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.

Monday, March 6, 2023
Ingles SoCon Basketball Championships
Mar 6 all-day
Harrah’s Cherokee Center - Asheville

The Madness of March begins in Asheville. The Southern Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships return to Asheville March 2-6, 2023. The SoCon Basketball Championships produce some of the first tickets punched to the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments. Institutions that make up the Southern Conference are The Citadel, East Tennessee State University, Furman University, Mercer University, UNC Greensboro, Samford University, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Virginia Military Institute, Western Carolina University, and Wofford College. The Men’s Championship will consist of 10 teams participating in games from March 3-6. The Women’s Championship will consist of 8 teams participating in games on March 2,3 & 5.

TICKET PRICES:

  • Reserved Tournament Book – $250
  • Courtside Packages (All Sessions – $1,200 or $1,100) 
  • VIP All-Session Package (All Sessions – $350)
  • General Admission Tournament Book – $150
  • Reserved Single Session – $30/$40/$50
  • General Admission Single Session – $20/$25/$30
  • General Admission Youth (3-12)/SoCon Student Single Session – $10/$15
  • Single Session Group Rate (10 or more tickets to a single session) – $15 
Need Help With Water Bills? New Water Assistance Program Could Offer Help.
Mar 6 all-day
online

If you’re behind on your water bill or afraid your water might get cut off, a new resource might be able to help you. On Jan. 4, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners approved more than $450,000 in federal funding for the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP). The initiative is aimed at preventing water disconnections and helping reconnect drinking and wastewater services.

The LIHWAP will be administered by Buncombe County-based Eblen Charities. The nonprofit will make payments directly to utilities on behalf of qualifying households. The program is slated to run through Sept. 30, 2023 or until funds are exhausted.

Eligibility requirements

Households that currently receive Food and Nutrition Services (FNS), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Work First services, or those that received Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) services from Oct. 1, 2020-Sept. 30, 2021, are automatically eligible to receive this benefit if their water services have been cut off or are in danger of being cut off.

For additional eligibility information or to apply, please contact Eblen Charities at (828) 255-3066.

PRESERVATION GRANTS
Mar 6 all-day
online

The addition of preservation grants to our existing efforts in advocacy, technical support, preservation easements, and education, will allow us to reach a new and diverse audience.  This program will allow us to support both large and small projects from downtown Asheville to our rural and under-served communities.

Click here for the Grant Application

We look forward to helping with emergency stabilization projects and restorations of important places, to helping neighborhoods receive designations such as recognition on the National Register of Historic Places and to encouraging and supporting new and unique education and research opportunities.  We want to be surprised and humbled by the projects our community asks us to support!

As our city faces the inevitable challenges of growth, PSABC’s voice and reach must expand.  The important addition of this Preservation Grant Program comes in response to the needs of our community.

Preservation grants from $500 – $5000 will be offered to the public in three categories:

  1. Bricks-And-Mortar

Rehabilitation, restoration and repair of structures that are 50 years of age or older

Some examples: Windows and doors • Exterior painting • Porches • Roofs and gutters • Electrical and plumbing • Hardscaping • Foundation • Original exterior or interior details

  1. Public Education

Development of educational materials and programs that advance knowledge of our shared history

Some examples: Research and documentation • Oral histories • Installations specific to buildings, place history, and culture • Exhibitions • K–12 educational publications • Seminars and lectures • Documentary films

  1. Planning, Survey and Designation

Planning and design for building rehabilitation and restoration projects, historic resource surveys and local or national designations

Some examples: Historic building condition reports • Engineering and rehabilitation plans • Feasibility studies • Historic resource surveys • Updates of previous surveys • Local and national historic designations

Read about our past winners here!

Season Tickets: Flat Rock Playhouse’s 2023 Season
Mar 6 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse

A South-Eastern Regional Premier and Shakespeare’s most wicked wonder join beloved Main Stage productions, Music on the Rock® and Playhouse Jr. Family Programming to round out an inviting 2023 season.

 

The Main Stage curtain lifts later this month with Here Comes the Sun Band & Friends – Music of the Beatles and More!, the musically-authentic act that will rock-and-roll fans through a decade of The Beatles music. A crowd favorite, the Music on the Rock® series will also feature Rumours – The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Tribute Show in March, followed by the bluesy swagger of the Rolling Stones.

 

The season’s Main Stage series kicks off in April with Ring of Fire, a musical portrait of “The Man in Black,” Johnny Cash. Mother’s Day weekend brings the witty and hilarious Steel Magnolias. Children of all ages and the Vagabonds who never grew up will delight in a newly imagined Cinderella: Enchanted, a fresh take on a magical fairytale, followed by Broadway’s longest-running musical and infamous nine-time Tony Award-winner, A Chorus Line. And this summer, FRP is thrilled to present the South-Eastern Regional Premier of The Girl on the Train, a thrilling mystery based on the bestselling novel by Paula Hawkins and DreamWorks film.

