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.
Friendly 5K race through Asheville’s beautiful Montford neighborhood. Includes a loop through the famous Riverside cemetery.
A unique weekend celebrating the history of Tweetsie Railroad, the ET&WNC Railroad, and mountain culture.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (828) 250-4260
Event Location: Other
Link: https://www.hikewnc.info/trailheads/shope-creek/
Distance: 1 mile
Degree of Difficulty: Moderate,Gentle Grade, Some Obstacles
Trail Description:https://www.hikewnc.info/trailheads/shope-creek/
Estimated Duration: 1.5 hours
Meetup Location: Shope CreekTrailhead Parking Area
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (828) 774-3000
Link: http://www.leicestercommunitycenter.com
Welcome Table Free Meal every Wednesday 11:30am-1:30pm
This Saturday at Grovewood Gallery, Asheville fiber artist Karen Kennedy, a graduate of Haywood Community College’s Professional Crafts Program, will demonstrate needle felting using locally dyed wool to create fall pumpkins and leaves. Pre-made versions will be available to purchase, a perfect addition to your Halloween and Thanksgiving décor.
https://www.facebook.com/events/326354097954572/
Fall is just around the corner and we couldn’t be more excited! To celebrate the beginning of our favorite time of year we are kicking off our countdown to fall mimosa series this Tuesday! Each week leading up to the first day of Fall we’ll feature a different Mimosa dedicated to all those delicious Fall flavors we love! This week our feature is an Apple Cider Mimosa- with local Apple cider, Simonet Blanc de Blanc and a cinnamon-sugar rim.
Plus, each week we offer wine specials, food specials and a complimentary champagne bar with fresh juices, fruits and Bitters for you to add to your sparkling wine (sparkling wines purchased separately).
Sept 4th- Apple Cider Mimosas
Sept 11th- Vanilla Bean Pear Mimosa
Sept 18th- Pumpkin Pie Mimosa
https://www.facebook.com/events/679259562446616/
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (828) 250-4260
Event Location: BC Sports Park – 58 Apac Cir, Asheville, NC
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (828) 774-3000
Link: http://www.leicestercommunitycenter.com
Community Art Nights – First Tuesday of each month. Different project each month. For Children and Adults.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (828) 774-3000
Link: http://www.leicestercommunitycenter.com
Welcome Table Free Meal every Wednesday 11:30am-1:30pm
Cold readings from the script which will be provided. Looking for three female actors, aged late teens to early forties. ALL EXPERIENCE LEVELS ARE ACCEPTED AND HIGHLY ENCOURAGED! You won’t want to miss this spooky show–just in time for Halloween!
https://www.facebook.com/events/261264131181196/
The Magnetic Theatre will present the world premiere of Karen Saari’s intimate, affirming, and heartfelt play, IN A CLEARING.
Mark is three months into sobriety. He is still haunted by the death of close friend, who died in an unexplained roadside accident after a night of hard partying. The looming guilt Mark secretly feels about his friend’s death has motivated him to become sober; a challenging feat in the small north woods, Wisconsin small town where he has always lived. Seeing friends, family, and the world in a whole new light; Mark rekindles a relationship with Pam, an old “friend” from school and the aggrieved sister of his dead friend, and finally solves the mysteries of his own heart.
The production is being directed by Andrew Gall, The Magnetic Theatre’s co-Artistic Director.
Featuring:
Thomas Traugaer
Emily Tynan McDaniel
Kay Galvin
Jered Shults
Scenic Design: Rodney Smith
Lighting Design: Abby Auman
Costume Design: Victoria Smith
Sound Design: Mary Zogzas
https://www.facebook.com/events/259302424887309/
JOSEPH at The Grey Eagle
There is nothing like the sound of siblings singing together. Whether it’s the Beach Boys or the Everly Brothers—or, more recently, First Aid Kit—absorbing the same breathing rhythms and speech patterns adds an element to vocal harmonies that can be pure magic. With the release of I’m Alone, No You’re Not, the mesmerizing, hypnotic sound of the trio known as Joseph—made up of sisters Allison, Meegan, and Natalie Closner—joins this elite company.
“It’s just second nature, like a fifth limb that’s already on you,” says first-born Natalie. “There’s an ability to anticipate what’s going to happen and blend with it. When Meegan and Allison sing, they know exactly what I’m going to do and when.”
