28 minute read
At the End of the Rainbow: A conversation with Sierra Ferrell
At the End of the Rainbow
Want to go?
Rising singer-songwriter Sierra Ferrell will hit the stage at 8 p.m. Friday, April 22, at The Orange Peel in Asheville.
Timbo will open the performance. Tickets are $20 in advance, $22 day of show. The concert is ages 18 and up.
For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to theorangepeel.net and click on the “Shows” tab. For more on Ferrell, go to sierraferrellmusic.com.
Sierra Ferrell.
A conversation with Sierra Ferrell
BY GARRET K. WOODWARD ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Musician extraordinaire. Freelance sniper. Dancer.
Those are the occupations listed by rising singer-songwriter Sierra Ferrell. Sitting in the dimly lit backstage area at the Albino Skunk Music Festival in rural Upstate South Carolina, she leans back into her chair and puts her boot up on the bottom rung of the nearby porch railing.
With a voice as timeless as it is mesmerizing, the West Virginia-raised songbird is a haunting presence, this staggering blend of old-time folk, blues, jazz and country music.
And it’s her distinct voice that’s become the talk of Nashville, the town she currently calls home, more so since she signed with Rounder Records — a storied label that isn’t looking for a “flash in the pan” act, but actual artists to develop for decades to come.
In person, Ferrell is this whirlwind of curiosity and passion. It’s almost as if she’s more intrigued by those in the audience than they are in awe of her once-in-a-generation talent. It isn’t that she’s unaware of her prowess, Ferrell simply doesn’t take any moment, interaction or gig for granted — for it’s all a dream we dream, don’t you know?
For someone who bounced around America in her formative years, homeless and living out of her van while busking and honing her craft, Ferrell seems to just be happy to be along for the ride — this continuing trajectory upward and towards the unknown melodic horizon of unlimited possibility.
Smoky Mountain News: Aside from the chaos of everything during the shutdown, what was your big takeaway, as an artist and as a human being?
Sierra Ferrell: Well, I would say, as an artist, I was really prepared to just get on the road [in 2020]. Because, when you’re touring, it’s definitely a state of mind. You have to be prepared or it’ll eat you up. I had already wired myself to be prepared, to be traveling and be on the road.
Then, of course, Covid put a wrench in the tire and I just had to figure it out. I had some really bad anxiety in the beginning, the uncertainty. A positive thing I took away from it, is that I have a bunch of new songs, so that makes me happy. I’ve been working on some new stuff and I have a different band right now — to try something different.
SMN: You were on this fast trajectory and then everything was paused. Did you look at that pause as an opportunity to reevaluate what you want out of this?
SF: I definitely know I’m going to be playing music until the day I die.
SMN: So, that’s solidified?
SF: Yeah. I’m going to be doing that no matter what. And if I can go along and other people do the marketing stuff for me? Awesome.
SMN: What do you think about the fact everyone is focusing on you all of a sudden? Does that affect your personal expectations? How do you deal with that?
SF: I just go with it and hope I don’t get too weird. [Laughs] But, it is heavy. And, you know, I do suffer from some mental instabilities. I’m sure everyone does. But, I’m super aware of it. It’s something people need to talk about more because mental health is so important. Like, I feel like a lot of kids aren’t told they should exercise more.
SMN: Or admit it.
SF: Or admit it. Or admit that you’re wrong, especially Americans. It was pretty eye-opening. I’ve never really made as much money as what I have been making since I have this [marketing] team and stuff. And I’m definitely aware, especially being an addict as I have been before in the past, [now] having all this money at my disposal.
I mean, I’m just going to keep doing my thing. I hope I get to keep working with amazing musicians, because I feel they’ve opened that door for me.
SMN: Is your lack of an online presence on purpose?
SF: You know, I’ve never really liked the internet. We’re not supposed to experience [all of] that. We’re not supposed to be connected to 20 million people. We’re supposed to be interacting hands on, communicating [face-to-face].
The internet pisses me off, to be honest. I just get frustrated with it and I can’t work it. Of course, these days I’ve progressed. I do love Instagram now, that kind of started when I first moved to Nashville, to document things.
SMN: Do you have other expectations?
SF: You know, I just want to be able to do good and finally get to be around my mom, take her somewhere nice. She’s in West Virginia.
The one thing that I really do love about West Virginia? I lived in the Charleston area a lot, and I love that it’s a river town and it’s all tucked away. You’re always surrounded by these rolling hills. There’s always a hill. You feel cradled. You feel safe. And there’s this river.
