Asheville's First Qfest Comes to a Close

Asheville has seen its first LGBTQ film festival come to a close. Qfest opened Thursday, September 29, with an opening-night film called Jamie and Jessie Are Not Together and concluded Sunday, October 2, with a closing party and awards ceremony ... read more

Duhks Headline Pisgah Brewery Concert

Through lineup changes and a recent hiatus for members to pursue other projects, the Duhks are nearing a decade as a band. The Canadian group with an eclectic sound will perform at Pisgah Brewing on Friday, October 7, in a show that begins at 7:30 p.m ... read more

Grove Park Inn Offers Music Series

Built in true Southern, Old-World charm and venerated as one of the South’s most luxurious resorts is Asheville’s own Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa. Since it’s opening in 1913 the resort has received worthy attention for its honorable guests including F. Scott Fitzgerald ... read more

Enjoy "Road to Nowhere" Hike November 1

Participants may gather to depart from Asheville at 8:30 a.m., Waynesville at 9:15 a.m. or Bryson City at 10 a.m. Exact meeting locations will be specified upon registration. Hikers should come prepared with food, water, and appropriate hiking clothes, and should expect to spend all day on the trail. A donation of $25 is requested and includes ... read more

Stargazing in Burnsville

The Burnsville Town Square becomes a wonderland for amateur astronomers during the Stars on the Square evening on Saturday, October 22. From 7:30 p.m. until midnight, Burnsville will turn out all lights on the square, allowing astronomy aficionados to set up telescopes and view a sky full of stars on a dark autumn night. Folks who don't have their own telescope ... read more

Western North Carolina Potter Festival November 4-5

A talented lineup of potters is coming to Dillsboro for the seventh annual Western North Carolina Pottery Festival, which takes place Nov. 4-5. This juried festival showcases 45 master potters hailing from 17 states. Elmer Taylor of Denton, Texas, is this year's featured artist. He is the Regents' Professor of Art at the University of North Texas and has a summer studio in ... read more

Artist Herring Honored at Yancey Library

The public is invited to a reception honoring artist Frank Stanley Herring on Sunday, October 23, from 2:30 - 5 p.m. at the Herring-Kivette Collection and Archives, located on the second floor of the historic Yancey County Public Library. A slideshow will be presented in the adjacent meeting room depicting decades of Frank's work. A reception will also be held there. Everett and Ruth ... read more

Leicester Artist Opens Studio for Show

Olga Dorenko opens her studio October 29 from 3 - 7 p.m. for her Fall Fine Art Show. The public is invited to stop in at 241 Pilgrim Drive in Leicester to see Olga's latest works. Olga says that she enjoys opening her studio so that she can talk to people about her work. She will be showing about 20 pieces, most of which represent the fall season. Often focusing on landscapes ... read more

TEDx Returns to Asheville

TEDxAsheville is expanding this year with an additional science event and even more packed in to the main TEDx experience. Many are familiar with TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design), the nonprofit organization devoted to “ideas worth spreading.” It started as a four-day conference in California 26 years ago and has grown to support those ... read more

New Asheville Music Venue Features Trio of Bands Nov. 5

The area's newest music venue offers a triple-header of live music on November 5 as Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Zongo Junction, and Kung Fu Dynamite perform live at the Asheville Music Hall. Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (JFJO) brings its critically acclaimed "red dirt jazz" to Asheville for the first time in three years. Founded in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1994, the band has evolved ... read more

UNCA Literary Magazine Available Online

The Fall 2011 issue of The Great Smokies Review, a Web-based literary magazine published by UNC Asheville’s Great Smokies Writing Program (GSWP), is now available online at thegreatsmokiesreview.org. This fifth issue of The Great Smokies Review focuses on the “cinema of the mind,” the common ground between fiction and film. David Madden, the last ... read more

Photo Exhibit Explores "Artifacts"

“Artifacts” will be on display October 28-November 8 in UNC Asheville’s Owen Hall Second Floor Gallery. “Artifacts” is the Bachelor of Arts in Photography Senior Exhibition by Charles Johnson of Black Mountain. The subjects for the photos come from the Biltmore Industries Homespun Shops factory—once the site of custom woodworking and wool production and still ... read more

The Rivalry Comes to Diana Wortham Theatre

Nationally renowned theater company L.A. Theatre Works returns to Asheville to present the late “poet laureate of radio” Norman Corwin’s The Rivalry, at 8 p.m. November 16-17 at Diana Wortham Theatre at Pack Place in downtown Asheville. Norman Corwin, the legendary American writer, screenwriter, producer, essayist, and teacher of journalism, recently died after a brilliant ... read more

Local Author Thea Summer Deer Discusses New Book Nov. 3

Each plant has a story to share with us, a healing story to guide us in trying times, a spirit medicine for the future that is presently unfolding. Herbs are some of the most powerful allies we have for these transitional times—we just need to learn how to listen as they share their knowledge with us.In Wisdom of the Plant Devas, Thea Summer Deer reveals a new dimension of ... read more

