Mountain Xpress 10.25.23

OUR 30TH YEAR OF WEEKLY INDEPENDENT NEWS, ARTS & EVENTS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 30 NO. 13 OCT. 25 -31, 2023

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OCT. 25-31, 2023

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C O NT E NT S

NEWS

13 BUNCOMBE BEAT Buncombe sheriff: Crime is decreasing outside Asheville

FEATURE

OF MIDCENTURY MODERN, VINTAGE, ANTIQUES & REPURPOSED RARITIES!

10 MAKE AMENDS Reparations commission releases initial recommendations

14 GARDENING WITH XPRESS Getting your garden ready for winter

WELLNESS

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NEWS

FEATURES

22 Q&A WITH JASON HYATT Buncombe County Libraries director on libraries as social service

PAGE 6 31 SECONDS: LIFE INSIDE A GANG While gangs in Asheville may not look the same as they have in the past, gang recruitment and involvement persist in low-income communities, says James Mitchell, a local resident and former gang member of the Nine Trey Bloods.

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24 BEST MEDICINE WITH ERIC BROWN A graveyard smash and other such ghostly musings

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28 PLAYBILL PICKS November local theater highlights

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NEWS

22 WELLNESS 24 ARTS & CULTURE

38 CLASSIFIEDS 39 NY TIMES CROSSWORD

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STAFF PUBLISHER & EDITOR: Jeff Fobes ASSISTANT PUBLISHER: Susan Hutchinson MANAGING EDITOR: Thomas Calder EDITORS: Lisa Allen, Jessica Wakeman ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR: Thomas Calder OPINION EDITOR: Tracy Rose STAFF REPORTERS: Edwin Arnaudin, Thomas Calder, Chase Davis, Andy Hall, Justin McGuire, Sara Murphy, Greg Parlier, Brooke Randle, Jessica Wakeman Fall intern reporter: Murryn Payne COMMUNITY CALENDAR & CLUBLAND: Andy Hall, Braulio Pescador-Martinez CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Mindi Friedwald, Peter Gregutt, Mary Jean Ronan Herzog, Rob Mikulak REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Mark Barrett, Blake Becker, Eric Brown, Carmela Caruso, Storms Reback, Kay West PHOTOGRAPHERS: Staff: Cindy Kunst ADVERTISING, ART & DESIGN MANAGER: Susan Hutchinson LEAD DESIGNER: Scott Southwick GRAPHIC DESIGNERS: Tina Gaafary, Olivia Urban MARKETING ASSOCIATES: Sara Brecht, Vicki Catalano, Jamie Knox, Scott Mermel INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES: Hinton Edgerton, Jeff Fobes, Mark Murphy, Scott Southwick WEB: Brandon Tilley BOOKKEEPER: Amie Fowler ADMINISTRATION & BILLING: Hinton Edgerton, Mark Murphy DISTRIBUTION: Susan Hutchinson, Cindy Kunst DISTRIBUTION DRIVERS: Leah Beck, Marlea Kunst, John McKay, Alexis Miller, Desiree Davis Mitchell, Henry Mitchell, Angelo Santa Maria, Courtney Israel Nash, Carl & Debbie Schweiger, Gary Selnick

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OCT. 25-31, 2023

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OPINION

Send your letters to the editor to letters@mountainx.com.

Editor’s Note For Halloween, we asked our readers to share the scariest things they’ve experienced in our area. Readers came through with shivery accounts of mysterious occurrences, which are scattered throughout the issue. X

Use bike lane money for other city needs [Regarding “Downtown Car-bike Lane Project Divides Council,” Oct. 18, Xpress:] I agree with Ms. Antanette Mosley.

Let’s use that money to repair damage done to our Black neighbors and businesses downtown. The bike lanes will help only a small minority of mostly white, middle-class people and cause more accidents and congestion! Isn’t that correct?

Stop building hotels in downtown Asheville. It changes the character of downtown, pushes current residents away and is not consistent with the comprehensive plan.

Enough is enough.

— Peter Barrett Asheville

Consider these excellent Woodfin candidates To friends and neighbors in Woodfin and to Asheville neighbors who have family or friends in Woodfin: Early voting began Oct 19.

Election Day is Nov. 7.

The Town of Woodfin is very fortunate to have wonderful candidates running for office. After meeting them and hearing how they plan to serve our town, I’ll be voting for

C A RT O O N B Y R AN DY M O L T O N current Vice Mayor Jim McAllister for mayor. The three candidates I’m supporting for Woodfin Town Council are Elisabeth “Betsy” Ervin, Ken Kahn and Johanna Young.

There are three candidates running in a group for Woodfin water board trustee who also have my vote.

They are Lauren Edgerton, Larry Hopkins and Gordon Maybury.

I hope you will consider these excellent candidates when you vote.

And please pass the word.

— Leni Sitnick Woodfin

Beware of ticks in fall leaves Everyone in the Asheville area and beyond should take caution in raking leaves. Ticks love them and breed in them overnight because of moisture.

You can’t see many of them; they are as small as a poppy seed on a bagel.

Lyme disease is quickly becoming a dangerous nightmare. The tests are still unreliable. I am getting many calls from desperate people. Their doctors still tell them they don’t have Lyme disease and send them to a psychiatrist. This is one of the reasons we have so much violence. It makes an infection in the brain that leads to drug addiction and suicide.

If you see a tick attached to you, send it to be tested so you know what

infection was in it and now possibly in you. It can kill you. It costs $25,000 a year to treat it, as insurance doesn’t pay for it, and many uninformed doctors will tell you there is no Lyme disease in North Carolina. That is not the truth.

Now that the military and their families are getting so sick from this, finally, the Defense Department is giving a lot of money to find a good test. They gave Brandon Jutras of Virginia Tech’s Fralin Life Sciences Institute $1.2 million to find an accurate test. MIT, Mount Sinai’s Cohen Center for Recovery from Complex Chronic Illness, Tufts Lyme Disease Initiative, Yale Center for Infection & Immunity and others are now receiving grants.

If you have to rake leaves, put your clothes in the washer immediately after and get in the shower.

— Jan Dooley Asheville

The problem with banning books There is a coordinated movement in many states and communities to ban a variety of books and materials from public schools and public libraries. This movement includes Asheville and the surrounding communities.

While I understand the value of restrictions and supervision that are

Last call for election letters For the best shot at getting your local election-related letter in Xpress before Election Day, please email it to letters@mountainx.com by the end of the day Wednesday, Oct. 25, for the Nov. 1 issue.

— Xpress editors 4

OCT. 25-31, 2023

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appropriate at certain age levels, the outright banning of books is not only in and of itself dangerous, but it is against the principles of free speech as defined in the First Amendment of the Constitution. A truly great library has something that will offend anyone who surveys the library’s collection.

Many of these bans are a function of the fear of vulnerability and indoctrination on certain topics for elementary, middle school and even high school students. Thematically, the book banning seems to be primarily related to topics involving sexuality, race and violence. That being the case, I certainly would think these communities and states need to ban the Bible from public school libraries and local libraries, or certainly restrict their availability from younger readers.

Readers of the Bible experience from the very beginning two individuals who hardly know each other, exposing themselves to full-frontal nudity. It’s a book where slavery is condoned. There are frequent acts of ethnic discrimination, violence and murder, the slaughter of large masses of people. There’s frenzied Pagan worship. There’s kidnapping. There’s seduction. The polygamist Solomon speaks in poetic terms of a broad number of graphic sexual innuendos. And of course, in the central theme of the New Testament, a young unmarried teenage girl becoming impregnated without her knowledge or consent while she sleeps.

The point of this narrative is that when it comes to having access to various forms of content material that provide knowledge, common sense should prevail over politics and personal bias or belief. Knowledge is not harmful. It has great benefit. The banning of materials is based on the illusion that knowledge is harmful.

What is important and valued by any individual or group of individuals may have little or no value or importance to someone else. And what one individual or group of individuals finds offensive, another individual or group of individuals will find desirable.

Public schools and public libraries should not be banning materials that are meant to inform and educate.

Material on topics related to sexuality, race and violence must remain accessible to those who want and need access. That includes the Bible.

— Richard Boyum Candler

Don’t forget about Asheville Hockey League [Regarding “Roller-skating Renaissance: Recent and Wellestablished Groups Discuss WNC’s

CARTOON BY BRENT BROWN Coasting Community,” Sept.

22, Xpress:] You forgot the most established group in the area: Asheville Hockey League, established in 2000, with over 250 members and growing.

— Dan Dean Vice president of Asheville Hockey League and AHL Adult Commissioner Asheville

Recycle those newspapers I was eating lunch outside at The Fresh Market after a hike with folks from Liberty Bikes. I was dumbfounded as I watched a Mountain Xpress delivery guy bring the new weekly in and throw the old ones in the garbage can.

Along with one of the owners of Liberty Bikes, we fished them all out of the garbage can to be recycled.

Mountain Xpress, I love the newspaper, and I know you all work hard, and I am hoping you will comment here on how to make sure your drivers are recycling the past week’s Xpress after delivering the new. Thanks.

— Roberta Greenspan Asheville Editor’s response: Thank you for your input. We actively encourage our distribution team, most of whom are independent contractors, to recycle whenever possible. Unfortunately, there is not a public recycling facility

at that location, nor is there one along the driver’s route to their final destination. Drivers are informed of the closest recycling facilities to their route and can bring old newspapers back to Xpress’ warehouse for recycling, which we have often reiterated to our team.

Aim for better than painless pet euthanasia Since local overpopulation policies start with pets, I have thoughts on improving pet euthanasia, which is that I think we can do better than painless; should not be satisfied with painless methods; and without worries about addiction, withdrawal or productivity, make use of euphoric drugs and perhaps even prolong euthanasia with such drugs until withdrawal becomes a concern.

Now, the local animal shelter would naturally be concerned with cost and security, these drugs being a target for theft for them and their normal suppliers, but if they can connect to and affordably test supplies no longer needed for local police evidence, which may already be tested and secured for evidence purposes, then I have every reason to believe it may be possible to affordably make pet euthanasia better than painless.

— Alan Ditmore Leicester

Give thanks ...and have fun doing it!

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OCT. 25-31, 2023

5

NEWS

31 seconds Life inside a gang

BY CHASE DAVIS cdavis@mountainx.com Thirty-one seconds of hell was what it took for 46-year-old Asheville native James Mitchell to leave behind his life of crime. That beating left him with six broken ribs, a broken arm, a busted nose and a fractured skull.

“That’s the price you pay when you get involved with a gang,” Mitchell says.

Mitchell joined the Nine Trey Bloods at age 17. It was the allure of brotherhood and power that drew him in as a teen growing up in Asheville. The group provided a sense of belonging and protection that was missing in his life. The Nine Trey Bloods members, like many gangs, commit crimes that include drug trafficking, armed robberies and assault.

“I didn’t choose the street life; it chose me,” says Mitchell. “Growing up in poverty, with my father absent and my mother working multiple jobs just to make ends meet, I felt like I had no other option. Joining the Bloods was like joining a family that cared about me, or so I thought.”

GANG LIFE The day-to-day existence of a Blood gang member meant being

constantly on alert. “We were always on edge, always looking over our shoulders,” he says. “The slightest disrespect or territorial dispute could escalate into a deadly confrontation.”

And drugs were always at hand as a way to dull the violence and aggression.

“By the time I was 20, I was addicted to heroin and cocaine,” Mitchell says. “While [drug use] was discouraged by the higher-ups because it made you a liability, it was an easy way to distract yourself from life. We were all addicted to something; you had to be.”

Dressing for the day was a carefully calculated ritual. The Bloods, like many gangs, wore their identity with pride and peril. Mitchell donned the signature red attire and added a “31” tattoo, symbolizing the 31 rules that came with being a member of the larger United Blood Nation. Of course, the markers also made him instantly recognizable to rivals.

“Dressing up in red was like putting on a target, but it was also a badge of honor, a way to show I was part of something bigger than myself,” Mitchell says. “While I am not part of the gang anymore, I never got the tattoo removed because it never lets me forget

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LIFE ON EDGE: Asheville resident and former gang member James Mitchell discusses his experiences as a member of the Nine Trey Bloods. Photo by Chase Davis where I came from and the things that I did.”

Another reminder of his gang life is his criminal history. Mitchell says that he has been arrested over 15 times and spent more of his 20s and 30s in jail than he did out of jail. “It was like a revolving door,” Mitchell says. “You’d get out of jail one day, but you knew you’d be back in soon enough.”

He says that his criminal record has made getting a job challenging. “No one wants to hire a felon. It’s too much of a liability,” Mitchell says.

CURBING GANG VIOLENCE Addressing gang violence is not a straightforward task, according to Capt. Joe Silberman of the Asheville Police Department. Gangs are not clear-cut organizations but are more likely loosely organized neighborhood groups. “[Gang activity] is a large and complex piece of law enforcement without clear boundaries,” Silberman says. A trend is for hybrid gangs that consist of people from different racial or ethnic groups, and people involved with more than one gang.

FAMILY AFFAIR

past, gang recruitment and involvement persist in low-income communities, according to Mitchell.

Mitchell says that “joining is appealing to young kids, especially those who feel alone. We would always promise them the world, but in reality, we were selling them a nightmare.”

Martin, a man in his early 20s whose name has been changed for his protection, claims to be an active member of the Nine Trey Bloods.

According to him, recruits are typically well known by some members of the gang, either as friends or family members. Martin says he once approached his younger brother, a juvenile, about joining.

“We don’t just ask anybody if they want to be a Blood. You gotta want it, and then you gotta earn it,” Martin says. “My little brother asked about it, but he wasn’t hard enough to do what needed to be done. That’s OK, though. This life is not for everyone.”

Martin’s younger brother, Jackson (not his real name), told Xpress that one of Martin’s fellow gang members asked him to steal as a way to prove his loyalty, but he did not go through with the act. “I was going to do it, but when we got there I got scared and chickened out. I didn’t want to get into trouble,” says Jackson.

It’s not just brothers who are recruited.

“My sister was in the gang, too.

We called her a Bloodette,” Mitchell says. “It wasn’t just for guys; the women had their own roles. It was like a twisted family affair.”

Mitchell’s sister, Shenika Carter, was involved with the Nine Trey Bloods for about five years, primarily transporting marijuana and cocaine. Carter told Xpress she got involved with the gang in hopes of making money to support her family.

“We didn’t grow up with a lot, and I wanted to do everything I could to make more money,” Carter says. “I was 15 when I started moving drugs.

I never really wanted to do it, but I thought that if I could just make enough money so that my mom didn’t have to work three jobs that I would be able to stop. It doesn’t work like that, though.”

After watching her best friend overdose on drugs that she provided, Carter cut ties with the Nine Trey Bloods. Concerned for her safety, she moved out of state with her then-boyfriend, now-husband.

Since leaving, she has gone through

While gangs in Asheville may not look the same as they have in the

CONTINUES ON PAGE 8

Such gangs have unclear codes of conduct and symbols, which makes tracking them challenging for law enforcement.

“Gang membership is not as clear-cut as it used to be 20 years ago, and trying to address [gangs] as standalone organizations is nearly impossible,” Silberman says.

He was doubtful that police could build a case to prosecute members under the federal racketeering laws designed to combat organized crime.

Instead, the APD focuses on common gang-related crimes, such as drug activity and gun charges.

“We have found that tracking illegal firearm activity has been very helpful in identifying gang members,” Silberman says. “We have built a web of information with our ties to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and the Department of Justice. Our connections with these other agencies, as well as the work done by our own crime analysts, have really paid off.”

But while APD continues to be understaffed, Silberman notes that it has had a positive impact on the department.

“The staffing crisis that we are facing has changed our policing culture and turned it into something stronger than we have had previously,” Silberman said. “Even if I was given a full staff today, we would not dial back to where we were a few years ago. The use of professional staff, some of the programs we bought to compare data and how we communicate with other agencies have all greatly improved our policing efforts.”

Silberman says he believes that reports to the police of gang activity have increased dramatically in the past five years, but he attributes that to an increase in community tips and awareness. He did not have specific data on the number of reports.

“Gang activity waxes and wanes based on a number of factors, including staffing as well as community involvement and input,” Silberman says. “With that being said, our anonymous tip line has been an integral part in our push to address gang violence.”

According to APD statistics, as of Oct. 10, violent crime in Asheville is 18% lower than in 2022 but 1% higher compared with the five-year average. Property crime in 2023 is 4% lower than the previous year and down 2.5% compared with the five-year average.

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N EWS rehab and now works as a nursing assistant.

“It is possible to get out of that lifestyle. It just takes dedication and hard work,” says Carter. “I was forced to leave everything I knew just to feel safe. I still ask myself if the extra money was worth it. I don’t think it was.”

While the financial gain is hard to calculate, the emotional toll of life in a gang is not.

“One day I might not come home no more, but that is a risk that I have to be willing to take every day,” says Martin.

“It’s a life that ages you quickly,” Mitchell reflects. “You grow old before your time, carrying the weight of all you’ve seen and done.”

A BRUTAL EXIT Eventually, the allure of the gang began to wane for Mitchell. He had seen friends die and saw the pain it caused his family. “Friends turned brothers, we buried them too soon.

They were victims of the very violence we embraced,” he says.

“I could see the pain in my mom’s eyes, the sleepless nights she endured worrying about me. It’s a burden I didn’t fully understand until I took a step back,” Mitchell says. “She died from breast cancer, but she made me promise that before she died that I would get clean and straighten up. That was something I took seriously, and I tried to change for her sake. I wanted a life beyond the violence, a future without constant danger.”

However, Mitchell knew that leaving the gang came with a high price. The Bloods were notorious for their ruthless tactics when members attempted to defect. The gang considered leaving the ultimate act of disloyalty and made it clear that those who tried to leave would face severe consequences.

While it was traditional for gang members to serve until they “aged out,” members could choose to leave early, but only under the condition that they survived a 31-second beating intended to prevent them from sharing information with police.

In 2010, shortly after Mitchell began to distance himself from the gang, he was ambushed by several fellow Blood members as he parked at his apartment complex. “I knew the rules. ‘Blood in, Blood out,’” says Mitchell.

The brutal attack that followed lasted for what felt like an eternity but, in reality, was a mere 31 seconds. He was left battered and bloodied, with injuries that would take months to heal. Eventually, he 8

OCT. 25-31, 2023

NEW BEGINNINGS: Once out of the gang, James Mitchell, right, got his GED diploma and began volunteering to help at-risk youths. Last year, Mitchell took several youths to see the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of Mitchell was found by a neighbor and taken to the hospital, where he stayed for over two weeks.

“I thought I was going to die that night,” Mitchell recalls. “They beat me senseless, and the pain seemed never-ending. It was their way of punishing me for trying to leave.”

When asked if this tradition was still upheld in the gang, Martin

laughed. According to him, the 31-beating is now occasionally used when initiating new members, but the only true way to leave is by aging out or dying.

“I am not playing when I say it’s a lifelong commitment,” Martin says.

“A lot of the OGs [referring to older, respected members] have gotten too old to make runs, but they did

PAINFUL PAST: James Mitchell notes that he decided to keep the tattoos that he got during his time as a gang member to serve as a reminder of his past. Photo by Chase Davis

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their time. For people on the street, though, the only way out is with a bullet.”

THE PATH TO REDEMPTION Once out of the gang Mitchell got his GED diploma and began volunteering to help the unhoused and at-risk youths. Now, Mitchell hosts a weekly Bible study at his apartment for eight teenage boys, including Jackson. He does not shy away from his past, using it as a powerful tool to connect with at-risk youths and provide them with guidance and support.

“I want them to see that I had been where they were, that I understand the allure of the gang,” Mitchell explains. “But I also wanted them to understand the brutal consequences of that life, both from my own experiences in the gang and from the beating I endured when I tried to leave.

