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.

Meetup members pay just $10 at the door! Join the Western North Carolina based podcasters from Mountain Murders for an afternoon of true crime, comedy, booze and live audience participation!
Join the Western North Carolina based podcasters from Mountain Murders for an afternoon of true crime, comedy, booze and live audience participation!
Heather and Dylan will discuss truly terrifying Appalachian true crime cases!
Come hang out with the biggest creeps in town & Warm up with a hot blooded murder

FEBRUARY 3, 10, 17, & 24 (make-up, if needed: MARCH 2)—Mondays, 6–8 pm
Registration deadline: January 27
Soft pastel is the purest medium for painting vibrant colors. In this four-part class, explore color, texture, and design to create beautiful finished artworks. Practice blending, layering, and a variety of strokes and techniques, in addition to color theory, design, and individual expression.
Instructor Terrilynn Dubreuil has over 30 years’ experience encouraging people of all ages and abilities to realize they can be creative with helpful techniques and energy. With an undergraduate degree and graduate studies in fine art, she teaches most media through approaches that help newbies to more experienced artists, and everyone in between.
Adult Studio
The Museum’s studio program for adults offers a core curriculum in drawing, painting, printmaking, and three-dimensional media, and also explores the intersections between them. Local and visiting artists help students of all levels and abilities develop skills in media that reflect techniques and themes featured in the Museum’s Collection and special exhibitions. Classes meet for 3–12 weeks, and are designed for anyone interested in exploring specific media in depth; daylong workshops introduce new media or processes. To add your name to our Adult Studio mailing list, email Kristi McMillan, adult programs manager, or call 828.253.3227 x122.

Swamp Rabbits Hockey offers fantastic fun for the whole family! The Greenville Swamp Rabbits play in the South Division of the Eastern Conference of the ECHL, the premiere AA hockey league. The Swamp Rabbits play 36 home games (October-April) and offer endless entertainment opportunities! For more information on Swamp Rabbits hockey, visit swamprabbits.com. Proud affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes.
Brilliant Traces is compelling story about two people, Rosannah and Henry, who have both suffered from a series of unfortunate circumstances throughout their lives. One night, after traveling for many days with little to no rest, Rosannah mysteriously shows up on Henry’s doorstep, in Alaska. As Henry and Rosannah begin to open up to one another, they come to the realization that they both have had serious and emotionally complicated lives. Directed by Robert Dale Walker; Starring Shari Azar and Thomas Trauger.

Bart is a boisterous puppy at the shelter, and Mabel is a lonely widow. The day they find each other marks the beginning of a profound friendship. But Mabel is old, and Bart is young – and, suddenly, he’s alone. Combining puppetry, live action and animation, New Owner transports audiences to a world full of adventures, told from a dog’s perspective. From the minds of Arielle Gray and Tim Watts, founding members of Australian theatre collective The Last Great Hunt, comes a touching and stunningly beautiful new story about loss, friendship and new beginnings — an up-close and personal experience at the intimate Tina McGuire Theatre.
Carter Deems is a stand up comedian, writer and friendly battle rapper originally from the town of Cartersville, Georgia (for real). He is a cast member on the upcoming Season 14 of the MTV show Wild ‘n Out and his YouTube videos have gained millions of views. Carter was a member of the writing staff for the TV show Drop The Mic on TBS and he is currently a writer on the Emmy nominated series Epic Rap Battles of History. He has made appearances on Funny Or Die, Snoop Dogg’s Gladiator School, Animation Sandwich and he voiced a character for the viral animated short ‘The Rap Off’. His Twitter account was featured in the 50 Funniest Tweets of 2016 on The Daily Dot and he was named the Funniest Battle Rapper of 2015 by Hip Hop DX’s Battlerap.com. Carter is a co-writer and producer for the scripted radio show Live: On Air Comedy on WXRW 104.1 Milwaukee. Carter does standup and battle rap across the country and has performed at the Comedy Store, UCB Franklin, Zanies Chicago, the Milwaukee Comedy Festival, and the Asheville Comedy Festival.
