The Monkees was quite popular during its year-and-a-half run NBC-TV. In light of the group’s enduring popularity, it’s remarkable to realize that they existed onscreen for such a brief time. And as is widely known, the four members — admittedly to varying degrees — bristled at the manner in which they were packaged and sold to the public. So it was in 1968 after the show had gone of the air that the group — with show creators Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider and a friend of theirs named Jack Nicholson — decided to make a motion picture that would destroy once and for all their cuddly image.

That film was and is HEAD. Imagine The Monkees TV show expanded to movie length and dosed liberally with LSD, and you’ll begin to get a sense of what HEAD is like. The list of co-stars hints at the madness: Frank Zappa, Victor Mature, Annettte Funicello, Sonny Liston. “Weird” doesn’t even begin to describe it. Weirdly wonderful, too.

HEAD is not often screened these days. We had to jump through some hoops to get it for Music Movie Mondays. But we did, and we’re excited to share it with you.

Some 55 years after its original release, the willfully bizarre HEAD continues to fascinate, to entertain, to bewilder. Grail Moviehouse proudly presents a special one-night screening of the movie on Monday, July 10. Hosted by author, speaker and music journalist Bill Kopp, the evening will feature a screening of the film followed by an interactive discussion. HEAD is the latest in Grail Moviehouse’s ongoing series, Music Movie Mondays.

Silverado’s, located between Swannanoa and Black Mountain at 2898 U.S. 70, is hosting Family Movie Night under the stars every Monday night through August 21. Tickets are $5 per person, and are only available for purchase on the day of the movie. All movie nights are dependent on weather.

Bring your friends and family, and enjoy a blockbuster outdoor movie on a 24 foot screen. Concessions will be available for purchase. For more info, check the Events tab on the Silverado’s Facebook page.

This event is centered on community and connection while unleashing, empowering, and embracing our true selves on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment. Dr. Jenny Nuccio, founder of Imani Collective and author of “Let It Be Wild”, will share some of the stories behind her book. There will be time for engaging discussions and personal discoveries to encourage attendees to share their “wild soul dream.” The heartbeat of this evening is fellowship and true community that fosters space to dream within the space we cultivate together.

On July 14 and 15, the Friends of Pack Library will be having their annual Super Summer Antique, Collectible, & Coffee Table Books Sale at Pack Library. There will also be a sale in Bookends Used Book Store in the Library during the sale hours.

On Friday, July 14 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. all books in the sale downstairs at Pack Library will be priced as marked. Children’s books will be priced as marked and available downstairs on Friday only. All items in Bookends Used Book Store will be half off the marked price with books in the children’s area of the bookstore specially priced at just twenty-five cents each.

On Saturday, July 15 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., books in the book sale downstairs will be half off the marked price. Items in Bookends will be the same prices as Friday, half off everything with children’s books for twenty-five cents.

All proceeds from the sale will benefit the library.

Join us for a screening of the first ever feature-length documentary film on Black Mountain College, Fully Awake: Black Mountain College.

Hidden in the mountains of Western North Carolina, Black Mountain College (1933 – 1957) was an influential experiment in education that inspired and shaped twentieth century American art. Fully Awake: Black Mountain College is a documentary film that explores the college’s progressive pedagogy and radical approach to arts education. Highly democratic and faculty-owned, the school promoted practical responsibilities and the creative arts as equally important components to intellectual development. During WWII, Black Mountain College was a haven for refugee European artists such as Josef and Anni Albers who arrived from the Bauhaus in Germany.

In the socially conservative 1940s and 50s, the college also became a refuge for the American avant-garde, (Franz Kline, John Cage, Buckminster Fuller, Merce Cunningham, Robert Creeley, Jacob Lawrence, Willem de Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, and M.C. Richards). Fully Awake explores how the confluence of this diverse community came together to create a unique educational model.

.: MOVIE SCHEDULE :.
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📽️ August 11 – Little Giants, begins around 8:10pm
👉 Asheville Parks & Recreation Rec n Roll Fun Zone activities start an hour before showtime with games, giveaways, and other activities for kids and teens.

