May 9th, 2024 doors 6pm, show 7pm at River Arts District Brewing Co.
Pre-sale tickets $10, door $15 (cash preferred, Venmo etc. available). Get your pre-sale tickets here: https://events.humanitix.com/nerd-nite-asheville-may
Meet your presenters for May’s Nerd Nite:
Knox Petrucci
A Seasonal Tale of Honey Bee Foragers
Are you ever curious about what a honey bee does during her day? What excitement awaits her the moment the sun rises until she rests her tiny head on her waxed comb pillow at night? We will discuss the many adventures that await a honey bee forager throughout the year. Focusing primarily on specific pollinator plants that attract honey bees throughout the seasons; we will explore the very short, yet full life of a Western Honey Bee living in Western North Carolina. Beeware! Bee puns await.
Knox (he/him) is the hive and store manager at Honey & the Hive in Weaverville, NC. Knox is the steward of the store apiary and is responsible for inspecting over 300 deep nucleus colonies in the early spring. He has been keeping bees for over 4 years. Beyond being found huddled over observing honey bees or collecting honey, Knox enjoys opening portals with his small collection of jaw harps and loves writing music on guitar and mandolin. IG: @honeyandthehivenc
Douglas Yuhan Rao
Help wanted! Seeing Plant Stress from the Sky
Have you used Google Maps to plan for your hiking trips in the mountains? Then you have used satellite data! With satellite data from more than five decades, we can monitor the stress signals sent by plants caused by drought and human activities like logging. Come learn how we can use satellite data (including some spy satellite data too) to intervene to support ecosystem health!
Douglas is a research scientist with the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies. His education in applied mathematics, statistics, and cartography (aka how to make maps) earns him major nerd bragging rights. His daytime job mostly involves (sometimes boring) virtual meetings and exciting computer programming. When he is not working, he enjoys good beer, fun hikes, relaxing birding, and delicious food!
Tavi
Cultural References in Disney’s Moana
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month! At this panel, Tavi will play and pause scenes and clips from Disney’s Moana, explaining the cultural aspects and inspirations of the film. Explanations include demonstrations of dance, playing of drums and other instruments, and presenting of various costumes and implements. What culture does Moana’s costume come from? What dances are they performing in their village? What are all the legends that Maui refers to during his song? All these questions and more will be answered at Cultural References in Disney’s Moana. And as a special bonus, Tavi will be performing the Siva Afi fire dance after the show!
Raised in Western North Carolina, Tavi didn’t learn of his Māori Heritage until he was 17. This discovery led him to the decision to move to Hawaii to go to school and learn of his culture. In 2015, Tavi started training, dancing and performing at the Polynesian Cultural Center. His extensive training included multiple Pacific Cultures such as Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa, Aotearoa (New Zealand, the home of the Māori) and the Siva Afi (Samoan Fire Dance.) While performing at the PCC at night, Tavi attended Brigham Young University – Hawaii where he received a Degree in Mathematics and a minor in Pacific Island Studies. He now lives in Asheville, NC and continues to perform and train all over the South including; North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia under the name ‘NCFireknife’. He also volunteers his time during Asian American and Pacific Island Heritage Month to present at various Public Schools and teach Students about Pacific Culture. IG: @tavi.does.stuff
With your host, Von
Von’s Star Trek mini feature:
SAVE LOWER DECKS!
Did you know that J.J. Abrams, director of the Star Trek reboot movies of the 2010s, proudly proclaimed on the interview circuit that he never liked Star Trek? Well, it showed. The reboot movies had very little Star Trek in them for actual fans to enjoy. By contrast, Lower Decks is Star Trek written by fans and made for fans. But it’s so much more than fan service. It is a comedic love letter to the entire breadth of the franchise (except those reboot movies), full of callbacks and inside jokes paying homage to 60 years of Star Trek history along with new storylines and characters, and it’s being cancelled. Paramount also cancelled its other animated series, Prodigy, but it was rescued by demand from the fans. We’re hoping to do the same for this animated comedic masterpiece. LOWER DECKS! LOWER DECKS! LOWER DECKS!
Von (they/them) is a local performer known for their radioactive style, political commentary, and inability to shut up about Star Trek. A lifelong nerd of both science and theater, they were an avid lover of Nerd Nite in Los Angeles before moving to Asheville and starting the local Nerd Nite Chapter.
Von claims this show for the Romulan Empire. (IG: @von.infinity)