Featuring Ryan Cox
ages 18+
Tickets $10 advance, $12 day of
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-carter-deems-tickets-86164695925
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Kindly provided by MANNA Food Bank!
| Asheville Mardi Gras Parade February 23 |
The 13th annual Asheville Mardi Gras parade will take place on February 23 in South Slope and we’re looking for parade day volunteers. The Asheville Mardi Gras parade is an all-inclusive, family friendly, full-color spectacle that is fun, entertaining, full of music, floats, dancing and celebrating. Spectators receive beads and candy and the photo opportunities are always amazing.
Details include: * About 20-25 volunteers needed for this rain or shine event. There will be 2 shifts, estimated to be from approx. 11a to 2/3p, and 2p to 5/6p.
*Setting up, manning and breaking down street barricades
*Assisting with krewe and float line up and timing as the parade begins
*Identifying parked cars that might need to be towed and checking for obstacles to smooth crowd control along the parade route.
*Coordinating with the Parade Logistics manager and city police
*Carrying 1 or 2 parade banners (Costumes optional but always encouraged!)
*Assisting with end of parade float disbursement
*Trash pick up following the parade set up and marching route. This is mostly paper trash and beads. It’s rarely more than a few bags total.
Returning barricades, cones, etc. to the post-parade collection point
Confirmed Volunteer perks include $10 gift card to Vortex Donuts & Coffee and a free beer at Catawba. Possibly more perks to come!
Email Dane if you’re interested in helping out, [email protected]
AMG is also seeking a Parade Day Logistics Manager as a PAID POSITION for Sunday, Feb. 23. Ideal person should have outdoor event coordination experience, flexibility and a good sense of humor. Duties include coordinating volunteers, ensuring cones and barricades are in place at all check points, answering any traffic/parked car/pedestrian concerns, acting as parade day primary contact for police and security and Mardi Gras leadership, coordinating compliance with City parade permit requirements, and helping ensure a timely start and finish to the parade. Candidate could plan to cover the parade route via bicycle or scooter or use walkie talkies to accomplish oversight of the .5 mile parade route. This position pays $125 for the day. More details available to any interested candidate. Email Dane if you’re interested in the position, [email protected]
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The 27th Annual Spring Conference—for farmers, gardeners, homesteaders, and sustainability seekers—is hosted by Organic Growers School (OGS), an Asheville-based non-profit organization. The conference takes place Friday–Sunday, March 6–8, 2020. The weekend event takes place at Mars Hill University in Mars Hill and the pre-conference events are in Buncombe and Henderson Counties.
Cost for the pre-conference workshops are $60 with conference registration (Saturday, Sunday, or both) and $75 without. Cost for the weekend conference if registered by January 31, 2020 is $65 for Saturday and $80 for Sunday with the full weekend for $110. For registration after January 31, the cost of Saturday is $80, Sunday is $70 and the full weekend is $140.
The Spring Conference offers practical, region-specific workshops on farming, gardening, permaculture, urban growing, and rural living and includes a trade show, a seed exchange, special guest speakers, and a Saturday evening social.
More than 150 classes—both 90-minute sessions and half-day workshops—are offered on Saturday and Sunday in 17 learning tracks:
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Community Food
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Cooking
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Earth Skills
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Farmers: Beginning
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Farmers: Experienced
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Gardening: Beginning
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Gardening: Experienced
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Herbs
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Homesteading
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Livestock
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Mushrooms
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Permaculture
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Poultry
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Soils
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Sustainable Forestry
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Sustainable Living
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Thinking Big
This one-of-a-kind event brings people of all walks of life together for a weekend of learning, inspiration, and networking and features a host of local and regional experts. The mission of the Spring Conference is to provide down-to-earth advice on growing and sustainable living while remaining affordable and accessible. The Spring Conference is the largest locally run sustainability conference in the Southeast and is proudly focused on regionally appropriate growing methods.
Three full-day, on-farm, pre-conference workshops with special guest instructors are available on Friday, March 6, 2020 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. They are:
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Mushroom Cultivation at the Farm & Home with William Padilla-Brown & Leif Olson at Creekside Farms Education Center in Arden, NC.
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Healing Our Soils through Compost, and Compost Tea: Safe & Natural Fertilizers with Troy Hinke at Living Web Farms in Mills River, NC
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Chickens & You: From Egg to Table with Pat Foreman & Meagan Coneybeer at Franny’s Farm in Leicester, NC.