“The youth are our future, and it is our job as members of the community to guide them and show them how to live in a way that is safe and beneficial for them and the people around them,” Mitchell says. X

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OCT. 25-31, 2023

9

NEWS

Make amends

Reparations commission releases initial recommendations

BY GREG PARLIER gparlier@mountainx.com After 18 months of meetings and nearly $500,000 spent, Asheville’s reparations commission — tasked with making recommendations for restitution for generations of racial injustice — has now lost its second project manager in a year.

Christine Edwards of Charlottebased firm Civility Localized, who has been project manager for the commission since November 2022, announced Oct. 16 she is stepping down from her role managing the strategic direction of the commission and acting as liaison between the commission and government entities. She will remain on to assist with administrative duties, such as payroll, as part of the contract with Civility Localized.

“While it has been an incredible honor to be a member of this effort, it’s become evident that through these several months that my involvement is not having the intended impact on the forward movement of this very important work,” Edwards said. “Therefore, I am going to be taking a step back from this position of project manager.”

Vernisha Crawford, CEO of the Charlotte-based Trauma Informed Institute, who facilitated the commission’s July retreat and other aspects of commission meetings, will facilitate meetings moving forward.

The previous project manager, consulting firm TEQuity, resigned in November because its president accepted a new position at Duke University.

Project leadership isn’t the only change this month for Asheville’s second-in-the-nation commission, jointly established by Asheville and Buncombe County.

At its Oct. 16. meeting, the Community Reparations Commission voted to ask the city and county for an eight-month extension to its initial April 2024 deadline to finalize its draft recommendations. Approval from City Council and Buncombe County Board of Commissioners is pending.

As some commissioners pushed for more time, Chair Dwight Mullen acknowledges that progress has been

BRUCE’S BEACH: Keynote speaker George Fatheree, left, tells the story of Bruce’s Beach, a Black-owned beach resort property in Southern California that he helped give back to the Black community there after it was taken by eminent domain in the 1920s. Fatheree spoke to a full room at UNC Asheville Oct. 7. Also pictured is event host Jacquelyn Hallum.

Photo courtesy of Buncombe County uneven for the trendsetting grassroots group, but is confident in its success.

“I’m really kind of excited to see how this works out because we’re the first to do this. And so how are we doing in terms of experimenting with reforming resolutions and implementing them and oversight of them? That’s a major thing that can work well as a model for others.”

FOCUS AREAS The commission has segmented the task into five areas — criminal justice, economic development, education, health and wellness, and housing.

While each group has outlined a list of draft recommendations, they are not all at the same point of development. Education and economic devel-

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opment have made the most headway, Mullen says, while criminal justice needs more time to gather additional insight and perspective from the community it affects most, he says.

Mullen says Asheville’s 25-member reparations commission contains a wide swath of community members from academics and activists to retirees and business owners who represent a diverse collection of the Black community in Asheville.

“We have as close to a portrait of our community on the commission as I think you can reasonably expect right now,” he says.

Commission members acknowledge they must do better engaging those outside their own direct social circles, such as the least fortunate members of the Black community who may interact with the criminal justice system the most.

“So many people have been involved negatively with criminal justice that are living in the community, [so] a deeper level of community engagement is needed. And so, if there is a slowdown, that’s where our slowdown is coming from: We have not adequately engaged,” Mullen says.

At the Oct. 16 meeting, the commission pointed to engagement as one of its key goals, outlining a plan to hold in-person and virtual work sessions and events in churches, legacy Black neighborhoods and public housing developments to provide education, give updates and build community around the process.

PERMANENT ACCOUNTABILITY Along with discussions on engagement at the Oct. 16 meeting, the commission’s education focus group offered an ongoing accountability proposal that would apply to all focus areas.

Ameiris Lavender, chief program officer at YWCA who leads the education committee, said the idea was spurred when the group realized there was no way to monitor whether school districts were able to meet specific goals that the group had previously identified.

“This global accountability recommendation came out of that discussion of like, ‘Well, who would hold all of that? Whose responsibility would that be?’” Lavender told the commission.

The proposed independent accountability agency would identify any ongoing harms to Black residents and provide an assessment of those harms, in addition to monitoring efforts that result from all of the commission’s recommendations.

“The right to reparations is inextricably linked with the need for there to be a deep and pervasive mechanism to hold the systems of government that are historically and contemporarily causing harm accountable to the recommendations put forth by the commission,” the education group’s proposal says.

Another draft recommendation from the education group is to develop a recruitment and retention package for Black educators that includes social, financial, professional and housing support.

Mullen argues that hiring Black teachers is an “absolutely crucial” aspect of creating a more equitable public education system, which could in turn lead to benefits for students of every racial background.

“It looks as though [reparations] is an us-versus-them situation, in that what Black folks get, white folks have to lose. Education is a good example of how that’s not the case. What we figure out with education is going to help classrooms all across the state, if they pay attention to the models that we’re trying to employ,” Mullen says. “In the reparations commission, we’re learning valuable things to educate children in this area, and we need to share it. But the recruitment of teachers and the retention of teachers is fundamental.”

In addition to teacher recruitment, the education focus group wants to see education opportunities specifically for Black students, including a community-based education center.

In the economic development area, members recommend establishing an economic development center to offer Black entrepreneurs job training, financial education and a Black-led

financial institution. Establishing a fund for grants targeted to Blackowned businesses is another proposal.

For economic development recommendations in particular, Mullen says access to capital is exceptionally vital.

“The resources we need to develop businesses and to strengthen generational wealth, those resources have got to be forthcoming. In other words, we can’t do economic development without money,” he says.

PERCEPTION VERSUS CONTROL The reparations commission is jointly funded through the City of Asheville and Buncombe County, meaning those two entities will have to ultimately sign off on the commission’s final recommendations.

The City of Asheville invested $2.1 million in 2022, with a commitment of at least $500,000 annually going forward. The city has budgeted $510,000 in fiscal year 2024-25.

Similarly, Buncombe County seeded the project with $2 million in 2022, with an additional $500,000 annually, plus 2% increases each year. So far, the commission has spent about $475,000 for contracted management and other expenses, according to city spokesperson Sam Parada.

That financial dependence was the subject of several discussions at recent meetings, including a debate about whether to extend the commission’s timeline.

Keith Young, a former City Council member who wrote the initial resolution supporting community reparations in 2020, introduced a two-year extension request at the commission’s September meeting to a mixed reception. The matter was tabled until Oct. 16.

Commission members Dee Williams, Joyce Harrison and Bobbette Mays all disagreed with extending the timeline at the October meeting because they either didn’t

feel it was necessary or would be hard to justify to the city and county.

Assistant County Attorney D.K. Wesley clarified that the original April deadline is not a “hard stop,” and the county commission would be willing to hear an argument that more time is necessary. But the reparations commission would need a “pretty significant detailed justification” to get approval for two more years, she said.

Williams said she wouldn’t take the commission seriously if she were on City Council because it looks as if it isn’t getting enough done, and the panel is now asking for an extension.

Commission member MZ Yehudah, who represents the Burton Street community, asked why the commission was questioning its own work.

“There’s this assumption, a dangerous undertone, that I’m hearing.

Everyone is doing work. The timeline has been proposed by a city attorney, and that’s not working. So rather than calling into question the constraints of the timeline, we’re calling into question the effort of commissioners. If people feel as if they want to do something else, then I would suggest you go into something else,” he said.

Ultimately, the commission voted to request an extension until December 2024 instead of the original April deadline.

After the meeting, Mullen told Xpress that an extension made sense because commissioners weren’t scheduled to get final results from a contracted Stop the Harm audit of city and county government policies and

procedures until February and would need time to incorporate those findings into their final recommendations.

CHANGING STRUCTURE As the commission grapples with a change to the project management structure and a potentially extended timeline, some community members have expressed a desire to get fresh voices involved.

During public comment at the Oct. 16 meeting, Rob Thomas, executive director of the Asheville-based Racial Justice Coalition, which has advocated for reparations, said there are a lot of people waiting in the wings who would like to have a voice on the commission.

Thomas said it might be time to bring more voices to the table, as some members argued against a timeline extension.

As for the leadership change, Mullen says the news of Edwards’ departure was sudden but that there won’t be a break in progress because the leaders of each focus group will continue the work, as they affirmed at the October meeting.

County and city staff members plan to meet soon to orchestrate the project management plan going forward, says county spokesperson Lillian Govus.

Mullen remains steadfast in his optimism and confidence in the process.

“It’s not that folks want to dismiss what’s going on and what’s happened before. I think they’re looking at this as sort of a relay race. Handing it off to another set of voices, I think, would be totally appropriate,” he says. X

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OCT. 25-31, 2023

MOUNTAINX.COM

N EWS

BUNCOMBE BEAT

Buncombe sheriff: Crime is decreasing outside Asheville Across many categories, crime is down in Buncombe County outside Asheville, Sheriff Quentin Miller reported to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 17.

Across eight serious crime categories reported to the State Bureau of Investigation, Miller reported a 15% decrease from 2021-22 and a 2% decrease from the previous 10-year low, in 2019. Buncombe had 1,585 crimes in 2022, such as murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson, according to Miller’s presentation. Misdemeanors are not included in those statistics. SBI numbers for 2023 will be available next fall, said BCSO spokesperson Aaron Sarver.

For comparison, in the City of Asheville, violent crime is down 18% to date compared with 2022 and 1% higher than the five-year average as of Oct. 1, according to an Asheville Police Department report to City Council this month.

So far this year, homicides also are down, as only one has been reported compared with four last year and 17 since 2019, Miller said. The Sheriff’s Office has brought charges on all 17 of those cases since Miller took office, he said.

However, for crimes involving drugs and narcotics, Buncombe already had 345 crimes as of Oct. 15, compared with 381 in all of 2022, according to Miller’s presentation.

Miller also reported on a co-responder unit, piloted in Buncombe this summer with Emergency Medical Services’ Community Paramedic Program to limit arresting people who were committing minor crimes because of a mental health condition.

“We’re trying to get resources to that person as opposed to them coming to the jail. It’s like a diversion program, if you will,” Miller said.

“We’re trying to meet people where they are.”

When responding to a call that may involve a mental health issue, a deputy will respond with a community paramedic and try to deescalate the situation if a mental health episode is driving someone to commit a nonviolent crime, Miller said.

Taylor Jones, director of Emergency Medical Services for Buncombe, said the partnership is working, and he is proud to work with Miller on what they said was “leading work in the nation.”

solidation, said Buncombe spokesperson Lillian Govus.

Several commissioners expressed skepticism Oct. 17 that both school districts would reach the same conclusion, which Chair Brownie Newman said was likely necessary for anything to change.

Commissioner Amanda Edwards, whose husband, Derek Edwards, is principal at Asheville High School, was more optimistic that a mutual conclusion could be reached.

“Call me an eternal optimist,” Edwards said. “It’s going to be uncomfortable, but ultimately we will get to that point where I think there is consensus among both groups.”

Rachel Nygaard, director of strategic partnerships for Buncombe County, said the county would submit a request for proposals in November for firms to conduct the study and hoped to have a vendor to start work on the project in the spring.

In other news

DECREASING CRIME: Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller reported a decrease in violent crime in Buncombe County outside Asheville at the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meeting Oct. 17. Photo by Greg Parlier “When I became a commissioner, we were talking about spending $50 million to build a new jail to put people in it who shouldn’t even be there. But now, thank goodness, we’re looking at other ways that are a lot more positive to the community,” said Commissioner Al Whitesides.

With the pilot complete, Miller said the agencies are working to implement the program permanently.

School district consolidation study Commissioners unanimously agreed to act as lead entity for a feasibility study on the potential merger of the county’s two school districts to satisfy a state mandate.

The study will conduct academic, operational and financial analyses of the two districts, as well as study community impacts of a potential merger, which has been discussed on and off in the county since 1963.

Both boards of education have voted to designate Buncombe County as the lead entity on the study at recent school board meetings. Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools must both report “findings and recommendations” to the N.C. General Assembly by February 2025, according to the law.

While Buncombe’s state legislative delegation and county commissioners have expressed support of the study, neither school district has expressed a desire to merge. The county considered reviewing consolidation early in 2023 even before the state mandate but held off after ACS officials asked for time to find a new superintendent.

Maggie Fehrman was named ACS superintendent in June.

School district mergers can be initiated by both school districts, a county commission that is in charge of funding both districts or the General Assembly, but a “significant” price tag would come with ordering con-

Commissioners heard an update on proposed changes to the county’s employee personnel policies. County Manager Avril Pinder highlighted what she said was the most potentially “controversial,” a change to the reduction-in-force policy, which comes into play if the county has to lay off a significant number of employees for extenuating circumstances, such as a severe economic downturn.

Currently, the county provides each employee one week of severance pay for each year of service with the county, up to 12 weeks, Pinder said. According to the new proposal, which Pinder said several staff members disagreed with, the Board of Commissioners would determine how much to provide as it was happening.

Pinder said she wanted to retain some flexibility because the current policy could put a strain on the county budget.

Several commissioners, including Newman and Whitesides, disagreed with Pinder, saying if the situation was that dire for the county, departing staff members, some of whom would be left losing their career, would deserve departing pay.

Commissioners discussed potentially raising the threshold for severance pay while lowering the maximum as a compromise. The topic will be discussed further at future meetings.

MOUNTAINX.COM

— Greg Parlier X OCT. 25-31, 2023

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GARDENING WITH XPRESS

Getting your garden ready for winter

BY CHLOE LIEBERMAN info.wildabundance@gmail.com Cozy greetings, gardeners. I hope you’re taking time to behold the beauty of the forests as they don their multicolored robes during this glorious season.

I have some neighbors who moved here from New Orleans and are getting to witness the change for the first time; they’re in awe. This will be my last gardening feature for 2023, but you can still be in touch through the Wild Abundance Online Gardening School, which I co-created and manage. All of our in-person and online programs will open to new students in early January, and folks on the waitlists for our various classes will get first priority. It’s been a treat to answer your questions and share my knowledge here; many thanks for your readership!

COMPOST, DISEASED PLANTS MIGHT NOT MIX

Give thanks ...and have fun doing it!

Campaign starts Nov. 1

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OCT. 25-31, 2023

Is it OK to compost diseased plants?

Will that just spread the disease?

When you notice disease in your garden, you surely want to take every precaution to eradicate it and avoid spreading it from plant to plant, or year to year. There are some plant diseases that can be killed in compost piles and others that persist. To complicate matters, how you manage your compost pile has a big impact on whether it’s a hospitable or antagonistic environment for disease organisms.

A first step in figuring out what to do with diseased plants is to try to figure out what disease you’re dealing with.

During this time of year, lots of plants can look sick when in reality they’re just getting to the end of their life cycles.

Similarly, insect damage can cause plants to appear under the weather when they aren’t actually infected with any disease. Since most insect pests overwinter underground or in the leaf litter, it’s usually safe to compost plants that have suffered an infestation of bugs. To further complicate the process of diagnosis, plants can change color, get funny spots or otherwise appear diseased when they are deficient in certain essential nutrients.

Sometimes it’s easy to diagnose plant diseases on your own using a book or online resource like the GrowVeg Plant Disease Identification Guides (this is the best one I’ve found).

However, it can be tricky to be certain about what issue you’re dealing with, even for an experienced grower.

MOUNTAINX.COM

LOCAL STAR: Pawpaws grow wild around here. Their fruits offer a unique flavor. Photo by Chloe Lieberman The only sure way of diagnosing a plant disease is to send a piece of the plant (tissue sample) to a lab, which you can do through the N.C. Cooperative Extension. In addition, our local Cooperative Extension agents can often diagnose diseases by taking a look at a diseased plant. Each county in North Carolina has an office, and the Buncombe County location is right downtown. Another convenient location is in Madison County, right next to the Madison County Fairgrounds.

Some plant diseases do persist, even in hot compost piles, while others are broken down over time by heat, beneficial bacteria and fungi, or simply starving to death because they don’t have a host plant to feed on.

Two common diseases that can survive in the compost are the oomycetes that cause leaf blights (for example, late blight in tomatoes, which nearly every tomato plant around here gets eventually) and the virus that causes tobacco mosaic virus. If you know you’re dealing with either of these, put the infected plants in a trash bag and throw them away, or burn them.

For other diseases, it’s likely that very hot compost piles, especially if they’re covered with a tarp to trap moisture and heat, can greatly reduce or eradicate them. The key here is managing the compost so that it heats up. See my feature from June, “Composting: The hotter, the better,” for more on getting your compost to heat up sufficiently to kill off the bad guys. If you’re in doubt, you can always bag and trash or burn plant debris to prevent diseases from spreading.

THE STORY ON PAWPAWS Are pawpaws edible? I’ve heard that some people are allergic.

Pawpaws (Asimina triloba) are a fabulous native fruit that folks around here like to plant as part of permaculture installations and food forests.

You also can find them growing wild, especially in semishade conditions near creeks and streams. Theirs is the only genus from the “custard apple” (Annonaceae) plant family that grows in a temperate environment;

Unique Houseplants, Crystals & Outdoor Nursery all the others are tropical. The family includes such delights as soursop, chirimoya and annona.

The largest indigenous fruit that’s native to North America, pawpaws are custardy, light yellow inside, sweet and aromatic; they’re also high in protein and fat, for a fruit. Indigenous peoples from the Ohio River Valley down to Florida have been cultivating and eating pawpaws for thousands of years.

Wild native trees produce smaller and less tasty fruit than selected cultivars, which can get as large as mangoes and taste similar to those heat-loving gems.

Now is the time to harvest pawpaws to eat. You know they’re ripe because they get soft and begin to turn a little brownish yellow, though the outside remains mostly green even when ripe.

If it’s your first time, try a little bit and wait to see how you react. While pawpaw isn’t toxic per se, the seeds, skin and leaves contain a variety of alkaloids, phenolic acids, proanthocyanidins, tannins, flavonoids and acetogenins, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Some people have nasty reactions to eating pawpaws, including skin rashes, nausea or full-blown allergic inflammation. This happened to a friend of mine who is an avid and adventurous forager. She’s not going to eat pawpaws anymore but still loves gathering and enjoying wild foods of other kinds.

To learn more about pawpaws, I recommend the book “For the Love of Pawpaws,” written by bioregional local author Michael Judd.

WINTERPROOFING FIG TREES Last winter my fig trees died back to the ground. Is there a way I can protect them this winter?

Yes, it’s been a sad year for our local figs. Where I live, we’ve got lots of little green fruits, most of which won’t have time to ripen before the first hard frost.

Due to a dip in temperature down to about 5 degrees F last winter, all of the fig trees in our region died back.

Most of the in-ground trees didn’t die fully, but their above-ground parts did.

While the root systems remained alive and well, they had to put all of their springtime energy into regrowing trunks, branches and leaves rather than setting an early crop of fruit.

There’s no way to know how cold it will get this winter, but there are a few things you can do to try to protect your fig trees if it gets really frigid. One helpful piece of information to gather is which variety of fig you’re dealing with. Lots of folks around here plant a type of fig called Chicago Hardy, which can withstand temperatures down to 10 degrees; other varieties may only be hardy to about 20 degrees. Once you know the variety, keeping track

growchlorophyll.com 585 Haywood Rd., Asheville 828-505-2304 LATE BLOOMER: A late freeze last winter meant fig trees had to start from scratch this spring. Photo by Chloe Lieberman

Thursday thru Sunday 10:30am to 6:30pm

of exactly how cold it gets where your tree is growing can help, too. When the weather forecast says it will be 30 degrees at night, your specific location may be several degrees different from that. These mountains have many microclimates, so knowing if you’re in a warmer or cooler zone can help with your planning.

A good general practice for fig care is to do some pruning once trees lose their leaves and are dormant.

