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.
– ALL AGES
– SEATED SHOW
– LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLE
A Note From Sam– The music that my father David Grisman and his close friend, Jerry Garcia, made in the early 90s (in the house that I grew up in) is not only some of the most timeless acoustic music ever recorded, it also triggers my oldest and fondest musical memories. What I find most inspiring about this material is the way their camaraderie and their love and joy for the music, simply oozes out of each recording. It is also impressive how deeply they get beneath their favorite songs—whether they are originals, covers or traditional/old time tunes—and how expertly that material was curated.
My goal in starting Sam Grisman Project is to build a platform for my friends and me to showcase our genuine passion and appreciation for the legacy of Dawg and Jerry’s music. By playing some of their beloved repertoire and sharing the original music that our own collective has to offer, we will also show the impact that this music has had on our own individual musical voices. Ultimately, there is nothing that makes me happier than playing great songs with my best friends and my hope is to share that happiness with audiences all over!”
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Treat yourself to a social afternoon filled with whimsy and fun while sampling the exquisite, in-house offerings at the rooftop Perspective Café!
Indulge in local selections from the Asheville Tea Company, as well as fresh house-made tea sandwiches, scones, and petit fours. Create your own Fascinator Hat in our guided studio session, or bring your favorite to wear while strolling the galleries!
Pre-registration is required. Tabletops of 4 or 6 only. Ticket includes Museum admission, studio time, tea and accompaniments, and gratuity. Members receive 10 percent discount.
SCHEDULE
2–3pm • Fascinator hat making in the John & Robyn Horn Education Center. (We also welcome bringing your own favorite hat and arrive for tea at 3pm)
3–5pm • Tea Party in Perspective Café
5–6pm • Stroll the galleries & Museum Store
Every Thursday
- Live Music with Aaron Lafalce at 131 Main Restaurant, 6:00 p.m.
Trivia, Singo, tailgate games, and more! Our games are sure to challenge you, but c’mon… it’s not rocket science!
Taste of Asheville 2023
Presented by Cheney Brothers, Inc.
AIR’s signature culinary event is back and better than ever, celebrating 20 years of supporting Asheville’s independent restaurants!
On Thursday, March 9, 2023, AIR will mark its 20th year of advocating for and supporting Asheville’s independently owned restaurants with the return of its beloved signature culinary event, Taste of Asheville, presented by Cheney Brothers, Inc.
In its first appearance since 2019 after a pandemic hiatus, Taste of Asheville 2023 will take place 6-9 p.m. Thursday, March 9, in a brand-new location — the beautiful and spacious Mission Health/A-B Tech Conference Center on the A-B Tech campus.
Don’t miss out on:
- Delicious bites and sips from about 60 AIR member restaurants and beverage vendors
- Musical entertainment from Asheville’s sensational Firecracker Jazz Band
- Silent auction
- Featured live auction item: Dinner for eight with wine pairings prepared in the winner’s home by renowned Asheville chefs and AIR co-founders Michel Baudouin and Eric Scheffer.
Space is limited and tickets are likely to sell out, so click below or scan the QR code to get yours now before they’re gone!
For a list of participating restaurants, visit airasheville.org/taste-of-asheville/.
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LED BY ELLE BLACKBURN, O&G BAR MANAGER
With the popularity of January’s Cocktail Class: “Call Me Old Fashioned”, we’re bringing it back for March! With three new featured Old Fashioned recipes to learn, this class is perfect for beginners to the experts. On March 9th, we’re tackling the granddaddy of all Oak and Grist cocktails, the Old Fashioned! This class will focus on the science behind creating your favorite stirred cocktails & empower you to concoct your own unique libations at home.
We’ll start with the original Oak and Grist Old Fashioned recipe, diving into dilution, stirring, proper pouring technique, and an in-depth garnish presentation to keep your cocktails looking sharp. Students will then have the opportunity to taste four distinct Old Fashioned variations utilizing unique sugar, spirit, & bitter combinations. The class culminates with you creating & enjoying your new signature Old Fashioned. Cheers!
Please direct any and all questions to [email protected] and we’ll be sure to get back to you as soon as possible!
WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO KNOW
All O&G Cocktail Classes are 21+. Photo IDs are required to participate in our Cocktail Classes so make sure you bring yours to each class. Don’t forget to arrive early to get settled in & sip on a cocktail before the class starts.
Please reach out to [email protected] about any allergies or accessibility accommodations when booking the event and we will do our best to accommodate.
Doors open at 6:00 pm before the start of the event and will start promptly at 6:30 pm. Classes are taught in pairs and make for the perfect night out for couples, besties, or families. Paired tickets are offered at a discounted price!
There are options for both paired and solo tickets, so if you’re coming with a friend, please make sure you purchase the correct ticket. One ticket per participant is required. Classes are capped at a maximum of 12 people per class.
Oak and Grist Distilling Co. reserves the right to refuse service to any guest who appears or acknowledges to be intoxicated.
All cocktail class students will receive a complimentary barware goodie, take-home recipes, a hand-crafted cocktail, & a 15% discount in our Bottle Shop so you can keep your home bar stocked!
Join us as we welcome acclaimed celtic fiddler KEVIN HENDERSON from the Shetland Islands and NEIL PEARLMAN whose music inclues celtic, Cape Breton, jazz and other styles.
Neil Pearlman is a vital and distinctive voice in contemporary traditional music. Described as “a tremendous pianist” on BBC Radio Scotland and “a force to be reckoned with” by WGBH’s Brian O’Donovan, Neil is best known for his groundbreaking approach to the piano in Celtic music. Motivated by a deep musical curiosity and a love of collaboration, his playing is continually evolving and spontaneous without losing its roots in the traditional piano styles of Atlantic Canada, New England and Scotland. He has appeared at major festivals across North America and Europe including the Newport Folk Festival, Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Celtic Colours in Cape Breton, the Orkney Folk Festival, and has recorded, performed or otherwise collaborated with such artists as Natalie MacMaster, Darol Anger, Seamus Egan, Alasdair Fraser and many more.
Growing up in a musical family, Neil was immersed in Scottish and Cape Breton music and dance from the start. He began dancing at the age of 3 and the piano followed soon after. Joining his parents and siblings on stage as the family band Highland Soles, Neil learned the art of performance early at festivals and concert halls across New England. At the age of 11, he appeared several times as a dancer in Natalie MacMaster’s high-powered show alongside his mother Laura Scott and a few years later released his first album with his father, fiddler Ed Pearlman. Already at that age he was exploring a passion for other styles of music, especially a lifelong love of jazz that has always played a role in his creative voice.
Today Neil’s musical projects run the gamut from deeply traditional to refreshingly contemporary. His podcast TradCafe is a series of conversations and collaborations with traditional musicians from around the world. In 2021 TradCafe launched a video series featuring one-off musical collaborations between Neil and artists such as Troy MacGillivray, Jenna Moynihan, Begona Riobo, Anxo Pintos, Yann Falquet and Alasdair White. His 2020 release Burden Lake with acclaimed Shetland fiddler Kevin Henderson received 5 stars from The Scotsman. He tours regularly with Kevin Henderson, Katie McNally, The Pine Tree Flyers, and as a solo pianist, while playing more irregularly with a wide variety of side projects featuring top Celtic, Americana and Jazz musicians.
“Dazzling piano chops … Fingers absolutely soar across the keys”
–Portland Press Herald
“A mix of jazz and jigs that will raise a toast and get you on the dance floor.”
–George W. Harris
Jazz Weekly
“I was watching Neil’s hands on the piano and it was like watching two spiders… on crack!”
–Jerry Holland
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Kevin Henderson is a fiddler who draws on the rich fiddle music tradition of his native Shetland and his experience with leading bands including Boys of the Lough, Fiddlers Bid, Session A9 and Nordic Fiddlers Bloc to create an expressive and adventurously individual musical style.
Brought up in the Shetland schooling system, whose concentration on fiddle music and encouragement to participate still inspire him, Kevin benefited in his teens from the teaching of the legendary Willie Hunter. Lessons with Hunter could comprise chatting over coffee and biscuits and even extend to being taught survival skills, as well as learning both the essentials and the finer points of playing Shetland reels, and every Saturday Kevin came away motivated to emulate his mentor.
