Discover Statesville
Welcome to "Discover Statesville," the show that takes you on a captivating journey through the heart of one of North Carolina's most charming towns. Co-hosted by community advocates, Richard Griggs and Cindy Sutton, this weekly show brings you the pulse of Statesville, recording live at various spots throughout Statesville in partnership with Sow Media studios.
Join Richard and Cindy as they uncover the hidden gems and local treasures that make Statesville truly special. From the top-notch attractions and exciting events to the remarkable individuals who shape the community, "Discover Statesville" promises to leave no stone unturned.
Hungry for a culinary adventure? Tune in for their delightful restaurant reviews, where they'll guide you to the best places to eat in town. Whether you're a resident or a visitor, this podcast is your ultimate guide to all the things that make Statesville great.
You're invited to come along on this immersive journey, as "Discover Statesville" brings you closer to the heart of our vibrant town. Be prepared to be entertained, inspired, and enlightened each week, as Richard and Cindy share their passion for all things Statesville!
Discover Statesville
Statesville's October Festivities: Art, Music, and Haunted Tours Galore
Get ready for an unforgettable October in Statesville, NC! This episode of the Discover Statesville podcast promises just that! Join us as we guide you through a thrilling array of events that will keep your calendar packed all month long. From the Midway Wicked Woods trail and the "Making Our Voices Heard" Civil Rights exhibit at the Iredell Museums, to the "Fields and Foothills" art show by Wes Waugh, there's something for everyone. Plus, the Statesville Police Department's National Night Out and the Megan Doss Band's performance at the Friday After Five concert series are must-attend events for families and music lovers alike. We also spotlight the "Take that Hill" cycling event by Purple Heart Homes, benefiting veterans, and the Oktoberfest at Daveste Vineyards.
But the excitement doesn't stop there! Get into the Halloween spirit with the Haunted Statesville Ghost Tours and the Slightly Haunted Hike at Lake Norman State Park. The Iredell Arts Council hosts musical acts like Vanessa Collier and Okcello, adding to the cultural richness of the month. And if you’re looking for something truly magical, the Graze and Glow event at Equuvation, with its hot air balloon glow and live music, is the perfect way to end your October adventures. Tune in to discover all these events and more, making sure you maximize your Statesville experience this fall!
It's October and Statesville, north Carolina, is eventful. Tune in for our events rundown.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Discover Statesville, the show that takes you on a captivating journey through the heart of one of North Carolina's most charming towns.
Speaker 3:Welcome back to Discover Statesville. Hello, Cindy.
Speaker 1:Hey Richard. How have you been, I'm doing all right.
Speaker 3:I'm doing all right. It's good to be here. So we've got a busy October. Why don't you kick things off for us? What's going on?
Speaker 1:It's a crazy October it's.
Speaker 3:Halloween month.
Speaker 1:You may not know this, but the team stays busy putting these long lists of events together so we can make sure the community knows about them. And it was eight pages this time. That's a lot. Had to narrow it down to three so we could actually get it done in two minutes, all leading up to Halloween. Yeah, hence your orange. You like that, huh?
Speaker 1:Well, one thing that we talked about last year Richard and we were going to go do it and ran out of time, but we've got to conquer our fears and do it this year is the Midway Wicked Woods Celebrating its 28th year right here in Statesville, north Carolina. I'm going to read their description, because they've done it so well. You'll be transported on a wagon to the entrance where you'll be dropped off to walk the midway wicked woods unguided and on your own, in the darkness of night. You will walk the trail through many scary buildings, a 600 foot totally dark maze, and hold on tight as you venture into the spinning tunnel of terror. And be sure to wear your 3D glasses in their 3D clown room. So that starts this weekend and continues on every weekend through October into the first weekend of November, and they run from 8 pm to 10 pm this weekend. Then, as it gets closer to Halloween, they keep it open until 11 pm. So Midway Wicked Woods, check that out and get your tickets.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I do think it's cool. My 14-year-old went last year and really loved it.
Speaker 1:Well, if he can conquer it.
Speaker 3:I'm going to have to take his annex or something to get rid of it.
Speaker 1:I'll be right there with you bud.