 

In time for the haunting season, William Shakespeare’s Macbeth tragedy will engage audiences in the terrifyingly prophetic tale of revenge, murder, and madness in a smaller, intimate setting as part of FRP’s new Black Box series.

 

Slowpoke! The True Story of a Tortoise and Hare, an Appalachian retelling of Aesop’s fable arrives in November, and the season concludes with the popular holiday must-see A Playhouse Christmas–the same festivity and excellence in an all new show!

 

Catch everything from foot-stomping Music on the Rock® to Broadway energy to intimate Black Box performances with a season subscription, on sale February 28. Single tickets for all remaining shows go on sale on March 8, 2023. For a complete lineup with show descriptions and to purchase tickets, visit www.flatrockplayhouse.org.

 

This project was supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. www.NCArts.org.

Seeking Executive Director for Literacy Together
Mar 6 all-day
online w/ Literacy Together

Position Announcement
Executive Director, Literacy Together
Asheville, NC
Spring 2023

Literacy Together is seeking an experienced and passionate candidate to lead the organization as
executive director and add to its exceptional 36-year history.

Our Mission
To transform lives and communities through the power of literacy.

Our Vision
A just and equitable community in which literacy is accessible and achievable by all.

The Organization
Literacy Together is a strong, stable organization with solid infrastructure poised to move to the next
level of greater impact with the inspired leadership of the right individual.
Literacy Together’s core values include Lifelong Learning, Individual Dignity, Equity and Justice,
Leadership and Innovation. Literacy Together believes literacy is a social justice issue and
acknowledges and works to address the systemic barriers to literacy experienced by its students.
Literacy Together teaches individuals of all ages basic reading, writing, and English language skills
through specialized instruction provided by trained volunteer tutors. Programs include Adult Literacy,
English for Speakers of Other Languages, Youth Literacy, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library®.
Students gain self-confidence and self-sufficiency to transform their lives as individuals, parents,
workers, and citizens.

Literacy Together, a nonprofit organization accredited by ProLiteracy and serving the community since
1987, provides highly individualized tutoring to fit the needs of over 300 students annually through the
skilled instruction of over 250 volunteer tutors. Literacy Together is governed by a 12-member board
of directors and staffed by nine highly skilled professionals. The organization has an annual budget of
$462,000, funded primarily by a mix of individual donations, foundations, and government grants. The
organizational culture is collaborative, committed, mission-driven, and service-oriented.

The Position
The next ED will take advantage of Literacy Together’s strong infrastructure, high-quality programs,
and existing partnerships by continuing to develop collaborations and build relationships with donors
and funders to broaden the organization’s impact. The next ED will also be a dynamic presence and
an effective communicator strongly aligned with the organizational values of Lifelong Learning,
Individual Dignity, Equity and Justice, Leadership and Innovation.

Organizational Priorities
The Board of Directors and staff of Literacy Together have identified the following as the highest
priorities for the new executive, the board, and the staff over the next 12 to 18 months:

● Continue Literacy Together’s track record of securing sustainable funding from diverse
revenue sources by focusing primarily on a growing individual and major donor base
● Strengthen existing and build new partnerships and collaborations to meet the community’s
need
● Support staff in delivering high-quality tutoring services as prioritized in the 2020-2025
Strategic Plan
● Further define and deepen the organization’s ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion
efforts, in order to identify and work to remove barriers to literacy
● Conduct an organizational compensation and benefit analysis, with continued exploration of
healthcare coverage and other benefits, to retain and motivate talented, dedicated staff.

StoryMaps: Interactive Story of Conservation in Buncombe County
Mar 6 all-day
online

With vibrant photographs and engaging data, Buncombe County’s new ESRI StoryMap is now available to help the public learn more about land conservation. With the Commissioners setting the goal of preserving 20% of County land by 2030, these maps are a timely way to provide an immersive journey into the past, present, and future of land conservation. “It’s also a tool that helps explain the County’s Ag and Land Resources conservation easement process that is overseen by the County Land Conservation Advisory Board and the Ag Advisory Board,” explains Farmland Preservation Program Manager Ariel Zijp. “The story map provides background information about the two Boards and shows their conservation focus areas in Buncombe County.

Beyond the sharp aesthetic of the website, there is a vast repository of conservation-related data, processes, and overall information. “Three of the four maps are interactive and allow residents to zoom in and out of the map,” says Farmland Preservation Program Coordinator Avni Naik. “Please remember that the focus areas help us guide conservation in the County but are not the sole determinant of project approval. If a property does not fall in a focus area we will still evaluate its conservation values through field work and landowner meetings. Similarly, a property that falls in a focus area does not mean automatic project approval. It would help the project rank higher, but other due diligence will still be carried out to ensure the best available projects are funded.

Ultimately, the County believes these maps increase transparency and awareness about the importance of land conservation and the process of creating easements. “I hope this tool helps people understand that there is a conscious, research-based approach to the County’s conservation easement process and our conservation focus areas,” explains Zijp.

View the maps here.

