Romare Bearden (Charlotte, NC 1911–1988 New York, NY), African American writer and artist, is renowned for his collages. He constantly experimented with various techniques to achieve his artistic goals throughout his career. This exhibition highlights works on paper and explores his most frequently used mediums, including screen-printing, lithography, hand-colored etching, collagraph, monotype, relief print, photomontage, and collage.

Bearden’s work reflects his improvisational approach to his practice. He considered his process akin to that of jazz and blues composers. Starting with an open mind, he would let an idea evolve spontaneously.

“Romare Bearden: Ways of Working highlights Bearden’s unique artistic practice and masterful storytelling through art,” says Pamela L. Myers, Executive Director of the Asheville Art Museum. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Jerald Melberg Gallery to present these extraordinary works on paper in conversation with Bearden’s collage Sunset Express, 1984 in the Museum Collection (on view in the Museum’s SECU Collection Hall). This exhibition will also provide a glimpse into the cultural histories and personal interests that influenced his art-making practice, and we hope it encourages introspection and dialogue with our visitors.”

Jerald Melberg states, “Romare Bearden’s groundbreaking artistic practice continues to captivate audiences worldwide. With an unparalleled legacy of creativity and innovation, Bearden’s contributions to art remain deeply influential years beyond his life.” We have enjoyed organizing this exhibition with the Asheville Art Museum to showcase his artistic genius and inspire visitors from the Western North Carolina region and beyond.”

This exhibition is made possible in part by the Judy Appleton Fund. Many thanks to the Jerald Melberg Gallery for the loan of these important artworks and to Mary and Jerald Melberg for their long-standing support of the arts, artists, and the Asheville Art Museum.

Tracey Morgan Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of paintings by artist Stella Alesi in our project space. This is Alesi’s first exhibition with the gallery and is presented in conjunction with Hannah Cole: A Mirror, Not a Window in our main gallery space. A reception for both artists will be held Friday, November 3 from 6-8PM.

The works on view are from the SQUISHY series, a group of geometric, abstract oil on oil paper paintings. With the use of simple shapes and a limited color palette, these works explore the visceral experience of living at this current moment. Alesi’s colorful, “squishy” shapes bend to the demands placed on them by their seemingly heavy, unforgiving counterparts. With this work, Alesi confronts contemporary issues such as climate change and political turmoil, as well as personal trials, using basic shapes, both hard and malleable to express a state of being. The shapes are gestural, fluid, and animated – sometimes resembling body parts even in their minimalism. The effect is a playful interpretation of heavy topics – a visual play on the deep and multi-layer well of human emotions.

Stella Alesi works across several styles and mediums, including drawing, painting, photography, collage, and large wall works. Their practice is characterized by a willingness to try new approaches in the ongoing investigation into new materials and visual languages, always exploring new ways to represent the visceral nature of the human experience. Born on Long Island, New York in 1963, Alesi was raised in New Jersey. They studied at Parsons School of Design, New York City; University Hampshire, Durham; and University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Their work has been purchased by many private and commercial collections. Career highlights include a recent solo exhibit (spring of 2023) at the Northern-Southern gallery, Austin, TX and a large-scale permanent installation in the lobby of The Foundry, Austin TX. Alesi currently lives and works in both Austin, TX and Asheville, NC.

The church and churchyard (cemetery) tours are sponsored by the St. John Episcopal Church
Docents. They will begin inside the Carriage Door entrance of the church. Reverend Josh
Stephens said, “The response has been overwhelming since we resumed tours last year to
learn about this historic church and churchyard. Beginning in 1836 and to this day, a vibrant
congregation has welcomed all to come to this sacred place and share in the story of St. John
in the Wilderness.”
The tours are free but advance reservations must be made online through the church’s
website, www.stjohnflatrock.org/tours.  Space is limited for each tour.
The guided tours will be held the third Saturdays in November and December.
They begin promptly at 11 a.m. and last about an hour. Participants are encouraged to wear
comfortable shoes. There will be no rain dates.
The historically significant churchyard contains graves of un-named 19th century people who
were enslaved as well as distinguished political figures, and local citizens.
The church is located at 1895 Greenville Highway. For more information call the church
office at 828-693-9783 or visit www.stjohnflatrock.org.

