Dear Reader,

Let’s immediately get one thing out of the way: Halloween is probably the American holiday most universally regarded as the coolest. I mean, what other holiday occurs at the best time of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, allows children to receive a near-limitless supply of candy, and enables adults to party like animals while dressed as other animals? 

Well, our serious readers will know that Halloween is not my favorite holiday. That actually comes next month, but I’ve already written about that. To be sure, Halloween is very high on my list of favorites, and if we’re ranking “coolness” then Halloween surely takes the gold. But as I’ve gotten older and as I’ve gained new social responsibilities, the “Halloween season,” as it were, has simultaneously emerged as a legitimate thing in lieu of what was once a “for one night only” affair, at least in my recollection. The Halloween season has been normalized by costume parties now occurring throughout the month rather than on the holiday itself, and a certain chain retailer staging corporate occupations that last for less than a full fiscal quarter on fading strip malls across the country. Neighbors now have to continuously add to their yard decorations all month long to not be outshined by others who do the same, all of them engaged in a vicious cycle of buy-admire-envy-repeat. And every goddamn weekend there is a local harvest festival that is demanding to be put on your social media feed, meanwhile, you still have to make three different costumes for all the parties you have to go to! In short, Halloween has become more of a commitment. And while on the one hand, I love being able to admire crazy-ass yard decorations all month long, on the other hand, things have gotten a bit out of control.

And yes, that effect goes for our team as well. For all zero of you who are clambering at the doors wondering where your Halloween issue of Art Grove Newsletter is, fret not: Your issue is coming. But to be completely honest, everyone here at Art Grove has been up to their necks in distractions for the past month and some change. It has been difficult to find time to meet, collaborate, and stitch together an issue. Betsy has been producing so many shows and festivals that are all coming to a head now that I as her partner have regrettably lost count. Our dear staff writer Sarah Gill has been doing an artist’s residency at Midmountain, working on a beautifully written and thoughtfully constructed zine about grief, all while dealing with some things in her personal life. And I have been on a special assignment at my day job that has me writing more words in a day than I even thought the human brain was capable of doing before shutting down completely. Not to mention our Director of Development, Otter, has finally been doing his transition from puppy formula to adult dog food! Everything is in such flux right now. But how apropos as the leaves around us change their colors too, and the nights get colder with each passing day?

All this hasn’t deterred us from trying to put together an issue, though, and if I do say so myself, what we have put together should be quite interesting. And no, I am not making a Frankenstein pun with my diction. Because this issue has seen a lot of care and intentionality put into it, as we do with every issue, but especially for what is arguably one of the most “fun” issues to construct. 

To really get into the Halloween spirit, (and DEFINITELY NOT because we’ve all been procrastinating) we have come to a decision that is in everyone’s best interest for preserving our own sanity while also invigorating a seasonally thematic surprise: This year, Art Grove Newsletter’s Halloween issue will be published on the holiday, not in the middle of the month, as has become our new standard cycle. 

And oh, what a jumpscare of a surprise it will be. We’ve departed from our usual format quite noticeably this time and will be publishing some very unique writing, not all of it prose… but I’ll save those details for the full release. A good jumpscare requires ample dramatic buildup, perhaps even to a gratuitous degree.

The one detail I will divulge at this time is that while crafting our Halloween 2024 issue, one artist requested that we donate to the MANNA Food Bank as they work to help our neighbors in Western North Carolina recover after being affected by Hurricane Helene, so we did. We thought that you all might like to donate too, so we have included a link to the donations page for MANNA Food Bank with this month’s issue. 

Other than that, you’ll have to wait until the full issue to release on Oct. 31st to see our diabolical concoction. Until then, turn your pockets inside out when you walk past cemeteries, carve a jack-o-lantern to ward off evil spirits, and be on the lookout for black cats. Oh, and an email from us on Halloween night too. The witching hour is nearly upon us, so try not to run yourself into the grave with social commitments before that time comes.

Tootloo, for now, and may good spirits follow you wherever you go,

Tom Jakob, Managing Editor