Then, I started hobo-ing it up. [Laughs] I just wanted to see America. And I learned a lot. I learned about what I need, what I didn’t need.
Now I have a [home and] a garden [in Nashville]. I love spending time alone. And I love spending time with the people I choose to be around me. I have to maintain this — for my mental health and for me to progress forward. I’m in a really good place.
BY GARRET K. WOODWARD
Hopping out of the 15-foot U-Haul truck last week, I reached for the gas pump and began fueling up the thirsty vehicle. It was Hieb’s Cenex gas station on Route 248 between the small town of Reliance, South Dakota (population: 128), and the bustling Interstate 90.
There isn’t really much of anything ‘round these parts. Vast, empty farmland and high desert prairie as far as the eye can see. Reliance is right smack dab in the middle of the state, somewhat equidistant from Rapid City to the west and Sioux Falls to the east — one city a gateway to the Rockies, the other a doorstep to the Midwest.
I’ve always been a rambler. It’s in my blood, more so at the core of my being, which is why when I find myself in off-the-beaten-path dots on the map like Reliance, where I can’t help but be in absolute awe and curiosity about such places and the faces that inhabit these fringe communities.
I can’t help but wonder how different my life would be if I grew up here, perhaps ended up here in some wondrous, happenstance situation of time and place. Hell, maybe I’d still end up here in Western North Carolina working for a newspaper in some roundabout way. Who knows? That’s the beauty of life, right?
I mean, my small Canadian Border hometown of Rouses Point, New York, sparked whatever ramblin’ fever is still raging deeply within my heart and soul. Even as a young kid, I was never home. I’d be on my bicycle — somewhere, anywhere — in search of adventure around whatever corner or down whatever road I’d yet to explore.
Once I got my driver’s license, I was hellbent on leaving everything in Rouses Point in the rearview mirror, the nose of my rusted 1989 Toyota Camry aimed down whatever backroad, highway or byway I’d come across. Where does that route go to? Where does it pop out into? Who lives in those towns? What mischief might I conjure and manifest with my constant need for human interaction and new experiences?
Luckily, that sense of mischief and curiosity parlayed itself into a bountiful (thus far) 16-year career as a writer and journalist, one where my truck is rarely parked outside my humble abode in downtown Waynesville, where once the weather gets nice, I’ll spend more nights sleeping in hotels, camping tents and the backseat of my pickup instead of the comforts of my bed and Sealy queen mattress back in the apartment.
Thus, as I’ve mentioned recently, I jumped on the opportunity two weeks ago to help my Aunt Chrissy relocate from Bozeman, Montana, back to Charlotte where her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughters reside. Though it was an arduous task to pack up the big U-Haul — physically and emotionally — for just the two of us, it was also incredibly cathartic.
You see, last June, her son (my cousin Nate) passed away unexpectedly at age 42. Though his health had been deteriorating for several years at that point, it was still a shock when you finally get that phone call you’ve been dreading for many moons. Right after the funeral in Rouses Point, my Aunt Chrissy went immediately back to Bozeman, back to work in her office, and back to some weird sense of normalcy.
“You know, I never really had any time to mourn his death,” Aunt Chrissy turned and said to me over beers the other day in the Sun Lounge at the Days Inn on the outskirts of Rapid City, South Dakota. “I buried him and went back to Montana and went back to my life, never having the time to stop and actually mourn the passing of my son.”
Suffice to say, this cross-country caravan trek of the U-Haul and her Volkswagen Tiguan was a cleansing of sorts for not only my aunt, but also me, too. Though I’ve dealt with death and the passing of loved ones a lot in my past, and have to come to terms with “it all,” Nate leaving us was such a heavy blow, where time kind of slowed down a little bit in those first few days after I received that phone call from my little sister that his landlord had found him unresponsive in his tiny rented motel room in Rouses Point.
Throughout that 2,120-mile road trip from Bozeman to Charlotte, I did a lot of thinking. Endless hours of simply getting
A dirt road outside Reliance, South Dakota.
(photo: Garret K. Woodward) 1 The “Easter Hat Parade” will return to the streets at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 16, in downtown Dillsboro.
2Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host Shane Meade (soul/indie) at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 16.
3Local author Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle will be discussing her award-winning book, “Even As We Breathe,” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14, in the Community Room at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva.
4Boojum Brewing (Waynesville) will host In Flight (rock/jam) at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 16.
