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.
The Foodie Book Club is a club about food writing. The club meets on the last Wednesday of every month at 7:00 PM. Click here for details and monthly picks!
Join host and Malaprop’s Bookseller Patricia Furnish to discuss a range of books across true crime and public affairs. The club meets the first Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. Click here to learn more about the club, view important news, and find the pick for this month.

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Join us for some Dungeons & Dragons at Pack Memorial Library! All players aged 13-17 are eligible |

Join us every Monday night for Singo (Musical Bingo)!
Singo will run from 7-8:15 pm.
No reservations needed, just get ready for a good time and a chance to win some Down Dog prizes!

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Come down the Pack Memorial Library and play with LEGOs! Please leave your personal LEGOs at home, because we’ve got plenty. |
Join former Malaprop’s General Manager Linda-Marie Barrett for this woman-only book club that seeks to have fun by reading books (fiction & non) by women writers. 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 6:30 P.M. on the first Tuesday of the month at the Battery Park Book Exchange. It will be held virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chat with other book lovers about this month’s book selection.
Interested in reading ahead? Here’s what we have coming up in the next few months!
– November- “Once Upon A River” Diane Setterfield
– December- “Dutch House” Ann Patchett
– January- “Mexican Gothic” Silvia Moreno-Garcia
– February- “The Rose Code” Kate Quinn
To reserve your copy of the book, visit buncombe.nccardinal.org or swing by the library to pick one up from the book clubs holds shelf.
To join the book club email [email protected] or call us at 250-4758.

It’s time again for EYLA to host our ever popular Game Night! We are proud and excited to have Hi-Wire Brewing RAD, in its newest location, to host our group.
Please bring your favorite games to share and your competitive spirit to make it a fun and exciting evening of game play.
Please be aware that this and all future Game Nights will be held at the River Arts District location. Please Venmo Norque Smith for fees (1.00) or pay in person Cash to the host.

In addition to Game Night (details below), we’ll collect school supplies to donate to Avery Creek Elementary School. Please consider donating new pencils, pencil boxes, glue sticks, disinfecting wipes, pencil erasers, crayons, markers, etc.! Please bring what you can!
It’s time again for EYLA’s ever popular Game Night! We are excited to have Hi-Wire Brewing, in its newest RAD location, host our group. They have bocce ball, cornhole, and we have a number of board/card games available. But please bring your favorite games to share with the group – variety is the spice of life! Please Venmo Norque Smith (@Norque-Smith) the $1.00 fee or pay cash to one of the hosts.

Some of our greatest art has come in response to the pain of this world: war, accident, crime and punishment, physical and mental illness, racial and class-based inequities. As Asheville resident Nancy Sehested has written, “The deeply human questions of forgiveness, redemption, and mercy emerge from the ruins of broken lives…Pain is not the last word.”
On eight evenings from September to December, the Wilma Dykeman Legacy and the West Asheville Library will celebrate four memoirs of resilience and hope from the mountains of Western North Carolina. All events are free and will be at the West Asheville Library, except for the digital event on December 8.

Buncombe County Public Libraries is hosting a new book club beginning in September.
Books to Action is an issue-focused book club that will explore books centered on topics facing our community. Each book discussion will take place in conjunction with a community service project, educational field trip, or presentations from local experts active in these key issues. This book club is open to anyone over age 16 and hopes to spotlight the work of community organizations and provide an engaging opportunity to get involved on a local level.
On Sept. 10, the Book To Action club will meet at 10:30 am at the Stephens-Lee Center to discuss Ibram X. Kendi’s How to be Antiracist. After the book discussion, we will walk to Eagle Street to begin our Hood Huggers tour.
Hood Hugger walking tours explore the past, present, and future of African Americans in Asheville
Our tour will include: the East End Valley Street in downtown Asheville, home to shops and galleries featuring African American artisans and artists; the YMI Cultural Center; the Stephens Lee Community Center; The Block, and significant African American architecture in this vibrant historic neighborhood.
This event is free, but you do need to register. Please visit the library web page and use the link on the calendar for this program to sign up.
Future meetings will include book discussions and volunteer activities with Habitat for Humanity, the Family Justice Center, and Asheville Greenworks. Check the library calendar for updates on coming books and community projects.

