Calendar of Events

Join us as we kick-off the Oktoberfest season at Hi-Wire.

Hi-Wire’s annual annual Oktoberfest returns to Asheville Saturday, August 24 at Big Top with a bunch of individual and team games including Bouncy Ball Race, Dizzy Relay, Brat Toss, Grain Sack Toss, Stein Hoisting, and Mechanical Bull Riding.

We’ve got the INCREDIBLE Mountain Top Polka Band throwing down throughout the day. This family friendly event is one of our absolute favorites every year and we hope you’ll join us! $15 includes a custom liter stein and first fill-up. Liter fills of flagship and seasonal beers are $8 after that.

Come be a part of the fun when the West Asheville Tailgate Market hosts a big Haywood Road block party called the ‘Summer Jam Festival! It’s our way of saying farewell to summer and bringing the whole neighborhood out for one last hurrah before fall.

Summer Jam Fest is the market’s biggest fundraiser of the year. It’s a community-oriented festival with music (a jam band, of course!), food trucks, a bounce house, a giant raffle, lawn games, contests (like best jam, best beard, etc), and so much more!

Win prizes by entering the raffle (they’re just $5 for 1 or $12 for 3, or $20 for 5 available at www.westashevilletailgatemarket.com) or enter a pint of your homemade jam into the Jam Tasting Contest and you could be crowned Jam Royalty of the WATM-world.

To highlight the Call for Artists we are hosting our third and final
Fringe Summer Night.

This free event will feature 3 Fringe artist performances:
Amanda Levesque, Jenni Cockrell, and Alli Marshall
who will present performance art, butoh dance, and spoken word. Fringe Festival organizers will be also encouraging proposal submissions and answering questions about the process.

To apply for the 2020 Asheville Fringe Arts Festival, go to our all new website: http://www.ashevillefringe.org/apply-2020  Artists should read our Performer Guidelines, then submit an online application and tech form by Monday, September 23 at 9:23pm.

As always, we seek to create a festival line-up that includes dance, puppetry, storytelling, performance art, theatre, and things that blur the lines. Artists are encouraged to bring their most daring work, and will find full support from the Asheville Fringe Family.

Mia Jackson is a bonafide Georgia peach (that’s Georgian for “native”) and self proclaimed know-it-all. After graduating from the University of Georgia she hit the local comedy scene and has thrilled audiences since day one. To her credit she has appeared on NickMom’s Night Out, Viceland and was a semi-finalist on Season 9 of NBC’s Last Comic Standing. She has appeared on Inside Amy Schumer and the movie Mother’s Day. In 2017, she was named a New Face at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal and Atlanta’s Creative Loafing named her the city’s Best Stand-Up. Smart, funny, and versatile, Mia entertains all types of crowds. She just filmed her Comedy Central special at the end of January.

Featuring Petey Smith McDowell
Hosted by Morgan Bost

Sponsored by BRÖÖ Craft Beer Hair

ages 18+
Tickets $10 advance, $12 day of

FRIDAY: Doors at 8pm, show at 9pm
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-mia-jackson-friday-night-tickets-64202408131

SATURDAY: Doors at 9pm, show at 9:45pm
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-mia-jackson-saturday-night-tickets-64203472314

This Labor Day Weekend art affair will feature a collection of national and regional artists specializing in hand-made works of art. There will be painters, potters, jewelers, glass blowers and much more. Asheville’s historic Pack Square is the picturesque venue for the Downtown Asheville Festival of the Arts. The show is set up on N. and S. Pack Square around Vance Memorial.

Mia Jackson is a bonafide Georgia peach (that’s Georgian for “native”) and self proclaimed know-it-all. After graduating from the University of Georgia she hit the local comedy scene and has thrilled audiences since day one. To her credit she has appeared on NickMom’s Night Out, Viceland and was a semi-finalist on Season 9 of NBC’s Last Comic Standing. She has appeared on Inside Amy Schumer and the movie Mother’s Day. In 2017, she was named a New Face at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal and Atlanta’s Creative Loafing named her the city’s Best Stand-Up. Smart, funny, and versatile, Mia entertains all types of crowds. She just filmed her Comedy Central special at the end of January.

Featuring Petey Smith McDowell
Hosted by Morgan Bost

Sponsored by BRÖÖ Craft Beer Hair

ages 18+
Tickets $10 advance, $12 day of

FRIDAY: Doors at 8pm, show at 9pm
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-mia-jackson-friday-night-tickets-64202408131

SATURDAY: Doors at 9pm, show at 9:45pm
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-mia-jackson-saturday-night-tickets-64203472314

This Labor Day Weekend art affair will feature a collection of national and regional artists specializing in hand-made works of art. There will be painters, potters, jewelers, glass blowers and much more. Asheville’s historic Pack Square is the picturesque venue for the Downtown Asheville Festival of the Arts. The show is set up on N. and S. Pack Square around Vance Memorial.