With school friends Chris Stout, Andrew Gifford and Maurice Henderson, Kevin formed Fiddlers Bid, a band that – almost thirty years, innumerable gigs and four enthusiastically received albums on – continues to represent the finest of Shetland fiddling allied with harmonic invention, creative subtlety and enthusiastic vigour.
It was Kevin’s clear understanding of and feeling for the Shetland tradition that led to him being invited, in 2001, to join the long-established Irish-Scottish band Boys of the Lough, alongside the Irish national treasure Cathal McConnell, an experience that has enriched his musical appreciation and love for a strong melody.
Since moving to Norway, while maintaining links with the Boys, the Bid and Session A9, one of Scotland’s finest fiddle ensembles, Kevin has put his heart and soul into Nordic Fiddlers Bloc, a meeting of three very distinctive musical styles where simplicity and directness are key. Their blend of Norwegian, Swedish and Shetland accents and their command of varying tones and voicings have led to ecstatic receptions on both sides of the North Sea and across the Atlantic.
– WITH SPECIAL GUEST SUNNY WAR
– ALL AGES
– STANDING ROOM ONLY
SARAH SHOOK & THE DISARMERS
North Carolina’s Sarah Shook sings with a conviction and hard honesty sorely lacking in much of today’s Americana landscape. Always passionate, at times profane, Sarah stalks/walks the line between vulnerable and menacing, their voice strong and uneasy, country classic but with contemporary, earthy tension. You can hear in their voice what they’ve seen; world weary, lessons learned—or not—but always defiant. They level-steady mean what they say. Writing with a blunt urgency—so refreshing these days it’s almost startling—Sarah’s lyrics are in turn smart, funny, mean, and above all, uncompromising. The Disarmers hit all the sweet spots from Nashville’s Lower Broad to Bakersfield and take Sarah’s unflinching tales out for some late-night kicks. At times, it’s as simple and muscular as Luther Perkins’ boom-chicka-boom, or as downtown as Johnny Thunders. The Disarmers keep in the pocket, tight and tough.
The Disarmers line-up is currently Jack Foster on drums, Blake Tallent on guitar, Andrew Lambie on bass, and Nick Larimore on pedal steel.
SUNNY WAR
Sunny War has crafted a set of songs that draw on a range of ideas and styles as though she’s marshalling all her forces to get her ideas across: ecstatic gospel, dusty country blues, thoughtful folk, rip-roaring rock and roll, even avant-garde studio experiments. She melds them together into a powerful statement of survival revealing a probing songwriter who indulges no comforting platitudes and a highly innovative guitarist who deploys spidery riffs throughout every song. “I feel like there are two sides of me” says the Nashville-based singer-songwriter and guitar virtuoso. “One of them is very self-destructive and the other is trying to work with that other half to keep things balanced.” That’s the central conflict on her upcoming fourth album, the eclectic and innovative Anarchist Gospel, which documents a time when it looked like the self-destructive side might win out. “Everybody is a beast just trying their hardest to be good. That’s what it is to be human. You’re not really good or bad. You’re just trying to stay in the middle of those two things all the time and you’re probably doing a shitty job of it. That’s okay because we’re all just monsters.”
Did you know that three Buncombe County Libraries have a seed library so you can check out seeds? Each seed library offers vegetable, herb, and flower seeds that you can take home and plant.
If you’re a gardener or want to be a gardener, you can borrow seeds from the library at planting time. At the end of the growing season, save seeds from the plants and return a portion of the seeds to the library to be loaned out the next year. If you don’t have any seeds at the end of the season, that’s OK too. It’s not a requirement, it just helps the seed libraries grow. There is no charge to use the seed library, just visit the Weaverville, Black Mountain or Leicester Libraries and sign up. You’ll find different seeds at each location and you don’t need a library card to use the seed library.
The benefits of a seed lending library are many: it’s a way to have fun, build community with fellow gardeners, and support people who are new to gardening. It also preserves rare, open-pollinated or heirloom seeds and encourages local gardeners to save quality seeds that are suited to our growing area.
For more information on any of our seed libraries, contact the Black Mountain Library, the Leicester Library, or the Weaverville Library.
Gardening in the Mountains presents:
Get Going with Grasses!