Buncombe County would like to thank the following partners for their help with the creation of these StoryMaps:

Summer Camp at Nantahala Outdoor Center Registration Open
Mar 6 all-day
Nantahala Outdoor Center

Teens at a kayak Summer Day Camp

Summer Day Camp is a great option for kids ages 9-17 with any skill level to learn and practice on the iconic rivers and lakes of Western North Carolina. Paddlers from beginner to advanced will receive high-quality instruction from our elite team while having fun and making friends.

 

Summer Camp Sign Up Open
Mar 6 all-day
Asheville Art Museum

Join us at the Museum for Summer Art Camp! Offered to rising K–12th grade students, all classes are age appropriate. Enrollment is limited, and pre-registration is required. Registration includes Museum admission and all materials necessary for each class. Classes are offered weekly for seven consecutive weeks, starting June 19 and running through the week of August 7.

Morning (9am–noon) and afternoon (1–4pm) sessions are offered each week. Students may sign up for both morning and afternoon sessions and stay for both sessions.

Camp Costs

Morning (9am–noon) or afternoon (1–4pm) half-day session: $130

Full day (9am–4pm, both morning and afternoon sessions): $250

Members receive a 10 percent discount.

Registration opens March 1. To be added to our Family Programs mailing list, click here. For more information, call 828.253.3227.

The Museum is committed to making our programs accessible to everyone, regardless of economic means. With support from the Walnut Cove Members Association, we’re able to provide a limited amount of financial aid to help students who could not otherwise afford to enroll in our programs.

The Learning Garden: A Hub of Gardening Education in 2023
Mar 6 all-day
Buncombe County Extension Office

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_labbradolci_CC BY-NC 2.0_Flickr

Dahlia Series
February 23
 – Getting Your Dahlias Ready for Planting
August 3
 – Disbudding Dahlias for Better Blooms
October 26 – Dividing and Storing Dahlias

 

Naturally dyed cotton_by Lucia Garcia Gonzalez_CC 1.0_Flickr

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.

Food Scraps Drop Off: Stephens-Lee Recreation Center
Mar 6 @ 7:00 am – 6:00 pm
Stephens-Lee Recreation Center

Food Scraps Drop Off

The City of Asheville, in partnership with Buncombe County and the Natural Resources Defense Council, is offering a FREE Food Scrap Drop-Off program in

two locations for all Buncombe County residents.  This organic matter will be collected and turned into good clean compost, keeping it OUT of our landfill and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Register for Food Scraps Drop Off

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Need a handy kitchen countertop food scrap bin?  Let us know on the registration form! We’ll be having bin giveaways at city and county facilities and would love to give you one.

 

Locations

Stephens-Lee Recreation Center “Food Scrap Shed” next to the Community Garden on the North side of the parking lot

30 Washington Carver Avenue, Asheville

    • Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.
    • Saturday, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
    • Sunday, 12 – 4 p.m.

Murphy Oakley Community Center and Library – “Food Scrap Bin Shelters” on the east side of the parking lot

749 Fairview Road, Asheville

    • Dawn – Dusk

West Asheville Library – “Food Scrap Bin Shelters” on the south side of the building

942 Haywood Road, Asheville

    • Library open hours
    • Buncombe County Landfill – Convenience Center85 Panther Branch Road, Alexander
        • Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
        • Saturday, 8 a.m. – 12:30 pm
Double Take Art Exhibition
Mar 6 @ 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Ramsey Library

During the 2020 lockdown, Jeremy Phillips, UNCA Alum and adjunct professor of Humanities, started painting interiors of his house in West Asheville.

Many of these interiors included Jeremy’s more abstract art that was on the walls. In this show, “Double Take”, the two worlds come together: paintings of paintings in an internal architecture of home.

Food Scraps Drop Off: Buncombe County Landfill
Mar 6 @ 8:00 am – 4:30 pm
Buncombe County Landfill – Convenience Center

Food Scraps Drop Off

The City of Asheville, in partnership with Buncombe County and the Natural Resources Defense Council, is offering a FREE Food Scrap Drop-Off program in two locations for all Buncombe County residents.  This organic matter will be collected and turned into good clean compost, keeping it OUT of our landfill and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Register for Food Scraps Drop Off

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Need a handy kitchen countertop food scrap bin?  Let us know on the registration form! We’ll be having bin giveaways at city and county facilities and would love to give you one.

 

Locations Holidays call for hours

Buncombe County Landfill – Convenience Center

85 Panther Branch Road, Alexander

    • Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
    • Saturday, 8 a.m. – 12:30 pm

Murphy Oakley Community Center and Library – “Food Scrap Bin Shelters” on the east side of the parking lot

749 Fairview Road, Asheville

    • Dawn – Dusk

Stephens-Lee Recreation Center “Food Scrap Shed” next to the Community Garden on the North side of the parking lot

30 Washington Carver Avenue, Asheville

    • Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.
    • Saturday, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
    • Sunday, 12 – 4 p.m.

