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.

Saturday, January 21, 2023
Mindfulness Hike
Jan 21 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Chimney Rock State Park
. Advance registration required.

Bring self-care to the new year on this reflective meditation walk with Namaste in Nature. This peaceful hike is focused on reconnecting with yourself and the natural world even during one of the darkest times of the year.

Thursday, January 26, 2023
An Evening with Lee Stockdale and Gorilla
Jan 26 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Tryon Fine Arts Center
An Evening with
Lee Stockdale
and
Gorilla
 Lee Stockdale will read from Gorilla and speak in detail about the relationship between his father, Grant Stockdale, and John F. Kennedy, for whom his father served as, among other roles, Ambassador to Ireland. Grant Stockdale committed suicide ten days after President Kennedy’s assassination. Gorilla portrays Stockdale’s journey from childhood tragedy to healing, through faith in God and the help of family and counselors. Content Warning: Discussion of Suicide.
“These beautifully crafted poems give testament to William Faulkner’s assessment
of the human spirit—a spirit
that will not only endure
but prevail.”
Cathy Smith Bowers
Poetry Open Mic
Jan 26 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Shakedown Kava Lounge, Hendersonville

Poetry Open Mic Hendo is the all-new sister event of Poetry Open Mic Asheville, the longest-running open mic in Western North Carolina, this weekly event welcomes all people and all forms of creative expression at Hendersonville’s only Kava lounge.

Thursday, February 2, 2023
Poetry Open Mic
Feb 2 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Shakedown Kava Lounge, Hendersonville

Poetry Open Mic Hendo is the all-new sister event of Poetry Open Mic Asheville, the longest-running open mic in Western North Carolina, this weekly event welcomes all people and all forms of creative expression at Hendersonville’s only Kava lounge.

Friday, February 3, 2023
RAISING BLACK: Joy, Pain, Sunshine + Rain
Feb 3 @ 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Black Diamond Enterprise @ The Foundry

Black Diamond Enterprise presents Black Poetry Theatre* for Black History Month @ The Foundry (*along with other happenings), Feb. 3rd, 5pm. This is a FREE event. Come join us as we explore the Joy, Pain, Sunshine & Rain of life. Enjoy the encouragement and singing with us!

Check for other dates as well.

Thursday, February 9, 2023
Poetry Open Mic
Feb 9 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Shakedown Kava Lounge, Hendersonville

Poetry Open Mic Hendo is the all-new sister event of Poetry Open Mic Asheville, the longest-running open mic in Western North Carolina, this weekly event welcomes all people and all forms of creative expression at Hendersonville’s only Kava lounge.

Friday, February 10, 2023
MUSES AND MOCKTAILS
Feb 10 @ 7:30 pm
White Horse Black Mountain

We invite you to drink in the nectar of our heart’s creative delight… A Love Potion by OMotion!

THE SHOW

A one of a kind unique multi-dimensional event !!!!

Muses & Mocktails is not only a show to indulge the senses; it is also a fundraiser for our next full length production, Cycles of Dance, coming up Autumn 2023!

Join us for an evening of potent performance art & herbal elixirs!

OMotion Collective & featured performers convene to share an infusion of musings woven together.

Highlighting:

  • Dance
  • Burlesque
  • Flow arts
  • Comedy
  • Poetry

– & –

  • Looping Musical Mastery

The mocktails being served are The MerTails curated by local purveyor: The NOHM. These herbaceous libations hold a sweet reminder to savor every drop of this creative healing elixir as we rejoice with a cheers.

———————————————–

THE AFTER-SHOW DANCE PARTY

The show will be followed by a dance party. Electronic sets by local talents Blacknote and Atum are sure to getcha’ moving once you’re bubbling with inspiration after the spectrum of expressive acts we have brewed up.

TIming conflicts or preference to just come after the main show & shake it on out? If you can’t make it to the main show, you can purchase a reduced price ticket which is only valid for the after-show Dance Party.

_________________________

Doors at 6:30pm

Show at 7:30pm

Dance Party 9:15pm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENERAL ADMISSION: $33 per person – Full Access Show + Drink + Dance Party

VIP:  $88 for 2 persons – Full Access Show + Drink + Dance Party ( with reserved table for 2 with a decadent spread of fruits, nuts & local chocolate)

DANCE PARTY ONLY: $22 per person – Admittance following the end of the main show

Tuesday, February 14, 2023
Good Vibes: Poetry and sex positive storytelling
Feb 14 @ 7:30 pm
Getaway River Bar

Join us for a night of poetry and storytelling all about the pros, cons, and weirdness of sharing your body with others. All donations will be given directly to Asheville Prison Books. “Asheville Prison Books is a volunteer-run collective which has distributed free literature to people incarcerated in the southeast since 1999. We currently distribute books to North and South Carolina.

