Calendar of Events

With an even keeled delivery belying blistering takes, Norlex Belma has become one of the hottest comics working in New York City. Norlex got his start in one of the nation’s fastest growing comedy scenes, Pittsburgh, after attending Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music. Norlex now resides back home in his native Brooklyn and has performed at clubs and colleges around the country including UCB NYC, Carolines on Broadway, The Stand, New York Comedy Club, Broadway Comedy Club, The Comedy Studio in Boston, Pittsburgh Improv, The Grisly Pear, Zanies, The Blue Note, University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, SUNY Oswego, and NYU. Norlex has opened for national headliners such as Gary Gulman, Emma Willmann, Jessica Kirson, Sam Tallent, Marina Franklin, Jermaine Fowler, The Lucas Brothers, Liza Treyger, and Rob Schneider.

In 2016, he was featured in the PBS documentary, The Comedy Confluence, detailing the rise of the Pittsburgh comedy scene.

Since then, he has been a part of the New York Comedy Festival, Red Clay Comedy Festival in Atlanta, Pittsburgh Comedy Festival, Oak City Comedy Festival in Raleigh, WDVE Comedy Festival, and the Orlando Indie Comedy Festival. In the summer of 2018, Norlex headlined Carolines on Broadway as a part of the Breakout Artist Series.

Tickets $10 advance, $12 day of
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-norlex-belma-tickets-71312622975

Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity and the Success Equation, an initiative of Children First/Communities in School, are bringing people together to discuss and reflect on one of the biggest current issues facing Asheville and the country- affordable housing- by hosting a free film screening of Owned: A Tale of Two Americas 7 pm Thursday, October 17 at the Fine Arts Theater. After the film, a panel discussion comprised of local housing advocates will take place so people can consider housing issues and solutions and learn how to get involved locally.

What: Film screening of Owned. Free entry. Following the film, a panel discussion with local housing advocates will take place. Watch the trailer here. 

When: Thursday, October 17. The film begins at 7 pm and will end at 8:25, followed by a panel discussion of diverse, local housing advocates.  

Where: Fine Arts Theater – 36 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville 

Why: Across the nation 1 in 6 households spend half or more of their income on housing and right here in Buncombe County thousands struggle to afford a decent place to live.  

Owned presents an opportunity to learn about the history of American housing policy and how this affects our housing choices today. By coming together through film and a panel discussion, residents can engage in thoughtful and critical dialogue, consider housing issues and solutions, and learn how to get involved locally. 

How: Secure your free ticket here. 

About Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity 

Founded in 1983, Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity was the first Habitat affiliate in North Carolina. Through Habitat homeownership and home repair programs, more than 1,600 adults and children in Buncombe County have achieved the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build a better future. A decent place to call home and an affordable mortgage enables Habitat homeowners to save more, invest in education, pursue opportunities and have greater financial stability. Learn more about Asheville Area Habitat, a Charity Navigator 4-star non-profit, and how you can get involved at ashevillehabitat.org. 

Everyone is invited to this free event.

Kevin O’Brien is Brooklyn based comedian, DJ, writer, and overall expressionist. A regular at clubs and colleges across the country he has opened for some of the biggest names in comedy from Dave Chappelle to Irene from “The Real World.” He has been featured on Viceland, the A.V. Club, and NPR. His comedy has been described as, “Very funny, very depressing” by Youtube commenter Ssgt Griggs. He has also appeared at a number of festivals including TruTv’s High Plains Comedy Festival, Laughing Devil Comedy Festival, and Fest in Gainesville.

Tickets $10 advance, $12 day of
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-kevin-obrien-tickets-70194548785

Jono Zalay began his standup career in Boston, while simultaneously earning his Doctorate in Neuroscience (he gave cocaine to rats). Since dropping his science hobby to pursue comedy full time, Jono has been named one of Comedy Central’s ‘Comics to Watch,’ and earned international press for his pranks on the DMV. Jono now lives in Los Angeles where he has written comedy for Fox, Amazon, and Comedy Central. He has been featured in over 30 comedy festivals around the country including Bridgetown, Big Sky, Limestone, and New York Comedy Festival.

Tickets $10 advance, $12 day of
FRIDAY: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-jono-zalay-friday-tickets-70462791105

SATURDAY: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-jono-zalay-saturday-tickets-70463025807

Jono Zalay began his standup career in Boston, while simultaneously earning his Doctorate in Neuroscience (he gave cocaine to rats). Since dropping his science hobby to pursue comedy full time, Jono has been named one of Comedy Central’s ‘Comics to Watch,’ and earned international press for his pranks on the DMV. Jono now lives in Los Angeles where he has written comedy for Fox, Amazon, and Comedy Central. He has been featured in over 30 comedy festivals around the country including Bridgetown, Big Sky, Limestone, and New York Comedy Festival.

