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.
Fairy Tales In Clay Clay Camp Ages 4-8 with Cassie Mazur
July 23-27
Monday- Friday, 9am-12pm
What is your favorite fairy tale? Jack and the Beanstalk? The Princess and the Pea? Alice in Wonderland? Maybe one of the new classics, like Trolls! Cassie will be your guide to this exciting world of fantasy where magic and mystery reign. You will learn to sculpt with skill and bring your favorite characters to life.
Phone: (828) 250-6484
Email: [email protected]
Event Type: Story Time for Kids
Age Group: Baby – (ages 4 mos.-18 mos.)
Location: 1 Taylor Rd. – Fairview
Library: Fairview
Mother Goose Time is a lively language enrichment story time serving our youngest folks–the 4 month-old to 18 month-old set.
Phone: (828) 250-6482
Email: [email protected]
Event Type: Story Time for Kids
Age Group: Family – (children of all ages)
Location: 41 N. Main St. – Weaverville
Library: Weaverville
Preschool story times are geared towards 3-5 year-olds and include singing, stretchers, and creative activities.
Phone: (828) 250-4700
Email: [email protected]
Event Type: Summer Reading Programs
Age Group: Baby – (ages 4 mos.-18 mos.),Toddler – (ages 18 mos.-2 yrs.)
Location: 67 Haywood St. – Asheville
Library: Pack Memorial
Join us for free play time for children ages 0-3. Come for an hour of active play with small climbing toys, manipulatives, tunnels, balls and more! We will have Baby Gym on Tuesdays from 11am-12n.
(Baby Story Time is at 10:30am and Baby Gym will follow that.)
Property: Omni Grove Park Inn
Event Type: Hotel Event
Event Category: Family,Recreation,Wellness & Fitness
Contact: Golf Pro Shop ext. 1034
Contact Phone: (800) 438-5800
Link: https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/asheville-grove-park/golf
Let our golf professionals open the world of golf to you. This introduction to the game of golf is a clinic that covers the basic rules, etiquette, and the PGA’s of golf (posture, grip, and alignment). Clubs will be provided. Proper golf attire is required. Please sign-up at least one (1) day in advance by calling (800) 438-5800 ext. 1034.
Phone: 828-250-4756
Email: [email protected]
Event Type: Story Time for Kids
Age Group: Baby – (ages 4 mos.-18 mos.)
Location: 105 N. Dougherty St. – Black Mountain
Library: Black Mountain
Mother Goose Time is a lively language enrichment story time serving our youngest folks–the 4 month-old to 18 month-old set.
Each Tuesday and Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m., April through October, trained volunteer guides lead small groups of participants along woodland trails and through a variety of forest types. Depending on the season, topics of discussion include wildflowers, plant and tree identification, natural history, and the cultural and land use history of The North Carolina Arboretum. Guides may include areas such as the Natural Garden Trail and Bent Creek.
Programs are held rain or shine and participants should dress appropriately for the weather. Individuals should also wear sturdy shoes and bring water. Walks last 1.5- 2.5 hours, depending upon the interest of the group, and are approximately one to two miles in length. Due to length and content, this program is not recommended for children under 8 years of age.
Walks begin in the Baker Exhibit Center Lobby and space is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Groups of five or more are required to pre-register by calling 828-665-2492. Walks are FREE, however, donations to The North Carolina Arboretum Society are appreciated. Regular parking fees apply. Arboretum Society Members always park free.
Due to size limitations of the tours, groups of 10 or more are required to book a private guided trail tour.
To grow your business, you (obviously) need to influence your customers through targeted marketing programs. However, your customers are just as likely, if not more likely, to be influenced by their favorite websites, media outlets or bloggers than they are by you directly. This is why public relations is key to business success. In this session, Krista Valiante, a PR and marketing pro who has worked with companies including Intel and Microsoft, will give you a crash course in implementing effective PR strategies to complement your marketing efforts.
Phone: (828) 250-4718
Email: [email protected]
Event Type: Arts & Crafts,Family Fun,Informational
Age Group: Teen – (grades 6-12),Family – (children of all ages),Adult
Location: 67 Haywood St. – Asheville
Library: Pack Memorial
This workshop will provide a space to make a mini mending toolkit to take home with you, you can also feel free to bring in a garment to repair or re-work. The instructor will help establish repair plans with participants to suit their practical needs and aesthetic desires, with the hope that these tools will increase the longevity of our garments we love and curb the consumption of more articles of clothing!
