studio Athens) TIMBAthens offers Cuban-style salsa classes on

Sundays. 3 p.m. for Level 1 Foundations and 4 p.m. for Level 2 & 3 Partner Work and Rueda de Casino. Through Dec. 13. Drop-in $10 for first four classes only. Class passes available. www.timbathens.com CUBAN SALSA LESSONS (El Carretonero) SALSAthens offers multiple classes for different skill levels. Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. (advanced) and 7:30 p.m. (beginner/intermediate). $10 drop in. www.SALS AthensDancing@gmail.com DANCE CLASSES (East Athens Educational Dance Center) The center offers classes in ballet, hip hop, jazz, modern and more for all ages and skills. www.accgov.com/myrec FREE SCHOOL CLASSES (Various Locations) Learning network for community centered around compassion, autonomy and playfulness. Visit @athensfreeschool on Instagram. IMPROV CLASSES (Grady College) Free improv classes every Wednesday in Room 509. 5:30 p.m. More information @ImprovAthens OPEN ICE SKATING (Akins Ford Arena) Athens GA Figure Skating Club offers open ice skating for all skill levels every Monday through Thursday, 4–5 p.m. $10 students, $15 general admission. RSVP required. Athensgafigureskating@ gmail.com

Help Out ATHENS SKATEPARK PROJECT (Athens Skate Park) Seeking volunteers and community input. Third Sundays. www.athensskatepark project.org BRAS FOR A CAUSE (Grail Bra Specialists) Seeking donations of gently-used bras for distribution to local shelters, recovery centers and communities in need. 706-850- 0387 or support@grailbras.com COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS TREE NEEDED (ACCGov) The Landscape Management Division is seeking a privately-owned cedar tree for donation as a public Christmas tree display in front of City Hall. Interested donors call 706-613-3561. COUCH CRASHERS (ACC Animal Services Department) A short-term foster initiative to provide shelter dogs with the chance to experience the comfort of a home environment over weekends and holiday

weekends for one to three days. All needed items provided. Opportunities throughout the year. www. accgov.com/couchcrashers DIAPER DONATIONS (Athens Area Diaper Bank) Diaper donations needed for local infants. All sizes and open packs/boxes are accepted. www.athensareadiaperbank.com FIRE PIT RAFFLE (Friends of the Madison County Library) Madison County Library hosts a raffle for an outdoor gas fire pit to benefit various programs. $1 per ticket, unlimited entries. The winning ticket will be drawn in November after the Madison County Harvest Festival. www.athenslibrary.org/madison MEDICAL EQUIPMENT (Friends of Disabled Adults and Children) Free home medical equipment provided to those in need. Athens locations for pickup at Northeast Georgia Area Agency on Aging and Multiple Choices. Donations also accepted. www.fodac.org MEDICAL EQUIPMENT EXCHANGE (Silver Lace) Open registration for consideration for free mobility and daily living medical items. Donations also accepted. www.silverlace inc.org, info@silverlace.org MICROCHIP SCANNING STATIONS (Multiple Locations) Connect lost pets with their owners. Available 24 hours. Located at ACC Animals Services, Memorial Park Dog Park and Southeast Clarke Park. Instructions provided at each location. www. accgov.com/11669/pet-microchips PET FOOD PANTRY (Animal Services Adoption Center) The Animal Services community pet food pantry provides pet food support to ACC residents at no cost. Donations always welcome. Monday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Sundays, 12–3 p.m. www.accgov.com/ adoptioncenter SEEKING BOARD MEMBERS (Bigger Vision of Athens) The nonprofit homeless shelter Bigger Vision of Athens, Inc. is seeking new members for its board of directors. the biggervisionshelter@gmail.com, www.bvoa.org/boardmember SEEKING BOARD MEMBERS (Books For Keeps) Seeking new members for its board of directors. Preferred experience includes marketing and financial management. www.instagram.com/bfk_athens, www.booksforkeeps.org SEEKING BOARD MEMBERS (Moms Adopting Moms) Local nonprofit seeks board members, including a chair and treasurer, to support foster children and families through mentorship and reunification. momsadoptingmoms@ gmail.com SEEKING BOARD MEMBERS (Town & Gown) The Nominating Committee is now accepting nominations (including self-nominations) for President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary for the 2027 calendar year. Descriptions of these roles can be found in the bylaws. www. townandgownplayers.org/ governance SEEKING DONATIONS (The Cottage) Seeking donations of single- serving, non-perishable snacks to help children and adults navigating interviews, therapy sessions and court hearings. To arrange a drop- off please call 706-546-1133, ext 223. SEEKING DONATIONS (Athens, GA) Local homeless ministry Hands of Hope accepting donations of clothing for their free distribution program and fundraising yard sale with proceeds benefiting the program. 706-207-5172 SEEKING DONATIONS (Athens, GA) Local book club RIP Books seeking donations of any genre of books to