Typically, new growth will produce more fruit in the following year (provided, of course, that the entire tree isn’t made up of new growth; so, new growth that is supported by older growth). Also, figs fruit at the nodes, so more branches mean more nodes and more fruits. Here’s a great video on fig pruning that explains what I’m talking about: avl.mx/d41. Pruning also can help with frost protection because a smaller, more compact tree is usually easier to protect.

To keep the roots of your fig tree warm, it’s a good idea to lay a thick layer of mulch down around the trunk.

This also reduces weeds and helps feed the tree. Wood chips are ideal, but straw or leaves also work for mulch. To protect above-ground parts, you can make a tent or tunnel out of greenhouse plastic, supported by PVC or bamboo. During very cold years, we’ve had success wrapping incandescent (not LED) Christmas lights around the branches inside such a tent to add a little bit of extra heat. Figs are great candidates for greenhouse culture, too, since they can be pruned into a short, bushy shape that produces a lot of fruit without reaching the roof. X MOUNTAINX.COM

OCT. 25-31, 2023

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COMMUNITY CALENDAR OCT. 25 - NOV. 2, 2023 For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar. For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, opt. 4. For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 828-251-1333, opt. 1.

 Online-only events  More info, page 29  More info, page 30-31 WELLNESS Therapeutic Recreation Adult Morning Movement Active games, physical activities, and sports for individuals with disabilities ages 17 and over.

Advanced registration at avlrec.com required.

WE (10/25, 11/1), 10am, Tempie Avery Montford Community Center, 34 Pearson Ave Tai Chi for Balance A gentle Tai Chi exercise class to help improve balance, mobility, and quality of life. All ages are welcome.

WE (10/25, 11/1), 11:30am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109 Free Zumba Gold Fitness program that involves cardio and Latin-inspired dance.

Free, but donations for the instructor are appreciated. For more information please call (828) 350-2058.

WE (10/25, 11/1), noon, Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave Tai Chi Fan This class helps build balance and whole body awareness. All ages and ability levels welcome.

Fans will be provided.

WE (10/25, 11/1), 1pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109

Tai Chi for Beginners A class for anyone interested in Tai Chi and building balance, whole body awareness and other health benefits.

TH (10/26, 11/2), MO (10/30), 11:30am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109

within the body, mind and spirit.

FR (10/27), TU (10/31), 9am, SA (10/28), 11am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109 Routines for Healthful Sleep Learn easy ways to achieve a restful night of sleep.

FR (10/27), 10am, Black Mountain Library, Black Mountain Yoga for Everyone A free-in person yoga class for all ages and abilities. Bring your own mat, water bottle and mask.

SA (10/28), 9:30am, Black Mountain Presbyterian, 117 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain Free Meditation All are welcome to this one-hour silent meditation practice.

SA (10/28), 10am, Ganesh Place, 594 Ray Hill Rd, Mills River

Nia Dance Fitness A sensory-based movement practice that draws from martial arts, dance arts and healing arts.

TH (10/26, 11/2), 9:30am, TU (10/31), 10:30am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109

Therapeutic Slow Flow Yoga A blend of meditation, breathing and movement. All bodies, genders, and identities welcome. Bring your own mat.

SA (10/28), 10am, Mount Inspiration Apparel, 444 Haywood Rd, Ste 103

Dharma & Discuss People coming together in friendship to meditate, learn and discuss the Dharma.

Beginners and experienced practitioners are welcome.

TH (10/26, 11/2), 7pm, Quietude Micro-retreat Center, 1130 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain

Yoga in the Park All-levels welcomed, but bring your own props and mat. Pre-register at avl.mx/9n6.

SA (10/28), SU (10/29), 11am, 220 Amboy Rd

Morning Meditation Everyone is most welcome to join the sit; however no meditation instructions are provided.

FR (10/27), TU (10/31), 7:30am, Quietude Micro-retreat Center, 1130 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain Qigong for Health A part of traditional Chinese medicine that involves using exercises to optimize energy

Magnetic Minds: Depression & Bipolar Support Group Free weekly meeting for those living with depression, bipolar, and related mental health challenges. Email depressionbipolarasheville@gmail.com or call or text (828) 367-7660 for more info.

SA (10/28), 2pm, 1316 Ste C Parkwood Rd Wild Souls Authentic Movement Class w/ Renee Trudeau Enjoy release, movement and connection with like-minded women.

HAUNTED HENDERSONVILLE: The Haunted Farm in Hendersonville concludes its month-long horror attraction with its final dates Oct. 27-29 and Oct. 31, with hours varying by date. Voted Best Haunted House in North Carolina, this self-guided tour provides thrills, scares and terrifying fun for guests of all ages (parental discretion applies). Photo courtesy of The Haunted Farm SU (10/29), 9:30am, Dunn's Rock Community Center, 461 Connestee Rd, Brevard Walking Meditation Reduce stress, anxiety and increase health and wellbeing. Meditation instructions provided.

SU (10/29), 10am, Walk Jones Wildlife Sanctuary, Montreat Gentle Yoga for Queer & GNC Folks This class is centered towards creating an affirming and inclusive space for queer and gender non-conforming individuals.

SU (10/29), 1:30pm, W Asheville Yoga, 602 Haywood Rd Barre Fusion A high energy low impact practice that shapes, sculpts, and tones the body like a

Mettā Meditation In-person guided meditation focused on benevolence & loving-kindness. Beginners and experienced practitioners are welcome.

MO (10/30), 7pm, Quietude Micro-retreat Center, 1130 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain Zumba Free zumba class; Registration not needed.

TU (10/31), 6:30pm, St. James Episcopal Church, 424 W State St, Black Mountain Yoga in The Solarium A Vinyasa flow that is perfect for every experience level. Bring

your water bottle and your mat.

WE (11/1), 6pm, The Restoration Hotel Asheville, 68 Patton Ave Seeds of Spirit A free weekly meditation and healing circle.

Register at avl.mx/d1f.

TH (11/2), 7pm, Online

ART Skip Rhode: Reflections This exhibition features the artwork of local artist Skip Rhode from different periods of his life. Gallery open Monday through Friday, 8:30am. Exhibition through Oct. 27.

John M. Crawford Jr. Gallery, 360 Asheville School Rd

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dancer. No experience necessary, open to all levels.

MO (10/30), 9:30am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109

OCT. 25-31, 2023

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Spark of the Eagle Dancer: The Collecting Legacy of Lambert Wilson This exhibition celebrates the legacy of Lambert Wilson, a passionate collector of contemporary Native American art. Over 140 works on view tell the story of the relationships he built and the impact that he made by dedicating himself to this remarkable collection. Gallery open Tuesday through Friday, 10am. Exhibition through Dec. 8.

WCU Bardo Arts Center, 199 Centennial Dr, Cullowhee Bill & Liz Weldner: Art, Love, Life Together An opening reception showcasing the work of Bill and Liz Weldner.

These two prolific artists left a legacy of ongoing creativity and a shared passion for creation across many artistic disciplines.

TH (10/26), 5pm, Madison County Arts Council, 90 S Main St, Marshall Laine Bachman: Eden Revisited A solo exhibition of lush, botanical paintings by popular artist Laine Bachman featuring real and imaginary creatures and goddess-like women with a deep connection to the natural world. Gallery open Monday through Saturday, 10am, and Sunday, noon. Exhibition through Oct. 30.

Bender Gallery, 29 Biltmore Ave

Cole Caswell: The Source, From the Blue Ridge A solo exhibition of 60 unique tintype landscape photographs all taken in the mountains of Western North Carolina by Photographer Cole Caswell. Gallery open Tuesday through Saturday, 11am. Exhibition through Oct. 28.

Tracey Morgan Gallery, 188 Coxe Ave Romare Bearden: Ways of Working This exhibition highlights works on paper and explores many of Romare Bearden's most frequently used mediums including screen-printing, lithography, hand colored etching, collagraph, monotype, relief print, photomontage, and collage. Gallery open daily, 11am, closed Tuesday. Exhibition through Jan. 22, 2024.

Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square Open Studio Party A celebration with music, food, beverages to welcome artist Maya White, and showcase new work by Aaron Hill.

FR (10/27), 5pm, Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot St Orly Cogan: Holding On & Letting Go An exhibition of textile-based work by New York artist Orly Cogan that explores ideas of feminism, beauty, art history, fantasy, and desire. Gallery open Tuesday through Saturday, 11am. Exhibition through Oct. 28.

Tracey Morgan Gallery, 188 Coxe Ave

Molly Sawyer: Reaching Through A closing reception of the site-specific art installation, Reaching Through, by Molly Sawyer who will be in attendance.

SA (10/28), 3pm, Spotlight Gallery at Wedge Studios, 129 Roberts St Color & Light: A Multimedia Experience Jaime Byrd's latest artwork seamlessly integrates vibrant paintings with her own video clips and sounds.

Attendees will witness paintings transform into dynamic visual narratives, accompanied by a symphony of sound and movement. Gallery open daily, 11am.

Exhibition through Oct. 31.

Trackside Studios, 375 Depot St Rob Czar: The Long Goodbye Opening The Long Goodbye, typically used to describe the last encounter between two friends, lovers, or family members before a long leave of absence or death.

SA (10/28), 7pm, Czart Gallery, 167 Haywood Rd Ste 5 Beaverdam Studio Tour Artists welcome visitors to see their work, talk with them, and offer handmade art and craft for sale. Media include ceramics, painting, jewelry, sculpture, textiles, paper art, photography and more.

All studios are off Beaverdam Road which is off Merrimon Avenue in North Asheville SA (10/28), SU (10/29), 10am, Beaverdam Rd Mira Gerard: You Were Only Waiting for This Moment to Arise The artist presents paintings of peaceful spaces populated with wildflowers and plants—and the occasional figure of an animal or human— depicted in gloaming meadows and glimmering sunlight. Gallery open Tuesday through Saturday, 10am, and Sunday, 11am. Exhibition through Oct. 29.

Tyger Tyger Gallery, 191 Lyman St, Ste 144 Surrender: Embrace Ginger Huebner’s new works are structured by edges and pathways of the natural world that act as touch points for her layers of color using the medium of chalk pastel. Gallery open Monday through Saturday, 10am, and Sunday, noon. Exhibition through Oct. 29.

Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot St The Wool & The Wood Featuring needle-felted wool landscapes by Jaana Mattson and fine furniture by Scott Kestel. Gallery open Monday through Sun-

day, 10am. Exhibition through Oct. 29.

Grovewood Gallery, 111 Grovewood Rd

TH (10/26), 7:30pm, Brevard Music Center, 349 Andante Ln, Brevard

Beyond the Lens: Photorealist Perspectives on Looking, Seeing, and Painting This exhibition offers viewers an opportunity to explore a singular and still vigorous aspect of American painting. Gallery open daily, 11am, closed on Tuesday. Exhibition through Feb. 5, 2024.

Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

Native Bonds Tribal Band Contemporary Indigenous sounds, Latin rhythms and Persian tones.

TH (10/26), 8pm, One World Brewing West, 520 Haywood Rd

Western North Carolina Glass: Selections from the Collection Western North Carolina is important in the history of American glass art. A variety of techniques and a willingness to push boundaries of the medium can be seen in this selection of works.

Gallery open daily, 11am, closed Tuesday.

Exhibition through April 15, 2024.

Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square Daily Craft Demonstrations Two artists of different media will explain and demonstrate their craft with informative materials displayed at their booths, daily. These free and educational opportunities are open to the public. Open daily, 10am.

Folk Art Center, MP 382, Blue Ridge Pkwy Weaving at Black Mountain College: Anni Albers, Trude Guermonprez & Their Students The first exhibition devoted to textile practices at Black Mountain College. Gallery open Monday through Saturday, 11am. Exhibition through Jan. 6, 2024.

Black Mountain College Museum & Arts Center, 120 College St

COMMUNITY MUSIC Joyce Yang A Grammy-nominated pianist that captivates audiences with her virtuosity, lyricism and interpretive sensitivity.

TH (10/26), 7pm, Lipinsky Auditorium, 300 Library Ln Setting w/Nathan Bowles, Jaime Fennelly, Joe Westerlund & Sally Anne Morgan An evening concert featuring Setting with Nathan Bowles, Jaime Fenelly, Joe Westerlund and Sally Anne Morgan.

TH (10/26), 7pm, Black Mountain College Museum & Arts Center, 120 College St Eroica Trio Grammy nominated piano trio that's formed by three women who bring an electrifying concert with their passionate performances.

Reuter Center Singers With more than 20 years as a singing conversation, they perform music ranging from bach to the beatles and beyond.

FR (10/27), 7pm, First Baptist Church of Weaverville, 63 N Main St, Weaverville Andrew Finn Magill This virtuosic fiddler blends traditional Irish music with jazz, bluegrass and other world influences to deliver a unique musical experience.

FR (10/27), 8pm, Wortham Center For The Performing Arts, 18 Biltmore Ave The Well-Tempered Wizard: 1st Performance From the opening chords of Bach’s celebrated Toccata and Fugue in D Minor to the closing strains from the score of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Music Director Milton Crotts has designed a program that evokes the spirit of Halloween.

SA (10/28), SU (10/29), 3pm, Haywood Community College, 185 Freedlander Dr, Clyde Candlelight: A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics A series of candlelit performances played by local musicians in various stunning locations illuminated by thousands of candles.

Discover Halloween-inspired music in this week's concert.

SA (10/28), 6:30pm, AyurPrana Listening Room, 312 Haywood Rd Mark's House Jam & Beggar's Banquet Weekly Sunday pot luck and musician's jam with acoustic and plug in players. It's a family friendly community day so bring a dish to share.

SU (10/29), 3pm, Asheville Guitar Bar, 122 Riverside Dr Reuter Center Singers Seasoned seniors that study and perform classical, popular, show tunes and other favorites.

SU (10/29), 3pm, OLLI/ Reuter Center, UNCA, 300 Campus View Rd Give Back Night w/ Minør & Dollars On Ice Asheville Music School student rock bands Minør and Dollars On Ice will be performing live downtown. A portion of this evening's

WNC

SCARY

sales will be donated to AMS. SU (10/29), 5pm, Farm Burger Downtown, 10 Patton Ave Emerald Empire Asheville Showcase This showcases offers an opportunity to answer any questions you may have about booking a band. You can experience band rehearsal and preview a variety of musical styles and band sizes to help you find the perfect fit for your event.

SU (10/29), 7pm, One World Brewing West, 520 Haywood Rd

STORIES

The mysterious coffin

Beer & Hymns A night of brining people together to raise their glasses, raise their voices, and raise funds for organizations that change the world.

MO (10/30), 7pm, White Horse Black Mountain, 105C Montreat Rd, Black Mountain Open Folk A songwriters showcase where the audience is required to stay silent while six songwriters play three original songs each. Donations are accepted.

TU (10/31), 7pm, Funkatorium, 147 Coxe Ave Music to Your Ears Discussion Series: Joni Mitchell's Court & Spark Bill Kopp, author and music journalist is joined by Asheville-based singer Eleanor Underhill to discuss Joni Mitchell's Court & Spark album and play key recordings from it.

WE (11/1), 7pm, Asheville Guitar Bar, 122 Riverside Dr When You Wish Upon A Star: A Jazz Tribute to 100 Years of Disney An unforgettable evening that celebrates 100 years of Disney through the lens of Jazz with newly created house band of The National Jazz Museum in Harlem.

TH (11/2), 7pm, Wortham Center For The Performing Arts, 18 Biltmore Ave

LITERARY Joke Writing Workshop Hosted by Disclaimer Stand Up Lounge and moderated by Cody Hughes, weekly. Bring 90 seconds of material that isn't working.

WE (10/25, 11/1), 6:30pm, Asheville Music Hall, 31 Patton Ave Wilma Dykeman Book Discussions: Glove Shy: A Sister's Reckoning A book discussion of Glove Shy, A Sister's Reckoning.

WE (10/25), 7pm, W Asheville Public Library, 942 Haywood Rd

DISAPPEARING ACT: West Asheville resident Conda Painter shares an unusual tale about a disappearing coffin. Photo by iStock Even though West Asheville’s neighborhood isn’t known as a haunted destination, it definitely has one unexplained story.

Nevada Avenue is a quiet little street, lined with early 1900s cottage-style homes. In the late 1970s, our neighbors used to have a thing called “porch story night.” During one of these events, a neighbor in her late 80s shared a story with me. I was only a kid. She told a tale of an old cemetery from the 1800s, allegedly located somewhere in our neighborhood. She wasn’t sure of the location. She thought perhaps it was just a rumor.

Fast-forward many years later, one of our neighbors was installing a ham radio at his home. It was a beautiful summer day, perfect for

Nonprofit Issue

getting something accomplished in the backyard. Excitement built as the neighbor pushed the pole deeper into the ground. Suddenly, the pole wouldn’t go any farther.

With each push, there was an echo.

The neighbor decided to take a break and go inside his house.

While pushing on his back door, he suddenly realized that it wouldn’t open enough to allow him inside.

He looked through the door’s small window. In total shock, he noticed a large coffin blocking the door. He thought to himself, “I must be totally losing my mind.”

He quickly ran around to the front of his home. By the time he got to his front door and looked inside, the coffin had vanished.

— Conda Painter X

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C OMMU N I T Y CA L E N D AR

Halloween Events Halloween Party Hear about the tale of the Lady in White who roams Monte Vista at night. Visitors can enjoy drinks and participate in the festivities with a costume party.

FR (10/27), 7pm, Monte Vista Hotel, 308 W State St, Black Mountain The 11th Annual Haunted Trail An entirely immersive and interactive spooky night out while also ensuring no contact.

Asheville Plays creates a show with a unique perspective on Halloween fun with 15 live action scenes for guests to watch and enjoy.

FR (10/27), SA (10/28), SU (10/29), MO (10/30), 6pm, Adventure Center of Asheville, 85 Expo Dr The Haunted Farm Bring your friends and family for a night of spooky and exciting fun with quality horror sets that aim to bring fear to extreme new heights. Hours vary by date, visit avl.mx/d23 for dates and times.

FR (10/27), SA (10/28), SU (10/29), TU (10/31) 7pm, The Haunted Farm, 624 Townsend Rd, Hendersonville Haunted Castle on the Hill Meet ghosts, ghouls and visions of things that go bump in the night at the infamous Haunted Castle on the Hill. For ages 10 and up (under 14 must be accompanied by an adult).

FR (10/27), SA (10/28), 7pm, Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave Halloween Weekend Bar Crawl A Halloween-themed bar crawl. Wear a costume, drink, party and crawl.

FR (10/27), SA (10/28) 9pm, One Stop at Asheville Music Hall, 55 College St Pansy Collective Halloween Cover Show Annual Halloween cover band benefit show. Proceeds from this event will benefit Asheville Prison Books and Tranzmission Prison Project.

Donation based event, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

FR (10/27), 9pm, Different Wrld, 701 Haywood Rd, Ste 101

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Marquee Masquerade Get your costumes ready for another Marquee Masquerade with drinks, music from DJ Nex Millen, a costume contest and more.

FR (10/27), 6pm, Marquee Asheville, 36 Foundy St Y2K Halloween Party A Y2K Punk Party with live music from TrancEnd Band, a progressive rock band based out of Asheville, NC. FR (10/27), 9pm, Pillar Rooftop Bar, 309 College St, 6th Floor Wolfbat Wicked Walk A Samhain procession and Halloween celebration with spooky vendors, mask painting for kids and adults, music by DJ Salami Baby and more. Bring your mask or costume to walk in the parade SA (10/28), 11am, Foundation Skatepark, 47 Foundy St Scream Social This free Halloween event features music from Dark City Kings, over 10 different local vendors and a costume contest for the chance to win prizes.

