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.
Introducing our ReadWNC series! Join the Western North Carolina Historical Association (WNCHA) for these three events. With authors and historians, we will explore the facts behind the fiction in these books centered in WNC. We encourage you to read the books in advance and bring your own questions to the discussion. You can find all three books at Malaprop’s Bookstore here in Asheville.
Each event airs live via Zoom, and will be recorded for later viewing. Register for individual events or for all three at a discounted rate!
The series dates are:
Tuesday, May 24 from 6:00-7pm – Even as We Breathe
Tuesday, July 19 from 6:00-7pm – Guests on Earth
Tuesday, October 4 from 6:00-7pm – The Ballad of Frankie Silver
Our series begins with the 2021 winner of our Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award: Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle’s novel Even As We Breathe. Dr. Catherine Frank, Chair of the award selection committee, says, “Even As We Breathe immerses us in a specific place and time, Asheville’s Grove Park Inn when it was being used to house Axis diplomats and their families in 1942, and in the Qualla Boundary where Cherokee traditions are deeply embedded but in conflict with an ever encroaching outside world. But the story of Cowney Sequoyah and Essie Stamper is also timeless and universal, exploring what it means to lose innocence and to find ‘who we are supposed to be.’ Most importantly, the book is beautifully written, with convincing, well-drawn characters and compelling imagery that tie the various stories together. This first novel by an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians exemplifies the quality of the most compelling regional writing.”
About the Presenters:
Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and resides in Qualla, NC with her husband, Evan and sons Ross and Charlie. She holds degrees from Yale University and the College of William and Mary. Her debut novel, Even As We Breathe, was released by the University Press of Kentucky in 2020, a finalist for the Weatherford Award and named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2020. In 2021, it received the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award. Her first novel manuscript, Going to Water is winner of the Morning Star Award for Creative Writing from the Native American Literature Symposium (2012) and a finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction (2014). Clapsaddle’s work has appeared in Yes! Magazine, Lit Hub, Smoky Mountain Living Magazine, South Writ Large and The Atlantic. After serving as executive director of the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, Annette returned to teaching at Swain County High School. She is the former co-editor of the Journal of Cherokee Studies and serves on the board of trustees for the North Carolina Writers Network.
Dr. Barbara R. Duncan received her Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania. She coordinated “Folk Arts in the Schools” in Macon County for several years, worked for The Foxfire Fund, and went on to spend twenty-three years at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, where she wrote grants, researched, wrote books, and coordinated festivals and community-based programs to revitalize Cherokee traditions. Now retired from the Museum, Duncan teaches Cherokee language as Assistant Adjunct Professor at University of North Carolina Asheville. With a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, she has created a new method for learning Cherokee language and authored a series of textbooks and a website at www.yourgrandmotherscherokee.com. Duncan has written award-winning books about Cherokee history and culture, including Living Stories of the Cherokee, which received the Thomas Wolfe Literary Award and the World Storytelling Award; and The Cherokee Heritage Trails Guidebook (co-authored with Brett H. Riggs) which received the Presidential Preserve Freedom Award and the Willie Parker Peace Prize. Her most recent book is Cherokee Clothing in the 1700s, published by the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.
Tickets: We hope you will register for the entire series, but individual event tickets are available as well. We also have two no-cost, community-funded tickets available per event.
—For this event only – $5 for WNCHA members/$10 for general admission
—For the entire series – $10 for WNCHA members/$20 for general admission
Note* For those registering for the entire series, you need only to register here once. You will be manually added to the upcoming events.

| We will be discussing The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune. This in-person discussion is limited to 10 people. Pre-registration is required. Please email [email protected] to registe |
Atlanta’s Tiffany Burke is back in Asheville!
Tiffany Burke is a comedian, actor, improviser, and writer based in Atlanta, GA. A Georgia native that travels the world consulting and bringing laughs.
Tiffany spent the last 18 months of the pandemic becoming a Club House Influencer and Club House Rap Monologue champion flexing her voice over skills learned from decades of Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. Tiffany is an American job creator, mother of two, and lover of crystal healing who uses her unusual life experiences and interests in her hilarious stories and comedy. Tiffany is smart, funny, congenial, and multifaceted. Her humorous, captivating comedy and charming attitude delights all the crowds.
featuring Krystle Pierce and Willonius Hatcher
ages 21+ (must have ID with you)
Tickets $12
Stand-Up Comedy Open Mic in downtown Asheville


Comedy Open Mic at Asheville Music Hall in downtown Asheville. Every Weds. 8pm. Doors and comic sign up at 7pm. Free

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6:00pm – 8:00pm
Open mic comedy every Thursday from 6-8pm at Ginger’s Revenge Tasting Room.
Rotating hosts each week Clay Jones, James Burks and Katy Hudson
No cover
Signup starts at 5:30, and signup order will not necessarily be show order. Each comic gets 5 mins of stage time
Cali Sober is a monthly comedy show featuring sober and soberish comedians from Asheville and all over the country!
Featuring Cody Hughes, Morgan Bost, Katy Hudson and Paul Hooper
ages 18+
Tickets $15, VIP $22
VIP tickets include two CBD pre rolled joints that you can smoke at the show!