5The annual “Teen Poetry Night,” an open-mic event for high schoolage poets and poetry lovers, will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, April 18, at the Rathskeller Coffee Haus in Franklin.
lost in thought about nothing and everything. Looking out this large U-Haul windshield onto the mountains of Montana and Wyoming, onward through the Black Hills of South Dakota, the cornfields of Iowa and Missouri, the streaming traffic of St. Louis, Nashville and Charlotte.
Visions and memories dancing across the dashboard. Former lovers — I wondered where they were these days and hoped that they’re happy and found what they were ultimately seeking. Old friends not seen in years, dearly missed as both sides of the friendship hold closely the shenanigans of youth and all that resides in the name of irresponsible enlightenment.
Ah, the road to the “here and now,” eh? The meandering of people and things, miles ticking away on the odometer of my pickup truck and of my heart in the grand scheme of things. Visions across the dashboard of who I was, where I was, and what I was seeking along my own path.
I think of that little kid riding his bike through Rouses Point to destinations unknown, and the teenager in a beat-up Camry cruising the backroads of the Northern Tier of Upstate New York.
And then there’s the 20-year-old music freak on his first solo road trip from college in Connecticut to the Bonnaroo music festival in Tennessee, all while carrying a fresh copy of Kerouac’s seminal novel “On the Road” that ignited this ongoing journey of hard pavement and dirt roads through the lens of the written word.
Fuel up the thirsty U-Haul in Reliance, South Dakota. Grab some water and snacks in the gas station. Look at the face in the bathroom mirror. I’m 37 now, but the urge for the open road, for restless thoughts and dashboard visions, and the surprises that lie just beyond the horizon are just too good to pass up — and will forever remain so.
Life is beautiful, grasp for it, y’all.
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Local pricing available! Visit our website for details and to register.
Harrah’s welcomes Blackberry Smoke
Southern rock juggernaut Blackberry Smoke will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 23, at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort.
Since their debut in 2004, the Atlanta, Georgia-based band has independently released six full-length albums and toured relentlessly, building a strong and loyal community of fans. The band has also had unparalleled success with sales of each of their last albums.
In 2015, Blackberry Smoke released “Holding All the Roses,” which was the first independently-released record to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Country album charts in modern history. “Like An Arrow” followed in 2016, again putting them at No. 1.
Most recently, in 2019, Blackberry Smoke released “Homecoming: Live in Atlanta,” a recorded performance from their annual show in the band’s hometown. It also debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Americana/Folk sales charts.
Tickets start at $47.50 per person. For tickets, caesars.com/harrahs-cherokee.
Blackberry Smoke.
April 13-19, 2022 Rock, jam at Boojum
Asheville prog-rock group In Flight will hit the stage at 9 p.m. Saturday, April 16, at The Gem downstairs taproom at Boojum Brewing in Waynesville.
Free and open to the public. 828.246.0350 or boojumbrewing.com.
In Flight.
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Celebrating the life of the late Erica Waldrop, the 2nd annual “YerkFest” will be held from 5-11 p.m. Saturday, April 23, at the Innovation Station and Quirky Birds Tree House & Bistro in Dillsboro.
The showcase will directly follow the culmination of the “Greening Up The Mountains” festival. Live music at “YerkFest” will be provided by Ol’ Dirty Bathtub (Americana/bluegrass), PMA (reggae/soul), Prophets of Time and Panthertown.
Waldrop passed away in a tragic car accident in January 2021. She was a friend to many in Sylva and greater Jackson County. A shoulder to lean on. A smile to brighten your day.
Waldrop was many things to many people. Of note, she was a social justice warrior who stood proudly at any and all community marches, most recently the Black Lives Matter and Confederate statue gatherings in front of the Sylva fountain.
She was also a helping hand and the life of the party. If you were passionate not only about life, but what you wanted out of it, she was right there to amplify those aspirations into the universe. She never met a stranger, and was always connecting the dots of people, places and things with-
Erica Waldrop.
(photo: Quintin Ellison) in any social setting. “Yerkfest” is free and open to the public. Donations will also be accepted for the Erica S. Waldrop Scholarship, which is given to a graduate student at Western Carolina University who is in the speech language pathology program.
Bryson City community jam
A community jam will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 21, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.
Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer, anything unplugged, are invited to join. Singers are also welcomed to join in or you can just stop by and listen. The jam is facilitated by Larry Barnett of the Sawmill Creek Porch Band.