SA (10/28), noon, The Railyard Black Mountain, 141 Richardson Ave, Black Mountain The 13th Surreal Sirkus Arts Festival The Surreal Sirkus is a nonprofit performance art troupe that features a uniquely local experience of performance, art vendors, food, beer, spirits and more. See p31 SA (10/28), 1pm, 1 South Pack Square Park The Rocky Horror Picture Show Hendersonville Theatre will present the cult-classic film, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Costumes are strongly encouraged and the show will start with a Virgin Sacrifice promptly at midnight.

SA (10/28), 11pm, Hendersonville Theatre, 229 S Washington St, Hendersonville 21st Howl-Oween Pet Parade & Costume Contest An afternoon filled with Halloween fun and a chance for you and your pet to dress up in a costume for a chance to win prizes.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit Mountain Pet Rescue,

OCT. 25-31, 2023

a foster based animal rescue founded in 2017.

SA (10/28), 3pm, Black Mountain Town Square, Black Mountain 1st Annual Haunted Pajama Party Get out your pajamas, favorite spooky costume, or just a sense of fun for this exciting opportunity to tell a spooky story, watch a classic Horror, and commune with your fellow film buffs.

Complimentary treat bag, pizza, popcorn, games included.

SA (10/28), 5pm, Asheville School of Film, 45 S French Broad Ave Halloween Gala: Cyberdome A cyberpunk apocalypse-themed event with thrilling performances, insane music, and jaw-dropping costumes. Prepare your cyberpunk-inspired attire.

SA (10/28), 5:30pm, Continuum Art, 147c 1st Ave E, Hendersonville Hell comes to Flavortown A Halloween rager with special flavors from Boy Howdy Burgers and Mount Patisserie donuts.

There will also be spooky drinks, a costume contest and music provided by DJ Bridal Parti Bucardii.

SA (10/28), 6pm, Dssolvr, 63 N Lexington Ave Soberween A fun-filled adventure to redefine the way we celebrate by offering a spooky evening without alcohol while supporting the Hope Coalition programs that aid individuals in recovery or those seeking assistance.

SA (10/28), 6pm, The Buzz, 225 S Grove St, Hendersonville Vampire Ball A fall fundraiser for the arts with a night of dancing, dressing up in Halloween attire and mingling with fellow creatures of the night. There will also be music, a fun photobooth and more.

SA (10/28), 7pm, Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 West State St, Black Mountain Foundy Street Full Moon Party & Night Market A Halloween-themed full moon dance party and night market

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featuring vendors that offer tarot psychic readings, henna, art, jewelry and more. DJ Griffin and Lyric will providing the music for the night and visitors are encouraged to wear costumes.

SA (10/28), 7:30pm, The Wedge at Foundation, 5 Foundy St Annual Halloween Party w/The Land of the Sky Symphonic Band A Halloween bash with music from the Land of Sky Symphonic Band and a costume contest for the community.

SA (10/28), 8pm, White Horse Black Mountain, 105C Montreat Rd, Black Mountain Halloween Party A Halloween party with spooky drink specials, dance music and a costume contest.

Dress in your favorite Horror movie themed costume for a chance to win a prize.

SA (10/28), 8pm, La Tapa Lounge, 402 E State St, Black Mountain Haunts & Hops Costume Party Dress up in your spookiest, silliest, or just plain wackiest costume and get ready for a scary good time with themed cocktails, a live DJ, and of course, a costume contest for the best outfit.

SA (10/28), 8pm, The Restoration Hotel Asheville, 68 Patton Ave Fright Night Costume Party An electrifying haunted haven of beats and treats featuring DJ Ganymede. Slip into your most creative, spooky, or glamorous costume and stand a chance to win spook-tacular prizes.

SA (10/28), 10pm, Asheville Beauty Academy, 28 Broadway St Halloween Dance Party w/DJ Lil Meow Meow A Halloween dance party with DJ Lil Meow Meow. Costumes are encouraged and enjoy spooky-themed drinks.

SA (10/28), 10pm, Little Jumbo, 241 Broadway Trunk or Treat Free, community-wide, family friendly event with costumes and Halloween festivities.

SU (10/29), 2pm, First Baptist Church of Black Mountain, 130 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain

Asheville Sister Cities: Dia de los Muertos A day of celebration with traditional Dia de Muerto food, entertainment by vibrant costumes and traditional Chiapan and Sinaloan dancers, an altar for deceased family and friends with a candlelight procession at sunset. See p30 SU (10/29), 4pm, Weaverville Community Center, 60 Lakeshore Dr, Weaverville Halloween Metalfest 7.0 Seventh annual Halloween Metalfest with ten absolute crushing heavy acts to celebrate the the greatest time of the year. Costumes are encouraged and this is an all ages show.

SU (10/29), 4pm, The Odd, 1045 Haywood Rd Kids Trunk or Treat A Halloween family fun celebration with candy, kids costume contest, pumpkin painting, kids games and more.

TU (10/31), 4pm, La Tapa Lounge, 402 E State St, Black Mountain Boo Bash A free community-friendly Halloween celebration featuring a bone-chilling lineup of activities, music by up-and-coming band, Sketoe’s Ghost, candy and a costume contest with a grand prize.

TU (10/31), 6pm, The Main Event, 125 S Main St, Hendersonville HOWL: A Queer Halloween Burlesque Show A spooky celebration with a blending sensuality of supernatural and a show where queer fantasy reigns supreme. Adorn yourself in your most spine-chilling attire for a costume contest.

TU (10/31), 8pm, The Getaway River Bar, 790 Riverside Dr Annual Boo Bash Halloween Event Families can enjoy Trick-or-Treating around the center, strolling magic, music and more.

TU (10/31), 5pm, Asheville Outlets, 800 Brevard Rd Día de los Muertos Annual commemoration and remembrance of loved ones who have died with traditional mexican food, an altar, candles and more.

WE (11/1), 6pm, Grace Lutheran Church, 1245 6th Ave W, Hendersonville

Poetry Open Mic Hendo A poetry-centered open mic that welcomes all kinds of performers every Thursday night. 18+ TH (10/26, 11/2), 7:30pm, Shakedown Lounge, 706 Seventh Ave E, Hendersonville Caitlin Ledford: The Eladrin Princess This author event will feature a signing of the first in her fantasy series, The Eladrin Princess.

SA (10/28), 1pm, Blue Ridge Books, 428 Hazelwood Ave, Waynesville Eclipse: Stories of Light & Dark An all hallows eve storytelling and music show featuring Connie Regan-Blake and Kim Weitkamp. This show is free and open to the public.

TU (10/31), 7pm, Weaverville Community Center, 60 Lakeshore Dr, Weaverville Representing A Region & Its Cuisine In this talk, Professor Abrams Locklear will discuss her new book, Appalachia on the Table: Representing Mountain Food and People.

TH (11/2), 6pm, Mars Hill University, College St, Mars Hill

THEATER & FILM The Smell of Money Discuss the environmental impacts of factory farming in North Carolina communities through film. North Carolina residents share their experiences and how they have been impacted.

WE (10/25), 5:30pm, Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, 36 Montford Ave A Case for the Existence of God Two men struggle to make a place for their families in the American dream, while balancing parenthood, financial security, desire, and empathy.

WE (10/25, 11/1), TH (10/26, 11/2), SA (10/28), 7:30pm, FR (10/27), SU (10/29), 2pm, North Carolina Stage Co., 15 Stage Ln The Crossing An exciting free event and screening of films that highlight road ecology in Southern Appalachia and beyond.

TH (10/26), 5pm, plēb urban winery, 289 Lyman St Death of a Salesman Hart Theatre presents a visually unique conceptualization of Arthur Miller’s iconic drama about the American Dream that has been relevant to our history, and truly, our own interpretation of life

and our ideas about success and failure.

TH (10/26), FR (10/27), SA (10/28), SU (10/29), 7:30pm, Hart Theatre, 250 Pigeon St, Waynesville True Crime A live immersive theatrical experience exploring the unsolved murder of a young woman in Madison County, NC during 1970.

TH (10/26), FR (10/27), SA (10/28), 7:30pm and 8:30pm, Dr W.F Robinson Memorial Infirmary, 144 Cascade St, Mars Hill Dancing with Death: The Last Great Adventure A mix of moving dramas, a lively animated film, and thought-provoking documentaries.

Following each film, an expert will lead a discussion on legacy, the spiritual side of death, alternative ways to die, preparedness, facing fear and finding courage.

FR (10/27), 2pm, Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St Alice's Adventures in Murderland The play follows Alice Liddle, who returns to Wonderland after many years and finds it changed into a violent, unrecognizable wasteland. In order to save the world she used to know from what it has become, Alice must confront the truth about this world and the truth about herself.

FR (10/27), SA (10/28), SU (10/29), 7:30pm, Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, 92 Gay St Made Up Horror Adesto Theatre presents a completely improvised comedy-horror play based on audience suggestions.

Based on your suggestions, the entirely made-up performance will unfold.

FR (10/27), SA (10/28), SU (10, 29) 7:30pm, BeBe Theatre, 20 Commerce St Young Frankenstein Frederick Frankenstein inherits his family’s estate in Transylvania.

With the help of a hunchbacked sidekick, Igor, and a leggy lab assistant, Inga, Dr Frankenstein aims to fulfill his grandfather’s legacy by bringing a corpse back to life.

FR (10/27), SA (10/28), SU (10/29), 7:30pm, Hendersonville Theatre, 229 S Washington St, Hendersonville The Legend of Tommy Hodges An outdoor drama performance that will take audiences back in time to the year 1901 to hear yarns about the legendary Tommy Hodges, a fictional student of the Baltimore Forest School. Audiences

will be led around the Biltmore Campus Trail by different characters from the play and watch as the story unfolds around them from all sides.

FR (10/27), SA (10/28), 6:30pm and 8pm, The Cradle of Forestry, 11250 Pisgah Hwy, Pisgah Forest Willy Wonka Jr. Embark on a journey filled with sweets, surprises, and unlimited wonders through Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.

SA (10/28), 10am and 2pm, SU (10/29), 1pm, Hart Theatre, 250 Pigeon St, Waynesville Silent Movie Night: Haxan w/Andrew Fletcher A movie with a live score played in the background.

SU (10/29), 8pm, Crow & Quill, 106 N Lexington Ave Children of the Vine A film screening of Children of the Vine and expert panel discussion to learn the risk factors, solutions and action steps to take as a community to safeguard children, pets, wildlife and families from Round Up (glyphosate).

WE (11/1), 6pm, AB Tech, Ferguson Auditorium, 340 Victoria Rd

MEETINGS & PROGRAMS APR Outdoor Social Sampler Designed for young adults ages 18-30.

Advance registration at avlrec.com required.

This week features a fly fishing class.

WE (10/25), 10am, New Belgium Brewing Co., 21 Craven St Free E-Bike Rental A free one hour bike adventure to experience Asheville's historic River Arts District, French Broad River Greenway, local breweries, restaurants and more.

WE (10/25, 11/1), 10am, Ace Bikes, 342 Depot St Therapeutic Recreation Adult Morning Movement Active games, physical activities, and sports for individuals with disabilities ages 17 and over. Advanced registration at avlrec. com required.

WE (10/25, 11/1), 10am, Tempie Avery Montford Community Center, 34 Pearson Ave Intro to Golf One-on-one coaching, as well as tips and tricks to learn the game of golf. Participants responsible for green fees.

WE (10/25), 10am, Asheville Recreation Park, 65 Gashes Creek Rd

Every Black Voice: Racial Justice Coalition Discussing reparations and the history of black Asheville. Focusing on housing, health and wellness along with community building and education will be a few of the hot topics at this event. Free lunch with registration.

WE (10/25), 12:30pm, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave Eightfold Path Study Group A group will gather to study the Eightfold Path Program. Kris Kramer will host the group as a fellow participant and student.

WE (10/25, 11/1), 3pm, Black Mountain, Honeycutt St, Black Mountain Wolfbat Mask Making All materials will be provided. This workshop can be enjoyed by all ages and skill levels.

WE (10/25), 3pm, New Belgium Brewing Co., 21 Craven St Peace Education Program An innovative series of video-based workshops that help people discover their own inner strength and personal

peace.

WE (10/25, 11/1), 5pm, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave Beginners Aerial Silks Learn a new skill and be part of a supportive community. All bodies are welcome. Space is limited so registration is required.

WE (10/25), 4pm and 5:30pm, Amethyst Realm, 244 Short Coxe Ave Group Ride Everyone is welcome on this group ride. Every Wednesday.

WE (10/25), 5:30pm, WNC Outdoor Collective, 110 Black Mountain Ave, Black Mountain Spanish Club Spanish speakers of all ages and levels are welcome to join together for conversation to practice the language in a group setting.

WE (10/25), 6pm, Black Mountain Brewing, 131 NC-9, Black Mountain Community Choice Enjoy family activities including puzzles, board games, arts and crafts, and more. Kids ages 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

WE (10/25, 11/1), 6:30pm, Dr Wesley Grant, Sr. Southside Center, 285 Livingston St

Access to Capital This workshop will guide you through the process to secure a business loan. Learn why businesses borrow money, what lenders are looking for when reviewing your application, and the importance of having cash flow projections.

Register at avl.mx/d3l.

TH (10/26), noon, online Oh My Gourd A pumpkin carving party with Lau Magie. Bring your own pumpkin or carve one from the Kava bar to help decorate their bar.

TH (10/26), 3pm, Sovereign Kava, 268 Biltmore Ave Kids & Teens Kung Fu Learn fighting skills as well as conflict resolution and mindfulness.

First class is free to see if it’s a good fit for you.

TH (10/26, 11/2), MO (10/30, 4pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109 Cultivating Grace, Power & Intuition: A Women’s Self-Renewal Program Circle up with a wise, kind and deeply authentic group of 20 women and journey into winter together.

TH (10/26), 6:30pm, Register for location

Swing or Scream A spooktacular evening of dancing and lessons.

TH (10/26), 7pm, Alley Cat Social Club, 797 Haywood Rd Muses & Mocktails: Panel Discussion on Death A professional, yet intimate Q&A with Asheville community leaders whose life work is Death. The panel topics include Rites of Passage, Shadow work, Grief practices, Green Burial, Ketamine Assisted Therapy and dying with dignity and support.

TH (10/26), 8pm, White Horse Black Mountain, 105C Montreat Rd, Black Mountain Community Shred w/ First Citizen Bank A mobile document-shredding truck will destroy unwanted sensitive materials free of charge for all area residents. Bank associates will also be on hand to provide information about protecting personal information and offer refreshments FR (10/27), 9am, First Citizens Bank, 2900 Hendersonville Rd, Fletcher

BMC Campus Tours Tours will cover The Dining Hall, Lodges, The Quiet House, and The Studies Building as well as the iconic and recently conserved frescos painted by Jean Charlot and BMC students in the summer of 1944.

FR (10/27), 10am, Camp Rockmont, 375 Lake Eden Rd, Black Mountain Bystander Intervention Techniques A two hour training session on Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault (DFSA) techniques. In this 2 hour training, you will learn how to best intervene when harm is happening.

FR (10/27), 11am, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave Change Your Palate Cooking Demo This free food demonstration is open to everyone but tailored towards those with type 2 diabetes or hypertension and/ or their caretakers. Our featured host is Change Your Palate's very own Shaniqua Simuel.

FR (10/27), 5:30pm, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave

Thriller Spiller In this two-hour workshop, you will learn choreography from Michael Jackson’s creepy classic, Thriller.

No dance experience is necessary, but costumes are encouraged.

FR (10/27), 6pm, Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 W State St, Black Mountain How to Find Your Customers Discover the variety of market research tools that will give you critical information about your industry and customers.

Free with registration.

SA (10/28), 9am, A-B Tech Small Business Center, 1465 Sand Hill Rd, Candler Audition Workshop for Teens Designed for teens who want to improve their auditioning and overall performing skills. Participants will have multiple opportunities to get up and perform during the workshop and will break off into groups several times during the day.

SA (10/28), 12:30pm, Hendersonville Theatre, 229 S Washington St, Hendersonville Therapeutic Recreation Bowling League A five-week non-competitive bowling

league for individuals.

Open to individuals with disabilities ages 6 and over. For more information, please call (828) 232-4529.

SA (10/28), 1pm, Sky Lanes, 1477 Patton Ave The Way of The Magdalene: Balancing Female Energies Understand the inherent balance of both male and female energies within each of us and the healing that is wanted in our current environment. Discover how to heal and harmonize the second chakra, or womb, and the heart chakra.

SA (10/28), 4pm, Black Mountain Yoga, 116 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain

Sew Co./Rite of Passage Factory Tour On this 30 minute micro-tour, learn about sustainable and transparent business practices and hear about production processes and client collaborations. Preregister at avl.mx/cec.

MO (10/30), 11am Rite of Passage Clothing & Sew Co, 240 Clingman Ave Ext Chess Club Open to all ages and any skill set. There will be a few boards available, but folks are welcome to bring their own as well.

MO (10/30), 4pm, Black Mountain Brewing, 131 NC-9, Black Mountain

Weekly Sunday Scrabble Club Tournament-style scrabble. All levels of play.

SU (10/29), 12:15pm, Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave

Black Men Monday A local group that has stepped up in the community to advocate for and mentor students through academic intervention.

MO (10/30), 7pm, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave

Country Tea Dance Learn to line dance and two step with local legend Jerri.

SU (10/29), 4pm, Fleetwood's, 496 Haywood Rd

World Tavern Poker Night A free to play poker night every Monday.

MO (10/30), 7pm, The Getaway River Bar, 790 Riverside Dr

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OCT. 25-31, 2023

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C OMMU N IT Y CA L E N D AR Toddler Discovery Time Crafts, games and playtime for toddlers.

Advance registration at avlrec.com required.

This week features Halloween costumes.

TU (10/31), 9:45am, Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave Intro to Senior Games Sports Each week will cover a different sport. This is for people trying a new sport for the 2024 Asheville-Buncombe senior games.

TU (10/31), 10am, W Asheville Park, 11 Vermont Ave LinkedIn Marketing for Your Small Business A powerful social media tool for business networking, lead generation, and sales. It is especially valuable for B2B brands that want to connect with professional and corporate decision-makers and leaders, as well as experienced experts looking to grow their thought leadership in different industries. Register at avl.mx/d44.

TU (10/31), 10am, Online Therapeutic Recreation Adult Crafting & Cooking A variety of cooking

and crafts for individuals with disabilities ages 17 and over each week.

TU (10/31), 10am, Oakley Community Center, 749 Fairview Rd A Stitch in Crime A drop-in yarn art circle where you can bring your current project or work on a new one while listening to true crime podcasts.

TU (10/31), 2pm, Black Mountain Library, Black Mountain Farm to Fork Series: Sessions 5-6 A deep dive into developing a food business.

At the completion of this programming you will have created a business plan, financial projections and a network of lenders and business professionals WE (11/1), 11:30am, WNC Farmers Market, 570 Brevard Rd Mindspark: Collaborate Within Your Business Find new ways to interact within your chosen network. Register at avl.mx/d45.

WE (11/1), noon, Online Drop-in Community Notary Service Stop by Firestorm on the first Wednesday of each month for free, friendly, no-judgment

Notary Public services.

WE (11/1), 6pm, Firestorm Books, 1022 Haywood R Intro to Ballroom Explore the world of Latin and ballroom dancing with such styles as swing, salsa, foxtrot, rumba, merengue and more.

WE (11/1), 6pm, Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 W State St, Black Mountain An Evenign of Excellence w/Céline Cousteau A renowned environmentalist, filmmaker, and humanitarian will be visiting our campus to engage with our Community and share her insights on environmental conservation and global citizenship.

WE (11/1), 6:30pm, Odyssey Community School, 90 Zillicoa St Dollar Décor DIY Enjoy new crafts made from simple items you have at home or can be found at dollar stores.

Advance registration at avlrec.com required.

WE (11/1), 7pm, Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave Wild & Scenic North Fork River Award-winning investigative reporter

Jack Igelman recounts the historic threats to the French Broad and the ongoing effort to secure the Wild and Scenic River designation for the North Fork.

