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.
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Join us for this educational and fun guided drum session. This class is super fun and no drumming experience is needed. In this hour long session we will establish the foundations of rhythm and experiment with various concepts from there. Registration is required to use one of the provided djembes. Registration will be limited to 12 people to ensure we have enough drums for everyone. Feel free to bring your own drum or percussion instrument. If you are bringing your own drum you do not need to register. This class is best suited for adults and kids older than 12 |
Explore the Rich Heritage of Black Communities in Asheville
The Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail leads visitors through three areas of Asheville: Downtown, Southside, and the River Area. The entire trail takes approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes to walk and read.
Reflecting on Community Resolve
Did you know that Black people helped create this region’s first non-Indigenous households? Did you know that Black people helped build Asheville and connected Asheville globally? Black entrepreneurs created thriving business districts. Black families cultivated close-knit neighborhoods. Black people from all backgrounds built resilient communities and fostered social change.
Immerse yourself in the history and heroism of Black Ashevillians by walking the Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail. Deepen your understanding with articles, videos, and more resources available here on the trail’s website.
Follow the Trail
Experience this trail in pieces as you explore Asheville or start at one of our three introduction kiosks to learn more about how Black people in Asheville negotiated landscapes of unequal power to build resilient communities and foster social change.
Growing Minds has published “I Tried Local…” a Toolkit for Engaging Kids with Local Food and Farms. This resource—intended for early care and education through second grade classrooms—offers an immersive curriculum designed around 10 crops grown in North Carolina. The print toolkit is currently available to educators in North Carolina who participate in a virtual training with Growing Minds. A free digital version is also available to anyone on the Growing Minds website.
There is no better way to DISCOVER and EXPLORE Asheville! Hop-on board one of Gray Line’s nostalgic trolleys for a fully narrated day tour, highlighting the history, homes, hang-outs and hot spots of this “city of surprises.”
Tour Highlights include . . . Downtown Asheville | Montford Historic District | The Grove Park Inn and Grove Park Historic District | Thomas Wolfe District | Pack Square and Asheville Art Museum | Grove Arcade | River Arts District | Biltmore Village
Hop-On and hear the story of a city rich in architecture, history and the arts . . .
Hop-Off and experience its eclectic shops and galleries; its world class culinary and craft brew scenes.
Tour Duration: The complete tour (one loop) lasts approximately 90 to 100 minutes. There is an additional 15 minute stop at the Asheville Visitor Center. The Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour ticket is valid for TWO consecutive days.
Departure Points: Join the Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour at any of the 10 stops. If you’re driving in to join the tour, Stop 1, the Asheville Visitor Center may be your best option. The Visitor Center, located at 36 Montford Ave. just off I-240 at Exit 4C, offers free parking (on a first come-first served basis) and restrooms. The Asheville Visitor Center is the ONLY place to join the Overview Tour.
Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County are happy to announce for the seventeenth year we are offering School Garden Grants to Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools, including state charter schools.
We provide a notice of the application period along with instructions to all school principals, elementary through senior high. Additional information is available on our website, buncombemastergardener.org where you can learn more about the guidelines for receiving a grant and get access to the online 2024 School Garden Grants Application.
All applications must be completed online. Completed applications will be accepted beginning January 12, 2024, and must be submitted no later than 9 p.m. on February 15, 2024. If you have any questions, please call the Extension Office at 828-255-5522.
We are proud of our partnership with Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools. Since 2007, we have awarded 60 School Garden Grants totaling over $47,000. These grants have involved more than 17,500 students and hundreds of teachers, parents, and community volunteers.
School gardens grow more than plants. They grow imagination and creativity. They make math and science come alive, and they build community. We hope your school will join us in 2024.
Click on the link below to review the guidelines for school garden grants:
Guidelines for 2024 School Garden Grants
Buncombe County students interested in entering the field of conservation, agriculture or another natural resource program can win a $1,000 scholarship from The Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District.
The William Hamilton Memorial Scholarship will provide a student with money to go towards their studies. Eligible students must attend or plan to attend an accredited college or university and must submit a proposal for a volunteer conservation project in Buncombe County.