The community jams offer a chance for musicians of all ages and levels of ability to share music they have learned over the years or learn old-time mountain songs. The music jams are offered to the public each first and third Thursday of the month — spring, summer, fall.
This program received support from the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment of the Arts. 828.488.3030.
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• Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva) will host an open mic from 8-10 p.m. every Thursday.
Free and open to the public. 828.631.1987 or balsamfallsbrewing.com.
• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host a semi-regular acoustic jam with the Main
Street NoTones from 7-9 p.m. on Thursdays.
Free and open to the public. For more information, click on blueridgebeerhub.com.
• Boojum Brewing (Waynesville) will host karaoke at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, trivia at 7 p.m. on Thursdays and In Flight (rock/jam) April 16. All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 828.246.0350 or boojumbrewing.com.
• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host Nathan Hefner (piano/vocals) April 16 and Cynthia McDermott (mandolin/vocals)
April 23. All shows begin at 7 p.m. Limited seating. Reservations are highly recommended. 828.452.6000 or classicwineseller.com.
• Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.369.4080 or coweeschool.org.
• Currahee Brewing (Franklin) will host
Rachel Bellavance 7 p.m. April 16. Free and open to the public. 828.634.0078 or curraheebrew.com.
• Elevated Mountain Distilling Company (Maggie Valley) will host an Open Mic Night 7-9 p.m. on Wednesdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.734.1084 or elevatedmountain.com.
• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host
Kind, Clean Gentlemen April 15, Buffalo
Kings April 22 and Shane Meade & The
Sound (rock/soul) April 23. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.454.5664 or froglevelbrewing.com.
• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort (Cherokee) will host Blackberry Smoke (southern rock) 7:30 p.m. April 23. For tickets, caesars.com/harrahs-cherokee.
• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will host David
Potter April 14 and Rossdafareye April 21. All events begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.
• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host
Trippin’ Hardie Boys 7 p.m. April 22 and
“Yerkfest” w/Ol’ Dirty Bathtub, PMA,
Prophets of Time and Panthertown starting at 5 p.m. April 23. All events are free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com. of the AT Fest at 6 p.m. April 22. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.
• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host an “Old
Time Jam” 6:30 p.m. April 14 and Dustin
Martin (singer-songwriter) 8 p.m. April 15.
All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.
• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host Aly Jordan (singer-songwriter) April 15, Shane Meade (soul/indie) April 16, Steve Heffker April 22, Twelfth Fret (Americana)
April 23 and George Ausman (singer-songwriter) 5 p.m. April 24. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.538.0115 or mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.
• Nantahala Brewing (Sylva) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 828.641.9797 or nantahalabrewing.com.
• Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public. rathskellerfranklin.com.
• The Scotsman (Waynesville) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 9 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.246.6292 or scotsmanpublic.com.
• Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing
Arts (Franklin) will host Cory Asbury (singersongwriter/worship leader) at 7:30 p.m. April 23. Tickets start at $17. smokymountainarts.com.
• Southern Porch (Canton) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.492.8009 or southern-porch.com.
• The Ugly Dog Pub (Cashiers) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. 828.743.3000 or theuglydogpub.com.
• Unplugged Pub (Bryson City) will host Steve
Hefler (singer-songwriter) April 14, Brian
Ashley Jones (singer-songwriter) April 15 and
Outlaw Whiskey (southern/classic rock) April 16. All shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.538.2488.
• Valley Tavern (Maggie Valley) will host Keil
Nathan Smith (singer-songwriter) 6:30 p.m.
April 21. Free and open to the public. 828.926.7440 or valley-tavern.com.
ALSO:
Robin Arramae of WNC Paint Events brings you “Paint & Sip” events West of Asheville. It’s not only a “night out,” but an experience that should lift your spirits.
Join others as Arramae shows you stepby-step how to paint a beginner level painting of the evening as you sip on your favorite local craft beer. She has everything you need to paint with: set up, grab a beer, tie on your apron and start painting.
The encouragement to let everything go into your canvas, fill it up, and not to worry about how it turns out is the mission. Arramae coins this paint style as “Lucid Flow.” This is a two-hour event, and you leave with your painting.
Anyone 21 and up are welcome.
Events will be held at the following locations once a month: 828 Market on Main (Waynesville), Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva), BearWaters Brewing (Canton), Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) and the Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub (Franklin).
