Arts + Entertainment
Meade returns to Bryson City
Florida-based indie/soul singer-songwriter Shane Meade will perform at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 30, at Mountain Layers Brewing Company in Bryson City.
Hailing from Elkins, West Virginia, Meade is a self-taught late bloomer who borrowed an old guitar from his father.
Relationship is more than just pillow talk
One May evening in Holt, Colorado, septuagenarian and widow Addie Moore makes her way to the home of Louis Waters, a widower also in his 70s. They’ve lived within a block of each other for decades, and Addie had always admired Louis’ wife. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Addie says she has a proposal for Louis.
‘On the Lawn at Yonder’
The “On the Lawn at Yonder” 2026 season will return with legendary singer-songwriter Ed Snodderly at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 24, at Yonder Community Market in Franklin.
A popular annual series featuring some of the finest Americana, bluegrass, folk and alt-country artists in Western North Carolina and greater Southern Appalachia, the gatherings have become a much-anticipated monthly event (May-October).
A spy story worth infiltrating
One of the reasons I love writing book reviews is it keeps me from getting stuck in a loop of predictable reads. While I still read what I enjoy, I learn to enjoy what I read, especially when it isn’t a genre I would’ve picked up on my own. The book this time was a military fiction: Harry Crocker III’s “Kruger’s Korps” (Knox Press, 2026, 224 pages).
‘Conversations with Storytellers’ series
Prominent Latina storyteller Carolina Quiroga will join the “Conversations with Storytellers’ series at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 14, at Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center in Waynesville.
Quiroga delivers bilingual tales designed to bridge cultural gaps, drawing on myths, fables and personal stories. Her work aims to foster empathy and understanding through multicultural narratives.
Making a meal of daily life
“Some historians would say that ‘thinkers’ are behind the ideas and mythologies people live by. I think it also goes back to maize, reindeer, squash, sweet potatoes, and rice.”
— Gary Snyder
If you ever wanted to know what it would be like to live a self-sufficient lifestyle and largely off-the-grid, then “Lambs in Winter” (Bright Leaf Press, 2024, 215 pages) by Alexis Lathem might be the book for you, especially if you are a woman.
Ready for dinner ‘Under the Stars’?
The popular “Under the Stars, On the Rocks” culinary series is currently underway at the Oak Steakhouse at the Skyline Lodge in Highlands.
The events feature renowned chefs from around the southeast on select dates through the fall: May 12, June 9, July 7, Aug. 11, Sept. 8, Oct. 13.
Out on a limb: The Hip Snacks make WNC debut
With its latest album, “Out On A Limb,” Denver, Colorado-based rock-n-soul outfit The Hip Snacks are taking the leap into the national spotlight, a realm the group has quickly been pushing towards through powerful live performances and a keen musicianship guided by guitar prowess and towering vocals.
“The more shows I’ve done, the more comfortable I’ve been and it’s just so much fun now,” said lead singer Kara Durante.
Remembering what it means to be human
Sometimes a book appears which changes the course of our nation’s history and culture.
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” gave a face to slavery and helped bring on the Civil War. Now rarely read, Upton Sinclair’s 1906 novel “The Jungle” exposed the unsanitary conditions of the meatpacking industry and so repulsed the American people that it brought about federal reforms regarding food safety.