In 1827, Charles Baring, a member of the Baring banking family of England, built a home in
Flat Rock. He and his wife, Susan, wanted a summer place to escape the oppressive heat,
humidity, and malaria of the South Carolina Lowcountry where they lived.
The Barings built a chapel on the property of their newly constructed home. Soon after it was
built the small wooden structure burned down in a woods fire. In 1833 work began on a
second church built of handmade brick.
In August of 1836 the Barings deeded their chapel to the Diocese of North Carolina and 20
members of the Flat Rock “summer colony” formed themselves into an Episcopal parish. In
the 1890s when the Missionary District of Asheville (later Diocese of Western North
Carolina) was formed, St. John in the Wilderness transferred its affiliation. It is the oldest
parish in the diocese.
With almost all the church members traveling back to the Lowcountry after the summer
season, the church mainly operated during summer months for its first 120 years. So rapid
was the growth of the Flat Rock community during the 1830s and 1840s that the parish
membership outgrew the capacity of the small chapel. In the early 1850s the decision was
made to rebuild the church, essentially doubling its size. With only a few minor modifications
the structure was completed in 1852. It is the one that stands today.

Toybox Theatre, in collaboration with The Magnetic Theatre, presents a new puppetry series for ALL AGES. This new series will feature original works by acclaimed award-winning puppeteer and clown Toybox, and will bring some of the best puppeteers in the nation as special guests!

Toybox Theatre has been entertaining audiences from coast to coast with their unique brand of humor and art for over 20 years! Garnishing many “fan favorite” and “funniest show” awards, Toybox has also received an UNIMA Citation for Excellence in the Art of Puppetry, and funding from The Jim Henson Foundation.

Toybox’s (mostly) Monthly Puppetry Series
Presented by Toybox Theatre, with special guest artists
Toybox Theatre, in collaboration with The Magnetic Theatre, presents a new puppetry series for ALL AGES. This new series will feature original works by acclaimed award-winning puppeteer and clown Toybox, and will bring some of the best puppeteers in the nation as special guests!
Toybox Theatre has been entertaining audiences from coast to coast with their unique brand of humor and art for over 20 years! Garnishing many “fan favorite” and “funniest show” awards, Toybox has also received an UNIMA Citation for Excellence in the Art of Puppetry, and funding from The Jim Henson Foundation.
Saturday May 06, 2023 at 11:00am: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=177146
Saturday June 10, 2023 at 11:00am: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=179633
Saturday July 8, 2023 at 11:00am: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=179634
Saturday Aug 19, 2023 at 11:00am: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=179635
Saturday Oct 14, 2023 at 11:00am: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=179637
Saturday Nov 11, 2023 at 11:00am: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=179638
Saturday Dec 16, 2023 at 11:00am: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=179639
PRICING
Adults $20; Children (12 and under) $10
All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Join us for the second Holiday Farm Fest at Ross Farm! 🎄🎁✨
Where: 91 Holbrook Road, Candler, NC, 28571
When: November 11th from 11:30 am to 4 pm
Cost: Free!

Come experience one heck of a unique venue! Our beautiful greenhouses will be transformed into a winter wonderland with unique plants, holiday music, hot beverages, goodies, and three greenhouses full of fantastic vendors ready to complete your holiday shopping list.

Join the holly jolly cheer with a community sing-a-long where Lauren Davis of @fiddyshadesofgreen and the rest of the Farm Fam will sing Christmas classics! This year, we’re singing Wham!’s ‘Last Christmas’ plus another classic.