But the Closners didn’t actually start singing together when they were growing up in Oregon, the children of artistic parents (their dad was a jazz singer and drummer, their mom a theater teacher). Natalie was the performer—“the older sister who stood on the edge of the fireplace and told everyone, ‘Watch me!,’“ she says. Twins Meegan and Allison stayed out of her lane, joining in for their mother’s musical theater productions but otherwise avoiding the spotlight.
When Natalie was in college, she began pursuing music more seriously. The summer before her senior year, she went to Nashville to check out the scene and work on her guitar playing and songwriting. She had recorded an EP and done a few rounds of touring when a friend sat her down one day.
“It was kind of dramatic,” she says, “He took me aside and said, ‘I don’t think you really believe in this.’ It stopped me in my tracks.” She thought deeply about the music she was making and had a curious epiphany; she decided to ask her sisters if they would consider singing with her.
Initially, they didn’t really get it. “We thought she was asking us to be background singers, so we didn’t take it that seriously,” says Allison. “It was more commitment than I was expecting—I even tried to leave at one point, but after a while, I was convinced.”
A transformation occurred when the Closners were in the process of recording their first album, Native Dreamer Kin. At the time, they were calling themselves Dearborn, but their producer felt that the name didn’t fit the strength of the music. They went to visit their grandfather Jo, in the eastern Oregon town of Joseph. Allison made a playlist for the trip and called it “Joseph,” which is what influenced the band’s name.
“Once she said it, it just hit us all—that’s what this is and who we are, these are the sounds of the land that we’ve lived on,” says Natalie.
With this new sense of themselves, Meegan and Allison began taking a more active role in the group’s songwriting. Meegan notes that while the process was a “totally new journey” for her, it felt similar to the candor and vulnerability of her long-time journaling—just “pulling out the gold and arranging that into neater lines.”
She and Natalie both point to the song “Honest” as a keystone for the development of I’m Alone, No You’re Not. “We were trying really hard to write a song, but nothing was coming,” recalls Natalie. “One night, Meegan was working on some lyrics and getting frustrated, so she wrote in the margin of the page, ‘I can’t say a true thing. It’s hard to be that honest.’ Immediately after that, her most honest sentence spilled out—‘There’s always two thoughts, one after the other: I’m alone. No, you’re not.’ And she thought, ‘Oh, there’s the song.’ “
Meanwhile, the group was cultivating a devoted fan base in the most traditional ways possible: touring the Western states playing living room shows, backyard parties, and secret house party gigs; reaching an audience directly through such platforms as Noisetrade; selling their self-released CD and building a loyal following step by step. By the time they were approached by ATO Records, Joseph had already built a strong community of fans on its own.
As they moved toward making their second record, the project took an additional turn when the Closners decided to work with some other songwriters in Los Angeles. “We were afraid of it at first because the songs were more pop than we were used to writing,” says Meegan, “but as we internalized them, they started becoming super-important to us.”
They point to “More Alive Than Dead,” co-written with Ethan Gruska, as an example of these contributions. “That song describes an experience with a partner where you have hard things in your combined past,” says Natalie. “You’re haunted by them until you realize that those things are dead, and as long as you dwell on them, you’re missing the real live person in front of you.”
She adds, though, that Gruska was critical in clarifying and sharpening the nuanced emotion of the lyric. “When Ethan sent us back the demo, I lost it, He was able to see the heart of the song and bring it out, cut to the core of what I was trying to say.”
Finally, the women of Joseph recorded the album with acclaimed producer Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Jenny Lewis, First Aid Kit) at his studio in Omaha. He was able to open up their expansive, evocative vocal sound with powerful and striking arrangements, adding depth while highlighting their haunting intensity.
“This was our first time doing a recording like this,” says Natalie, “and we learned so much about creativity. Mike is a genius, and he’s just a total maniac as a musician, so he took these bare bones songs and brought them to life with lush, gorgeous textures and sounds.”
The initial reaction to the music on I’m Alone, No You’re Not has been remarkable. Joseph was selected as a #SpotifySpotlight artist, and booked for festivals including Bonnaroo, Pickathon, and Sasquatch even prior to the release of the single “White Flag,” a song inspired by an article predicting a massive earthquake for the Pacific Northwest.
“Reading that created a heaviness that was making us jumpy, scared, and miserable,” says Natalie. “It became clear we had two options: be scared and cowering, backing away from the world into paralysis, or keep moving and live. Defy fear. Wear peace. Find better ways to love the people in our lives instead of huddling together like frightened sheep thinking about earthquakes.”