WE (11/1), 7pm, OLLI/ Reuter Center, UNCA, 300 Campus View Rd Western NC Water Quality Conference This water quality conference will be held virtually. Speakers will include Samantha Krop, Atalie Fischer, Amy Grogan and others who will touch on different water-related discussions. Register at avl.mx/d42.

TH (11/2), 8:45am, Online Therapeutic Recreation Adult Hiking Club Participants need to pack a lunch, water bottle, and clothes comfortable to move in. Open to individuals with disabilities ages 18 and over.

TH (11/2), 9am, Oakley Community Center, 749 Fairview Rd Embroiderers' Guild of America: Laurel Chapter This month members will create fabric pumpkins adorned with a surface embroidery technique called chicken scratch, depression

lace or snowflake embroidery. Carlie Holdredge, Laurel Chapter Vice President, will be teaching the class.

TH (11/2), 9:30am, Horse Shoe Community Church, 3 Banner Farm Rd, Mills River Climate Adaptive Design Symposium: Where Building Science Meets Climate Science The symposium incorporates problem-based learning and case studies showing practical applications of regenerative design architects can employ, in public and private spaces, to lessen negative impacts and help reverse climate change. Free and open to the public.

TH (11/2), 5:15pm, The Collider, 1 Haywood St, Ste 401 Swing Dance Lesson & Dance Swing dancing lesson and dance, every Thursday.

TH (11/2), 7pm, Alley Cat Social Club, 797 Haywood Rd

LOCAL MARKETS MANNA FoodBank Mobile Market The market is free and open to anyone who

needs support with groceries. Folks can choose their groceries within just minutes.

WE (10/25), 11am, Fernihurst Mansion, 16 Fernihurst Dr, A-B Tech

bike, or rollerblade via the Wilma Dykeman Greenway.

WE (10/25, 11/1 ), 3pm, Smoky Park Supper Club, 350 Riverside Dr

Etowah Lions Club Farmers Market Fresh produce, honey, sweets, flowers, plant starts and locally crafted wares. Every Wednesday through Oct. 25.

WE (10/25), 3pm, Etowah Lions Club, 447 Etowah School Rd, Hendersonville

Weaverville Tailgate Market A selection of fresh, locally grown produce, grass fed beef, pork, chicken, rabbit, eggs, cheese, sweet and savory baked goods, artisan bread, fire cider, coffee, pickles, body care, eclectic handmade goodies, and garden and landscaping plants.

Open year round.

WE (10/25, 11/1), 3pm, 60 Lake Shore Dr Weaverville

Leicester Farmers Market Farmers Market with over 30 vendors. Locally grown and sourced selection of meats, produce, eggs, plants and flowers, baked goods, cheese, honey, sauces, crafts, art, and more. Every Wednesday through Oct. 25.

WE (10/25, 11/1), 3pm, Leicester Community Center, 2979 New Leicester Hwy, Leicester RAD Farmers Market Providing year-round access to fresh local foods, with 25-30 vendors selling a variety of wares. Handicap parking available in the Smoky Park lot, free public parking available along Riverside Drive.

Also accessible by foot,

Golden Hour Market Series A monthly market series bringing high-quality produce and artisan-made goods to Black Mountain, Swannanoa, East Asheville and more.

TH (10/26), 4pm, Oak and Grist Distilling Co., 1556 Grovestone Rd, Black Mountain Flat Rock Farmers Market A diverse group of local produce and fruit farmers, craft-food makers, bread bakers, wild crafters, art-crafters, and merrymakers.

Every Thursday through Oct. 26.

TH (10/26), 3pm, Pinecrest ARP Church, 1790 Greenville Hwy, Flat Rock Pack Square Artisan Market This market will showcase local handcrafted goods in the heart of downtown Asheville.

Every Friday through Oct. 27.

FR (10/27), 1pm, 1 South Pack Square Park Saluda Tailgate Market With over a dozen vendors, this agriculture-only market features an assortment of homegrown produce, meat, and eggs within a 25 mile radius.

FR (10/27), 4:30pm, W Main St, Saluda Full Moon Market Let the lunar light guide you as you peruse local art and crafts vendors, food trucks, music and more FR (10/27), 7pm, The Outpost, 521 Amboy Rd Henderson County Tailgate Market Seasonal fruits, fresh mushrooms, vegetables, local honey, meat, eggs, garden plant starts, perennials and much more. Every Saturday through Oct. 28.

SA (10/28), 8am, 100 N King St, Hendersonville

Celebrating 25 Years!

November Featured Artist Jeffrey Stoner Artist Meet ‘n Greet at Art After Dark on Fri, Nov. 3 5:30-8:30pm 98 N. Main St. Waynesville, NC 828-456-1940 twigsandleaves.com 20

OCT. 25-31, 2023

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Hendersonville Farmers Market A vibrant community gathering space with produce, meat, eggs, baked goods, coffee, crafts, food trucks, live music, kids' activities and more. Every Saturday through Oct. 28.

SA (10/28), 8am, 650 Maple St, Hendersonville North Asheville Tailgate Market The oldest Saturday morning market in WNC, since 1980. Over 60 rotating vendors offer fresh Appalachian grown produce, meats, cheeses and eggs - with a variety of baked goods, value added foods, and unique craft items. Weekly through Dec. 16.

SA (10/28), 8am, 3300 University Heights Asheville City Market Local food products, including fresh produce, meat, cheese, bread, pastries, and other artisan products. Weekly through Dec. 17.

SA (10/28), 9am, 52 N Market St Black Mountain Tailgate Market Featuring organic and sustainably grown produce, plants, cut flowers, herbs, locally raised meats, seafood, breads, pastries, cheeses, eggs and local arts and handcrafted items.

Every Saturday through Nov. 18.

SA (10/28), 9am, 130 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain Mars Hill Farmers & Artisans Market A producer-only tailgate market located on the campus of Mars Hill University on College Street.

We offer fresh local produce, herbs, garden and landscape plants, cut flowers, cheeses, meats, eggs, baked, and more.

Every Saturday through Oct. 28.

SA (10/28), 10am, College Street, College St, Mars Hill Night Markets Discover handcrafted wonders, artisanal delights, and treasures by local makers, purveyors and curators.

SA (10/28), 5pm, The Railyard Black Mountain, 141 Richardson Ave, Black Mountain WNC Farmers Market High quality fruits and vegetables, mountain crafts, jams, jellies, preserves, sourwood honey, and other farm fresh items. Open daily 8am, year-round.

SU (10/29), 8am, 570 Brevard Rd Show & Tell Sunday Market A monthly Sunday market celebrating and supporting local and indie craft, design, and vintage. Shop vintage clothes, housewares, handmade jewelry, ceramics, apparel and more.

SU (10/29), noon, Rabbit Rabbit, 75 Coxe Ave

Monster Market Browse goods and gifts from local makers and artisans who will have their booths decorated with their best spooky decor. Shop for handmade jewelry, housewares, vintage goods, and crafts.

SU (10/29), 1pm, Highland Brewing Co., 12 Old Charlotte Hwy, Ste 200

FESTIVALS & SPECIAL EVENTS Domestic Violence Awareness Vigil A free public vigil will be held to honor victims and survivors of domestic violence. The Alex Krug Combo will offer a musical performance and refreshments will be served.

TH (10/26), 5pm, Dr Wesley Grant, Sr. Southside Center, 285 Livingston St Palimpsest: Season Five Launch Party An intimate live performance featuring a pre-launch sneak peek at the new podcast season followed by haunted refreshments.

TH (10/26), 7pm, Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 West State St, Black Mountain Eliada Fall Festival & Corn Maze Eliada's corn maze is back with corn cannons, lawn games, hay rides, slides, custom-designed corn maze and more.

One-hundred percent of proceeds will benefit the children of Eliada to aid in their growth and success.

FR (10/27), 3pm, SA (10/28), 9am, SU (10/29), 10am, Eliada Corn Maze, 49 Compton Dr 5th Annual Crush the Crisis Safely drop off your unused and unwanted medications at any of our acute care hospitals across WNC. SA (10/28), 10am, Mission Hospital, 1 Hospital Dr NC Ceramic Arts Festival Featuring ceramics, pottery, clay and more.

With live music and food vendors.

SA (10/28), 10am, 1 North Pack Square Wildflower Women’s Market Fall Festival Visitors will enjoy music, food trucks, and other activities while browsing a wide selection of unique products, services and art works presented by local women-owned businesses and artisans.

SA (10/28), 10am, Asheville Outlets, 800 Brevard Rd Asheville AI Summit An immersive theatre experience with a thirteen scene progressive guided tour through a tantalizing psychological

Haunted House. Hear from Asheville’s finest AI users, creators and creations.

SA (10/28), 6:30pm, Art Garden AVL, 191 Lyman St, Ste 316 Touch-A-Truck Family Festival An annual, community-wide event where both kids and kids-atheart have the opportunity to see, touch, climb, and learn about vehicles of all types. Proceeds from this event fund the Be The Change Grant Program.

SA (10/28), 11am, Asheville Outlets, 800 Brevard Rd Urban Orchard’s 10 Year Anniversary Celebrate 10 years of cider with live DJs, food vendors, specialtiy drink menus, spooky surprises and a Halloween (apocalypse zombie disco) costume dance party to close out the night. See p29 SA (10/28), noon, Urban Orchard Cider Co. S Slope, 24 Buxton Ave Fall Festival Enjoy fall foliage, time with friends and family, and Autumn-time festivities with music, food, dog costumes and more.

SA (10/28), noon, Point Lookout Vineyards, 408 Appleola Rd, Hendersonville 60 Years of Space Science w/PARI In honor of this historic anniversary PARI will hold an open house anniversary celebration.

Space fans of all ages are welcome to come and learn about the past of PARI and get excited learn about its future.

SA (10/28), 3pm, Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute, 1 PARI Dr, Rosman Annual Ancestor Vigil This annual Ancestor Vigil honors the beloved dead. The respectful public is invited to attend and place photos and other mementos on the memorial altar.

MO (10/30), 7pm, Cathedral of All Souls, 3 Angle St Venardos Circus A Broadway-style, animal-free circus with assortment of aerialists, acrobats, jugglers, hand balancers, comedic jokesters and more.

The circus has multiple dates and times, visit avl.mx/d46 for the full schedule.

TH (11/2), Asheville Outlets, 800 Brevard Rd

BENEFITS & VOLUNTEERING River Cane Work Days Focusing on removing Kudzu from river cane stands along the Wilma Dykeman Greenway in the River Arts District.

No experience needed.

Please sign up at

avl.mx/d26.

TH (10/26, 11/2), 10am, River Cane, 8 River Arts Pl Save Reeves Cove: Charity Event & Costume Party Dress up as your favorite character at this family Halloween costume dance party and help raise funds to benefit local Reeves Cove community and minimize the impact of future development.

FR (10/27), 5pm, Rabbit Rabbit, 75 Coxe Ave

WNC

SCARY STORIES

Haunting on Griffing Boulevard

REACH Volunteer Training Participants can offer help in several areas, including answering phones on the helpline, able-bodied help at the Within Reach Resale Store and assisting with special events and fundraising. For more information contact Buffy Queen at bqreach@gmail. com.

SA (10/28), 9:30am, REACH of Haywood County, 627 N Main St, Waynesville Art by the Tracks Features over 50 artists from the local region.

This art and craft fair raises money for the Old Depot Association which is donated through grants for art programs in the local Swannanoa Valley Schools.

SA (10/28), 10am, The Old Depot-Black Mountain, 207 Sutton Ave, Black Mountain Computer Donation Drive DisAbility Partners’ Cyberpal program refurbishes used computers and makes them available to people with disabilities in your area.

SA (10/28), 10am, DisAbility Partners Asheville Office, 108 New Leicester Hwy Smoky Mountains Bluegrass Festival An annual fundraiser that features bluegrass bands, music-themed vendors, raffles, artist member demonstrations and artwork, local drinks and food and more.

SA (10/28), 11am, Maggie Valley Festival Grounds, 3374 Soco Rd, Maggie Valley Chili Cookoff & Helpmate Collection Drive A chili showdown that benefits Helpmate with an item collection drive to make a positive impact together. Bring new and unworn underwear, socks, warm slippers, pajamas, sweatshirts, and sweatpants as donations.

SA (10/28), 4pm, All Bodies Movement and Wellness, 211 Merrimon Ave Halloween Blood Drive This blood drive is our way of giving staff, colleagues and neighbors an opportunity to help save lives. Blood is a perishable product that can only come from volunteer blood donors.

MO (10/30), 11am, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave

TEA TIME: Joan Calder, a former Asheville resident now living in Marion, recalls a strange tea party she overheard while babysitting at a home on Griffing Boulevard in North Asheville. Photo by Tatiana Rivest My real-life spooky story took place in about 1968, when I was 16 years old. I had a steady babysitting job for a wonderful family who had three young sons. They lived in a large, two-story stone house on Griffing Boulevard, off Kimberly Avenue in North Asheville.

On this particular Friday night, the evening initially unfolded as it normally did: I fed the kids and got them tucked into bed upstairs.

Rather than go back downstairs, I typically read a book or watched TV near the children’s bedrooms, and this night was no different.

But around 10 p.m., I heard faint voices coming from the downstairs living room. I assumed that the parents had returned home.

However, something seemed off.

For one thing, it was earlier than they usually got home; for another, I had not heard their car pull up or the front door open. Furthermore, they hadn’t called out to me to let me know they were home.

I became a little leery, so I quietly walked down the carpeted hallway and started down the long staircase. My heart stopped because I could tell that there

were no lights on downstairs. I sat silently on the upper landing and listened to see if it sounded like the parents. I heard the quiet, gentle conversation of what seemed to be two or three people, but I could not discern what they were saying. I heard the tinkling of what sounded like dainty teaspoons stirring cups.

I eventually leaned down and peeked around the stairway wall.

I could see no one at all because the entrance and living room were completely dark, but the quiet talk and tinkling of teacups continued.

I understood then and believe now that I heard spirits, and good ones at that. I have never forgotten that night. Funny enough, I just quietly crept back upstairs that evening and minded my own business. I never told the family about my experience because I didn’t want them to be afraid of living in, what I believed to be, a haunted house.

— Joan Calder X Editor’s note: Joan Calder is the mother of Thomas Calder, Xpress’ managing editor.

MOUNTAINX.COM

OCT. 25-31, 2023

21

WELLNESS

Q&A: Buncombe County Libraries Director Jason Hyatt on libraries as social services

BY JESSICA WAKEMAN jwakeman@mountainx.com Public libraries have increasingly become locations for communities to meet the needs of underresourced citizens. Buncombe County Public Libraries are not only a place for literature, film, research, story hours and free yoga classes. It also provides amenities like public bathrooms, heating, air conditioning and internet access, which are enjoyed by everyone but are lifelines for some patrons.

Municipalities nationwide know “a lot of the frequent visitors to our urban libraries need some additional support,” says Buncombe County Public Libraries Director Jason Hyatt, who was hired in January.

That includes the 16 branches of BCPL, which had 719,229 visits from county patrons between June 2022 and July 2023.

BCPL has introduced two initiatives to support patrons who are underresourced. One is the provision of free disposable menstrual products in all its restrooms; the other is Sam Stanley, a social worker who works out of Pack Library.

Buncombe County funds the position; however, Stanley is technically an employee of Homeward Bound.

Hyatt spoke with Xpress about addressing hygiene needs at the library, how the social worker supports mental health and wellness, and why libraries are for everyone.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Buncombe County Public Libraries began providing disposable menstrual products in the restrooms of all its branches in July. How did the libraries come to address the issue of period poverty?

It started as a pilot project [in November 2022], with the period products being available in the restrooms at our North Asheville and our Enka-Candler libraries. That was successful, so we made a proposal to our county management [to expand], and they signed off on it. We were able to put period products in all the restrooms across Buncombe County Libraries.

When you say the pilot was “successful,” does that mean staff found that all the disposable menstrual products had been used?

Not necessarily. We don’t track what’s been taken in or out, other than for restocking purposes. … For us, success looks like positive feedback. People made comments at the

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pilot locations that they appreciated it’s available.

I also view the pilot as a success because it’s an indicator that the library cares about you and that we want you to have a good experience.

For someone who is not experiencing period poverty — or isn’t even aware of what it is — this service might not even register. But for a person who needs those products and finds themself in a difficult spot, that can make all the difference in the world [when they] visit the library that day.

Would BCPL consider providing other hygiene products to patrons in their restrooms?

We have talked in general about what needs exist for hygiene. We haven’t settled on anything yet. We want to give this a little more time to see how it works, but we haven’t ruled it out. We want to remove barriers, whatever they look like.

I think the subject of period poverty isn’t well-known, and certainly a lot of people who don’t menstruate don’t understand how expensive menstrual products can be. Have any patrons complained about the library addressing this need?

No complaints.

From an equity standpoint, the county’s core values and the things that we believe in as a library, we’re on solid footing. I feel well supported by the county administration. A few other libraries in the state are [providing menstrual products] as well, and so are other major systems in the country. It’s not a brandnew idea, even though it’s new to Buncombe County.

A lot of the legwork on why — the justification, responding to people who say, “Why do libraries need this?” — that work has already been done. So, we’re ready to respond if we get some pushback. We are always prepared to articulate why we do things and why we make organizational changes.

Let’s talk about the social worker who has an office on-site at Pack Library. When you applied for the job as library director, what did you think when you learned that a social worker has been working at the county’s branches since spring 2022?

That was a selling point for me. … I thought that was fantastic. And now that I’ve settled in, I see how

HELP ON HAND: Pack Library has had a social worker on-site since 2022. “There are moments when people’s behavior might be slightly outside of the lines of what’s acceptable in the library,” says Buncombe County Public Libraries Director Jason Hyatt. “A benefit of the social worker being here is that he has been able to help deescalate.” Photo by Jessica Wakeman important and meaningful that work is to the day-to-day interactions and services that go on here.

What sort of needs led the county to place a social worker in the main library branch?

As we know, there are epidemics with opioids and other substances.

We’re not drug-screening anybody when they come in, but there are times when it seems reasonable to suspect somebody might be under the influence. Many, many people who are experiencing some degree of housing insecurity [come in]. We have regulars that come in who are experiencing a mental health crisis.

The staff at Pack are fantastic.

I have been so impressed by the compassion, the respect and the skill with which they serve such a diverse group of patrons every day. They often deal with challenging things.

What the social worker is able to do is provide a direct connection to other resources, but also become a

friendly, welcoming face. The social worker is very skilled at making that one-on-one connection [through] providing designated office hours.

[Patrons] can make appointments with him. But there are also times where he is stationed at a table in the public space down in the adult services area. It is almost like triage — whatever needs arise, he can help you right there on the spot, sit down and talk with people.

How can the library’s social worker provide support beyond the scope of what a librarian can do?

There are moments when people’s behavior might be slightly outside of the lines of what’s acceptable in the library. A benefit of the social worker being here is that he has been able to help deescalate. [The patron may be] somebody he’s familiar with from some of the other service agencies that he’s directly helped in the past, and he’s already got that rapport.

If not, then he’s got that social work background and skill set that helps him talk through a situation, calm things down, look for options. It’s a benefit all around — it helps support the staff and the patrons fully.

Do Buncombe County librarians and other library employees receive training on trauma-informed care and deescalation for these situations?

We do have deescalation training [for] all of our staff. It’s offered across the county, but we’ve been able to do some work that’s specialized and specific to library situations. There are people who specialize in public library services for folks who experience homelessness, so we’ve had webinars for our staff to participate in. We’ve also worked with county safety and security staff to go through specific scenarios. … A lot of our work focuses around [what to do] if an exchange gets heated.

I know we’ve been talking specifically about unhoused folks and people experiencing mental

illness. But I would imagine, as with any public place or business, exchanges sometimes get heated with anybody. Everyone has bad days sometimes.

