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.

Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Summer Camp at Nantahala Outdoor Center Registration Open
Mar 15 all-day
Nantahala Outdoor Center

Teens at a kayak Summer Day Camp

Summer Day Camp is a great option for kids ages 9-17 with any skill level to learn and practice on the iconic rivers and lakes of Western North Carolina. Paddlers from beginner to advanced will receive high-quality instruction from our elite team while having fun and making friends.

 

Wilderness Medicine + Survival Skills at Nantahala Outdoor Center
Mar 15 all-day
Nantahala Outdoor Center

LEARN MORE THIS YEAR

Brush up on your wilderness medicine or learn new survival skills! SOLO Southeast & NOC are offering over 200 courses in 2023 and classes in locations across the southeast.

  • Atlanta, GA
  • Bryson City, NC
  • Chattanooga, TN
  • Collegedale, TN
  • Greenville, SC

Find your next course with SOLO Southeast and be prepared for the unexpected!

Common Word Community Read: “Mental Health Behind Bars: The Role of Mental Health in the U.S. Legal System,” with Dr. Laura Jones
Mar 15 @ 7:00 pm

Laura Jones, associate professor of Health & Wellness and Athletics Mental Health Coordinator at UNC Asheville will present “Mental Health Behind Bars: The Role of Mental Health in the U.S. Legal System,” at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15 at UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center in the Manheimer Room.

Jones’ lecture is part of the Common Word Community Read, curated by New York Times Bestselling author and UNC Asheville alumnus, Wiley Cash ’00. This program 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. Over the course of the academic year, participants will read one book each semester, gaining insights and sharing ideas in a welcoming and respectful environment. Spring 2023’s selection is “The Other Dr. Gilmer: Two Men, a Murder, and an Unlikely Fight for Justice.”

For more information and to register, visit: giving.unca.edu/alumni/the-common-word-community-read/

This event is the second of three events for the Spring 2023 Common Word Community Read series. Additional events include a conversation between Wiley Cash and Benjamin Gilmer.

Thursday, March 16, 2023
Summer Camp at Nantahala Outdoor Center Registration Open
Mar 16 all-day
Nantahala Outdoor Center

Teens at a kayak Summer Day Camp

Summer Day Camp is a great option for kids ages 9-17 with any skill level to learn and practice on the iconic rivers and lakes of Western North Carolina. Paddlers from beginner to advanced will receive high-quality instruction from our elite team while having fun and making friends.

 

Wilderness Medicine + Survival Skills at Nantahala Outdoor Center
Mar 16 all-day
Nantahala Outdoor Center

LEARN MORE THIS YEAR

Brush up on your wilderness medicine or learn new survival skills! SOLO Southeast & NOC are offering over 200 courses in 2023 and classes in locations across the southeast.

  • Atlanta, GA
  • Bryson City, NC
  • Chattanooga, TN
  • Collegedale, TN
  • Greenville, SC

Find your next course with SOLO Southeast and be prepared for the unexpected!

Flat Rock Book Club
Mar 16 @ 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
The 2nd Act

Please join us at The 2nd Act in Hendersonville, NC for our first monthly book club meeting that strives to read books that create a closer knit and more inclusive community! We will meet virtually and in person monthly to discuss a book, so read the book and then join in the discussion in person or online every third Thursday. All are welcome! At the end of each meeting we will vote on the next book! The virtual club meeting will be in Zoom format and will meet 2.5 hours after the in-person meeting (8:00pm EST). After the meeting there is live acoustic music so stay and enjoy the vibe with your new friends! Put us down on your calendar for every third Third Thursday!

The first book is going to be called Disability Visibility.

Synopsis from the back cover: One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent—but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings together this urgent, galvanizing collection of contemporary essays by disabled people.

From Harriet McBryde Johnson’s account of her debate with Peter Singer over her own personhood to original pieces by authors like Keah Brown and Haben Girma; from blog posts, manifestos, and eulogies to Congressional testimonies, and beyond: this anthology gives a glimpse into the rich complexity of the disabled experience, highlighting the passions, talents, and everyday lives of this community. It invites readers to question their own understandings. It celebrates and documents disability culture in the now. It looks to the future and the past with hope and love. Preview:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51456746-disability-visibility
Message me for the Zoom link to the online meetup. Thanks!

Hendo Book Club Meetup: Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story by Jacob Tobia
Mar 16 @ 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
The 2nd Act

Please join us at The 2nd Act in Hendersonville, NC for our monthly book club meeting that strives to read books that create a closer knit and more inclusive community! We will meet in person monthly to discuss a book, so read the book (Our goal is to build community first so join us even if you have not read the book) and then we’ll discuss it and enjoy live music after the meeting. All are welcome! At the end of each meeting we will vote on the next book! Put us down on your calendar for every third Third Thursday!

February book- Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story by Jacob Tobia
March onward will be a book selected by participants at previous gathering. Thank you for your participation and patience while we get rolling!