Thursday May 26, 2022Slice of Life Comedy presents the return of comedy nights at The Orange Peel’s Pulp Lounge in Asheville, NC.
(Slice of Life Comedy has been producing quality, premier comedy shows at the Orange Peel for over 10 years)
Pulp Lounge is located in the Orange Peel’s basement at 103 Hilliard Ave, around the corner from the Box Office entrance
Hosted by one of Asheville’s beloved comics,Cody Hughes Featuring James Harrod:James Harrod is a stand up comedian originally from Raleigh now living in Asheville, North Carolina. In addition to hosting the Comedy Freakshow every Tuesday night at The Odditorium, he also performs around the east coast opening for comedians like Sean Patton, Yedoye Travis, Michael Palascak, Brandie Posey and many more. Out of all the comics in his scene he was voted most needy and desperate for attention.
Show Time: May 26, 8:30p (Doors at 8p— music from Buzz Radio Asheville “All Asheville Music and Comedy, All the Time”)
Ticket: $15 Tickets at theorangepeel.net and door
Craft Drink specials & snacks available
[Comics sign up to perform at door. Performing comics get in free (+free year membership). New-to-venue performers get 3-5m. Regular comics get as much time as available. Look for light, check with Cody when you get there for time and lineup]
Contact Michele Scheve at [email protected] for more info/any questions or sign up early or request a future feature comedy (paid 20m) spot.
*Pulp is one of Asheville’s finest craft cocktail lounges, located underneath The Orange Peel. This self acclaimed Bourbon bar has 284 different fine bourbon/whiskey selections, which we’re almost sure it’s the most in the entire state. Bourbon connoisseurs from thousands of miles can’t believe their eyes, but don’t worry, The Pulp has a little bit of everything.
Romance Book Club is a space to celebrate love in literature. Whether it’s set in early 1800s London, a distant planet years into the future, a fantasy world of magic, or our own contemporary universe, we are here for the stories that end with a happily-ever-after (or at least a happily-for-now).
Meetings will take place at 7:00 PM ET on the last Tuesday of each month via Zoom. Please visit the Romance Bookclub page for the monthly selection, and email Samantha at [email protected] for the link to join.
Stand-Up Comedy Open Mic in downtown Asheville


Comedy Open Mic at Asheville Music Hall in downtown Asheville. Every Weds. 8pm. Doors and comic sign up at 7pm. Free

