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.

Thursday, January 7, 2021
2021 Asheville Fringe Festival
Jan 7 @ 8:00 am – 11:30 pm
Online w/ Asheville Fringe Arts Festival
THU JAN 21
Christmas at Biltmore Daytime Celebration
Jan 7 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Biltmore

Buy tickets online to save up to $8 per admission. Check website for hours of operation.
Treat yourself to the beloved estate tradition known as Christmas at Biltmore, when America’s Largest Home®, Antler Hill Village, and the entire estate are at their most enchanting.
A daytime visit to Biltmore is a feast for the senses, featuring wreaths, garlands, and the sparkle of thousands of ornaments, from Biltmore House to Antler Hill Village!
Free Online Courses: More Than 100 Languages Now Available
Jan 7 @ 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
online w/ Buncombe County Libraries

Planning a trip to Italy to celebrate a special anniversary? Have a child in school that needs extra practice in a foreign language? Just want to brush up that language you studied for four years in school, but somehow can’t seem to remember at all? We’ve got you covered.

Buncombe County Public Libraries now offers Transparent Language Online free to all library cardholders. Whether you’re starting at the very beginning or you’re an intermediate learner looking to enhance your vocabulary, Transparent Language Online can help. With over 110 languages to choose from, including English for non-native speakers, there is something for every learner. With mobile apps for iOS and Android devices, learners can enjoy the freedom to learn at home, in the library, or on the go.

Transparent Languages includes learning for kids of all ages. KidSpeak introduces children to English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Mandarin Chinese. The program teaches words and phrases suitable for learners’ age, needs, and interests. More than 40 activities, puzzles, and songs guide young learners through the basics, along with a cartoon friend who speaks the language.

Transparent Language will be available on NC LIVE beginning Jan. 1, 2021. For all library services, your ID is your library card number and your PIN is the last four digits of your phone number. Contact your library with any questions.

Meet Biblioboard, Buncombe Library’s Newest Digital Resource
Jan 7 @ 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
online w/ Buncombe County Libraries

Create, share, and discover with Buncombe County Public Library’s newest resource, Biblioboard.

BiblioBoard Library is an easy-to-use platform of high-quality digital content. Biblioboard offers books, articles, documents, images, audios, and videos. BiblioBoard Library is host to content from traditional publishers, indie authors, cultural institutions, and local thought leaders. Users can access BiblioBoard Library through the library’s website or on the device of their choice.

Some features of Biblioboard:

  • No waitlists or holds
  • Streaming audio and video are available on a wide variety of topics
  • Check out curated collections of the best indie authors.
  • Available for desktop, iOS, and Android devices

Local authors can submit their work for inclusion in the library catalog or publish books with Press Books. You can submit and share your work locally or nationally.

Interested? Check it out, and access Biblioboard today by clicking here.

Mel Chin’s Wake Sculpture
Jan 7 @ 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
Downtown Asheville

Wake, Mel Chin’s giant animatronic sculpture, installed in New York City’s Times Square last summer, will be on view in Asheville through March 15, 2021, at 44 Collier Avenue. Chin, a WNC based conceptual artist, was named a MacArthur Fellow in September 2019.

Wake was commissioned as part of Mel Chin: All Over the Place, a multi-site survey of his works from across many decades that took place in several New York City locations. A collaborative group, led by UNC Asheville’s STEAM Studio and The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, formed to plan and raise funds for the sculpture to be seen locally.

Wake – 60 feet long, 34 feet wide and 24 feet high, conceived and designed by the artist – was engineered, sculpted and fabricated by an interdisciplinary team of UNC Asheville students, faculty, staff and community artists led by Chin. The sculpture is interactive and features decks and places to sit and contemplate.

Wake evokes the hull of a shipwreck crossed with the skeletal remains of a marine mammal. The structure is linked with a carved, 21-foot-tall animatronic sculpture, accurately derived from a figurehead of the opera star Jenny Lind that was once mounted on the 19th century clipper ship, USS Nightingale. Jenny Lind moves subtly as she breathes and scans the sky.

