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.
Our annual Spring Homeschool Day is a wonderful way to start the warmer season with a day full of learning. Programs are designed to meet the curriculum needs and interests of your students.
Advance registration is required. Cost includes Park admission for the day.
Local printmaker Bill Hall makes his Asheville gallery debut in a show that plays his graphic works off those of the late Maltby Sykes (1911-1992), while landscape paintings on found metal by Drew Galloway are presented with works by renowned wood sculptor Christian Burchard. These two shows run March 4 through April 28, 2018 at Momentum Gallery, 24 N. Lexington Ave, Asheville, NC.
It’s hard not to crack a smile while enjoying amazing views of Lake Lure and the Hickory Nut Gorge from on top of the Chimney. Capture photos of your family and friends enjoying the Park and enter them into our spring photo contest for a chance to win fabulous prizes. We’ll use the winning entries on our website and Facebook album, and you’ll win some fun prizes. Photos must be taken within the Chimney Rock section of the Park.
GREAT PRIZES FOR THE WINNERS:
First Place – An overnight getaway to Hickory Nut Gorge with a stay at the historic 1927 Lake Lure Inn & Spa, two passes to Chimney Rock, brunch for two at the 1927 Lake Lure Inn & Spa, and two tickets for a tour with Lake Lure Boat Tours
Second Place – A Chimney Rock prize package including two passes to Chimney Rock, lunch for two at the Old Rock Café and two tickets for a tour with Lake Lure Boat Tours.
People’s Choice – Selected by our Facebook fans, the winning photo will be featured as the cover photo of our Facebook page for two weeks and the cover of our Pinterest board of winning photos. Prize includes two Park admission tickets, lunch for two at the Old Rock Café and a $20 gift certificate for Old Time Photo in Chimney Rock Village.
CONTEST RULES:
There is no fee to enter the contest. All photographs must be taken inside Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park only in areas accessible to guests between March 20, 2018- June 20, 2018. The contest is open to amateur and professional photographers.
Up to three photos per person can be submitted via any of the following ways to be eligible to win:
Facebook: First, like the Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park page and share our photo contest post on your wall. Then post your photo to our wall with the photographer’s name and a brief caption (25-75 words) through your personal Facebook account. Next, send us a private message including your contact information specified in rule #3.
Pinterest: First, re-pin our photo contest pin to one of your boards and follow our 2017 The Different Seasons of Chimney Rock Spring Photo Contest Board so we can easily contact you. Then pin your photo with the hashtags #chimneyrock AND #photocontest with your personal account, and include the photographer’s name and a brief caption (25-75 words).
Twitter: First, follow Chimney Rock Park and retweet our tweet about the photo contest. Then tweet your photo to @ChimneyRockPark with the photographer’s name and the hashtag #photocontest. Next, send us private messages with your brief photo caption.
E-mail: If you don’t have access to any social media sites listed above, you may email your digital photo with your contact information specified in rule #3 to [email protected].
Snail Mail: Send your print photo with the clearly marked photographer’s name, city & state, a brief typed photo caption and a phone number to: Photo Contest, Chimney Rock Management LLC, PO Box 39, Chimney Rock, NC 28720.
Every entry should be clearly labeled with the photographer’s name, city & state, a brief photo caption your photo of the Seasons of Chimney Rock, an email address and the best phone number to reach you.
Photos should be available at a minimum resolution of 1200 x 1600 pixels (1 MB minimum) to be eligible to win. Photos taken via smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices are welcome if they meet minimum requirements.
For entries showing human faces, you must list their name(s) and have written permission from any photographed person(s) to use their image.
Entries should reflect the photographer’s interpretation of a face of Chimney Rock. Emphasis will be placed on quality, composition and creativity. All entries may be used in promotions of Chimney Rock and park-related activities.
Digital images can be optimized but not dramatically altered with photo editing software. Black and white photographs are welcome.
Decisions of the judges are final.
Winners will be notified and announced at chimneyrockpark.com and on Chimney Rock’s social media channels.