.: MAKE A PLAN :.
📍 All movies are free and begin at dusk in Pack Square Park on 80 Court Plaza in downtown Asheville. Approximate showtimes are listed, but plan to arrive at least 15 minutes prior. Bring blankets and folding chairs for comfort.
📍 Asheville Parks & Recreation Rec n Roll Fun Zone activities start an hour before showtime.
📍 Bring money for food and treats from local vendors. Smokee’s Pizza is scheduled for opening night on May 12 while Tin Can Pizzeria is scheduled for the remaining dates. Kona Ice of Asheville and Kernel Mike’s World Famous Kettle Corn will be available at all dates.
📍 Free parking is available in marked spaces on city streets and in city-owned lots on Marjorie Street after 6pm.
📍 Pets, smoking, and alcohol are prohibited.
📍 Have fun! Dress up as your favorite characters, invite friends, and celebrate cool summer nights.

Movies in the Park allows people to enjoy blockbusters on the big screen with a spectacular backdrop – Asheville City Hall’s art decor exterior flanked by the rising mountains and a night sky full of stars. As Asheville’s town square, Pack Square Park’s central location allows community members in nearby neighborhoods including East End, Montford, South French Broad, and Southside to easily walk, bike, or ride to the show. Free parking in downtown after 6pm makes it a low-cost night out for those traveling from further away.

On July 14 and 15, the Friends of Pack Library will be having their annual Super Summer Antique, Collectible, & Coffee Table Books Sale at Pack Library. There will also be a sale in Bookends Used Book Store in the Library during the sale hours.

On Friday, July 14 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. all books in the sale downstairs at Pack Library will be priced as marked. Children’s books will be priced as marked and available downstairs on Friday only. All items in Bookends Used Book Store will be half off the marked price with books in the children’s area of the bookstore specially priced at just twenty-five cents each.

On Saturday, July 15 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., books in the book sale downstairs will be half off the marked price. Items in Bookends will be the same prices as Friday, half off everything with children’s books for twenty-five cents.

All proceeds from the sale will benefit the library.

Lets discuss The Queen of the Cicadas by V. Castro! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55711311-the-queen-of-the-cicadas

2018: Belinda Alvarez has returned to Texas for the wedding of her best friend Veronica. The farm is the site of the urban legend, La Reina de Las Chicharras – The Queen of The Cicadas.

In 1950s south Texas a farmworker—Milagros from San Luis Potosi, Mexico—is murdered. Her death is ignored by the town, but not the Aztec goddess of death, Mictecacíhuatl. The goddess hears the dying cries of Milagros and creates a plan for both to be physically reborn by feeding on vengeance and worship.

Belinda and the new owner of the farmhouse, Hector, find themselves immersed in the legend and realize it is part of their fate as well.

“The Queen of the Cicadas” Is More than a Ghost Story

– ALL AGES
– FULLY SEATED SHOW

Silverado’s, located between Swannanoa and Black Mountain at 2898 U.S. 70, is hosting Family Movie Night under the stars every Monday night through August 21. Tickets are $5 per person, and are only available for purchase on the day of the movie. All movie nights are dependent on weather.

Bring your friends and family, and enjoy a blockbuster outdoor movie on a 24 foot screen. Concessions will be available for purchase. For more info, check the Events tab on the Silverado’s Facebook page.

This live streamed virtual event is free but registration is required.

Please CLICK HERE to register. The link required to attend will be emailed to registrants prior to the event.

If you decide to attend and to purchase books, we ask that you purchase from Malaprop’s. When you do this you make it possible for us to continue hosting author events and you keep more dollars in our community. You may also support our work by purchasing a gift card or making a donation of any amount below. Thank you!

Why Sinéad O’Connor Matters: A stirring defense of Sinéad O’Connor’s music and activism, and an indictment of the culture that cancelled her.
In 1990, Sinéad O’Connor’s video for “Nothing Compares 2 U” turned her into a superstar. Two years later, an appearance on Saturday Night Live turned her into a scandal. For many people—including, for years, the author—what they knew of O’Connor stopped there. Allyson McCabe believes it’s time to reassess our old judgments about Sinéad O’Connor and to expose the machinery that built her up and knocked her down. Addressing triumph and struggle, sound and story, Why Sinéad O’Connor Matters argues that its subject has been repeatedly manipulated and misunderstood by a culture that is often hostile to women who speak their minds (in O’Connor’s case, by shaving her head, championing rappers, and tearing up a picture of the pope on live television). A journalist herself, McCabe exposes how the media distorts not only how we see O’Connor but how we see ourselves, and she weighs the risks of telling a story that hits close to home. In an era when popular understanding of mental health has improved and the public eagerly celebrates feminist struggles of the past, it can be easy to forget how O’Connor suffered for being herself. This is the book her admirers and defenders have been waiting for.