The conference will also host an evening lecture on Friday, March 6, 2020 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with Leah Penniman entitled, Farming While Black: African Diasporic Wisdom for Farming & Food Justice. The location for this event is the Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Center, 285 Livingston St, Asheville, NC 28801.
The Spring Conference features a trade show on Saturday and Sunday that showcases a wide array of exhibitors and products from local farms, gardening suppliers, and cottage industries that specialize in organic products and resources. Also featured on Saturday and Sunday is the annual Seed and Plant Exchange booth which offers the opportunity to preserve genetic diversity and protect regionally adapted varieties. Attendees may bring excess seeds and small plants to share, barter, or trade.
For more information, visit the website at https://organicgrowersschool.org/conferences/spring/ and see the entire weekend schedule at https://organicgrowersschool.org/conferences/spring/schedule/.

Learning with Lynda
Lynda.com is an online educational site that includes over 3,000 courses (and over 130,000 videos) in popular fields like web design, web development, IT, education/instruction, media production, and business. Normally, using lynda.com requires a paid subscription, but Buncombe County Public Library cardholders can access lynda.com content FREE with their library card number by following these instructions.
How to access lynda.com content with your library card:
Use the lynda.com button to go to the Buncombe County Library lynda.com login page (do not go directly to the Lynda.com homepage). If you are using a smartphone or tablet, use your device’s browser, not the lynda.com app.
At the login page, enter your library card number and PIN.
Once you are logged in, the next step is to create a personalized account by entering your name and e-mail address. This account can help manage your course history, playlists, bookmarks, and Certificates of Completion.
Be sure to write down your password. If you forget your password, you’ll have to contact lynda.com directly by phone at 1 (888) 335-9632.
Effective communication is essential, and can be transformative for your farm operation. In this two day long interactive workshop, Improving Farm Communication, participants will address real life situations to learn about communication styles, ways to have better conversations, and have a chance to practice new skills. In this workshop we will cover the basics of Nonviolent Communication (NVC), aka, Compassionate Communication, and how it can be applied to your personal as well as your farm life and business. On-farm communication is critical for farm viability, and is one of the most common sources of conflict and frustration for farmers, family members, business partners, employees, and customers.
NVC has been used around the world for decades in all areas of people’s lives and has one of the most proven track records for reducing conflict and creating teamwork, increasing efficiency, and boosting morale.
By using examples from participants’ lives we will create a highly interactive learning environment and learn skills that can be immediately applied to your home and work life.
Come if you:
- Are part of a farm family or farm team
- See the benefit of improved communication skills
- Would like to have conversations that aren’t so awkward
- Are ready to tackle difficult conversations
- Find the stress of farm life difficult to express to others
in subtle and clinical trauma, this workshop will educate participants about the effects of trauma and stress on the mind and body, along with providing tools for creating relaxation and healing. Each class begins with a lecture of how the nervous system functions in the body including relevant research on the impacts of trauma, moving into how yoga helps us work with trauma through research, and finally learning and practicing some skills that can help anyone to feel more at ease, empowered and in control in any yoga class.About the instructor: Holly Edmonson is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) who currently teaches yoga at YWCA and the Charles George VA Medical Center.
The Releasing Trauma with Yoga series will be held every third Sunday of the month from November through March, 11:15 am – 1:15 pm in YWCA’s upstairs Group Fitness Studio. This workshop is free for YWCA of Asheville Fitness and Aquatics Members and $5 per session for non-members. Participants can register for the entire series or come to an individual session. All attendees must register in advance at YWCA’s Guest Services, online through this link, via email by emailing Fitness Coordinator Marty Edes at [email protected] or by phone by calling Marty at (828) 254-7206 x 213.

Blue Spiral 1’s most diverse annual exhibition presents artists who have never previously shown in the gallery. This year’s show features nine artists working in a range of media, including painting, ceramics, textiles, mixed media, photography, and wood.
Artists: Anna Buckner, Mark Flowers, David Knox, Hiromi Moneyhun, Kris Rehring, Ben Strear, Gregor Turk
Grab your friends, lace up your skates and shake up your weekly routine at The Well! Bon Secours Wellness Arena offers a friendly atmosphere where you can enjoy ice skating while listening to music and socializing with family and friends. Get a free skate rental when you donate! Bring 5 canned goods or a case of water to assist our STAGE partners, Loaves and Fishes and Habitat for Humanity.
