Henderson County Open Studio Tour
For multi-taskers, this is your art appreciation/weekend drive/cardio in one. Purchase a heavy piece of pottery and
you've got your strength training as well. But more than that, the Henderson County Open Studio Tour is a chance to meet artists in their work environments. The self-guided tour includes 30 studios and six galleries, spanning from downtown Hendersonville to Etowah, Mills River, Horseshoe and Flat Rock. Crafts include handforged ironwork, seascapes in oil, etchings, cabinetry, mosaic tile, jewelry and more. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 25 and 26. Info and map at acofhc.org/studio.htm.
Greek Festival
Opa! The annual Greek Festival returns — this year at a new location. The food/music/dancing/cultural gathering now takes place on the grounds of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (227 Cumberland Ave.) but all the crowd-pleasing elements remain. Folk dance demonstrations, Greek jewelry and groceries, the cafenion (coffee shop) and educational presentations will be in full-form. Make time (and room) for baklava Friday and Saturday, Sept. 24 and 25, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 26, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Greensky Bluegrass at Mellow Mushroom
"Like a breath of fresh air, this five-piece band plays traditional bluegrass instruments and uses them to create original songs and soundscapes that are unique and new, yet somehow feel comfortable and familiar," reads the bio of Michigan-based Greensky Bluegrass. The band won the Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Contest in 2006 and since then has been touring near-constantly, sharing stages with bluegrass big wigs, and making their presence felt on Jam Cruise, too. The band's fall tour leads to Halloween dates in Oregon and Seattle and a New Year's run in Denver, but not before a stop in Asheville. "Our debut at the famous Mellow Mushroom, Friday night throwdown!" they say of their Friday, Sept. 24 show. Sanctum Sully opens. 10 p.m. greenskybluegrass.com.
BookOpolis
"The Memory Palace is a general designation for mnemonic techniques that rely on memorized spacial relationships to establish, order and recollect memorial content," explains the Asheville Bookworks website. The term is borrowed from the Greeks and Romans and serves as the theme of this year's BookOpolis — a weekend event and extended exhibit of book arts. Artists submit up to two works dealing with the subject of memory ("triggers to memory, memory as a function of mapping, unpleasant memory, memory loss or deletion, sensation and memory, animal memory, spacial positioning of thought, architecture of memory, memory-laden language…"). BookOpolis Weekend opens Friday, Sept. 24, 6-9 p.m. at Asheville BookWorks, and continues Saturday, Sept. 25, 1-6 p.m. with letterpress and bookbinding demonstrations. ashevillebookworks.com
LYLAS
"Live! Funny! Girls!" is the tagline for sketch comedy troupe LYLAS (Love Ya Like a Sis) — and truer words were never spoken. Previous productions included LYLAS' take on a local City Council member, Segway tours, summer camp and song and dance routines. So, what does the new show, Make Funny Long Time, bring? It's "an original sketch comedy show in the style of Saturday Night Live. Though LYLAS pokes fun at all things locally and globally, their shows have no agenda other than to make people laugh." Shows run Thursdays-Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. nightly, through Sept. 25 at NC Stage. $12 Thursdays, $15 Fridays and Saturdays. lylas.org.
Twelfth Night
Originally this comedy, penned by Shakespeare in the early 1600s, was intended as entertainment during the close of Christmas season. And, fittingly, it's all about drink and dance and having a good time. Of course, this being Asheville, drink/dance/good times is applicable subject matter for all seasons. Montford Park Players wraps its 2010 outdoor season with the show. It runs Fridays-Sundays, 7:30 p.m. nightly, through Sunday, Oct. 3. at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre. Donations accepted. (But if you miss this one, or if you think you just can't wait until spring for the next show, good news: Montford Park Players recently announced an agreement with "the Asheville Masonic Temple, in which its third-floor theatre will become our permanent winter home.") montfordparkplayers.org.
what: N.C. Mountain State Fair
where: WNC Agricultural Center, Fletcher
when: Wednesday, Sept. 15 through Sunday, Sept. 20. (Wednesday – Thursday: 3 p.m. – 11 p.m., Friday & Saturday: 9 a.m. – 12 Midnight, Sunday: 9 a.m. – 11 p.m. $7 Adult, $3 Children 6 – 12 years of age, $3 Senior 65 years and older. More info: 828-687-1414 or www.mountainfair.org/mountain-state-fair/general-information.html)
when: Saturday, Sept. 11 and Sunday, Sept. 12 ($50/$70/$100/$125. Day passes and camping available. ralak.com)
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