-
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Open mic comedy every Thursday from 6-8pm at Ginger’s Revenge Tasting Room.
Rotating hosts each week Clay Jones, James Burks and Katy Hudson
No cover
Signup starts at 5:30, and signup order will not necessarily be show order. Each comic gets 5 mins of stage time
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.
What: Stand up Comedy at The Orange Peel’s Pulp Lounge
When: Thursday 6.2.22. 8p-11p
Where: The Orange Peel’s Comedy Basement, Pulp Lounge103 Hilliard Ave, Downtown Asheville
Tickets: $15 (available at door or theorangepeel.net)
For More info: contact Michele at [email protected]
*** If time allows, there will be a (3m ea) comedy open mic after the show***
Stand up comedy featuring Kylie Vincent with special guest feature Andy Sanford with Tamar Rubin & Petey Smith McDowell. Hosted by Cody Hughes
Special guest: Andy Sandford is a comedian who got funny in Atlanta, moved to New York City, established himself as one if NY’s top tier comics and moved back to Atlanta in 2021 to record his latest album with 800lbs Gorilla Records. It’s called “Basket Case” and comes out June 10th. Andy has performed his jokes on Conan and The Late Late Show with James Corden. Andy’s debut album, Me the Whole Time; was one of Splitsider’s “9 Best Standup Albums of The Year.“ His hour special, “Shameful Information,” is currently featured on Amazon Prime. Sandford even played an animated version of himself on Adult Swim’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force. The Village Voice called him, “one of New York’s comedic gems;” a nice gesture, but not enough to keep him in New York. Andy is out of Atlanta now (sorry NY).
Kylie Vincent is a 22 year old stand-up, activist, and theater artist in New York City, currently traveling with her solo show BIRD and performing stand-up across the United States. New York audiences say Vincent is “a hilarious, thoughtful, badass” and BIRD is “honest, hilarious and tear jerking.” Vincent has sold out her solo show in Los Angeles (Lyric Hyperion Theatre), Austin (Fallout Theatre), & as a guest artist at LSU & Sewanee University. Other favorite credits include Adult Swim, NBC, Amsterdam Tour & headlining in Atlanta.
Host Cody Hughes is a comedian who cut his teeth in Chicago and Atlanta. He is now based out of West North Carolina and tours the Southeast. He has opened for Lewis Black, John Oliver and Maria Bamford among others and hosts the regular Slice of Life Comedy shows at The Orange Peel’s Pulp Lounge.
The Friends of the Enka-Candler Library Big Book Sale is back!
They’ll be hosting two days of sales from the Library community room. Stock up for summer and for the rest of the year. Plenty of deals on books you don’t want to miss from children’s books to adult, plus music, DVDs and tote bags.
All proceeds from the sale go back to the Enka-Candler Library from programs to furniture.
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Meta Commerse is a Blues Doula. A former professor of History and English, she’s an award-winning author. Among her works are short stories, essays, poetry, numerous newspaper articles, one stage play, her story medicine novel, The Mending Time, and memoir Womaning. She earned her MFA degree at Goddard College in Vermont. Meta is a social entrepreneur, creator of Story Medicine Worldwide, a community-based healing movement. She is a performing artist, singing jazz, blues, and gospel music. She is the mother of three adult children and grandmother to three young adult grandsons. |
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Chaotic Comedy is a night of Improv, Sketch, Magic and Stand Up Comedy all in one show!!! Anything can happen
Lineup: TBA
ages 18+
BYOB
Tickets $15
Kevin McCaffrey is a comic, actor and writer living in NYC. He made his network TV debut on The Late Show with David Letterman in 2013, after which he was hired as the show’s warm-up comic. He was a regular for 7 years on truTV Presents: World’s Dumbest, won on seasons 2 & 3 on truTV’s Comedy Knockout, and was a featured cast member on VH1’s I Love the 2000s and a series of shows on the WWE Network.
Kevin’s stand up album “Nice & Drunk” was named Sirius XM Comedy album of the month, was #1 on both iTunes and Amazon comedy charts, and has over 2 million streams.
He hosts Celebrate!, a weekly interview show on Sirius XM channel 99, and the Sex and the Cidiots & The Bridgerton Bros podcasts. His videos have over 25 million views on Instagram and TikTok, where he has 200,000 followers.
“Very Funny” – David Letterman, host of the Late Show
“McCaffrey’s set will go beyond monologue one-liners, but expect the same sort of laid-back persona of a late night talk show host.” – New Stage City, Chicago
“My number one favorite on truTV is Kevin McCarthy. He is really cute and funny and he never fails to make me laugh.” – Dux411, a nice commenter who kind of knows Kevin’s name
ages 21+ (must have ID with you)
Tickets $15 advance, $18 day of
Drew Morgan (Comedy Central) and DJ Lewis (CMT) are coming to touch your hearts and butts (with permission) at Asheville Beauty Academy!
Co-hosts of the world wide phenomenon Into the Abiscuit Podcast, DJ Lewis and Drew Morgan are gonna so some stand up and change the world.
You know us, you hate us, and you want to die from laughing – well this night is for you. Come on out, y’all.
Drew Morgan is the first person in his family to go into comedy. His act has been described as “Mark Twain on acid,” and that pretty much gets at it. Hailing from Sunbright, Tennessee, which has a population of about 597 good people and 3 really shitty ones, he was raised by a preacher and a librarian. This explains Drew’s curiosity and constant state of existential crisis.
Drew has been featured on MTV, Comedy Central and ABC’s the View. He tours nationally with the wellRED comedy tour and is the Co-author of the book “The Liberal Redneck Manifesto.” He is a good dancer.
D.j. Lewis is the co host of Into the Abiscuit and travels around the south doing comedy. His comedy is much like a canned meat, not very pretty to look at, understood mostly by poor people, and best when baked.
A rapper, actor, singer and part time astronaut – DJ has been featured on CMT and is the only man to have ever owned a space possum.
hosted by TBA
ages 21+ (must have ID with you)
Tickets $18
Every Monday Cameron Davis and Morgan Bost host Freshen Up at 5 Walnut Wine Bar.
Stand up comedy open mic with a focus on new material.
Bring your best new jokes each week. You don’t need a new set but you need to try at least one new bit.
Last Monday of every month will be a booked showcase of that months favorite performers
no cover
5 Walnut Wine Bar
ages 18+

Chat with other book lovers about this month’s book selection.
Interested in reading ahead? Here’s what we have coming up in the next few months!
– November- “Once Upon A River” Diane Setterfield
– December- “Dutch House” Ann Patchett
– January- “Mexican Gothic” Silvia Moreno-Garcia
– February- “The Rose Code” Kate Quinn
To reserve your copy of the book, visit buncombe.nccardinal.org or swing by the library to pick one up from the book clubs holds shelf.
To join the book club email [email protected] or call us at 250-4758.