Visitors can experience Wake daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 44 Collier Avenue. For more details and a schedule of programming, visit ashevillearts.com.

Mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC National Mentoring Month
Jan 7 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC various branches

January is National Mentoring Month, and this year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western North Carolina is celebrating it by recruiting more adult and high school volunteers, as well as children and youth who need an extra someone on their side.


“One truth I know,” said Lelia Duncan, Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western North
Carolina, “is that we are all called to take care of one another, to encourage, to uplift, to hold a space for
others to be listened to and valued. There is nothing more important, nothing closer to the divine, than
to be present and to take a moment to nurture those around us, especially children and youth.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC is especially effective in helping young people feel valued and heard.
Surveys of school personnel in the 2018-2019 school year show that, among BBBSWNC Littles in
community- and school/site-based programs

National Mentoring Month is the time of year where engagement from community members interested
in becoming a mentor is highest. This year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western North Carolina is
encouraging the public to go beyond just digital engagement – and become involved in real life.
Mentoring relationships are at their best when connections are made between a caring adult and a
young person who knows that someone is there to help guide them through real-life decisions.

To learn more about becoming a Big Brother or a Big Sister in Henderson County, contact Program
Coordinator Morgan Harris at (828) 507-6644 or email [email protected]. You can learn more
about serving across the 18 county region by visiting www.bbbswnc.org.

COVID-19 Testing is Available in Buncombe County
Jan 7 @ 9:30 am – 1:30 pm
Buncombe County Sports Park

Testing Site Locations in Buncombe County: Appointment required at these sites

South West Buncombe

58 Apac Dr., Asheville (Buncombe County Sports Park)
Every Thursday
9:30 a.m.- 1:30 p.m.

 

Marco Reichert “Man and Machine” Art Exhibit
Jan 7 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Bender Gallery
untitled
2020
78.8 x 59
Marco Reichert
“Man and Machine”, is a solo exhibition featuring new and pivotal works by European painter, Marco Reichert. Berlin-based Reichert is an emerging abstract painter whose current work challenges our ideas of what contemporary art is by using traditional painting techniques in conjunction with experimental “painting machines” to create multi-layered artworks. Reichert’s concept is new and unique, and his paintings exhibit a singular recognizable style. “Man and Machine” opens at the gallery on January 2, 2021 and runs through February 28, 2021.
There are convenient public parking garages located
nearby. The largest is under the Aloft Hotel with an
entrance to the garage on both S Lexington Ave
at the rear of the hotel as well the front of the hotel
on Biltmore Ave. The is also an open air parking lot
at the corner of Aston St and S Lexington Ave.
Fantastical Forms: Ceramics as Sculpture Asheville Art Museum
Jan 7 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum
Left: Virginia Scotchie, Object Maker Series, 2020, glazed stoneware. Asheville Art Museum. © Virginia Scotchie. Right: Jane Palmer, Untitled, circa 1990, glazed stoneware, 41 × 14 ¼ × 21 ½ inches. Asheville Art Museum. © Estate of Jane Palmer.

The Asheville Art Museum presents Fantastical Forms: Ceramics as Sculpture on view at the Museum November 4, 2020 through April 5, 2021. The 25 works in this exhibition—curated by associate curator Whitney Richardson—highlight the Museum’s Collection of sculptural ceramics from the last two decades of the 20th century to the present. Each work illustrates the artist’s ability to push beyond the utilitarian and transition ceramics into the world of sculpture.

North and South Carolina artists featured include Elma McBride Johnson, Neil Noland, Norm Schulman, Virginia Scotchie, Cynthia Bringle, Jane Palmer, Michael Sherrill, and Akira Satake. Works by American artists Don Reitz, Robert Chapman Turner, Karen Karnes, Toshiko Takaezu, Bill Griffith, and Xavier Toubes are also featured in the exhibition.

