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, October 9, 2021
Draconids Meteor Shower Experiance
Oct 9 all-day
The Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute

The skies are raining fire! Fiery meteors that is, emanating from the constellation Draco the Dragon as he seems to breathe fire down on Earth! This is an exciting meteor shower with plenty of other objects to see, like planets, star clusters, nebulae, and more!

Join PARI on October 8, 2021, to enjoy this meteor shower and a relaxing overnight stay in one of our cabin quarters. The evening will begin with the arrival from 4-5 pm followed by dinner, tours and a sunset hike before settling in to watch the streaks of light in the sky and viewing through telescopes. Breakfast will also be provided on Saturday morning before departure.

This is a rain or shine event. Alternative programming will be offered in case of rain. NO REFUNDS WILL BE GIVEN!

Weaverville Library Used Book Store
Oct 9 @ 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Weaverville Library

The Friends of the Weaverville Library (FOWL) are excited to announce the opening of their used bookstore in Weaverville on Thursday, July 8. Located in the lower level of the Weaverville Library at 41 N. Main St., the store will be open Thursdays 1-5 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m.-2 p.m., with expanded hours beginning in September. The store is stocked with thousands of books, audiobooks, CDs, DVDs, and more. All adult books are priced at $1.50-$3.00, children and teen books at $1.00-$1.50, audio and video at $2.00.

There is also a bargain-priced area and a collection of special finds that are priced individually. Please feel free to contact us at 828-641-1812 or [email protected]. All proceeds from the store will benefit the Weaverville Library.

Tuesday, October 12, 2021
Aquanet: Goth Night
Oct 12 @ 9:00 pm – Oct 13 @ 2:00 am
Asheville Beauty Academy
Wednesday, October 13, 2021
Discussion Bound at Asheville Art Museum: Composition in Retrospect by John Cage
Oct 13 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

Written in his characteristic “mesostics” (lines of prose poetry linked by a central vertical acrostic), Composition in Retrospect is a statement of methodology in which composer John Cage examines the central issues of his work: indeterminacy, imitation, variable structure, and contingency. Finished only shortly before his death in 1992, Composition in Retrospect completes the documentation of Cage’s thought that began with his classic book Silence (1961), but it is an introduction and invitation to his work as much as a summary or conclusion. Also included in this volume (at Cage’s request) is “Themes and Variations,” a piece written in 1982 about friends and heroes such as Jasper Johns, Buckminster Fuller, Marcel Duchamp, and Erik Satie. Together these pieces form a book that is both a testament to the artists Cage admired and a clear statement of his own ars poetica.

Moderated by Alexis Meldrum, curatorial assistant

DISCUSSION BOUND

This monthly discussion is a place to exchange ideas about readings that relate to artworks and the art world, and to learn from and about each other. Books are available at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café for a 10% discount. To add your name to our Discussion Bound mailing list, click here to email us or call 828.253.3227 x121.

Stand-Up Comedy Open Mic at The Asheville Music Hall
Oct 13 @ 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Asheville Music Hall

Disclaimer Stand-up Lounge is the longest running comedy open mic in Asheville happening every Wednesday night

The show starts at 8:00, and there is no cover. Anyone wanting to perform needs to sign up by 8pm, and will get five minutes on stage. Local and not-so-local, professional and not-so-professional comics perform or just anyone wanting to get up in front of people and try to make them laugh. Always fun. Always free.

Anyone wanting to perform needs to sign up by 8pm, and will get five minutes on stage. The order of sign-up is not necessarily the order of the show.

Move On Up: Soul/R+B
Oct 13 @ 9:00 pm – Oct 14 @ 2:00 am
Asheville Beauty Academy

“Move On Up” is a night of your favorite and forgotten Soul/RB cuts right after Comedy Night.

