Community Calendar

Karlota Contreras-Koterbay is a Filipinx, Appalachian-based art advocate with extensive background in curatorial practice and art management. She is both gallery director and curator for the Slocumb Galleries at ETSU and its satellite venue in Downtown Johnson City, Tipton Gallery. She has organized numerous exhibits both nationally and abroad, juried regional exhibitions and has lectured in the Philippines, Japan and the United States. Contreras-Koterbay graduated with honors from the University of the Philippines with a B.A. in anthropology and an M.A. in art history.

The “Women and Gender Studies on Wednesdays” series is designed to raise awareness about the research, scholarship and community engagement conducted by those across the gender spectrum at ETSU; to provide a venue where women on campus and in the community can discuss and support each other’s work; and to give students an opportunity to meet faculty who could become mentors for their studies.

For more information, contact Dr. Katrina Heil, interim director of Women’s Studies Gender, and Sexuality Studies at ETSU, at heil@mail.etsu.edu. For disability accommodations, call the ETSU Office of Disability Services at 423-439-8346.

The Toe Cane Beekeepers Association To Hold the Seventh Annual Honey Tasting Contest at Homeplace Brewing and Hog Hollow Wood-Fired Pizza in Burnsville on October 4th.

We need your help and taste buds. What’s the best tasting honey in Mitchell, Avery and Yancey County? You can help us decide.
The Fifth Annual Mayland Black Jar Honey Contest is open to the public and will determine the bees who have produced the best tasting honey from our local area.

Admission is free and open to the public. If you’d like to be an official judge and cast your vote, a $10 donation is suggested.

All honey entered in the contest is judged on taste alone, and entries are wrapped in a black bag covering to allow a blind taste test. It is going to be a fierce competition this year as authentic honey flavors are as unique as wines.

See the club website for rules an entry information:
https://toecanebeekeepers.net/contest/

Contact Martine Miller at martinewm@gmail.com or 843-712-3825 if you have any questions.

The Reece Museum, in partnership with Crafting Blackness: 100 Years Black Craft History of Tennessee Project, invites you to join us for Aundra McCoy’s paper doll-making workshop on Friday, October 6, from 2 - 4pm. Please bring an image of a beloved ancestor to serve as the muse for your spirit doll. McCoy will guide you through the art of assemblage, expanding conceptions of what can function as art material—buttons, shells, earrings, lace, beads, feathers, love notes, newspaper and more. Re-imagine these everyday materials as thoughtful building blocks for your own unique doll that pays homage to the ones that came before us.

Register here for an in-person seat or Zoom link: https://www.etsu.edu/cas/cass/reece/events.php (Suggested donation of $20 to support the Sammie L. Nicely Collection)

Aundra McCoy learned to make dolls and doll clothing as a child. Today, her dolls incorporate both traditional techniques and innovative styles, reflecting her African and Indigenous heritage. Her artistry is sold nationally, and McCoy was owner both of Harbortown Wearable Arts and Wonderful Things, gallery shops that were among the first to sell the work of Black artists in Washington, DC. McCoy was raised in the historic community of Orange Mound, a subdivision of Memphis, TN, founded in 1890 for African Americans. In 2021, McCoy was awarded the title of Master Artist by the Tennessee Arts Commission during an initiative to preserve traditions that are rare or endangered in Tennessee. McCoy says, “Over the last forty years I have taught topics including dollmaking, sewing, beading, mixed media quilting, floor installations, and wearable art. I like to encourage my students to dig deep and express their inner memorabilia. Once they salvage these memories, they become transformed to serve their family and community in understanding the art form. By doing this their personal works become rescued memories that serve as cultural symbols and personal records for future generations.”

This workshop is supported by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation’s American Art Program.

Dig In! Yancey Community Garden invites everyone to celebrate another abundance-filled season of growing and sharing together at the annual Empty Bowls fundraiser on Friday, October 6 from 4 - 7pm at the Burnsville Town Center.

Since 2010, Dig In has been dedicated to growing and sharing fresh food with the community free of charge. Their work is based in the beliefs that everyone has the right to fresh, high quality food they like to eat and that by bringing people together around growing and sharing food, our community becomes stronger. Dig In operates a 2 acre community garden where volunteers and young people learn how to grow food sustainably, coordinates a growing network of collaborative food growing projects in Yancey County, and collaboratively operates food sharing programs that feed 200-500 families weekly during the growing season.

The Empty Bowl fundraiser is Dig In’s largest annual fundraiser. It is a part of an international grassroots movement to raise awareness and mobilize resources towards building food security.

Tickets include a choice of soup, bread, dessert, and a beautiful handcrafted bowl. Soups are prepared by a number of local restaurants, breads and desserts are donated by local community members, and the bowls are made by our region’s talented professional artisans. The empty bowl serves as a lasting invitation to create abundance by supporting a vibrant local food system and practicing community care.

For more information about Dig In or the Empty Bowls event (including how to volunteer or donate bread/desserts or bowls) email us at farmer@diginyancey.org.

Heather Killmeyer, Department of Music Faculty for Oboe, gives an evening recital. This will be held on Friday, October 6, 2023 at 7:30 pm in the Powell Recital Hall of the Martin Center for the Arts. Admission is free and open to the public.

King University invites you to be our guest at the fourth annual KingFest on Saturday, October 7. The event is in conjunction with Family Weekend and includes fall-themed activities, NCAA sporting events, alumni gatherings, delicious food, and more. Families of current students, students, alumni, friends, faculty, staff, and the greater Bristol community are all invited to KingFest. Activities begin at 11:00 a.m. and go throughout the afternoon and evening.

Johnson City Public Library's free, family-friendly Front Porch Concerts feature local bands and are held outdoors on the Library's front steps at 4 p.m. on Sundays in October.

October 8: Demon Waffle
October 15: Daniel Byrd's Boogie Machine
October 22: Alexis Wax

In the event of bad weather, concerts will move inside the Library. Call Adult Services at (423) 434-4454 for more information.

Adults 18 and older are invited to join a spooky storytelling tour of downtown Johnson City. The group will make stops throughout downtown to hear storytellers recount tales of folklore, paranormal happenings, and frightful local legends. The tour will depart from the Library's Jones Meeting Center at 6 p.m. and end back at the Library around 7:30 p.m. Registration is required at jcpl.org.

This bi-weekly sharing circle is open to poets of all levels. Participants are encouraged to share their poetry in a friendly, constructive, and welcoming atmosphere. Attendees often discuss poetic themes, share resources and book recommendations, and discuss local poetry-related events. Occasionally, the group will offer a prompt for inspiration or have free writing time together. Contact facilitator for more information.

Location: Meditation/classroom, 2nd floor

Materials Required: Writing notebook or laptop/tablet.

Cost: $5.00 donation to teahouse at tea counter OR drink/food purchases encouraged.

Advance Registration or Drop-in: Advance registration preferred. See instructor contact below for registration. Drop-ins welcome.

Instructor contact information: Kayla Nichols at 423-571-2949, nichols.kmichelle@gmail.com

Johnson City Public Library's free, family-friendly Front Porch Concerts feature local bands and are held outdoors on the Library's front steps at 4 p.m. on Sundays in October.

October 8: Demon Waffle
October 15: Daniel Byrd's Boogie Machine
October 22: Alexis Wax

In the event of bad weather, concerts will move inside the Library. Call Adult Services at (423) 434-4454 for more information.