We’ll be playing all of the holiday hits as you peruse our wonderful line-up of artisan craft and food vendors. Vendors include:
✨Your Mother’s Medicine
✨Cole Klutch Purses
✨Sabai Sabai
✨Mahila
✨New Moon Magic Studio
✨Yarned and Dangerous Crafts LLC
✨Appalachian Clay
✨Black Bear Woodworks
✨Pure Fire Foods
✨Jen Toledo Painting and Drawing
✨True Earth Herbs
✨Stray Cat Goods
✨Autumn & Olive Handmade
✨Mamaws Mudcrafts
✨Appalachian Wyld Botanicals
✨The Botany Garage
✨Early-Zald Photography
✨Max Trainque Glass
✨Machine Creek Studio
✨Fringe and Folly
✨Tree to Table Wood Works
✨Hemp3d
✨Silas Sauce
✨Lucent Heart Designs

Appalachian Standard will be there selling CBD, including our four brand new holiday boxes with exclusive releases in each just in time for the celebration.

We’ll also have a scavenger hunt for the kids and a few other surprises! Parking is available onsite but can be limited so we recommend that you carpool. This is an indoor event.

Stop by the farm for some holiday cheer!

Starting April 8th, you can ride ArtAVL’s new free ArtsAVL Connect Trolley – connecting the Downtown and River Arts Districts with two overlapping routes. The initiative is a partnership between ArtsAVL and Gray Line Asheville. Beginning April 8th, two chartered Gray Line trolleys will circulate on 20-30 minute intervals from 12-8 pm on every Second Saturday. Riders are welcome to hop on and off anywhere along the trolley routes. The Downtown Trolley connects the main areas of the Central Business District to the River Arts District. The River Arts Trolley loops throughout the River Arts District. Residents and visitors can view stops and current location of trolleys through the interactive trolley map on ArtsAVL’s website and the new ArtsAVL app.

Saddle up, partner, ’cause this Saturday from 1-6, we’re bringing the wild west to you with a rootin’-tootin’ Vintage Popup! 🤠

Step into a time machine and explore the treasure troves of vintage goodies brought to you by Soft Cowboy Trading Co. and Tangelo Vintage. Y’all are in for a treat! From classic threads that’ll make you look sharp at the saloon to trinkets that could tell stories from the prairie, you’ll find it all.

Y’all can take your time sifting through these vintage treasures, all while sippin’ on a cold, refreshing brew. So, mosey on over, enjoy a drink, and shop to your heart’s content. Yeehaw!

Learn the history of Black Mountain and the Swannanoa Valley on this walking tour! Museum staff will lead attendees through historic State Street, Cherry Street and Black Mountain Avenue, relaying the history of several buildings and discussing topics including the building of the Swannanoa Tunnel and the disastrous downtown fire of 1912.

Location: Attendees will meet at the Swannanoa Valley Museum (223 West State Street, Black Mountain, NC 28711)

Timing: Tours take place once a month on Saturdays, with a break in October, beginning at 1:00pm. Tours last approximately 1.5 hours.

Cost: FREE to museum members with promo code, $10 for general admission (some fees apply). Museum members can email [email protected] to receive their promo code.

Join Tori the Tortoise, in this Appalachian retelling of Aesop’s “Tortoise & the Hare” as she stands up for her beloved town, Fable Farms, and races a big city hare with even bigger plans. In this musical for all ages, Tori and her friends, Ruben the Rooster and Bea the Bee, must learn to embrace what makes them unique and the importance of community.

Wanna hear the best local music ​and​ drink the best local beers? Hop aboard LaZoom’s Purple Bus and rock out with a local band while we take you on a journey to Asheville’s premiere local breweries.

In recordings as well as live performances, Asheville based band Tina & Her Pony (queer fronted indie Appalachian folk) always strives to provide the listener with a deep oceanic counterpoint balanced with an earthy, time-honored musical approach. It’s an apt metaphor for the dark and the light of life, for the transformation of life’s joys and sorrows into songs that Tina & Her Pony has strived to create since 2010. Playing songs and telling stories from their latest album “Marigolds” (March 2023) as well as even newer songs, this concert will feature Tina’s 4-piece band, which weaves a fascinating web of sound and intention that draws the audience in. Listening to Tina & Her Pony offers a window into an interior landscape that begs to be explored.