If we learn a deescalation technique that is geared toward helping someone who might be experiencing a mental health crisis, we can use some of those same practices dealing with somebody who’s just really upset about a lost book that’s on their account. Or we get people who are upset that there’s no place to park. Those kinds of things. There’s a range of emotions and experiences [from our patrons], and we try to keep staff prepared for whatever may happen.

You mentioned substance use issues earlier. How is the library equipped to address patrons who are dealing with that?

All of our staff are trained in assessing the situation and determining the best course of action with the challenge of substance issues.

We have Narcan available at all of our locations. We treat that as a completely optional training for staff, but I’m pleased to say that many, many of our staff have taken the training and would feel comfortable deploying the Narcan if needed.

One thing I want to make clear is that this should in no way paint our libraries as an unsafe space. I think in many ways, it’s one of the safest places people can go to because we are welcoming, friendly and trained to deescalate. We aim to connect people with resources and information. Whatever else is going on with your life that might be impacting your behavior, we will work with you. We will make a referral. We will hand you off to somebody who can help. But we recognize we’re at the crossroads of everybody who’s out and about.

The library should be for everyone.

Absolutely. X

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MOUNTAINX.COM

OCT. 25-31, 2023

23

ARTS & CULTURE

WITH ERIC BROWN

A graveyard smash and other such ghostly musings

BY ERIC BROWN ericjbrown3000@gmail.com So, I know what you’re thinking, dear reader: “This must be some sort of Halloween trick. I’m used to reading Morgan Marie’s hilarious column; who’s this guy doing it this month?”

Fear not MedHeads. This is no Halloween trick, it’s a Halloween treat. I’m Eric Brown, comedian, writer and frequent contributor to this column. In the wake of Morgan’s recent departure (she isn’t dead, she just left town), I’m here to deliver an extrascary, Halloween edition of “Best Medicine.” Or should I say, “Pest Dead-icine?”

This month, Mountain Hex-Press and yours truly, or possibly yours ghoully, have assembled a skeleton crew (actual skeletons) of Ash-Evil’s finest and funniest comedic forces.

I’ve asked my two Paul Bearers — Paul Dixon and Paul Vonasek — to help out. And of course, no Halloween party would be complete without Killian Hellinger (Gillian Bellinger).

It is my personal scare-antee that this column will make you cackle like a witch on a blood moon. (I also scare-antee that this is the last Halloween pun I will write in this column.) So, let’s turn it over to my frighteningly talented panel.

Eric Brown: Asheville has always had its fair share of ghosts — from the Pink Lady who is said to roam the Omni Grove Park Inn to the very spooky Helen (of Helen’s Bridge fame). Unfortunately, as the city continues to grow, these ghosts have become old news. What kind of new ghosts would you like to see in Asheville to help us keep up in this fast-paced phantasmagorical world?

TAKE TWO: Eric Brown, top left, leads the comedic charge for this month’s “Best Medicine,” taking over where former host Morgan Marie left off. Also pictured, clockwise from top right, are Paul Dixon, Gillian Bellinger and Paul Vonasek. Photo of Brown by Cindy Kunst; all other photos courtesy of comedians Paul Dixon: Here it is: Ghosts of Asheville Past, Present and Future — a kind of Dixonian Tale, if you will allow it.

The Ghost of Asheville Past is a young Kentucky boy chasing turkeys all willy-nilly throughout forested

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trails along the French Broad River.

He is looking for a lost turkey ... or is he looking to take your soul back to old Kentucky?!?

The Ghost of Asheville Present is a bro skeleton with a flat, brimmed cap on a bike, drinking beer that he bought with crypto. He is unavailable to meet with me because he is stuck in line at Biscuit Head West.

The Ghost of Asheville Future is a middle-aged woman on a wooden skiff floating down the old French Broad, which now flows only with dank IPA in the summers and dark stout in the winters. As she comes out of some Class 9

rapids, she sees a kudzu-covered sign leading to Asheville. With a moan, she deciphers its words: Future 26!

Scared ya, huh?

Gillian Bellinger: Asheville has a reputation as a progressive town — a community that waves its freak flag in the mountains and stands for something. Whether we like it or not, this stance makes us a focus for the spirits that cannot abide our progressive views. I give you, the Ghosts of Canceled Public Figures.

Elon Musk will haunt trivia nights at Hillman Beer, screeching out incorrect answers to all the astronomy questions. Joe Rogan will float through the Asheville Housing Authority spouting misinformation about climate change.

Ticketmaster will take up the last seats in the LaZoom bus, causing havoc for tourists just trying to listen to a nun telling jokes. Soon we will need to bring in the exorcist to call these ghosts out: John Oliver.

Paul Vonasek: Get this: A ghoul hisses through the downtown Asheville air, filling your heart with dread, your nose with sulfur and then showing you 14 memes that it thinks are only kinda funny. Then when you think it’s over, it shows them to you again. You turn the corner to try to find your car.

Just as you think you’re in the clear, a streetlight explodes above you. You hear a devilish chuckle and then a literal “LOL.” Now the ghoul is showing you the text conversation it’s having with another ghost and asking you for advice on how best to ask, “You wanna haunt sometime?”

Brown: I propose we invest heavily in ghost dogs. If we can import a bunch of ghost dogs, all the existing ghosts will have something to do with their time besides bothering us with all their door slamming and chain clanking.

Plus, imagine how much fun you could have with a ghost dog. You’d never have to feed it or clean up after it. I guess fetch wouldn’t be as fun, but who doesn’t get bored with fetch after two or three throws anyway?

Now I know what you’re thinking: How do we get ghost dogs here? The short answer is, I don’t know. I’m just the idea guy. There are plenty of people in town who are into witchy stuff, so surely one of them can point me in the right direction. So, if you’re

reading this and you’re a dog medium, please reach out. I tried looking into it myself by watching the film Ghost Dog, but it was about a samurai hitman and not ghost dogs at all.

Brown: Speaking of ghosts, the ghost of Thomas Wolfe has reportedly been seen haunting the now-vacant Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. Sources say his restless spirit is angry, floating through the empty aisles and moaning things such as “Fix my auditorium” and “Seriously? Can we not get some funding to address this?” With the venue currently closed, something needs to be done. Asheville has a long history of repurposing buildings for new creative endeavors (looking at you, River Arts District), so I propose we find a new temporary replacement. What place would be a good short-term alternative to the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium?

Dixon: I would send everyone back over to Thomas Wolfe’s momma’s house, that Old Kentucky Home. It’s just a few blocks east of the auditorium (not all the way over in old Kentucky). Wolfe wrote about how “you can’t go home again.” But I say, “Pshaw.” Let’s send everyone back over to his momma’s house and shake that shack till Bele Chere comes back.

Bellinger: Roll with me here: Put the audience in tubes on the French Broad River.

No. 1: very cost-efficient. No need to remodel, just buy some floatamadidles from Walmart, throw those sweet

babies in that MRSA-filled water and watch the magic of art take place.

Letter B: Need more space for selling snacks, drinks and giggle water? No worries, our floating island of inflatable coolers has everything an auditoriumgoer could need. I’m talking Thomas Wolfe-branded cocktails, TW-branded towels and a collaboration between New Belgium Brewing Co. and TW — The Lost Boy Brew.

Point $: Season ticket holders would be known as the “Wolfe Pack,” and they’d be tied together in the shape of a Wolf(e)’s head, howling at the Appalachia moon.

Vonasek: Dollar Tree has everything. Why not the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, right between the discount Reese’s Easter Eggs and LA Looks hair gel? Word has it that their competitors, Dollar General, are getting into the streaming content game with an app that only plays canned laughter from “The Big Bang Theory.” So, Dollar Tree should invest in LIVE entertainment, right there in aisle 23. Because nothing makes money like live entertainment. And you know I’m telling the truth, because I do improv comedy — a famously lucrative career path.

Brown: If the Pubcycle has taught me anything, it’s that Asheville loves to do mobile activities while pedaling.

I think that could be a very simple and cost-effective solution while we wait on renovations. Sure, we’d have to commission a fleet of pedal-driven vehicles, but you can’t tell me that if the Asheville Symphony rolled by on a convoy of

CONTINUES ON PAGE 26

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AR T S & C UL TU R E Symphonycycles (patent pending), you wouldn’t want to hop on. And it would be a completely green vehicle. The only gas it would run on is classical gas.

Now I’ve never tried to play a cello or timpani drums while pedaling a bicycle, so I don’t know if that would be difficult.

But I’ve seen the Asheville Symphony, and they’re all very talented. If anyone could do it, it’s them.

Brown: October is easily my favorite time of year. The leaves are turning, the weather is getting chilly, and hordes upon hordes of monsters descend on us as Halloween draws close. While that may sound terrifying, I have great news. Monsters, ghouls, ghosts and the like all have the same weakness as us humans: They love to party. A lot of people don’t know this, but the “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett isn’t just a fun Halloween-themed novelty song; it’s a guide to survival. What are the top places in town where you would point monsters to have some sort of Halloween bash, hopefully calming their bloodlust and sparing us their wrath?

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Dixon: We should send out an EeekVite to all monsters and summon them to the rooftop bar at Hemingway’s Cuba in downtown Asheville. I know it’s no Mount Kilimanjaro, but it does have a nice view and can keep these seasonal creeps occupied for a few hours discussing such books as A Farewell to My Arms, For Whom the Head Rolls and A Moveable Fist. I know, that is a lot of body parts, but they can also discuss The Moon Also Rises and other lesser-known Hemingway works.

If a bar full of alcohol does not seem to succor this nightmarish bunch, then maybe scuttle them over to Amboy Road’s velodrome, which some call the Mellowdrome. It’s racecar-proof cage with concrete embankments will certainly keep these miscreant monsters placated till dawn.

Bellinger: Roll with me here: Put the monsters in tubes on the French Broad River.

No. 1: Witches float. So, they don’t even need tubes. That’s just fiscal responsibility.

Letter B: Werewolves, orcs and psychopaths with chain saws are all known to be bad swimmers. So, once they are on that tube in the water, there is no getting out of it to wreak havoc among town revelers.

Point $: There are a variety of aquatic monsters that already make the French Broad their home — sirens, krakens, Loch Beer Ness. The French Broad is basically a living room for aquatic monsters. It would be one big house party, in water, with monsters. It feels right. It feels festive.

We could call it the Silver Bullet Bash. Too topical? OK, how about the Garlin Schmarlic: The Halloween Hootenanny to Remember 2023.

Vonasek: I used to drive Lyft in Los Angeles. (I know, I know, humble brag — AND it was in a Toyota Corolla, so double braggadocio.) Anyway, I had many completely normal passengers.

But I did give a Lyft to a Dracula. And yes, I know they prefer to be called vampires, but this was a Dracula. Of THE Draculas. Not the Count himself, but his son, Kenny Dracula. He was coming home after a party back east.

He called it the “slam-bam skunkiest, ancient cursed monkey wrist time.”

That night, as I drove the wayward son of the midnight magistrate, I learned he was in the midst of recording his latest album, Kenny Which Way but Loose — a post-punk-synth-grunge-honey-roasted-country western. But even with the excitement of his new music, he kept returning to the party he’d just been at. Finally, I asked him where such a party could be found. As he puffed on his Clove cigarette and the early morning beams of sun begin to hiss on his skin, he said, “Where else man? …

The Asheville Walmart at 10:47 p.m.”

Great tipper.

Brown: So, The Crow and Quill seems like the most obvious answer, and that is exactly why it won’t work.

It’s too on the nose. That place is definitely going to be packed on Halloween. And most of the monsters smoke. There’s no way they’d fit on the venue’s back porch area.

With space in mind, I think the best place for this copyright-free Monster Bash is the Asheville Mall. You could set the food court up with all the things they would need. And it would be really easy to decorate, too, considering that giant Halloween tent full of holiday stuff set up in the mall’s parking lot.

Imagine all the business these monsters would bring to the mall. I mean, who spends money more recklessly than drunk people? Drunk monsters, that’s who. This could totally revitalize the mall. In fact, we could keep this going year-round and be the world’s only Monster Mall.

You know, this actually sounds like a good idea for a screenplay. Imagine how funny it would be to see Frankenstein trying to figure out an escalator. Or Dracula bursting into flames going into a PacSun (because of the sun part).

Yeah … this sounds pretty good. What were we talking about, again? X

WNC

SCARY STORIES

A ghost at The Southern Porch

STRANGE FOOTAGE: Michaela Lowe, co-owner of The Southern Porch in Canton, recalls the time her restaurant’s security camera may have captured a ghost on film. Photo by Andy Hall The building that houses The Southern Porch was built in 1876.

It began as a private home, then became a boardinghouse for men at the paper mill and later turned into North Carolina’s “best $2 hotel.”

My husband and I have owned the business a little over seven years. When we started it, we were open much later. So, some nights we didn’t get finished locking up until after 1 a.m.

One night, I finished up and went outside and was waiting for my husband to join me. I kept waiting and waiting and was like, “Gosh, what in the world is he doing?” So, I pulled up the cameras on my phone to see if I could figure it out, or if I needed to go back in and help him.

I could see something moving in the bar area on the camera.

And again, I was like, “What is he doing?” All I could see was a figure moving back and forth, back and forth. I thought it must be a reflection from something that he was doing up front.

And then all of a sudden, my husband came out the back door — as I’m watching the camera. I

said, “You gotta come here and look at this.” And he said, “Is that what I think it is?”

I went to the front and looked in the windows but could not see anything. It was only appearing on the camera. And then it just disappeared from where it was saved on our security system. Nobody can explain why. The system doesn’t wipe clean after any amount of time. It was just gone.

Our bar does seem to be a bit of a hot spot. We’ll have bottles come down off the shelves at times. From what I have been told — of course, none of this has been confirmed — there was a woman who lost a baby while living or staying here and then she hanged herself.

If the spirit is this woman, maybe she’s just bored and stuck in time. She’s not mean, she’s just lingering. My husband is definitely one of those who is skeptical of ghosts. But now he’ll tell you he’s sort of convinced.

— Michaela Lowe X

co-owner of The Southern Porch in Canton

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27

ARTS & C U L T U R E

THEATER

Playbill Picks

November local theater highlights

BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN earnaudin@mountainx.com If you’re a fan of local theater, Western North Carolina offers plenty of options. Below are some highlights of productions hitting various stages across the region.

ONE-WOMAN SHOW Over the past six years, area theatergoers have seen Paula O’Brien on a variety of stages, including 35below, N.C. Stage Company, Parkway Playhouse and most recently the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, where she played Prospero in Montford Park Players’ The Tempest.

Now the Ireland native takes on the challenge of a one-woman show in Who Does She Think She Is?, which runs Friday, Nov. 3-Sunday, Nov. 5, at The Magnetic Theatre. Described as “part memoir, part cabaret and all heart,” the production finds O’Brien reliving some of the highlights of her many lives. Steve Sensenig accompanies her on keyboards as she performs songs that tie in with the stories, as well as a few O’Brien originals.

“To get to open up about some areas of your life to an audience like this can feel pretty vulnerable,” O’Brien says.

“I’m so grateful people are willing to take this risk with me, and I want them to be fully entertained and leave the show with smiles on their faces, delighted for the experience.”

For more information, visit avl.mx/d38.

AESOP ROCKS In the wake of its wildly fresh take on Macbeth, Flat Rock Playhouse keeps

FALL FESTIVITIES: Xpress takes a look at upcoming local theater productions. Photo by iStock the creativity high with Slowpoke! The True Story of a Tortoise & Hare, running Friday, Nov. 3-Sunday, Nov. 5.

Written by the theater company’s resident music director, Ethan Andersen, the Appalachian-set, family-friendly musical adaptation of Aesop’s fable centers on Tori the Tortoise, who runs the Slow & Steady Brake Shop in Fable Farms. When Harriet the Hare comes to town from the big city and threatens to change Fable Farms forever, Tori reluctantly agrees to a race for the future of her home. With the help of her friends, Ruben the rooster and Bea the bumblebee, Tori learns the importance of community and to embrace what makes her unique.

“It’s been incredibly exciting working on this brand-new musical with our cast of 17 local students, six young professional apprentices and beloved

local actor Damian Duke Domingue,” Andersen says. “Our community cast members are receiving a high-caliber professional theater experience, learning alongside our professionals as we create this show from the ground up.”

For more information, visit avl.mx/d39.

STAGED STUNNERS Just under two years ago, Stephanie Hickling Beckman, managing artistic director of Different Strokes Performing Arts Collective, and Aaron Snook, co-founder and curator of American Myth Center, launched A Different Myth. The initiative offers Black playwrights a chance to develop their work with experienced mentors, directors and actors before eventually performing their plays in front of an audience at

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the Tina McGuire Theatre, Different Strokes’ black box home in the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts.

Two plays from A Different Myth are at the staged reading juncture. Lisa Langford’s Dear God will be performed Friday, Nov. 10, and Saturday, Nov. 11, followed by Mildred Inez Lewis’ Juked on Friday, Nov. 17, and Saturday, Nov. 18. Both readings take place at the Tina McGuire Theatre and feature all-Black casts. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m.

“We are depending on audiences for both readings to provide valuable feedback to the playwrights as they prepare for full productions in October 2024 and February 2025,” says Hickling Beckman. She is also directing Dear God and is a cast member for Juked, directed by Mikayla Wilson.

Snook describes Juked as an adaptation of Sophocles’ Electra crossed with Asheville history. Meanwhile, Dear God began with the premise of a preacher’s response to a community encountering aliens and grew from there.

“In the end, the process of A Different Myth has yielded beautiful results, and I cannot wait for the stories to get in front of an audience in our scripted readings and finally into the season with Different Strokes,” Snook says.

For more information, visit avl.mx/d3d.

QUEEN BEES AND WANNABES Less than two weeks after its production of Willy Wonka Jr. closes (Sunday, Oct. 29), Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville offers more all-ages fun with Mean Girls Jr. The show runs Friday, Nov. 10-Sunday, Nov. 19.

Written by Tina Fey (who also penned the screenplay for the 2004 film on which the musical is based), the family-friendly edition of the Tonynominated show features songs by lyricist Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde) and composer Jeff Richmond (Netflix’s “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”).

The story follows that of the film, in which fish-out-of-water teen Cady Heron attempts to adjust to life at a suburban Illinois high school. Shelia Sumpter directs, continuing her streak of femme-centric shows after helming Good Ol’ Girls in September and October.

“Mean Girls brilliantly tackles the universal themes of fitting in, friendship and navigating the turbulent waters of adolescence,” says Candice Dickinson, HART’s artistic director. “We have the perfect cast of students right now for this show, and are delighted to have the help of two Western Carolina University students, Javan DeLozier and Jessi Hoadley, to bring the story to life with their choreography.”

For more information, visit avl.mx/d3b. X

FOOD ROUNDUP

What’s new in food The Radical opens in the RAD

TOTALLY RADICAL: Chef Jacob Sessoms on the patio of The Radical Hotel, which houses three of his newest food and beverage concepts. Photo by Andy Hall The Radical Hotel’s three eateries and bars are celebrating a grand opening Thursday, Oct. 26 — just over two weeks after the River Arts District’s inaugural boutique hotel hosted its first guests. The hotel, which has 70 sleeping rooms and suites, is a refurbished abandoned 1920s warehouse.

Golden Hour, the hotel’s flagship restaurant and pub, is a chophouse that features food with flavors of the South.

Using locally sourced ingredients, menu items include seasonal dishes such as Country Captain corn salad, barbecued Japanese sweet potato skewers and North Carolina fish crudo alongside a chophouse menu of shareable dishes and main entrees including Carolina wreckfish, pork blade steak and Brasstown beef ribeye.