West Asheville Library – “Food Scrap Bin Shelters” on the south side of the building

942 Haywood Road, Asheville

    • Library open hours
WNC Farmers Market
Mar 6 @ 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
WNC Farmers Market

NCDA&CS - Marketing Division - Western North Carolina Farmers Market

The WNC Farmers Market is the premier destination for buying and selling the region’s best agriculture products directly from farmers & food producers to household & wholesale customers in an environment that celebrates the region’s diverse culture, food & heritage.

House of Operation:

WNC Farmers Market: 24/7, 361 days a year market access for farmers
Office: Monday- Friday, 8am-5pm
Market Shops: 7 days a week, 8 am-5 pm
Wholesale and Truck Sheds: 7 days a week

An Abundance of Riches
Mar 6 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
NC Arboretum

Andrea Rich’s intricately designed, carved, and printed woodcuts draw viewers in for an up-close look.

Some of the artist’s earliest memories are of drawing animals. Childhood encounters with pets, livestock, and wildlife, including birds, deer, and toads, created a lasting connection to the natural world. Through encounters with creatures both tame and wild, Rich developed a fascination and a compassion for animals integral to her art.

“My prints are a visual record of the intriguing creatures that have enriched my life. The woodcut process challenges me to focus on the essence of my subjects. At the same time, I am drawn to the smell of the wood, its texture and grain, and the pleasure I experience while carving. I begin working on a block of wood and realize later that hours have passed without notice.”

Rich uses a centuries-old medium that requires one carved wood panel for each color – varying from one to sixteen – necessary to develop the composition. These panels are painstakingly aligned one atop another sequentially and pulled through a printing press to create the final woodcut.

The subjects of Rich’s woodcuts range from the wilderness of the Australian outback and the lush tropical Amazon forests to the roaring rivers of Yellowstone Park. Rich has traveled worldwide to study wildlife habitats and these varied firsthand experiences are reflected in her work.

Among Rich’s many achievements are international recognition for her woodcut prints, including a 2009 Award of Excellence from the Society of Animal Artists and a 2009 Medal of Excellence from the Artists for Conservation Foundation. She was named Master Artist by the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in 2006. In 2010 her work was featured in a solo exhibition at the Mass Audubon Visual Arts Center, Canton, Massachusetts. Rich is a member of the California Society of Printmakers, Artists for Nature Foundation, the Society of Animal Artists, and Society of Wildlife Artists.

In 2000 Rich designated the Woodson Art Museum as the repository for her artistic oeuvre. An Abundance of Riches is drawn from these holdings, which include an example of each of her woodcuts created since the mid-1980s.

TSA PreCheck® Mobile Enrollment Event at AVL
Mar 6 @ 9:00 am
AVL - Asheville Regional Airport

IdentoGO® will roll its TSA PreCheck® mobile enrollment truck into:

AVL – Asheville Regional Airport
61 Terminal Drive
Fletcher, NC 28732

for a TSA PreCheck® enrollment public event:

March 6 – March 10, 2023

3/6 – 3/9 : 9 AM – 12 PM & 1 PM – 5 PM;
3/10: 9 AM – 12 PM 

*Look for the Enrollment Truck in the Cell Phone Lot across the street from the terminal*

To participate in this local enrollment event, follow these steps to pre-enroll

  1. Click here to access the application page
  2. Click “Start Application Now”, then click “New Enrollment”
  3. Fill out steps and choose “Next” at the bottom of each screen
  4. Select the location Fletcher, NC – Truck Pop-Up: AVL 3/6-3/10 and click Next
  5. Select your desired appointment time (Please be sure to make note of your appointment time)

Attendees must bring a government-issued photo ID with proof of U.S. Citizenship (i.e. a passport or birth certificate; name on documents must match exactly) and complete a 10-minute fingerprinting process. Once approved, you will receive a KTN (Known Traveler Number) and have access to TSA PreCheck® expedited security lanes for five years at a cost of $85 ($17 per year).

An Abstract Classicist: California Hard-Edge
Mar 6 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Bender Gallery
Johal’s process is part painstaking and part intuitive. She begins by arranging cut out shapes or creating sketches of the overall composition, which is of utmost importance, balanced and full of energy. She then transfers the design onto a sanded canvas using tape, templates, or other tools to achieve a clean hard edge. Now the music begins. Using high quality acrylic paints, Johal spontaneously applies color to the canvas, letting the music guide her choices. Her understanding of Color Theory is instinctive yet effective and, along with her forms, creates a kind of dance on the surface.
Angela Johal (b.1962), US, has a Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) Magna Cum Laude from San Jose State University in San Jose, CA. Johal has taken part in solo and group exhibitions in prestigious institutes and such as de Young Museum, San Francisco, SFMOMA Artist’s Gallery, San Francisco and in art galleries in LA, Boston, NY, Montreal, and more.
Healing Dolls Exhibition
Mar 6 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
MHU Weizenblatt Gallery

Healing Dolls Exhibition

Italian Renaissance Alive
Mar 6 @ 10:00 am
Biltmore Estate

Explore Biltmore House with an Audio Guide that introduces you to the Vanderbilt family and their magnificent home’s history, architecture, and collections of fine art and furnishings.

