Join us for an amazing day featuring locally grown trees, flowers, shrubs, herbs and veggies, as well as hand-crafted works of art, knife and tool sharpening – all provided by LOCAL vendors! Throughout the day we will feature educational presentations including “Conservation in 2025,” and “Container Planting: Tips and Tricks” which includes a quick and easy way to maintain your garden pruners. All of this combined with live music from Asheville Ukulele Society!
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Help support our WNC communities by supporting its small business owners. Our local growers are thoroughly vetted in sustainable growing practices and are experts in their field. Our local artists are dynamically creative and talented, showcasing kitchen and garden gifts, original paintings and pottery, homemade and organic botanicals, honeys and vinegar, mobile knife and tool sharpening, and more! Join these talented individuals as we welcome Spring back to WNC.

The French Broad River Garden Club Foundation, Inc. is excited to host its Spring Plant Sale & Marketplace on May 3, 2025 from 9AM – 3PM. Join us for an amazing day featuring locally grown trees, flowers, shrubs, herbs and veggies, as well as hand-crafted works of art. Throughout the day we will feature a variety of educational talks along with live music, a food truck, and of course all LOCAL vendors!
This event helps to support the WNC community by supporting its small business owners. Our vendors are thoroughly vetted in sustainable growing practices. Join us for a day of fun, education, and entertainment. Vendors will offer a huge variety of plants and artwork including:
– Rare specialty plants, boxwoods, and unusual perennials;
– Stately conifers, dwarf conifers, and trees;
– Premium fruit trees and flowering shrubs;
– Japanese Maples and other fine ornamental trees;
– Edibles, grasses & groundcovers;
– Early spring herbs & vegetable starts;
– Fresh-cut, locally-grown flowers;
– WNC natives & landscaping plants;
– Wildcrafted, certified organic skincare options;
– Planted containers, unique floral designs and plant materials;
– Honeys and vinegars;
– Hand-crafted wrought iron and functional garden art;
– Knife and tool sharpening.
This one of a kind event is not to be missed! Rain or shine so please dress accordingly.  Supporting local scholarships and community grants focusing on horticulture, conservation, and the environment.

Explore 22 beautiful greenhouses filled with mixed patio planters, hanging baskets, perennials, houseplants, shrubs, and plant starters. Enjoy live music, food from Smashville Food Truck and Mountain Man BBQ, a craft fair featuring jewelry and home goods, kids’ activities including a scavenger hunt and potting station, plus a mechanical bull! Appalachian Standard CBD products also available. With 600-900 attendees expected, carpooling is recommended. Free admission.

Darko Butorac, conductor

TIME FOR THREE
Ranaan Meyer, double bass
Nick Kendall, violin
Charles Yang, violin

Music possesses an almost magical ability to tell stories. It can paint vivid images of far off lands, enchanted forests, fairy tale villages, the timeless battle between good and evil — all without a single spoken word. Step into the enchanted world of German legends, filled with tales of mysterious swan knights, magic bullets, and mischievous tricksters. Then, delve into the otherworldly Contact; inspired by the idea of interstellar communication, this jazzy, bluegrass-infused, and ethereal concerto for trio was collaboratively written with and for Time For Three.

Weber: Overture from Der Freischütz
Puts: Contact
Wagner: Prelude to Act I of Lohengrin
Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel

Darko Butorac, conductor

TIME FOR THREE
Ranaan Meyer, double bass
Nick Kendall, violin
Charles Yang, violin

Music possesses an almost magical ability to tell stories. It can paint vivid images of far off lands, enchanted forests, fairy tale villages, the timeless battle between good and evil — all without a single spoken word. Step into the enchanted world of German legends, filled with tales of mysterious swan knights, magic bullets, and mischievous tricksters. Then, delve into the otherworldly Contact; inspired by the idea of interstellar communication, this jazzy, bluegrass-infused, and ethereal concerto for trio was collaboratively written with and for Time For Three.

Weber: Overture from Der Freischütz
Puts: Contact
Wagner: Prelude to Act I of Lohengrin
Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel

Gratitude is more than a feeling, it is a frequency! Gratitude can help you shift your perspective and find the silver lining in challenging situations, further raising your vibrational frequency. When we vibrate at the frequency of gratitude, we align ourselves with the energy of abundance.

As we meditate on the theme of gratitude, we allow the frequencies of the instruments to raise our vibrations.

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 12:45 PM, doors close promptly at 1:00 PM.

