ENCORE PRINTS #4: Tonight's launch party features live music, comedy, costume contest, Rocky Horror and more!
The following was written and sent to encore newsletter subscribers on October 29, 2026. If you would like to get emails like this with encore updates and latest articles posted online, subscribe for free at encorepub.org/newsletter
Dear lovers of free media and encore,
It's the eve of our launch party for the fourth and final issue of 2026 and I thought I'd pop my head above water to write a note or two about this and other milestones we're fast-approaching—or have already hit!
First, inside this newsletter is our 200th article we've published since our soft relaunch in May 2025! Here's a reminder of where we started when we gathered for encore's Revival at DesignWorx back then:
Of course, I always imagine being miles or lightyears ahead of the pace in which things are going. Maybe it's the only child in me. Maybe it's my Scorpio-packed astrological house. Maybe it's the deeply ingrained ideas of how we are supposed to define success. Maybe it's undiagnosed ADHD. Maybe she's born with it, or maybe it's history.
That all said, it feels apt that our 200th article is about "Hysteria!" an original play by Wilmington locals Jesslyn Wilson and Meghan Cook. Zach Peschl writes of the production: "Part historical fever dream, part dark comedy and part speculative fiction, it spans centuries of women being judged, controlled, and pitted against one another. There are puppets, too."
Read more below and get tickets for the show in November...
As I write this note, I'm waiting for the usual call from BN Printing's delivery driver to let me know when he's about to drop off thousands of newspapers at my doorstep (well, my garage for storage) before distribution. It all comes with nervous excitement akin to waiting for a grade on an essay, or better yet: while standing outside the entrance of a haunted house right as five people run out screaming about how they don't want to die like this.
"Wait, do I wanna die this?" I ask myself. To which myself replies: "Best not to dwell. More adrenaline and dopamine, please."
So, here we are, shivering with antici...pation!
Tomorrow, October 30 at Waterline Brewing, Pineapple-Shaped Lamps (pictured above) will host our last launch party of the year as the cast from the Rocky Horror Picture Show and will screen the film at 8:30 p.m.—but before we jump to the left, let's do the time warp and quickly review what's happening tomorrow:
Costume Contest! Come in costume for a chance to win a cool prize and admiration of strangers. My third grader is committed to being a chainsaw murderer this year, so the competition is steep!
Doors open at 4 p.m. for folks to cheat the weekend with us and our local vendors. You'll get to hear encore presents... radio featuring local music curated by Mark Herbert and Fuzz Jackson before Delia Stanley & Friends take the outdoor stage at 6 p.m.
While folks shop with local vendors, purchase food and raffle tickets for local stuff and things, you can enjoy desserts inside, delight in the latest issue of encore, and hear more about where are as we wrap 2026 and where we're going in 2027!
See you there!
Shannon "Rage" Gentry
Pssst there's more than one election going on right now! Vote for Avis Mairor of the Lower Cape Fear for fun—but vote for the real one, too!
It's election season, and we are humbly asking for your vote for the Official Nesting Bird of the Lower Cape Fear. We are partnering with DareDevil Improv Comedy to raise awareness of the biodiversity of this region and the human impact on it's vitality. Alongside our Tides of Change reporting, this campaign is designed to educate, entertain, and engage the public with vital information.
Undecided? Follow us @encoreilm on IG for candidate info! Cast your vote below!