Spice up your evening at Half-Mile Farm with globally-influenced Creole cuisine from Sue Zemanick, of Zasu in New Orleans, accompanied by live jazz during cocktail hour featuring Paul Jones. Zasu’s culinary goal is to explore new ways to inspire traditional favorites by allowing fresh ingredients to speak for themselves. At Zasu, you will find a mix of local and non-native ingredients, creating a unique dining experience that is clean and light, yet rich in experience.

Sue was named Executive Chef at Gautreau’s Restaurant in 2005, which led to national recognition – including being named 2013 “Best Chef, South” by the James Beard Foundation and “Top Ten Best New Chef” by Food & Wine Magazine in 2008. She was also a featured guest at many food festivals, such as the South Beach and Charleston Food and Wine Festivals, Sun Valley Vintner’s Festival, and Chef’s Club St. Regis Aspen. She has made regular television appearances, as a judge on Top Chef New Orleans and as a contestant on seasons 3 and 5 of Top Chef Masters. But to this day, her all-time favorite distinction was serving as the 2015 Honorary Muse in New Orleans’ premier all-female Mardi Gras parade, Muses.

Avey Tare

You remember how it was, don’t you, back in the Spring of 2020? Knowing so little about what any of us should do, so many of us crawled inside our quarters to find new obsessions or indulge the familiar ones, unencumbered by anything else we could do. At home in the woods on the eastern edge of Asheville, N.C., Avey Tare took the latter path, sequestering himself in his small home studio to sort the songs he’d written and recorded with friends in the instantly distant before times — Animal Collective’s Time Skiffs, of course, their astonishing document of communal creativity a quarter-century into the enterprise. He often worked there for 12 hours a day, tweaking mixes alone, save the birds and bears and his girlfriend, Madelyn. By Fall, though, it was done, so what next? How else should Avey now occupy himself in his cozy little room? The answer became 7s, his fourth solo album (and first in four years), an enchanting romp through the playground of his head. He wasn’t, however, going to do it alone.

During the first week of January 2021, Avey began making regular drives to his friend Adam McDaniel’s Drop of Sun Studios to give guts and flesh and color to the skeletal demos he’d made at home. They turned first to “Hey Bog,” a tune Avey had been tinkering with since he wrote it to have new material for a rare live performance years earlier. The inquisitive electronic meditation — all tiny percussive pops and surrealist textures at first — slowly morphs into a gem about surrendering cynicism and accepting the world a bit more readily, the call buttressed by trunk-rattling bass and spectral guitar. It feels like a lifetime map for new possibilities, encapsulated in nine absorbing minutes. The plot for 7s, then, was set: trusting, intuitive, exploratory collaboration among friends, after a Winter without it. These songs are like overstuffed jelly jars, cracking so that the sweetness oozes out into unexpected shapes. Still, the sweetness — that is, Avey’s compulsory hooks — remains at the center, the joy inside these Rorschach blots.

If Animal Collective has forever been defined by its charming inscrutability, Avey surrenders to a new intimacy and candor with 7s. Take “The Musical,” a bouncing ball of rubbery synths and wah-wah guitars that contemplates what draws someone to sound and how turning that calling into a profession can alter the source. “I can hear the mountains singing,” he counters with an audible smile wiped across his face, painting a postcard of his home amid one of the United States’ folk hubs, “and I do believe they could do that forever.” Obligations aside, this is a self-renewing love, he realizes, the source as captivating as it was the first time. “Have you ever felt a thing and known that’s how you felt about it all along?” he ends this guileless love song for everything.