Speaker 3:But I'll be right there with you, bud Jen.
Speaker 1:Brandon, we're counting you in.
Speaker 3:Family outing. All right, so beginning October the 7th, iroda Museums is hosting Making Our Voices Heard, which is a traveling exhibit focused around North Carolinians fighting for civil rights. Yeah, so it'll be on display at our museums for the month of October. The opening is on October the 7th, from 10 to 4.
Speaker 1:But this is a sort of a October 2nd, october 2nd, from 10 to 4.
Speaker 3:So really, you know, a pretty cool opportunity to go by and see this, because it's not something that the museum is going to be able to recreate six months from now, or something. This is a traveling exhibit that they are hosting. The museum is going to be able to recreate six months from now, or something. This is a traveling exhibit that they are hosting, so go by and see it. It focuses on seven particular North Carolinians that were major players in the civil rights movement, so really cool, yeah, shout out to Iredell Museum for bringing us these opportunities and then also to the Arts Council.
Speaker 1:We're going to be talking about them a lot in October, but there's an art show Fields and Foothills A Journey Through North Iredell. It's Wes Waugh's art show that'll be on exhibit also starting October 2nd at the Iredell Arts Council in the old jail on South Meeting Street.
Speaker 3:So you don't want to miss that? Yeah, so they'll have a reception on that opening night and then it'll be on display.
Speaker 1:Wes's work will be on display for the month, the whole month as well. Yep, okay, yeah.
Speaker 3:Perfect. On October, the 3rd is, the Statesville Police Department will host the National Night Out. This is on Thursday evening. They'll host it right downtown on West Broad Street in front of Mitchell Community College and it's just a lot of family activities, information, sort of focused around crime prevention and creating a safe community Food, the whole nine. So come out and enjoy that. That's from 530 to 730.
Speaker 1:Yeah, special thanks to our police officers. That's right yeah. And then the Statesville Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Statesville Development Corporation partner up again to bring us the next Friday After Five concert in the series. So Megan Doss Band will be at the Piedmont Healthcare Friday After Five concert series on October 4th from 5 pm. You won't want to miss that concert.
Speaker 3:Always a great time. Yeah, On October the 5th, Purple Heart Homes will be hosting their annual Take that Hill event. That's out at Southern Distilling Starts at 8 am. There's several different ride length options 35 mile, 60 mile or 80 mile. All of those seem insanely long to me. But this is the fifth annual edition of this event. It's a ride up Barrett Mountain. All raises money for a great organization doing lots of impactful work here, locally and across the country.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and bringing visibility to what an amazing destination we are for cycling. That's right, and you get to hang out at Southern.
Speaker 3:Distilling. So even if you don't ride, go out and hang out. Yeah, what's?
Speaker 1:better than that. That's right, and then it wouldn't be October without an Oktoberfest, and then it wouldn't be October without an Oktoberfest, that's right. So this is also an annual event that is growing in exposure. But our friends over at, is it Daveste, deveste, daveste? I'm saying Daveste Vineyards.
Speaker 3:I've said it all the ways you just said it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so from October 5th through October 2nd they're hosting their annual Oktoberfest at the vineyard. So it's a weekend-long family-friendly event. So check that out the Vest Day Vineyards.
Speaker 3:October the 8th. This is one of the coolest things that I think happens in this community is the Longest Table event and this is basically a community dinner for 1,000 people.
Speaker 1:Maybe more this year, maybe more.
Speaker 3:The new location is also right out in front of Mitchell Community College. They're going to host the actual dinner on Mulberry Street. The street will be closed. We do—this is organized by the United Way and a lot of community volunteers. You can go online and register to be a volunteer or just to register to attend the event. There's not a catch. It is a free community dinner. We want people to come out, meet their neighbors, share a meal together.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Actually closing down Mulberry right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they'll shut down Mulberry, yeah, and yeah, it's really just a free community dinner, you know. Come out, get to know that, you know bring your family we. We encourage people not to sit with the people that they already know. Come out and meet some new folks. But that starts at 530 on October the 8th, right here in downtown Statesville.
