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.
Take a daily, short, guided stroll that highlights Grandfather Mountain’s rhododendron species and blooms. Included with admission. See the blooms and learn about their history, attributes and roles they play in the mountain’s ecological communities. The easygoing walks take approximately 20 minutes and are fit for guests of all ages – wheelchair and stroller accessible. Meet outside the entrance of the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery. Staff naturalists will also have a display inside Wilson Center.
This popular shutterbug weekend includes presentations from top nature photographers, hands-on field courses, a friendly contest and the rare opportunity to photograph the mountain’s spectacular scenery before and after regular business hours.
This revamped version of the popular weekend will include changes to better welcome all levels of photographers, making it more fun and engaging for all – while better connecting participants with the wonders and unique ecology of Grandfather Mountain. This year, more than ever, we hope to not only help participants learn about photography, but to also inspire them to preserve the natural world. Activities begin Friday evening and conclude Sunday midday.
June 6, 2025 @8:00 am – June 8, 2025 @3:00 pm
Join us to celebrate the birthdays of our resident animals with games, contests, crafts and surprises. The park’s wildlife habitat staff hosts a fun-filled afternoon for guests, as well as programs to celebrate the park’s furry and feathered inhabitants. Millie the Bear, the mountain’s mascot, will make special appearances throughout the day. Events begin at 11 a.m. and continue until 3:30 p.m. Join for one activity or all. Included with admission.
Dad Jokes Standup Comedy Picture Show
Everyone loves dads doing jokes! Lucky for you these are professional comedians giving you more laughs than groans. Comics on the show do standup with pictures to illustrate their sets!!
Wednesday June 11, 7:30-9p in The Orange Peel’s comedy basement. PULP is a bourbon speakeasy (400+ varieties) located under the iconic stage. No food is served but we do have free snacks while they last and outside food is permitted (no drinks of any kind).
$17 tickets available at door or The Orange Peel’s website
Host is Hilliary Begley voted repeatedly Asheville’s Favorite comic in the Mountain Xpress. Film debut in the Netflix original Dumplin’ as Aunt Lucy, or “Jennifer Anniston’s fat sister,” and Austin Film Festival winning movie When We Last Spoke with Cloris Leachman, now streaming on Amazon Prime.
The WNC Nature Center continues roaring back to life with one of Asheville’s favorite summer traditions — Brews and Bears!
Starting Friday, May 9, from 5:30–8:00 p.m., this after-hours event invites guests to enjoy the Nature Center in the cool evening hours with live music, local food, and plenty of local brews and beverages.
The Brews and Bears Summer Series will take place on the second Friday of each month through August, and each event features a unique lineup of food trucks, musicians, and animal education programs—so no two nights are the same!
Wednesday June 25, 2025.
7:30p-9:30p, doors at 6:30p
The Orange Peel’s Comedy Basement, Pulp Lounge, 103 Hilliard Ave, Downtown Asheville
Tickets: $17 (available at door or The Orange Peel’s website)
These shows sellout!
Hosted by Hilliary Begley from Netflix & Amazon Prime!
Cocktails available while you laugh the night away to some of the area’s best Stand Up Comics in a ridiculously fun adult environment!!
Free snacks while availability lasts! You may bring your own food in (no drinks)!
Winners from 3/27 & 5/14 Contestants: Cayla Clark, Darren Harper, Sarah Love, Mackenzie Manent, Foster & Jordan Ballard
Beginner’s workshop lesson at 7:30 P.M., then 8-11 P.M. Contra Dance with Country Waltzing at the break and the final dance. This is a partner dance but it’s not necessary to come with a partner. We have different live bands and callers.
Learn how to decorate four patriotic cookies to kick off your Independence Day celebrations. Kids of all ages are welcome; those under 10 must have an adult with them.
The WNC Nature Center continues roaring back to life with one of Asheville’s favorite summer traditions — Brews and Bears!
Starting Friday, May 9, from 5:30–8:00 p.m., this after-hours event invites guests to enjoy the Nature Center in the cool evening hours with live music, local food, and plenty of local brews and beverages.
The Brews and Bears Summer Series will take place on the second Friday of each month through August, and each event features a unique lineup of food trucks, musicians, and animal education programs—so no two nights are the same!
Beach Babes Standup Comedy Show
The Orange Peel
July 11, 8p-9:30pm
$18
Beach vibes in the mountain! Standup Comedy of Roman Fraden, featuring Cayla Clark, Zandra Johnson & Makenzie Manent. Guest spot by the Leah Garth. Hosted by Hilliary Begley
Beach Babes Standup Comedy Show brings the vibes to the mountains in the heart of downtown Asheville! Roman Fraden his not for the faint of heart. 18+
Roman is a Los Angeles-based comedian and a regular performer at classic Hollywood venues including The Comedy Store, The Laugh Factory, and The Hollywood Improv. He has trained with Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) Theatre, performed in various ensemble casts in film and on stage, and has opened for Mark Normand, Margaret Cho, and Patton Oswald. His one man show ‘Back In The Closet’ made it’s world premiere at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2018. He currently is living in Asheville while still performing everywhere.