PLUS: Immersive, multi-sensory Italian Renaissance Alive exhibition created by Grande Experiences

PLUS: FREE next-day access to Biltmore’s Gardens and Grounds

This visit includes access to:

  • Italian Renaissance Alive at Amherst at Deerpark®
  • 8,000 Acres of Gardens and Grounds for two consecutive days
  • Antler Hill Village & Winery
  • Complimentary Wine Tastings at the Winery
  • Tastings require a Day-of-Visit Reservation, which can be made by:
    • Scanning the QR Code found in your Estate Guide
    • Visiting any Guest Services location
  • Complimentary parking

Art Exhibition: Italian Renaissance Alive

This fascinating experience takes you on a spellbinding tour of Italy, fully immersing you in the beauty and brilliance of iconic masterworks from the greatest artistic period in history

2023 WNC Regional Scholastic Art Awards Exhibition
Mar 6 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum
The Van Winkle Law Firm Gallery, Level 1 • On View January 25–March 6

 

The Asheville Art Museum and the Asheville Area Section of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) are the Western North Carolina (WNC) regional affiliates of the National Scholastic Art Awards. This ongoing community partnership has supported the creative talents of our region’s youth for more than 43 years. The WNC regional program is open to students in grades 7–12 across 20 WNC counties.

The regional program is judged in two groups: Group I, grades 7–8; and Group II, grades 9–12. Out of 534 total entries, 156 artworks have been recognized by the judges and are featured in this new exhibition.

The 2023 WNC Regional Judges are: Kelly Hider of Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Alexandria Monque of YMI Cultural Center and Noir Collective AVL, and Lei Han of University of North Carolina Asheville. The judges carefully viewed each entry then selected Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honorable Mention award recipients across all media. Artworks receiving Gold Keys have been submitted to compete in the 100th-Annual National Scholastic Art Awards Program in New York City.

Of the Gold Key Award recipients, five students have also been nominated for American Visions—indicating their artwork is one of the Best in Show of the WNC regional awards. One of these American Visions nominees will be chosen to receive an American Visions Medal at the 2023 National Scholastic Art Awards.

Since the program’s founding in 1923, the Scholastic Art Awards have fostered the creativity and talent of millions of students, and include a distinguished list of alumni including Andy Warhol—who received recognition from the Awards as a teen.

National Gold Key medalists will be announced in March 2023 and honored during a special awards ceremony in June 2023. For more information about the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers and the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, visit their website.

Art Exhibit: RAUSCHENBERG: A Gift in Your Pocket
Mar 6 @ 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center
RAUSCHENBERG: A Gift in Your Pocket From the Collections of Friends in Honor of Bradley Jeffries

Robert Rauschenberg, Autobiography, 1968

In the late 70s, Bradley Jeffries had a chance meeting with Robert Rauschenberg outside his home on Captiva Island, and they bonded immediately. Bradley was hired to be the artist’s business and life manager. Her employment with him for over 30 years, until his death in 2008, involved many roles on the Board of Directors of Change, Inc and The Rauschenberg Foundation. Bradley’s travels with Rauschenberg took her on incredible adventures all over the world and exposed her to extraordinary opportunities. Throughout their friendship and work together, Rauschenberg gifted Bradley with many of his original artworks.

The family and friends of Bradley Jeffries will use her expansive and never previously exhibited Rauschenberg collection as a means of memorializing Bradley through this traveling exhibition. “Rauschenberg: A Gift in Your Pocket” opens on April 25, 2022 at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery at Florida Southwestern State College in Ft. Myers for display throughout the summer. After which her collection will travel to The University of Kentucky Art Museum followed by its culminating exhibition at BMCM+AC.

Once her collection of Rauschenberg’s artwork completes its planned memorial exhibitions, pieces will be donated to each of the involved institutions in an ongoing memorial to Bradley and her legacy of promoting the arts and artists.

Curated by Jade Dellinger, Director of the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery at Florida Southwestern State College.

Asheville Gallery of Art “Awakenings” Group Show
Mar 6 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Gallery of Art

Asheville Gallery of Art’s March show, “Awakenings” features work by three new Gallery members: Jon Sebastian, Sara Bell, Andrea Stutesman. The show runs daily March 1 through March 31st, 2023 during gallery hours, 11am-6pm. An opening reception will be held March 3, 5-8pm; everyone is welcome.

The three artists will showcase their passion through three mediums, respectively. Not unlike the delicate and elusive trillium of the North Carolina mountain beds, these artists spring forward in the presentation of “Awakenings.” As featured artists of the month, Andrea Stutesman, Sara Bell, and Jon Sebastian join forces in presenting this amazing show by rendering their art using pastels, watercolors, and oil paints. Mesmerizing spring colors will grace the windows and walls of the gallery, rendering imagery of flowers, exotic and endangered animals, and vibrant landscapes. “Awakenings” is the second of three group shows featuring new artists to the gallery.