 

Fundraiser for Asheville Prison Books, Sliding scale $5-$25 Donation.

 

Time: Doors 7:00, Show 7:30PM

This event will be taking place in the covered outdoor space, so we suggest people dress warmly.

Thursday, February 16, 2023
Poetry Open Mic
Feb 16 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Shakedown Kava Lounge, Hendersonville

Poetry Open Mic Hendo is the all-new sister event of Poetry Open Mic Asheville, the longest-running open mic in Western North Carolina, this weekly event welcomes all people and all forms of creative expression at Hendersonville’s only Kava lounge.

Sunday, February 19, 2023
POETRY READING + DISCUSSION W/ GABRIELLE FOREMAN AND GLENIS REDMOND
Feb 19 @ 6:30 pm
Peace Center--Huguenot Loft

Poetry and A Talk with Dr. Gabrielle Foreman, MacArthur Fellow, and Glenis Redmond, Poet Laureate of Greenville about David Drake, the enslaved South Carolina potter and poet. 

 

Gabrielle Foreman and Glenis Redmond will discuss their collaboration on the book, Praise Songs for Dave the Potter, Art and Poetry for David Drake (University of Georgia Press, 2023).

 

David Drake is recognized as one of the United States’ most accomplished nineteenth-century potters. Yet, though his pots—many inscribed with original verse—sit in museums across the nation, he is too often passed over as one of the early progenitors of the African American poetic tradition. Born in South Carolina at the beginning of the nineteenth century, Drake produced hundreds of pieces while under the surveillance of the enslavers who claimed him and his work as their property. As Gabrielle Foreman notes, he is perhaps the only Black person in all of the free or slave states whose literary work was preserved in neither books nor pamphlets nor newspapers. His pots and jars served as pages as well as ceramic vessels.

Monday, February 20, 2023
THE MOTH Presents: Asheville StorySLAM – “Love HURTS”
Feb 20 @ 7:30 pm
The Grey Eagle

– PARTIALLY SEATED SHOW
– GA SEATING IN FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED. 

THE MOTH resumes their recurring monthly Asheville StorySLAM at The Grey Eagle at 7:30pm! This month’s theme is….

LOVE HURTS:  Prepare a five-minute tale about a love that made you go OUCH. The agony of deferred love! The misery of good love, gone bad! The anguish of one-way love! Bring stories of your heart, kicked to the curb by the people or places or things you love…or used to love. Love that “Hurts So Good” also welcome.
Thursday, February 23, 2023
Poetry Open Mic
Feb 23 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Shakedown Kava Lounge, Hendersonville

Poetry Open Mic Hendo is the all-new sister event of Poetry Open Mic Asheville, the longest-running open mic in Western North Carolina, this weekly event welcomes all people and all forms of creative expression at Hendersonville’s only Kava lounge.

Thursday, March 2, 2023
Poetry Open Mic
Mar 2 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Shakedown Kava Lounge, Hendersonville

Poetry Open Mic Hendo is the all-new sister event of Poetry Open Mic Asheville, the longest-running open mic in Western North Carolina, this weekly event welcomes all people and all forms of creative expression at Hendersonville’s only Kava lounge.

Monday, March 6, 2023
Hike With a Naturalist
Mar 6 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Chimney Rock State Park

Spend an hour hiking one of the Parks’ six trails with a naturalist. Watch the transformation from winter to spring on this educational excursion. You may even learn some of the Parks’ history as well. Meet in front of Cliff Dwellers Gifts.

Thursday, March 9, 2023
Poetry Open Mic
Mar 9 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Shakedown Kava Lounge, Hendersonville

Poetry Open Mic Hendo is the all-new sister event of Poetry Open Mic Asheville, the longest-running open mic in Western North Carolina, this weekly event welcomes all people and all forms of creative expression at Hendersonville’s only Kava lounge.

Monday, March 13, 2023
Hike With a Naturalist
Mar 13 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Chimney Rock State Park

Spend an hour hiking one of the Parks’ six trails with a naturalist. Watch the transformation from winter to spring on this educational excursion. You may even learn some of the Parks’ history as well. Meet in front of Cliff Dwellers Gifts.