Children with parental supervision, teens and adults are welcome. This program is free and sponsored by The Friends of the Library!
On Your Mark, Get Centered, Throw! Clay Camp Ages 6-10 with Sara Ballek
July 23-27
Monday- Friday, 2-5pm
Your dreams of becoming a Clay DJ will come true in this week full of wheel throwing! Not only will students learn how to use the potter’s wheel, but they will also create fun, funky objects for daily use! After the pots come off the wheel, lively decorating and sculpting will add the finishing touches to their masterpieces!
Phone: (828) 250-4752
Email: [email protected]
Event Type: Book Club,Summer Reading Programs
Age Group: School Age – (grades K-5)
Location: 1030 Merrimon Ave. – Asheville
Library: North Asheville
Come join the Homeschool Book Club! Meet new people while having snacks and discussing an awesome book! Come by the North Asheville Library to sign up and check out a copy of our book of the month. Age 9 to 12. No groups please.
Event Type: Local Event
Event Category: Culinary,Family
Contact: Sierra Nevada
Contact Phone: 828-708-6176
Link: https://sierranevada.com/
Sierra Nevada is creating a weekly gathering of local and sustainable farmers, merchants, and artists that provide fresh produce and goods to the Fletcher / Mills River community. We strive to bring our kitchen’s ideology of buying local to life in an accessible and convenient environment for individuals to bring local into their homes.
This Tailgate Market will run May 1 – Oct 30 on Tuesdays from 4:00pm – 7:00pm.
Interested in becoming a vendor? Please email us at [email protected] for an application.
Phone: (828) 250-4717
Email: [email protected]
Event Type: Classes
Age Group: Adult
Location: 67 Haywood St. – Asheville
Library: Pack Memorial
Every Tuesday at 6 PM, we’ll be having basic computer skills classes in our computer lab downstairs. Come and improve your email skills in a patient and understanding environment.
All library events are free. No registration is required for the class, all are
welcome. Computers may be limited based on capacity.
Contact Sam at [email protected] for more information or call 250-4717
Phone: (828) 250-6486
Email: [email protected]
Event Type: Performance,Summer Reading Programs
Age Group: Family – (children of all ages),Adult
Location: 101 W. Charleston Ave. – Swannanoa
Library: Swannanoa
Come to Grovemont Park for great local bands, good music, fun and great food. Bring camp chairs and picnic blankets to enjoy the free concert. We’ll have a half-price book sale each day starting at 5 PM.
TONIGHT: The Wonderful Nobodies – a Nashville-based group all hailing from the Appalachian region of Virginia and NC. A unique blend of bluegrass, pop, soul & country.
Phone: (828) 250-4700
Email: [email protected]
Event Type: Classes,Summer Reading Programs
Age Group: Preschool – (ages 3-5),School Age – (grades K-5)
Location: 67 Haywood St. – Asheville
Library: Pack Memorial
Free dance class for ages 4-6 years. This class will be creative movement inspired by modern dance.
Use the “sign up” link to register starting June 1.
Please Note: You may pick and choose which dance classes you’d like to attend all Summer, based on your interest & availability.
You DO need to sign up for each class individually.
You DO NOT NEED to attend all classes within a series. You DO NEED to cancel your reservation at least 24 hours in advance if you are unable to attend.
This class is designed for children ages 4-6. For older kids, see the Introduction to Modern Dance class.
Phone: (828) 250-6488
Email: [email protected]
Event Type: Arts & Crafts
Age Group: Teen – (grades 6-12),Adult
Location: 260 Overlook Rd. – Asheville
Library: Skyland / South Buncombe
Enhance rocks with colorful designs. Sign up at circulation desk or call 828-250-6488. Class limited to 10 participants. Adults and teens welcome.
Phone: (828) 250-6480
Email: [email protected]
Event Type: Classes
Age Group: Adult
Location: 1561 Alexander Rd. – Leicester
Library: Leicester
Join us for an evening with children’s book editor, Joy Neaves. Explore elements that make up great stories and learn ways to get your own story ideas onto the page. We’ll look at strategies for developing strong characters, engaging action, and compelling ideas. Learn how using a storyboard can help you develop the framework for a picture book text or a longer work of fiction.