Tickets $10 advance, $12 day of
FRIDAY: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-jono-zalay-friday-tickets-70462791105

SATURDAY: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-jono-zalay-saturday-tickets-70463025807

D.C. native, John Conroy, brings an everyman’s attitude to smart, sharply written material that runs the gamut from shrewd observations to social satire.
Over the next few years he made a rapid transition from opener to headliner, playing hundreds of shows each year and touring the top clubs throughout the country. Conroy is a jovial iconoclast whose good-humored but aggressive act makes a lasting impression.

Tickets $7 advance, $10 day of
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/comedy-at-fleetwoods-john-conroy-tickets-71543148483

Help us celebrate the Fairview Public Library’s 20th anniversary with three films from 1999. When a computer programmer and hacker (Keanu Reeves) begins to question his reality, a chain of events is unlocked that could save the human race. To find the answers he seeks, he must trust a mysterious group of strangers who promise to show him the hidden secrets of an unusual entity known as “The Matrix.”   With groundbreaking special effects techniques that are still in wide use today, The Matrix was a runaway hit that changed how the industry, and the public viewed action films. Also starring Laurence Fishburne, CarrieAnne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano.    All screenings will be hosted by North Carolina Film Critics Association member James Rosario (THEDAILYORCA.COM), who will introduce each film and lead a discussion after. Free popcorn provided by Grail Moviehouse. Rated R. 136 minutes.

THE BEST MONTY PYTHON MOVIE EVER

THIS WILL SELL OUT IN ADVANCE!

Fifty years ago on October 5th, 1969 the first episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus aired, and comedy around the world was changed forever.  Celebrate their birthday with us!

King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table embark on a surreal, low-budget search for the Holy Grail, encountering many, very silly obstacles.  Considered one of the funniest movies ever!  (RUNNING TIME = 1 hour 31 minutes)

Thursday night 10/24
Slice of Life Comedy Open Mic!
Hosted by Cody Hughes
Featuring Ryan Cox

Doors 8:30p/9:00p show
$5 members/$2 for year membership

Professional and Newbie comics
Comics get in free (+free membership)
Free snacks/drink specials

Comics sign up at door or email [email protected]
New comics to venue get 3-5m
Regular comics get as much time as available. Look for light

Contact Michele at [email protected] for more info/sign up early or request a feature (paid 20m)

The REEL ROCK Film Tour, one of climbing’s greatest celebrations, returns this fall with four new world premieres. In a battle for El Cap’s coveted Nose speed record, rock legends Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold go head to head with Yosemite dirtbags Jim Reynolds and Brad Gobright. Highball bouldering ace Nina Williams flexes her guns and tests her nerves well into the no-fall zone. In rural Utah, conservative Mormon coal miners collide with an influx of out-of-town climbers – with surprising results. And two adventurous Brits, Hazel Findlay and Maddy Cope, pursue first ascents in wild and remote Mongolia. REEL ROCK visits 500 locations across the world this fall.

Adam Mamawala is a stand-up comedian based out of New York City. Named one of Funny or Die’s “Top 30 Under 30: Comedians to Watch”, Adam has appeared on Comedy Central, MTV, BET and SeeSo, and his debut album One of the Good Ones debuted at #1 on the iTunes Comedy Charts in December of 2017. Adam has headlined over 200 colleges across more than 35 states and his recent festival appearances include the NBC/Second City Breakout Comedy Festival, Laughing Skull Comedy Festival, and New York Comedy Festival. Adam has been a freelance contributor to Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update and a writer for Someecards.

Tickets $10 advance, $12 day of
FRIDAY: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/adam-mamawala-at-lazoom-friday-tickets-70464738931

SATURDAY: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/adam-mamawala-at-lazoom-saturday-tickets-70464921477

Known for whip-quick wit and rollicking improvisations, Sam Tallent is one of the sharpest, most original rising talents in comedy today. Fresh off his New Faces debut at the prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, Sam has been called “the absurd voice of a surreal generation” by the Denver Post, and, when not maintaining a “Black Flag esque tour schedule” (Savage Henry Magazine), Sam has worked alongside many of the biggest names in comedy, including Russel Peters, Ron White, Dave Chappelle, Doug Stanhope, Dana Carvey and Hannibal Buress. He recently won his battle on Comedy Central’s Roast Battle, and was seen on VICELAND’s Flophouse as well as the Chris Gethard Show. His writing has been published on VICE.com. His debut novel, “Running the Light”, will be available this fall wherever fine books are sold. He lives in Denver with his wife and dog.

Featuring Steve Vanderploeg

Tickets $10 advance, $12 day of
FRIDAY: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-sam-tallent-friday-tickets-70464738931

SATURDAY: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-sam-tallent-saturday-tickets-70464921477

William Ray Engvall Jr. is an American comedian and actor best known for his work as a stand-up comic, his signature “Here’s Your Sign” bit, and as a member of the Blue Collar Comedy group.