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Join us for some Dungeons & Dragons at Pack Memorial Library! All players aged 13-17 are eligible |

Join us every Monday night for Singo (Musical Bingo)!
Singo will run from 7-8:15 pm.
No reservations needed, just get ready for a good time and a chance to win some Down Dog prizes!
Join host Tena Frank for Malaprop’s Mystery Book Club! 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 second Monday of every month at 7:00 pm.

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Come down the Pack Memorial Library and play with LEGOs! Please leave your personal LEGOs at home, because we’ve got plenty. |

The Art Prophets: The Artists, Dealers, and Tastemakers Who Shook the Art World by Richard Polsky introduces readers to influential late twentieth-century dealers and tastemakers in the art world. These risk takers opened doors for artists, identified new movements, and resurrected art forms that had fallen into obscurity. In this distinctive tour, Polsky offers an insightful and engaging dialogue between artists and the visionaries who paved their way.
Moderators: AAM Docents, Barbara Pressman and Hope Warshaw
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 or call 828.253.3227 x133.

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.

Some of our greatest art has come in response to the pain of this world: war, accident, crime and punishment, physical and mental illness, racial and class-based inequities. As Asheville resident Nancy Sehested has written, “The deeply human questions of forgiveness, redemption, and mercy emerge from the ruins of broken lives…Pain is not the last word.”
On eight evenings from September to December, the Wilma Dykeman Legacy and the West Asheville Library will celebrate four memoirs of resilience and hope from the mountains of Western North Carolina. All events are free and will be at the West Asheville Library, except for the digital event on December 8.
About the Wilma Dykeman Legacy
The Wilma Dykeman Legacy is a tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 2012 to sustain and promote Wilma Dykeman’s values by sponsoring diverse workshops, events, and other programs. The core values of this extraordinary woman from Buncombe County included environmental integrity, social justice, and the power of the written and spoken word. For more information, visit www.wilmadykemanlegacy.org.

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Join us for some Dungeons & Dragons at Pack Memorial Library! All players aged 13-17 are eligible |

Join us every Monday night for Singo (Musical Bingo)!
Singo will run from 7-8:15 pm.
No reservations needed, just get ready for a good time and a chance to win some Down Dog prizes!

|
Come down the Pack Memorial Library and play with LEGOs! Please leave your personal LEGOs at home, because we’ve got plenty. |
The book for September is: ‘Klara and the Sun’ by Kazuo Ishiguro
From the best-selling author of Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day, a stunning new novel—his first since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature—about the wondrous, mysterious nature of the human heart.
From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change forever, Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans.
In Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love?
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/23/books/review/klara-and-the-sun-kazuo-ishiguro.html
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General Activities
Festival Activities – Discover all our vendors for this year including the juried arts and crafts show, food vendors, and local non-profit organizations. There are over 120 vendors with thousands of unique items to choose from.
Kids Activities – Family fun for all ages! Take a wagon ride, learn traditional crafts, try your hand at old-time mountain skills, learn new dances and more. Be sure to stop by the Children’s Tent for activities.
Cherokee Games – One of the most important elements of Mountain Heritage Day is the influence and culture of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The annual stickball demonstration is a highly ritualized contest you won’t want to miss.
Andy Shaw Ford Classic Car Show – They just don’t make them like they used to! Showcase your classic automobile (25 years or older) in Mountain Heritage Day’s Andy Shaw Ford Classic Car Show. Visitors can stroll amongst the beautiful machines and cast votes for their favorites.
Music – Bluegrass, Acoustic, Old-Time, Roots, Country, Mountain Swing, and Gospel, just to name a few. With two stages and dozens of performers, you’ll want to dance the day away.
5K Race – The 5k Race is organized and hosted by the students at Western Carolina University Sport Management program. The money that is raised will go to help fund the Sport Management Association Scholarship.
McNeely’s Chainsaw Competition – Try your hand at this activity! The competition will be carried out in four categories: Homeowner, Box Stock, Stock Appearing, and Open. There will be ten classes of saws:
- Class “E”
- Class “D”
- Class “C”
- Class “B”
- Class “A”
- Class “AA”
- “Hot Saw”
- AA Modified Motorcycle Parts
- Cross Cut Saw (two person teams)
- One-man Bucking Saw
There is a fee for each entry. Find rules here.
Mountain Heritage Skills, Crafts and Historical Demonstrations
- Ramona Lossiah, Cherokee basketry
- Jeff Gottlieb, Kudzu Crafts and Baskets
- Louise, Butch, and George Edward Goings, Cherokee Basketry, Woodcarving, Flint Knapping
- Brock Martin, Blacksmith
- Nora Mosrie, Cornshuck Crafts
- William Rogers, Coppersmith
- Dede Styles, Natural Dyeing
- Nate Darnell, Tractor Rides
- Nathan Woods and Ethan Fortner: Horse and Mule Demonstrations
- Richard Tichich Quilt Making
- Kevin Fountain, Corn Grinding and Hit and Miss Engines
Stages, Tents & Stickball
Harrah’s Blue Ridge Stage