On Friday, September 6th, Asheville Investment Club (AIC) will host Big Scary Fish Tank, a fundraiser for local nonprofit, OnTrack WNC, as the capstone event of Asheville Entrepreneurship Week. The soirée will be held at the historic Asheville Masonic Temple where its exquisite, century-old theatre will serve as backdrop for the main attraction: a live pitch event wherein four local companies compete for $500,000 from local investors. The judge’s panel, made up of three core members from AIC and one guest from the community, will champion, challenge, and critique the contestants before proposing a deal. Audience members will also have an opportunity to vote for their favorite pitch, with the winner receiving a $5,000 investment.

Preceding the event will be an additional networking, cocktail, and hors d’ouervs hour. Noble Cider’s newest venture, The Greenhouse, will provide a premier selection of locally brewed craft beer, interesting wines, superb cider, and two specialty themed cocktails. 67 Biltmore, known for elevated catered options, will be supplying the canapés. Through the hallway and into the theatre, guests will have an opportunity to step into an alternate world with an immersive virtual reality experience brought to you by Better Than Unicorns.

All proceeds will benefit local nonprofit, OnTrack WNC, who’s mission is to educate, counsel and support people in reaching their money and housing goals so they can overcome crises, afford basic needs, improve money management skills and make sound financial choices rooted in their values.

Tickets now on sale for Big Scary Fish Tank, to take place Friday, September 6, 2019, from 6-9pm. The evening will be an ideal networking opportunity for entrepreneurs, community leaders, and all-around movers and shakers of Asheville. Expected attendees include founders, CEOs, investors, politicians, bloggers, media, and members of the local community.

For more information please visit www.bigscaryfishtank.com. Follow Big Scary Fish Tank on Instagram at @bigscaryfishtank.

Rob Christensen is a stand up comedian, writer, and actor who was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY – when it was still dangerous. He now lives in Los Angeles, CA where he’s all about that salad life. Rob’s unique humor is smart, self-reflective, spirited, and informed by his experiences back in Brooklyn as an illegal graffiti artist, freestyle rap battler, raver, hooligan and eventual U.S. Air Force Sergeant. Overall, Rob is generally known as a bad-ass ruffian, which does not preclude him from regularly cuddling with baby animals.

Rob had one of the best sets of his life taping THIS IS NOT HAPPENING for Comedy Central and one of the best weekends of his life taping ADAM DEVINE’S HOUSE PARTY for Comedy Central. He had one of the worst sets of his life taping LAST COMIC STANDING for NBC where Roseanne Barr told him, “I didn’t like you from the moment I saw you.”

Follow him @RobLovesBagels on Twitter and Instagram or get more info at BrooklynRob.com

Featuring Jess Cooley

Tickets $10 advance, $12 day of
Friday: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-rob-christensen-friday-tickets-67283704371

Saturday: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-rob-christensen-saturday-tickets-67287882869

?Saturday, September 7th 11am-6:30pm
✨ASHEVILLE✨
Hickory Nut Gap Farm Renaissance Faire
57 Sugar Hollow Rd, Fairview, North Carolina 28730
***PLEASE NOTE THERE IS AN ENTRANCE FEE***
Sign up here to reserve your spot and for more information:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B044BA5AB2FA1FA7-hickory3

Attention all knights, pages, jesters, jousters, kings, queens, princesses and princes! Get your costumes ready, and come out and have some fun on September 7th! Boys, girls, moms, dads, come one, come all to the First Annual Renaissance Fair at the Farm. We have all sorts of fun demonstrations planned, such as fencing, sword fighting, and juggling. Other activities to be announced, including a costume contest!

Rob Christensen is a stand up comedian, writer, and actor who was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY – when it was still dangerous. He now lives in Los Angeles, CA where he’s all about that salad life. Rob’s unique humor is smart, self-reflective, spirited, and informed by his experiences back in Brooklyn as an illegal graffiti artist, freestyle rap battler, raver, hooligan and eventual U.S. Air Force Sergeant. Overall, Rob is generally known as a bad-ass ruffian, which does not preclude him from regularly cuddling with baby animals.