Join us every first and third Tuesday of each month for Drag Bingo! Hosted by the amazingly beautiful inside and out Calcutta! Try out classic games and also some not so conventional games. Play for fun or play to win, the prizes are always topped with laughter. Ages 21+.

Cy Twombly was a man obsessed with myth and history—including his own. Shuttling between stunning homes in Italy and the United States where he perfected his room-size canvases, he managed his public image carefully and rarely gave interviews.
Upon first seeing Twombly’s remarkable paintings, writer Joshua Rivkin became obsessed himself with the mysterious artist, and began chasing every lead, big or small—anything that might illuminate those works, or who Twombly really was.
Now, after unprecedented archival research and years of interviews, Rivkin has reconstructed Twombly’s life, from his time at the legendary Black Mountain College to his canonization in a 1994 MoMA retrospective; from his heady explorations of Rome in the 1950s with Robert Rauschenberg to the ongoing efforts to shape his legacy after his death.
Including previously unpublished photographs, Chalk presents a more personal and searching type of biography than we’ve ever encountered, and brings to life a more complex Twombly than we’ve ever known.
DISCUSSION BOUND
This monthly discussion is a place to exchange ideas about readings that relate to artworks and the art world, and to learn from and about each other. Books are available at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café for a 10% discount. To add your name to our Discuss
Stand-Up Comedy Open Mic in downtown Asheville


Comedy Open Mic at Asheville Music Hall in downtown Asheville. Every Weds. 8pm. Doors and comic sign up at 7pm. Free

-
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Open mic comedy every Thursday from 6-8pm at Ginger’s Revenge Tasting Room.
Rotating hosts each week Clay Jones, James Burks and Katy Hudson
No cover
Signup starts at 5:30, and signup order will not necessarily be show order. Each comic gets 5 mins of stage time
Join us in the Library community room for an informational session and Q&A with author, Jonathan Baurer.
He’ll be answering your questions and discussing his new book, Positive Parenting Solutions to Raise Highly Sensitive Children: Understanding Your Child’s Emotions and How to Respond with Radical Compassion, Love, and Confidence. Books will be available for purchase.
Bio:
Jonathan Baurer, author, certified life coach, and entrepreneur based out of Asheville, North Carolina, is the co-founder of Exploring Changes, a mindset life-coaching program and blended-publishing house. Jonathan helps clients achieve their highest goals and live the life of their dreams by bridging the gap between where they are, and where they want to be. Jonathan is the author of two bestselling non-fiction books, helping people live more fully in happiness and love. Jonathan is inspired by his passion of continued learning, living a life of adventure, and creating authentic connections with others.
This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Enka-Candler Library. All library programs are free and everyone is welcome. We hope you’ll join us
Slice of Life Comedy Open Mic and Feature Comedy at Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co Game Room Comedy Show (must be 18+)
Cocktails, taps & menu available while you laugh the night away to some of the areas best Standup Comics in a ridiculously fun adult environment!! Comedy Open Mic plus at least Three Professional featured performers.
Open mic comics signup at door get 3-5m. [Free entry for performing comics, free pizza at comics table]
For more info contact Michele at [email protected]
Thursdays in May 2022 7:30p-till, 18+, $12Doors 6:30p: [Music before show provided by Buzz Radio Asheville, “All Asheville Music & Comedy, All the Time.”]
6/9 Hosted by Morgan Bost
Featuring: Becca Steinhoff, Moira Goree, Rigel Pawlak & Delise Nicholas
Slice of Life Comedy Open Mic and Feature Comedy at Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co Game Room Comedy Show (must be 18+)
Cocktails, taps & menu available while you laugh the night away to some of the areas best Standup Comics in a ridiculously fun adult environment!! Comedy Open Mic plus at least Three Professional featured performers.
Open mic comics signup at door get 3-5m. [Free entry for performing comics, free pizza at comics table]
For more info contact Michele at [email protected]
Thursdays in May 2022 7:30p-till, 18+, $12Doors 6:30p: [Music before show provided by Buzz Radio Asheville, “All Asheville Music & Comedy, All the Time.”]
6/9 Hosted by Morgan Bost
Featuring: Becca Steinhoff, Moira Goree, Rigel Pawlak & Delise Nicholas