Andrea Stutesman
Andrea’s early art explorations began with pastels under the guidance of her mother, an accomplished painter. Her work is from the heart, inspired by her interactions with people and places or by the stories brought to her with requests for commissions. She strives to transform a sense of calm and connection that she experiences when painting that will invite viewers to slow down and enjoy the beauty of life.

Jon Sebastian
Art and painting in particular is, for artist Jon Sebastian, the selective recreation of reality according to his own principles and what he deems interesting and just in this world we share. Jon cannot remember a time when he did not paint. At Asheville Gallery of Art, Jon is now moving forward with confidence that others will find his works a compelling addition to their own collections. Jon paints immersive works filled with color, light and shadow. His subjects are of nature and of the peace and spirituality in which they envelope us.

Sara Bell
Sara Bell has always loved drawing. It’s a form of meditation for her and has now become a way for her to find peace and sanity when her world gets too overwhelming, which, as a single mom with a neuro-divergent teen, happens quite often. When it does, Sara follows John Muir’s quote, “Off into the woods I go to lose my mind and find my soul.” The results of these adventures are delightful sketches and photography of the forests. Sara then works from her photos to create her watercolors and intaglio prints.
Come visit this engaging and thoughtful exhibition at 82 Patton Avenue in downtown Asheville. For further information about this show, contact the Asheville Gallery of Art at (828) 251-5796, visit the Gallery’s website at ashevillegallery-of-art.com, or go to the Gallery’s Facebook page.

Hike With a Naturalist
Mar 6 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Chimney Rock State Park

Spend an hour hiking one of the Parks’ six trails with a naturalist. Watch the transformation from winter to spring on this educational excursion. You may even learn some of the Parks’ history as well. Meet in front of Cliff Dwellers Gifts.

Luzene Hill: Revelate
Mar 6 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

An enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Luzene Hill advocates for Indigenous sovereignty—linguistically, culturally, and individually. Revelate builds upon Hill’s investigation of pre-contact cultures. This has led Hill to incorporate the idea of Ollin, the Nahuatl word for the natural rhythms of the universe, in Aztec cosmology in her work. Before Europeans arrived in North America, Indigenous societies were predominantly matrilineal. Women were considered sacred, involved in the decision-making process, and thrived within communities holding a worldview based on equilibrium.

Ollin emphasizes that we are in constant state of motion and discovery. Adopted as an educational framework, particularly in social justice and ethnic studies, Ollin guides individuals through a process of reflection, action, reconciliation, and transformation. This exhibition combines Hill’s use of mylar safety blankets alongside recent drawings. Capes constructed of mylar burst with energy and rustle with subtle sound, the shining material a signifier of care, awareness, displacement, and presence. Though Hill works primarily in sculpture, drawing has increasingly become an essential part of her practice as she seeks to communicate themes of feminine and Indigenous power across her entire body of work. The energy within her drawings extends to the bursts of light reflecting from her capes or the accumulation of materials in other installation works.

Luzene Hill was born in Atlanta, GA, in 1946. She received her bachelor of fine art and master of fine art from Western Carolina University. She lives and works on the Qualla Boundary, Cherokee, NC.

Natural Collector | Gifts of Fleur S. Bresler
Mar 6 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

Natural Collector is organized by the Asheville Art Museum. IMAGE: Christian Burchard, Untitled (nesting bowls), 1998, madrone burl, various from 6 × 6 × 6 to ⅜ × ⅜ × ⅜ inches. Gift of Fleur S. Bresler, 2021.76.01.
Natural Collector Gifts of Fleur S. Bresler features around 15 artworks from the collection of Fleur S. Bresler, which include important examples of modern and contemporary American craft including wood and fiber art, as well as glass and ceramics. These works that were generously donated by contemporary craft collector Bresler to the Asheville Art Museum over the years reflect her strong interest in wood-based art and themes of nature.

According to Associate Curator Whitney Richardson, “This exhibition highlights artworks that consider the natural element from which they were created or replicate known flora and fauna in unexpected materials. The selection of objects displayed illustrates how Bresler’s eye for collecting craft not only draws attention to nature and artists’ interest in it, but also accentuates her role as a natural collector with an intuitive ability to identify themes and ideas that speak to one another.”

This exhibition presents work from the Collection representing the first generation of American wood turners like Rude Osolnik and Ed Moulthrop, as well as those that came after and learned from them, such as Philip Moulthrop, John Jordan, and local Western North Carolina (WNC) artist Stoney Lamar. Other WNC-based artists in Natural Collector include Anne Lemanski, whose paper sculpture of a snake captures the viewer’s imagination, and Michael Sherrill’s multimedia work that tricks the eye with its similarity to true-to-life berries. Also represented are beadwork and sculpture by Joyce J. Scott and Jack and Linda Fifield.