This service is being offered on a Love Offering basis. Donations allow us to continue to provide these immersive experiences. (Retail Value $25)

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 from the upper parking lot to the building entrance.

Our 25th Anniversary Season Finale, part of the Asheville Symphony Orchestra’s bi-annual festival: “The Art of Storytelling” spans genres of jazz and classical in a highly collaborative program. Two exciting works by Leonard Bernstein – Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs and Symphonic Dances from West Side Story – will bookend a beautiful, lyrical piece for jazz quartet and orchestra, Mom by Asheville-based composer Richard Shulman. The program concludes with the glorious Beethoven Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral.”

BRO’s Season Finale is generously sponsored by Ingles Markets.

Friday, May 2nd, 2025, 7:00 pm

Sunday, May 4th, 2025, 3:00 pm

Tickets:

General Admission: $20

Friends of the Orchestra: $15

Students: $5

Children 6 and under: Free

Info:https://blueridgeorchestra.org/may-25th-anniversary-season-finale-25 or call 828-782-3354.

Enjoy an outdoor concert at Olivette Farm featuring genre-bending artist Maya de Vitry and special guest David Wimbish. $25•KIDS ARE FREE•BYOB•BYOC (chair)

Maya de Vitry weaves country, folk, rock, and pop elements through her vibrant storytelling and her extraordinarily dynamic singing. Whether she is playing with her electric band in a bar or sharing a song on acoustic guitar at a folk festival, there is an emotional immediacy and a striking magnetism in Maya’s music. She’s joined by Joel Timmons on guitar and harmonies and Rhees Williams on bass.

David Wimbish delivers raw, emotion-driven performances that match the depth of his songwriting. After 10 years playing as a band, he’s been newly incarnated as a solo artist. “There’s a new life to this next chapter. I’m getting back to a more organic sonic footprint that’s more focused on serving the song. I returned to writing in a way that I hadn’t in a long time and stepping into a very honest space.”

Just in time for May flowers Arts Series of The Episcopal Church of St.
John in the Wilderness presents a piano concert from composer and church musician Thomas Keesecker. The
program features selections from Mr. Keesecker’s concert tour with performances taking place across the
country.
The free concert in Flat Rock is set for Sunday afternoon, May 4, 2025 at 4pm in the Parish Hall
located at 1905 Greenville Highway across from the church.

🍻 Na Zdrowie! Join us May 2-4, 2025 for our 3rd Annual Polish Fest: polka, piwo (beer) and pierogi, need we share more? 😛 Festivities will include live performances from local favorites Wasted Wine and Foothills Oompah Band, as well as Atlanta Polish folk dance group Mazury Folk Dance Ensemble. Remember to keep your pets at home, yet definitely bring your ID, dancing shoes — and your appetite!

Entertainment Schedule:

🍺 Friday, May 2 (5-10 p.m.)

🎶 Wasted Wine 6-9 p.m.

🍺 Saturday, May 3 (11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.):

🎶 Foothills Oompah Band (12:30-3:30 p.m.)

🎶 Mazury Folk Dance Ensemble (4-4:30 p.m. & 5:30-6 p.m.)

🍺 Sunday, May 4 (11:30 a.m.-8 p.m.)

🎶 Wasted Wine 2-5 p.m.

🌭 Fireforge’s festy food and beverage menu will include house-brewed “Polka Party” Lager and “Cendrowski” Grodziskie Wheat Ale; pork kielbasa from Asheville’s Chop Shop Butchery made with Fireforge beer and served on a bun with sauerkraut and horseradish beer mustard; potato and cheese pierogies from Polish American sister-owned Jaju Pierogi served with housemade sour cream, caramelized onions and chives; kabanos snacking sausage from Upstate Polish Market, house-made borscht (chilled beet soup) as well as other Polish cuisine-inspired sides and sweets!

Join us for an unforgettable night of epic music and cinematic magic as The Greenville Symphony Orchestra presents Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in concert. The concert will be led by conductor Thiago Tiberio on Sunday, May 4, 2025, at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

Tickets are available at the GSP International Airport Box Office located at the arena from the on sale through show day while supplies last. Box Office hours vary but we are generally open M-F 10AM-2PM.

Join us for a powerful evening with Massey Campos, a nationally recognized speaker, preacher, and constitutional advocate. In this timely and engaging presentation, Massey will unpack the moral and biblical foundations of our nation, exploring how faith, liberty, and personal responsibility intersect with the U.S. Constitution.

