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.
Saturdays from 10:30 AM – 12 PM
Immerse yourself with the healing vibrations of a Sound Bath!
Join your host Kristin Hillegas, for a one-hour Serenity Sound Bath and experience a deeply immersive, full-body sound and vibrational experience. A sound bath can cleanse your soul, restore your balance, surround you with peace and tranquility and stimulate healing.
Note: Please bring a yoga mat/pillow/blanket since you will be lying on the floor. Wear warm, comfortable, and flexible clothing.
The Sound Bath will take place upstairs in the Education Building. Choose your space starting at 1:00 PM, doors close promptly at 1:15 PM.
This service is being offered on a Love Offering basis. Donations allow us to continue to provide these immersive experiences.
Accessible parking is available in the Center for Spiritual Living Asheville upper parking lot. The entrance to the upper parking lot is off of S. Bear Creek Rd between Science of Mind Way and Sand Hill Rd.
There is a boardwalk walk-way from the upper parking lot to the building entrance.
This National Poetry Month, turn your sparks of inspiration into beautiful poetry in an all-new poetry workshop led by Greenville Poet Laureate Glenis Redmond. Whether you’re just dipping your toes into the world of poetry or you’ve been penning verses for a while, this workshop is tailor-made for you. From brainstorming ideas to crafting captivating lines, Glenis will guide you every step of the way. Unleash your inner wordsmith and explore the magic of poetry with a true master.
The $125 registration fee is for admission to the three-part workshop taking place at 6:00 PM on April 11, 18 and 25. Please bring paper and your preferred writing tool with you. The workshop culminates in a reading during the final session where participants can invite a guest to enjoy their poetry progress.
Saturdays from 10:30 AM – 12 PM
Democrats need to be more actively messaging and to overcome the makers of fake news with the truth! Join this ongoing group of writers working together on Letters to the Editor and Opinion Editorials. We’ll discuss the issues we care about most deeply and craft a plan to respond to events as they occur in real time.
The group meets the first and third Monday of each month for writing, responding to one another’s work, scheduling submissions, and exploring media outlets across the state.
“Rant with purpose. Support with facts. Propel action.” – Myra Schoen
Wednesdays, starting March 20 | Offered through the Great Smokies Writing Program, this five-week class will investigate the ways in which paintings, drawings, photographs, and sculpture inspire, collaborate with, and complement our writing process.
The Innerdance is a music-based, meditative, healing journey, It involves the use of special soundscapes that mimic circadian rhythms and enable people to move effortlessly between different brain wave states. As a result, people experience an expanded sense of awareness and altered states of consciousness.
In this space of unlimited possibilities, very profound and mystical things can happen. Common movements in the Innerdance include drug-free psychedelic experiences, life regressions, circadian rhythms, near-death experiences, kundalini activations, and womb/birth memories.
Benefits may include nervous system regulation, circadian rhythm reset, mental clarity, inner peace, greater neural plasticity, increased intuitive discernment, emotional regulation, improved self-esteem, etc.
Cleanse your mind, body and spirit from the heaviness of winter and move forward into the freshness of Spring with a soothing Sound Bath!
Join your host Kristin Hillegas, for a one-hour Serenity Sound Bath and experience a deeply immersive, full-body sound and vibrational experience. A sound bath can cleanse your soul, restore your balance, surround you with peace and tranquility and stimulate healing.
Note: Please bring a yoga mat/pillow/blanket since you will be lying on the floor. Wear warm, comfortable, and flexible clothing.
The Sound Bath will take place upstairs in the Education Building. Choose your space starting at 6:15 PM, doors close promptly at 6:30 PM.
This service is being offered on a Love Offering basis. Donations allow us to continue to provide these immersive experiences.
Accessible parking is available in the Center for Spiritual Living Asheville upper parking lot. The entrance to the upper parking lot is off of S. Bear Creek Rd between Science of Mind Way and Sand Hill Rd.
There is a boardwalk walk-way from the upper parking lot to the building entrance.
The fair will feature environmental education workshops, free eco crafting, bird house and feeder building activities, a greenhouse effect activity, and more. Supplies are limited. Admission is free, no registration required.
