Calendar of Events
Upcoming events and things to do in Asheville, NC. Below is a list of events for festivals, concerts, art exhibitions, group meetups and more.
Interested in adding an event to our calendar? Please click the green “Post Your Event” button below.
Join PARI for a night all about meteors and meteorites. Enjoy our dark skies and mountain peaks for breathtaking views of the night sky. Our astronomers will guide your experience as you watch for blazing meteors and peek at distant celestial objects through big telescopes.
You can choose from three ways to attend this event.
Cabin Package
This package allows two people to attend the two hour, astronomer guided event, plus:
Stay overnight in one of our well appointed private cabin rooms. Rooms include private bathrooms, individually controlled heating and cooling, microwave, mini-fridge, Keurig pod compatible coffee maker, and complimentary bottle of wine.
Enjoy a PARI provided dinner.
Join PARI scientists for event related educational programming after dinner.
Stay up late if you wish for more observing.
Enjoy a PARI provided breakfast the following morning.
Arrival and departure times can be found in your ticket description.
Additional attendees may join you in your cabin room by purchasing the ticket Cabin Additional Adult or Cabin Additional Child as appropriate. These must be purchased with the Cabin Package ticket. If you need to add them after your purchase, please contact us for assistance.
Camping Package
This ticket allows one person to attend the two hour, astronomer guided event, plus:
Stay overnight in your own tent at a campsite at PARI.
Enjoy a PARI provided dinner.
Join PARI scientists for event related educational programming after dinner.
Stay up late if you wish for more observing.
Enjoy a PARI provided breakfast the following morning.
Arrival and departure times can be found in your ticket description.
Evening Only Ticket
This ticket allows one person to attend the two hour, astronomer guided event. Arrival and departure times can be found in the ticket description.
Sippin’ Santa at The Tiki Easy Bar is back from Nov. 18 through Dec. 31. We’re throwing a tropical island-themed holiday party every single day—don’t miss the fun! Along with a curated menu of expertly crafted cocktails and over-the-top holiday decor, Sippin’ Santa’s much sought-after custom mugs and glassware will be available for purchase while supplies last.
Reservations are not required, but if you’d like to book our private room “Cynamon Cove” for 6-10 people, visit: tiki-easy-at-hi-wire-brewing.resos.com/booking.
Throwing a holiday party or a larger gathering? Email [email protected] to inquire.
Monday-Thursday 4-9pm
Friday & Saturday 3-10pm
Sunday 3-9pm
The Tiki Easy Bar is a hidden tropical oasis behind Hi-Wire’s South Slope tap room.
Official Menu: sippinsantapopup.com/menu
Mocktails, Frozen Drinks, & Spirits: bit.ly/tikieasysippinsantamenu
Asheville Parks and Recreation will host the Holiday Skate Jam for one night only! 6pm-9pm. Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville transforms into a massive skate rink for one night. Join us for holiday music, festive decor, and an unforgettable night on the floor. please bring your own inline or roller skates. Limited availability of skates for rent. concessions will be available.
Buncombe County Parks & Recreation is ready to make the season a little merrier and a lot brighter with the annual Festival of Lights. Lake Julian Park’s captivating display of thousands of holiday lights begins TONIGHT, Friday, Dec. 6 through Monday, Dec. 23, and will occur nightly from 6 to 9 p.m. This long-time mountain family tradition turns the park into a magical wonderland filled with sparkle and celebration.
Each night, you can stay in the comfort of your own car while oooh-ing and ah-ing at the illumination and listening to your favorite festive tunes. Due to the impact of Tropical Storm Helene, this year’s Festival of Lights will only offer the drive-thru experience.
Admission is $10 per car for personal vehicles, $25 for sprinter vans, trailblazers, and conversion vans, and $50 for buses and motorcoaches. Purchased tickets will be valid for one-time use on any night of the festival; tickets are not date specific. On Tuesdays, Buncombe County residents in their personal vehicles will be given free entry.
A portion of the ticket proceeds will benefit the Special Olympics of Buncombe County.