Speaker 1:But you do need to go online and register through the United Way's website. Okay, and I understand that it takes a gaggle of volunteers to make this amazing thing happen and that if you volunteer, you do also sit with the community at the table and eat. Yeah, there's a couple of volunteer positions.
Speaker 3:So you know there may be people that are helping serve food. One of the biggest volunteer responsibilities is sort of a table captain and their job is to sit and enjoy the meal and just kind of keep the conversation going at the table. Yeah, but yeah, really great opportunity. It's expanded, so we're hosting one here in Statesville and then they'll be hosting one down in Morrisville as well, so pretty cool, october 8th we're looking forward to that. Be there, be about it.
Speaker 1:So, richard, the event you probably know nothing about, right, but we're having Surprisingly little. Is this the inaugural Dog Day at the park?
Speaker 2:Inaugural- Dog Day at the park Inaugural.
Speaker 1:Dog Day at the park. Join us for a tail. The Statesville Dog Park's been hopping. It's getting busier all the time, yeah.
Speaker 3:And that was kind of the part of the point here is that you know, I think the first couple years of the dog park it was feed and so we removed that. Now it's a free dog park and so this is really just an opportunity to try to get a bunch of people together and set up. You know, dog play dates and the things that dog owners do in their spare time.
Speaker 1:Bring your fur babies, your fur friends, out and let them meet new people too.
Speaker 3:That's right. Yeah, also, on October the 12th, a lot of the downtown vendors, downtown businesses, are hosting their second Saturday sidewalk stroll in downtown Statesville. That's most of the day starts at 11 am and basically you've got a lot of the downtown merchants participate. They'll have pop-up sidewalk vendors, they'll have sales, they'll have raffles.
Speaker 2:Raffles.
Speaker 3:They'll have DIY experiences. It's just a really cool thing that a lot of these merchants kind of came together and said you know, maybe if we all kind of pool our resources we can create sort of an event in downtown Statesville. Kudos to the downtowns, really just focusing on what they already do.
Speaker 1:They're what? Five or six months into this and from what I can tell, it's really gaining traction. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, come on down.
Speaker 1:Kudos to them. Something new that I have not seen is PT Marvels, their event center, avenue 316, they call it. On 316 Sharon School Road they're hosting a murder mystery dinner. Pt Marvel's been popping up with lots of events, but they're doing murder in honor of October, I'm sure. But murder on the ghost train. Hop on board with us as we travel with the owner of the Frightening Fair to celebrate another successful season of ghostly encounters and spooky sightings. So Murder, mystery Dinner at Avenue 316 with PT Marbles.
Speaker 3:Don't miss that. And a three-course meal yeah, oh, that's right.
Speaker 1:And a three-course meal Awesome yeah.
Speaker 3:The weekend of October 18th through the 20th is the 49th annual Carolina Balloon Fest out of the state's regional airport. This is if you don't know, you should know, you should know. But Carolina Balloon Fest is the second longest hot air balloon event held consecutively in the United States.
Speaker 1:The largest in the southeast. That's right.
Speaker 3:The largest on the east coast. Great annual event. Tickets are for sale. There's volunteer opportunity. If you can't make it out to the festival that weekend, just be looking up, because you'll hopefully have the opportunity to see hotter balloons passing overhead.
Speaker 1:But just a really huge and impactful event here, held annually in Stanford, yeah, and you can get all the details on Carolina Balloon Fest, but we will have Sam Parks, executive director of the Balloon Fest, here in studio with us next week Straight to the source, so don't miss that, gosh.
Speaker 1:I don't know how many years this has been going on, but we sure are thankful for these large groups that bring people in, vendors and collectors in from all over. The North Carolina Gun Collectors Association is returning to the Statesville Civic Center on October 19th. I know they've been longtime partners, but October 19th from 9 am to 5 pm, so they've got a wide variety of firearms and memorabilia and dealers there. So check out the North Carolina Gun Collectors Association Gun Show.