10:00 AM – Summer Brooke and Brayden
11:00 AM – Whitewater Bluegrass Company
12:00 PM – Apple Blossom Cloggers
12:15 PM – Mountain Heritage Award presentation
12:45 PM – The Queen Family
1:30 PM – Phil and Gaye Johnson
2:15 PM – The Grascals
3:30 PM – The Bailey Mountain Cloggers
3:45 PM – The Merle Monroe Band
Children’s Tent

10:30 AM – Pressley Girls
11:30 AM – Phil and Gaye Johnson
12:00 PM – Blue Ridge Junior Appalachian Musicians
12:30 PM – Bailey Mountain Cloggers
1:00 PM – Dietz Family
1:30 PM – Apple Blossom Cloggers
2:00 PM – Uncle Ted White and Whitewater Bluegrass Co.
Balsam/Circle Tent

10:00 AM – Ann Woodford: African American history and stories
11:00 AM – Deitz Family
12:00 PM – Roots and Branches Circle with Kristin Scott Benson, Daniel Grindstaff, Adam Haynes, Brayden McMahan and Phil Jamison
1:00 PM – Sparky Rucker: Mountain Voices storytelling
2:00 PM – Suffering and Hope Circle with the Deitz Family, Jeanette Schrock and Mark Queen, Tim Raybon and Phil Jamison
3:00 PM – Roots and Branches
4:00 PM – Community Square Dance
Shape Note Tent

10:30 AM – Shape Note Singing with Will Peebles
12:15 PM – Calliope Shorts Ethel Brown: A Singer Needs a Song
12:30 PM – Calliope Shorts Moonshine and a Grey Duck
1:00 PM – Shape Note Singing with Will Peebles
Stickball Field

11:00 AM – “Kolanvyi” Big Cove Indian Ball Team
2:00 PM – “Kolanvyi” Big Cove Indian Ball Team
McNeely’s Chainsaw Competition

9:00 – 10:00 AM – Registration (after 10:00 AM, a penalty will occur)
10:00 AM – Until all registered contestants have participated
10:00 AM – Homeowner Class Competition Begins
Andy Shaw Ford Classic Car Show

9:00 – 10:00 AM – Registration
10:00 AM –12:00 PM – Encouraging participation from the public to vote for their favorite car; collect ballots; engage with participants
12:00 PM – Voting closes
2:00 PM – Awards Announced (People’s Choice, Top 3)

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Join us for some Dungeons & Dragons at Pack Memorial Library! All players aged 13-17 are eligible |

Join us every Monday night for Singo (Musical Bingo)!
Singo will run from 7-8:15 pm.
No reservations needed, just get ready for a good time and a chance to win some Down Dog prizes!
Join host and Malaprop’s Bookseller Allison to dive into the wreck of the wily and wonderful world of science fiction, fantasy, weird fiction, speculative fiction, and literary horror with a healthy mix of underappreciated classic and contemporary books. Meets the last Monday of every month at 7 pm on Zoom. Also meets on the second Monday of every month at 7 pm to discuss the film adaptations of the books we read. Click here to see a full schedule of what the club is reading and contact the club host to join. Club attendees get 10% off the book at Malaprop’s!

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Come down the Pack Memorial Library and play with LEGOs! Please leave your personal LEGOs at home, because we’ve got plenty. |
Romance Book Club is a space to celebrate love in literature. Whether it’s set in early 1800s London, a distant planet years into the future, a fantasy world of magic, or our own contemporary universe, we are here for the stories that end with a happily-ever-after (or at least a happily-for-now).
Meetings will take place at 7:00 PM ET on the last Tuesday of each month via Zoom. Please visit the Romance Bookclub page for the monthly selection, and email Samantha at [email protected] for the link to join.