Most rewarding for the Closner sisters has been feeling the audience response to the new songs, as they tour supporting such artists as James Bay and Amos Lee. “This is really when you learn what’s special about a song, or if it’s special,” says Natalie. “It’s this crazy firecracker thing that happens—‘Am I feeling something? Is anyone? What is this song, what does it do, which parts make the most sense?’
“It really is about connection with people, and we’re so grateful we’ve gotten the chance to do that. This has been a totally wild journey, and we’re constantly blown away with possibility of what could be.”
https://www.facebook.com/events/188070488495632/
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (828) 250-4260
Event Location: BC Sports Park – 58 Apac Cir, Asheville, NC
Come and get it, honey! Queen Bee & the Honeylovers will be swinging the block tonight! There will be fabulous music, and great classes for beginners! Stay late for our post dance blues hour! Plus the venue is not only gorgeous, but they have a fabulous bar!
~~~Schedule (short version- see below for details)~~~
7 pm: Level-Up Lindy w/ Deb & Jean
8 pm: Intro to Lindy Hop w/ Deb & Jean
9-11pm: Swing AVL Dance w/ Queen Bee & The Honeylovers
11-12pm: Vintage Blues Hour w/ DJ
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PRICING: Dance/Band is $5 (includes blues hour) and classes are $10/$8 for Swing Asheville members. Vintage Blues Hour is $2 suggested donation for those who didn’t pay for Dance/Band admission.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Interested in free dances or half priced lessons? Want to help prom…http://signup.com/go/qiyRjLG
MUSIC
Queen Bee and the Honeylovers is an upbeat, nostalgic dance band that indulges in an eclectic exploration of jazz, swing and latin music styles. Their unabashedly joyous repertoire includes classic standards as well as the occasional peppering of more obscure latin and jazz tunes. Vocal-driven with an infectious groove, they’re guaranteed to put a grin on your face and a tap in your toes.
BLUES
Band finished and you’re not done dancing? You’re in luck… stick around for our vintage blues hour! Continue dancing to DJ’d music until the bar kicks us out. $2 suggested donation for those coming just for the blues hour.
FOOD: Feeling peckish? The bar has a small selection of vegan goodies to help keep your stamina up! Ask a bartender for more details.
CLASSES
7pm: Continuing Class: Level-Up Lindy w/ TDeb & Jean
For people who can do basic lindyt footwork on demand and feel comfortable doing this footwork within the context of basic social dancing. We will work on practical dance technique, common but interesting social moves / repertoire, styling, and anything else that moves your dancing forward! Remember, the more regularly you show up, the more the whole group can make progress! Come swing out with us, y’all!
“Continuing” classes are for those dancers who have cemented the basics of the dance being featured that specific month. This includes knowing (and being able to execute cleanly and consistently) basic footwork and lead/follow skills for that dance. Some continuing classes may require no advance knowledge of a dance. This will be noted in the the class description.
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8 pm: Core Class w/ TBA
In this class, we’ll focus on rhythm and lead-follow technique while learning a basic “vocabulary” of steps to build your swing dance repertoire. In just a short time, you’ll be able to get out on the dance floor with a partner and have fun dancing! For brand new dancers and those who would like to review and improve their basic steps and technique. No partner or experience necessary.
“Core” lessons stress the fundamentals of swing dancing for beginning dancers. Lessons rotate monthly to focus on a different kind of swing dance (6 Count Lindy, 8 Count Lindy, Charleston, Balboa, etc.). Because good fundamentals are hard to develop in one month, we recommend repeating Core lessons (on the same topic) to help develop the solid foundation you’ll need in continuing classes. Core lessons are also great for intermediate and advanced dancers who want to “get back to basics” or learn a different dancing role (lead vs. follow).
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GIFT CERTIFICATES
Do you want to buy a gift certificate for our classes as a gift, or to pre-pay for a block of classes for yourself? You can purchase gift certificates at the door at our weekly dance! They are $40 for a block of 4, and a great way to dive into the fun world of dance.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Sept 18: Big Dawg Slingshots
Sept 25: Low Down Sires
Oct 2: Community Jazz Jam
Oct 9: Sparrow & Her Wingmen
Oct 16: Drayton & The Dreamboats
Oct 23: Gravyhouse Storytellers
Oct 30: House Hoppers Halloween Spooktacular
https://www.facebook.com/events/2062955600382148/
Matt and Kim
plus Michael Christmas
Show: 8pm
Doors: 7pm
$25 – $28
Ages 18+
Language not suitable for all ages.