Speaker 3:Awesome Haunted Statesville Ghost Tours. We mention these every month because they do it throughout the year. Now, but October, you know you really want to go in October, yes, but these take place right downtown. It's a partnership between Downtown Statesville and the Historic Sharp House Players and in October they'll offer four tours each evening 6, 37, 7 730, and 8, 20 people per tour and really kind of a cool family opportunity as well. They do recommend kids eight and older. I've taken at least Grayson one year and it's just really neat. Lots of great stories and history here throughout downtown Statesville.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I've mentioned this before, but if you haven't been since last October, I highly recommend doing the Ghost Tour again, because they have partnered with the Sharp House and the Sharp House Players.
Speaker 3:And new ghosts have been discovered and new ghosts.
Speaker 1:So they've taken it up a notch and even if you've done it already, I think it would be new to you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Definitely something you should do While we're talking about ghost stories, real quick, this is more a podcast event that's happening, but our friends at Visit North Carolina have launched a First in Fright podcast series. That's happening all month and we shared it last week on our social media channels. But if you go to First in Fright, go search for First in Fright, North Carolina. There's actually two surprise ghost sightings. One, mainly, is it the Boston. Did I say that right?
Speaker 3:Boston Bridge.
Speaker 1:And the story is really cool. I mean, I knew the story, but hearing it the way they did on this podcast, so don't miss that.
Speaker 3:Unless you were on that train. It was decidedly uncool.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, what I didn't know is that ghost hunters I think in 2010, were out on the tracks trying to see the train and, regrettably, one of them got hit by it. There was a train that came through, but it was a real one.
Speaker 1:So you know they're warning people to be safe and not just be out ghost hunting. But, Richard, I'm going to lean on you a little bit for this one, because the Full Bloom Film Festival that we're all still in awe of that happened last month just to continue awareness and bring film to Statesville has a series to continue awareness and and bring film uh to statesville has a series, and so this month in october, they are um showing the whale. Is this another one of your favorite movies? Because every time we talk about this it's one of your favorite or your or your dvd that gets shown.
Speaker 3:No, you know, um, I don't know how many. I mean it's a great film the way I'm not sure how many people would say it's their favorite, because it's really heavy, but it is a great film. Brendan Fraser actually won the Oscar for Best Actor last year and last year's Oscar is for the Whale. But yeah, really great, impactful movie that we'll be showing at the Arts Council.
Speaker 1:I love Brendan Fraser. I have not seen this film.
Speaker 3:It's like a totally you know. If your recollection of Brendan Fraser is from like Encino man or what's that, one where he's in the time capsule or in the bunker, it's a different Brendan Fraser than what you've seen before.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, well, I'm going to have to check it out.
Speaker 3:So two other events happening also that week at the Arts Council. Actually, I guess it's the day before the film, the 21st. We've got Vanessa Collier, who is a Berklee music grad. Her band's going to be funk, blues, soul all the way across the board. They're going to be really rocking in the old jail.
Speaker 1:The talent that's been coming to the Arts Council has just been incredible.
Speaker 3:Well, we've got a lot of great community partnerships between the folks from Grassroots, the folks from the Insomniacs, kathy Cash's Piedmont Folkways group. So there's. More music than you could shake a stick at, some people say. And then also that week, ok, cello is part of the Key Concert Series.
Speaker 1:Glad you had that one, because I would have messed that up.
Speaker 3:OK, cello is performing, and this is a solo act. Corey Johnson is an American cellist and songwriter and he does a lot of cool stuff with a loop, so it's going to be him on stage with a cello, making what sounds like much more music that could come from one person with a cello.
Speaker 1:What a great name.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so it'll be really cool. That's at 730 on the 24th.
Speaker 1:Yeah, looking forward to that for sure. And then our friends over at Lake Norman State Park leaning into a Halloween theme Butlano's Slightly Haunted Hike. That's more my speed.
Speaker 3:That's more your speed Slightly Haunted.
Speaker 1:Slightly Haunted Hike. Well, we could do that. And then lead up to the other one. They're going to do a nocturnal animal hike, starting at the boat launch, and there'll be candy being handed out. So that is October 25th at Lake Norman State Park, leno's Slightly Haunted Hike, starting at 6 pm.
Speaker 3:Awesome, yeah, on the 26th is the third annual Graze and Glow.