Bringing in the Light Asheville Gallery of Art
Jan 7 @ 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Asheville Gallery of Art

Asheville Gallery of Art’s January show, “Bringing in the Light”, features four new artists to the gallery: Olga Dorenko, Rebecca Gottesman, Donny Luke, and Susan Voorhees.
The variety of work displayed contains common themes of light, joy, and optimism for the year ahead.
December 31-January 31
Gallery Hours: Thurs-Sun Noon-5pm
Friends of the Henderson County Public Library: Book Store Open
Jan 7 @ 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Friends of the Henderson County Public Library
The public is welcome and members of the Friends get a 10 percent discount on all
purchases. (You can join the Friends at the bookstore). Anyone can donate books, CDs,
and DVDs at the store, but only during the hours it is open.

As with the book sales, everything at the bookstore is in excellent condition. Books are
shelved by author or subject so they are easy to find, and books are restocked
throughout the week. The store also sells CDs and DVDs.
The bookstore follows health guidelines. Anyone entering must wear a mask and
practice social distancing. Hand sanitizers are available. When the store is busy,
shopping is limited to 30 minutes.

Except for the bookstore manager, the Friends is an all-volunteer organization. There is
a need for more volunteers to help at the bookstore. It is a great way to meet people
who love reading while also helping to support our library system.

Weaverville Library Afternoon Book Club
Jan 7 @ 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Online w/ Weaverville Library
Weaverville Library Afternoon Book Club

Join us as we discuss Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney via ZOOM. Registration is necessary. Newcomers are welcome.

Bite Nite! 1/2 off Select Appetizers
Jan 7 @ 4:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Wild Wing Cafe

1/2 Priced Appetizers from our “Start Me Up” menu Thursday Nights from 4-10pm.
(Dine in Only)

Deli Llammma’s first Alpaca Series
Jan 7 @ 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Catawba Brewing Company - South Slope

Image may contain: text that says 'D E L I ALPACA SUPPER SERIES LlaMMMa FAMILY MEALS EVERY THURSDAY STARTING NEW YEAR'S EVE! CATAWBA brewing h ca. Sn'

Our Asheville South Slope Tasting Room has teamed up with the AVL Llammma Mammas to offer you delicious take home family-style meals and beer every Thursday!
.
Deli Llammma’s first Alpaca Series will start on New Year’s Eve with a 4-course dinner guaranteed to bring you luck in 2021!! Each dinner comes with 25% off any to-go beers at Catawba.
.
Pre-Order online at https://www.delillammma.com/alpaca-supper-series before Tuesday 12/29 5pm.
Out with the OLD in with the GOLD!!! Hello 2021!
Asheville Fit Tribe Group: 60 minute of strength training
Jan 7 @ 4:15 pm – 5:15 pm
Carrier Park

Join the Asheville Fit Tribe Group for a 60 minute of strength training. You will get personalized training with the power of the group to positively motivate you. Get ready to get a full body workout in for all fitness levels. So, no matter where you are at from beginner to collegiate athlete Trainer Preston will make sure you get a phenomenal workout. For Strength day we focus on slow controlled weight lifting. Learning how to become more aware of our bodies. We hope you give us a shot and see what we are all about!! For any question shoot Preston a text/call (984)204-0591.

Candlelight Christmas Evenings at Biltmore
Jan 7 @ 5:00 pm
Biltmore

Candlelight, firelight and live music bring holiday warmth to Biltmore House’s extravagant holiday décor during these nighttime tours. Candlelight Christmas Evenings include a self-guided candlelight tour of Biltmore House, next-day visit to the gardens, Antler Hill Village and Biltmore Winery. Evening guests can also take advantage of Antler Hill Village & Winery to enjoy free wine tastings.

Tickets may be purchased at www.biltmore.com or by phone (800-411-3812).