Rob had one of the best sets of his life taping THIS IS NOT HAPPENING for Comedy Central and one of the best weekends of his life taping ADAM DEVINE’S HOUSE PARTY for Comedy Central. He had one of the worst sets of his life taping LAST COMIC STANDING for NBC where Roseanne Barr told him, “I didn’t like you from the moment I saw you.”

Follow him @RobLovesBagels on Twitter and Instagram or get more info at BrooklynRob.com

Featuring Jess Cooley

Tickets $10 advance, $12 day of
Friday: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-rob-christensen-friday-tickets-67283704371

Saturday: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-rob-christensen-saturday-tickets-67287882869

✨ASHEVILLE✨ Come out for some fun with Finklepott’s Original Fairy Hair!
You can wash it,
brush it,
comb it,
curl it,
flat iron, (up to 450°!)
color it,
straighten it,
perm it,
blow it dry, get your haircut, etc.
Do whatever you normally do to your hair -but most of all; ENJOY IT!

Sign up here to reserve your spot and for more information:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b044ba5ab2fa1fa7-whole7

?Thursday, September 12th 5:00pm-7:00pm
✨HENDERSONVILLE✨
Elite, Luxury Consignment & Boutique
178 Four Seasons Mall , Hendersonville, NC 28792
Sign up here to reserve your spot and for more information:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B044BA5AB2FA1FA7-elite1

A born & raised Cincinnati comedian, Ran Barnaclo has proven himself a front runner in the local scene after winning the title of 2017’s Funniest Person in Cincinnati. Ran has also been nominated as ‘Best Comedian’ in Best of Cincinnati’s 2018 locally voted contest.

Ran’s comedy is full of calculated descriptions that have audiences laughing for days. His story telling abilities are so aggressively masterful they can take the crowd out of their seats and into the mind of a tattooed wizard.

Ran has been able to build a fan base at his home club, Go Banana’s Comedy Club; located right outside of Cincinnati. He has shared the stage with national headliners such as Cy Admundson, Sean Patton, Kyle Kinane, and has done CYSK in NYC and The Brew Ha-Ha comedy Festival.
-Anna Mazza

Tickets $10 advance, $12 day of
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-ran-barnaclo-tickets-67290350249

Head to the bucolic hills of Fairview, just southeast of Asheville, where western North Carolina’s rich agricultural heritage lives on at family farms and artisan food producers. Experience the century-plus legacy of Hickory Nut Gap Farm, a sustainable farm run by the fifth generation of family owners. Savor award-winning farmstead cheeses at Looking Glass Creamery–a place so hands-on, the cheese maker milks the cows herself–and pick up fresh-from-the-fields produce at Flying Cloud Farm. Along the way, enjoy locally produced beverages. Live music at Hickory Nut Gap Farm by Zoe and Cloyd.

at each farm, there is a guest chef providing a dish featuring products from that particular farm. There will be a beverage pairing at each stop. At Hickory Nut Gap Farm, there are a few chef stations and live music. Transportation to and from downtown is also provided for this event.

Must be 21 and older to attend all Chow Chow events!

All events, prices, personalities, performances, venues, dates, and times are subject to change without notice. All sales are final.

Friday Night- 6:30-8:30pm, Full Retreat (9/13 and 9/14)- 9:30am-5:30pm

Based his new book, Drinking from the River of Light, this Mark Nepo workshop will center on the lifelong process of listening, reflecting, and expressing, and on how bearing witness to the truth of living reveals the mysteries of life.

As no one can live without inhaling and exhaling, no one can live without feeling and expressing. The life of expression is how the heart breathes and how our spirit grows in the life that carries it. The life of feeling, dialogue, and writing, whatever form they take—poetry, story, memoir, or reflection—open us to a personal form of expression, a necessary conversation with the Universe that helps us move through obstacles and transitions. As meditation is an ancient art that deepens our relationship to how we breathe, writing and storytelling are ancient arts that deepen our relationship to all that matters. And just as the reward for practicing meditation is not that we’ll become great breathers but that we’ll become clear vessels of life-force, the reward for practicing a personal form of expression is not that we’ll become great writers or great storytellers but that such practice will help us be more resilient and wake closer to life.

In this Mark Nepo workshop, Mark will open a heart space through which participants can discover their own rhythms of expression. Through poetry, stories, and metaphors, Through reflection, journaling, and dialogue, each participant will have the chance to practice listening and expressing. We are constantly being shaped by life into finer instruments of care and expression. The deeper we go, the more attuned we become, and the more we join with everything around us. This workshop will help you to inhabit a personal form of expression, by which you can strengthen your connections and find your way.

