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.
Opened in 1948 by Fred “Rabbit” Simpson, Rabbit’s Motel was a crown jewel of Black-owned
Tourist Courts for African-American travelers in the segregation-era South, and provided
lodging and soul-food dining for many Black travelers. Rabbit’s Motel sat in the heart of
Southside, a flourishing African-American community that was one of many early-Asheville
vibrant Black communities in Asheville. SoundSpace@Rabbit’s, opened in 2020, will create a
creative arts hub in Asheville including music rehearsal studio space, soul food kitchen and
artist studios, and will promote historic pride while embracing a model of diversity in the most
authentic way possible, through music, art, community, and food. Join us for a lively event
featuring music, drinks and bites inspired by the original Rabbit’s Motel and Cafe
Guest Appreciation Festival is our annual celebrating bringing together guests, visitors, paddlers, and staff for a weekend festival of incredible sales, whitewater, outdoor fun, and gratitude!
Snag the best in outdoor gear and apparel at stunningly low prices from our new and used gear sale with names including The North Face, Chaco, Dagger Kayaks, KEEN and more. Boaters can take advantage of free shuttles for the Cascades and Upper Nantahala recreational releases. Shop crafts and handmade goods from regional and local vendors. Join in on the fun with our family-friendly riverside games and activities including giant Jenga, face painting, and more! Dance the night away to live music on the banks of the Nantahala River. Enjoy a weekend of fun and community in the Nantahala Gorge!
Experience The Time of Your Life at the 12th annual Dirty Dancing Festival in Lake Lure, NC!
Whether you have been coming for years, or always wanted to see what the hype is all about, we have a chance for you to WIN a weekend getaway to the namesake film’s backdrop where It’s all Crazy for Swayze.
Join us for singalongs, watermelon carrying, Lift Scenes, lots and lots of dancing, and much more on September 24-25, 2021. Proceeds benefit the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and festival organizers, The Chamber of Hickory Nut Gorge.
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Show-stopping Dance Performances
Live Music by The Soul Psychedelique OrchestraThe return of Hot Lake Lure Nights dance lessons A Message from PanCAN Nighttime Lakeside Screening of Dirty Dancing |
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Guest Appreciation Festival is our annual celebrating bringing together guests, visitors, paddlers, and staff for a weekend festival of incredible sales, whitewater, outdoor fun, and gratitude!
Snag the best in outdoor gear and apparel at stunningly low prices from our new and used gear sale with names including The North Face, Chaco, Dagger Kayaks, KEEN and more. Boaters can take advantage of free shuttles for the Cascades and Upper Nantahala recreational releases. Shop crafts and handmade goods from regional and local vendors. Join in on the fun with our family-friendly riverside games and activities including giant Jenga, face painting, and more! Dance the night away to live music on the banks of the Nantahala River. Enjoy a weekend of fun and community in the Nantahala Gorge!
Experience The Time of Your Life at the 12th annual Dirty Dancing Festival in Lake Lure, NC!
Whether you have been coming for years, or always wanted to see what the hype is all about, we have a chance for you to WIN a weekend getaway to the namesake film’s backdrop where It’s all Crazy for Swayze.
Join us for singalongs, watermelon carrying, Lift Scenes, lots and lots of dancing, and much more on September 24-25, 2021. Proceeds benefit the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and festival organizers, The Chamber of Hickory Nut Gorge.
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Professional Dance Lessons to the Original
Movie Soundtrack Film-Inspired Dance Performances by the Asheville Ballet Top-notch Live Music by DJ Michael Sprouse, Envision, and ACE Party Band. Watermelon Races for PanCAN Selfie Portraits with scenes from Dirty Dancing filmed here in Lake Lure A Car Show featuring the 1957 Chevy Bel Air “Swayze” look-alike car A variety of Movie-inspired Games The Lake Lift Competition And much more! |
Enjoy one of the top 20 events in the Southeast with live entertainment, 130+ food and craft vendors, tons of family-friendly activities, interactive kids area, along with performances and demonstrations celebrating the Southern Appalachian mountain culture. Mountain Heritage Day is diligently working to create a safe environment for everyone, whereby booths and seating are spaced for physical distancing.
The past, present, and future of African-Americans in Asheville is a story of resilience. Join
DeWayne Barton and Hood Huggers International for a Garden Gathering in the Peace Gardens
& Market in West Asheville. Hood Huggers builds greater communication, connection and
wealth in systematically marginalized neighborhoods in the Affrilachian region through
the arts, environment, and social enterprise. The Peace Gardens & Market–a labor of love in
the heart of the Burton Street Community–is a sanctuary for positive action, designed to
create neighborhood food security, community cohesion, and a vibrant, sustainable local
economy. The Gardens are also a vibrant sculpture park, featuring installations created by
DeWayne Barton and other artists, telling a compelling story of social and environmental
justice and black history. The Gardens will be activated with food, drink, art, music, poetry and
performance
Guest Appreciation Festival is our annual celebrating bringing together guests, visitors, paddlers, and staff for a weekend festival of incredible sales, whitewater, outdoor fun, and gratitude!
Snag the best in outdoor gear and apparel at stunningly low prices from our new and used gear sale with names including The North Face, Chaco, Dagger Kayaks, KEEN and more. Boaters can take advantage of free shuttles for the Cascades and Upper Nantahala recreational releases. Shop crafts and handmade goods from regional and local vendors. Join in on the fun with our family-friendly riverside games and activities including giant Jenga, face painting, and more! Dance the night away to live music on the banks of the Nantahala River. Enjoy a weekend of fun and community in the Nantahala Gorge!