Notorious HBC (History Book Club)
Mar 16 @ 7:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore and Virtual

Notorious HBC (History Book Club)

Thursday, February 16, 2023 – 7:00pm
Thursday, March 16, 2023 – 7:00pm
Thursday, April 20, 2023 – 7:00pm

 

This club meets in-person and virtually. If you are interested in attending, please email [email protected] for more info and instructions! 

Join host and Malaprop’s bookseller Patricia Furnish to discuss a range of books across different periods of history. The club tackles challenging subjects, hence “NOTORIOUS.”  Click here to see a full schedule of what the club is reading. Club attendees get 10% off the book at Malaprop’s!

The club meets at Malaprop’s on the 3rd Thursday of every month at 7:00 pm.

Friday, March 17, 2023
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library®
Mar 17 all-day
online
NOC Paddling School
Mar 17 all-day
Nantahala Outdoor Center

Voted “Best Place to Learn” by Outside, NOC Paddling School has taught more paddlers than anyone else, with 50 years of experience going into every class. Our commitment to the sport and to providing the best possible instruction has not waivered. So come and let us be your respected and experienced instructor.

Summer Camp at Nantahala Outdoor Center Registration Open
Mar 17 all-day
Nantahala Outdoor Center

Teens at a kayak Summer Day Camp

Summer Day Camp is a great option for kids ages 9-17 with any skill level to learn and practice on the iconic rivers and lakes of Western North Carolina. Paddlers from beginner to advanced will receive high-quality instruction from our elite team while having fun and making friends.

 

Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour
Mar 17 @ 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Porter Center

Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour -BREVARD

Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival is one of the largest and most prestigious mountain festivals in the world! Hot on the heels of the Festival that is held every fall in beautiful Banff, Alberta, the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour hits the road. With stops planned in about 550 communities and more than 40 countries across the globe, the Banff World Tour celebrates amazing achievements in outdoor storytelling and filmmaking worldwide! From the over 400 entries submitted into the Festival each year, award-winners and audience favorites are among the films that are carefully selected to play in theatres around the world. Traveling to remote vistas, analyzing topical environmental issues, and bringing audiences up-close and personal with adrenaline-packed action sports the 2022/2023 World Tour is an exhilarating and provocative exploration of the mountain world.

Saturday, March 18, 2023
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library®
Mar 18 all-day
online
NOC Paddling School
Mar 18 all-day
Nantahala Outdoor Center

Voted “Best Place to Learn” by Outside, NOC Paddling School has taught more paddlers than anyone else, with 50 years of experience going into every class. Our commitment to the sport and to providing the best possible instruction has not waivered. So come and let us be your respected and experienced instructor.

Summer Camp at Nantahala Outdoor Center Registration Open
Mar 18 all-day
Nantahala Outdoor Center

Teens at a kayak Summer Day Camp

Summer Day Camp is a great option for kids ages 9-17 with any skill level to learn and practice on the iconic rivers and lakes of Western North Carolina. Paddlers from beginner to advanced will receive high-quality instruction from our elite team while having fun and making friends.

 

Land of the Sky 101 Book Club
Mar 18 @ 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Pack Memorial Library

Land of the Sky 101 is a community learning circle for those who are interested in an introduction to the history of Asheville, Buncombe County and Western North Carolina. A nine -part series of readings and discussions is modeled after the themes of the exhibit “An Incomplete History of Buncombe County” mounted in the BCSC reading room. From October 2022 through July 2023 (with a break in December) participants will explore the history of our region focusing on themes ranging from ancient history to the late 20th century revitalization of the Downtown area.

Read
Each month readers can choose from two selections; one light read like a novel, or groups of essays and poems, and one rigorous non-fiction read written by an expert on the subject. Pick one or both! The choice is yours!

Learn
Each session will be facilitated by a Buncombe County Special Collections librarian or special guest who will share their expert knowledge, additional resources, and set the context for the conversation.

Discuss
At least 45 minutes of each session will be set aside for group discussion. The learning circle is a place to get curious about your community and meet new friends. Come for the history, stay for the fellowship!
Click here to view a complete list of dates and titles.

Registration is limited and required. Sessions for the 2022-2023 cohort will be held at 10:30 am on the third Saturday of each month at Pack Memorial Library. Sessions run from October 2022 until July 2023. Your registration will reserve your place for all nine sessions, and we hope participants will plan to attend each meeting.  If you cannot attend a session, please let us know in advance so we may allow those on the waiting list to participate.

Diversity Dialogues – Poetry and Healing
Mar 18 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
East Asheville Library

Join us for a live recording of Western Carolina University’s Diversity Dialogues series, a part of the university’s Spring 2023 Literary Festival. Co-hosted with Malaprop’s Bookstore, this Spring Literary Festival pre-event will feature two Asian-American mental health practitioners in a conversation about poetry and healing.