Presenter: Nancy Duffy – Owner of Muddy Boots Garden Design
Grasses are great garden plants! Learn about specific grasses, their uses, and planting and maintenance.
Based in Asheville, North Carolina, Nancy Duffy is the owner of Muddy Boots Garden Design. Over the last decade she has increasingly focused on natural planting styles and has done many meadow and woodland designs.
Video access:
To access this video on the Buncombe County Master Gardener website, click on the link below:
Get Going with Grasses!
Or go to www.buncombemastergardener.org , click on the ‘Gardening Videos’ tab at the top of the page, and select the video from the list provided.
After six years of hard work, the dream of using The Learning Garden as a hub for public gardening education is finally a reality. The Learning Garden, located at the Extension Office, 49 Mt. Carmel Road, is offering the public the opportunity to Visit and Learn in the garden on selected 2nd and 4th Thursdays, February – October. The Thursday in-person programs will consist of five garden-specific series. Visitors can walk around before or after the program and soak in our lovely gardens. Our gardens will open at 9:00 a.m. and all the demonstration programs run between 10-11:30 a.m. To ensure a good learning experience, attendance will be limited and registration will be required.
Dahlia Series
February 23 – Getting Your Dahlias Ready for Planting
August 3 – Disbudding Dahlias for Better Blooms
October 26 – Dividing and Storing Dahlias
Dye Garden Series
May 4 – Planning Your Dye Garden
June 22 – Introduction to Natural Dyeing
July 27 – Fresh Indigo
August 24 – Botanical Printing: Printing with Leaves and Flowers
September 28 – Dyeing with Hopi Black Sunflower
November 9 – The Magic of Indigo
Rose Garden Series
March 9 – Pruning Roses
April 6 – Climbing Roses
April 13 – Rose Pests and Pathogens
May 20 – Growing Beautiful Roses (Saturday Seminar)
Sun & Shade Garden Series
May 11 – Planting a Native Butterfly Host Plant Garden
June 29 – Foodscaping Edible Plants in Flower Beds
August 31 – Dealing with “the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” Plants
Sept 14 – Native Butterfly Life Cycles in the Fall Garden
Vegetable Garden Series
March 23 – Building an ADA Compliant Raised Garden
April 26 – Planting Root Crops: Leeks, Onions, Carrots, Parsnips
May 25 – Planting a Seed Saving Garden
June 8 – Common Vegetable Garden Pests
July 13 – Kid Friendly Gardening
August 10 – Preserving Your Vegetable Harvest
In addition to the Thursday programs listed above, The Learning Garden will present a series of ninety minute (+/-) hands-on seminars covering various gardening topics. These in-person programs will be held at The Learning Garden on selected Saturday mornings, February – September.
Saturday Seminars
February 18 – Tool Selection and Sharpening
March 18 – Pruning Trees and Shrubs
April 22 – Gardening for the Birds
May 20 – Growing Beautiful Roses
June 17 – Pollinator Plants in The Learning Garden
September 16 – Bulbs for All Seasons
Each of the programs in The Learning Garden will be announced individually through this blog and on our website two weeks before each program. Each announcement will include instructions on how to register. Mark your calendar and register to attend as many as you can.
ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project) will present a CSA Fair on March 10 at the YWCA of Asheville, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. This event is free, family-friendly, and open to the public.
ASAP’s CSA Fair is a chance to meet local farmers and learn about CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) in our area. By joining a CSA, you get a weekly box of fresh, locally grown produce, meats, flowers, or other local products—and provide a farmer with valuable financial support before the season starts. Talk to farmers about how their CSA works, what products they offer, their farm’s growing practices, payment options, and more. Attendees can sign up for a CSA during the fair or follow up with farmers later. This fair will also have local food tastings and activities for kids, as well as produce and food products available for purchase.