Thursday, October 14, 2021
Weaverville Library Used Book Store
Oct 14 @ 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Weaverville Library

The Friends of the Weaverville Library (FOWL) are excited to announce the opening of their used bookstore in Weaverville on Thursday, July 8. Located in the lower level of the Weaverville Library at 41 N. Main St., the store will be open Thursdays 1-5 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m.-2 p.m., with expanded hours beginning in September. The store is stocked with thousands of books, audiobooks, CDs, DVDs, and more. All adult books are priced at $1.50-$3.00, children and teen books at $1.00-$1.50, audio and video at $2.00.

There is also a bargain-priced area and a collection of special finds that are priced individually. Please feel free to contact us at 828-641-1812 or [email protected]. All proceeds from the store will benefit the Weaverville Library.

WNC Memoirs Book discussion: Confronting the Silence: A Holocaust Survivor’s Search for God
Oct 14 @ 7:00 pm
Hybrid: West Asheville Library and Online

Everyone has a story. Many of us attempt to put our story in writing.  Some of us get published. An even smaller number can take credit for having written something of lasting value.

On eight evenings from September to December at the West Asheville Library, the Wilma Dykeman Legacy will celebrate four memoirs of lasting value from the mountains of Western North Carolina. These sessions will be offered in person and online

Through four lectures and four book discussions the following writers will be featured:

Thursday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m.
Talk by Jim Stokely, son of Wilma Dykeman and President of the Wilma Dykeman Legacy, featuring Wilma’s memoir Family of Earth: A Southern Mountain Childhood.

Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m.
Book discussion of Family of Earth: A Southern Mountain Childhood.

Thursday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.
Talk by Walter Ziffer, retired engineer, minister, and professor, featuring his memoir Confronting the Silence: A Holocaust Survivor’s Search for God.

Wednesday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m.
Book discussion of Confronting the Silence: A Holocaust Survivor’s Search for God.

Thursday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.
Talk by Dr. Warren J. Carson, retired Professor of English and Director of the Gospel Choir at the University of South Carolina Upstate, featuring Nina Simone’s memoir, I Put a Spell on You.

Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.
Book discussion of I Put a Spell on You.

Thursday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m.
Talk by Mary Judith Messer, featuring her memoir Moonshiner’s Daughter.

Wednesday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m.
Book discussion of Moonshiner’s Daughter.

All programs are free, and everyone is invited. Light refreshments will be served. To register for the online/zoom meetings, email [email protected]. For more information contact the West Asheville Library.

Salsa Night Thursday
Oct 14 @ 9:30 pm – Oct 15 @ 2:00 am
Asheville Beauty Academy

Spice up your life with Latin sounds by local DJs Nex Millen & Mtn Vibez every Thursday.

Super bonus if you come early and get Dance Lessons from our knowladable instructors and get your body ready with sabor for the night. NO COVER All events 21+

Friday, October 15, 2021
Antique and Collectible Book Sale at Pack Library
Oct 15 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Pack Memorial Library
The Perfect Turkey

Antique and Collectible Book Sale at Pack Library

The Friends of Pack Library will have their Annual Antique and Collectible book sale the third weekend in October at Pack Library in downtown Asheville. There will be a box sale the following Friday.

Weaverville Library Used Book Store
Oct 15 @ 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Weaverville Library

The Friends of the Weaverville Library (FOWL) are excited to announce the opening of their used bookstore in Weaverville on Thursday, July 8. Located in the lower level of the Weaverville Library at 41 N. Main St., the store will be open Thursdays 1-5 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m.-2 p.m., with expanded hours beginning in September. The store is stocked with thousands of books, audiobooks, CDs, DVDs, and more. All adult books are priced at $1.50-$3.00, children and teen books at $1.00-$1.50, audio and video at $2.00.

There is also a bargain-priced area and a collection of special finds that are priced individually. Please feel free to contact us at 828-641-1812 or [email protected]. All proceeds from the store will benefit the Weaverville Library.