The open-air kitchen showcases a custom-made stainless steel, woodfired grill from Atlanta-based company Grills by Demant. “It’s a really cool showpiece, and we’ll be able to do all sorts of things from little skewers all the way up to whole smoked lobsters,” says executive chef Jacob Sessoms, known for downtown’s Table and Montford’s All Day Darling restaurants. “We’re also going to do pork racks cut by the bone, so you can come in and order four bones of pork chop, or you can order an entire crown roast.”

Classic cocktails are served from a racetrack-style full bar in the middle of the dining room. Open for dinner daily at 5 p.m. and brunch from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on weekends, the restaurant seats 85 people inside and approximately 45 people on the outdoor patio.

Afterglow, a full-service bakery and coffee bar that opens at 7 a.m., transforms into a lounge every afternoon

at 4 p.m., serving small plates and handcrafted cocktails.

The third space, The Roof, is a 125-person-capacity bar overlooking the French Broad River and surrounding neighborhoods. The city’s largest rooftop bar will also host live music, weather permitting.

Sessoms says that neither Afterglow nor the Golden Hour is a typical hotel establishment eatery, and he suspects that the majority of guests will be Asheville residents.

“I think it’s fantastic that we’re expanding this kind of property and hospitality outside of downtown,” he adds.

In addition to the public spaces, a smaller, 30-person-capacity bar on the fifth floor, Pretty Vacant, will be available for private booking by guests in the five suites that surround it. In the future, Pretty Vacant may be the site of pop-up events.

The Radical is at 95 Roberts St. For more information, visit avl.mx/d3g.

Carter of Storm Rhum Bar, Ben Hester of The Odd, Scott Franqueza of High Hampton Resort in Cashiers, James Beard Award nominee Keith Rhodes of Catch in Wilmington and Lucas Owens of Native Fine Diner and Julep Contemporary Kitchen in Greenville. The chefs will be preparing sausages, bratwursts and other meats, along with seasonal sides.

The podcast, hosted by hospitality industry veterans Max Trujillo and Matthew Weiss, is based out of Raleigh.

On the podcast episode “What’s on the Menu at Bubbles and Brats?” chefs say they are looking forward to getting creative with “tubed meat.”

“We’re going to be doing a duck and fennel sausage with house[made] sauerkraut and house[made] mustard,” says Franqueza. Owens says he will be serving a version of “beanie weenies,” and Hester says he will be incorporating mountain oysters, or pig testicles, into his sausage dish.

Wines will be provided by Ashevillebased Metro Wines and plēb urban winery, as well as others. Whiskey and cocktails will be served by Southern Star Distilling, out of Statesville.

The Oaks at Daniels Ridge is at 818 Monte Vista Road, Candler. For more information and tickets, visit avl.mx/d3h.

Urban Orchard’s 10th birthday bash Asheville-based Urban Orchard Cider Co. will celebrate its 10th birthday with food, drink and a Halloweenthemed dance party on Saturday, Oct. 28, at its South Slope location.

All-day drink specials will include six Fire Ciders made with local peppers from Smoking J’s Fiery Foods: Hopaleño, with citra hops and jalapeños; Passive Pasilla, with cacao nibs and Mexican pasilla peppers; Lemon Drop, with local honey, honeysuckle and lemon drop peppers; Femme Fatalii, with organic Cedar Grove Blueberry Farm berries and fatalii peppers; Sidra del Diablo, with vanilla and habañero peppers; and Scorpion King, with apples and scorpion peppers.

DJ Erik Mattox will spin tunes from 5-9 p.m., and DJ Mtn Vibez will follow at 9 p.m. with Night of the Living Disco: an Apocalyptic Zombie Disco.

Urban Orchard Cider Co. — South Slope is at 24 Buxton Ave. For more information, visit avl.mx/d3j.

— Andy Hall X

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AR T S & C UL TU R E

ROUNDUP

Around Town Day of the Dead

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HOMAGE TO ANCESTORS: Sister Cities Asheville visited Mexico last year to participate and learn about Day of the Dead traditions. Photo by Cathy Peerless Asheville Sister Cities presents Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, on Sunday, Oct. 29, 4-8 p.m., at the Weaverville Community Center.

The celebration is a fundraiser for the nonprofit organization’s committees for San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, and Valladolid, Yucatan.

The event will educate community members on the Mexican holiday, which memorializes dead ancestors.

Usually observed on Nov. 1 and 2, it has complex roots combining Mayan and Aztec as well as Catholic customs.

Traditional food and drinks will be served, including mole negro, Yucatánstyle barbecued pork, vegetarian tamales, pan de muertos (Mexican bread of the dead) and Mexican hot chocolate. There will be a face-painting booth, and headdresses will be available for purchase. Costumes are encouraged. Raices, a cultural youth organization from the Emma neighborhood of West Asheville, will perform traditional Chiapan and Sinaloan dances in costume.

For the altar and procession, guests are invited to bring a picture of a deceased loved one — including pets. A candlelight procession will occur at sunset.

“It’s really about respect for our ancestors and others who have passed on,” says Ken Nelson, vice president of Sister Cities. “We thought it would be good to do an educational event ... since we have such a high Mexican population in the area.”

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A nine-person delegation from sister city San Cristóbal will attend the event and spend the week in the area learning about local ways of life as well as certain city operations.

The Weaverville Community Center is at 60 Lakeshore Drive, Weaverville.

For more information and tickets, visit avl.mx/d3q.

Celebrating the year in song Beginning in early November, Asheville-based folklorist Saro Lynch-Thomason will launch “Singing the Wheel of the Year,” a nine-month course celebrating Pagan folk traditions in a modern context — through song.

Attendees will learn the historical background of traditional and modern songs from Pagan holidays and then will use those songs to participate in ritual together. Some holidays will be familiar but may have unfamiliar names. Halloween, for instance, was originally known as Samhain.

With Halloween approaching, Lynch-Thomason shares some of the holiday’s history and traditions.

“In folklore that emerges from the 18th century onwards,” she says in a press release, “we know that in many Celtic-influenced parts of England, Ireland and Scotland, this was a time when the spirits and beings

of the otherworld were particularly active, so people had to take special precautions to protect themselves from the spirits of the fairies and the dead. They would leave out food and water for passing spirits in order to appease them and even bless their animals on Halloween night, using charms and prayers.”

The course’s in-person cohort will meet at Weaving Rainbows, 62 Wall St. For more information and to register, visit avl.mx/d3p.

Full moon paddle On Saturday, Oct. 28, a group of kayakers wearing witch hats will be floating down the French Broad River in Asheville.

Beginning at 7:30 p.m., Canton resident Becca Ploener, owner of Wild Woman Coaching and Kayak Instruction, will lead the moonlit paddle from French Broad Outfitters at Pearson Bridge to Hominy Creek.

Ploener, who teaches whitewater kayaking during warmer months, also helps people who are feeling overworked reintroduce adventure and play into their lives. She says the event’s purpose is threefold: to promote wellness, to kayak as a group and to celebrate the spooky season.

Before the float, Ploener will conduct a full moon intention circle.

Glowsticks and witch hats will be provided for each participant, and

headlamps — as well as costumes — are encouraged.

For more information and course listings, visit avl.mx/d3o.

The Sirkus is back in town On Saturday, Oct. 28, 1-10 p.m., the 13th annual Surreal Sirkus Arts Festival will return to Pack Square Park, featuring magic, art installations, live music, vendors and a special sunset performance.

Surreal Sirkus started in 1996 with the goal of generating interest in a community arts center. What happened instead was the birth of an annual arts festival with staged productions and circus performances, which became the hallmark of the underground art scene of the 1990s and 2000s.

In 2005, Surreal Sirkus held a Viking-style funeral and “passed away.” But in 2021 on its 25th anniversary, Arts 2 People brought it back to life as an annual Halloween festival.

The organization also created SurReal Estate, which offers performances and tours at a mysterious mansion.

This event is free, open to the public and appropriate for all ages. For more information, visit avl.mx/d3s.

Finding Elisha Mitchell The Search for Elisha Mitchell will be brought to life onstage on Friday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m., at the Mountain Heritage High School auditorium in Burnsville.

Local playwright Dylan Wilson, who has studied the true story for decades, will share how a search party found the missing professor in July 1857 on what is now Mount Mitchell.

The cast members are all direct descendants of the search party and are intimately familiar with the story from family lore.

Mountain Heritage High School is at 333 Mountain Heritage High School Road, Burnsville. For tickets visit avl.mx/d36

Author writes about being adopted There are many titles to describe Valerie Naiman: goat mother, apiarist, environmental activist, adoptee, a founder of Earthaven Ecovillage — and now, author. In her new memoir, Mystic Masquerade: An Adoptee’s Search for Truth, she shares her venture to discover her heritage and natural family, as well as bumps in the road along the way.

“From playing make-believe as a child to becoming an actress, I didn’t know I was in search of my identity,” she says in a press release. “When theatrical illusion didn’t serve me anymore, I blazed a trail to find myself.

The journey catapulted me beyond the question of ‘Who am I?’ to a profound inquiry of who are we as a species.”

The journey took over six decades, navigating both mysticism and legalities, and took Naiman across the world.

Twenty percent of book sales go to the Spirit Foundation, a nonprofit that supports disenfranchised children.

For more information, visit avl.mx/d37.

WNC

SCARY STORIES

Dot’s china cabinet

Cultural center wins state award Hendersonville-based Center for Cultural Preservation, a nonprofit that is home to almost 500 recorded oral histories, was awarded a $20,000 grant from N.C. Humanities earlier this month. The grant will support the center’s new project to create a searchable database.

“This grant will allow the world access to an astounding collection of oral histories from moonshiners, molasses makers, basket weavers, textile workers, farmers and so much more,” says David Weintraub, executive director and filmmaker, in a press release. “As our elders always say, ‘How do you know where you’re going if you don’t know where you come from?’

This wealth of history and culture will better connect all of us to the rich world of Southern Appalachian culture.”

The Center for Cultural Preservation is at 711 S. Grove St., Hendersonville.

For more information, visit avl.mx/93o.

— Andy Hall X

with additional reporting from Murryn Payne

SIGNS FROM BEYOND: Whitney Ponder tells the story of Dot, a ghost who communicated by opening a china cabinet. Photo by iStock I purchased my first home in Asheville from a family friend whose mother had passed and they needed to sell her little bungalow.

Dot’s cherished china cabinet and a few other belongings were left behind. Oddly, its door would occasionally open, seemingly guided by an unseen hand. Fear lingered until I acknowledged the inevitable: Dot’s spirit lingered within.

One evening, as the cabinet opened, I spoke into the stillness: “Hi, Dot. I’m honored to be the keeper of your memories.” The atmosphere softened, and the door gently closed. Over time, our ritual

became routine, my reassurances soothing the ethereal presence.

One day, when the cabinet had remained shut for weeks and comfort had settled in, a subtle draft stirred the air and gave me a slight chill. Startled, I whispered, “Hey, Dot. Is that you?” In response, the china cabinet door slowly creaked open, assuring me that Dot’s spirit still found solace in my care of her beloved china cabinet. I’ve since moved, but Dot’s beloved china cabinet landed in the perfect spot in its forever home.

— Whitney Ponder X

MOVIE REVIEWS KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON: Yes, Martin Scorsese’s latest film runs 3.5 hours. And yes, you should prioritize seeing it on the big screen. Grade: A — Edwin Arnaudin

Find full reviews and local film info at ashevillemovies.com ashevillemovies.substack.com

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CLUBLAND FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY Jerry's Dead (Grateful Dead & JGB Tribute), 6pm

For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, opt. 4.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25 27 CLUB The Witch Trails, 10pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Stand-Up Comedy Open Mic, 8pm BLACK MOUNTAIN BREWING Jay Brown (roots, blues, jazz), 6pm FLEETWOOD'S Fall Shock, Dead Cool, Mordaga & Cold Choir (dark-wave, electronic, post-punk), 8pm FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY Bluegrass Jam w/ The Saylor Brothers, 6:30pm HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Well Crafted Music w/ Matt Smith, 6pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Old Time Jam, 5pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. FBVMA: Mountain Music Jam, 6pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Latin Night w/DJ Mtn Vibez, 8:30pm SALVAGE STATION Ghost-Note (funk, hip-hop, jazz), 8pm SHILOH & GAINES Trivia Night, 7pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Poetry Open Mic, 8pm THE DRAFTSMAN BAR + LOUNGE Trivia Night, 8pm

THE GREY EAGLE Bob Log III w/YAWNi (experimental, rock), 8pm

HIGHLAND BREWING DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Not Rocket Science Trivia, 6pm

THE ODD Spill Mill, Bag of Babydoll Heads & From Zero to Zed (rock), 8pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Bluegrass Jam w/Drew Matulich, 7:30pm

THE RAILYARD BLACK MOUNTAIN Dan's Jam (bluegrass), 7pm

MAD CO. BREW HOUSE Karaoke w/Banjo Mitch, 6pm

WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Irish Music Circle, 7pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Gathering Dark (Americana, country, folk), 7pm

WICKED WEED BREWING Kipper's Totally Rad Trivia, 6pm

ONE WORLD BREWING Julain Bonnet (jazz), 8pm

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26

OUTSIDER BREWING Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Rush (dance party), 9pm

PISGAH BREWING CO. Pocket Strange (psychrock, indie), 6:30pm

ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR The Tallboys (rock, reggae), 7:30pm BATTERY PARK BOOK EXCHANGE Dinah's Daydream (jazz), 6pm BLACK MOUNTAIN BREWING Hunter Begley (alt-country, folk), 6pm CITIZEN VINYL Palmyra w/Vandiver (neo-folk, Americana), 6pm CROW & QUILL Naomie April & The Moments (jazz, blues, pop), 8pm

SHILOH & GAINES Karaoke Night, 8pm

MODERN ROCK SINGER: On Monday, Oct. 30, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Barns Courtney brings his unique sound, steeped in rock, pop and blues influences, to The Orange Peel, starting at 8 p.m. Photo by Monika Wilczynska CULTURA Vinyl Night w/DJ Lil Meow Meow, 7pm DIFFERENT WRLD Gag Reflex Drag Show & Party, 9pm

FLEETWOOD'S Colossal Human Failure, John Kirby & The New Seniors & Bellizia (punk), 9pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS Convalescent, Good Trauma, Tombstone Poetry & Austin Lucas (emo, indie-rock, shoegaze), 8:30pm THE DFR LOUNGE Steve Simon & The Kings of Jazz (Latin, jazz), 7pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR Karaoke w/Terraoke, 9pm THE GREY EAGLE Margo Cilker w/Humbird (country), 8pm THE ODD Boycott, Nova ONe & Bex (indie), 8pm

Kava, Mocktails, Teas, CBD, D9, and more!

SUN: Aaron “Woody” Wood & Friends 7pm MON: Ping-Pong Tournament 7pm TUE: Open Jam w/ house band the Lactones 8pm WED: Poetry Open Mic AVL 8:30pm/8pm signup

10/27 FRI 10/28 SAT 10/31 TUE

SECOND HEAVEN, 9pm Funk / Rock WILL FRANKE & SPACE FIDDLE, 8pm

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THE STATION BLACK MOUNTAIN Mr Jimmy (blues), 5pm URBAN ORCHARD Trivia Thursday, 7pm WNC OUTDOOR COLLECTIVE Trivia, 6:30pm WICKED WEED BREWING The Hillclimbers (Appalachian, bluegrass), 6pm

HALLOWEEN PARTY, 7pm

Lactones • DJ Magie

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27

Costume Contest & Drink Specials!

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THE RAILYARD BLACK MOUNTAIN Moonshine State (multiple genres), 7pm

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THE ORANGE PEEL GWAR w/Negative Approach, X-Cops & Cancer Christ (heavy-metal), 7pm

27 CLUB Graveyard Shift: Halloween Dance Party, 9pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Venus House Party, 10pm ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Mr Jimmy's Friday Night Blues, 8pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Shlump, Digital Ethos, Undehfined & Scales (dance, electronic, bass), 9pm BEN'S TUNE UP EK Balam (reggaeton, hip-hop), 8pm BLACK MOUNTAIN BREWING Billy Presnell (folk, Americana), 6pm BOTANIST & BARREL TASTING BAR + BOTTLE SHOP Industrial Coffee Pot (jazz), 6:30pm CATAWBA BREWING CO. SOUTH SLOPE ASHEVILLE • Comedy at Catawba: Zak Toscani (early show), 7pm • Comedy at Catawba: Zak Toscani (late show), 9pm CORK & KEG The Uptown Hillbillies (honky-tonk, country), 8pm CROW & QUILL The Deviled Eggs Band, Toybox Theatre & Serpent Haus Sideshow, 8pm GINGER'S REVENGE CRAFT BREWERY & TASTING ROOM Twilight Trivia w/Lex, 7pm HIGHLAND BREWING DOWNTOWN TAPROOM The Clair Hoke Trio (jazz, pop), 7pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB • Honky-Tonk Fridays w/Jackson Grimm, 4pm • Drunken Prayer w/ Taylor Hollingsworth (Americana, folk, blues), 8pm LA TAPA LOUNGE Open Mic Night w/ Hamza, 8pm MAD CO. BREW HOUSE River Logic Band (rock), 6:30pm NOBLE CIDER & MEAD TAPROOM AND PRODUCTION FACILITY Crisp Comedy, 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. IMIJ of Soul (Jimi Hendrix tribute), 8pm RABBIT RABBIT Silent Disco: Costume & Masquerade Party, 8pm SALVAGE STATION Proxima Parada (R&B, soul, rock), 8pm SHILOH & GAINES East Coast Dirt (psychrock), 9pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Second Heaven (multiple genres), 9pm

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C LU BL A N D THE GREY EAGLE Jonathan Richman & Tommy Larkins (proto-punk), 8pm

BLACK MOUNTAIN BREWING Syrrup (jazz, soul, and blues), 6pm

THE KOOTIE LOUNGE AT HAIKU Beyond the Grave: Deadly DJ Dance Party (glitch, disco, electronic), 7pm

CORK & KEG Zaydeco Ya Ya (Cajun, Zaydeco), 8pm

THE MEADOW AT HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Pinkish Floyd (Pink Floyd tribute), 6pm THE ODD Asheville After Dark: Perversions (kink), 8pm THE ORANGE PEEL Noah Reid w/Clerel (folk), 8pm THE RAILYARD BLACK MOUNTAIN Big Deal Band & Hunter Begley (Americana, bluegrass, folk), 7pm WXYZ BAR AT ALOFT Andrew Thelston Band (rock, psychedelia, blues), 7pm WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Chuck Brodsky (Americana, folk), 8pm

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28 27 CLUB The Half That Matters, Sleep City & Bombay Gasoline (pop, punk, rock), 9pm ASHEVILLE CLUB Mr Jimmy (blues), 7pm ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Vince Junior Band (blues, Appalachian soul), 7:30pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA Will Franke & the Space Fiddle (folk, ambient, hip-hop), 9pm

CROW & QUILL Meschiya Lake's New Orleans Jazz Band, 8pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS Mute Duo, Thom Nyugen, Naucke, Adam Lion & Sleep Phoenix (ambient, folk, experimental), 9pm

DIFFERENT WRLD Disturbia: A Dance Party for Freaks, 8pm

THE BURGER BAR Best Worst Karaoke, 9pm

FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON Comedy Hypnosis w/ Jon Dee, 8pm

THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR PLUTO (dance party), 8pm

HIGHLAND BREWING DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Hazel (piano), 7pm

THE GREY EAGLE Sold Out: Guided By Voices (indie, rock), 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB • Nobody's Darling String Band, 4pm • Josh Bennett Band (indie, Southern-rock), 9pm

THE MEADOW AT HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Hustle Souls (pop, soul, rock), 6pm