Speaker 1:Speaking of hot air balloons, that's right.
Speaker 3:This is up at Equivation, which is on Stagecoach Lane, which is it's on up there in Statesville, the old Rocky Creek Ranch. They have a hot air balloon, glow, live music, trick-or-treating, costume contests, all the things in a really beautiful area and a cool opportunity to go learn more about Equivation and the work that they're doing up there Now.
Speaker 1:I have had the opportunity to go learn more about equivation and the work that they're doing up there now. I have had the opportunity to be at the first two years of this and, uh, if you haven't seen a balloon glow you, you should definitely go check this out and just be part of a fun once you see the balloon glow at carolina balloon fest, you will absolutely want to be like, oh, we should go.
Speaker 1:Look you know yeah yeah, absolutely they do, and it's all mostly local, local hot air balloon pilots. They do a really really good job.
Speaker 3:Yeah, very cool 430 to 730 on the 26th.
Speaker 1:Yeah, speaking of trick-or-treat, though, you don't want to miss trick-or-treat on the Greenway.
Speaker 3:That's right.
Speaker 1:Bring the kiddos out, but it begins at the last shelter on the Greenway. The trick-or-treat boosts and games, kid-friendly activities along the way. Activities along the way. Sounds like you guys are going to have some inflatables out there this year, but it says promises to be bigger and better than ever with activities that will delight the kiddos of all ages.
Speaker 3:There you go. Yeah, it's a cool event. It's free, it's just an opportunity to get people out. We get a lot of great local businesses that come out and participate and set up a tent and give away candy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, lots of opportunities to celebrate the season.
Speaker 3:You get these kids costumes and we're trying to give you as many different opportunities for them to wear them as possible, since they will not survive until next year, more than likely. Right, right. And then on Halloween, on the 31st, the Downtown Statesville Trick or Treat. This takes place all throughout sort of the downtown proper area West Broad, north, center Streets, east Broad, four to six. A lot of the downtown merchants participate. Just come out and you will not be alone. There are lots of people that participate in the downtown trick-or-treat. We appreciate all the support of the downtown businesses.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I love seeing everyone come out dressed up in costume.
Speaker 3:What are you dressing up as for Halloween this year? London, the streets is downtown A witch.
Speaker 1:Oh, oh man, you're just going to leave that, you're not going to pick that up.
Speaker 3:No, no, no comment.
Speaker 1:I generally do not dress up for Halloween, but I may have to if we go to Midway Wicked Woods so that you cannot see the true fear the terror on your face, on my face, not if.
Speaker 3:When we go to Midway Wicked Woods my kids are kind of cresting out of the. I have one that might still dress up, I don't know.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:We'll see.
Speaker 1:We'll see. I mean my son's 24, and they still dress up.
Speaker 3:Well, I mean there's a gap and then once you get to college and stuff, people start doing it again.
Speaker 1:They don't dress up for the candy.
Speaker 3:It's a different type of party.
Speaker 1:It's a different type of party all together. We mentioned, guys, when we first kicked this off, that this was an eight-page long list that we had to narrow down. There is so much happening in Statesville, north Carolina. We would encourage you to go to statesvillenccom, click on the featured events to see the annual events that you want to keep on your calendar year round. Click on the community events calendar. You can get to that through all the community partners, through the city, through downtown Statesville Chamber of Commerce. But on Statesville, north Carolina is the source of truth and if you are an event organizer and you feel like we've missed on your event, reach out to us. Go to states1ccom, click on that contact us form and we're more than happy to help you navigate how you can start adding your events to this calendar so that you don't get missed. But crazy, how much is happening in states from.
Speaker 1:North Carolina. So we invite you to discover Statesville, North Carolina. Thanks everyone, Until next month.
Speaker 2:Thank you for joining Discover Statesville. You can email us at discover at statesvillenccom. Check us out on Facebook at Discover Statesville, nc. Hashtag Discover Statesville and our website statesvillenccom. Statesville and our website statesvillenccom. Catch us next week as we continue on our journey to uncover the hidden gems, culinary adventures, entertainment, and to be inspired and enlightened as we Discover Statesville.