Everybody Free Dance Party
Oct 15 @ 10:00 pm – Oct 16 @ 2:00 am
Asheville Beauty Academy

DJ Dance Party with Meseret & Zati 🎧 Every Friday Nigh it’s you, it’s dark house and the dance floor. NO COVER 21+

Saturday, October 16, 2021
Weaverville Library Used Book Store
Oct 16 @ 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Weaverville Library

The Friends of the Weaverville Library (FOWL) are excited to announce the opening of their used bookstore in Weaverville on Thursday, July 8. Located in the lower level of the Weaverville Library at 41 N. Main St., the store will be open Thursdays 1-5 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m.-2 p.m., with expanded hours beginning in September. The store is stocked with thousands of books, audiobooks, CDs, DVDs, and more. All adult books are priced at $1.50-$3.00, children and teen books at $1.00-$1.50, audio and video at $2.00.

There is also a bargain-priced area and a collection of special finds that are priced individually. Please feel free to contact us at 828-641-1812 or [email protected]. All proceeds from the store will benefit the Weaverville Library.

Sunday, October 17, 2021
Queer Girls Literary Reading
Oct 17 @ 4:30 pm
Rabbit Rabbit

May be a black-and-white image of 6 people and people standing

Join us for the 12th Annual Queer Girls Literary Reading–a fantastic evening of original readings by your favorite literary queer girls! Save the date…

We missed last year because of the pandemic, but we hope you can join us this year at our outdoor event.

We are asking for a suggested donation of $5-10 (more if you can, less if you can’t). No one will be turned away.

Please invite your friends through this Facebook invite!

Monday, October 18, 2021
Even as We Breathe by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle
Oct 18 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
online

From the publisher: “Nineteen-year-old Cowney Sequoyah yearns to escape his hometown of Cherokee, North Carolina, in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. When a summer job at Asheville’s luxurious Grove Park Inn and Resort brings him one step closer to escaping the hills that both cradle and suffocate him, he sees it as an opportunity. With World War II raging in Europe, the inn is the temporary home of Axis diplomats and their families, who are being held as prisoners of war. Soon, Cowney’s refuge becomes a cage when the daughter of one of the residents goes missing and he finds himself accused of abduction and murder.

Even As We Breathe 
invokes the elements of bone, blood, and flesh as Cowney navigates difficult social, cultural, and ethnic divides. After leaving the seclusion of the Cherokee reservation, he is able to explore a future free from the consequences of his family’s choices and to construct a new worldview, for a time. However, prejudice and persecution in the white world of the resort eventually compel Cowney to free himself from larger forces that hold him back as he struggles to unearth evidence of his innocence and clear his name.”

Available to order at a 20% discount for SVM Book Club members through Black Mountain bookstore Sassafras-on-Sutton.

This event is free, but an RSVP is required in order to receive the Zoom link.

Tuesday, October 19, 2021
Common Word Community Read: Fabrice Julien, Assistant Professor of Health and Wellness “Race Towards An Early Grave:
Oct 19 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Highsmith Union 229--livestream available

The Common Word Community Read, curated by Wiley Cash ’00, brings the UNC Asheville community together to engage in a collective educational experience. Each semester, one book will serve as the focus of numerous virtual and in-person lectures and discussions that will allow participants to delve deeper into the text. Join the Facebook Group to learn more and pick up your copy of the first community read: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson.

Join from 12 – 1 p.m in Highsmith Union 229 or watch the livestream on UNC Asheville’s YouTube channel as Dr. Fabrice Julien presents The Common Word Community Reads second faculty lecture of the semester, “Race Towards An Early Grave: How the American System of Ranking Human Value Drives {consequential} Health Outcomes.”

This event will be the second of three faculty-led lectures for the Fall 2021 Common Word Community Read series. Additional lecturers slated included a previously held talk from Ellen Holmes Pearson, Interim Chair and Professor of History on “‘ . . . a degraded caste:’ Color and Legal Status in the Early American Republic” (September 28), and an upcoming talk from Shawn N. Mendez, Assistant Professor of Sociology, on “Beyond the Binary: Gender, Sexuality, and Family in the American Caste System” (November 16).