Online Spanish Conversation Group
Jan 7 @ 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Online w/ Pack Memorial Library
ONLINE Spanish Conversation Group

Looking to practice your Spanish Language skills? Come to the Spanish Conversation Group at Pack! The group meets once a week virtually to practice their language skills and to help each other out.

Asheville Fit Tribe Group: 60 minute of strength training
Jan 7 @ 5:15 pm – 6:15 pm
Carrier Park

Join the Asheville Fit Tribe Group for a 60 minute of strength training. You will get personalized training with the power of the group to positively motivate you. Get ready to get a full body workout in for all fitness levels. So, no matter where you are at from beginner to collegiate athlete Trainer Preston will make sure you get a phenomenal workout. For Strength day we focus on slow controlled weight lifting. Learning how to become more aware of our bodies. We hope you give us a shot and see what we are all about!! For any question shoot Preston a text/call (984)204-0591.

Winter Lights at The N.C. Arboretum
Jan 7 @ 5:30 pm – 10:30 pm
The N.C. Arboretum

Winter Lights at The N.C. Arboretum

November 20, 2020 – January 10, 2021

5:30 – 10:30 p.m. Nightly

Experience Asheville’s BRIGHTEST holiday tradition at Winter Lights at The North Carolina Arboretum. This year, guests are invited to take a dreamy ride through the Arboretum’s enchanted forest and attend Winter Lights safely within their own vehicles. In light of COVID-19, the Arboretum has converted its popular event into a drive-thru show, allowing guests to navigate through a one-mile stretch of the Arboretum’s campus and see unique exhibits covered in thousands of holiday lights. As the Arboretum’s largest fundraising event of the year, proceeds generated from Winter Lights will directly support the Arboretum’s mission-driven programming.

Designed with an artistic aesthetic, Winter Lights features beautifully lit displays and glowing landscapes nestled along the Arboretum’s woodland edge and garden areas. As part of the show’s redesign, visitors will enjoy several new nature-themed displays, including winter wildlife, colorful butterflies, a special insect lantern exhibit and a giant daisy “garden.” Celebrate the holiday season with the entire family at Winter Lights.

Asheville Fit Tribe Group: 60 minute of strength training
Jan 7 @ 6:15 pm – 7:15 pm
Carrier Park

Join the Asheville Fit Tribe Group for a 60 minute of strength training. You will get personalized training with the power of the group to positively motivate you. Get ready to get a full body workout in for all fitness levels. So, no matter where you are at from beginner to collegiate athlete Trainer Preston will make sure you get a phenomenal workout. For Strength day we focus on slow controlled weight lifting. Learning how to become more aware of our bodies. We hope you give us a shot and see what we are all about!! For any question shoot Preston a text/call (984)204-0591.

East Asheville Library Book Club Online
Jan 7 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Online w/ East Asheville Library
East Asheville Library Book Club Online

Join other literature lovers to discuss your favorite books over Zoom. This month’s pick is Year of Yes, by Shonda Rhimes. For the link to this month’s meeting, click “Sign Up.”

Art Travels: The Columbus Museum
Jan 7 @ 7:00 pm – 8:15 pm
Online w/ Asheville Art Museum

Until it’s safe to travel together for our popular Art Travels day, overnight, national, and international trips, we’re thrilled to launch virtual trips for armchair travelers each first Thursday evening! This month, we travel to The Columbus Museum in Columbus, GA.

Founded in 1953, The Columbus Museum is one of the largest museums in the Southeast and is unique for its dual concentration on American art and regional history displayed in its permanent collection, temporary exhibitions, and educational programs. When noted Columbus industrialist W.C. Bradley died in 1947, his family donated his 13-acre estate to the city of Columbus to be used as the Columbus Museum of Arts and Crafts, a new center of culture and education. As the institution grew, its collecting focus changed from exhibitions of fine art and American Indian archaeological artifacts to include American art in a variety of media including drawings, decorative arts, paintings, sculpture, photography, and artifacts that tell the story of human habitation in the Lower Chattahoochee River Valley.