Saturdays from 10:30 AM – 12 PM
Rezonance & Slice of Life Comedy present **Canna Comic Cuisine —4.20 Infused Dinner Comedy Show**! Get ready for a night of laughter, delicious food, and a touch of cannabis-infused fun. Join us on **Sat Apr 20 2024** at **7:30 PM** for a unique experience that combines comedy with a gourmet dinner featuring cannabis-infused dishes. Our talented comedians will keep you entertained throughout the evening, while our chefs prepare a mouthwatering meal that will tantalize your taste buds. Don’t miss out on this one-of-a-kind event that promises to be a memorable and hilarious night out!
Saturday 4.20.24
Held at a secret location in downtown Asheville, 21+
Your $42 ticket includes infused vegetarian dinner and a canned drink. Location given out with ticket purchase. Tickets are very limited so book this date now.
Standup Comedy Hosted by Hilliary Begley (netflix Amazon Prime, Votedt Avl Best Comic 5+) featuring Cayla Clark, Miranda Allison & Cody Hughes
Your Comedy Host Hilliary Begley-
Hilliary will make you cry with laughter with her larger than life personality!! Voted repeatedly Asheville’s Favorite comic in the Mountain Xpress, Hilliary’s reach goes well beyond the city to all over the country. Film debut in the Netflix original Dumplin’ as Aunt Lucy, or “Jennifer Anniston’s fat sister,” and in Austin Film Festival winning movie When We Last Spoke with Cloris Leachman, now streaming on Amazon Prime. https ://youtu.be/legRwEg4j-o
Featuring Cayla Clark-
a California native (through no fault of her own), moved to Asheville three years ago and quickly fell in love with the local comedy scene. She created and co-produces Blind Date Live, a quarterly comedic dating show, Bad Date Mic, and several other dating-related events around town. She is also a playwright, and has had original works in the Fringe Festival for the past three years.
Feature Cody Hughes-
Cody is a comedian from Asheville NC. He’s lived in a few different big cities and a lot of comedians like him and a lot of other comedians have heard good things about him from the comedians who like him. A few comedians don’t like him and he can’t do anything about that. Oh well. He has opened for Lewis Black, John Oliver, Maria Bamford, and many others
Feature Miranda Allison-
Sweet but sassy, Miranda Allison is an up and coming stand up comedian with a timid, yet audacious sense of humor. From right here in Asheville, NC, Miranda is quickly becoming a fan favorite in the comedy scene. You can find her co-hosting The Hot Seat on Mondays and at other comedy shows in the area.
Rezonance & Slice of Life Comedy present **Canna Comic Cuisine —4.20 Infused Dessert Comedy Show**! Get ready for a night of laughter, delicious food, and a touch of cannabis-infused fun. Join us on **Sat Apr 20 2024** at **9:30 PM** for a unique experience that combines comedy with a gourmet dinner featuring cannabis-infused dishes. Our talented comedians will keep you entertained throughout the evening, while our chefs prepare a mouthwatering dessert that will tantalize your taste buds. Don’t miss out on this one-of-a-kind event that promises to be a memorable and hilarious night out!
Saturday 4.20.24
Held at a secret location in downtown Asheville, 21+
Your $42 ticket includes infused dessert and a canned drink. Location given out with ticket purchase. Tickets are very limited so book this date now.
Standup Comedy Hosted by Hilliary Begley (netflix Amazon Prime, Votedt Avl Best Comic 5+) featuring Cayla Clark, Miranda Allison & Cody Hughes
Your Comedy Host Hilliary Begley-
Hilliary will make you cry with laughter with her larger than life personality!! Voted repeatedly Asheville’s Favorite comic in the Mountain Xpress, Hilliary’s reach goes well beyond the city to all over the country. Film debut in the Netflix original Dumplin’ as Aunt Lucy, or “Jennifer Anniston’s fat sister,” and in Austin Film Festival winning movie When We Last Spoke with Cloris Leachman, now streaming on Amazon Prime. https ://youtu.be/legRwEg4j-o
Featuring Cayla Clark-
a California native (through no fault of her own), moved to Asheville three years ago and quickly fell in love with the local comedy scene. She created and co-produces Blind Date Live, a quarterly comedic dating show, Bad Date Mic, and several other dating-related events around town. She is also a playwright, and has had original works in the Fringe Festival for the past three years.
Feature Cody Hughes-
Cody is a comedian from Asheville NC. He’s lived in a few different big cities and a lot of comedians like him and a lot of other comedians have heard good things about him from the comedians who like him. A few comedians don’t like him and he can’t do anything about that. Oh well. He has opened for Lewis Black, John Oliver, Maria Bamford, and many others
Feature Miranda Allison-
Sweet but sassy, Miranda Allison is an up and coming stand up comedian with a timid, yet audacious sense of humor. From right here in Asheville, NC, Miranda is quickly becoming a fan favorite in the comedy scene. You can find her co-hosting The Hot Seat on Mondays and at other comedy shows in the area.