Ice walkers are free and available first come, first served. Free parking is available in the VIP lot off of Church Street. Free ADA parking is available in the loading dock parking lot off of Academy Street.
Adults: $8 (age 7 and older)
Children: $6 (age 6 and under)
Skate Rental: $3
Group Rate (groups of 15 or more):
Adults and Children: $6
Skate Rental: $3

Bart is a boisterous puppy at the shelter, and Mabel is a lonely widow. The day they find each other marks the beginning of a profound friendship. But Mabel is old, and Bart is young – and, suddenly, he’s alone. Combining puppetry, live action and animation, New Owner transports audiences to a world full of adventures, told from a dog’s perspective. From the minds of Arielle Gray and Tim Watts, founding members of Australian theatre collective The Last Great Hunt, comes a touching and stunningly beautiful new story about loss, friendship and new beginnings — an up-close and personal experience at the intimate Tina McGuire Theatre.
Brilliant Traces is compelling story about two people, Rosannah and Henry, who have both suffered from a series of unfortunate circumstances throughout their lives. One night, after traveling for many days with little to no rest, Rosannah mysteriously shows up on Henry’s doorstep, in Alaska. As Henry and Rosannah begin to open up to one another, they come to the realization that they both have had serious and emotionally complicated lives. Directed by Robert Dale Walker; Starring Shari Azar and Thomas Trauger.
Jack of the Wood : Sunday-Irish Session
Sundays
1 till who knows when?
Traditional Irish music is kept alive at Jack of the Wood with our unplugged Sunday session.
Jack of the Wood
95 Patton ave
Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 252.5445
The National Forum of Music Wrocław Philharmonic is at the heart of the Polish music scene.
Founded in 1945 as both a symphony and an opera orchestra, it became the State Opera Orchestra in 1949 and held symphonic concerts sporadically until 1954, when it became an independent symphony orchestra. In 2016, the city of Wrocław (pronounced VRA-Slav) was hailed as the European Capital of Culture, and the orchestra’s performances accompanied the celebrations that season.
The NFM Wrocław Philharmonic regularly performs works commissioned by the National Forum of Music and has a growing international presence presenting classical and romantic masterworks, 20th and 21st century symphonic repertoire, and contemporary Polish composers. The orchestra has worked with all of Poland’s great 20th century composers including Witold Lutosławski, Paweł Mykietyn, Krzysztof Penderecki, Elżbieta Sikora, Stanisław Skrowaczewski, and Agata Zubel. Promoting Polish music is a special focus of the orchestra, which regularly performs in prominent venues in Poland and throughout Europe and the United States.
Program (Subject to Change)
Szymanowski: Concert Overture in E major, Op. 12 [14′]
Lutosławski: Concerto for Orchestra [28′]
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 ‘From the New World’ [40′]
Giancarlo Guerrero, Music Director and Conductor
The National Forum of Music Wrocław Philharmonic is at the heart of the Polish music scene.
Founded in 1945 as both a symphony and an opera orchestra, it became the State Opera Orchestra in 1949 and held symphonic concerts sporadically until 1954, when it became an independent symphony orchestra. In 2016, the city of Wrocław (pronounced VRA-Slav) was hailed as the European Capital of Culture, and the orchestra’s performances accompanied the celebrations that season.
The NFM Wrocław Philharmonic regularly performs works commissioned by the National Forum of Music and has a growing international presence presenting classical and romantic masterworks, 20th and 21st century symphonic repertoire, and contemporary Polish composers. The orchestra has worked with all of Poland’s great 20th century composers including Witold Lutosławski, Paweł Mykietyn, Krzysztof Penderecki, Elżbieta Sikora, Stanisław Skrowaczewski, and Agata Zubel. Promoting Polish music is a special focus of the orchestra, which regularly performs in prominent venues in Poland and throughout Europe and the United States.
https://www.facebook.com/events/295063044733935/
Join us for the monthly reading series featuring work from UNCA’s Great Smokies Writing Program and The Great Smokies Review.