Joining a CSA (or Community Supported Agriculture) program connects you directly with local farms in your community. Members buy a “share” of a farm’s harvest upfront and receive a weekly box of fresh produce or other farm goods. The best time to sign up for a CSA is in February and early March. This year, ASAP is expanding on a national “CSA Week” in late February to promote “CSA Month” from Feb. 15 to March 15. CSA Month will include a social media campaign with CSA education and farmer features; digital tools for finding CSA programs; and an in-person CSA Fair at the YWCA of Asheville on March 10 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
In addition to traditional produce CSAs, the fair will include farms with specialty CSA products, such as meat or flowers. The fair is relaxed setting where attendees chat with farmers about their products, growing practices, payment structure, and more. Attendees can sign up for a CSA during the fair or follow up with farmers later. The fair will also feature local food tastings and activities for kids, as well as produce and food products available for purchase. The event is free and open to the public. The YWCA is located at 185 S. French Broad Ave. in Asheville. Participating farms will be announced in late February.
For farmers, the CSA Fair is a chance to build relationships, even if attendees decide not to purchase a share. “[The customers we meet at the CSA Fair] tend to really want to know the farmer and the food, meaning they are a bit more adventurous when it comes to trying new things,” says K.P. Whaley of Tiny Bridge Farm in Hendersonville. “They are interested in knowing how and what we are growing, and really want us to be successful as a farm operation. We may get some customers from the fair and that’s great. But we also start building relationships with future customers.”
For those unable to attend the fair or who are looking for a CSA outside of Buncombe County, online tools at asapconnections.org/csa help customers compare CSAs throughout the Appalachian Grown region, making it easier to choose a program that fits individual needs. The Appalachian Grown region includes Western North Carolina as well as bordering counties in South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia. Things customers could consider when choosing a CSA include convenient pickup times and locations; the farm’s growing practices; and appropriate share size (i.e., how much food). Some farms offer variations on the traditional CSA model, such as online selection, shorter commitment, or a market share (members pay upfront, but select their own produce at the farmers market each week).
– PARTIALLY SEATED SHOW
– GUARANTEED SEATING AND STANDING ROOM TICKETS AVAILABLE
MARTIN SEXTON
“The real thing, people.” -Billboard
Martin Sexton returns with what RollingStone calls his “soul-marinated voice,” acoustic guitar, and a suitcase full of heartfelt songs. The 2023 Tour takes Martin across North America in support of his latest ep 2020 Vision (produced by 3-time Grammy nominee John Alagia (Lukas Nelson, John Mayer, Dave Matthews) as well as reinventing his own classics for these critically-acclaimed solo performances.
Still fiercely independent and headlining venues from The Fillmore to Carnegie Hall, he has influenced a generation of contemporary artists. His songs have appeared in television series such as Scrubs, Parenthood, Masters of Sex, Sprung, and in numerous films, though it’s his incendiary live show, honest lyrics, and vocal prowess that keep fans coming back for a new experience every time.
- Live Music at Hickory Tavern, 9:00 p.m. until 12:00 a.m.
Gardening in the Mountains presents:
Get Going with Grasses!
Presenter: Nancy Duffy – Owner of Muddy Boots Garden Design
Grasses are great garden plants! Learn about specific grasses, their uses, and planting and maintenance.
Based in Asheville, North Carolina, Nancy Duffy is the owner of Muddy Boots Garden Design. Over the last decade she has increasingly focused on natural planting styles and has done many meadow and woodland designs.
Video access:
To access this video on the Buncombe County Master Gardener website, click on the link below:
Get Going with Grasses!
Or go to www.buncombemastergardener.org , click on the ‘Gardening Videos’ tab at the top of the page, and select the video from the list provided.
IN-PERSON DEMONSTRATION
Presenters: Alan Wagner and Ralph Coffey- Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers
Pruning in the landscape is different from pruning tomatoes or doing bonsai pruning. However, it still requires the use of time-tested techniques, high quality, sharpened tools, and knowledge of the right time to prune a particular plant. And it requires practice.
Join Alan Wagner and Ralph Coffey as they demonstrate the techniques of pruning shrubs and small trees.
Wear comfortable shoes and dress appropriately as part of this presentation will be held outside, weather permitting.
TFAC invites all artists: painters, sculptors, writers, performers & more — to a casual weekly drop-in gathering on Saturday mornings at 9 AM to share your works in progress, alert others, and chat about art and what’s happening in your community.
The first weekly Coffee is Saturday, August 20 at 9 am.
No RSVP needed, just drop by!
Free parking available on Melrose Avenue, behind and alongside TFAC.
