The First Thursday Old-Time and Bluegrass Jam Series will continue at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center on Thursday, Dec. 1, with a concert featuring the duo Whimzik.

The 7 p.m. performance by the husband-and-wife team of Glenn Kastrinos and Kjelsty Hanson will be followed by an 8 p.m. jam session in which local musicians are invited to participate.

Kastrinos and Hanson perform a variety of songs “that connect back to the origins of what is today referred to as old-time music,” said Peter Koch, Mountain Heritage Center educational associate. Originally from Idaho, the couple moved to Cullowhee after living for several years in New Zealand. Kastrinos sings and plays the guitar, flute and tin whistles, while Hanson plays bodhran, the bones and spoons.

The concerts and jam sessions will continue at the Mountain Heritage Center through the winter, with programs from 7 to 9 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month. Other performers scheduled to present concerts are Ric Ledford and the Reems Creek Incident and the New Southern Ramblers.

The events are free and open to everyone. Pickers and singers of all ages and experience levels are invited to take part in the jam sessions, and the events also are open to those who just want to listen.

The Mountain Heritage Center is located on the ground floor of WCU’s H.F. Robinson Administration Building.

828.227.7129.