stock Little Libraries around town. Email ripbookclubathens@gmail. com for updated drop off location or to arrange pick up. SEEKING DONATIONS & VOLUNTEERS (Animal Services Adoption Center) Animal service sessions run Monday through Friday; training session required. Seeking donations of gently used bath towels and rags. www.accgov.com/animal services SEEKING VOLUNTEERS (Various Locations) Visit www.flagpole. com/bulletinboard for ongoing opportunities with nonprofits and community organizations. SEEKING VOLUNTEERS (Athens Cotton Press) The Hands on History Symposium 2026 is seeking volunteers for various events held Nov. 6–7. www.artfulhands.org SEEKING VOLUNTEERS (The Center at ACCA) Seeking volunteers for the Give Thanks 8K & Kids Fun Run. Event held Thanksgiving, Nov. 26. www.accaging.org SEEKING VOLUNTEERS (The Taylor-Grady House) Seeking volunteers for the annual heritage programming showcase Fall Festival. Opportunities include stage and music assistance, load-in and load-out, vendor support and more. Two hour shifts. Event held Nov. 7. www.taylorgrady.com TEACHER SUPPLIES (Teacher Reuse Store) Educators can access free creative supplies at the store. Please bring credentials. www. accgov.com/trs VOLUNTEER NETWORK (Community Works, Watkinsville) A nonprofit organization that connects volunteers of all ages to events, resources and training opportunities. CWorksOC@gmail.com

Kidstuff CLASSES & PROGRAMS (Athens, GA) Various ongoing weekly and monthly events including Little Makers, Jumping Gym, Babies and Beasties, 123 Toddler & Me!, Fantastic Friday, Inventors Club, Tiny Trek, Storytime and more. www. accgov.com/myrec CLASSES & PROGRAMS (ACC Library) Various ongoing weekly events including various storytimes, Tween/Teen Club Creative, Teen Writing Club and more. www.athens library.org CLASSES & PROGRAMS (Bogart Library) Various ongoing weekly events including LEGO Mania, Storytime with Miss Harli, Sensory Open Play and more. www.athens library.org/bogart CLASSES & PROGRAMS (Oconee Library) Various ongoing weekly events including Children’s Lego Builder’s Challenge, Children’s Crafternoon, Story Time and more. www.athenslibrary.org/oconee HALLOWEEN COSTUME WEEK (Oconee County Library, Watkinsville) Ghouls and goblins of all ages are invited to visit the library in costume and receive fun surprises. Oct. 26–31 during business hours. www.athenslibrary.org/oconee

Word on the Street BOOK SALE (Front Porch Bookstore) $10 bag sale every Saturday benefitting the Winterville Friends of the Library. Cash, check or Venmo only. www.cityofwinterville.com/ front-porch-bookstore CALL FOR VENDORS (Asian Lunar Festival) Now accepting applications for local artists, performers, food vendors, community organizations and more for the second

annual Athens Asian Lunar Festival. Event held Feb. 13. www.instagram. com/taste_asia_st CALL FOR VENDORS (Treehouse Kid & Craft) Applications open for the second annual Little Joy Fest featuring art, trinkets, vintage, food and more. Event help Nov. 1. Also seeking volunteers. www.instagram. com/treehousekidandcraft CITY TOURS (Historic Athens Welcome Center) A variety of guided tours available including a daily shuttle tour, walking tour of the downtown area and local music tour. Schedule in advance. www. athenswelcomecenter.com FRIDAY EVENTS (Multiplechoices Center for Independent Living) The organization hosts ongoing Friday gatherings. Tech discussions, support groups and more. www. multiplechoices.us/youre-invited MEDICAL ASSISTANCE (Nuçi’s Space) Direct connections to mental healthcare like counseling and psychiatry, medical care for physical concerns and more. www. nuci.org, 706-227-1515 MINDFUL BREATH SANGHA MEETING (Healing Lodge) In the Zen tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. Sundays, 1–2:30 p.m. Newcomers welcome. FREE! www.mindfulbreath sangha.org OPEN CALL 2027 MLK DAY OF SERVICE PROJECT SITES (Athens) The Athens MLK Day of Service Steering Committee is looking for project sites. Local organizations that would like to be considered must apply by Nov. 8. www.accgov. com/mlkday PEACEFUL PROTEST (Athens, GA) Indivisible GA District 10 has an “Every Monday” weekly protest on the corner of the corner of Alps and Baxter. 12:30–1:30 p.m. www. indivisiblega10.org RELIGIOUS EXPLORATION FIELD TRIP WORKSHOP (Athens, GA) A 6-week cohort for folks seeking LGBT-affirming church, who want a reparative church experience, or are curious about the denominations. Includes 4 advance-scouted Sunday church visits and lunch debriefs, opening/closing circles and a 1-on-1 spiritual direction session. $108–126. Registration closes Oct. 30. www.reclaim spirituality.com/fieldtrips SEVENTH GENERATION (No. 3 Railroad Street, Arnoldsville) Seventh Generation Native American Church hosts various gatherings on Sundays, 11 a.m. 706-340-7134 SUNDAY CELEBRATION & DRUM CIRCLE (Unity Athens Spiritual Center) Sunday Celebration every Sunday 12:30 p.m. Monthly drum circle before service every 3rd Sunday. Monthly drum circle before service every 3rd Sunday of the month. Go to www.unityathens.com for our weekly classes. VHS DIGITIZATION (Athens, GA) Seeking previously recorded concerts and events on VHS, VHSC, Hi8, MiniDV and DVDs to digitize and archive. www.vhsordie.com VOTER REGISTRATION RESOURCES (ACC Library Atrium) Economic Justice Coalition community volunteers assist Georgia residents with registration, confirm prior registration and update voter registration information as needed. www.economicjusticecoalition.org