Geologist

As Animal Collective’s resident sound manipulator, Brian “Geologist” Weitz has played an integral role in one of the most innovative bands of the 21st century. Weitz’s earliest musical forays were with fellow Animal Collective members Dave “Avey Tare” Portner and Josh “Deakin” Dibb as Auto Mine, a high school indie rock project that predated the formative jam sessions with Noah “Panda Bear” Lennox a couple years later. The quartet formed Animal Collective in NYC in 2000, with Weitz joining Portner and Lennox for live shows and first contributing to the band’s recorded catalog on 2001’s Danse Manatee. He split time in the early 00’s between playing in Animal Collective and working in environmental policy, getting his degree in the latter while studying at the Biosphere 2 Center in Oracle, AZ. After completing an ocean policy fellowship with the US Senate in 2005, he turned his attention to Animal Collective full time.

You can hear his love of sound collage and horror film soundtracks in the band’s creaking-door ambience, and his appreciation for natural soundscapes in their use of field recordings. He’s performed internationally as a solo artist, and released the Live in the Land of the Sky cassette, and the New Psycho Actives Vol.1 split release with Portner. He has scored Coral Morphologic’s short film Man O War, as well as sound installations at Desert Daze in 2017 and Iceland’s List i Ljosi festival in 2018 with visual artist and director Danny Perez. In 2018 he collaborated with artist Kyle Simon on The Sirens, a live performance/art installation at Joshua Tree’s Integratron, in which the duo converted moonlight into sound through Geologist’s modular synthesizer. Weitz’s collaboration with Coral Morphologic, as well as his own background in ocean conservation and environmental policy, played a role in Animal Collective’s latest album, 2018’s Tangerine Reef, an audiovisual collaboration with Coral Morphologic that drew attention to coral reef preservation. He also drew inspiration from his environmental studies while creating the original score to Marnie Ellen Hertzler’s film Crestone, using his time at the Biosphere and the sensory memories of the Sonoran Desert to guide the sounds.

Deakin

Josh “Deakin” Dibb has explored a variety of sounds in his work as part of Animal Collective and in his own solo material—shaping the band’s directional shifts he’s been a part of and consistently contributing a unique flavor to their boundary-breaking career. Growing up in Baltimore with future bandmate Noah “Panda Bear” Lennox, the pair began writing and recording songs together in middle school. In high school, Dibb met Dave “Avey Tare” Portner and Brian “Geologist” Weitz, later joining the pair’s band Automine. By the end of high school, Dibb had connected Lennox to Portner and Weitz and the foursome began to collaborate. By 2000, Dibb was running the band’s record label, Animal, which released their first album Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished. He first appeared musically on the band’s 2003 releasesCampfire Songs and Ark; his guitar-centric approach played a pivotal role in the freaked-out rock of 2005’s Feels and the experimental pop of Strawberry Jam in 2007. While sitting out the Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009) album and touring cycle following the sudden death of his father, Dibb stayed involved in studio projects (Water Curses, 2008) and the development, filming, music, and sound design of the band’s first visual album ODDSAC (2010). In 2010, Dibb began playing his first solo shows, worked with Portner to engineer and produce three albums (Avey Tare’s Down There, Tickley Feather’s 123, Prince Rama’s Shadow Temple), and was involved in the band’s collaborative performance with Danny Perez at the Guggenheim, which lead to the 2012 release of Transverse Temporal Gyrus. After a temporary stent away from the band, Dibb returned to begin writing and touring for Centipede Hz (2012) before stepping back again to focus on his solo album Sleep Cycle (2016), a meditative collection of experimental pop songs and his first solo effort since contributing to the band’s Keep cassette mixtape in 2011. Along with mixing and production work on solo albums from Lennox (Young Prayer) and Portner (Down There, Eucalyptus, Conference of Birds EP), and contributing a variety of remixes to artists ranging from M83 and Phoenix to Tinariwen, Steve Spacek, and Goldfrapp, Dibb’s recent projects as part of Animal Collective include 2018’s Tangerine Reef, an audiovisual collaboration with Coral Morphologic that drew attention to coral reef preservation, a 2018 performance at the Music Box Village in New Orleans which inspired the music the band is currently making, and last year’s Bridge to Quiet EP, a selection of improvisations from 2019 and 2020 that the band remixed, collaged and built into songs. Most recently, Dibb and

Weitz scored Marnie Ellen Hertzler’s debut film and documentary Crestone (2021).