Celebrate the magic of winter at the 4th annual Winter Wonder Walk, an immersive outdoor story-walk that combines the excitement of live theater with a scenic walk in the woods. This festive adventure takes guests through the kingdom of Winterland as each page is brought to life by many delightful characters along the way. Created by Asheville Plays and hosted by the Adventure Center of Asheville, the event includes a heated tent with a holiday market featuring many local businesses, a kids’ play area, tasty concessions, and Venezuelan cuisine from Delish Food Truck. Guests can also enjoy the Treetops Adventure Park Glow Trail, open to guests aged 4 and older, illuminated with thousands of lights. Kids can earn a free general admission ticket by participating in the S’Mitten With Books program. Festivities start at 6 PM, with the Winter Wonder Walk opening at 6:30 PM. Each ticket purchased supports the community by donating to Manna Foodbank, making this a wonderful way to celebrate the season with loved ones! There are six opportunities to experience this enchanting memory; Nov 29,30, & Dec 6,7,13,14. Please check our website for more information, FAQs, and to purchase your tickets! www.winterwonderwalk.com.
Winter Lights is a spectacular open-air walk-through light show made from over one million lights! Located at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville, North Carolina, this year’s event features favorites like the famously tall 50-foot lighted tree and the Quilt Garden, along with enchanting new details designed to delight and surprise. All prices are per vehicle. No pets allowed.
Winter Lights features live entertainment nightly and food and beverages from the Bent Creek Bistro, the Cocoa Shack and the Cocoa Cabin! Open nightly from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m.
Benefit Concert featuring DAVID WILCOX, DAVID LAMOTTE, RAY CHRISTIAN and ZACHARI CAHN.
Donate what You will. Proceeds go to the Mankind Project Disaster Relief Fund and will be distributed to the victims of Helene.
This Friday the 13th, we’re throwing it back to five amazing years of beers, cheers, and all of YOU who made it possible. Join us as we celebrate DSSOLVR’s 5th anniversary in true emo style!
– Starts at 7 PM
– Anniversary beers + drink specials
– Fresh new merch drops
– DJ Zane Insane spinning your favorite emo anthems
Your support has been the heart of everything we do, and we couldn’t have made it this far without you. Let’s raise a glass and scream it all out together—this night’s for YOU! 🖤
Grab your crew and let’s make this a merry, emo holiday to remember!
A Christmas Memory. Don’t Miss This Special Performance in Flat Rock. Returning to the stage for his sixth straight season at St. John in the Wilderness, actor and theologian E.R. Haire, Jr. will perform Truman Capote’s beloved short story, A Christmas Memory, as a one-man show.
The dates for this year’s performances are Friday, December 13 and Saturday, December 14 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, December 15 at 2:30 pm and 7:30 pm. The shows will be held in the Wilderness Room of the Parish House at 1905 Greenville Highway in Flat Rock, across Rutledge Drive from the Episcopal Church.
“It is once again an honor to bring this classic story to life. I am grateful to the good people of St John in the Wilderness and the greater Flat Rock community and beyond who have supported my efforts as I will be entering my sixth year of performing this wonderful, heartfelt story,” said Dr. Haire.
The show is free to the public but seating is limited to 60 people per performance and RSVP is required. The direct link is http://bit.ly/christmasmemory24 or visit www.stjohnflatrock.org. Face masks are optional.
A Christmas Memory takes place during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Until he was ten years old, Truman Capote lived with elderly relatives in a small town in rural Alabama. The story is an autobiographical account of those years, especially of his relationship with one of the elderly cousins, Miss Sook Faulk.
St. John in the Wilderness is located in Flat Rock, NC at 1895 Greenville Highway. Queries may be directed to the church office, (828) 693-9783 or visit www.stjohnflatrock.org.
Tis the season to be jolly! The tradition continues with the same great holiday cheer to put you in the Christmas spirit. All new renditions of your holiday favorites will help you get those sleigh bells jinglin,’ and chestnuts roasting! There is truly no better way to kick off your holiday season. So, hurry on over with your family, friends, and loved ones to share in the joy and excitement of this seasonal spectacular that will have you feeling merry and bright! Ring-a-ling-a-ding-dong-ding, y’all!