Missing Something? MORE LISTINGS (Online) Find the Bulletin Board at www.flagpole. com/bulletinboard for ongoing open art calls, support group information and other resources that are available on a continuous basis. f

Boom Magazine and The Center at ACCA present

FRIDAY, OCT. 30 — 10AM-2PM Oconee County Civic Center

40 VENDORS: See full line-up at BoomAthens.com

Dozens of Door Prizes $100 gift cards drawn hourly Tickets to Rock Lobsters Tailgate Package Paper shredder & much more

Get Healthy Explore Georgia Tech’s “Tools for Life” Health screenings and vaccinations by UGA College of Pharmacy Learn “hands-only” CPR

Bookmark it! Events and Exhibits at UGA Special Collections Libraries

Author Talk: Jon Boorstin

6 PM, Tuesday, Nov. 10 Join the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame for a talk with Jon Boorstin, author of The American: The Hidden History of Daniel J. Boorstin and His Twentieth Century .

“Athens, GA: Inside/Out” Free Film Screening 4:30 PM, Thursday, Nov. 12 In celebration of the 40th anniversary restoration. Limited seating available in SCL auditorium

UGA Press Book Sale

9 AM - 3 PM, Mon-Wed, Nov. 16-18, Outside Main Library (inside if raining). All books 70% off

Georgia Music Collections Tour 6:45 PM, Thurs. Nov. 19, Akins Ford Arena (gate 1) Curator-led tour of music memorabilia

GALLERIES FREE TO THE PUBLIC HOURS: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 8AM-5PM Tuesday, Thursday 8AM-7PM

MORE INFO LIBS.UGA.EDU/SCL OC T OB E R 28, 2026 · F L A GP OL E .C OM

flag football

food & drink

good growing

The WLOCP… in Atlanta?

