Community Calendar

Join us at the Center for Craft for an artist talk with Maggie Thompson (Fond du Lac Ojibwe), whose work explores Indigenous identity, family history, and textile traditions through beadwork, knitting, and other fiber-based practices.

Thompson’s work, Hospital Gown (2025), is featured in the Center's current exhibition, Craft-itarianism: Community Action Through Craft. Created in collaboration with individuals affected by substance abuse, the piece uses glass, plastic beads, and synthetic sinew to transform a familiar medical object into a site of collective making, care, and connection.

This event is presented in partnership with the Museum of the Cherokee People and supported, in part, by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts. Center for Craft is supported, in part, by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Frances Eliza is an Asheville-based singer-songwriter and guitarist whose music seamlessly weaves the emotive storytelling of folk with distinctive, unforgettable melodies. Frances has captured the hearts of audiences across the Southern East Coast over the past decade. With a voice that radiates warmth, some of Frances’ draws inspiration from artists like Joni Mitchell, The Cranberries and Taylor Swift. Frances has released two EPs over the past five years, and her most recent single, 'Nowhere' has only continued to evolve her sound.

Michelle Cassandra Johnson returns to Firestorm for a dynamic conversation with Rev. Marshall K Hammer on the occasion of her newly published book You Are Protected.

Johnson knows firsthand that we can't pour out of an empty cup—that we can't show up fully in our lives, care for others, or hold space for change if we're not strong within. You Are Protected: Invoking Spiritual Support to Sustain Your Energy shares the resources and guidance that are available to protect us at any time. Through this heartfelt book, Johnson helps us recognize and connect with that support, offering a range of potent protection practices and tools—from somatic practices to natural curios.

Michelle will be joined in conversation by Rev. Marshall Hammer for a book discussion, ritual, and Q&A.

“Michelle Cassandra Johnson skillfully reminds us that we all have a right to feel and be protected. If you struggle to meet the chaos of the world with courage and tenderness, then this book is the medicine you need.”—Lama Rod Owens, author of Love and Rage and The New Saints

Michelle Cassandra Johnson is a beloved teacher, activist, and clinical social worker with a background of over two decades of practice. She has led dismantling racism work in many settings and her work centers on healing from individual and collective trauma, coming back into wholeness, and aligning the mind, body, spirit, and heart. She is the author of several books, including Illuminating Our True Nature.

Rev. Marshall K Hammer has served in therapeutic environments for more than 10 years. She is the owner and sole practitioner of Reiki for Today and For Today Ministry, located on the unceded East Cherokee territory known today as Asheville, North Carolina. Her specialty is animal reiki, working with animals in many situations, including anxiety, chronic pain, aging, and those adapting to changing habitats or newly adjusting to losses in the home. In addition to her animal clients, Marshall also performs reiki for people seeking general well-being, energetic balance to complement their recovery, and those who are grieving. She also works with queer folks and those caregiving in their careers or in their personal lives.

Adult skating lessons on Thursday, September 24, 2026, 6–7 p.m. at Smoky Mountain Sk8way & Fun Zone in Waynesville. Ages 18+. Step-by-step group lessons with a certified skate coach. $20 for one lesson or $100 for any six weeks. Skate rental and the following 7–10 p.m. Adult Night are included.

Event information: https://smokymountainsk8way.com/adult-skate-lessons/
Original flyer: https://smokymountainsk8way.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Codex-Image-Sep-1-2026-04_38_00-PM.png
Online ticket shop (general storefront; select your session): https://us.partywirks.com/storefront_express/main/vendor/smoky_mountain_sk8way/407/2681/7573?package=2681

The Jazz Showcase is curated by esteemed pianist, scholar, and UNC Asheville music professor Dr. Bill Bares; this showcase series is dedicated to bringing the region’s finest jazz musicians and most compelling sounds to our stage in a true listening room experience.

Doors: 4 pm // Show: 7 pm

FULL BAND ALBUM RELEASE SHOW: Admiral Radio, the award-winning folk/Americana act from South Carolina, is the creative partnership of Coty Hoover and Becca Smith. Named after their old wooden radio, this husband-and-wife team blends heartfelt harmonies, storytelling, and raw sincerity. Having met while waiting tables in the Lowcountry, their sound is straightforward yet powerful—rooted in tight vocal interplay, finely picked acoustic instruments, and songs that explore the quiet hustle of ordinary life and the dogged optimism that drives it all.

They are excited to bring their full band to Brevard for this special evening of songs and stories to celebrate the release of their new full-length album Heirloom, released on Too Fine Records out of Nashville. From humble beginnings to their growing buzz, Admiral Radio is redefining the folk tradition with every mile down America’s backroads.

Thursday, September 24, 2026, 7–10 p.m.: Adult Night at Smoky Mountain Sk8way & Fun Zone in Waynesville. Ages 18+. $12 admission plus $3 skate rental. All skill levels welcome.

Event information: https://smokymountainsk8way.com/thursday-adult-skate-night/
Original flyer: https://smokymountainsk8way.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-1-2026-11_50_47-AM.png
Online ticket shop (general storefront; select your session): https://us.partywirks.com/storefront_express/main/vendor/smoky_mountain_sk8way/407/2681/7573?package=2681

Tommy Stinson (The Replacements) w/Tin Roof Echo: An Evening of Songs & Stories

– STANDING ROOM ONLY

LET HER FLY…HONORING THE LIFE OF DOLLY PARTON
w/ No Man’s Band, Underhill Rose, Whitney Mongé, Rebekah Todd, Reggie Headen, Fancy, Ménage, and Abigail Lipscomb. Curated by Melissa McKinney

Four couples. One elegant dinner party. A gunshot, a missing host, and a house full of half-truths.