For this virtual visit, Jonathan F. Walz, PhD, The Columbus Museum’s curator of American art, introduces the museum, its collection, and building, then discuss What’s Going Around: Lou Stovall and the Community Poster, 1967–1976. Community posters are graphic broadsides of grassroots origin that usually address issues of public concern with a do-it-yourself aesthetic and distribution strategy. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Washington, DC’s community posters were simultaneously vehicles for social, political, and cultural organizations, as well as objects of art. A native of Athens, GA, Lou Stovall and his workshops became the heart of community poster printmaking in Washington during the long 1960s. His collaborations spanned the artistic, the musical, and the political, creating a broad visual statement for a city and country undergoing changes on a massive scale. Stovall’s posters are in the collections of the Yale University Art Gallery and the British Museum among other public collections, and institutions such as the National Gallery of Art and the Peace Corps commissioned his distinctive works. What’s Going Around traces the early development of a master printmaker and his process, and trains the spotlight on a turbulent era of US history not unlike the contemporary moment. Following Dr. Walz’s exhibition talk, Rachel Vogt, The Columbus Museum’s academic programs manager, shares highlights of their permanent art collection.

Crime and Politics Book Club
Jan 7 @ 7:00 pm
Online w/ Malaprop's

The Crime and Politics Book Club will be held virtually during the Covid-19 pandemic. Please email [email protected] for info and instructions to attend. 

Join host and Malaprop’s Bookseller Patricia Furnish to discuss a range of books across true crime and public affairs. The club meets the first Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. Click here to learn more about the club, view important news, and find the pick for this month.

Live Stream Reader Meet Writer: The Wife Upstairs with Rachel Hawkins
Jan 7 @ 7:00 pm
Online w/ Malaprop's

We’re pleased to be part of the Reader Meet Writer series of online events hosted by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance. This event is presented by Ingram and sponsored by HarperCollins.

This event is free but registration is required. RSVP here to receive the Zoom registration link.

When you attend our events and decide to purchase the books featured, please purchase them from Malaprop’s. When you do this, you make it possible for us to conitnue bringing authors and readers together and keep more dollars in our community. If you would like to support us without purchasing a book, you may also purchase a gift card or make a donation of any amount below. Thank you!


Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates–a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is her real name. But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident. His wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies lost to the deep. Jane can’t help but see an opportunity in Eddie–not only is he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection she’s always yearned for. Yet as Jane and Eddie fall for each other, Jane is increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea, an ambitious beauty with a rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly successful southern lifestyle brand. How can she, plain Jane, ever measure up? And can she win Eddie’s heart before her past–or his–catches up to her? With delicious suspense, incisive wit, and a fresh, feminist sensibility, The Wife Upstairs flips the script on a timeless tale of forbidden romance, ill-advised attraction, and a wife who just won’t stay buried. In this vivid reimagining of one of literature’s most twisted love triangles, which Mrs. Rochester will get her happy ending?

Rachel Hawkins is the New York Times bestselling author of multiple books for young readers, and her work has been translated in over a dozen countries. She studied gender and sexuality in Victorian literature at Auburn University and currently lives in Alabama. The Wife Upstairs is her first adult novel.

Soul Work Through Art
Jan 7 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Online

Join me for this 4-week intensive program where you will dive into intuitive drawings, aura drawings and auragraphs.

Intuitive Art
Doodling your Feelings. Intuitive drawings can begin as simple doodle that will become more eloquent as you practice. You can use ballpoint pens, markers, gel pens or pastels. Draw for the surprise and joy of the process, without knowing in advance how each drawing will turn out.

Aura Drawings
Your energy field contains massive information about your life. The oval field surrounding you can reveal the energetic memory of your life before conception and to present day.