The Western Front, Christmas, 1914. Out of the violence a silence, then a song. A German soldier steps into No Man’s Land singing “Stille Nacht.” Thus begins an extraordinary time of camaraderie, music, and peace in a spontaneous ceasefire during World War 1. A remarkable true story, told in the words and songs of the men who lived it.
“A beautiful musical retelling of a World War I ceasefire
with gifts of music, poetry, and melody.”
-New York Times
Christmas Spectacular – Featuring the Carolina Concert Choir with Flutes, Oboes, Strings & Organ
Join us as we perform: J. S. Bach: Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend [And there were Shepherds in that Same Region], and Brandenburg Concerto No. 2; Sing-along Carols for Choir and orchestra; and Morten Lauridsen: O magnum mysterium.
Friday, December 13 at 7:30pm or Saturday, December 14 at 3:00pm
1245 6th Ave W, Hendersonville, NC 28791, USA
Frank Capra’s beloved American holiday classic film is reimagined as a live 1940s radio broadcast. Set in Studio A at WBFR in Manhattan on Christmas Eve 1946, this hilarious re-enactment, with the help of a live Foley and a talented small ensemble, brings the entire town of Bedford Falls to life on stage. Small-town everyman George Bailey is having a Christmas Eve that can only be saved by a miracle. Enter George’s guardian angel, Clarence, who takes him on a heartwarming journey of redemption proving that “no one is a failure who has friends.”
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library impacts the pre-literacy skills and school readiness of children under the age of 5 in Buncombe County. The program mails a new, free, age-appropriate book to registered children each month until they turn five years old. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library creates a home library of up to 60 books and instills a love of books and reading from an early age. If you have any questions about the program, please send an email to [email protected].
A national panel of educators selects the Imagination Library titles, which include: The Little Engine that Could, Last Stop on Market Street, Violet the Pilot, As an Oak Tree Grows, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Llama Llama Red Pajama, Look Out Kindergarten, here I come, and many more (take a look at all the titles).
Register your child now!
Program Launch and Expansions
Literacy Together became a Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library affiliate in November 2015 with support from the Buncombe Partnership for Children. Through this program, registered children in Buncombe County receive a free book in the mail each month. Their parents also have the opportunity to attend workshops to learn how to build their children’s early literacy skills. Parents in need of literacy assistance are encouraged to receive tutoring through Literacy Together’s adult programming.
The program served 200 children during the 2015/16 fiscal year. The program expanded to serve 400 children in July 2016, and 600 in August 2017. In July 2018, capacity increased to 1,900 thanks to a special allocation in the North Carolina state budget. We’re now serving 4,600 kids in Buncombe County.
Come enjoy our most popular Asheville tour!
Duration
1 hour and 30 minutes
About
Bachelorette/Bachelor Parties are not permitted on this tour. The Fender Bender Bus is bachelorette/bachelor friendly!
Historical and hysterical, The Hey Asheville tour features outrageously entertaining tour guides, outlandish comedy skits complete with special appearances and loads of Asheville information. You’ll get to see the best of downtown Asheville and the rarely seen but stunningly beautiful Montford neighborhood, not to mention the burgeoning River Arts District! You’ve never had a ride like this. It’s like a vaudeville show on wheels!
Find out what makes Asheville so unique on LaZoom’s City Comedy Tour. It’s the perfect mix of history, comedy, and entertainment. Our guides are trained professional actors working with an original script. It’s like a theatre on wheels! The tour highlights downtown Asheville, historic neighborhoods, the South Slope, and the River Arts District.
Age Restrictions
13 and up. No exceptions.
Stops
10 minute beer & bathroom break at Green Man Brewery
What’s Included
Guided tour of Asheville on a Purple Bus
Funny actors, fun bits
Actual History about Asheville
Green Man Brewery Stop
What’s Not Included
Beer/Wine (Must be purchased from LaZoom or the Brewery Stop)
Cash! You’ll want to tip the guides for changing your life for the better.
Located within the wildly-popular and botanically beautiful Southern Appalachian Mountains, The North Carolina Arboretum offers more than 10 miles of hiking trails that connect to many other area attractions such as Lake Powhatan, the Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Visitors of all ages and abilities can enjoy their hiking experience at the Arboretum as trail options include easy, moderate, and difficult challenge levels. All trails are dog-friendly and visitors are asked to adhere to the proper waste disposing procedures for pets.