For more information, call 1-800-277-9611 or email us at [email protected].
Phone: (828) 250-6482
Email: [email protected]
Event Type: Family Fun,Performance
Age Group: Preschool – (ages 3-5)
Library: Weaverville
Location: 41 N. Main St. – Weaverville
Preschoolers, Get Ready! This year’s “Preschoolers We Love You!” show promises to be one of the silliest ever. This popular variety show for children began as a special valentine to the library’s youngest book lovers and continues to be one of our most favorite events. Each year, shows regularly draw over 1,000 children for the multiple performances. The program is a book inspired musical revue especially designed for preschoolers, with puppets, dancing and other lighthearted fun. The talented performers are drawn from the library staff across the county.
The dates and locations for this year’s performances are:
- Tuesday, April 17th at Pack Memorial Library; Shows at 9:30 and 10:45
- Wednesday, April 18th at the Weaverville United Methodist Fellowship Center ; Shows at 9:30 and 10:45
- Thursday, April 19th at the Black Mountain United Methodist Church; Shows at 9:30 and 10:45
All shows are free, but space is limited. All school groups who would like to attend must call 250-4729 to make a reservation.
Garden Helpline Open for Calls
Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County are ready to answer your
gardening questions.
Beginning March 1, the Garden Helpline is open Monday through
Thursday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., during the gardening season—March through September. Our
Master Gardener volunteers are available for phone calls, walk-ins, and emails.
Call 828-255-5522 or visit the Extension office at the location shown below. If you bring a plant
sample to the office, please be sure it is large enough for plant identification. You can also email
your questions and plant photos to [email protected].
Each year, Extension Master Gardener volunteers answer hundreds of gardening questions.
From October through February when the Helpline is not open, your questions will be
answered by Alison Arnold, Extension Agent, Consumer Horticulture. The Extension office and
our Helpline are closed on N.C. state holidays.
LINING: SHEATHING
Exhibition: January 16 – May 4
Reception: Thursday, April 19 from 5-7pm
Lining: Sheathing is a large-scale installation about the tactile and protective qualities of textiles by collaborators Denise Bookwalter and Lee Running. The artists have been working together for five years, creating installations and artist books that include printed fabric, handmade paper, woodblock prints, custom garments and embroidery. This installation has been developed in residencies at Penland School of Crafts, Penland NC, Constellation Studios, Lincoln NE, and Small Craft Advisory Press, Tallahassee FL. The focal point of the installation is a room-size tent suspended beneath a skylight. The tent is made from large printed and dyed textile panels which create a space that viewers can enter. Viewers are invited to try on one of the handmade garments and view the series of eight queen bed sized woodblock prints on handmade paper. For the exhibition at the WCU Fine Art Museum, Bookwalter and Running will also create a three-story site-specific window installation for the atrium of the Bardo Arts Center.
MUSEUM HOURS: Tues-Fri 10am-4pm/ Th 10am-7pm
Closed weekends & University holidays
828.227.ARTS
Image Caption: Detail: Denise Bookwalter, Lee Emma Running, “LINING:SHEATHING”, 2011
Event Type: Story Time for Kids
Age Group: Preschool – (ages 3-5)
Preschool story times are geared towards 3-5 year-olds and include singing, stretchers, and creative activities.
To mark the 10th Anniversary of the Windgate Fellowship, the Center for Craft awarded a total of ten, $10,000 Project Grants. This exhibition showcases how the next generation of craft artists used their funds to explore scale, installation, and community practice.
Artists: Andrea Donnelly (Richmond, VA), Josh Copus (Marshall, NC), Dustin Farnsworth (Montreal, QC), Brian Fleetwood (La Mesilla, NM), Ani Geragosian (Salem, MA), Adam Ledford (Philadelphia, PA), Rebecca Manson (Bedford Hills, NY), Rachel Mauser (Louisville, KY), Aaron McIntosh (Richmond, VA), and Mark Reigelman II (Brooklyn, NY).