Eric Tran is a queer Vietnamese poet and the author of Mouth, Sugar, and Smoke and The Gutter Spread Guide to Prayer. His work has been featured in All Things Considered, Best of the Net, and Poetry Daily. He is a psychiatrist living in Portland, Oregon.

A child of Filipino immigrants, M. Jay Manalo is a licensed psychologist and associate director of WCU’s counseling and psychological services. He earned his Ph.D. in counseling psychology from The University of Georgia, where his doctoral dissertation research examined the counseling needs and strengths of Hmong American students. His counseling interests include depression, anxiety, stress, life transitions, AD/HD, LGBTQ identity, multicultural psychology, social skills concerns, and developmental disabilities. He serves as a board member of the Association for Counseling Center Training Agencies (ACCTA) and is a site visitor for the American Psychological Association’s Commission on Accreditation.

Private, Guided Tour with Corporate Friend Fjällräven
Mar 18 @ 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
WNC Nature Center
 

Join Fjällräven Asheville and the Western North Carolina Nature Center to learn about native wildlife! This guided, private tour of the wildlife park will feature in-depth ecology of our flagship species, as well as share unique stories and facts about the animals who call the Nature Center home. Following the tour, each participant has access to the WNC Nature Center for the rest of the day. This interactive experience only has 20 spots available and may fill up fast!

Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour
Mar 18 @ 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Porter Center

Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour -BREVARD

Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival is one of the largest and most prestigious mountain festivals in the world! Hot on the heels of the Festival that is held every fall in beautiful Banff, Alberta, the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour hits the road. With stops planned in about 550 communities and more than 40 countries across the globe, the Banff World Tour celebrates amazing achievements in outdoor storytelling and filmmaking worldwide! From the over 400 entries submitted into the Festival each year, award-winners and audience favorites are among the films that are carefully selected to play in theatres around the world. Traveling to remote vistas, analyzing topical environmental issues, and bringing audiences up-close and personal with adrenaline-packed action sports the 2022/2023 World Tour is an exhilarating and provocative exploration of the mountain world.

Sunday, March 19, 2023
$10 Sunday Fundays at Kolo Bike Park
Mar 19 all-day
Adventure Center of Asheville
5 minutes from Downtown Asheville

$10 Sunday Fundays at Kolo Bike Park

Ride Kolo Bike Park for $10 on Sundays with trails, pump tracks, jump line, skills park, Littleville, rock garden and bridges, skinnies, and table tops scattered through the Park.  Reservations not required.  Call for conditions.  828.225.2921

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library®
Mar 19 all-day
online
NOC Paddling School
Mar 19 all-day
Nantahala Outdoor Center

Voted “Best Place to Learn” by Outside, NOC Paddling School has taught more paddlers than anyone else, with 50 years of experience going into every class. Our commitment to the sport and to providing the best possible instruction has not waivered. So come and let us be your respected and experienced instructor.

Blue Ridge Bicycle Club: Weekly B-Pace Ride
Mar 19 @ 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
various locations

Time & loc varies, typical avg spd 15-17mph, dist 30-50mi. For weekly emails, update your profile: Hover on your name upper right; select “Profile”; under “Your website functions” click “Interests”; then check “B Pace Rides”. Leader [email protected]

Kolo Bike Park $10 Sunday Fundays
Mar 19 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Kolo Bike Park

Join us on Sundays this Fall and Winter for $10 to ride Kolo Bike Park on over 125 acres beside Downtown Asheville!  Enjoy pump tracks, skills area, trails, skinnys, berms, table tops and much more! Littleville is also included for our youngest shredders. Rentals not included.

Reservations not required. Call for conditions: 828.225.2921.

Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour
Mar 19 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Porter Center

Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour -BREVARD

Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival is one of the largest and most prestigious mountain festivals in the world! Hot on the heels of the Festival that is held every fall in beautiful Banff, Alberta, the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour hits the road. With stops planned in about 550 communities and more than 40 countries across the globe, the Banff World Tour celebrates amazing achievements in outdoor storytelling and filmmaking worldwide! From the over 400 entries submitted into the Festival each year, award-winners and audience favorites are among the films that are carefully selected to play in theatres around the world. Traveling to remote vistas, analyzing topical environmental issues, and bringing audiences up-close and personal with adrenaline-packed action sports the 2022/2023 World Tour is an exhilarating and provocative exploration of the mountain world.

Monday, March 20, 2023
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library®
Mar 20 all-day
online
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.

Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library®
Mar 21 all-day
online
Wilderness Medicine + Survival Skills at Nantahala Outdoor Center
Mar 21 all-day
Nantahala Outdoor Center

LEARN MORE THIS YEAR

Brush up on your wilderness medicine or learn new survival skills! SOLO Southeast & NOC are offering over 200 courses in 2023 and classes in locations across the southeast.

  • Atlanta, GA
  • Bryson City, NC
  • Chattanooga, TN
  • Collegedale, TN
  • Greenville, SC

Find your next course with SOLO Southeast and be prepared for the unexpected!

Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library®
Mar 22 all-day
online