Small bites: REACH seeks to end homelessne­ss with launch party at Funkatoriu­m

Wicked Weed Brewing’s Funkatorium hosts the Real Estate Agents Combating Homelessness fund launch party. Also: The town of Fletcher hosts its 17th annual Chili Cook-Off; the Organic Growers School talks food sovereignty and agriculture in Cuba; Blue Spiral 1 hosts its first art dinner pairing; Your Vegan Mentor demonstrates homemade soups; and author Julia Turshen celebrates her latest cookbook at Nightbell.

Blue Spiral 1 launches its printmakin­g invitation­al and an updated image

There are familiar formats such as linoleum block prints and silk screens, but also laser-cut plexiglass, shadow boxes, colored etchings, weavings and photogravure, among other mediums. “We’re selecting the artists based on the diversity we’re looking for,” says Blue Spiral 1 director Michael Manes. “It’s an exciting time: We can show off the best of the best.”

Of the people, for the people: artist Phil Blank exhibits illustrati­ons from Dixie Be Damned

Inspired by Authors/activists Neal Shirley and Saralee Stafford’s book Dixie Be Damned, artist Phil Blank has created stunning visual representations of the hard-fought, often violent struggles of the disenfranchised throughout Southern history, from the coalfields of Tennessee to the anti-KKK partisan groups that roamed Robeson County, N.C., during Reconstruction.