Thursday, March 16, 2023
Poetry Open Mic
Mar 16 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Shakedown Kava Lounge, Hendersonville

Poetry Open Mic Hendo is the all-new sister event of Poetry Open Mic Asheville, the longest-running open mic in Western North Carolina, this weekly event welcomes all people and all forms of creative expression at Hendersonville’s only Kava lounge.

Saturday, March 18, 2023
Happy Hiker Day
Mar 18 @ 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Nantahala Outdoor Center

Join us for Happy Hiker Day, a spring event celebrating the Year of the Trail and our love for hiking! At the intersection of the Appalachian Trail and the Nantahala River, we are proud to be a respite and guide for thru-hikers, day hikers, and anyone that wants to get out on the trail! Enjoy a free guided local hike, discounts on hiking gear, activities for kids, a trail mix bar, an AMA (ask me anything) with a former thru-hiker, and participate in a backpack shakedown!  AT Thru-hikers and authors Josh and Amber Nevins will give a talk and book signing.

Schedule Of Events:

  • 10% off Select Hiking Gear at our Outfitter’s Store.
  • 11 am: Short guided informational hike to Rufus Morgan Appalachian Trail Shelter, 1.5 mile round trip- easy to moderate. Meet outside the General Store.
  • Pack Shakedowns with our experienced retail guides at the Outfitters Store.
  • 12 pm: Kids Activities on River Left. See signs for details
  • 12:30 pm – 1 pm: “Ask Me Anything” with former 2016 Thru-Hiker “Hot Sauce”
  • 2 pm: Book Signing/Presentation with Josh and Amber Niven upstairs in the Outfitter’s Store

See other great hiking events here: https://greattrailsnc.com/events/ 

Monday, March 20, 2023
Hike With a Naturalist
Mar 20 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Chimney Rock State Park

Spend an hour hiking one of the Parks’ six trails with a naturalist. Watch the transformation from winter to spring on this educational excursion. You may even learn some of the Parks’ history as well. Meet in front of Cliff Dwellers Gifts.

THE MOTH Presents: Asheville StorySLAM – “Stakes”
Mar 20 @ 7:30 pm
The Grey Eagle

– PARTIALLY SEATED SHOW
– GA SEATING IN FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED. 

THE MOTH resumes their recurring monthly Asheville StorySLAM at The Grey Eagle at 7:30pm! This month’s theme is….

STAKES:  Prepare a five-minute story about when it was make-or-break, all-or-nothing. When you dug in your heels or rose to the occasion. Packed it up, moved on, or made your claim. Proceed at your own risk…

 

Thursday, March 23, 2023
Poetry Open Mic
Mar 23 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Shakedown Kava Lounge, Hendersonville

Poetry Open Mic Hendo is the all-new sister event of Poetry Open Mic Asheville, the longest-running open mic in Western North Carolina, this weekly event welcomes all people and all forms of creative expression at Hendersonville’s only Kava lounge.

Monday, March 27, 2023
Hike With a Naturalist
Mar 27 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Chimney Rock State Park

Spend an hour hiking one of the Parks’ six trails with a naturalist. Watch the transformation from winter to spring on this educational excursion. You may even learn some of the Parks’ history as well. Meet in front of Cliff Dwellers Gifts.

Thursday, March 30, 2023
Poetry Open Mic
Mar 30 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Shakedown Kava Lounge, Hendersonville

Poetry Open Mic Hendo is the all-new sister event of Poetry Open Mic Asheville, the longest-running open mic in Western North Carolina, this weekly event welcomes all people and all forms of creative expression at Hendersonville’s only Kava lounge.

Monday, April 24, 2023
THE MOTH Presents: Asheville StorySLAM – “Clean”
Apr 24 @ 7:30 pm
The Grey Eagle

– PARTIALLY SEATED SHOW
– GA SEATING IN FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED. 

THE MOTH resumes their recurring monthly Asheville StorySLAM at The Grey Eagle at 7:30pm! This month’s theme is….


CLEAN:  
Prepare a five-minute story about spotlessness. Leaving your vices behind, purity through virtue, or coming out unscathed. Germaphobes or slobs. Colossal messes or confessions. The tidy and the untainted. Mr. Clean in the house!