One winner will be selected by a committee of Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District staff and Supervisors and the funds will be dispersed directly to the institution upon completion of the volunteer project.
Scholarship Timeline:
February 28, 2024 – Deadline to apply
April 11, 2024 – Winning applicant announced
June 30, 2024 – Deadline to complete volunteer project
July 11, 2024 – Presentation to the Board, award dispersed
The winner is also expected to attend a Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District Board meeting to present the results of their project and accept their scholarship.
Find the application below. Completed applications and questions can be sent to [email protected].
The application can also be mailed to:
Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District
Attn: Jen Knight and Rose Wall
49 Mount Carmel Road
Asheville NC, 28806
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ONLINE | Asynchronous Class Open February 15 through April 30, 2024; With course materials and online discussion session.
Instructor: Carlton Burke
$125 Non-member Adult**
(**Arboretum Members receive a 10% discount on all classes.)
BRN – Core (Part 1 of 2; Vertebrate Zoology Parts I and II must be completed to fulfill the core requirement for the certificate program.)
Limit: 50
Asynchronous Series Open February 15 through April 30. Part I consists of six pre-recorded lectures with course materials; Supplemented with an Online Interactive Discussion Session on Tuesday, February 27, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., with Instructor Carlton Burke.
Videos and assignments for Part I will focus on different groups of vertebrate animals – fish, amphibians, and reptiles.
The Southern Appalachian Mountain region is quite diverse in the many different species of vertebrate animals that make their home here. In this series of classes, students will learn the basic identification and natural history of many of our mountain wildlife species. All six lectures of Part I will be released asynchronously – or on demand – on February 15th and will be available through April 30th in 2024. On-demand delivery allows participants to view the lectures at times most convenient for them, to pause and absorb the knowledge from the videos in ways best suited to different learning styles! Then take advantage of interactive opportunities to meet the instructor for an in-person Lunch & Learn discussion or an online Q & A. Continue in March with Vertebrate Zoology of the Blue Ridge II to learn about the region’s birds and mammals.
Carlton Burke is a naturalist and educator who operates Carolina Mountain Naturalists, an educational service which offers wildlife and nature educational programs throughout western North Carolina. He also was on the staff of the western North Carolina Nature Center in Asheville for over 25 years as the Curator of Exhibits. Carlton co-hosts a weekly radio program NATURE NEWS and is also a NC state and federally licensed wildlife rehabilitator.
Mini-grant applications are available three times during the 2023-2024 school year. You may apply one time during this cycle. Mini-grants must be used within a year after receiving the funding.
Applications due by:
- November 30, 2023
- January 30, 2024
- March 30, 2024
If you have questions about your eligibility to apply for funding, please email us at [email protected] before submitting your application. We are unable to provide mini-grants to schools located outside of our 23-county service area or to folks who have received a grant from us within the past year. Learn more and apply here!
Join us for a North Carolina winery tour and celebrate a date night, bachelorette party, retirement, family, or a weekend away while sampling our favorite local beverages along the way. Our standard tour includes visits to three Asheville area vineyards. With safe and reliable transportation provided, you can sit back, relax and just have fun.
Included:
- Round trip transportation*
- Three vineyard visits
- Tastings at two of your three stops. Let’s just say that the pours at the first couple of locations are generous so we like to leave the third-stop beverage choice up to you.
- Time commitment = up to 5 hours
Want to include specific vineyards on your Asheville wine tours? If you have “must-see” wineries in mind or want to craft a full day catered to your group’s interests, we’re always happy to create a custom experience. Reach out any time!
| Join us to learn about the EcoExplore Program and the fascinating diversity of BIRDS!! |
Explore the Rich Heritage of Black Communities in Asheville
The Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail leads visitors through three areas of Asheville: Downtown, Southside, and the River Area. The entire trail takes approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes to walk and read.