Joy Neaves is a freelance editor of children’s books at namelos who gained experience as an editor of children’s picture books, poetry, middle grade, and young adult fiction at Front Street Books, an award-winning imprint of books for children. Joy is passionate in her approach to talking about both children’s literature and the craft of writing for children, and enjoys helping writers hone their craft, with an eye toward publication. This workshop is designed for adults and older teens. Advance registration preferred. Please call 250-6480 to register.
Hillman Beer is hosting Tuesday Trivia Night from 7pm-9pm! Get ready to drink some beer, test your wit, and have some fun!
Details:
– Please arrive at 6:30pm
– Max 6 people per team
– First place gets a $50 Hillman Beer Gift Card and other fun chances to win
Come cheer on the Tourists!
Named by USA Today as one of the Top Twenty Festivals in North Carolina, Folkmoot is a ten-day event, held across the mountains of Western North Carolina in Waynesville, Clyde, Lake Junaluska, Maggie Valley, Canton, Cherokee, Franklin, Hickory, Asheville, and Hendersonville. The 2018 festival dates are July 19 – 29 and feature cultural ambassadors/dance performing groups from Ghana, Italy, Czech Republic, Mexico, Venezuela and Northern Cyprus, Thailand and local Appalachian and Cherokee dancers and musicians.
Tickets are now on sale for all performances and can be purchased at Folkmoot.org, in person at the Folkmoot Friendship Center, or by calling 828-452-2997.
For the seventh consecutive year, the Asheville Habitat ReStore at 31 Meadow Road near Biltmore Village is encouraging residents to show off their creativity and talent for a chance to win in the ReStore ReUse Contest. Garden shed, artist studio, chicken coop…tree house, playhouse, tiny house…if you recently built a structure like this using predominantly reused building materials, Habitat wants to know. The contest runs July 1-August 31 and submissions must be sent electronically. Information and entry form will be available on ashevillehabitat.org starting July 1 st . The purpose of the contest is to showcase innovative building projects constructed predominantly of used building materials. “Our customers often tell us about the projects they make using materials purchased at the ReStore. This contest is a great way to showcase their projects and inspire others to reuse, recycle and repurpose usable materials,” said Scott Stetson, ReStore General Manager. Five judges will select winners in the following categories: Furniture, Homesteading, Live and/or Work Space, Home Décor, Youth (age 16 and under), and Best in Show. Winners will be announced in mid-September.
While having school supplies may simply be an item on the ‘to-do’ list for many parents and guardians, for others, the calculator that their child needs, or a backpack without last year’s broken zippers, may not be in the cards. 
These parents—and especially their children—should not have to worry about heading into school without the necessary supplies. This is why the United Way has this drive and, by contributing the supplies our students need to succeed, we’re investing in the future of our community. Together we are stronger. United, we make a difference. #BackpacktotheFuture.
This year’s 2018 school supply drive will be July 9th trough July 27th. If you visit www.handsonasheville.org/
Students at the Visual Arts Preschool at Roots + Wings School of Art and Design engage with pre-K education fundamentals through a dynamic, arts based curriculum. Literacy, numeracy, social skills, community building, cultural and environmental studies are approached through an art and design thinking lens, as students explore learning concepts experientially across multiple platforms.
The Roots + Wings Visual Arts Preschool ‘Best of 2018’ collection is a cross section of the diverse pre-K education program and includes investigations into art movements, community and culture, storytelling, and creative play.
The Biltmore Estate has been planning the largest exhibition in its historic gardens for almost a decade. And finally, last week, Chihuly at Biltmore opened with a mega installation of glass sculptures from the famous artist Dale Chihuly. Tens of thousands of glass pieces from all around the world reside in 14 locations around the Estate (which is the very first large-scale N.C. Chihuly installation).
The exhibition is up from now until Oct. 7th, free admission with a Biltmore day pass (and free for annual pass holders). Chihuly at Nightis a special, ongoing event where the glass sculptures are lit up, plus live music in the gardens + a wine bar. Tickets are $37.50 for kids + range from $65 – 75 for adults ($10 discount for pass holders).