Tanger Outlets Asheville will host the sixth annual Drive Electric Earth Day Car Show on Sunday, April 21 from noon – 4 p.m. The event, sponsored by Sugar Hollow Solar and Hunter Volvo, will showcase electric vehicles and the latest innovations in personal electric transportation. Organized in collaboration with the Blue Ridge EV Club, Land of Sky Clean Vehicles Coalition and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, attendees will have the opportunity to explore a variety of electric cars, bikes, scooters, hoverboards, one wheels and more.
This event is FREE and open to the public.
Connect with Tanger Asheville on Facebook and Instagram. For more information, visit tanger.com/asheville.
Bountiful Bowls
On Sunday April 21st 1-5pm UNCA’s Health and Wellness Department and the Student Environmental Center will host Bountiful Bowls, an Earth Day and Food Waste Reduction Month event and fundraiser to benefit Bountiful Cities.
This FREE event is open to all. Community members and students are invited to come and celebrate outside the Sherrill Center at UNCA where they can enjoy some “stone soup.” Participants are encouraged to bring a vegetable or pantry item that can be part of the stone soup. We will celebrate Food Waste Reduction month using donated up-cycled produce to make the soup and a Panzanella Salad for attendees. Firefly Valley Pottery will lead participants in a hands-on experience with clay, and participants can take hand built pots with them. The Student Environmental Center will lead Earth Day activities and share information about sustainability.
Participants can purchase beautiful ceramic hand-made bowls (on a sliding scale) to support Bountiful Cities work, then fill it with soup or salad!
Tickets ($25 each) are also on sale for cooking classes with Plant-Based Nutrition Expert and Professor Amy Joy Lanou in the Teaching Kitchen at the Sherill Center at UNCA. Lanou will explore techniques to reduce food waste and cook delicious dishes with fresh and local produce. You can purchase a ticket to the cooking class and add on a ceramic bowl for $40.
Special thanks to our co-sponsor Firefly Valley Pottery. Thanks also to UNCA Ceramics department, AB Tech Ceramics department, Asheville High School Ceramics department, and many local ceramic artists for donating bowls for this event. And thanks to the Food Equity Initiative at UNCA for donating supplies.
Please RSVP, purchase bowls and tickets today! You may choose your bowl on a first come first served basis on the day of the event. If we don’t sell out, bowls will be available for purchase on the day of the event and pick up at one of our up coming events
Back Alley Boutique & Bud Bar is hosting the 2nd Annual Back Alley Hempfest on Sunday 04/21/2024 from 2-7pm. Join us for this free event at 28 Oak St. and at the Depot Plaza right across Trade St. There will be live music, local vendors, live glass-blowing, fire-spinning, stilt-walking, and more! About 30 Local Vendors will be offering a wide variety of arts, crafts, gifts, & goodies! There will be a scavenger hunt to enter for door prizes scattered among the vendors with hourly prizes! There will also be a rolling competition & 420 special smoke session in the back Bud Bar & Lounge area of Back Alley Boutique & Bud Bar. Come check out all the festivities!
Music Schedule:
28 Oak St.
King Chewie 2-3:30pm
Nina Gi 3:45-5:15pm
Acklen Walker 5:30-7pm
Depot Plaza
Moonshine State 2-4pm
The Ribald Riffers 4:20-7pm
Thank You to our growing list of Sponsors!:
Tettra Hydra Glass, Astria Farm, Kaleidoscope Studios Art, Hypnotic Massage Sleep Boutique, Yetees Design Screenprinting, Carrie Bass Photography, eARThly Minds Gallery, Social Shay Photography, The Moth Queen, and Back Alley Boutique & Bud Bar.
Explore Asheville invites you and your organization to contribute to the stewardship of our destination by participating in the inaugural 2024 Explore Asheville Travel & Hospitality Earth Day Cleanup, hosted by Explore Asheville and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, with support from Asheville GreenWorks and RiverLink.
We encourage you to recruit two to three staff members to represent your business by taking part in the cleanup. Participants can choose the area of town they wish to clean up; each neighborhood will have a host venue for a pre and post-cleanup meetup.