Food is universal and central to all our lives. Chow Chow brings together diverse community
leaders who will be paired with chefs to tell their stories through food. Each lived experience
will inspire a multi-course, paired beverage tasting dinner, interpreting the personal stories
through food. The Chefs & Narrators will share with us their stories, and the process for
transforming a life story into a meal
We are excited to launch the first annual InterBeing Festival—A Celebration of Community!
It will be on Saturday, October 2, from 1-10 pm.
Schedule of Offerings (at Main Stage):
1:00 Doors open
2-2:30 Opening Ceremony – Yona (Cherokee wisdom-keeper) and others
3-4 Breathwork – Rajyo & Vinit
4-5 Sound Journey – Alex & Taylor
5-6 Kirtan – Rudy & Elizabeth
6-7:30 Potluck Dinner – bring something to eat or drink to share (veg only please)
7:30-8:15 Community Circle – what’s important to share at this time?
8:30-9:20 One Heart Band (Vinit’s band)
9:20-10 DJ dance – celebrate the stars!
Samasati Sanctuary Retreat Center
1700 New Stock Rd, Weaverville
Samasatisanctuary.org
Festival Venues:
Main Stage, a gorgeous 10-sided event canopy with stage, lights, sound, etc.
Tea Lounge, hosted by Elizabeth — Samasa-Tea Lounge: Festival Chill Zone
Fire Circle, hosted by Skylar — Igniting the Fire Within: an intimate council sharing
The Land: 11 beautiful acres of forest & meadows, with trails & sacred altars to explore
Registration:
$20 advance / $25 at the venue (a change from previous communication)
Limit 75 – likely to sell out
Register here: samasatisanctuary.org/festival
Parking: we can accommodate the first 15 cars here in our driveway; after that, you will be directed to the overflow parking area—it’s about 300 feet uphill slope walk to the Festival.
Information:
828.484.8579
[email protected]
Festival Hosts:
Rajyo & Vinit
Harvest Fall Festival + Meet and Greet with Lauren and the App Standard Family!
October 2nd, 2021 from 10 AM to 5 PM.
Explore our beautiful greenhouses and enjoy games, live music, food trucks, curated vendors selling art, craft, CBD products, and much more in one of Asheville’s most remarkable locales.
It’s our favorite time of the year! Harvest season is quickly approaching, and we at Ross Farms want to celebrate by inviting the Asheville community to our very own Harvest Fall Festival. We will have an exciting line-up full of great live music, including bluegrass, Buddhagraph Spaceship, and Appalachian Standard’s very own Substandards. Food will be available, with Ciao Y’all joining us and providing delicious Appalachian-inspired Italian cuisine as well as New Orleans Cusine sharing traditional New Orleans style cuisine. We will also have a ton of fall-themed games, including pumpkin tic-tac-toe and a mechanical bull. In addition, different featured artisans will be selling their wares and the greenhouse will be open and selling seasonal plants!
Some of our feature artisans include Red’s Resin Relics, Early-Zald Photography, and twentyfirstlotus.
The Harvest Fall Festival is free to the public. Parking is available on site, however can be limited so it is recommended that groups carpool. This is an outdoor event. Masks are encouraged. The first 100 people to join us will win a goodie bag!
Appalachian Standard is a veteran-owned, craft hemp farm and greenhouse nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. Our hemp is greenhouse, field, and indoor-grown in small batches year-round by a team of experienced growers. Come experience music in one heck of a unique venue!
Just Brew It is a homebrew competition and tasting in Asheville benefiting the work of Just Economics. The festival features close to 100 different beers and more than 40 amazing homebrewers. The competing homebrewers are some of the finest specialty homebrewers in the region.
You must be an individual member of Just Economics to attend Just Brew It.
Hominy Rising – Arts & Awareness on the Greenway: The Friends of Hominy Creek Greenway is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a reflection on the history, ecology and beauty of our Greenway. As part of this celebration we are hosting an art exhibition which will consist of temporary, outdoor art installations and an opening event with live performances including music and dance!
We are thrilled to announce that Asheville Veganfest will be held again this year in Pack Square on October 3 2021 from 11am-6pm. We will have food, clothing, and artisan booths showing the best there is on the vegan market. Our 2021 event is being presented by Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge!
There will be a DJ on the stage and live music performing in the back section.
Mountain Makers Craft Market is a monthly indie art fair designed to cultivate community in Western NC. Located in Downtown Waynesville, we bring together 20+ artisans selling handmade and vintage goods that’ll make you smile! Join us on the first Sunday of each month from 12p-4p at 308 N. Haywood Street, and visit MountainMakersMarket.com
Show & Tell returns to Rabbit Rabbit in Downtown Asheville for the fall! Join us at our new favorite outdoor venue in Downtown Asheville with a one-day celebration of local + indie craft, design, and vintage.
Sunday, October 3rd
12-6pm
Rabbit Rabbit
75 Coxe Ave, Asheville, NC 28801
FREE! No admission
Featuring the the best in handmade, vintage and fair trade with 50+ vendors in our curated pop up shop or the market area featuring a selection of in-person vendors. Shop vintage clothes, housewares, handmade jewelry, ceramics, apparel and more.
Grab some tacos from AVL Tacos and a brew from Asheville Pizza & Brewing while you’re there!