Get a good look behind Asheville's stages and listening rooms on Saturday, Nov. 3, during the Behind the Entertainment Scene tour, sponsored by UNC Asheville's North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement. Open to people of any age, the 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. tour takes participants to the large and small stages of Asheville. The tour will be led by Howard and Juanita Spanogle, originators of this seminar-on-wheels program.

Beginning at the Civic Center, participants will learn how the Civic Center operates and why community leaders are proposing a major renovation. While there, Civic Center director David Pisha will take the group from behind the Thomas Wolfe stage to the locker rooms, and introduce leaders of Asheville's indoor professional teams.

The next stop is another stage: the Diana Wortham Theatre, where executive director John Ellis will help tour participants step through the ins and outs of staging shows there.

Then comes a sampling of blues, bluegrass and brass from Asheville's popular listening rooms. Just steps away from Diana Wortham Theatre is Kats, one of Asheville's newest nightspots, where the group will dine on New Orleans-style food and get an earful of blues piano.

From Kat's, participants will be bused to other sound centers in the city. At Grey Eagle, located near the French Broad River, owners Tyler Richardson and Martin Kasun will explain the business operations and expansion of their listening room. A local guitarist will demonstrate his acoustical skills.

Next the group will head for Jack of the Wood, a downtown pub of fame. There manager Craig Peters will welcome them, and a fiddler and a guitarist will play foot-tapping bluegrass music.

As the city prepares for Saturday night action, the tour will stop at the Asheville Music Zone. Owner Cheryl Lore, a UNCA alumna, will host the group for a sound check as the Dirty Dozen Brass Band prepares to entertain the late-night crowd with upbeat tunes.

Registration for the Behind the Entertainment Scene tour is on a first-received, first-served basis. Cost of the tour is $60, which includes lunch.. Transportation is provided. To register, call the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement at 251-6140.

Media Contacts:

• N.C. Center for Creative Retirement, 828/251-6140
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant, 828/251-6526