Allyson McCabe is a writer, reporter, and producer whose work is often broadcast on NPR, and her byline appears in the New York Times, BBC Culture, Wired, and other publications. More at https://www.allysonmccabe.com

Living Colour’s Time’s Up: The iconic Black rock band Living Colour’s Time’s Up, released in 1990, was recorded in the aftermath of the spectacular critical and commercial success of their debut record Vivid. Time’s Up is a musical and lyrical triumph, incorporating distinct forms and styles of music and featuring inspired collaborations with artists as varied as Little Richard, Queen Latifah, Maceo Parker, and Mick Jagger. The clash of sounds and styles don’t immediately fit. The confrontational hardcore-thrash metal – complete with Glover’s apocalyptic wail – in the title track is not a natural companion with Doug E. Fresh’s human beat box on “Tag Team Partners,” but it’s precisely this bold and brilliant collision that creates the barely-controlled chaos. And isn’t rock & roll about chaos?

Living Colour’s sophomore effort holds great relevance in light of its forward-thinking politics and lyrical engagement with racism, classism, police brutality, and other social and political issues of great importance. Through interviews with members of Living Colour, and others involved in the making of Time’s Up, Kimberly Mack explores the creation and reception of this artistically challenging album, while examining the legacy of this culturally important and groundbreaking American rock band.

Kimberly Mack is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a music critic, and a memoirist. She is the author of Living Colour’s Time’s Up (33 1/3) (Bloomsbury, 2023) and Fictional Blues: Narrative Self-Invention from Bessie Smith to Jack White (2020), which won the 2021 College English Association of Ohio’s Nancy Dasher Award.

Rachel Angel is an alt-country & indie artist and Malaprop’s Bookseller. Listen to Rachel’s music at https://rachelangel.bandcamp.com/album/midnite-heart-attack and https://www.instagram.com/rachelangelmusic

The history of Flat Rock comes to life in a new film. The archivally rich film showcases a wealth of stories and history specific to Flat Rock that includes photos, maps, blueprints, literature, and art from diverse repositories. Buncombe County Special Collections at Pack Memorial Library has contributed a trove of archival photos from its African American and Flat Rock Collections.

The award-winning historical documentary film, To Protect and Preserve: Historic Flat Rock’s Legacy to Keep, will be screened at the Pack Memorial Library. The first hour of the film, Part 1, Flat Rock’s History will be shown on Tuesday, July 18 at 6 p.m. The event is free to the public. Designed to educate and inspire all ages and demographics, the film unveils Flat Rock’s unique and hidden history as a small American village established in the early 1800s in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

A look back

The film begins in the land of the Cherokee, revealing their way of life and attitudes toward stewarding the land, water sources and trading. The story continues with the Early Explorers, First Settlers, Charlestonian Rice Planters, Enslaved and Freedmen, impacting transgenerational descendant lives to this day. The filmmakers of One Life, One Legacy Films made discoveries in the archives of St. John in the Wilderness Church in Flat Rock that led them to uncover transgenerational connections to living descendants that they could bring to the big screen. The filmmakers interviewed Historian and Author Alexia Helsley, Cherokee Scholar Tom Belt, descendants of the first families, a slave descendant, and preservationists and residents.

Wanda Horne, a 5th generation descendant, whose ancestors were the first enslaved couple married in 1855 at St. John in the Wilderness, tells stories of growing up in East Flat Rock with her extended family. Her Aunt Blanche was a pivotal part of their family and was employed by a white family headed by Dr. D.I.C King. King is a descendant of Judge Mitchell King who was a slave owner in Flat Rock, as well as known for giving the land to settle Hendersonville. Dr. King was the physician for all the Williams family and the new generation of their children. His son, Rick, tells of how Blanche was their nanny, their cook, “their everything,” and how she and his mother would build things together. The filmmakers note, “This one story of black and white connections enriches our understanding, serving as the catalyst in connecting families to our universal histories within our community from generation to generation. There are countless hidden stories yet to be uncovered and threaded together to enlighten us all.”