Community Expectations

As members of this community, we care about everyone. Faculty, staff, students, and visitors have a shared commitment to take the necessary precautions to avoid spreading COVID-19 while following all recommended health guidelines. Please see UNC Asheville’s Community ExpectationsMasks are required of all students, faculty, staff, and visitors.

Aquanet: Goth Night
Oct 19 @ 9:00 pm – Oct 20 @ 2:00 am
Asheville Beauty Academy
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
WNC Memoirs Book discussion: Confronting the Silence: A Holocaust Survivor’s Search for God
Oct 20 @ 7:00 pm
Hybrid: West Asheville Library and Online

Everyone has a story. Many of us attempt to put our story in writing.  Some of us get published. An even smaller number can take credit for having written something of lasting value.

On eight evenings from September to December at the West Asheville Library, the Wilma Dykeman Legacy will celebrate four memoirs of lasting value from the mountains of Western North Carolina. These sessions will be offered in person and online

Through four lectures and four book discussions the following writers will be featured:

Thursday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m.
Talk by Jim Stokely, son of Wilma Dykeman and President of the Wilma Dykeman Legacy, featuring Wilma’s memoir Family of Earth: A Southern Mountain Childhood.

Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m.
Book discussion of Family of Earth: A Southern Mountain Childhood.

Thursday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.
Talk by Walter Ziffer, retired engineer, minister, and professor, featuring his memoir Confronting the Silence: A Holocaust Survivor’s Search for God.

Wednesday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m.
Book discussion of Confronting the Silence: A Holocaust Survivor’s Search for God.

Thursday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.
Talk by Dr. Warren J. Carson, retired Professor of English and Director of the Gospel Choir at the University of South Carolina Upstate, featuring Nina Simone’s memoir, I Put a Spell on You.

Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.
Book discussion of I Put a Spell on You.

Thursday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m.
Talk by Mary Judith Messer, featuring her memoir Moonshiner’s Daughter.

Wednesday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m.
Book discussion of Moonshiner’s Daughter.

All programs are free, and everyone is invited. Light refreshments will be served. To register for the online/zoom meetings, email [email protected]. For more information contact the West Asheville Library.

Move On Up: Soul/R+B
Oct 20 @ 9:00 pm – Oct 21 @ 2:00 am
Asheville Beauty Academy

“Move On Up” is a night of your favorite and forgotten Soul/RB cuts right after Comedy Night.

Thursday, October 21, 2021
Sunset Rooftop Comedy Shows in Downtown Asheville
Oct 21 all-day
Rabbit Rabbit

Slice of Life Comedy & Disclaimer Lounge present: Sunset Rooftop Standup Comedy by Local Professional Comics Thursday
October 21 & 28 at Rabbit Rabbit

Come grab dinner and a show at Rabbit Rabbit, in Downtown Asheville Outside Theatre Space:
**Great Craft Rabbit-themed cocktails available
**AVL Pizza truck on-site & AVL Pizza full menu available
**Rooftop-seating, depending on weather, where we go to an awesome space below
**Sanitized Headphones provided so you don’t miss a joke while getting your food & drinks, works anywhere around the venue and Asheville Pizza

Featuring: Premier Asheville Standup Comics
What: Weekly Outdoor & Rooftop*
Sunset Comedy Dinner Shows
When: : Thursdays October 21 & 28 7p (doors 6:30p)
Where: Rabbit Rabbit,
Downtown Asheville, 75 Coxe Ave
Cost: $12, Tickets at RabbitRabbitavl.com thru etix or also available at door (but it’s often sold out so come early)
More information or to inquire about performing, contact Michele Scheve at [email protected]
*Rooftop depends on weather, we have a great space under the roof too!

