Monica McDaniel’s original play, Riding Hood, is a modern adaptation of the original Grimm’s Tale, Little Red Riding Hood. The play features an all Black cast and utilizes Monica’s hometown of Asheville, NC as a backdrop and supporting character. McDaniel reimagines the classic tale as an exploratory tool of Blackness, young love, familial obligation, and the collective pursuit for greater connection.

The Tempest, September 1st to 30th
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Dwight Chiles
Magic, monsters and mayhem fill this favorite from The Bard. This one isn’t done with great regularity, so now’sa good time to catch it!

All shows will be at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheater in the Montford District of Asheville, and all will be presented absolutely FREE of charge!

All shows will run Fridays through Sundays and all will be presented at 7:30pm and prime seats can be reserved.

Montford Park Players has been bringing some of theater’s greatest works to Western North Carolina for over 50 years. Montford Park Players continues its mission of bring free theater to the community. The summer season allows everyone to come spend an evening under the stars, seeing some of the best live performances presented in Asheville.

Our mission is to bring together, in small, intimate settings, authors, readers of all ages, novice writers, listeners, and learners. We are a festival of readers who appreciate discussing the ideas in literature.

We do not see ourselves as an academic festival, thou

Telling Our Own Story: Cherokee Self-Representation in Contemporary Media

Historically in film, literature, galleries, and textbooks, Native stories have been told by non-Native voices. In this panel, we’ll hear from citizens of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), North Carolina’s only federally recognized tribe, who are contributing to the international movement for Indigenous self-representation in media through writing, podcasting, visual art, and cultural perpetuation.

Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle (Eastern Band Cherokee)

Award-winning Author of Even as We Breathe

Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle (Eastern Band Cherokee) lives in Qualla, NC and is the author of Even As We Breathe. She sits on the Board of Directors for the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and is President of the North Carolina Writers Network. She is also an Appalachian Futures Series editor for the University Press of Kentucky.

Shana Bushyhead Condill (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)

Museum of the Cherokee Indian Executive Director

Shana Bushyhead Condill (Eastern Band of Cherokee) has worked in the museum and cultural field for over twenty years. As Executive Director of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Condill furthers a career-spanning commitment to cultivating Native representation and self-representation in public spaces, advocating for the intentional combining of mainstream best practices with Native best practices in cultural preservation.

Nola Pina (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)

Museum of the Cherokee Indian Lead Cultural Specialist

Nola Pina (Eastern Band Cherokee) grew up and still currently resides in the on the Qualla Boundary. As a Lead Cultural Specialist at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Nola enjoys demonstrating and teaching finger-weaving (she is a first-generation finger weaver herself), as well as storytelling and leading tours through the permanent exhibit.

Rhiannon ‘Skye’ Tafoya (Eastern Band Cherokee and Santa Clara Pueblo)

Visual artist

Rhiannon ‘Skye’ Tafoya (Eastern Band Cherokee and Santa Clara Pueblo) employs printmaking, digital design, and basketry techniques in creating her artist’s books, prints, and paper weavings. Both of her Tribal heritages, cultures, and lineages are manifested in her two- and three-dimensional artworks that range in size from a few inches to a few feet.

Sheyahshe Littledave (Eastern Band Cherokee)

Writer/podcaster

Sheyahshe Littledave (Eastern Band Cherokee) is passionate about storytelling and writing to highlight the Indigenous experience. Her work includes publication in National Geographic, NPR, and writing children’s books. In 2021, she became the co-host of “We are Resilient: An MMIW True Crime Podcast,” dedicated to telling the untold stories of Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women.gh we seek to advance authors of literary quality.  Nor are we a book fair in which the primary objective is to sell books.

One of our goals is to raise awareness of works of literary significance from smaller presses.  We do focus on regional writers, though not exclusively.  But overall, our aspiration is to create a little literary community which is in dialog with readers, aspiring writers, and established authors about craft and ideas of sustaining merit.