Enjoy Birds, Beasts & Bodybones in the River Arts District

The River Arts District has a new exhibit called Birds, Beasts & and Bodybones that is on display through October 29. The exhibit can be viewed in the Phil Mechanic Studios at The Courtyard Gallery ... read more

Forget-Me-Not Jam to Benefit Walk to End Alzheimer's

Moe's Original Bar B Que in conjunction with Four Seasons and Home Instead Senior Care present the Forget-Me-Not Jam October 8 from 4-9 p.m. with live music from Peace Jones ... read more

Circus Fusion Sure to be a Blast! October 12–17

With definite thrills and possible spills to delight young and old, Circus Fusion brings big top fun to Asheville October 12–17 in a brand-new show at Biltmore Square Mall ... read more

Celebrate the Season with Eliada’s Maze & Fields of Fun

The corn maze and fall festival at Eliada has become a Western North Carolina tradition. Fields of Fun is located on the campus of Eliada just five minutes from downtown Asheville and is open each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through October 30. Fields of Fun is open during the week for school, church, and large group trips ... read more

Fall at the NC Arboretum

The North Carolina Arboretum has an array of fall events allowing visitors the opportunity to discover the natural beauty of the season along with a special traveling exhibit that explores sustainable shelters for animals and humans. ... read more

Local Artist Hosts Benefit for Breast Cancer Awareness

You probably know Michael Hofman for the amazing porcelain work he creates in his River Arts District studio. What you may not know is that, in recent years, he has adopted breast cancer awareness as a special cause. On October 12 at 6 p.m., Michael will host a benefit in his studio for Friends for an Earlier Breast Cancer Test, a nonprofit organizations whose mission is the discovery of an innovative biological test to detect breast cancer as early as possible ... read more

Living Treasures to be Honored

Marie Walters Colton served eight consecutive terms in the North Carolina House of Representatives representing Buncombe County from 1978 to 1994. As a true pioneer among women in elective leadership, she served as the first woman elected to serve as Speaker Pro Tempore of the House and was overwhelmingly re-elected for a second term in that role in 1993 ... read more

It’s Time for Tricks and Treats

Western North Carolina comes spookily alive in October and we offer you a few possibilities for tricks or treats ... read more

Asheville-Buncombe Youth Orchestra in Concert October 16

The Asheville Buncombe Youth Orchestra begins its 17th season under the direction of Ron Clearfield at 4 p.m. on Sunday, October 16, in Trinity Episcopal Church in Asheville ... read more

Sassafrass: Sassy New Studio Opens in Asheville’s River Arts District

Local artists Bet Kindley, Desiree DeMars, and Mary Alice Ramsey have opened Sassafrass Studio (yes, purposely with two s’s), a new gallery in the River Arts District. There will be grand opening from 4–6 p.m. on October 8. During the grand opening, there will be demonstrations and ice cold sassafras tea ... read more

Halloweenfest Comes Alive in Transylvania County

What better place to hold Halloweenfest 2011 than in Transylvania? Okay, not Count Dracula’s Transylvania in Romania, but the one in North Carolina. Brevard (in Transylvania County) offers its 29th annual Halloweenfest on Saturday, October 29, and the Count wants your blood ... for the American Red Cross Halloween Blood Drive ... read more

Billy McLaughlin in Concert Benefitting Medical Research

Billy McLaughlin’s inspiring story has been the subject of an award- winning PBS documentary and a recent segment on the CBS Early Show. He will be in Asheville at the Unitarian Church at 8 p.m. on October 1 for a benefit concert for the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation ... read more

Crafts for Clunkers

The Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) is a national organization that provides much needed assistance to artists and craftpersons who have experienced a hurricane, tornado, fire, or some other disaster. With the help of CERF, these individuals are more quickly on their feet and back in business. Through a creative program, you have a fun chance to help out ... read more

Jamie Laval Performs October 9

One of the premier Celtic violinists on the international music scene today, Jamie Laval will perform in concert at Mountain Spirit Coffeehouse at 7 p.m. on Sunday, October 9. His intensely passionate performances run the gamut from tender and melancholy to wildly jubilant. ... read more

CarePartners Designer Home Show

This annual event raises funds for CarePartners’ Kids Path program that helps grieving children. Area businesses and designers were charged with the task of furnishing and decorating this 8,800-square-foot home that boasts six bedrooms (including a 1,300-square-foot master suite), five full and three partial baths, a five-plus car garage, wine cellar, and outdoor entertaining space ... read more

Autumn in the Southern Appalachians: Nature Photographers Association

The Seventh Annual Autumn Juried Group Photography Exhibit of the Carolinas Nature Photographers Association ~ Asheville Region (CNPA) will be on exhibit at Pack Gallery, 2 S. Pack Square) from October 3–24. An opening reception will be held October 7 from 5:30–7:30 p.m ... read more