There not only will be bargains on ceramic functional and artistic pieces, but live music, snacks and drinks. All are welcome!
The Wine and Chocolate Festival is coming to the Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville on Saturday, March 11th. The festival features numerous regional wine and chocolate vendors, as well as other local businesses offering clothing, jewelry, and more. The festival will be split into two sessions: an early session from 1-4 p.m., and a later session from 5-8 p.m.
Festivalgoers will be able to sip and sample their way through the event. Early bird wine lover tickets are on sale now through December 31 st for only $30. Starting January 1st , advanced sale wine lover tickets will be $40. All wine lover tickets include an etched wine glass and unlimited samples during the session. Designated driver tickets are $20 in advance and include a water at entry and a wine glass at exit. All attendees also receive a pass to our Chocolate Bar, filled with tasty nibbles and sweet treats. Tickets can be purchased at the box office or online at WineAndChocolateFestivals.com.
ExploreAsheville.com Arena
- DOORS
- Session 1: 1pm & Session 2: 5pm
- SHOW
- Session 1: 1pm-4pm & Session 2: 5pm-8pm
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Designated driver and youth tickets available. Must be 21+ to consume alcohol at this event.
– ALL AGES
– FULLY SEATED SHOW
– LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM TICKETS AVAILABLE
Roy cut his comedic teeth in Denver at the world famous Comedy Works. Since then, he has been selected to perform at the Montreal Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, Just For Laughs Toronto, Just For Laughs Chicago, The New York Comedy Festival, Austin’s South by Southwest festival, and many more. Roy has been featured on HBO’s Funny as Hell series; as well as on the Comedy Central shows Adam DeVine’s House Party, Corporate, @midnight, and This Is Not Happening. Ben has also released four stand-up comedy albums and was listed as one of Variety’s Top 10 Comics to Watch.
Along with fellow Denver Comedians Adam Cayton-Holland and Andrew Orvedahl (who collectively perform as The Grawlix), Ben created, wrote, and starred in TruTV’s original comedy series Those Who Can’t, which now has all three seasons available for streaming on HBOMax. He’s also currently host of two podcasts, 97.9 The Rat Race on the All Things Comedy network, and The Grawlix Saves the World available on The Starburns Audio Network. In addition to stand-up comedy, acting, and writing, Roy is a prolific musician and the current lead singer of pop punk outfit SPELLS
Did you know that three Buncombe County Libraries have a seed library so you can check out seeds? Each seed library offers vegetable, herb, and flower seeds that you can take home and plant.
If you’re a gardener or want to be a gardener, you can borrow seeds from the library at planting time. At the end of the growing season, save seeds from the plants and return a portion of the seeds to the library to be loaned out the next year. If you don’t have any seeds at the end of the season, that’s OK too. It’s not a requirement, it just helps the seed libraries grow. There is no charge to use the seed library, just visit the Weaverville, Black Mountain or Leicester Libraries and sign up. You’ll find different seeds at each location and you don’t need a library card to use the seed library.
The benefits of a seed lending library are many: it’s a way to have fun, build community with fellow gardeners, and support people who are new to gardening. It also preserves rare, open-pollinated or heirloom seeds and encourages local gardeners to save quality seeds that are suited to our growing area.
For more information on any of our seed libraries, contact the Black Mountain Library, the Leicester Library, or the Weaverville Library.
Gardening in the Mountains presents:
Get Going with Grasses!
Presenter: Nancy Duffy – Owner of Muddy Boots Garden Design
Grasses are great garden plants! Learn about specific grasses, their uses, and planting and maintenance.
Based in Asheville, North Carolina, Nancy Duffy is the owner of Muddy Boots Garden Design. Over the last decade she has increasingly focused on natural planting styles and has done many meadow and woodland designs.
Video access:
To access this video on the Buncombe County Master Gardener website, click on the link below:
Get Going with Grasses!
Or go to www.buncombemastergardener.org , click on the ‘Gardening Videos’ tab at the top of the page, and select the video from the list provided.
Did you know that three Buncombe County Libraries have a seed library so you can check out seeds? Each seed library offers vegetable, herb, and flower seeds that you can take home and plant.