This event is free and open to the public. We ask that you purchase the books you want to be signed at our events from Malaprop’s. When you do this you are not only supporting the work it takes to run an events program, you are also telling the publishers that they should keep sending authors here. Can’t make it to the store for the event? Call us or order the book on our website in advance, and we’ll get it signed for you. Make sure you write your preferences in the comments if you purchase online.
On the culinary side, we have “Dinner Bell” from Taproot Ensemble, a dance, song and storytelling exploration of what you’re not supposed to talk about at the dinner table, southern style. Includes treats from Early Girl Eatery. Lauren French brings us “Intimate Dinner or ‘Tap water is fine'”, a comic solo show about fine dining. A celebrity chef will perform actual cooking demos with audience help. Customers become more demanding, chaos ensues. Will the server keep her cool?
Our Fringe always has a strong dance component and this year is no exception with returning favorites like Yuhas and Company and Stewart Owen Dance, plus 16 other works incorporating dance.
Music will ring out through many shows and, of course, the parties. We have several experimental works, a growing theme over the last few years, including Perspective Collective (“The Pride of Pripyat” an opera about Chernobyl), Matthew Marcum (“Hymns and Oscillations” healing frequencies), and Emmalee Hunnicutt (“Biophilia” multimedia meditation on local green space).
Solo shows, interactive theater, and puppetry abound along with things that defy category, like “Ra Ra RA Da Da Da” a dadaist experiment in avant-garde, marginal, post neo-absurdist after-hours durational variety cabaret! The 18th annual Fringe has something for every weirdo.
Find all the shows, ticketed and free, searchable by venue and date on our newly revamped website AshevilleFringe.org
The enchanting modern classic from Disney is ready for your Broadway Junior stars! Frozen JR. is based on the 2018 Broadway musical, and brings Elsa, Anna, and the magical land of Arendelle to life, onstage. The show features all of the memorable songs from the animated film, with music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, plus five new songs written for the Broadway production.
A story of true love and acceptance between sisters, Frozen JR. expands upon the emotional relationship and journey between Princesses Anna and Elsa. When faced with danger, the two discover their hidden potential and the powerful bond of sisterhood. With a cast of beloved characters and loaded with magic, adventure, and plenty of humor, Frozen JR. is sure to thaw even the coldest heart!
For more information on The Frozen Experience, please visit https://www.theapaa.com/frozenjr. There will be no refunds or exchanges for tickets purchased for the incorrect cast.
Michael Palascak was named the 2018 Stand-up of the Year by the Late Nite Last Week podcast for his performance on The Late Late Show with James Corden. He’s also done stand-up on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, CONAN, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Letterman, Comedy Central’s HALF HOUR, was a top 5 Finalist on LAST COMIC STANDING, and this past summer he performed at Montreal’s Just For Laughs Comedy Festival where he taped a set for Kevin Hart’s LOL network. Norm Macdonald said Michael reminds him, “…of a guy that’s just as funny offstage as on, which is like magic.” Michael’s short film You’re Alive was accepted into numerous festivals including the Hollywood Comedy Shorts Festival and was the winner of the Audience Award at the Chicago Comedy Film Festival.
Comedian Michael Palascak
Live at The Mothlight
Sunday, January 19th
Doors 7pm
Tickets: $15
Michael Palascak was named the 2018 Stand-up of the Year by the Late Nite Last Week podcast for his performance on The Late Late Show with James Corden. He’s also done stand-up on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, CONAN, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Letterman, Comedy Central’s HALF HOUR, was a top 5 Finalist on LAST COMIC STANDING, and this past summer he performed at Montreal’s Just For Laughs Comedy Festival where he taped a set for Kevin Hart’s LOL network. Norm Macdonald said Michael reminds him, “…of a guy that’s just as funny offstage as on, which is like magic.” Michael’s short film You’re Alive was accepted into numerous festivals including the Hollywood Comedy Shorts Festival and was the winner of the Audience Award at the Chicago Comedy Film Festival.
http://www.michaelpalascak.com/
Featuring James Harrod and Kelly Morgan


The 13th annual Asheville Mardi Gras parade will take place on February 23 in South Slope and we’re looking for parade day volunteers. The Asheville Mardi Gras parade is an all-inclusive, family friendly, full-color spectacle that is fun, entertaining, full of music, floats, dancing and celebrating. Spectators receive beads and candy and the photo opportunities are always amazing.