All ages

Modelface Comedy brings you the best comedians from all over the country and all your local favorites!

This Saturday we have Gluten-Free Comedy at Ginger’s Revenge

Featuring Dan Carney, Eli Olsberg and more!!!

ages 18+

doors at 6:30, show at 7pm

Tickets $15 advance, $18 day of

With rich harmonies, powerful vocals and an electrifying stage presence, this contemporary gospel group creates an unforgettable and uplifting musical experience that’s gained them viral success, amassing millions of fans and followers from all corners of the globe. Whether performing traditional standards, hits from musical theatre or their own original music, these prolific singers deliver jubilation as they transcend genre and speak to the heart of every listener.

The performance by Trey McLaughlin & the Sounds of Zamar is funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the North Carolina Arts Council.

Experience the electrifying ‘Unstoppable Voices: A Cabaret of Empowerment.’

Join a dazzling and extraordinary cast they take center stage, celebrating resilience and triumph through the power of music and storytelling. From Broadway classics to contemporary hits, this captivating performance is a tribute to the unstoppable determination and ambition found within musical theatre. Be inspired and uplifted in an unforgettable evening that honors the remarkable talents who’ve shaped our world. ‘Unstoppable Voices’ is not just a show; it’s an empowering experience that will leave you cheering for the indomitable spirit of these voices.

Two years ago Different Strokes! partnered with American Myth Center to create “A Different Myth“, which seeks to amplify stories that center Black voices and characters. After reading through 48 submissions from emerging Black Playwrights, we selected three playwrights as members of our 2022 cohort and have spent the last two years working with them to develop new plays. Two of those plays (Dear God by Lisa Langford, and Juked by Mildred Inez Lewis) will see a full production later this season, but before that happens, we have one more phase. As part of the development process, each playwright has had the opportunity to hear actors read their words and get their feedback but now they are ready to hear from an actual audience about how the work impacts them.  These live, fully cast, staged readings (script in hand) of the plays, allow the audience to engage with the material and provide feedback afterward. Your thoughts and observations as theater enthusiasts will be crucial in shaping the future development of these exciting new plays.

Lee Mills, conductor
Simone Porter, violinist

Program:
Mary D. Watkins: Soul of Rememberance
Philip Glass: Violin Concerto No. 1
Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 2

To learn more about the conductor and guest artist, please visit www.greenvillesymphony.org.

Lee Mills, Conductor
Simone Porter, Violinist
Mary D. Watkins: Soul of Remembrance
Philip Glass: Violin Concerto No. 1
Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 2

Philip Glass and Robert Schumann are composers separated by two centuries.  One, an American from Baltimore whose music defies genre: it’s two parts driving rhythm and one part rich string texture.  You could even say it’s got a hint of rock n’ roll.  Add a true rockstar of the violin, the one and only Simone Porter, and the fear of missing out factor is on another level.

Robert Schumann, best friend of Johannes Brahms and husband of the legendary Clara Schumann was a musical celebrity in 19th century Germany who struggled with mental illness. He found relief and sanctuary in music and the result is some of the most complex and fascinating compositions of the German Romantic period. Despite the composer’s depression, this symphony cuts through the darkness and leaves us feeling hopeful and uplifted.  This energetic and elegant second symphony turns the traditional structure on its head by opening with a quiet first movement. Don’t take it from us—come hear this revolutionary and redemptive work for yourself.

CLICK TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CONDUCTOR & GUEST ARTIST

Join Tori the Tortoise, in this Appalachian retelling of Aesop’s “Tortoise & the Hare” as she stands up for her beloved town, Fable Farms, and races a big city hare with even bigger plans. In this musical for all ages, Tori and her friends, Ruben the Rooster and Bea the Bee, must learn to embrace what makes them unique and the importance of community.