Thursday, Oct. 4
• Get a taste of traditional Native American culture at the 100th annual Cherokee Indian Fair, featuring art, food, rides, dancing, music, stickball and more. Held at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds, Highway 441, through Saturday, Oct. 6. Thurs. and Fri., 8 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m.-midnight.
Friday, Oct. 5
• Browse an abundance of local arts and crafts during this month’s Asheville Art Walk, a self-guided tour of more than 20 galleries displaying a variety of mediums. Comprehensive guides are available for download here. 5-8 p.m. Free.
• “Join us and hear Jan Davidson, executive director of the John C. Campbell Folk School, begin our celebration with thoughts on the role of craft in Western North Carolina and the significance of celebrating American Craft Week in WNC,” invites a website for American Craft Week. In addition to the aforementioned kick-off, events will be hosted at UNCA, Pack Square Park, the Grove Arcade, the Folk Art Center and various downtown galleries. See website for a complete schedule of the weeklong celebration. Kick-off event begins at 6 p.m. at the Haywood Park Hotel Atrium, 1 Battery Park Ave.
• Clingman Cafe, 242 Clingman Ave., hosts an artist reception for Sink or Swim, works by Julie Armbruster, Tiffany Ownbey and Joyce Thornburg, featuring music by Now You See Them‘s Dulci Ellengerger. 5-7 p.m.
• “Formerly known as the Smoky Mountain Juggling Festival, we’re excited to be putting on our second annual juggling festival right here in Asheville, North Carolina,” begins a website for the Asheville Juggling Festival. … And did we mention, it’s FREE!” Friday’s schedule includes a “Renegade Show” at Toy Boat Community Art Space, 101 Fairview Road. “This is open to any and all performers to share whatever they like, whether it’s a new concept or a tried and true favorite. This show is lots of fun, and you never know what you will get. So expect the unexpected, and feel free to join in and bring something to share. As we do not control the content, this show is recommended for adults 18 and above.” 11 p.m. See website for additional performances.
• From a feature in this week’s Xpress, “When Asheville’s Ahleuchatistas released Location Location in 2011 there was an easy explanation as to why it sounded different from the rest of their catalog. The year before, the boundary-obliterating instrumental outfit had diminished from a trio to a duo, drummer Ryan Oslance and guitarist Shane Perlowin soldiering on without bassist Derek Poteat. Whatever new techniques emerged could easily be attributed to the new configuration. This year, the group offers Heads Full of Poison, their seventh full-length and second as a duo, and it sounds as different from Location Location as that record does from the rest of Ahleuchatistas’ output. Location Location is jarring and atmospheric, experimenting with abrasive tones and entrancing dissonance alongside skittering, free jazz-inspired rhythms that are more textural than propulsive. Heads is kinetic and explosive, breakneck and angular guitar melodies fusing with intricate drum patterns to create an all-consuming force. Riveting from end to end, the album proves that this band doesn’t need a lineup change to justify changing course.” Help the duo celebrate the release of its latest offering during a CD release party at The Grey Eagle, 185 Clingman Ave. The Critters and Common Visions open. 9 p.m. $7.
Story by Jordan Lawrence
Saturday, Oct. 6
• Blue Ridge Pride will celebrate the local LGBTQ community with a gathering in Pack Square Park, featuring vendors, workshops and entertainment by Stereofidelics, Cantaria, Amy Steinberg, Steph Mahan, Sonni Shine and the Underwater Sounds and more. Free. Noon-7 p.m.
• Get up close and personal with real life wolfdogs as Full Moon Farm hosts a “Howl-In” open house, featuring tours of the facility and a potluck. Tours begin at 3 p.m. with potluck to follow at 5 p.m. $5 for food. Call for directions: 664-9818.
• Connect with your inner frontiersman as The Cradle of Forestry, Route 276 in Pisgah National Forest, hosts Forest Festival Day and John G. Palmer Intercollegiate Woodsmen’s Meet, featuring traditional craftsmen, exhibitions, a lumberjack competition, wagon rides, archery and more. $6/$3 for children 15 and under/children under four free.
• From the band’s press page, “Roadkill Ghost Choir is an indie folk-rock band from DeLand, Florida. … While the members’ major influences include Wilco, Gram Parsons, Bob Dylan and Fleetwood Mac, there are also undercurrents of Radiohead and Nirvana, lending the band an impish edge with broad appeal.” Catch the sextet this weekend at Jack of the Wood, 95 Patton Ave., with Zoe Muth and the Lost High Rollers. 9 p.m. $5.
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