Sherrill Roland: Sugar, Water, Lemon Squeeze
Mar 6 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

Asheville-born and Raleigh-Durham-based interdisciplinary artist Sherrill Roland’s socially driven practice draws upon his experience with wrongful incarceration for a crime he did not commit and seeks to open conversations about how we care for our communities and one another with compassion and understanding. Through sculpture, installation, and conceptual art, Roland engages visitors in dialogues around community, social contract, identity, biases, and other deeply human experiences. Comprised of artwork created from 2016 to the present, Sherrill Roland: Sugar, Water, Lemon Squeeze reflects on making something from nothing, lemonade from lemons, the best of a situation. A reference to a simple recipe from the artist’s childhood, the title also speaks to Roland’s employment of materials available to him while incarcerated, such as Kool-Aid and mail from family members. In the face of his personal experiences, he invites viewers to confront their own uncomfortable complicity in perpetuating injustice. Roland’s work humanizes these difficult topics and creates a space for communication and envisioning a better future. This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator, in collaboration with the Artist. This exhibition is funded, in part, by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

Stained with Glass: Vitreograph Prints from the Studio of Harvey K. Littleton Exhibition
Mar 6 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum
 
Left: Thermon Statom, Frankincense, 1999, siligraphy from glass plate with digital transfer on BFK Rives paper, edition 50/50, 36 1/4 × 29 3/8 inches. Asheville Art Museum. © Thermon Statom. | Right: Dale Chihuly, Suite of Ten Prints: Chandelier, 1994, 4-color intaglio from glass plate on BRK Rives paper, edition 34/50, image: 29 ½ × 23 ½ inches, sheet: 36 × 29 ½ inches. Asheville Art Museum. © Dale Chihuly / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Asheville, N.C.—The selection of works from the Asheville Art Museum’s Collection presented in Stained with Glass: Vitreograph Prints from the Studio of Harvey K. Littleton features imagery that recreates the sensation and colors of stained glass. The exhibition showcases Littleton and the range of makers who worked with him, including Dale Chihuly, Cynthia Bringle, Thermon Statom, and more. This exhibition—organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator—will be on view in The Van Winkle Law Firm Gallery at the Museum from January 12 through May 23, 2022.

In 1974 Harvey K. Littleton (Corning, NY 1922–2013 Spruce Pine, NC) developed a process for using glass to create prints on paper. Littleton, who began as a ceramicist and became a leading figure in the American Studio Glass Movement, expanded his curiosity around the experimental potential of glass into innovations in the world of printmaking. A wide circle of artists in a variety of media—including glass, ceramics, and painting—were invited to Littleton’s studio in Spruce Pine, NC, to create prints using the vitreograph process developed by Littleton. Upending notions of both traditional glassmaking and printmaking, vitreographs innovatively combine the two into something new. The resulting prints created through a process of etched glass, ink, and paper create rich, colorful scenes reminiscent of luminous stained glass.

“Printmaking is a medium that many artists explore at some point in their career,” says Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator. “The process is often collaborative, as they may find themselves working with a print studio and highly skilled printmaker. The medium can also be quite experimental. Harvey Littleton’s contribution to the field is very much so in this spirit, as seen in his incorporation of glass and his invitation to artists who might otherwise not have explored works on paper. Through this exhibition, we are able to appreciate how the artists bring their work in clay, glass, or paint to ink and paper.” 

The Vanderbilts at Home and Abroad
Mar 6 @ 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Biltmore Estate

Included with admission

Back by popular demand, The Vanderbilts at Home and Abroad exhibition offers guests:

  • An opportunity to view rarely-seen treasures from the Biltmore collection
  • A first-hand look at the Vanderbilts’ lifestyle
  • Deeper insights into George, Edith, and Cornelia’s personalities, both at home and on their extensive travels

Access to exhibitions at The Biltmore Legacy is included with Biltmore daytime admission.

Too Much Is Just Right: The Legacy of Pattern and Decoration
Mar 6 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

In the past 50 years in the United States and beyond, artists have sought to break down social and political hierarchies that include issues of identity, gender, power, race, authority, and authenticity. Unsurprisingly, these decades generated a reconsideration of the idea of pattern and decoration as a third option to figuration and abstraction in art. From 1972 to 1985, artists in the Pattern and Decoration movement worked to expand the visual vocabulary of contemporary art to include ethnically and culturally diverse options that eradicated the barriers between fine art and craft and questioned the dominant minimalist aesthetic. These artists did so by incorporating opulence and bold intricacies garnered from such wide-ranging inspirations as United States quilt-making and Islamic architecture.

Too Much Is Just Right: The Legacy of Pattern and Decoration features more than 70 artworks in an array of media from both the original time frame of the Pattern and Decoration movement, as well as contemporary artworks created between 1985 and the present. The artworks in this exhibition demonstrate the vibrant and varied approaches to pattern and decoration in art. Artworks from the 21st century elucidate contemporary perspectives on the employment of pattern to inform visual vocabularies and investigations of diverse themes in the present day.