Cleanup and Host Venue locations include:
- Downtown: Embassy Suites by Hilton Asheville Downtown
- South Slope: Burial Beer Co.
- River Arts District: The Radical
- Amboy Road: Wrong Way River Lodge and Cabins
- West Asheville: Cellarest Beer Project
The program will include welcome remarks and instructions, an approximately one-hour clean-up, and a post-clean up social with local brews and light bites.
What You Need to Know:
- The clean up will take place in five locations throughout Asheville
- Each location will have a host venue for gathering before and after the cleanup
- All participants will receive a free custom event t-shirt
- Participants will meet at their host venue at 2pm to check in and receive instructions and supplies
- The clean up will last one hour, after which participants will meet back at their host venue to return supplies. Social hour and networking to follow.
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Check-In
2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Cleanup
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Earth Day Social
Congratulations to our Youth Spoken Word Contest winners:
Eva S. — 11th grade at Carolina Day
Tesslyn H. — 8th grade at IC Imagine Public Charter School
Gabriella B. — 11th grade at School of Inquiry and Life Sciences at Asheville (SILSA)
Lily A. — 9th grade at Madison Early College High School
Come experience these talented students perform with artist Dasan Ahanu, Tuesday, April 23 at 5:30 p.m. at Atelier Maison’s showroom. Admission is free; RSVP required. Drinks and light appetizers will be provided.
RSVP to [email protected].
Event location:
Atelier Maison Showroom
121 Sweeten Creek Road, Ste. 50
Asheville, NC 28803
About Dasan Ahanu: Christopher Massenburg, better known as Dasan Ahanu, is a public speaker, organizer, curator, educator, poet, spoken word artist, songwriter, emcee, and loyal hip-hop head born and raised in Raleigh, NC.
Sponsored by Atelier Maison.
Join the Dark City Poets Society for a free publishing workshop from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, 2024 at the Black Mountain Library,105 N. Dougherty Street, Black Mountain, NC 28711. This workshop will be led by John Himmelheber, editor of Smoky Blue Literary and Arts Magazine, along with Ivy Rosen, editor of Black Mountain Press. Learn tips and tricks on how to get published and what the best practices are for submitting your work for consideration. This workshop is open to all ages, and no registration is required.
oin the Dark City Poets Society for a free publishing workshop at the Black Mountain Library!
This workshop will be led by John Himmelheber, editor of Smoky Blue Literary And Arts Magazine, along with Ivy Rosen, editor of Black Mountain Press. Learn tips and tricks on how to get published.
The Asheville Museum of History (Formerly the Western North Carolina Historical Association) announces David Joy’s Those We Thought We Knew as the winner of the 2023 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award
The Asheville Museum of History announces the selection of the winner David Joy for Those We Thought We Knew for the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award. Finalists Erica Abrams Locklear, Elizabeth Giddens, Jennifer McGaha and Terry Roberts will also be honored at an awards ceremony Thursday, April 25, 6 p.m. at A-B Tech’s Ferguson Auditorium (19 Tech Drive). A reception will follow at the Asheville Museum of History at the Smith-McDowell House, 283 Victoria Road, Asheville, NC.
Originated by the Louis Lipinsky family, the Award has been presented annually by the organization since 1955 for printed works that focus special attention on Western North Carolina. To be considered, an entry must be a published work of fiction, nonfiction, drama or poetry and meet the following criteria:
- It must be a first edition work; revised editions of published works will not be considered.
- The publication date must have been no later than August 1, 2023.
- The author must be a native of Western North Carolina or a resident of Western North Carolina for at least twelve months prior to the closing date for the Award.
- An author may also qualify if the work submitted has a focus on or setting in Western North Carolina.
The Western North Carolina Historical Association presented the first Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award to Wilma Dykeman in 1955 for The French Broad. Brent Martin won the 2022 award for George Masa’s Wild Vision: A Japanese Immigrant Imagines Western North Carolina. Other authors who have received the award include Robert Brunk, Wayne Caldwell, Wiley Cash, Charles Frazier, John Ehle, Gail Godwin, Michael McFee, Doug Orr, Ron Rash, Fiona Ritchie, Terry Roberts, Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle and Lee Smith.
A prize of $1,000 accompanies the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award and will be awarded to David Joy, winner of this year’s award, at a ceremony at AB Tech’s Ferguson Auditorium (Fernihurst Drive, Asheville) on Thursday, April 25, 6 p.m. Each of the finalists will read a short passage from their work. There will be a reception at 7 p.m. at the Asheville Museum of History at the Smith-McDowell House.