School of Art & Design Alumni Invitational Exhibition
Exhibition: February 13 – May 4, 2018
Reception: February 15, 2018
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the College of Fine & Performing Arts, the WCU Fine Art Museum invites 12 accomplished alumni of the School of Art & Design back to campus for this exhibition. Exhibiting artists include Amy M. Anderson, Connie Bostic, Mary Charles Griffin, Luzene Hill, Sally Jacobs, Cole Johnson, Dakota Ling, Jeff Marley, Olivia Mears, Tom Pazderka, Byron Tenesaca, and Preston Tolbert.
Image Caption: Tom Pazderka, Angels of the New Light, 2017, ash, charcoal, and oil on burned panel, 43 x 43 in
SAHC Community Farm
Volunteer to help create a pollinator garden! We will plant the area around our farmhouse with all-native species to create habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. After lunch, enjoy a 1.5-mile educational walk to see SAHC’s bee yard and learn about other ongoing projects on the Community Farm property.
Willie Cole: Soles and Boards
Exhibition: January 16 – May 4, 2018
Since 1989, Willie Cole has employed the image of the clothes iron in his work. Cole morphs this utilitarian object to represent and reference a range of associations from African masks to scarification to slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. This exhibition presents prints from Cole’s time working at Highpoint Editions in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 2011-2012.
Image Caption: Image Courtesy of Highpoint Editions and Willie Cole
Event Type: Story Time for Kids
Age Group: Preschool – (ages 3-5)
Preschool story times are geared towards 3-5 year-olds and include singing, stretchers, and creative activities.
Phone: (828) 250-4758
Email: [email protected]
Event Type: Story Time for Kids
Age Group: Preschool – (ages 3-5)
Library: Enka-Candler
Location: 1404 Sandhill Rd. – Candler
Preschool story times are geared towards 3-5 year-olds and include singing, stretchers, and creative activities.
Event Type: Story Time for Kids
Age Group: Toddler – (ages 18 mos.-2 yrs.)
Toddler Times are interactive story times for children ages 18 months to 3 years.
Phone: (828) 250-6482
Email: [email protected]
Event Type: Performance,Story Telling
Age Group: Preschool – (ages 3-5)
Library: Weaverville
Preschoolers, Get Ready! This year’s “Preschoolers We Love You!” show promises to be one of the silliest ever. This popular variety show for children began as a special valentine to the library’s youngest book lovers and continues to be one of our most favorite events. Each year, shows regularly draw over 1,000 children for the multiple performances. The program is a book inspired musical revue especially designed for preschoolers, with puppets, dancing and other lighthearted fun. The talented performers are drawn from the library staff across the county.
The dates and locations for this year’s performances are:
- Tuesday, April 17 at Pack Memorial Library; Shows at 9:30 and 10:45
- Wednesday, April 18 at the Weaverville United Methodist Fellowship Center ; Shows at 9:30 and 10:45
- Thursday, April 19 at the Black Mountain United Methodist Church; Shows at 9:30 and 10:45
All shows are free, but space is limited. All school groups wanting to attend must call 250-4729 to make a reservation.
Event Type: Story Time for Kids
Age Group: Family – (children of all ages)
A movement based story time for children of all ages.
The Asheville Downtown Association is partnering with Asheville GreenWorks for Downtown Clean Up Day on Wednesday, April 18 as part of Earth Month. The Clean Up will occur from 11am to 1pm, headquartered in Pritchard Park.
On our recent Downtown Census Survey, 31% of businesses indicated that cleanliness is an issue in downtown, so here’s an opportunity to be part of a solution.
We encourage businesses to sign up as a team, but individual volunteers are great too! We’ll partner you up with a group. All supplies will be provided and we’ll assign your team an area upon check in.
Let’s show downtown some love!
Asheville Downtown Association is partnering with Asheville GreenWorks for Downtown Clean Up Day on Wednesday, April 18 as part of Earth Month. The Clean Up will occur from 11am to 1pm, headquartered in Pritchard Park.
On our recent Downtown Census Survey, 31% of businesses indicated that cleanliness is an issue in downtown, so here’s an opportunity to be part of a solution.