Please visit Arramae’s website to sign up. For more information, click on wncpaint.events. Contact the website about setting up a private event: any age, minimum six/maximum 25 attendees.
For live social feed and pictures, follow her on Instagram & Facebook “WNC Paint Events”: @paintwnc (Facebook), @wnc_paint_events (Instagram).
Space is limited at each event. Drinks sold separately.
Macon County art scholarship
The Arts Council of Macon County will accept applications through Sunday, May 15, for its annual $1,000 Arts Scholarship.
Guidelines and application forms are available from any Macon County high school guidance office, online at artscouncilofmacon.org, and from the Arts Council office.
Macon County residents of all ages wishing to pursue a college degree in the performing, literary, visual/graphic arts, or arts education may apply. Applicants must submit to an in-person interview the afternoon of Thursday, May 26.
The recipient is chosen on the basis of talent, commitment, career aspirations, and financial need. The scholarship was established in 1988 to help talented and deserving Macon County residents prepare for a career in the arts.
For more information contact any high school guidance office or the Arts Council, 828.524.ARTS or arts4all@dnet.net. • “Thursday Painters” group will be held from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Thursdays at The
Uptown Gallery in Franklin. Free and open to the public. All skill levels and mediums are welcome. Participants are responsible for their own project and a bag lunch. For more information, call 828.349.4607 or contact Pat Mennenger at pm14034@yahoo.com. franklinuptowngallery.com.
• A “Foreign Film Series” will be held at the
Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Each month, on the ALSO: second and fourth Friday, two movies from around the globe will be shown. This program is in the
Community Room and is free of charge.
Masks are required in all Jackson County buildings. To find out what movie will be shown and/or for more information, please call the library at 828.586.2016. This event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the
Jackson County Public Library. The Jackson
County Public Library is a member of
Fontana Regional Library. fontanalib.org.
On the street Come out to Darnell Farms’ ‘Eggstravaganza’
Darnell Farms in Bryson City will be hosting its fourth annual Eggstravaganza Easter event from 10a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, April 16.
The event will feature plenty of Easter themed activities and vendors, as well as a host of food trucks, including their own “chuck wagon.” Of course, there will also be an Easter egg hunt with 30,000 eggs, as well as a search for the Easter Bunny. There will also be opportunities to fish along the river that runs through the farm and possibly a chance to pick strawberries, depending on their ripeness.
Co-owner Afton 30,000 eggs will be Darnell Roberts hidden across the said prizes will be handed out, as well. 60-acre farm.
“It’s mainly prizes to get kids outdoors,” Roberts said. “We’re not going to get to prizes that will get them to just stay indoors.”
Roberts added that they’ll have inflatable toys and a photo booth, as well.
Dillsboro ‘Easter Hat Parade’
A beloved Western North Carolina tradition, the “Easter Hat Parade” will return to the streets at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 16, in downtown Dillsboro.
Bring your finest Easter bonnet and dress up the smiles on everyone’s face by joining in and walking in the parade. And if you do not participate in the parade, you can simply do as hundreds of others do: come to Dillsboro and watch the array of folks strolling “down the avenue” in their finery.
Registration for the parade starts at 11 a.m. The prizes for the hat contest are simple and mostly handmade. The categories are ever-changing, but include the largest, smallest, most outrageous, best use of fresh flowers, hat that traveled the farthest, youngest and, of course, best dog.
For more information, call 828.586.2155 or click on mountainlovers.com.
Easter Hat Parade.
• The “Factory Easter Egg Hunt” will be held from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. April 15-16 at The
Factory in Franklin. Over 5,000 eggs and prizes. For more information on admission and activities, click on franklinfun.com.
• The “Eggstravaganza” will be held from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, April 16, at Darnell
Farms in Bryson City. Easter-themed activities, vendors, fresh produce, food, an egg hunt, and a search for the Easter Bunny.
Darnellfarms.com.
• The “Bunny Hopper Express Train Event” will be held from 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
Saturday, April 16, at the Great Smoky
Mountains Railroad depot in Bryson City.
Passengers will be on the lookout for those train hopping bunnies who have snuck on board to take a free ride. Festivities include an Easter egg hunt with prizes, a giveaway bag with activities to enjoy during the train ride and an Easter treat for our junior railroaders to enjoy. There will also be plenty of opportunities for pictures with our bunny hoppers, so don’t forget your camera. Boxed lunches available. For more information, click on gsmr.com or call 800.872.4681.