Auragraphs
An auragraph is a beautiful way of giving a psychic reading. It is a representation of a person’s life story, their past, present and potential future. A Psychic or Medium will tune into the auric field and draw a symbolic representation.

Each week we will discuss a different type of soul work. Each student will draw, read another student and receive a reading. Each reading is unique and contains information that your sitter is ready to hear, and the information Spirit wants you to have.

Be sure to bring paper and colored pencils or crayons (or anything that you would like to use to draw with).

This workshop will take place Thursday evenings at 7:30PM – for 4 weeks and 2 hours each. January 7 – 28, 2021
$90/person payable via paypal.me/mediumrobyn or Venmo (@Robyn-Wolf-11).

Aaron Goodvin
Jan 7 @ 9:00 pm
Peace Center

Hero Image

2020 CCMA Songwriter of the Year Aaron Goodvin has adapted to 2020 by continuing to connect with his audiences – fans and critics alike – through a great sense of humor and his music. Listed as a 2019 Billboard “7 Country Acts to Watch,” the talented singer-songwriter has more than 31 million streams as a performer, and has had his songs recorded by Luke Bryan, Jon Pardi, Cole Swindell, and Josh Gracin.

After being nominated for the 2020 Juno Awards Country Album of the Year, Goodvin brings his Canadian success to US country music lovers. His upcoming release “Lonely Drum” is an international, platinum hit for Warner Music Canada label. The track is Goodvin’s latest project in a list of successful singles at Canadian radio, including the #1 Billboard single “You Are” and four additional Billboard Top-10 singles.


We are committed to a safe and comfortable return to live music. These concerts provide a listening room feeling while adhering to COVID-19 CDC recommendations. Please note the following:

  • Face masks are required except when seated at your table.
  • Only 25 tables of four are available, allowing you to enjoy a socially distanced performance with your close family and friends.
  • This concert will not have an intermission.
  • All ticketing, ordering, and payment is touchless.
North Carolina to Enter Modified Stay at Home Order
Jan 7 @ 10:00 pm – Jan 8 @ 5:00 am
North Carolina
Governor Roy Cooper announced on Tuesday, December 8th that North Carolina will begin a Modified Stay at Home Order in response to a rapid increase in North Carolina’s key COVID-19 trends. The Order requires people to stay at home between the hours of 10 pm and 5 am, and takes effect Friday, December 11th. The Order is set to remain in place until January 8, 2021.
The Order requires restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, personal care businesses, and more to close at 10 pm. Travel to and from work, to obtain food, medical care, fuel or social services, or to take care of a family member is exempted from the order. FAQs on the order can be found HERE.
Friday, January 8, 2021
Around The Web w/ Brevard Music Center: Kennedy Center: Couch Concerts
Jan 8 all-day
Online w/ Brevard Music Center

Around The Web

Live-streamed performances, resources, and activities we love from around the web, updated regularly.

Kennedy Center: Couch Concerts
Launched during the Kennedy Center’s temporary closure, this series reached out to the living rooms of talented artists to see them perform their work and help us inspire, grieve, heal, and move forward as a nation. Watch now!

Around The Web w/ Brevard Music Center: Silkroad Ensemble: Home Sessions
Jan 8 all-day
Online w/ Brevard Music Center

Around The Web

Live-streamed performances, resources, and activities we love from around the web, updated regularly.


Performances and Livestreams

Silkroad Ensemble: Home Sessions
Silkroad artists shared short, musical performances live on Facebook and Instagram — bringing music of comfort and joy directly from their homes to audiences around the world! Available also for archived viewing on YouTube.

BMC Steven Chen: Ennio Morricone’s beautiful “Love Theme”
Jan 8 all-day
Online w/ Brevard Music Center

BMC alum and summer staff member Steven Chen shares his arrangement of Ennio Morricone’s beautiful “Love Theme” from Cinema Paradiso for cello ensemble. It is performed and recorded by Steven and students from Alan Stepansky’s studio at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.