Host Hilliary Begley from NETFLIX & AMAZON PRIME, this beach babe will keep you laughing.
Featuring Cayla Clark from BLIND DATELIVE, who is very pregnant on this show but still one of the funniest people around (check out her famous instagram).
Also featuring comedy favorites Zandra Johnson & Makenzie Manent, with a guest spot by the always zany Leah Garth.
Beginner’s workshop lesson at 7:30 P.M., then 8-11 P.M. Contra Dance with Country Waltzing at the break and the final dance. This is a partner dance but it’s not necessary to come with a partner. We have different live bands and callers.
On Animal Enrichment Day, guests will see firsthand how Grandfather Mountain cares for its resident animals. Visitors can enjoy watching demonstrations, talk directly with keepers and participate in family-oriented games and crafts. Included with admission.
THURSDAY JULY 31, 7:30Pm at The Orange Peel PULP
ENJOY standup comedy in a whole new way with picture and videos to go along with the fun in a bourbon bar comedy club! Hosted by Hilliary Begley from Netflix & Prime Video. Headliner Jordan Julius, winner of Slice Standup Comedy Contest. Featuring hot regional comics Sarah Love, Jason Reel & Lois Adjevi
FREE SNACKS, outside food ok!
Get you tix now, these shows sell out!
SPLASH ZONE | 10:00am– 1:00pm
FREE MINI GOLF | 10:00am– 9:00pm
FREE REFRESHMENTS FOR KIDS
WHAT TO BRING
PARKING
Learn more HERE: https://www.hvlnc.gov/SplashDay
: 904 N. Main Street in Hendersonville.The WNC Nature Center continues roaring back to life with one of Asheville’s favorite summer traditions — Brews and Bears!
Starting Friday, May 9, from 5:30–8:00 p.m., this after-hours event invites guests to enjoy the Nature Center in the cool evening hours with live music, local food, and plenty of local brews and beverages.
The Brews and Bears Summer Series will take place on the second Friday of each month through August, and each event features a unique lineup of food trucks, musicians, and animal education programs—so no two nights are the same!
Grandfather Mountain’s Junior Ranger Program is now the Junior Naturalist Program — a new program for our new Conservation Campus! Activities throughout the day will be provided specifically for children ages 5-12 to explore their environment and experience all that Grandfather has to offer.
We have another standup comedy contest, coming up on Thursday August 21! Come out for the fun as you pick your favorite comic of the night!! Audiences love these shows and tickets go fast!
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The Slice of Life Comedy Asheville Fall/Winter Standup Contest Series: ROUND 1
Thursday August 21, 7:30p-9:30p, doors at 6:30p
The Orange Peel’s Comedy Basement, Pulp Lounge
103 Hilliard Ave, Downtown Asheville
Tickets: $17 (available at door or The Orange Peel website)
These shows sellout!
Hosted by Hilliary Begley from Netflix & Amazon Prime!
Cocktails available while you laugh the night away to some of the area’s best Stand Up Comics in a ridiculously fun adult environment!!
Free snacks while availability lasts! You may bring your own food in (no drinks)!
How it Works:
Comics on the show will do approximately 3-1/2m of comedy. This show’s 3 top comics will be brought back with other show winners to compete in our pageant finale, date TBD. Audience votes through paper ballots to be picked up and counted at end of show, winner will be announced.
Want to compete?
These spots go fast! There is no cost to performing comics. Comics should have 3-5m of material and be prepared for additional material in the event of a tie-breaker performance. Winners will be compensated for the night and move on to the finale.
Go to SliceofLifeComedy.com for more information. Contact Michele with any questions, or to sign up at [email protected]
Beginner’s workshop lesson at 7:30 P.M., then 8-11 P.M. Contra Dance with Country Waltzing at the break and the final dance. This is a partner dance but it’s not necessary to come with a partner. We have different live bands and callers.
The WNC Nature Center continues roaring back to life with one of Asheville’s favorite summer traditions — Brews and Bears!
Starting Friday, May 9, from 5:30–8:00 p.m., this after-hours event invites guests to enjoy the Nature Center in the cool evening hours with live music, local food, and plenty of local brews and beverages.
The Brews and Bears Summer Series will take place on the second Friday of each month through August, and each event features a unique lineup of food trucks, musicians, and animal education programs—so no two nights are the same!
