Close to town

• Difficulty: 🥾
• Length: Various mileage
• Wheelchair accessible: No
• Pet-friendly: Yes, on leash

Blue Ridge Parkway and Pisgah National Forest

• Difficulty: 🥾🥾
• Length: 4.5 mile out-and-back
• Wheelchair accessible: No
• Pet-friendly: Yes, on leash

Mount Mitchell State Park

• Difficulty: 🥾
• Length: 0.4 mile out-and-back
• Wheelchair accessible: Yes, possibly with assistance
• Pet-friendly: Yes, on leash

• Recreate Asheville Community Workshop | Thursday, Oct. 5 | 5-7 p.m. | WNC Nature Center, 75 Gashes Creek Rd., Asheville | Free | Provide your feedback to help Asheville Parks & Recreation create a long-term vision for its programs and parkland — transit vouchers are available.
• Peter & the Starcatcher | Thursday, Oct. 5-Saturday, Oct. 7 | Times vary | Asheville Christian Academy, 74 Riverwood Rd., Swannanoa | $10-$15 | Mermaid and pirates abound in this family-friendly adventure following a boy who becomes Peter Pan.

• 3rd Annual Cellar Fest | Friday, Oct. 6-Sunday, Oct. 8 | Times vary | Cellarest Beer Project, 395 Haywood Rd., Asheville | Free | Three days of seasonal releases, rare bottles, delicious food, and live music.
• Woods & Wilds | Friday, Oct. 6 | 7-11 p.m. | One World Brewing West, 520 Haywood Rd., Asheville | $5-$20 | Dogwood Alliance is celebrating forests and community with seven live storytellers and tunes from The Alien Music Club.

• Art Break: Silver Iocovozzi | Saturday, Oct. 7 | 4-5 p.m. | Asheville Art Museum, 2 S. Pack Square, Asheville | Free | Join the chef-owner of Neng Jr.'s for an informal gallery talk about works in the Art of Food exhibition.
• Beer & BBQ with the Builder | Saturday, Oct. 7 | 4:30-7:30 p.m. | Atelier Maison & Co., 121 Sweeten Creek Rd., Ste. 50, Asheville | $5-$13 | Interested in learning more about building a home in Western NC? Mingle with design + build professionals and enjoy BBQ and craft beers in the outdoor space at Atelier Maison & Co.*

• Frankenbash at White Labs Brewing Co. | Friday, Oct. 13 | 6-9 p.m. | White Labs Brewing Company, 172 S. Charlotte St., Asheville | Free | Enjoy a spine-tingling evening of dancing, tarot card reading, a costume contest + the resurrection of one of White Labs’ all-time favorites drinks: Frankenstout.*

• Cold Mountain Release Weekend | Thursday, Nov. 9-Saturday, Nov. 11 | Times vary | Highland Brewing, 12 Old Charlotte Highway, Asheville | $10-$20 | Celebrate the release of Highland’s Cold Mountain Winter Ale release with a weekend-long event that includes a dinner, live music, small batch releases + more.*

• Home 1: Tulip Poplar Modern by Ward Enterprises & Ventures LLC in Olivette
• Home 15: Rippling Water by Featured Builder, Red Tree Builders
• Featured Community Asheville West — Stop by for a Block Party both weekends.

• The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners has approved an additional $6.1 million in education spending, with most of the funding going toward teacher pay raises. Around 1,000 local educators will receive a 2% raise on top of a pay increase from the new state budget.

• Buncombe County staff delivered an update to the Board of Commissioners on the Ferry Road project, with the proposal including 645 units — both for rent and sale and 54% deemed affordable — 72 conserved acres, and 1.7 miles of trails. There will be three public meetings on the project in the coming weeks.

• Make a mental note now. Bear’s Smokehouse is marking World Mental Health Day on Tuesday, Oct. 10 with an event supporting All Souls Counseling Center. From 5:30 to 9 p.m., you can enjoy live music, guided watercolor painting, games, craft mocktails + beer, BBQ, and messages of hope. Grab a ticket for a $10 donation.

• The Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services have begun distributing oral rabies vaccines to local wildlife through baits. The baits, which are small sachets carrying the vaccine, are safe if your pet accidentally eats one, and if you find one, you should typically leave it where it is. See the full guidance.

• The founders of Highwater Clays and Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts, Brian and Gail McCarthy, will be awarded the John Cram Arts Leadership Award for their service to the arts community and instrumental work in the creation of the River Arts District. The award will be presented at the State of the Arts Brunch on Monday, Oct. 30.

• Keith Blum, Asheville potter and board member of All Together Art, was awarded first place at the Western NC Veterans Administration Creative Arts Festival and is now in the running for the national prize. You can see Blum’s art on display at the Odyssey Co-Op Gallery.

• Asheville Longevity & Microneedling Clinic — a premier space for minimally-invasive, cutting-edge methods promoting optimal health of the skin, hair, and body — is now open in South Slope. Treatments target fine lines, wrinkles, scars, acne, and hair regrowth. Want a 10% discount? Purchase any service or package by Tuesday, Oct. 31.*

• How does Going work? Sign up for free, follow up to five airports, and get notified when flight deals to over 900 destinations are 40-90% off.*