Another goal is to make sure our authors are having good time.  In the best scenario, authors leave the festival feeling renewed and rededicated to their work.  So frequently when an author writes in isolation, it is hard to believe that his/her work is making an impact on people and society.  But situating authors and readers together in close quarters, as our festival does, it is possible for authors to hear stories of how their work has influenced people.  It’s not just signing a book, it’s making a human connection.

We hope the Carolina Mountains Literary Festival inspires people to read more, write more, and contribute positively to society through the literary arts.

Our Pecularities

No outside vendors have booths at our festival.  In fact, we don’t even sell any litfest paraphernalia. In an attempt to support our quaint downtown, attendees are encouraged to buy souvenirs at the many local shops that host readings. Authors are not tied down to a table all day, but are free to roam the town, attend other sessions, or gab with other authors in more sequestered areas.  Some authors spend a full two days attending others’ readings.  As festival planners, we thoroughly enjoy this contribution.  However, some chose to leave after their sessions, which is equally acceptable.
Our events are spread all over our small town— in galleries, small stores, the Town Center, library, nearby churches, and other various venues.  Only a few used primarily for workshops are not within walking distance.
Events are scheduled simultaneously.  As many as five different events may be occurring at any one time.  (We know that it can be difficult to choose, but we make every attempt to have each author present at least twice during the weekend.) We have a festival bookseller (Malaprop’s) who sells all festival author books – authors do not sell their books on their own.  (Therefore, if book sales are high on your list of priorities or you enjoy pitching your books, you may not find this event to your liking—and vice versa.)
Authors gather for morning and afternoon-session book-signings as a group.  No individual authors will have their own signings. Author presentations are limited to two consecutive years.  Exceptions may be made if an author has a new, significant work.  At the same time, we welcome past participants as attendees, or to assist us as session moderators or introducers if they wish.

FOR WORKSHOPS: 2023 Schedule – cmlitfest.org

In this workshop, Katie Jones teaches the basic skills of designing and building a puppet, using The Magnetic Theatre’s upcoming piece The Splatter Play as inspiration. Each student will leave with a puppet that is ready to manipulate!

About the instructor: Katie has worked at regional theatres in Sarasota, Chicago and Denver. She is a member of Directors Lab, New York and Chicago, as well as Wishbone Theatre Collective. As a puppeteer, Katie worked with Von Orthal Puppets’ with traveling puppet shows for young audiences, and with Theatre Zarko as part of the 2011 Steppenwolf Garage Rep Series. Katie has a BA from Clemson University and an MFA in from Naropa University, where she focused on devised theatre and new play development. Locally, she has worked with Asheville Creative Arts, Immediate Theatre Project and the Asheville Fringe Arts Festival. Katie serves as Co-Artistic Director of The Magnetic Theatre, along with Jessica Johnson.

TFAC invites all artists: painters, sculptors, writers, performers & more — to a casual weekly drop-in gathering on Saturday mornings at 9 AM to share your works in progress, alert others, and chat about art and what’s happening in your community. The first weekly Coffee is Saturday, August 20 at 9 am. No RSVP needed, just drop by! Free parking available on Melrose Avenue, behind and alongside TFAC.

“Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” Get ready for the time of your life with The Music of Dirty Dancing! This musical tribute to the film shot, in part, at Henderson County’s own Lake Lure is sure to feature all the hip-shaking guilty pleasure the world came to love in the 1987 blockbuster. The sizzling soundtrack comes to life on ‘The Rock’ with vocals and dancing that will dazzle you.  Feel free to sing and dance along to tunes like “Be My Baby,” “Hungry Eyes,” “She’s Like the Wind,”  the Academy Award winning “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” and so many more!