If you’re a gardener or want to be a gardener, you can borrow seeds from the library at planting time. At the end of the growing season, save seeds from the plants and return a portion of the seeds to the library to be loaned out the next year. If you don’t have any seeds at the end of the season, that’s OK too. It’s not a requirement, it just helps the seed libraries grow. There is no charge to use the seed library, just visit the Weaverville, Black Mountain or Leicester Libraries and sign up. You’ll find different seeds at each location and you don’t need a library card to use the seed library.
The benefits of a seed lending library are many: it’s a way to have fun, build community with fellow gardeners, and support people who are new to gardening. It also preserves rare, open-pollinated or heirloom seeds and encourages local gardeners to save quality seeds that are suited to our growing area.
For more information on any of our seed libraries, contact the Black Mountain Library, the Leicester Library, or the Weaverville Library.
Gardening in the Mountains presents:
Get Going with Grasses!
Presenter: Nancy Duffy – Owner of Muddy Boots Garden Design
Grasses are great garden plants! Learn about specific grasses, their uses, and planting and maintenance.
Based in Asheville, North Carolina, Nancy Duffy is the owner of Muddy Boots Garden Design. Over the last decade she has increasingly focused on natural planting styles and has done many meadow and woodland designs.
Video access:
To access this video on the Buncombe County Master Gardener website, click on the link below:
Get Going with Grasses!
Or go to www.buncombemastergardener.org , click on the ‘Gardening Videos’ tab at the top of the page, and select the video from the list provided.
Extension Master GardenerSM volunteers will be staffing the Helpline as indicated in the schedule below. You may send an email or leave a voicemail at any time and an Extension Master Gardener volunteer will respond during Garden Helpline hours. When emailing, please include a photo if it helps describe your garden question. Soil test kits can be picked up at the Extension office, 24/7. The kits are located in a box outside the front door.
Three ways to contact the Garden Helpline
Call 828-255-5522
Email questions and photos to [email protected]
Visit the Extension Office at 49 Mt. Carmel Road during Helpline hours, listed below.
Garden Helpline Hours
March – (starts March 6)
Monday 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 Noon
Thursday 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
April through September:
Monday 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Tuesday 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 Noon
Wednesday 12:00 Noon – 2:00 p.m.
Thursday 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
October – (ends October 26th)
Monday 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 Noon
Thursday 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
We are here to help and support you! Please contact us. We look forward to answering your gardening questions.
After six years of hard work, the dream of using The Learning Garden as a hub for public gardening education is finally a reality. The Learning Garden, located at the Extension Office, 49 Mt. Carmel Road, is offering the public the opportunity to Visit and Learn in the garden on selected 2nd and 4th Thursdays, February – October. The Thursday in-person programs will consist of five garden-specific series. Visitors can walk around before or after the program and soak in our lovely gardens. Our gardens will open at 9:00 a.m. and all the demonstration programs run between 10-11:30 a.m. To ensure a good learning experience, attendance will be limited and registration will be required.
Dahlia Series
February 23 – Getting Your Dahlias Ready for Planting
August 3 – Disbudding Dahlias for Better Blooms
October 26 – Dividing and Storing Dahlias
Dye Garden Series
May 4 – Planning Your Dye Garden
June 22 – Introduction to Natural Dyeing
July 27 – Fresh Indigo
August 24 – Botanical Printing: Printing with Leaves and Flowers
September 28 – Dyeing with Hopi Black Sunflower
November 9 – The Magic of Indigo
Rose Garden Series
March 9 – Pruning Roses
April 6 – Climbing Roses
April 13 – Rose Pests and Pathogens
May 20 – Growing Beautiful Roses (Saturday Seminar)
Sun & Shade Garden Series
May 11 – Planting a Native Butterfly Host Plant Garden
June 29 – Foodscaping Edible Plants in Flower Beds
August 31 – Dealing with “the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” Plants
Sept 14 – Native Butterfly Life Cycles in the Fall Garden
Vegetable Garden Series
March 23 – Building an ADA Compliant Raised Garden
April 26 – Planting Root Crops: Leeks, Onions, Carrots, Parsnips
May 25 – Planting a Seed Saving Garden
June 8 – Common Vegetable Garden Pests
July 13 – Kid Friendly Gardening
August 10 – Preserving Your Vegetable Harvest
In addition to the Thursday programs listed above, The Learning Garden will present a series of ninety minute (+/-) hands-on seminars covering various gardening topics. These in-person programs will be held at The Learning Garden on selected Saturday mornings, February – September.