Tickets & Info: www.theorangepeel.net/event/matt-and-kim/
For many bands, making music is all about the routine of recording an annual album, or being able to tour in progressively bigger venues. Not Matt and Kim. “Our goal is to make music we want to hear,” says Matt Johnson, who co-founded the band with Kim Schifino. “When it comes time to make a new album, I’m just so excited, since I know we have all these ideas and I just want to get them out there.” As for the band’s extra-emphatic live shows, which these days happen in large venues, he explains, “We’ve always just really enjoyed playing music, and things have kept growing.”
Matt and Kim’s enthusiasm comes across loud and clear on the band’s new album, Lightning, its most diverse and developed to date. From the relentless drive of “Now” to the dance-fueled beat of “Let’s Go” to the more contemplative “Ten Dollars I Found,” Lightning is the strongest distillation yet of Matt and Kim’s unique sound: a spunky hybrid of indelible songs, an emphatic beat and almost tangible energy, mixed with the duo’s influence of listening nonstop to Top 40 Hip-Hop and pop-punk.
To make the album, Matt and Kim spent six months working in their home studio in Brooklyn, producing the record themselves. Lightning is a touch more minimal than their earlier work – with layers taken away, instead of added, enabling its intense performances and memorable tunes to really come to the forefront. “What’s made the songs on this album really strong is we’ve been able to pull a lot off – to not have so much going on – and still have a strong song,” Kim explains.
“It’s easier to make a song with a lot going on,” Matt adds. “It feels very safe. It’s like putting on a lot of clothes: you feel all covered up so no one can judge just one aspect of it, but when you try to break it down to be as simple as can be, you’re really baring it all. When you can see clearly what’s going on, those are the times that the songs are easiest to connect to.”
Connecting with their audience is certainly a key focus for Matt and Kim. The indie dance duo’s live shows – which are legendary for constant, in-your-face exuberance – feel more like vibrant, sweaty loft parties than traditional concerts, for both audiences and the band. “I think we’ve managed to continue to make them feel intimate,” says Matt. “When we first started playing venues instead of playing on the floor at parties, we tried hard to keep the vibe of ‘we’re all doing this together and having a wild time’ going. The show is not just the two of us: it’s the 3002 of us, or however big the venue is.” Or, as in the words of Rolling Stone: “Matt and Kim’s reputation as a live act precedes them – and justifiably so. Simply put, they are a two-person dynamo, frantic, tightly wound, and full of good cheer. Their performances are as physical as they are musical. . . . For sheer adrenaline-per-second, no other band comes close.”
The band started in 2004, essentially by accident when Matt and Kim were art students at the prestigious Pratt Institute, where they studied film and illustration, respectively. When Kim wanted to learn to play drums and Matt (who’d been in bands before) was getting his head around a new keyboard, the band was born. Since then, they have earned a Gold Record for the upbeat, stick-in-your-head track “Daylight,” played festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Bonnaroo, along with international festivals like V (U.K), Pukkelpop (Belgium), Fuji (Japan), Big Day Out (Australia), Primavera (Spain), Oya (Norway), SWU (Brazil), as well as hundreds of shows. They have won 3 MTV awards: a Breakthrough Video Music Award and mtvU Best Video Woodie Award for “Lessons Learned”, as well as a 2011 award for Best Live Band. Lightning is the band’s fourth album, following Sidewalks, Grand, and their self-titled debut.
Matt and Kim have always been inspired by Brooklyn’s general urban din as well as the area’s artists, yet Matt points out, “I don’t think a place can define a person. We simply write songs about us and our life so that’s why where we live comes up.”
Indeed, there’s something universal about a song with a beat that grabs you, with a great melody, played by a band that simply loves to play music. And that, in Williamsburg and way beyond, is the key to the universal appeal of Matt and Kim.
www.mattandkimmusic.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyVzPx4ecHA
https://www.facebook.com/events/250605672364492/
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (828) 774-3000
Link: http://www.leicestercommunitycenter.com
Welcome Table Free Meal every Wednesday 11:30am-1:30pm
The Asheville Affiliates, was founded in 1999 as a social networking group for young professionals to benefit area nonprofits. The organization has grown into a community network of more than 3,000 members. The organization has raised more than $265,000 for 50 nonprofits. Membership is free and all Affiliates fundraising events are open to the public. More information at ashevilleaffiliates.com.