Showcasing the work of area playwrights and performed by local actors, The New Works Series is a FREE public reading of a new play in development. However, donations are welcome to support HT. HT’s New Works Series offers exciting script-in-hand readings of new plays by emerging local playwrights. The readings are followed by a talk back with the playwright and actors to provide feedback to the playwright. A short discussion will follow each reading to provide feedback to the playwright about their script. The reading will be held at Hendersonville Theatre, 229 S. Washington Street, Hendersonville, NC. There is no charge to attend or to participate, however donations are welcome and will be used to support HT. Hendersonville Theatre is committed to exploring and developing new work for American theater, supporting local playwrights with their creative process from concept to production. Sky Eyes by Kiesa Kay will be read on September 9. Sky Eyes is a play with original music written for the play by Brad Hodge. The play is a look at a week in the life of a North Carolina family during the 1950s. Abby, the mother, works on the railroad to support her two daughters and put her husband, Jack, through college.She learns she must be strong in more ways than she imagined. Kiesa Kay, poet and playwright, has written two produced plays. Love Makes a Home: The Story of Rebecca Boone was chosen as a convocation for Berea College in Berea, Kentucky. The play has been presented at a dozen venues, including Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, the Thomas Wolfe Center for Narrative at Lenoir Rhyne University, the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway, White Horse Black Mountain. the Orchard at Altapass and the Chapel of Rest in Lenoir, NC. During the pandemic, it was live streamed by Ouachita Little Theater in Mena, Arkansas. The play has been directed by five different directors and features music from frontier days. Kay’s play Thunder is the Mountain’s Voice was shown at Rocky Mountain National Park, Park Village Playhouse, and as a staff celebration for YMCA of the Rockies, directed by Dr. Virginia Floyd. Kay also has some directing experience, and she directed A Tale of Two Charlies by Jo Carson, presented at the Orchard at Altapass and White Horse Black Mountain. Playwrights who would like to submit work for consideration for the New Works Series can follow the submission guidelines posted at www.HVLtheatre.org/about-us and email questions to [email protected].

Monica McDaniel’s original play, Riding Hood, is a modern adaptation of the original Grimm’s Tale, Little Red Riding Hood. The play features an all- Black cast and utilizes Monica’s hometown of Asheville, NC as a backdrop and supporting character. McDaniel reimagines the classic tale as an exploratory tool of Blackness, young love, familial obligation, and the collective pursuit for greater connection.

The Tempest, September 1st to 30th
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Dwight Chiles
Magic, monsters and mayhem fill this favorite from The Bard. This one isn’t done with great regularity, so now’sa good time to catch it!

All shows will be at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheater in the Montford District of Asheville, and all will be presented absolutely FREE of charge!

All shows will run Fridays through Sundays and all will be presented at 7:30pm and prime seats can be reserved.

Montford Park Players has been bringing some of theater’s greatest works to Western North Carolina for over 50 years. Montford Park Players continues its mission of bring free theater to the community. The summer season allows everyone to come spend an evening under the stars, seeing some of the best live performances presented in Asheville.

“Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” Get ready for the time of your life with The Music of Dirty Dancing! This musical tribute to the film shot, in part, at Henderson County’s own Lake Lure is sure to feature all the hip-shaking guilty pleasure the world came to love in the 1987 blockbuster. The sizzling soundtrack comes to life on ‘The Rock’ with vocals and dancing that will dazzle you.  Feel free to sing and dance along to tunes like “Be My Baby,” “Hungry Eyes,” “She’s Like the Wind,”  the Academy Award winning “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” and so many more!

MEAN GIRLS JR

Grades: 6th-8th

Rehearsals: Mondays, 6:00pm-7:30pm

Rehearsals Start: September 11, 2023

Tech Week: January 29-February 1, 2024

Show: February 2-4, 2024

Great news for poets and poetry lovers: Dark City Poet’s Society is returning to the Black Mountain Library. DCPS is a completely free poetry group that is open to poets of all ages and experience levels. Join us at the Black Mountain Library from 6-7:30 p.m. on the first Tuesday of every month for our (respectful) critique group. DCPS will meet at BAD Craft from 6-7 p.m. on the third Tuesday for our monthly open mic Poetry Night. Find out more on Instagram @darkcitypoetssociety or contact the Black Mountain Library.