Public Onsale Begins:

Monday, April 3, 2023 3:00 PM

Thursday, April 27, 2023
West Asheville Library Book Discussion–in person. Bring a poem to share. 
Apr 27 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
West Asheville Public Library
  In celebration of National Poetry Month, bring a poem that you have liked, and share with the group. Please email [email protected] if you have questions!
Friday, April 28, 2023
THE DEAD POETS WITH GLENIS REDMOND AND ALLAN WOLF
Apr 28 @ 7:30 pm
Genevieve's

Experience poetry unlike you’ve heard before with this collective of performance poets. The Dead Poets take center stage resurrecting classic words of the likes of Shakespeare, Hughes and Frost with expert musicianship and whit. Then be swept by the literary prowess of Redmond and entertained by Wolf.

Each with their own performance style and acclaimed in their own right,  have spent nearly 30 years performing regionally and nationally, educating through the power of verse.

Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Passholder Experience: Late Spring Birding Hike
May 3 @ 8:00 am – 10:00 am
Chimney Rock State Park
 Advance Registration Required.

Enjoy this intimate spring birding walk with a local bird expert and get to know your fellow passholders, too. Scope out some of our many resident species as they enjoy the late spring weather from our spot on the NC Birding Trail. This event is exclusively for Annual Passholders.

Monday, May 15, 2023
THE MOTH PRESENTS: ASHEVILLE STORYSLAM – “GOSSIP”
May 15 @ 7:30 pm
The Grey Eagle

– PARTIALLY SEATED SHOW
– GA SEATING IN FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED. 

THE MOTH resumes their recurring monthly Asheville StorySLAM at The Grey Eagle at 7:30pm! This month’s theme is….


GOSSIP:  Delicious or malicious, chatty or bratty. Blatantly false or modestly exaggerated. Prepare a five-minute story about a rumor that raised eyebrows, dropped jaws, lowered the boom, rattled your cage or earned you a nasty or fabulous rep. In the office, the aisles of church or temple, in the family or in the streets. Tell us stories of the unfounded, the un-fact checked and the fabulously fabricated. Did you hear?

 

Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Tom Tenbrunsel Virtual Writers Workshop: Poetry on my Mind
May 24 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
online w/ Carl Sandburg Home

You will find Tom Tenbrunsel a delightfully refreshing poet with a wide variety of subject matter and a style somewhere between Sandburg, Frost and the late Appalachian poet James Wright. Tom challenges one’s whit with a refreshing array of non-conforming rhyme, structure, rhythm and oft made-up words and hidden meanings. Uniquely Tom includes a photo and Author’s Notes with each poem. Join us in May to engage the spirit and myth of poetry with Tom’s “Poetry on my Mind”

Casual Poetry/Poetry on my Mind. Tom will read a couple poems for fun. He will ask guests to write a
short poem from a prompt with feedback from the group. Tom would like guests to feel free to bring short
poems to read and discuss. He encourages questions about writing poetry, about a poem of his or his
journey as a poet or his Self Help Series. So familiarize yourself with his works by scanning his website,
tenbrunsel.com Comments or questions are welcomed. Or feel free to email him in advance at
[email protected].  Check out his website tenbrunsel.com before the workshop. Send in one of your
poems to be commented on by Tom.

This workshop is open to writers of all skill levels and is a fun way to find inspiration from a new prompt or revise current work. It is hosted by the Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara and will use Microsoft Teams for the virtual connection. Sign up to attend the workshop here!

A writer and a poet, Dr. Tenbrunsel enjoyed a long successful career in Clinical Psychology. Born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, Tom graduated from Bellarmine University, obtained his doctorate from St Louis University in 1969. He taught, published and was in administration at Michigan State University and was VP for Advancement at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. He and his wife reside in the Appalachians of Western North Carolina. They have three successful children and eight grand grandchildren. Dr T. enjoys photography, gardening, cycling, hiking, camping and stalking the elusive trout. His writings and publications speak for themselves. He has published numerous books including:  Casual Gardening,  Poetry on My Mind, The Fund Raising Resource Manual,  The Fund Raising Handbook, Fund-Raising and Grantsmanship:  Getting Money from the Community for the Community, The Lansing Area Doctors Directory, 1&2,   Dissertation “A Group Coupon Economy Program in Treating Mental Illness:  An Experiment in Social Innovation”,   A Wrinkle in My Time: My Memoirs (a work in progress)

Saturday, June 3, 2023
National Trails Day
Jun 3 @ 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Chimney Rock State Park

Hit the trails and celebrate this national holiday, not to mention NC State Park’s Year of the Trail. Join us for guided hikes throughout the day and meet with a ranger to learn the 10 essentials of hiking and backpacking.