Filmmakers Patricia Bradley and Michelle Mullen wish to encourage others to bring their community’s and family’s important histories to life, which help us understand our past and present stories.

About Historic Flat Rock

Flat Rock is the largest historic district in our state. Historic Flat Rock, Inc. was founded in 1968 as a non-profit volunteer organization of community residents, preservationists and conservationists who protect the Flat Rock Historic District. Its mission is to “Protect and Preserve” houses, churches, woodlands, and open spaces as well as promoting its cultural history through education.

Join us for a book discussion hosted by the Friends of the Skyland/South Buncombe Library!

This month we will be reading Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver.  The book is available in both physical and digital editions through Buncombe County Public Libraries, and we will also have a few extra.

Please join us at The 2nd Act in Hendersonville, NC for our first monthly book club meeting that strives to read books that create a closer knit and more inclusive community! We will meet virtually and in person monthly to discuss a book, so read the book and then join in the discussion in person or online every third Thursday. All are welcome! At the end of each meeting we will vote on the next book! The virtual club meeting will be in Zoom format and will meet 2.5 hours after the in-person meeting (8:00pm EST). After the meeting there is live acoustic music so stay and enjoy the vibe with your new friends! Put us down on your calendar for every third Third Thursday!

The first book is going to be called Disability Visibility.

Synopsis from the back cover: One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent—but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings together this urgent, galvanizing collection of contemporary essays by disabled people.

From Harriet McBryde Johnson’s account of her debate with Peter Singer over her own personhood to original pieces by authors like Keah Brown and Haben Girma; from blog posts, manifestos, and eulogies to Congressional testimonies, and beyond: this anthology gives a glimpse into the rich complexity of the disabled experience, highlighting the passions, talents, and everyday lives of this community. It invites readers to question their own understandings. It celebrates and documents disability culture in the now. It looks to the future and the past with hope and love. Preview:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51456746-disability-visibility
Message me for the Zoom link to the online meetup. Thanks!

Please join us at The 2nd Act in Hendersonville, NC for our monthly book club meeting that strives to read books that create a closer knit and more inclusive community! We will meet in person monthly to discuss a book, so read the book (Our goal is to build community first so join us even if you have not read the book) and then we’ll discuss it and enjoy live music after the meeting. All are welcome! At the end of each meeting we will vote on the next book! Put us down on your calendar for every third Third Thursday!

Thank you for your participation and patience while we get rolling!

In June we are reading a book called, Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. Please come!! If you’d like to be added to a phone and email list, please message the info to me and I will add you to the list! It seems like an easier way to be in touch with people than through meetup, although I will still be updating this page. Review: https://booksofbrilliance.com/2023/03/13/stranger-in-a-strange-land-book-review/#:~:text=Robert%20A.%20Heinlein%E2%80%99s%20Stranger%20in%20a%20Strange%20Land,in%20unlike%20anything%20else%20I%20have%20ever%20read.

Grab your blanket or chair and join us under the stars for a free movie in the park, This
week’s movie is the film Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, Food truck opens at 7pm and movie begins at nightfall (approx.
8pm),

It’s the Asheville 48 Hour Film Project, AWARDS NIGHT GALA!

The 48 Hour Film Project, the largest independent film competition in the world, has returned to Asheville for its 18th year.

Each year, filmmakers from Western North Carolina and the surrounding area write, shoot, and edit a short film in just 48 hours. The Best Film from Asheville moves on to represent Asheville at the international Filmapalooza festival, and earns a chance to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival “Short Film Corner”.

The Awards Night Gala will include a screening of the “Best Of” Asheville’s short films, followed by an “Oscar’s” style awards ceremony. Come out and support our creative local actors, writers, and filmmaking teams, and see who takes home the Award for Best Film!

Silverado’s, located between Swannanoa and Black Mountain at 2898 U.S. 70, is hosting Family Movie Night under the stars every Monday night through August 21. Tickets are $5 per person, and are only available for purchase on the day of the movie. All movie nights are dependent on weather.

Bring your friends and family, and enjoy a blockbuster outdoor movie on a 24 foot screen. Concessions will be available for purchase. For more info, check the Events tab on the Silverado’s Facebook page.

Foodie Book Club

West Asheville Library Book Discussion group will discuss Bewilderment by Richard Powers. This is an online Zoom event.