LA TAPA LOUNGE Karaoke Night, 9pm LAZOOM ROOM Scary-okie, 9pm NOBLE CIDER DOWNTOWN Don't Tell Comedy: Downtown Asheville, 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Ten Toe Turbo (rock'n'roll), 8pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL JBOT (funk), 10pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL The Grass is Dead w/ Josh Daniel & Into the Fog (bluegrass, swing, folk), 9pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST • Fancy & The Gentlemen (honkytonk, Americana, Southern-goth), 9pm • Laura Blackley & The Wildflowers (country, blues, rock), 9pm

BATTERY PARK BOOK EXCHANGE Dinah's Daydream (jazz), 6pm

RABBIT RABBIT Dropkick Murphys (Celtic, punk, indie), 6pm

BEN'S TUNE UP Jaze Uries (house, electronic), 8pm

SALVAGE STATION Gimme Gimme Disco, 8pm

THE ODD Party Foul Drag: Saturday Night Tease, 8pm THE ORANGE PEEL Lettuce (funk, jazz, psych), 8pm THE OUTPOST Part of This (rock), 7pm THE RAILYARD BLACK MOUNTAIN Dark City Kings (garage-rock, country, indie), 7pm WXYZ BAR AT ALOFT DJ Molly Parti, 7pm

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29 27 CLUB American Theory, Ever After & Paprika (emo, metal, rock), 9pm BLACK MOUNTAIN BREWING Dark City Kings (garage-rock, country, indie), 2pm CATAWBA BREWING CO. SOUTH SLOPE ASHEVILLE Comedy at Catawba: Mandal, 6pm

DIFFERENT WRLD Marcel Sletton, Fishbowl Prarie & E. Medina (electronic, experimental, synth), 8pm FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY Reggae Sunday w/ Chalwa, 3pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB • Bluegrass Brunch, 1pm • Traditional Irish Jam, 3:30pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. The Last Full Measure (acoustic), 4pm

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A Zombie Disco

PISGAH BREWING CO. Pisgah Sunday Jam, 6:30pm S & W MARKET Mr Jimmy (blues), 1pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Aaron Woody Wood (Appalachia, soul, Americana), 7pm STATIC AGE RECORDS Cindy Lee, Freak Heat Waves, Hull/Holmes/ Rosen & Will Isenogle (noise, drone, experimental), 8:30pm

CELEBRATE THIS HALLOWEEN LONG AFTER DARK

THE OUTPOST The Grateful Family (Grateful Dead tribute), 4pm THE GREY EAGLE Twin Bribes w/ Bootblacks & Cold Choir (dark-wave, synth), 8pm THE MEADOW AT HIGHLAND BREWING CO. The Loudes (punk, folk, rock'n'roll), 2pm The Orange Peel SOJA w/Hirie & Mihali (reggae, roots), 7pm

Sat, Oct 28th

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OCT. 25-31, 2023

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 30

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Independent Invasion (rap, hip hop, trap), 8:30pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Ghouls Night Out Halloween Party, 8pm

27 CLUB Church Girls, The Discs & SnakesSnakeWhale (pop, rock'n'roll), 9pm

DSSOLVR Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Halloween Dance Party W/Ek Balam, Mad Mike & DJ Meow Meow, 9pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Stand-Up Comedy Open Mic, 8pm

FLEETWOOD'S Best Ever Karaoke w/ KJ Cheryl, 9pm HAYWOOD COUNTRY CLUB Open Mic w/Taylor Martin & Special Guests, 7:15pm HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Totally Rad Trivia w/ Mitch Fortune, 6pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB • Quizzo! Pub Trivia w/ Jason Mencer, 7:30pm • Jack O'The Lantern Halloween Comedy Show, 9:30pm NOBLE CIDER DOWNTOWN Freshen Up Comedy Open Mic, 6:30pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. It Takes All Kinds Open Mic Nights, 7pm ONE WORLD BREWING Open Mic Downtown, 8pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Mashup Mondays w/ The JLloyd Mashup Band, 8pm STATIC AGE RECORDS Child Abuse, Convalescent, Mary’s Letter & Divorce Papers (emo, rock, punk), 8pm THE GREY EAGLE Mia x Ally (pop-rock, metal, Celtic), 8pm THE JOINT NEXT DOOR Mr Jimmy & Friends (blues), 7pm THE ORANGE PEEL Barns Courtney w/ Yonaka & James Bruner (alt indie, soul, rock), 8pm

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CROW & QUILL Halloween Seance w/ DJ Dr. Filth, 7pm

BLACK MOUNTAIN BREWING Jay Brown (roots, blues, jazz), 6pm

DIFFERENT WRLD Back Yard Drag Halloween Show, 7pm

FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY Bluegrass Jam w/ The Saylor Brothers, 6:30pm

FRENCH BROAD BREWERY Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Well Crafted Music w/ Matt Smith, 6pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Team Trivia, 7pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Old Time Jam, 5pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST The Grateful Family Band Tuesdays (Grateful Dead tribute), 6pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. FBVMA: Mountain Music Jam, 6pm

SHAKEY'S Booty Tuesday: Halloween Show w/DJ Grimmjoi & DJ Audio, 9pm SHILOH & GAINES Halloween Neo-Soul Get Down w/Datrian Johnson & Friends (gospel, R&B, blues), 8pm SILVERADOS Dark City Comedy Open Mic Night, 8pm SOVEREIGN KAVA The Lactones & DJ Magie (experimental, psych-rock), 7pm THE GREY EAGLE Mudhoney w/Hooveriii (punk, rock'n'roll), 8pm THE ORANGE PEEL The California Honeydrops (blues, R&B, jazz), 8pm WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN White Horse Open Mic, 7pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Latin Night w/DJ Mtn Vibez, 8:30pm SALVAGE STATION The Elovaters w/ Shwayze & Surfer Girl (rock, reggae), 8pm SHILOH & GAINES Trivia Night, 7pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Poetry Open Mic, 8pm THE ORANGE PEEL Tennis w/Sam Evian (indie-pop), 8pm THE RAILYARD BLACK MOUNTAIN Dan's Jam (bluegrass), 7pm WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Irish Music Circle, 7pm

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2 ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR The MGB's (acoustic), 7:30pm

FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY Jerry's Dead (Grateful Dead & JGB Tribute), 6pm HIGHLAND BREWING DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Not Rocket Science Trivia, 6pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Bluegrass Jam w/Drew Matulich, 7:30pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Emily Bodley (jazz, pop), 7pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST World Reggae Night w/Petah Iah & The Mind Renewing Band, 8pm OUTSIDER BREWING Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm PULP Slice of Life Comedy Open MIc, 8pm SALVAGE STATION Iam Tongi (folk), 8pm SHILOH & GAINES Karaoke Night, 8pm STATIC AGE RECORDS Simon Joyner & Sarah Louise (folk, rock, country), 8pm THE DFR LOUNGE Steve Simon & The Kings of Jazz (Latin, jazz), 7pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR Karaoke w/Terraoke, 9pm THE GREY EAGLE • Patio: Dirty French Broads (Americana, bluegrass), 5:30pm • Della Mae w/Dori Freeman (Appalachian, Americana, folk), 8pm WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN David McKindley-Ward & Eimear Arkins (Celtic, folk), 7:30pm WRONG WAY CAMPGROUND Don't Tell Comedy: West Asheville, 7pm

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OCT. 25-31, 2023

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F R E E W I L L A S T R O L O G Y BY ROB BREZSNY ARIES (March 21-April 19): Shadow work is a psychological practice that has been deeply healing for me. It involves exploring the dark places in my soul and being in intimate contact with my unripe and wounded aspects. Engaging in this hard labor ensures that my less beautiful qualities never take control of me and never spill out into toxic interactions with people.

I bring this up, Aries, because the coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to do shadow work. Halloween costume suggestion: Be your shadow, demon, or unripe self.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The country where I live, the U.S., has banned over 2,500 books in recent years. I’m appalled by the ignorance that fuels this idiotic despotism. But there has been an amusing consequence, which I am pleased to report: Banning the books has sometimes hiked their sales. Gender Queer by Maia Kolbabe had a 130% increase. Art Spiegelman’s Maus I and Maus II jumped 50%. Let this scenario serve as an inspirational metaphor for you in the coming weeks. If any person or institution tries to repress, deny or resist you, do what you’re doing even bigger and better. Use their opposition as a power boost. Halloween costume suggestion: rebel, dissident, or protestor.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Do you ever feel you are treated unfairly at your job? Is your workplace sometimes detrimental to your health? Is it possible that a few small changes could add up to a big improvement in how you feel while you’re earning a living?

There’s rarely a perfect moment to address these concerns, but the coming weeks will be a more favorable time than usual. If you decide to seek shifts, devise a strategy that’s as foolproof as possible. Resolve to be calm, poised, and unflusterable. Halloween costume suggestion: a worker doing your ideal job CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian comedian Dave Barry says that as he grows older, he looks forward to “continued immaturity.”

That sentiment is probably based on the fact that his humor is often juvenile and silly. (I like it, though!) I’m guessing it’s also because he aspires to remain youthful and innocent and surprisable as he ages. I mention this, fellow Cancerian, because the coming weeks will be an excellent time to celebrate and honor the parts of you that are still blooming but not yet in full blossom.

Be grateful you have not become a jaded know-it-all. Would you consider revisiting joys you loved as a child and teenager? Halloween costume suggestion: your younger self.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Horseshoes have symbolized good luck in many cultures. A common usage is to hang them over front doors.

But there’s disagreement about the best way to generate the good fortune. Some people say the open end of the horseshoe should point upward, since that collects the luck. Others insist it’s best for the horseshoe to point down, as that showers luck on those who enter and leave the house. If you experiment with this fun myth, I advise you to point the open end up. It’s time for you to gather blessings, help, and fortuity. Halloween costume accessories: good luck charms like a four-leaf clover, acorn, cat’s eye gemstone, ankh, dragon, laughing Buddha, Ganesh statue,and horseshoe.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): There would be no life on earth if it weren’t for the sun. Our home star’s energy is the central force at work in the creation and sustenance of all humans, animals, and plants. Yet we must be sure not to get extravagant amounts of our good thing. An overabundance of solar heat and radiance can cause failed crops, dehydration, droughts, skin cancer and wildfires. Are other factors at work in your sphere that are also nourishing in moderate amounts but unhealthy in excess? And do you know when just right becomes too much? Now is a favorable time to ruminate on these matters.

Halloween costume suggestion: Goldilocks,

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Lady Justice with her scales, or a body suit adorned with a giant yin and yang symbol.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): The earliest known human settlement is Göbekli Tepe, in what’s now the country of Turkey. When archaeologists first excavated it in 1994, they realized it was built over 11,000 years ago. This was shocking news, since it dramatically contradicted previous estimates of how long people have lived in villages. I’m predicting a comparable shift in your understanding of your own past, Libra. The full effect may not be apparent for months, but there will be interesting jolts soon.

Halloween costume suggestion: archaeologist, time traveler or yourself in a past life.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio author Ófeigur Sigurðsson writes, “You should never do what’s expected of you; there’s always another path through life than the one before you.” I wouldn’t recommend his approach to any other zodiac sign but Scorpio. And I would only advocate it for maybe 40% of Scorpios 10% of the time. The coming weeks will be one of those 10% times. So if you are among the 40 percent who would thrive on this demanding but potentially exhilarating counsel, get ready to be as original and imaginative in living your life as you have ever been. Halloween costume suggestion: unicorn, dragon, or phoenix.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Only two items appear more often in the world’s landfills than disposable diapers. They seem to be among the least ecologically sound products. Or maybe not. Japanese researchers at the University of Kitakyushu have made building materials out of them in combination with gravel, sand and cement. (Read more: tinyurl.com/BetterWaste).

In the spirit of this potentially glorious alchemical transmutation, and in accordance with astrological omens, I encourage you to ruminate on how you might convert wasted stuff into usable valuables in your own sphere. Halloween costume suggestion: A janitor or maid wearing a gold crown and pearls.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Of all the ideas propounded by major religions, the saddest is the Christian assertion that all of us are born sinful — that we come into this world with a corruption that renders us fundamentally flawed: tainted, soiled, guilty, foul. I reject this stupid nonsense. In my spiritual philosophy, we are all born gorgeous, loving geniuses. Tough experiences may diminish our radiance and make it a challenge to be our best, but we never lose the gorgeous, loving genius at our core. In accordance with astrological mandates, your task in the coming weeks is to get into close touch with this pure source. Halloween costume suggestion: your gorgeous, loving genius.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): According to my meticulous analysis of the astrological omens, you now have a sacred right to expand your ego at least one full size. Even two sizes will probably be fine. Your guardian angel is lobbying for you to strut and swagger, and so are your muses, your ancestors and God Herself. I hope you will overcome any shyness you feel about expressing your talents, your intelligence, and your unique understanding of the world. Halloween costume suggestion: a charming braggart, charismatic egomaniac or beautiful narcissist.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “The secret for harvesting the greatest fruitfulness and enjoyment is to live dangerously!” Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said that. “Build your cities on the slopes of Vesuvius!” he added. “Send your ships into uncharted seas!” As for you in the coming weeks, Pisces, I don’t recommend you live dangerously, but I do suggest you live adventurously. Surpass your limits, if you dare! Transcend your expectations and explore the frontiers.

Those activities will be a good use of your life energy and are likely to be rewarded. Halloween costume suggestions: daredevil, swashbuckler, gambler, fortune-hunter or knight-errant.

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REAL ESTATE & RENTALS | ROOMMATES | JOBS | SERVICES ANNOUNCEMENTS | CLASSES & WORKSHOPS | MIND, BODY, SPIRIT MUSICIANS’ SERVICES | PETS | AUTOMOTIVE | XCHANGE | ADULT Want to advertise in Marketplace? 828-251-1333 advertise@mountainx.com • mountainx.com/classifieds EMPLOYMENT GENERAL LOVE TO SEW AND WORK FROM HOME? Local medical scrub manufacturer is now hiring experienced sewers to work from home on your serger/regular machine to sew our scrubs. Part-time/ flexible. Must live within 30 minutes of Asheville. Call 828-628-3562 or email job history to info@largesizescrubs.com.

ADMINISTRATIVE/ OFFICE CHILDREN FIRST/CIS SEEKS BUSINESS OPERATIONS COORDINATOR Children First/Communities In Schools of Buncombe County is hiring a Business Operations Coordinator. For more information, please visit childrenfirstcisbc. org/employment/. To apply, email a resume and cover letter to employment@ childrenfirstbc.org.

RETAIL RETAIL SALES ASSISTANT The Kress Emporium is looking for a retail sales associate. Part time. Must be able to work weekends and holidays. Customer service and cash register preferred. kressemporium@yahoo.com www.thekressemporium. com.

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Nationwide service. New service for 2023. 855-8225911. (AAN CAN) TOP CA$H PAID FOR OLD GUITARS! 1920-1980 Gibson, Martin, Fender, Gretsch, Epiphone, Guild, Mosrite, Rickenbacker, Prairie State, D'Angelico, Stromberg. And Gibson Mandolins / Banjos. 877589-0747. (AAN CAN) UNCLAIMED / RECEIVED FIREARMS The following is a list of Unclaimed / Received firearms currently in possession of the Asheville Police Department. SIL/BLK, SCCY, 9MM; BRN/BLK, H&R, 12GA; SIL/BLK, BERSA, 38; BLK, STAR, GC, 9MM; BLK,

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RUGER, REVOLVER, 38; BLK, RUGER, LCP 38; BLK, DIAMONDBACK, DB380, 38; BRN/BLK, S&W, SPECIAL, 38; SIL/BLK, TAURUS, MAGNUM, 357; BLK/GRN, REMINGTON, 870 EXPRESS, 12GA; BLK, COLT, 380, 38; BLK, CZ, P-09, 9MM; BLK, GLOCK, 43, 9MM; BRN/ BLK, TRISTAR, PUMP, 12GA; BLK, HI-POINT, 45; S&W, BACK-UP, 40; US REVOLVER; DAVIS IND, D-32, 32; ESSEX, 12GA; BLK, RUGER, LC9S, 9MM; BLK/BRN, TAURUS, 85, 38; BLK, GLOCK, 30S, 45; KIMBER, MICRO CDP, 38; BLK, TAURUS, REVOLVER, 357; BLK, S&W, M&P 2.0, 40: SIL/BLK, RUGER, P89, 9MM; BLD/BRN, HY HUNTER INC, DETECTIVE, 22; BLK, TAURUS, TX, 22; BLK/BRN, COLT, NEW AGENT, 45. Anyone with a legitimate claim or interest in this property must contact the Asheville Police Department within 30 days from the date of this publication.

Any items not claimed within 30 days will be disposed of in accordance with all applicable laws. For further information, or to file a claim, contact the Asheville Police Department Property & Evidence Section at 828232-4576 .

CLASSES & WORKSHOPS CLASSES & WORKSHOPS BUNCOMBE COUNTY BEEKEEPERS 2023 BEES SCHOOL Buncombe County Beekeepers Bee School to be held Nov. 7th & 9th evenings; Saturday Nov.11th all day. Find information and sign up at wncbees.org. Get all the information to start your journey. wncbees.org.

LOVE TO SING! LEARN A CAPPELLA SINGING FOR FEMALE VOICES WITH A LOCAL CHORUS Song O’ Sky Chorus rehearses Tuesday Nights - 7:00 p.m. St. John's Episcopal Church. Come share a love for singing A Cappella barbershop-style harmony and in a culture of belonging.

T HE N E W Y O R K T I ME S C R O S S W O R D P U ZZLE edited by Will Shortz | No. 0920

ACROSS 1 “Insecure” star Rae 5 Deck divided into the Major and Minor Arcana 10 It has small orbits 14 Footwear to knock around in 15 Israel’s national tree 16 All-night dance party 17 2015 hit for Little Mix 19 Tiny pest 20 Fan 21 Who blows thar?

23 Rowing machine, informally 24 Own up (to) 25 Intentions 27 ___ Elise Goldsberry, portrayer of Angelica Schuyler in the original “Hamilton” cast 29 M.S.G. athlete 31 1971 hit for the Carpenters 34 Useful shot against a volleyer 36 Michelle Obama ___ Robinson 37 House sitter’s responsibility, perhaps 38 Slow rock song with an emotional vocal delivery ... whose start can follow each half of 17-, 31-, 44and 63-Across 41 Campaign grp.

42 Be litigious 43 One of a famous septet 44 1972 hit for Elton John 47 Orbitz listings 51 Top-tier invitees 52 Castle defense 54 ___-country 55 One who cries “Foul!”

56 Ingredient in Roman concrete 59 Word with clam or trunk 61 Children’s author Blyton

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67 Snake eyes 68 Sea dogs 69 Implied 70 Treats, as leather

26 Ray of light 28 Neighbor of Francia 30 They have time on their hands 32 “Once Upon a Mattress” prop 33 Creatures that are often catadromous, meaning they live in fresh water and breed in salt water 35 Top 38 Something Maggie is always seen with on “The Simpsons” 39 Captain Morgan offering 40 Ending with shop or weight 41 Italian cornmeal dish

DOWN 1 “It’s me again!”

2 Convinced about 3 Garlicky shrimp dish 4 Saclike structures produced by fungi 5 Marisa ___, portrayer of Aunt May in the Marvel Universe 6 Wake-up calls 7 Sailboat apparatus 8 Sheep genus 9 A.I., e.g.

10 Canine warning 11 Gifted 12 Celebrate Thanksgiving, maybe 13 Scant 18 Onetime capital of Poland 22 “The cautious seldom ___”: Confucius

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44 Like AB negative among all blood types 45 Announcement from the cockpit, for short 46 Nibble at 48 ___ Quimby, Beverly Cleary heroine 49 Record amount of Oscars won by a single film 50 Breathwork might help relieve it 53 “This is ___ of the emergency ...”

57 Pillow cover 58 Camouflage 60 Oodles 62 Private Insta conversations 64 Model Carangi

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS NY TIMES PUZZLE

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