Reflecting on Community Resolve
Did you know that Black people helped create this region’s first non-Indigenous households? Did you know that Black people helped build Asheville and connected Asheville globally? Black entrepreneurs created thriving business districts. Black families cultivated close-knit neighborhoods. Black people from all backgrounds built resilient communities and fostered social change.
Immerse yourself in the history and heroism of Black Ashevillians by walking the Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail. Deepen your understanding with articles, videos, and more resources available here on the trail’s website.
Follow the Trail
Experience this trail in pieces as you explore Asheville or start at one of our three introduction kiosks to learn more about how Black people in Asheville negotiated landscapes of unequal power to build resilient communities and foster social change.
Sit back if you dare as we illuminate Asheville’s darkest history with astonishing stories of spirits & spies, ghosts & goblins, hauntings & hoodlums and mountain-made murder & mayhem.
Hear stories of . . .
The legendary PINK LADY at the Grove Park Inn
The GHOST of Church Street
The 1936 UNSOLVED MURDER that shook Asheville
The CHILD SPIRITS at the haunted hospital
The architect walled into his own church!
The KILLING SPREE of 1906
NAZI AGENTS based in Asheville
ARSON at hospital that claimed Zelda Fitzgerald
There is no better way to DISCOVER and EXPLORE Asheville! Hop-on board one of Gray Line’s nostalgic trolleys for a fully narrated day tour, highlighting the history, homes, hang-outs and hot spots of this “city of surprises.”
Tour Highlights include . . . Downtown Asheville | Montford Historic District | The Grove Park Inn and Grove Park Historic District | Thomas Wolfe District | Pack Square and Asheville Art Museum | Grove Arcade | River Arts District | Biltmore Village
Hop-On and hear the story of a city rich in architecture, history and the arts . . .
Hop-Off and experience its eclectic shops and galleries; its world class culinary and craft brew scenes.
Tour Duration: The complete tour (one loop) lasts approximately 90 to 100 minutes. There is an additional 15 minute stop at the Asheville Visitor Center. The Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour ticket is valid for TWO consecutive days.
Departure Points: Join the Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour at any of the 10 stops. If you’re driving in to join the tour, Stop 1, the Asheville Visitor Center may be your best option. The Visitor Center, located at 36 Montford Ave. just off I-240 at Exit 4C, offers free parking (on a first come-first served basis) and restrooms. The Asheville Visitor Center is the ONLY place to join the Overview Tour.
Buncombe County students interested in entering the field of conservation, agriculture or another natural resource program can win a $1,000 scholarship from The Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District.
The William Hamilton Memorial Scholarship will provide a student with money to go towards their studies. Eligible students must attend or plan to attend an accredited college or university and must submit a proposal for a volunteer conservation project in Buncombe County.
One winner will be selected by a committee of Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District staff and Supervisors and the funds will be dispersed directly to the institution upon completion of the volunteer project.
Scholarship Timeline:
February 28, 2024 – Deadline to apply
April 11, 2024 – Winning applicant announced
June 30, 2024 – Deadline to complete volunteer project
July 11, 2024 – Presentation to the Board, award dispersed
The winner is also expected to attend a Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District Board meeting to present the results of their project and accept their scholarship.
Find the application below. Completed applications and questions can be sent to [email protected].
The application can also be mailed to:
Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District
Attn: Jen Knight and Rose Wall
49 Mount Carmel Road
Asheville NC, 28806
Mini-grant applications are available three times during the 2023-2024 school year. You may apply one time during this cycle. Mini-grants must be used within a year after receiving the funding.
Applications due by:
- November 30, 2023
- January 30, 2024
- March 30, 2024
If you have questions about your eligibility to apply for funding, please email us at [email protected] before submitting your application. We are unable to provide mini-grants to schools located outside of our 23-county service area or to folks who have received a grant from us within the past year. Learn more and apply here!
Join us for a North Carolina winery tour and celebrate a date night, bachelorette party, retirement, family, or a weekend away while sampling our favorite local beverages along the way. Our standard tour includes visits to three Asheville area vineyards. With safe and reliable transportation provided, you can sit back, relax and just have fun.