This year’s finalists were chosen from an original group of more than 35 nominations. The finalists, listed below in alphabetical order, encompass a broad range of genres and forms.
- Erica Abrams Locklear Appalachia on the Table: Representing Mountain Food and People
- Elizabeth Giddens Oconaluftee: The History of a Smoky Mountain Valley
- David Joy Those We Thought We Knew (Winner of the 2023 Thomas Wolfe Literary Award)
- Jennifer McGaha Bushwhacking: How to Get Lost in the Woods and Writer Your Way Out
- Terry Roberts The Sky Club
The Award Panel this year consists of: Catherine Frank, Chair, Director, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville; Wayne Caldwell, author and former Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award winner; Dee James, professor emeritus, UNC-Asheville; and Jim Stokely, President, Wilma Dykeman Legacy.
For more information visit https://www.ashevillehistory.org/literaryaward/ and https://www.simpletix.com/e/thomas-wolfe-literary-award-tickets-167349#location
Saturdays from 10:30 AM – 12 PM
Start off Poetry Month at the Library with a celebration of Dolly Parton’s lyrics at the Fairview Library.
What could the songs of legendary singer-songwriter Dolly Parton teach us about writing, craft, and perspectives in poetry? In this in-person workshop, poet Dustin Brookshire guides participants through exploring the discography and cultural impact of Dolly Parton. We’ll use this as inspiration for writing new poems via thematic prompts.
This free workshop will be Tuesday, April 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the Fairview Library.
Our facilitator, Dustin Brookshire is the recipient of the 2024 Jon Tribble Editors Fellowship awarded by Poetry at the Sea and is the co-editor of Let Me Say This: A Dolly Parton Poetry Anthology (Madville Publishing, 2023), which was named to the 2024 Books All Georgians Should Read list by the Georgia Center for the Book.
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Mindfulness is paying attention in the present moment, on purpose, without judgment, as if our life depends on it. This Art of Living course series offers skills and tools for cultivating well-being by strengthening awareness of body, mind and emotions. Participants should dress comfortably and bring a towel or yoga mat. A limited number of yoga mats are available for those that need one. Dr. Mattie Decker teaches Mindfulness Meditation and Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR). She is a certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide and guides walks with Conserving Carolina. To contact Mattie for more information on Mindfulness: [email protected] or call 828-333-3508. |
Saturdays from 10:30 AM – 12 PM
Looking for a chance to celebrate mom and make her a unique gift? Or are you wanting to learn a new skill? In this fun introductory class led by Judy Peacock, you will learn to make your own herbal self-care products including an oatmeal rose honey scrub, a rose clay mask, and herbal tea blend. It’s the perfect way to spend time with mom, or make something for yourself. Each participant will take home a honey scrub, a clay mask blend, and an herbal tranquil tea blend.
Democrats need to be more actively messaging and to overcome the makers of fake news with the truth! Join this ongoing group of writers working together on Letters to the Editor and Opinion Editorials. We’ll discuss the issues we care about most deeply and craft a plan to respond to events as they occur in real time.
The group meets the first and third Monday of each month for writing, responding to one another’s work, scheduling submissions, and exploring media outlets across the state.
“Rant with purpose. Support with facts. Propel action.” – Myra Schoen
We’ve heard your valuable feedback, and now you don’t have to hear us! Beginning May 4, 2021, the period between 8 and 10 a.m. on the first Tuesday morning of every month will be reserved for “Meditative Mornings,” a pause for quiet time in our gardens and on our trails. During this time, our working garden crew will abstain from using leaf blowers, mowers and other equipment so you can be sure to enjoy the sounds of birds and the wind in the trees.
Take advantage of half-price parking on the first Tuesday of every month and come out to the Arboretum to enjoy a Meditative Morning!
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Mindfulness is paying attention in the present moment, on purpose, without judgment, as if our life depends on it. This Art of Living course series offers skills and tools for cultivating well-being by strengthening awareness of body, mind and emotions. Participants should dress comfortably and bring a towel or yoga mat. A limited number of yoga mats are available for those that need one. Dr. Mattie Decker teaches Mindfulness Meditation and Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR). She is a certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide and guides walks with Conserving Carolina. To contact Mattie for more information on Mindfulness: [email protected] or call 828-333-3508. |
Mother Runner’s Day Sale 25% off