Cost covers 11×14 canvas, step-by-step instructions and all supplies!
https://www.facebook.com/events/322109515014065/
The King is Returning
https://www.facebook.com/events/260360611276551/
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (828) 250-4260
Event Location: Lake Julian Park – 406 Overlook Extension Arden, NC
Opening Sept. 15, 2018 – Nov. 4, 2018
Come to the prettiest, most authentic pumpkin patch in the Smoky Mountains. An affordable excursion for the whole family, complete with your very own pumpkin picked right out of the field. Meet amazing hayride drivers (who are the actual farmers) and experience the beautiful scenery of the place we call home.
$8 per person, includes any size pumpkin.
Children under 3 are free to ride the hayride, and paying parents are welcome to give them their pumpkin.
Additional pumpkins from the pumpkin patch are $4.
https://www.facebook.com/events/490214898055778/
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (828) 250-4260
Event Location: BC Sports Park – 58 Apac Cir, Asheville, NC
This year, Eliada will maintain some beloved attractions including the tractor ride, which now drives all the way around the Corn Maze, jumping pillow, corn kernel sand box, spider web climber, tube slides, and corn cannons.
Tuesday – Thursday: 9am-3pm
Friday: 9am-8pm
Saturday: 10am- 8pm
Sunday: 10am-6pm
For the French aristocrat in all of us, this rough-cut, crown-emerald of a race sweeps participants through a mystical journey, back to a time, when the estate might have resembled an 15th century countryside plantation, complete with a game-stocked forest, working vineyards, and a cold mountain river rushing by. Racers on this day will be lords of the land they claim under fast plowing feet & spokes.
The Asheville off-road series of multi-sport events at Biltmore Estate consists of 3 main events, each come with various privileges for participation. All three of the off-road events in September are entirely on the historic grounds of the Biltmore Estate property. The Asheville Duathlon and Gravel Grinder events both get to explore the west side of Biltmore Estate, which is typically off-limits to guests. Join endurance athletes of all abilities and step to the start line, hearts booming in anticipation, to challenge mind and body while competing in the Annual Multi-Sport event series held at Biltmore Estate.
The Asheville Duathlon
The Asheville Duathlon is a 5k road run, 13.25 mile off-road bike, and a final 5k packed dirt off-road run. The off-road bike is non-technical riding on the west side of the estate, which is typically off-limits to regular guests at the estate. Individual participants or 2 or 3 person relay teams available. Kids can join in on the fun also! We recommend a relay team option. The bike rider must be at least 10 years old for any relay team.
The Gravel Grinders
The Asheville Gravel Grinder Bike Events come packed with something for every type of rider, a 20, 40 or 60 mile option. Whether you are a seasoned athlete, a weekend warrior or scenery seeking rider, these events are for you! The Gravel Grinder Bike races are the only bike events at the estate that allows the participant to access the front of Biltmore House on their bike.
10k Off-Road Run
The Asheville 10k Run at Biltmore features a newly designed, off-road 10k, featuring some paved, packed dirt and trail that takes the runner to a marvelous adventure with new views of the Biltmore House.
This year, Eliada will maintain some beloved attractions including the tractor ride, which now drives all the way around the Corn Maze, jumping pillow, corn kernel sand box, spider web climber, tube slides, and corn cannons.
Tuesday – Thursday: 9am-3pm
Friday: 9am-8pm
Saturday: 10am- 8pm
Sunday: 10am-6pm
This year, Eliada will maintain some beloved attractions including the tractor ride, which now drives all the way around the Corn Maze, jumping pillow, corn kernel sand box, spider web climber, tube slides, and corn cannons.
Tuesday – Thursday: 9am-3pm
Friday: 9am-8pm
Saturday: 10am- 8pm
Sunday: 10am-6pm
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (828) 774-3000
Link: http://www.leicestercommunitycenter.com
Manna Food Distribution every third Tuesday at 2:30pm
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (828) 250-4260
Event Location: BC Sports Park – 58 Apac Cir, Asheville, NC
This year, Eliada will maintain some beloved attractions including the tractor ride, which now drives all the way around the Corn Maze, jumping pillow, corn kernel sand box, spider web climber, tube slides, and corn cannons.
Tuesday – Thursday: 9am-3pm
Friday: 9am-8pm
Saturday: 10am- 8pm
Sunday: 10am-6pm
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (828) 774-3000
Link: http://www.leicestercommunitycenter.com
Welcome Table Free Meal every Wednesday 11:30am-1:30pm