Topics in this Mark Nepo workshop include “The Chord in Our Heart,” “What It Means to See,” “Bearing Witness,” “Unraveling the Self,” “Giving and Getting Attention,” “Breaking Surface,” “Understanding Practice,” and “Fitting Things Together.”

Mark Nepo is a poet and philosopher who has taught in the fields of poetry and spirituality for forty years. A New York Times #1 bestselling author, he has published fourteen books and recorded eight audio projects. Recent work includes: Reduced to Joy (2013), Seven Thousand Ways to Listen which won the 2012 Books for a Better Life Award, Staying Awake (2012), Holding Nothing Back (2012), As Far As the Heart Can See (2011), Finding Inner Courage (2011),and Surviving Has Made Me Crazy (2007), as well as audio books of The Book of Awakening, Finding Inner Courage, and As Far As the Heart Can See (2011). As a cancer survivor, Mark devotes his writing and teaching to the journey of inner transformation and the life of relationship.

Jake Marshall Head is a southern stand-up comedian living in New York City. Jake made his television debut on Fox’s “Laughs.” He has been a regular guest on SiriusXM, and he’s appeared at numerous festivals around the country, including Comedy Central’s South Beach Festival, Laughing Skull Fest, & Seattle International Comedy Competition.

Featuring Mimi J Benfield

Tickets $10 advance, $12 day of
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-jake-head-tickets-67294889827

Enjoy music by Queen Bee and the Honeylovers, learn about the connections between personal, environmental, and community health, and support  local nonprofits.

Integrative Family Medicine of Asheville and Wedge at Foundation are hosting the second annual Mountain Medicine Festival, a community celebration and concert highlighting the health benefits of nature and benefiting local environmental nonprofits. The all ages event will take place on Sunday, September 15, from 4:30 pm–6:30 pm at the Wedge at Foundation on Foundry Street.

“New research confirms the timeless wisdom that our health is inextricably linked with both our natural and social environment. We want to highlight and nurture these relationships to support our community,” said Dr. Brian Lewis, MD, MPH. Dr. Lewis and Dr. Chad Krisel are founders, owners, and medical providers at Integrative Family Medicine of Asheville.

Queen Bee and the Honeylovers (swing jazz) will perform, and several local environmental nonprofits will staff booths to highlight their advocacy work and volunteer opportunities.

The festival is free to attend, but donations are encouraged. All donations received will be split equally between the featured environmental nonprofits: Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, MountainTrue,  Dogwood Alliance, Conserving Carolina, and Asheville GreenWorks.

?Wednesday, September 18th 3:00pm-5:00pm
✨ASHEVILLE✨
The Garage On 25
3461 Hendersonville Road, Fletcher, NC 28732
Sign up here to reserve your spot and for more information:
https://www.signupgenius.com/…/60B044BA5AB2FA1FA7-thegarage1

Valerie Tosi is a comedian, actor, writer, and voiceover artist. Recent credits include guest stars on IFC’s Stan Against Evil, Netflix’s The Joel McHale Show, and the lead in the feature film The Sex Addict. She features for Dana Gould on the road, and has featured at several comedy festivals including Limestone, Laughing Skull, Out of Bounds, All Jane, etc. Valerie also hosts The Mermaid Comedy Hour, the longest running all female show at The Hollywood Improv. An alumni of both The Second City & iO West, her improv background led to several Buzzfeed videos garnering millions of views including a video with Kevin Hart & Ice Cube. You may have heard her voice literally everywhere as the voice of the Google Home Mini campaign​.

Sponsored by BRÖÖ Craft Beer Hair

Tickets $10 advance, $12 day of
Friday: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-valerie-tosi-friday-tickets-67297507657

Saturday: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-valerie-tosi-saturday-tickets-67299282967

Valerie Tosi is a comedian, actor, writer, and voiceover artist. Recent credits include guest stars on IFC’s Stan Against Evil, Netflix’s The Joel McHale Show, and the lead in the feature film The Sex Addict. She features for Dana Gould on the road, and has featured at several comedy festivals including Limestone, Laughing Skull, Out of Bounds, All Jane, etc. Valerie also hosts The Mermaid Comedy Hour, the longest running all female show at The Hollywood Improv. An alumni of both The Second City & iO West, her improv background led to several Buzzfeed videos garnering millions of views including a video with Kevin Hart & Ice Cube. You may have heard her voice literally everywhere as the voice of the Google Home Mini campaign​.

Sponsored by BRÖÖ Craft Beer Hair

Tickets $10 advance, $12 day of
Friday: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-valerie-tosi-friday-tickets-67297507657

Saturday: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-valerie-tosi-saturday-tickets-67299282967