Appalachian State University

“Point of No Return” takes you behind the headlines of the first solar-powered flight around the world—where two courageous pilots take turns battling nature, their own crew, and sometimes logic itself, to achieve the impossible. ... “This very audacious courage – we need this kind of spirit to change this world.” Followed by a panel discussion with members of Team Sunergy.

Thom Young is a writer based in Boone and Asheville. “Bespoke” is a poem and sometimes memoir describing queer life. Taking on sex, abuse, addiction and family trauma, this collection challenges conventional notions of reading and understanding ‘the other,’ while also charting a highly confessional and brutally honest sense of the self.

Members of the Appalachian State community are invited to the first public forum for the forthcoming climate action plan. This is an opportunity for members of the community to weigh in with their knowledge, suggestions and solutions for the climate crisis. While the problem is global, the focus of this planning is on achievable goals for Appalachian State.

Singer/composer/actor Lyle Lovett has broadened the definition of American music in a career that spans 14 albums. Coupled with his gift for storytelling, the Texas-based musician fuses elements of country, swing, jazz, folk, gospel and blues in a convention-defying manner that breaks down barriers.

As efforts to address the effects of climate change intensify, communities across the state and nation are working to promote clean energy solutions that will contribute to carbon emission reductions. This presentation will feature insights gained by the Environmental Defense Fund regarding barriers to clean energy adoption by communities and strategies for overcoming those barriers.

Courageous Conversations is an initiative of the Walker College's Inclusive Excellence Team with support from the Multicultural Student Development Center, the African American Alumni Association and the Black Student Association. The event is open to the public with no charge to attend. Students from all disciplines are encouraged to join.

This unique event draws over hundreds of attendees from across the region and celebrates the rich music, history, arts, and culture of the Appalachia region. Events include concerts, instructional workshops, music competitions, a gathering of luthiers, as well as a handmade market featuring crafters from across the region.

A new act to emerge from the fertile roots scene in the North Carolina Triangle, Chatham Rabbits is the husband-and-wife duo of Austin and Sarah McCombie, who captivate with intimate close-harmony singing in the vein of predecessors like Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, and a way of connecting with their audiences that is uniquely their own.

V-DAY, the global movement to end violence against all women and girls (cisgender, transgender and those who hold fluid identities that are subject to gender based violence) has seen it's work evolve over the past three years. Join us in our theatrical production of the 2020 Vagina Monologues! We stand behind V-DAY in their fight to defend all women and girls across the world, and 100% of this year's proceeds will be donated to Watauga County's women's and survivor's shelter and service center, Oasis, INC.

Dr. Peter Carmichael, director of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College, as a part of this years Department of History’s Civil War Speakers Series, will discuss his most recent book published in 2018. In “The War for the Common Soldier: How Men Thought, Fought, and Survived in Civil War America,” Carmicheal offers a unique perspective of the common soldier through dramatic stories based upon the letters and diaries of Union and Confederate soldiers.

A fog settles over a small town nestled on the banks of a pristine lake in Western Pennsylvania. As the play begins, the fog lifts over the lives of troubled 20-somethings, scrambling to escape the stifling weight of the past and leave naïve adolescent daydreaming for the hard work of creating lives that are meaningful.

2019-20 Rachel Rivers-Coffey Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing Kayla Rae Whitaker returns following her fall residency to speak about her experiences in publishing and to read from her novel-in-progress.