Weaverville Library Used Book Store
Oct 21 @ 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Weaverville Library

The Friends of the Weaverville Library (FOWL) are excited to announce the opening of their used bookstore in Weaverville on Thursday, July 8. Located in the lower level of the Weaverville Library at 41 N. Main St., the store will be open Thursdays 1-5 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m.-2 p.m., with expanded hours beginning in September. The store is stocked with thousands of books, audiobooks, CDs, DVDs, and more. All adult books are priced at $1.50-$3.00, children and teen books at $1.00-$1.50, audio and video at $2.00.

There is also a bargain-priced area and a collection of special finds that are priced individually. Please feel free to contact us at 828-641-1812 or [email protected]. All proceeds from the store will benefit the Weaverville Library.

Salsa Night Thursday
Oct 21 @ 9:30 pm – Oct 22 @ 2:00 am
Asheville Beauty Academy

Spice up your life with Latin sounds by local DJs Nex Millen & Mtn Vibez every Thursday.

Super bonus if you come early and get Dance Lessons from our knowladable instructors and get your body ready with sabor for the night. NO COVER All events 21+

Friday, October 22, 2021
Weaverville Library Used Book Store
Oct 22 @ 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Weaverville Library

The Friends of the Weaverville Library (FOWL) are excited to announce the opening of their used bookstore in Weaverville on Thursday, July 8. Located in the lower level of the Weaverville Library at 41 N. Main St., the store will be open Thursdays 1-5 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m.-2 p.m., with expanded hours beginning in September. The store is stocked with thousands of books, audiobooks, CDs, DVDs, and more. All adult books are priced at $1.50-$3.00, children and teen books at $1.00-$1.50, audio and video at $2.00.

There is also a bargain-priced area and a collection of special finds that are priced individually. Please feel free to contact us at 828-641-1812 or [email protected]. All proceeds from the store will benefit the Weaverville Library.

Saturday, October 23, 2021
Weaverville Library Used Book Store
Oct 23 @ 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Weaverville Library

The Friends of the Weaverville Library (FOWL) are excited to announce the opening of their used bookstore in Weaverville on Thursday, July 8. Located in the lower level of the Weaverville Library at 41 N. Main St., the store will be open Thursdays 1-5 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m.-2 p.m., with expanded hours beginning in September. The store is stocked with thousands of books, audiobooks, CDs, DVDs, and more. All adult books are priced at $1.50-$3.00, children and teen books at $1.00-$1.50, audio and video at $2.00.

There is also a bargain-priced area and a collection of special finds that are priced individually. Please feel free to contact us at 828-641-1812 or [email protected]. All proceeds from the store will benefit the Weaverville Library.

We’re Locals – LIVE Multimedia Show!
Oct 23 @ 8:00 pm
Sly Grog Lounge

WE’RE LOCALS IS COMING TO ASHEVILLE!

We’re Locals is a unique live multimedia show where two bozos (Dan Vetrano and Aaron Nevins) do their best to blend in with the natives in a completely different town every seven days, culminating in one dazzling show at the end of the week.

Dan and Aaron comb your bars, businesses and peculiar classified ads to find the most fascinating people around, following strange paths to meet even stranger strangers, scouring your thrift shops for choice finds, and generally embarking on insane life-changing experiences that they’ll tell you all about.

In addition, We’re Locals aims to showcase the colorful and vibrant idiosyncrasies of each town, rounding up local bands, comedians and artists and shining a spotlight on the workers, craftspeople and small businesses that make each place unique.

Come on out to We’re Locals for one night only of charmingly idiotic powerpoint presentations, games, surprises, and weird Wifi names from your neighborhood. By the end of the week, you might even confuse Dan and Aaron for your neighbors.

Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Aquanet: Goth Night
Oct 26 @ 9:00 pm – Oct 27 @ 2:00 am
Asheville Beauty Academy
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Visiting Writers Series: A Reading and Talk by Japanese American Poet Lee Ann Roripaugh
Oct 27 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Mountain View Room

A Wyoming native and second-generation Japanese American, Lee Ann Roripaugh is the author of five volumes of poetry: tsunami vs. the fukushima 50 (Milkweed), Dandarians (Milkweed), On the Cusp of a Dangerous Year (Southern Illinois University Press), Year of the Snake (Southern Illinois University Press), and Beyond Heart Mountain (Penguin Books). From 2015-2019, she served as South Dakota State Poet Laureate.

This is the fourth and final event in the 2021 Visiting Writers Series presented by the UNC Asheville English Department. Additional events included A Literary Reading by poet Diamond Forde, the English Department’s University Fellow for Faculty Diversity on September 9; UNC Asheville Alumnus and Writer-in-Residence Wiley Cash’s ’00 Book Launch for When Ghosts Come Home on September 21; and, The Katherine Min Memorial Reading with UNCA Alumnus Mason Currey ’02 on October 6.

Additional information may be found at the English Department website.

Accessibility

Find accessibility information for campus buildings at maps.unca.edu. For accessibility questions or to request event accommodations, please contact [email protected] or 828.250.3832.

Visitor Parking

Visitors must have a permit to park on campus — please visit the Transportation website to register.

Visiting Writers Series: Lee Ann Roripaugh
Oct 27 @ 7:00 pm
UNCA Mountain View Room

Lee Ann Roripaugh

 in the Mountain View Room

A Wyoming native and second-generation Japanese American, Lee Ann Roripaugh is the author of five volumes of poetry: tsunami vs. the fukushima 50 (Milkweed), Dandarians (Milkweed), On the Cusp of a Dangerous Year (Southern Illinois University Press), Year of the Snake (Southern Illinois University Press), and Beyond Heart Mountain (Penguin Books). From 2015-2019, she served as South Dakota State Poet Laureate.

Accessibility

Find accessibility information for campus buildings at maps.unca.edu. For accessibility questions or to request event accommodations, please contact [email protected] or 828.250.3832.

 

Visitor Parking

Visitors may park in faculty/staff and non-resident lots from 5:00 p.m. until 7:30 a.m., Monday through Friday, and on weekends, holidays, and campus breaks. Visitors are not permitted to park in resident student lots at any time.

Move On Up: Soul/R+B
Oct 27 @ 9:00 pm – Oct 28 @ 2:00 am
Asheville Beauty Academy

“Move On Up” is a night of your favorite and forgotten Soul/RB cuts right after Comedy Night.

Thursday, October 28, 2021
Sunset Rooftop Comedy Shows in Downtown Asheville
Oct 28 all-day
Rabbit Rabbit

Slice of Life Comedy & Disclaimer Lounge present: Sunset Rooftop Standup Comedy by Local Professional Comics Thursday
October 21 & 28 at Rabbit Rabbit

Come grab dinner and a show at Rabbit Rabbit, in Downtown Asheville Outside Theatre Space:
**Great Craft Rabbit-themed cocktails available
**AVL Pizza truck on-site & AVL Pizza full menu available
**Rooftop-seating, depending on weather, where we go to an awesome space below
**Sanitized Headphones provided so you don’t miss a joke while getting your food & drinks, works anywhere around the venue and Asheville Pizza

Featuring: Premier Asheville Standup Comics
What: Weekly Outdoor & Rooftop*
Sunset Comedy Dinner Shows
When: : Thursdays October 21 & 28
7p (doors 6:30p)
Where: Rabbit Rabbit,
Downtown Asheville, 75 Coxe Ave
Cost: $12, Tickets at RabbitRabbitavl.com thru etix or also available at door (but it’s often sold out so come early)
More information or to inquire about performing, contact Michele Scheve at [email protected]
*Rooftop depends on weather, we have a great space under the roof too!