Going Batty

By McClain Baxley news@flagpole.com

By Erin France editorial@flagpole.com

There’s something beautiful about a bye Smart and Georgia have had their way in week in the fall. Instead of worrying about just about every aspect against the Gators. whatever craziness might happen in SanSince Florida last beat Georgia in the 2020 ford Stadium—like Gunner Stockton some- season, the Bulldogs have won two national how fumbling the ball to lose to an Auburn championships, three SEC championships, team who would be flirting with SEC relega- reached four playoffs and, yes, had better tion, if that was a thing—I’m able to sit on recruiting classes than Florida in every year. a patio wearing a hoodie and shorts, drink Florida has had just one winning season in a beverage and listen to music while loosely that span. monitoring college football happening outJon Sumrall has the Gators at 5-2 in his side of the vicinity of Kirby Smart and the first season at the helm, with two big wins Georgia Bulldogs. against Ole Miss and at Texas. Quarterback My phone says it’s 68 degrees, and the Aaron Philo, a Prince Avenue alum who wind is blowing in Athens while people transferred from Georgia Tech in the offseawalk around downtown, enjoying the new son, has played decently in his first season College Square, finding some live music to as a starter in college. take in or maybe even go to a pumpkin patch with Halloween a week away. It’s really nice. Georgia’s football players, eager to get the taste of losing to Auburn out of their mouths, don’t enjoy the off week as much as others. “A bye week is still a week that you’re either going to win or you’re going to lose,” defensive back Khalil Barnes said last week, “and I think the most growth in a season can sometimes happen through a bye week.” On Saturday, 80 miles west, thousands of Georgia football fans will take part in something that hasn’t happened since 1995: a Georgia-Florida game played outside of Jacksonville, FL. Because EverBank Stadium, the stadium in Jacksonville home to so many classic moments in the 122-year-old Bogart native Aaron Philo will lead Florida against Georgia this rivalry, is being renovated, Saturday. the game will be played in Mercedes-Benz Stadium this year. It’ll move to Raymond James Stadium They’re coming off a bye week after that in Tampa in 2027 before returning to its road win at Texas. “I love the bye week rightful place in Duval County the following because you get to take a deep dive,” Sumyear. rall said in Austin. “Where are we playing “Why can’t we play that Florida-Georgia well? Where are we not? Who deserves game [on campus]?” Smart said in May more opportunities? Who may deserve 2025, once the news to relocate the game less? Like, we evaluate everything that’s came out. “We didn’t get it. We got outbid, going right and wrong, and I expect everybaby… That was an AD decision that ultibody to take ownership of it so we can mately came based on money, and [Atlanta] move forward through the rest of the year, and Tampa ponied up and made really good and then we’ll go recruit, too.” financial offers.” Both schools were each Georgia has more experience and is paid $7.5 million to move the game. more talented, and is coming off a loss. The For years, Smart has spoken about Bulldogs are 15-3 after losing a game under having the game played on the two schools’ Smart, and they haven’t lost back-to-back campuses. In 2018, he talked about how games since 2018. They opened as nearly having the game at a neutral field has hintwo-touchdown favorites. dered the Bulldog’s recruiting efforts. “It The fun part of rivalries is anything can costs you a recruiting weekend,” he said. happen. Just look at Georgia’s most recent “You don’t get to have anybody, they don’t outing. “Like I say, humility is a week away,” get to have anybody. So our version of the Smart said after losing to Auburn in the LSU-Alabama game is held in Jacksonville, Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry. “I know it’s and we don’t have prospects. So it’s not con- a big deal to everyone else, but to me it’s ducive to recruiting, absolutely it’s not. It’s another game and we have to turn around just the way it’s been done here before. It’s and get ready to go play again, because it is just not great for recruiting, because you a war in this league week-in and week-out. lose a home game every other year, and that Everybody can beat everybody.” just comes with it. But it certainly helps to And they hope it doesn’t happen again in have more home games.” Atlanta. f

Bats are more than their spooky reputamorning. You’ll also want to place the box tions and set dressings for horror movies. away from locations where snakes can climb Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties and where the dropping guano can be colfeatured bat walks this month, and ACC lected for fertilizer. You’ll also want to get County Extension agent Laura Ney detailed rid of any of that night pollution you have bats’ habits, benefits and ways to support going on. If you have outdoor lights, put them during a public lecture. them on a timer or turn them off before you Often, people don’t want bats near their go to bed. homes because they can carry rabies, Ney It can take years to have these little guys said. But rabies isn’t common among the move into the home. I’ve had mine up for bat population. “Bats are vectors in the way three years now. Though I’ve got bats somethat many, many animals in Georgia are where nearby, they are not in the bat house. vectors,” Ney said. Raccoons, skunks and foxes also can carry rabies. According to the National Park Service, less than 1% of wild bats test positive for rabies. If you come into contact with a bat, especially one on the ground, call a professional, and don’t pick it up. “Usually, if they’re on the ground or struggling in a building somewhere, those animals are often sick,” Ney said. Bats’ positive effects on the environment far outweigh the negative. Bats account for an estimated $22.9 billion dollars of pest control A group learns about bats and the Dudley Park Bat Garden during a tour. per year, according to Bat Conservation International. That’s the When this happens, it means the bats estimated dollar amount saved by people have plenty of habitat, Ney said. Keeping not spraying insecticides because bats are the bat box up and in good working order gobbling up pests. could give another flying family a shot at a “A colony of 1,000 bats can consume 22 home in the future. pounds of insects every night,” Ney said. Native plants are the best bet to support That might sound like a lot of bats, but one a bat buffet. Oak trees in particular are large bat house can fit 200–300 bats. great for bats, including the tricolored bat, “All of our 16 species of bats in Georgia the Eastern red bat and the endangered eat insects,” Ney said. If you want bats Indiana bat (though it’s mostly found in the in your yard, you’re going to want those mountains of North Georgia), according to insects hanging around, too. Bat Conservation International. “Bugs are the basis of the food chain for If you’re looking for night-blooming everything,” she said. “That directly affects native flowers, there’s the evening primhow many bats can survive in our environrose. It blooms in the evening and smells ment. We need to grow plants that can sup- lovely when open. Yuccas, with their sky- port the bugs.” scraping white flowers perched atop their If you’re sold on trying to get bats into spikes, is another great choice, though your garden—or maybe giving them a safe its blooms are open 24 hours. Besides place besides your house to roost—a bat the lovely perfume, this plant thrives on box might be the right option. neglect: Just stick it in a part of the yard Bat Conservation International offers where no one will fall into it during a round bat box plans for DIYers, but they are availof ultimate frisbee. Virginia Sweetspire able assembled through many outlets. (Itea virginica) is another sweet-smelling Because of the way that bats fly—they native with white flowers that will easily fall from their roost and then open their fit into your yard. You will want to double wings once they’re already in the air—they check the variety of your potential like a lot of room between their roost and Sweetspires because some top out at 3 feet the next highest object, Ney said. At least and other varieties can grow past 8 feet tall. 10 feet should be between the box and the Other native host plants that attract ground, but 12–15 feet of space would be moths to feed bats include Mountain Mint, better, she said. Black-Eyed Susans, Pink Muhly Grass, goldAn east-facing box is best, so the bats enrods, asters and blue vervain, which is can dry the dew from their wings in the often named as a weed. f