Part of a running group that would like to use the Arboretum as a starting point or parking location? Please review our Running Group Guidance and email [email protected] with any questions.
The Come Hell or High Water Studio Tour is a self-guided, two-day event on December 14th and 15th from 10 am to 5 pm, showcasing artists from across Western North Carolina. Created to support artists impacted by Hurricane Helene, this tour allows visitors to drive from one artist’s studio to another, connecting with creators in their own spaces as they rebuild their practices. The community-driven event ensures 100% of sales go directly to the participating artists. Enjoy a unique opportunity to meet local talent, explore studios, and purchase one-of-a-kind pieces while supporting the resilience of our WNC arts community.
Find the perfect gift this holiday season for everyone on your list at the 10th annual 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝗽 𝗨𝗽 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗽! Shop local, shop small and support local artists, makers, and vintage collectors.
We’ve decked the halls of the Ideation Lab inside the Center for Craft in Downtown Asheville. Shop over 100 vendors; housewares, handmade jewelry, ceramics, apparel, vintage clothes, ornaments, candles, gifts for our furry friends and more.
WHEN:
Open Nov 29 through Dec 24
10am-8pm daily
WHERE:
The Ideation Lab inside the Center for Craft
67 Broadway St, Asheville, NC 28801
Explore artist booths in the Folk Art Center auditorium for a variety of gift items including ceramics, jewelry, fiber, apparel, paper, glass, wood, and more for the holidays. This artist market is an opportunity for our member artisans to sell their work at discounted prices, allowing visitors to find great deals on handmade finely crafted items. Join us for the first two Saturdays in December from 10am-4pm for the Holiday Sale! Please note, that this sale does not apply to items in the Allanstand Craft Shop at the Folk Art Center.
Explore Asheville with the whole family!
Age Restrictions
All Ages Welcome!
(Content is geared towards ages 5-12 years old)
Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Children 3 and under do not need a ticket if they are sitting in an adults lap.
Duration
60 Minutes
What’s Included
Crazy funny guide
Off-bus characters
Fun facts about Asheville
Age-appropriate jokes
About
Now’s your chance to bring the whole family on the big purple bus! Educational and entertaining, LaZoom’s Kids’ Comedy tour features a perfect blend of Asheville information and kid-centric comedy. Geared specifically towards the 5-12 year old crowd, you’ll learn about our city’s history and see the sights in true LaZoom style – complete with our famously outlandish tour guides, hilarious comedy skits, and all sorts of special appearances! Perfect for birthday parties or school field trips, it’s the best thing to do with your kids in Asheville. It’s a show on wheels!
The tour is 60 minutes long and includes no stops. The tour is hosted by a zany tour guide, and along the way other characters will hop on the bus and perform kid-centric sketches (Candy Pirate, Ninja, and a Levitator) The tour is not only fun – it’s educational! Kids and adults will learn new and interesting facts about Asheville along the way. There must be 1 adult for every 4 children. We do not allow any unaccompanied children. Children 3 and under do not need a ticket if they are sitting in an adults lap.
Waitlist
If your desired time and availability is full, then please give us a call to be added to the waitlist.
Pieces made from nylon fabric ripstop, which keeps tears from spreading, invite viewers into created, fantastical worlds, only to highlight the complex—even impossible—architectures of their construction. Before the pandemic, Adrian primarily focused on personal experiences and interrogations of queerness, identity, and sexuality. Since then, the work has zoomed out in its scope, still centering identity but placed in larger infrastructure and surveillance systems that mediate, manipulate, and control desire.