The oldest and most common advice poets hear is “show don’t tell.” But what does that mean, exactly? What is the difference between showing and telling? Why is “showing” better? Most of us write poems to tell readers something, to share our ideas. Many poets—from as far back as John Donne to as recent as Stephen Dunn–do a lot of telling in their poems. So why are we always advised not to tell? In this workshop we will discuss these questions. In the process, we will look at a few well-known poems to see how–or if—they show rather than tell, and we will do some writing exercises that may help us arrive at some conclusions about this persistent advice.

This workshop is open to writers of all skill levels and is a fun way to find inspiration from a new prompt or revise current work. It is hosted by the Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara and will use Microsoft Teams for the virtual connection. Sign up to attend the workshop at workshop link

Eric Nelson’s most recent poetry collection, Horse Not Zebra, won both a Da Vinci Eye Award for cover art and an Honorable Mention in Poetry from the 2023 Eric Hoffer Book Awarda. His poems have appeared in many journals, including Poetry, The Sun, The Oxford American, and The Missouri Review. Among his awards are the 2014 Gival Press Poetry Book Award for Some Wonder; the 2004 X.J. Kennedy Poetry Award for Terrestrials, chosen by Maxine Kumin; the Arkansas Poetry Award for The Interpretation of Waking Life (1991); the Split Oak Press Chapbook Award for The Twins (2009); the Georgia Author of the Year Award (2005), and fellowships to the Hambidge Center for the Arts and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. He taught writing and literature courses at Georgia Southern University for twenty-six years before retiring in 2015 and moving to Asheville, where he lives with his wife, Stephanie Tames, and teaches in the Great Smokies Writing Program. www.ericnelsonpoet.com.

Written by Heidi Schreck
Directed by Charlie Flynn-McIver
Fifteen year old Heidi earned her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the United States. In this hilarious, hopeful, and achingly human new play, she resurrects her teenage self in order to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women and the founding document that shaped their lives. What the Constitution Means to Me received a Tony Award Nomination for Best Play and was chosen as a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize.

“Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” Get ready for the time of your life with The Music of Dirty Dancing! This musical tribute to the film shot, in part, at Henderson County’s own Lake Lure is sure to feature all the hip-shaking guilty pleasure the world came to love in the 1987 blockbuster. The sizzling soundtrack comes to life on ‘The Rock’ with vocals and dancing that will dazzle you.  Feel free to sing and dance along to tunes like “Be My Baby,” “Hungry Eyes,” “She’s Like the Wind,”  the Academy Award winning “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” and so many more!

Rehearsals: Thursdays, 4:30pm-6:00pm

Rehearsals Start: September 14, 2023

Tech Week: December 11-14, 2023

Show: December 15-17, 2023

Poet Donika Kelly and memoirist Melissa Febos will present a reading at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 14 in UNC Asheville’s Highsmith Union, Blue Ridge Room.

Donika Kelly is the author of “The Renunciations,” winner of the Anisfield-Wolf book award in poetry, and Bestiary, the winner of the 2015 Cave Canem Poetry Prize, a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, and a Kate Tufts Discovery Award. A recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, she is a Cave Canem graduate fellow and founding member of the collective Poets at the End of the World. Her poems have been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Paris Review, and elsewhere. She is an assistant professor in the English Department at the University of Iowa, where she teaches creative writing.

Melissa Febos is the bestselling author of four books, including “Girlhood,” which won the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism and has been translated into seven languages; and “Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative.” Her fifth book, “The Dry Season,” is forthcoming from Alfred A. Knopf. Her work has recently appeared in The Paris Review, The New Yorker, The Sun, The New York Times Magazine, The Best American Essays, Vogue, and New York Review of Books. Febos is a professor at the University of Iowa.

Find your grail.

Lovingly ripped off from the classic film comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Monty Python’s Spamalot retells the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and features a bevy of beautiful show girls, not to mention cows, killer rabbits, and French people. The 2005 Broadway production received 14 Tony nominations and won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and was followed by two successful West End runs. The outrageous, uproarious, and gloriously entertaining story of King Arthur and the Lady of the Lake will delight audiences as they search for the Holy Grail and “always look on the bright side of life.”

Rated PG-13 for mild language and suggestive content.