Thursday, Oct. 21
• Broomstars guitarist Jeff Santiago makes a free solo appearance at Pisgah Brewing Company (150 Eastside Drive, Black Mountain, 669-0190). According to his website, “Santiago writes about the need we all share — the need to expand our life experiences. To give ourselves the chance to become more than what we are or might imagine for ourselves. The need to open up to each other, embrace the vulnerable along the great adventure called life.” 8 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 22
• Pisgah’s Cradle of Forestry (877-3130) presents The Legend of Tommy Hodges, an interactive play that leads participants along a one-mile hike as the drama unfolds. “It was Halloween night in 1906 when one of the students from the Biltmore Forest School disappeared. His name was Tommy Hodges. The man with the gun was Old Man Lindsey,” reads a press release. “A guide will lead the audience around the paved Biltmore Campus Trail at the Cradle of Forestry to find out what happened that Halloween night. As the audience members approach each historic cabin in the forest, they will meet characters who lived in the Pink Beds area at that time. For instance they may meet Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck, founder of the Biltmore Forest School, Mrs. Gillespie, wife of the head ranger or even students from the forestry school. This is the 15th year the play has been offered, each year presenting a different twist to the tale.” Most suited for ages six and up. Audience members are encouraged to dress warm and bring a flashlight. Hot cider and cookies will be served after each show. 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. $6/$3 for youth 15 and under.
• Firestorm Cafe (48 Commerce St., 255-8115) hosts Portland’s Heartroot, the folk project of multi-instrumentalists Eric McEuen and Mindy Dillard. “Together as Heartroot, they combine musical sophistication, harmony vocals, and extensive musical knowledge,” says the band’s bio. 8:30 p.m.
• The Jake Leg Stompers perform “pre-war roots music on period instruments in lively, authentic styles,” says their website. “Drawing on decades of historical research, the Jake Leg Stompers design their musical arrangements not simply to replicate old sonorities, but to evoke the very moods and atmospheres of musical experience before the dawn of the Second World War.” Catch them at Jack of the Wood (95 Patton Ave., 252-5445). 9:30 p.m.
• Embrace your dark side as thrash-metal outfit Shadow of the Destroyer shreds its way through titles like “Funeral Dust,” Storm of the Reaper” and “Into the Black Tombs of Silence” at The Get Down (1045 Haywood Rd., 505-8388). MegaHurtz opens. 10 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 23
• The Asheville Puppetry Alliance — a non-profit organization “established to celebrate puppetry, an art form that is ancient, contemporary, ever evolving and enjoyed by all ages in all cultures” — presents the Tanglewood Marionettes’ performance of The Dragon King, a family-friendly tale of Chinese folklore. Diana Wortham Theater (2 S. Pack Square, 257-4530). 11 a.m. $7.
• The WNC Nature Center (75 Gashes Creek Rd., 298-5600) invites you to “come visit our 43-acres during the cool of the evening” during its annual Howl-O-Ween party. “Our creatures of the darkness will be on display in the Creepy Crawler Cabin along with some fabulously large pythons, boas and lizards with the Southern Appalachian Herpetological Society members! The club will be holding a raffle for a corn snake and a Bearded dragon with proceeds going to the WNCNC’s Veterinarian Clinic. Learn about skulls, bats, nocturnal creatures and our native wildlife through programs and enrichment presentations on the hour starting at 1:00pm. We will enhance your visit with our arts & crafts, hot dogs, hot cider and chocolate, baked goods, and treats for the kids, as well as two performances by the Mountain Marionettes at 7:00 and 7:40 p.m. Our costume contest for all ages will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the barn, so come dressed for the occasion!” 1-8 p.m. $6 for Asheville city residents.
• Chelsea Lynn LaBate brings her haunting voice and timeless melodies to Craggie Brewing Company (197 Hillard Ave., 254-0360) for a free show under the Ten Cent Poetry moniker. “I am a breathing, dreaming, music making, song warrior,” says the band’s website. “I have stripped away all distraction and static and have committed myself fully to generating SONG, to taking to the Great Road, to carrying the torch of lyric widdlers, to discovering the hidden pockets of this world and exchanging intimate moments with the well known and the passing.” 6-8 p.m. Free.
• Asheville soul revivalists WestSound get Halloween started early with their annual masquerade party and costume contest at The Boiler Room. 8 p.m. $10 for couples.
• The Trillionaire Art Show opens for one night only at Mo Daddy’s (77 Biltmore Ave., 258-1550) featuring “work from regionally acclaimed artists Anson Cyr, Nate Phelps, Ted Harper, Colby Rabon, Ishmael, and El Kamino,” according to the event’s website. “The artists have deep roots in street art and are also breaking through to the contemporary side. The work featured will reflect the balance between the two worlds.” Festivities will also include a DJ set and dance party. Say organizers, “This meeting of the minds is sure not to disappoint.” 9 p.m. $5.
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