• Mountain Makers Craft Market will be held from noon to 4 p.m. the first Sunday of each month at 308 North Haywood Street in downtown Waynesville. Over two dozen artisans selling handmade and vintage goods.
Special events will be held when scheduled. mountainmakersmarket.com.
ALSO:
Downtown Sylva.
Featuring an array of local/regional artisans, crafters and musicians, the annual “Greening Up The Mountains” festival will be held from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, April 23, in Sylva.
The premiere spring festival for Western North Carolina, the event attracts thousands of visitors and locals alike. Sponsored by the Town of Sylva, the festivities will once again take place in historical downtown Sylva.
Hitting the stage at Bridge Park, live music will be provided by The Maggie Valley Band (10-10:45 a.m.), The Summit Church Band (11-11:45 a.m.), PMA (noon-12:45 p.m.), Shane Meade & The Sound (1-1:45 p.m.), Ol’ Dirty Bathtub (2-2:45 p.m.) and Darren & The Buttered Toast (3-4 p.m.).
For more information, click on greeningupthemountains.com.
‘Ancient Philosophies of Life’ lecture
May is the Class of 1941 Memorial Professor of the Humanities at Clemson University. He is the author of 16 books of philosophy and was an advisor to the philosophical sitcom “The Good Place.” He is a collaborator with “The Good Place” showrunner Mike Schur on a book of ethics, “How To Be Perfect.”
“For ancient Greek and Roman thinkers, the central philosophical question is: What is the best life for a human being? How should one live? Of course, they gave very different answers,” May said. “Over the three weeks of this program, we will discuss each of these answers, seeking to understand and engage with them together.”
The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, please call the library at 828.586.2016. This seminar is cosponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library.
The JCPL is a member of Fontana Regional Library (fontanalib.org).
Presented by the Women of Waynesville (WOW), the “Manly Man v. Wonder Women” auction will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, April 23, at Elevated Mountain Distilling Company in Maggie Valley.
WOW is bringing its “Manly Men” and “Wonder Women” together for one big event to raise money for the Lynda Chovan Memorial Scholarship Fund. Let’s see who can raise the most money to send young women to college.
A beloved local nonprofit organization, the mission of WOW is to provide an outlet for women in the community to join forces with the purpose and collective passion of supporting the needs of women and children in Haywood County.
For more information, click on womenofwaynesville.org.
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A stage production of the beloved tale “Alice in Wonderland” will be held on select dates throughout this spring at the Mountainside Theatre in Cherokee.
The beloved venue will host the world premiere of “Alice in Wonderland” stage show, written by The Guinn Twins, Darby and Jake Guinn. The production is an original work by Havoc Movement Company that will be joining the Cherokee Historical Association for the spring season.
Directed by Jason Paul Tate, a long-time veteran of outdoor drama, the show features the spectacle driven, heartfelt storytelling audiences have come to expect from Havoc Movement.
Alice’s days on the mountain in Cherokee have lacked adventure lately. Bored with her book, she runs away from her sister to chase a strange white rabbit, who leads her to a world somewhat familiar and yet peculiarly askew.
As she travels further down the rabbit hole, she encounters the customary characters (with an Appalachian twist) and finds herself at odds with the rules of Wonderland. She makes both friends and enemies while her problems grow and shrink within this epic journey to the heart of her imagination.
For more information and/or to purchase tickets, click on cherokeehistorical.org/alicein-wonderland.
• The Haywood Arts Regional Theater in
Waynesville is currently offering a wide variety of classes in the ALSO: theater arts for all ages, young and old. Whether you are just starting out or want to hone your skills, HART has opportunities for you. For more information, contact HART Artistic Director Candice
Dickinson at 646.647.4546 or email candice@harttheatre.org.
On the table
• “Flights & Bites” will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Bosu’s
Wine Shop in downtown Waynesville. For more information on upcoming events, wine tastings and special dinners, click on waynesvillewine.com.
• A free wine tasting will be held from 6-8 p.m. every Thursday and 2-5 p.m. every
Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075. and Saturdays at the Bryson City Wine Market. Enjoy new wines, meats, cheeses and yummy snacks, all while making new friends or hanging out with old ones. For more information, call 828.538.0420.
• “Uncorked: Wine & Rail Pairing Experience” will be held from 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. on select dates at the Great Smoky Mountains
Railroad in Bryson City. Full service all-adult first-class car. Wine pairings with a meal, and more. For more information, call 800.872.4681 or click on gsmr.com.