Adrian counts queer fiber art, BDSM and kink culture, theatre, camp horror, puppetry, and drag among his many influences. Works in RIPSTOP, like the modernist bounce house sculpture A Fallible Complex (2021), evoke spaces for play, beckoning visitors in through their alluring aesthetic and then blocking their entrance or revealing structural instabilities, like missing floors. Others, like The Sensational Inflatable Furry Divines (2017-19), use sensual materials, like faux fur, spandex, and pleather, which connect to theatrical performance and counterculture. The materials “play on people’s initial associations and serve as a gateway into greater conversations about identity construction, performance, desire, and technology,” he shares.Pieces also nod to the history of quilting, including the AIDS Memorial Quilt, another influence on Adrian’s work. “Even when pieces aren’t explicitly making quilt references, I want the history of quilting and sewing-based craft to be part of the conversation of the work,” he says. “Craft is so much about the processes and histories behind materials. It’s about connecting with communities of people who practice those techniques. It’s about material and technique being a doorway into a greater relationship with an object.”
Themes of transformation—of structures, identities, and bodies—run throughout the show. “What I love about drag and puppetry is the sense of transformation and play, specifically with bodies,” Adrian says. “Within these art forms, a body can become mutable and capable of performing and becoming in unexpected states.” The sculptures also transform throughout viewers’ experiences, going through stages of inflation and deflation and existing in many different states.
RIPSTOP’s constant interplay between surface and depth, assumption and reality, are all a part of what Adrian describes as “looking behind the curtain,” which they trace back to the theatre. “When I’m thinking about systems, and the systems desire fits into, I’m thinking of stage construction, the backstage, the things that go on behind the show, and performance of our desires,” they explain.
As a craft artist, Adrian’s philosophy “comes down to having an intentional relationship with material, process, and technique,” he says. “Those aspects of art making are just as – if not more – important than an intellectualized concept being illustrated by an artwork.”
“Broadened definitions of craft that highlight communities of practice are foundational for the Center for Craft’s new strategic direction,” explains Executive Director Stephanie Moore. “Max Adrian’s work in RIPSTOP exemplifies the expansive and meaningful forms craft can take.” The Center for Craft is an institution Adrian credits for their professional growth. “The Center for Craft has felt like such a supporting institution for me specifically and for so many other craft artists I know,” they note. “To be able to bring this amount of work to Asheville is pretty cool.”
See Max Adrian: RIPSTOP at the Center for Craft Beginning July 26. A reception will be held on August 15. RIPSTOP is organized by Houston Center for Contemporary Craft and curated by Sarah Darro.
Hive Ambition, Blue Ridge Artisan Market and Horse Shoe Farms are partnering up to host THE holiday market of the season, WNC Wonderland – a fundraiser benefitting The Creative Resilience Fund created by Brittany from @blue.ridge.artisan.market 💙
This event will include 20+ makers, artists, and creatives and is the perfect ‘one-stop shop’ for all of your holiday gifts.
The WNC artist community has been hit hard by Hurricane Helene and they need your support more than ever – come spend the day with us and show our creative community some love!
Don’t miss out on a perfect day filled with:
❄️ Supporting local artists and getting all your holiday shopping done!
❄️ Food and food options – including a s’mores station!!
❄️ A holiday themed Photo Booth by the lovely Sami over at @ashevilleflowerwalls – perfect for family photos!
❄️ A chance to win AMAZING raffle baskets from @hiveambition @blue.ridge.artisan.market and @thehorseshoefarm
❄️ A kids play area with a coloring station and fun-filled activities!
❄️ An opportunity to explore the beautiful @thehorseshoefarm property
This is a market you will want to spend the entire day at, so join us from 10am-3pm on December 14 to Shop Local and Support Hope 💝
A HUGE shoutout to the generosity of:
@blue.ridge.artisan.market for curating the artists and makers (and for collaborating to help put this entire market together!!!)
@thehorseshoefarm for donating their beautiful space
@kaleidoscopic.creative for donating their time and talent in our graphic design
@ashevilleflowerwalls for donating what will be an awesome Photo Booth
Saturdays from 10:30 AM – 12 PM
American Made: Paintings and Sculpture from the DeMell Jacobsen Collection features more than 100 works of art by renowned American artists. The exhibition beautifully illustrates distinctive styles and thought-provoking art explored by American artists over the past two centuries. Though many objects from the DeMell Jacobsen Collection have been on view at other museums, ranging from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum to the Amon Carter Museum of American Art and Saint Louis Art Museum, this exhibition features the best of the collection brought together in one location. The exhibition begins with Colonial-era portraits by masters, such as Benjamin West, Thomas Sully, and Sarah Miriam Peale, and then moves on to highlight the development of mid-19th-century landscape painting. Viewers will discover works depicting the United States from coast to coast by artists, including Thomas Cole, Asher B. Durand, Jasper Francis Copsey, and even a monumental arctic scene by William Bradford.