Artworks drawn from the Asheville Art Museum’s Collection join select major loans and feature Pattern and Decoration artists Valerie Jaudon, Joyce Kozloff, Robert Kushner, and Miriam Schapiro, as well as Anni Albers, Elizabeth Alexander, Sanford Biggers, Tawny Chatmon, Margaret Curtis, Mary Engel, Cathy Fussell, Samantha Hennekke, John Himmelfarb, Anne Lemanski, Rashaad Newsome, Peter Olson, Don Reitz, Sarah Sense, Billie Ruth Sudduth, Mickalene Thomas, Shoku Teruyama, Anna Valdez, Kehinde Wiley, and more.

This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and guest curated by Marilyn Laufer & Tom Butler.

Auditions “Wendy + Peter” Youth Only
Mar 6 @ 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm
The Montford Park Players
The first show of our 2023 Season!
The Montford Park Players, North Carolina’s longest running Shakespeare theatre is pleased to announce auditions for the first show of our 51st Season – “Wendy and Peter”, a Peter Pan story, written and directed by Skyler Goff.

Audition Dates:
YOUTH ONLY
March 5th 3-6pm
March 6th 5:30-8:30pm (If needed)
March 7th 5:30-8:30pm (CALLBACKS)

ADULTS ONLY
March 8th 5:30-8:30pm
March 9th 5:30-8:30pm(If needed)

CALLBACKS (ADULTS and CAST YOUTH)
March 10th  5:30-8:30pm

ROLES FOR YOUTH (Ages 8-18)
WENDY: Age: 11-18 (Role will require singing, dancing, jumping and combat. SWING NEEDED)
PETER PAN: Age: 11-18(Role will require jumping dancing and combat.SWING NEEDED)
JOHN: Age: 10-16 (Role will require jumping, dancing, and combat.Potential SWING NEEDED)
MICHAEL: Age: 8-13(Role will require jumping, dancing, and combat)
TOOTLES: Age: 8-13 (Role will require jumping, dancing, and combat)
NIBS: Age: 8-15 (Role will require jumping, dancing, and combat)
SLIGHTLY: Age: 8-16(Role will require jumping, dancing, and combat)
TWIN 1: Age: 8-15 (Role will require jumping, dancing, and combat)
TWIN 2: Age: 8-15 (Role will require jumping, dancing, and combat)
CURLY: Age: 8-15 (Role will require jumping, dancing, and combat)
TIGER LILY: Age: 11-18 (Role will require jumping, dancing, and combat)

ROLES FOR ADULTS (Ages 18+)
NURSE WENDY: Age: 25-36(Role will require singing and running)
MR. DARLING: Age: 30-55(Based on casting, Hook/Panther Protea requirements apply)
MRS. DARLING: Age: 30-55(Based on casting, Hook/Panther Protea requirements apply)
NANA: Age: 18-60+ (Role will require use of puppet. NO DIALOGUE)
TINKER BELL: Age: 18-55 (Role will require use of puppet, dancing, jumping and combat.NO DIALOGUE)
HOOK: Age: 30-55 (Role will require singing, dancing,and combat. SWING NEEDED)
SMEE: Age: 18-60+(Role will require singing, dancing,and combat)
STARKEY: Age: 18-60+ (Role will require singing, dancing,and combat)
CECCO: Age: 18-60+(Role will require singing, dancing,and combat)
JUKES: Age: 18-60+ (Role will require singing, dancing,and combat)
FLINT: Age: 18-60+ (Role will require singing, dancing,and combat)
COOKSON: Age: 18-60+ (Role will require singing, dancing,and combat)
PANTHER PROTEA: Age: 30-55 (Role will require dancing, percussion,  and combat)
Various Druids:Age: 18-60+ (Role will require dancing,percussion, and combat)
Mermaids: Age: 18-60+ (Role may require use of puppet and singing.)

NOTE: ALL ACTORS should prepare a monologue on any theme, memorized, and no longer then one minute.

NOTE: All actors must fill out the following Google Forms, located HERE :

  • MPP 2023 Season Audition Form (the role of swings is explained in the Audition Form)
  • Wendy & Peter Audition Signups

NOTE: This 2023 Season Audition Form will be used for all our productions this year. Note that this season we will NOT be requiring video audition submissions.

Note to Selected Actors and parents: Early Rehearsals will prioritize getting all actors below the age of 18 out no later than 8pm without parent/guardian consent. Adults may be asked to arrive later and leave no later than 9:30pm.

We hope you’ll join us for the beginning of a spectacular season of theatre!

Skyler Goff, Playwright and Director
John Russell, Executive Director

Improv Workshop: Commitment!
Mar 6 @ 7:00 pm
The Magnetic Theatre

Workshop: Commitment!
Veteran Improviser, Laurie Jones, will lead you in a workshop to help you find more commitment to your characters through groundedness and true emotion. Have you given a 6 when you were trying for a 10? Did leaning into a character feel too phony? Whatever is it that has you interested in going deeper, this workshop is for you!

Bio for Instructor Laurie Jones:

Laurie has performed and trained at Second City Chicago, IO, Impro Theatre, and is an ensemble member of Ripley Improv, Impro Theatre, and Wishbone Theatre Collective.

March 6, 2023
Monday at 7pm