GEORGIA-FLORIDA RIVALRY SHIFTS VENUES

F L A GP OL E .C OM · OC T OB E R 28, 2026

HOW TO SUPPORT OUR NATIVE NOCTURNAL HIGH FLYERS

COURTESY OF ACC COUNTY EXTENSION OFFICE

arts & culture

SUDOKU

LET PEIKEN HELP!

Edited by Margie E. Burke

Difficulty: Medium

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8 2

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1 3 4 5

9 3

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HOW TO SOLVE:

Each row must contain the numbers 1 to 9; each column must contain the numbers 1 to 9; and each set of 3 by 3 boxes must contain Weekthe of numbers 10/26/261-to 11/1/26 9.

The Weekly Crossword 1

by Margie E. Burke 9

14 17 20

18 22 25

1 279 2 8 3 6 7 4 5 28 29 26 7 3 4 5 9 1 2 8 6 30 31 5 6 8 2 7 4 9 1 3 35 36 37 8 2 3 1 5 9 6 7 4 40 41 39 6 7 9 434 2 3 1 5 8 44 9 4 465 471 7 6 8 3 2 48 49 45 4 6 9 8 7 5 3 1 2 50 51 9 1 7 3 4 5 8 6 2 56 55 3 8 5 6 1 2 4 9 7

38 42

ACROSS 1 More eccentric 6 Pilgrim to Mecca 10 Greek god of war 14 Sierra _____ 15 Togo's capital 16 Word with back or knuckle 17 Charge of wrongdoing 19 iPhone voice 20 "Fee, ___, foe, fum" 21 Insect's outer shell 23 Top-of-the-line 25 Show stopper? 26 Hardy's cohort 28 Formal proclamation 30 More up to the task 31 Sticker figure 32 Rocket killer: Abbr. 35 Beat, as a heart 37 Mouth piece? 39 Sow's pen 40 Bit of statuary 42 Coffee additive 43 Pancake topping (var.) 44 Just say no

Solution to Sudoku: 23 24

45 Trojan War figure 48 Takes in 50 Like population growth 52 Scottish cap 55 Nuclear particle 56 Swiss policy since 1815 58 Burn soother 59 Pinball error 60 Kind of sax 61 Monocle part 62 Knock 'em dead? 63 Plant disease DOWN 1 Norwegian king 2 Supermarket section 3 In a sad way 4 Compass heading 5 Renewal, biologically 6 Some choir members 7 Party hearty 8 Run ___ (go wild) 9 Church position 10 Roll call mark 11 Indian yogurt dip

12 Flynn of classic film 13 River by the Louvre 18 Skater's jump 22 Car attachment 24 Angers 26 Pool exercise 27 Rest up against 29 Carthage queen 31 Machu Picchu locale 32 St. _____, FL 33 Bikini tops 34 A ___ pittance 36 Heavy downpours 38 Hair piece? 41 Burger flipper 43 Lapidary's wares 44 Hearty laugh 45 Himalayan nation 46 Napoleon's fate 47 Flatware piece 49 Simple song 51 Simon or Sedaka 53 Molecular bit 54 Vidal's "___ Breckinridge" 57 Batted first, with "off"

Puzzle answers are available at www.flagpole.com/puzzles

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