Adam Mamawala is a stand-up comedian based out of New York City. Named one of Funny or Die’s “Top 30 Under 30: Comedians to Watch”, Adam has appeared on Comedy Central, MTV, BET and SeeSo, and his debut album One of the Good Ones debuted at #1 on the iTunes Comedy Charts in December of 2017. Adam has headlined over 200 colleges across more than 35 states and his recent festival appearances include the NBC/Second City Breakout Comedy Festival, Laughing Skull Comedy Festival, and New York Comedy Festival. Adam has been a freelance contributor to Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update and a writer for Someecards.

Tickets $10 advance, $12 day of
FRIDAY: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/adam-mamawala-at-lazoom-friday-tickets-70464738931

SATURDAY: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/adam-mamawala-at-lazoom-saturday-tickets-70464921477

Known for whip-quick wit and rollicking improvisations, Sam Tallent is one of the sharpest, most original rising talents in comedy today. Fresh off his New Faces debut at the prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, Sam has been called “the absurd voice of a surreal generation” by the Denver Post, and, when not maintaining a “Black Flag esque tour schedule” (Savage Henry Magazine), Sam has worked alongside many of the biggest names in comedy, including Russel Peters, Ron White, Dave Chappelle, Doug Stanhope, Dana Carvey and Hannibal Buress. He recently won his battle on Comedy Central’s Roast Battle, and was seen on VICELAND’s Flophouse as well as the Chris Gethard Show. His writing has been published on VICE.com. His debut novel, “Running the Light”, will be available this fall wherever fine books are sold. He lives in Denver with his wife and dog.

Featuring Steve Vanderploeg

Tickets $10 advance, $12 day of
FRIDAY: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-sam-tallent-friday-tickets-70464738931

SATURDAY: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-sam-tallent-saturday-tickets-70464921477

The Rocky Horror Show is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O’Brien. A humorous tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the late 1940s through to the early 1970s, the musical tells the story of a newly engaged couple getting caught in a storm and coming to the home of a mad transvestite scientist, Dr Frank-N-Furter, unveiling his new creation, a sort of Frankenstein-style monster in the form of an artificially made, fully grown, physically perfect muscle man named Rocky Horror, complete “with blond hair and a tan”.

Oscar-winning producer Melissa Berton, creator of the short documentary “Period. End of Sentence.” will speak at Warren Wilson College on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 4 p.m.

“Period. End of Sentence.” follows a group of women in rural India as they learn how to operate a machine that makes low-cost, biodegradable sanitary pads, which they sell to other women at affordable prices. The film won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject this year, and it sparked a worldwide conversation about menstrual justice and menstrual equity.

Berton, who is a graduate of Warren Wilson’s MFA in Creative Writing, works as a high school English teacher at Oakwood School in Los Angeles. After learning that the lack of hygienic sanitary products and taboos around menstruation cause nearly a third of Indian girls to miss school during their periods, her class became inspired to raise money for a pad machine and to create a documentary. They raised funds by doing bake sales and yogathons.

At the lecture at Warren Wilson College, Berton will speak about the importance of girls staying in school and how youth voices can contribute to the global movement for education. She will also give an overview of “how that whole crazy journey took place.”

The lecture will be followed by a showing of the documentary and Q&A session. The event is free and open to the public. It will take place in Warren Wilson College’s Kittredge Theatre. Register online at www.warren-wilson.edu/lecture.

BRANDIE POSEY Originally from Annapolis, Maryland, Brandie Posey is a stand up comedian, writer and producer who now calls LA’s comedy scene home. She has been featured as a performer at the Bentzen Ball, New York Comedy Festival, RIOT Comedy Festival, San Francisco Sketchfest, FEST in Gainesville, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, High Plains in Denver, among many others. She has opened for all of your favorite comics, including Kyle Kinane, Maria Bamford and the legendary punk band Against Me! Brandie has appeared on MTV, E! and Comedy Central. She made her feature film debut in the indie dark comedy, “The Worst Year Of My Life” directed by Jonathan Smith and her first stand up record Opinion Cave debuted at #1 on iTunes & #12 on Billboard.com. Brandie’s comedic style has been described as a “Riot Grrl on acid”.

Brandie tours the country, headlining every dark corner with a microphone that will have her – from a basement in Whitesburg, KY to the stages of the Kennedy Center (twice!). She is the co-creator & host of Picture This!, the popular comedy-animation show with consistently sold out shows in Los Angeles & New York. In 2018 Picture This! shot a pilot for TruTV in partnership with Page Hurwitz & Wanda Sykes’ Push It Productions. At the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre & The Hollywood Improv, Brandie co-hosts Lady to Lady alongside Barbara Gray & Tess Barker. Lady to Lady is also a celebrated weekly podcast with over 7 million downloads & loyal fans around the world.

Tickets $10
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/comedy-at-fleetwoods-lisa-curry-brandie-posey-tickets-71705806999