With humor, passion, and deep conviction, Massey challenges audiences to think critically about our role as citizens and the values that make America exceptional. Whether you’re a seasoned patriot or just beginning to explore your civic responsibility, this event will inspire and equip you to stand for truth in today’s cultural climate.

Join the Asheville Symphony Chorus for a very regal evening as part of Asheville’s Amadeus Festival. Director Kyle Ritter and ASC will present an evening of choral masterworks written for coronations and royal weddings. Featuring works by composers Sir William McKie, William Mathias, Will Todd, and others, the concert’s twin crowning glories will be W.A. Mozart’s Coronation Mass and G. F. Handel’s Zadok the Priest. Special guest appearance by the Asheville Youth Choir.

Date and Time: On Tue, 06 May 2025 at 19:00 – Tue, 06 May 2025 at 20:30

Venue details: Central United Methodist Church, 27 Church Street, Asheville, North Carolina, 28801, United States

Category: Live Music | Choral

Prices:
Adult: USD 29.00,
Youth: USD 16.00

Artist: The Asheville Symphony Chorus

Get swept up in the timeless allure of cabaret with singer Anaïs Reno and the Asheville Symphony. This ALT ASO program, which will also be part of Asheville Amadeus: The Art of Storytelling, will seamlessly blend classical masterpieces and timeless French standards.

Tickets are general admission and the show will be seated.

Based on the popular comic strip by Harold Gray, Annie has become a worldwide
phenomenon and was the winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The
beloved book and score by Tony Award winners, Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and
Martin Charnin, features some of the greatest musical theatre hits ever written,
including “Tomorrow.”

With equal measures of pluck and positivity, little orphan Annie charms everyone’s
hearts despite a next-to-nothing start in 1930s New York City. She is determined to
find the parents who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of a New York City
Orphanage that is run by the cruel, embittered Miss Hannigan. With the help of the
other girls in the Orphanage, Annie escapes to the wondrous world of NYC. In adventure
after fun-filled adventure, Annie foils Miss Hannigan’s evil machinations… and even
befriends President Franklin Delano Roosevelt! She finds a new home and family in
billionaire, Oliver Warbucks, his personal secretary, Grace Farrell, and a lovable
mutt named Sandy.

Historic Johnson Farm will host the fifth annual Mother’s Day Market on Saturday, May 10th from 10 AM-4 PM, rain or shine. This outdoor craft fair will showcase over 25 local vendors. A diverse array of crafts will be available, including jewelry, ceramics, leather items, wooden décor, baked goods and more.

The event will take place outdoors at the farm. Hot dogs (donated by Hot Dog World), chips, and drinks will be available for purchase to support the farm’s operating fund. Stop by the farm table to purchase a plant from the Johnson Farm gardeners or a farm logo item like a mug or magnet. The Heritage Weavers & Fiber Artists will have their gift shop open with plenty of fiber gifts for purchase. From 12-3 PM, Doug and Lisa, an acoustic vocal duo, will be singing and playing music on the back porch of the farm house. In addition to the numerous crafters, the historic farmhouse will be open for self-guided tours, and people can visit the farm’s donkeys and goats.
Parking will be available across the street at Rugby Middle School, and volunteers from the Sheriff’s Office will help visitors cross the street. Handicapped parking is available at the farm.

We are currently full for crafters. Please email [email protected] to be added to the waiting list. IMPORTANT NOTE: Every year, scammers try to recruit crafters. All communication will come from [email protected], and credit card invoices will come through Square. Anything else is a scam!

An Evening with Chris Thile features a true array of genres. You’ll hear Thile’s new work ATTENTION! A narrative song cycle for extroverted mandolinist and orchestra, the third movement of Barber’s masterful Violin Concerto – which he will play on mandolin – and more.

MacArthur Fellow and Grammy Award-winning mandolinist, singer, songwriter Chris Thile, who the Guardian calls “that rare being: an all-round musician who can settle into any style, from bluegrass to classical,” and NPR calls a “genre-defying musical genius,” is a founding member of the critically acclaimed bands Punch Brothers and Nickel Creek. For four years, Thile hosted public radio favorite Live from Here with Chris Thile (formerly known as A Prairie Home Companion). With his broad outlook, Thile creates a distinctly American canon and a new musical aesthetic for performers and audiences alike, giving the listener “one joyous arc, with the linear melody and vertical harmony blurring into a single web of gossamer beauty” (New York Times).

Darko Butorac, conductor

Chris Thile, mandolin