This weekend on a shoestring

Thursday, Oct. 24

• Downtown’s Fine Arts Theatre, 36 Biltmore Ave., hosts a special one-night showing of Present, directed by local musician and filmmaker Joe Chang. More on the movie from its website, “Daniel Crane (Nesey Gallons) is a semi-famous performance artist traveling and touring around the country, entertaining small enthralled audiences in the living rooms of houses with his awkward and sometimes alienating acts. On Halloween weekend, he finds himself with a few days off in Asheville, N.C., staying with his kid sister, Dorothy (Faith Callaway), who works as a waitress at an old mom and pop diner. When a couple leaves a book at the diner, Dorothy and Daniel decide to revisit the small town where they grew up. Along with Dorothy’s roommate Cassie (Mariana Templin), they set out on a trip to Mount Airy, N.C., discovering the things they once remembered are vanishing, and realizing things they’ve kept inside themselves since childhood never go away.” 7 p.m. Q&A with the filmmakers immediately follows the screening. $7.

• Anam Cara Theatre Company invites poets and songwriters to share original works during an open mic with Amanda DePaola at 203 Haywood Road. The evening also features a 50/50 raffle, cash bar and erotic haiku contest. 8 p.m. 18 and over; free to attend.

• “Join WNCA’s ecologist and public lands director Bob Gale and Lindsay Majer for an evening walk in downtown Asheville to the George Washington Carver Edible Park,” invites a post on WNCA’s website. “This site hosts more than 40 varieties of fruit and nut trees. On a walk through this city park you will find figs, apples, pears, chestnuts, hazelnuts, plums, peaches, grapes and paws paws to name a few. Planted more than 14 years ago, this urban orchard now exhibits mature, fully-fruit bearing trees. On our walk we will discuss the urban forest ecology found in the park. We will also observe the foliage as the leaves will surely be changing colors by then. While visitors are encouraged to enjoy freshly picked produce from the park, they are discouraged from taking more than their fair share.” Trip meets at Pack’s Tavern, 20 S. Spruce St. 5 p.m. Free.

• From a Crystal Antlers Smart Bet in this week’s issue, “This Long Beach, Calif., indie-rock outfit doesn’t have a bio on its website. Or on its Facebook page. So you have to dig around for interviews with publications like American Pancake and Fox+Hound to learn fun facts like bassist/vocalist Jonny Bell has a day job as a contractor, drummer Kevin Stuart paints motorcycles and guitarist Andrew King loves animals. And despite some pretty aggressive rock momentum and sporadic slashes of psychedelica, they didn’t exactly win over the gypsy-punk crowd when they opened for Gogol Bordello earlier this year. That’s OK, because while Bell, Stuart and King’s sound may be inspired by Southern California environs, it’ll also feel right at home in the grit-meets-art-meets-nature of Asheville. They take the stage at The Mothlight in West Asheville on Thursday, Oct. 24. Kovacs and the Polar Bear also performs. 8 p.m., $10/$12.” 701 Haywood Road. Alli Marshall

Friday, Oct. 25

• Making Music and Making a Difference, “an evening of old-time music” to raise funds for the Junior Appalachian Musicians Program, will feature music by George Buckner, Carly May Buckner, Lawrence Dillingham and Chicken Train. Held at First Christian Church of Black Mountain, 201 Blue Ridge Road. 7 p.m. Free.

• From Asheville Playback Theatre‘s Facebook page, “At a playback show, you encounter improvised theater, enhanced by live music. No scripts. No elaborate sets or costumes; the stories that come to life on stage are provided, on the spot, by random audience members. We transform ordinary stories into extraordinary events, always with the intent of giving life to and honoring each unique story. We intend to elicit a sense of the deep value of sharing our stories, openly, with each other in a context of collective acknowledgement and appreciation.” This weekend, the group presents the House(s) of Faith Tour at the Jubilee Garden Room, 101 Patton Ave. 8 p.m. $10/$5 children.

• From the couple’s website, “Nearly a decade after folk-rock duo Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion put out their first album together, the husband-and-wife pair feel like they’ve finally hit their stride on Wassaic Way, a collection of 11 new songs to be released August 6 on Rte 8 Records. ‘This record is a departure from a folk duo,’ Irion says. ‘I think this is the best example we’ve been able to present that shows the many facets of what we can do. There’s loud guitars, there’s soundscapes, there’s a lushness to it, there’s a pop-ness, an edge. But that can be difficult sometimes to bring it all together and present it.’” The duo visits Asheville for a show at Jack of the Wood, 95 Patton Ave. 9 p.m. $10.

Saturday, Oct. 26

• The Asheville Humane Society will host a Howl-o-ween Canine Carnival featuring a pet costume contest, parade, photobooth, face painting and more at the Biltmore Square Mall, 800 Brevard Road, to benefit the shelter. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Free to attend.

• Searching for that elusive LP or your favorite 45 from days of old? The Asheville Music Collectors Show will feature dealers from the Southeast offering thousands of vintage LPs, 45s and CDs at the Sheraton Four Points, 22 Woodfin St. $2. Info: (704) 996-9945.

• From a live review earlier this month, “Celebrating the release of her new six-song EP, Get Bothered, Emily Easterly and her sterling band took to the Lexington Avenue Brewery stage on Saturday night. Sharing the bill with fellow local musician (and Xpress editor), Jaye Bartell, Easterly hosted an extremely satisfying, yet all-too-brief, evening of exquisite song craft. … Simply put: Easterly’s music is just delightful. Loaded with the kinetic, riff-driven energy of ‘90s alt-rock (but never dated), her songs are relentlessly hooky from the jump – so much so in fact that ‘Decent Animal’ and ‘Get Bothered’ (both from the EP) have been on an endless loop in my brain after hearing them only one time.” Easterly plays the newly-opened Mothlight, 701 Haywood Road, with Gold Light and Psalmships. 8 p.m. $7. AJ Donahue