Included:
- Round trip transportation*
- Three vineyard visits
- Tastings at two of your three stops. Let’s just say that the pours at the first couple of locations are generous so we like to leave the third-stop beverage choice up to you.
- Time commitment = up to 5 hours
Want to include specific vineyards on your Asheville wine tours? If you have “must-see” wineries in mind or want to craft a full day catered to your group’s interests, we’re always happy to create a custom experience. Reach out any time!
| Environmental Educators from Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation are coming to celebrate the season with stories, songs, and a shelter building activity! |
Explore the dark side of Beer City on LaZoom’s Ghosted Tour!
Duration
1 hour
About
Come enjoy our most popular Asheville tour!
About
Bachelorette/Bachelor Parties are not permitted on this tour. The Fender Bender Bus is bachelorette/bachelor friendly!
Learn about Asheville’s strange, sometimes sordid past from our ghoulish guides. You’ll laugh! You’ll scream! You’ll discover mysteries and chilling tales of scandal and murder on the blood-stained streets of this picturesque town!
Ghosted runs approximately 60 minutes. Beer and wine are welcome onboard, but no open containers, and absolutely no liquor, please! All beer and wine must be purchased from the LaZoom Room. (Passengers must be at least 21 years old to drink on the bus, and must have valid ID.)
Age Restrictions
17 and up. No exceptions.
What’s Included
A bunch of bus seats
History of murders, ghosts and tragedies in the Land of the Sky
Tongue-in-cheek comedy
A live (not dead) tour guide
What’s Not Included
Bathroom breaks (It’s 60 minutes long – plan accordingly!)
Beer or Wine (Purchase at our bar, the LaZoom Room, and take on the bus)
Laughing (we’ll give you the funny, but it’s up to you to laugh)
Gratuity (guides only accept dead president currency)
Waitlist
If your desired time and availability is full, then please give us a call to be added to the waitlist.
Explore the Rich Heritage of Black Communities in Asheville
The Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail leads visitors through three areas of Asheville: Downtown, Southside, and the River Area. The entire trail takes approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes to walk and read.
Reflecting on Community Resolve
Did you know that Black people helped create this region’s first non-Indigenous households? Did you know that Black people helped build Asheville and connected Asheville globally? Black entrepreneurs created thriving business districts. Black families cultivated close-knit neighborhoods. Black people from all backgrounds built resilient communities and fostered social change.
Immerse yourself in the history and heroism of Black Ashevillians by walking the Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail. Deepen your understanding with articles, videos, and more resources available here on the trail’s website.
Follow the Trail
Experience this trail in pieces as you explore Asheville or start at one of our three introduction kiosks to learn more about how Black people in Asheville negotiated landscapes of unequal power to build resilient communities and foster social change.
Sit back if you dare as we illuminate Asheville’s darkest history with astonishing stories of spirits & spies, ghosts & goblins, hauntings & hoodlums and mountain-made murder & mayhem.
Hear stories of . . .
The legendary PINK LADY at the Grove Park Inn
The GHOST of Church Street
The 1936 UNSOLVED MURDER that shook Asheville
The CHILD SPIRITS at the haunted hospital
The architect walled into his own church!
The KILLING SPREE of 1906
NAZI AGENTS based in Asheville
ARSON at hospital that claimed Zelda Fitzgerald
There is no better way to DISCOVER and EXPLORE Asheville! Hop-on board one of Gray Line’s nostalgic trolleys for a fully narrated day tour, highlighting the history, homes, hang-outs and hot spots of this “city of surprises.”
Tour Highlights include . . . Downtown Asheville | Montford Historic District | The Grove Park Inn and Grove Park Historic District | Thomas Wolfe District | Pack Square and Asheville Art Museum | Grove Arcade | River Arts District | Biltmore Village
Hop-On and hear the story of a city rich in architecture, history and the arts . . .
Hop-Off and experience its eclectic shops and galleries; its world class culinary and craft brew scenes.