Saturday Seminars
February 18 – Tool Selection and Sharpening
March 18 – Pruning Trees and Shrubs
April 22 – Gardening for the Birds
May 20 – Growing Beautiful Roses
June 17 – Pollinator Plants in The Learning Garden
September 16 – Bulbs for All Seasons
Each of the programs in The Learning Garden will be announced individually through this blog and on our website two weeks before each program. Each announcement will include instructions on how to register. Mark your calendar and register to attend as many as you can.
This is a relaxed and fun group for singles over 40 to connect with other singles and learn relationship and communication skills through various exercises, activities, and discussions. I’ve worked as a Couples Counselor and Dating & Relationship Coach for over 25 years, and I have the wisdom of knowing what makes relationships work. I’ll share these insights and teachings to help you change how you think about dating and learn to date successfully. Stay after to socialize, make new friends, and have a beer.
CAROLINA CELTIC, is a monthly concert series which showcases Irish and Scottish musical traditions and often explores their commonality with the Appalachian ballads and stories of the Carolina mountains..
Tonight’s show will be a solo concert by series hosts, ROBIN BULLOCK and SUE RICHARDS
A major new duo of two award-winning American masters of traditional Celtic music, Sue Richards and Robin Bullock blend the ancient and magical tones of the Celtic harp with the powerful resonance of the steel-string guitar, cittern and mandolin, drawing on Irish, Scottish, Welsh and Breton traditions to create something truly unique: beautiful and timeless, yet fresh and current.
Their individual achievements speak for themselves, with (among many other accomplishments) Sue being a four-time National Scottish Harp Champion and Robin being a longtime touring sideman with Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award winner Tom Paxton.
Sue and Robin have been friends and colleagues for decades, having both recorded WAMMIE Award-winning solo albums for the Maryland-based Maggie’s Music label and collaborated on many other projects over the years; now both transplants to the western North Carolina mountains, they’re delighted to be joining forces in a long-overdue chamber-Celtic duo. The magic of their combined artistic excellence and mastery of Celtic traditions is captured on their brilliant duo debut CD Highland Ramble.
SUE RICHARDS, four-time National Scottish Harp Champion, has performed numerous times for the Embassy of Ireland in Washington DC, as well as for President Bill Clinton (twice!) and Queen Elizabeth II. She has served as president and distinguished judge for the Scottish Harp Society of America (SHSA) and founded the Washington DC Folk Harp Society. She has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, sat in with The Chieftains, toured Norway and Scotland with the Harpa ensemble, and can be heard on dozens of award-winning recordings. Sue is a popular instructor at workshops around the country and has written several books of arrangements and original tunes. In addition to her solo work, Sue is a founding member of the Grammy-nominated Ensemble Galilei.
ROBIN BULLOCK has been hailed as a “Celtic guitar god” by Baltimore City Paper, “one of the best folk instrumentalists in the business” by Sing Out! Magazine and one of the 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists by DigitalDreamDoor.com. His honors include the Association for Independent Music’s prestigious INDIE Award (with the world-folk trio Helicon), Player’s Choice and Album of the Year Awards from Acoustic Guitar Magazine, and the Swannanoa Gathering’s Master Music Maker Award. Robin has played hundreds of concerts as touring sideman with Grammy Award-winning folk legend Tom Paxton, and was the sole support musician on four of Tom’s “Together at Last” tours with fellow Grammy winner Janis Ian. Writing about Robin in The NPR Curious Listener’s Guide to Celtic Music, Thistle and Shamrock host Fiona Ritchie says “Bullock’s music accents the connections between Celtic and American traditional and acoustic music. That he is able to do so by playing almost any stringed instrument to perfection is his specialty.”
With the release of their duo CD Highland Ramble joining their many critically-acclaimed solo albums, Sue and Robin prove that their individual talents together create a world-class combination, carrying Celtic tradition into new and transformative realms.