We encourage businesses to sign up as a team, but individual volunteers are great too! We’ll partner you up with a group. All supplies will be provided and we’ll assign your team an area upon check in.
Let’s show downtown some love! RSVP on Facebook or email [email protected] to confirm participation.
Event Type: Story Time for Kids
Age Group: Preschool – (ages 3-5)
Preschool story times are geared towards 3-5 year-olds and include singing, stretchers, and creative activities.
On April 7 through 23, Grovewood Gallery will host Spring Awakening, a pediatric patients’ exhibition to benefit Arts For Life, an Asheville-based nonprofit that provides pediatric patients and their families with arts education and engagement opportunities. An opening reception will take place on Saturday, April 7 from 2-5pm and feature live music by the Haw Creek Sweet Hots, ice cream by The Hop, and craft activities for kids. Admission is free.
All artwork will be available for sale, and 100% of proceeds will benefit Arts For Life. Grovewood Gallery will also donate 10% of all regular gallery sales from the exhibition’s opening day.
Every day across North Carolina, Arts For Life’s team of staff members, volunteers, interns, and teaching fellows brighten the lives and healthcare experiences of children and families facing serious illnesses and disabilities. By bringing visual art, music, and creative writing education into hospitals and clinics, they help these children and teens remember that they’re not just patients: they’re artists, musicians, and poets, with a world of possibility at their fingertips.
Event Type: Story Time for Kids
Age Group: Toddler – (ages 18 mos.-2 yrs.)
Toddler Times are interactive story times for children ages 18 months to 3 years.
Event Type: Story Time for Kids
Age Group: Toddler – (ages 18 mos.-2 yrs.)
Toddler Times are interactive story times for children ages 18 months to 3 years.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (828) 774-3000
Link: http://www.leicestercommunitycenter.com
Welcome Table Free Meal every Wednesday 11:30am-1:30pm
Come cheer on the Cavaliers!
Visitors to Grovewood Village will have the opportunity to learn the story of Biltmore Industries on a guided history tour, offered Wednesday – Saturday at 1pm during April – November. The tour includes a visit to Biltmore Industries’ production facility (aka Dye House), where guests can peek into the past and view the original looms, carding machines, spinning mule and dye vats used to make the famed Biltmore Handwoven Homespun.
The tours last approximately 45 minutes and operate on a first-come, first-served basis, open to 25 people. There is no charge to take the tour, but donations are appreciated. Tours begin at the Homespun Museum in Grovewood Village, where a docent will give a detailed overview of Biltmore Industries’ historic importance before leading guests into the 100-year-old Dye House (usually closed to the public).
Private group tours are also offered for a fee and should be scheduled at least one week in advance.
Come cheer on the Cavaliers!
Event Type: Arts & Crafts
Age Group: School Age – (grades K-5)
Bleacher season is here. Create your own comfy cushion to last all Summer long. Participants will be entered to win free Asheville Tourist Tickets! Lucky winners will be announced during the program.
Garden & Gun’s Mint Julep Month is underway, and MG Road is joining the party! From April 5 to May 5, the Asheville lounge is whipping up their own version of the classic cocktail – dubbed the MG Julep – composed of Olmeca Altos Reposado tequila, coriander, ginger and lime zest syrup, all served over crushed ice and garnished with fresh cilantro. Bottoms up!
Phone: (828) 250-4718
Email: [email protected]
Event Type: Informational
Age Group: Adult
Library: Pack Memorial
Location: 67 Haywood St. – Asheville
Pack Library welcomes Executive Director of Equinox Ranch, Dr. Margo Caparelli.
Dr. Caparelli will talk about the effects of PTSD
for combat veterans and how this behavior can trickle down
to family life. She will also talk about her program, Equinox Ranch, and what that program can do for combat veterans who feel emotionally numb & whose traumatic experiences have left them closed off. The program will end with a Q & A for anyone in attendance who may have questions. Veterans and their family and friends are welcome to this program, no registration required.