Tour Duration: The complete tour (one loop) lasts approximately 90 to 100 minutes. There is an additional 15 minute stop at the Asheville Visitor Center. The Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour ticket is valid for TWO consecutive days.
Departure Points: Join the Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour at any of the 10 stops. If you’re driving in to join the tour, Stop 1, the Asheville Visitor Center may be your best option. The Visitor Center, located at 36 Montford Ave. just off I-240 at Exit 4C, offers free parking (on a first come-first served basis) and restrooms. The Asheville Visitor Center is the ONLY place to join the Overview Tour.
the Arboretum will celebrate its Great Backyard Bird Count Day with beginner bird walks, bird crafts and live bird demonstrations available to the public. This is in conjunction with the Great Backyard Bird Count, an international effort to encourage people of all ages to report their observations of birds to help scientists learn about their populations. This program is free; however, standard non-member parking fees apply.
| Time | Activity | Location |
| 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Indoor Exhibitors | Education Center Lobby |
| 10:00 a.m. | Introduction to eBird | Education Center Classrooms |
| 10:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. | Bird Crafts | Education Center Lobby |
| 10:00 a.m. through 3:00 p.m. | Bird Mist Netting Demonstration | Bird-Friendly Garden |
| 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. | Live Streaming Mist Netting Demonstration | Bird-Friendly Garden |
| 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. | Beginning Bird Walk 1, Arboretum Staff | Starting at Education Center Lobby |
| 3:00 p.m. | Live Raptor Demonstration | Education Center Classrooms |
| 1:00 p.m. | Beginning Bird Walk 2, Ventures Birdwatching Tours | Starting at Education Center Lobby |
Join us for a North Carolina winery tour and celebrate a date night, bachelorette party, retirement, family, or a weekend away while sampling our favorite local beverages along the way. Our standard tour includes visits to three Asheville area vineyards. With safe and reliable transportation provided, you can sit back, relax and just have fun.
Included:
- Round trip transportation*
- Three vineyard visits
- Tastings at two of your three stops. Let’s just say that the pours at the first couple of locations are generous so we like to leave the third-stop beverage choice up to you.
- Time commitment = up to 5 hours
Want to include specific vineyards on your Asheville wine tours? If you have “must-see” wineries in mind or want to craft a full day catered to your group’s interests, we’re always happy to create a custom experience. Reach out any time!
PSABC is proud to once again participate in the National Arts & Crafts Conference with our Historic Home Tour. This conference draws Arts & Crafts enthusiasts from all over the country for a weekend of seminars, group discussions, demonstrations, selling shows and our home tour.
This year, the Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County is pleased to offer four or more unique historic homes for the Historic Home Tour. The homes on the tour are located in the historic Montford Neighborhood. Planning for the Montford Neighborhood we know today began in 1889 as Asheville’s first electric streetcar suburb by the Asheville Loan, Construction and Improvement Company. Development proceeded slowly until business tycoon George W. Pack took over the enterprise. The sprawling and irregularly shaped residential neighborhood grew to include a collection of houses representing a variety of architectural styles from the early twentieth century, which are included on this tour
Join the Buncombe County Special Collections and our partners from the Thomas Wolfe Memorial and Vance Birthplace State Historic Sites for a mini-symposium examining issues of race in Thomas Wolfe’s Asheville and how those themes continue to impact our community in the present.
Saturday, February 17, 2024, 2:30 pm, Lord Auditorium Dr. Darin Waters (Deputy Secretary of Archives and History for North Carolina) and Dr. Kevin Young (Appalachian State University) will present short lectures on Thomas Wolfe’s examination of race in his works Welcome to Our City and Child By Tiger followed by a facilitated Q&A.
Light refreshments will be provided courtesy of the Mountain History and Culture Group.
A 2 hour hands-on experience with a Barista learning about espresso on a pro espresso machine. Anyone who has a home espresso machine and wants to learn their way around the machine, make better espresso, steam latte better, or is looking to get a machine would enjoy taking this workshop and learn a lot! We use only locally roasted beans in all our offerings. 4 people per class. $125 a person.
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