Dig into Bullington Gardens’ Fall Plant Sale! Grab trees, shrubs, perennials, natives, and seasonal plants to spruce up your yard. Don’t let your garden be the only one on the block still growing last year’s weeds—join us this fall September 12-13, 9am-4pm.
Fall Family Festival Presented by the Town of Fletcher
Saturday, September 20
Starting at 4:00 PM
Bill Moore Community Park, Fletcher, NC
Beginner’s workshop lesson at 7:30 P.M., then 8-11 P.M. Contra Dance with Country Waltzing at the break and the final dance. This is a partner dance but it’s not necessary to come with a partner. We have different live bands and callers.
Embrace your nocturnal side at Grandfather Mountain through Creatures of the Night and Bonfire Delight, the park’s after-hours program where guests enjoy rare after-dark tours, fireside tales and a chance to meet the park’s nighttime residents.
The evening begins around the glow of a bonfire at the Woods Walk Picnic Area as night falls. Guests will then have the opportunity to partake in three unique experiences as the group splits up and alternates between the different parts of the mountain. These activities include a trek (via shuttle) to atop the mountain at the Mile High Swinging Bridge, as well as a visit to the Mildred the Bear Animal Habitats for a behind-the-scenes tour in which guests get to experience the mountain in a similar fashion as its nocturnal critters. The tour is conducted using red-light flashlights, with an emphasis placed on the guests’ sensory experience while getting up close with the park’s bears, otters, elk and cougars. An educational focus is also placed on how the animals may use their senses of smell or eyesight to navigate or hunt at night.
Groups will then descend back to the Woods Walk Picnic Area to gather around the fire, roast s’mores and hear folktales from one of the mountain’s naturalists or educators.
Hours are 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The event is open to 50 participants, and tickets are $40 for general admission or $34 for Bridge Club members.
All throughout September, guests are invited to join the mountain’s naturalists as they count and celebrate the annual spectacle of fall raptor migration.
From Oct. 4 through 12, guests enjoy short, guided nature walks that highlight Grandfather Mountain’s fall colors. The Fall Color Rambles take place daily, weather permitting, and are included in your admission ticket. The short excursions begin at 1 p.m. and typically last for 30 minutes. Rambles will start outside the entrance of the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery.
Grandfather Mountain is home to myriad species of plants and hardwood trees that range from pumpkin-colored beech trees to blood-red sourwoods and rusty red oaks. During the daily rambles, guests learn all about the mountain’s unique biodiversity and the science behind the changing of the leaves.
Participants can become familiar with tree identification, as the mountain’s talented and knowledgeable educators and interpretive park guides venture out with guests to some of the most colorful destinations on the mountain.
Pumpkin Fest is a fun, family friendly and fantastic artistic event or great date night with 18 beautiful artist-designed lighted carved pumpkin displays on a newly-paved short walking trail. The event includes talented local musicians, food trucks and coffee house, games, storytelling, face painting, white squirrel scavenger hunt, games, dress ups, and the Silvermont historic mansion and second floor museum open for tours.
Admission $7 per person (ages 13 and over), $5 ages 3-12, and 2 and under free. We accept cards, cash or check with ID.
Onsite parking cost is $5 per car (cash preferred). Free parking is available offsite on nearby streets and Comporium and church parking lots 1 block away. Handicap sticker- free parking onsite.
From Oct. 4 through 12, guests enjoy short, guided nature walks that highlight Grandfather Mountain’s fall colors. The Fall Color Rambles take place daily, weather permitting, and are included in your admission ticket. The short excursions begin at 1 p.m. and typically last for 30 minutes. Rambles will start outside the entrance of the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery.
Grandfather Mountain is home to myriad species of plants and hardwood trees that range from pumpkin-colored beech trees to blood-red sourwoods and rusty red oaks. During the daily rambles, guests learn all about the mountain’s unique biodiversity and the science behind the changing of the leaves.
Participants can become familiar with tree identification, as the mountain’s talented and knowledgeable educators and interpretive park guides venture out with guests to some of the most colorful destinations on the mountain.
From Oct. 4 through 12, guests enjoy short, guided nature walks that highlight Grandfather Mountain’s fall colors. The Fall Color Rambles take place daily, weather permitting, and are included in your admission ticket. The short excursions begin at 1 p.m. and typically last for 30 minutes. Rambles will start outside the entrance of the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery.
Grandfather Mountain is home to myriad species of plants and hardwood trees that range from pumpkin-colored beech trees to blood-red sourwoods and rusty red oaks. During the daily rambles, guests learn all about the mountain’s unique biodiversity and the science behind the changing of the leaves.
Participants can become familiar with tree identification, as the mountain’s talented and knowledgeable educators and interpretive park guides venture out with guests to some of the most colorful destinations on the mountain.