Bill Viola’s Moving Stillness: Mount Rainier, 1979 on loan from Art Bridges is an immersive experience that explores the ideas of death and regeneration in nature. In a darkened room, sounds from nature envelop the viewer, as a placid pool of water reflects a projected image of Mount Rainier onto a screen. The water is periodically disturbed, causing the image to dissolve and slowly recompose as the pool settles. As an active volcano at rest, Mount Rainier embodies both quiet beauty and dramatic violence. Using time as both a tool and a theme in his work, Viola visualizes the dualities of nature’s rhythms of renewal, which include moments of both fragility and strength.
Bringing you a new family holiday tradition, Embassy Suites by Hilton Asheville Downtown is proud to present Breakfast with Santa on Saturday, December 14th from 11am-2pm. This family-friendly event will be the highlight of the holiday season, bringing smiles and memories to cherish. Spread the holiday cheer to friends and family via Facebook event.
FREE to the public:
Meet & greet, plus photo op with Santa by Yellow Tie Photo Booth
🎄 ‘Letters to Santa’ station with Wedge Studios artist Julie Armbruster
🎶 Groove to the holiday beats with live music by DJ Camaro
🖍 Activity table by YMCA of Western North Carolina
Add a special holiday breakfast to your Santa visit. Buffet ticket prices are $32 for adults and $12 for kids with a portion of the proceeds to benefit YMCA WNC. Purchase your breakfast tickets today on Eventbrite.
Breakfast Ticket Includes:
🍳 Full breakfast with a build your own omelet bar
🍾 Savor a complimentary mimosa (for the grown-ups!)
☕️Hot chocolate for the kiddos
Bringing you a new holiday tradition to celebrate in Asheville with your family this year – Embassy Suites by Hilton Downtown Asheville is proud to present BREAKFAST WITH SANTA on December 14th from 11AM – 2PM. This family-friendly event will be sure to bring smiles and holiday cheer.
FREE to the Public:
🎅🏼 Santa Meet & Greet + Photo Op with Yellow Tie Photo Booth
🎄 “Letters to Santa” Station featuring Wedge Studio artist Julie Armbruster
🎶 Holiday Tunes spun by DJ Camaro
🖍️ Creative Fun at the activity table hosted by YMCA of Western North Carolina
Make your Santa visit extra special with a festive breakfast! Tickets for the breakfast buffet are $32 for adults and $12 for kids, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting YMCA of WNC.
Purchase your breakfast ticket here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1079982840749/preview/
Breakfast Ticket Includes:
🍳 Delicious Full Breakfast with a build-your-own omelet bar
🍾 Complimentary Mimosa for the grown-ups!
☕️ Hot Chocolate for the little ones
Bringing you a new holiday tradition to celebrate in Asheville with your family this year – Embassy Suites by Hilton Downtown Asheville is proud to present Breakfast with Santa on December 14th from 11AM-2PM. This family-friendly event will be sure to bring smiles and holiday cheer.
Adult tickets $45 and kids $15 with a portion of the proceeds to benefit YMCA WNC.
Ticket Includes:
🍳 Full breakfast with a build your own omelet bar
🍾 Savor a complimentary mimosa (for the grown-ups!)
🎅🏼 Meet & greet, plus photo op with Santa by Yellow Tie Photo Booth
🎄 ‘Letters to Santa’ station with Wedge Studio artist Julie Armbruster
🎶 Groove to the holiday beats with live music by DJ Camaro
🖍️ Activity table by YMCA of Western North Carolina
Tracey Morgan Gallery is pleased to present “The Boys Will Get Hungry if They See Fruit,” an exhibition of new paintings and soft sculptures by multidisciplinary artist Carly Owens Weiss. This is Weiss’ first solo exhibition with the gallery. A reception for the artist will be held Friday, November 15 from 6-8PM.
Regular gallery hours are Wed- Sat 11am-5pm