Three new works were blown just for Biltmore, and 6 new compositions were put together.
The Asheville Area Arts Council is excited to announce Contemplative Art in an Age of Distraction, a new exhibit curated by local photographer Susanna Euston.
Contemplative Art in an Age of Distraction will consist of large, fine art photographs paired with three-dimensional works to create a unified whole—an artistic gestalt. Euston aims to provide a meditative and contemplative atmosphere to transport the viewer from today’s turmoil to a place of peace. Seating will be made available in the large gallery to allow viewers to sit and meditate on the scenes before them.
Participating artists include four photographers—Susanna Euston, Matthew Kraus, Bonnie Cooper and Rick Daley—joined by potter, Steven Forbes-deSoule; Ikebana artist Lynn Forbes; glass artist, Rob Levin; and fiber artist, Paige Houghton.
Join them on Friday, July 6, 2018, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Asheville Area Arts Council’s Thom Robinson and Ray Griffin Exhibition Space to celebrate the opening of the exhibit. Artist talk will begin at 6:30 pm.
Asheville, NC—Momentum Gallery in downtown Asheville is pleased to participate in the Summer of Glass, a WNC celebration of glass art in conjunction with the Dale Chihuly exhibition at the Biltmore Estate, May-October 2018. The gallery exhibition, Reflections (July 1-August 25) nods to the Gilded Age, a period during the late 19th Century when the Biltmore Estate was conceived and constructed by railway tycoon George Vanderbilt. This curated exhibition features recent work by some of the country’s top contemporary glass artists with many of the works in the collection speaking to Vanderbilt’s aesthetic of opulence, grandeur, and beauty. Other conceptual pieces examine concepts of memory and history, referencing the “downstairs” or “behind the scenes” of the palatial mansion as well. Sophisticated sculptures and stylish wall pieces incorporate a variety of glass techniques and explore the intricate detailing, ornamentation, and drama indicative of the Gilded Age. This Exhibit is free and open to the public.
Reflections includes works by: Thor & Jennifer Bueno, Amber Cowan, Jennifer Halvorson, Alli Hoag, Joanna Manousis, Andy Paiko, Kit Paulson, Pablo Soto, and Tim Tate.
Throughout the month of July, you can enjoy a great local craft beverage and help support MANNA’s mission to provide food to families across WNC.
Many of us are busy planning summer vacations, gatherings, and picnics ahead of July. But for over 100,000 Western North Carolina residents busy trying to make ends meet to provide for their most basic needs, that kind of celebration is out of the question.
That is why the nationally recognized WNC beer scene is collaborating again, and raising the stakes, to bring awareness to the issue of hunger in Western North Carolina. Over twenty local breweries are joining forces to help support MANNA FoodBank’s mission to end hunger for thousands of families across WNC through the 2nd annual Hops for Hunger campaign, July 1st – 31st.
Hops for Hunger is made possible through support from Asheville Ale Trail, and MANNA’s annual sponsors: Preserve Communities, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, Anurja Interactive, The Cantina at Historic Biltmore Village, Mast General Store, and Lamar Advertising.
These incredible dogs have delighted audiences nationwide at halftime shows on television. Don’t miss them live at Tweetsie Railroad! Shows at 11:00 a.m., and 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. Saturday evening show at 7:00 p.m.
This exquisite, interactive exhibit is designed to inspire and educate visitors about the storied history and evocative power of scent while taking them on a full sensory journey, literally! Blending flora, fashion and science, Making Scents showcases some of Mother Nature’s most fragrant botanicals and unveils the plants and flowers behind some of the world’s most iconic perfumes. Visitors will explore the mysterious power of the sense of smell, learn about the artistry and science behind the fragrance industry and even compose their own basic fragrance.
From traditional harvest and extraction methods to chemical combinations of synthetic fragrances, Making Scents uncovers the technical processes behind fragrance creation through an immersive, multisensory experience. Art, passion and craft come together inside the exhibit’s iconic bottle display, which showcases the unique designs of more than 100 perfume bottles, some dating back to ancient the Greek and Roman eras. By integrating horticulture, history and pop culture, Making Scents is sure to enlighten the senses and engage the minds of visitors about the fragrance industry and the living world in a fun, dynamic way.