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.
Teen Leadership Program
Pre-registration required. FREE for the 2021-2022 school year
August 23, 2021-June 3, 2022 | Monday-Friday | 3:30-6pm
6th-9th graders.
Looking for a cool and enriching alternative for your Teen to attend
this school year? We offer creative activities, diverse projects,
field trips, and more.
Locations: Grant, Shiloh, Stephens-Lee
Santa Paws is going on tour, and he wants to take a photo with each and every one of you! Bring your dogs, your kids, and even if you’re just a kid at heart, come be a part of Photos With Santa Paws!!
To help all of his furry friends at Asheville Humane Society, Santa Paws asks that you give a minimum $5 donation (or more since it is the season of giving), and you will get to take a photo with Santa, $10 or more will get you a digital print, a Polaroid to take home and two raffle tickets, and the photos would be made available online.
Teen Ensemble is Studio 52’s all-new, audition-only class featuring the top teen creative artists in the area. This small company of pre-professional actors in 8th-12th grades will meet weekly at Flat Rock Playhouse for advanced training and rehearsals as they dive into the development of theatrical work incorporating acting, singing, and dance.
Auditions will be held BY APPOINTMENT ONLY on Wednesday, December 8, between 5 – 8 PM.
Teen Ensemble is Studio 52’s all-new, audition-only class featuring the top teen creative artists in the area. This small company of pre-professional actors in 8th-12th grades meets weekly at Flat Rock Playhouse for advanced training and rehearsals as they dive into the development of theatrical work incorporating acting, singing, and dance.
Auditions will be held by appointment only on Wednesday, December 8 between 5 – 8 PM.
Please email [email protected] with the subject line “Teen Ensemble Auditions” to reserve a 5-minute audition slot. Students must prepare 16-32 bars (approximately 1 minute) of a song. Students may sing a cappella or bring sheet music for the Studio 52 accompanist. Once your appointment time is reserved, more information will be sent regarding audition location and logistics.
Selected actors are expected to attend all classes and rehearsals. Please read about our COVID Safety Guidelines here. All students will be contacted via email by Friday, December 17 about final casting decisions.
Dates: January 24 – May 2 (14 weeks)
Days/Times: Mondays from 5:30 – 7:30 PM
Grades: 8th – 12th
Location: Studio 52 at 1855 Little River Road, Flat Rock, NC, 28731
Tuition: $250*
*Full and partial need-based scholarships will be available upon application for teen ensemble members. Applications will be available after casting.
Teen Ensemble will meet the following Mondays from 5:30 – 7:30 PM
Jan. 24, 31
Feb. 7, 14, 21, 28
March 7
Spring Break
March 21, 28
April 4, 11, 18, 25
May 2 – Outdoor Performance
May 3 – Rain Date
Teen Ensemble is Studio 52’s all-new, audition-only class featuring the top teen creative artists in the area. This small company of pre-professional actors in 8th-12th grades meets weekly at Flat Rock Playhouse for advanced training and rehearsals as they dive into the development of theatrical work incorporating acting, singing, and dance.
Auditions will be held by appointment only on Wednesday, December 8 between 5 – 8 PM.
Please email [email protected] with the subject line “Teen Ensemble Auditions” to reserve a 5-minute audition slot. Students must prepare 16-32 bars (approximately 1 minute) of a song. Students may sing a cappella or bring sheet music for the Studio 52 accompanist. Once your appointment time is reserved, more information will be sent regarding audition location and logistics.
Selected actors are expected to attend all classes and rehearsals. Please read about our COVID Safety Guidelines here. All students will be contacted via email by Friday, December 17 about final casting decisions.
Join us EVERY Wednesday night for Kid’s Night! Children receive a free four-count kid’s meal with the purchase of an adult meal. See you on Wednesdays!
Free outdoor movies on our giant LED screen are always a hit with all ages. Rabbit Rabbit is a huge outdoor venue with enough space to accommodate 3000 people, so we have plenty of seats for everyone!
Bringing the party back in our lives! Gina Cornejo is a genuine seeker of a party, c’mon! Learn the choreography details of your favorite Zumba songs. Within this free 1-hour class, Gina will offer a breakdown of the intricacies of Zumba choreography and also provide the opportunity to let go and party. Her direction and care will build your confidence on the dance floor and allow for better memorization. Join Gina’s Zumba class to see and feel the improvement of your fitness. Her classes are spirited and sweet with a focus on empowerment through encouragement. All levels welcome — come as you are. A cool down is always offered.
The Winter Lights at the Arboretum are back! They do a beautiful job of decorating, and we can stroll through sipping hot cocoa. They also have food and wine available for purchase. You must purchase a ticket beforehand because they do sell out. One ticket is $30, and that is for a CARLOAD of people, so you might want to coordinate with others. There is an Ingles up the road that might be a good gathering point. There is no max attendance limit. When the tickets sell out, that will be it. Here’s the link to tickets: https://www.ncarboretum.org/purchase-tickets-to-winter-lights/
What we’re about
I started this group to bring together women in their 50’s who want to gather with other like-minded women. We’re dealing with a lot of issues at our age, and having other women who can understand us, support us, and laugh with us is so valuable! This group is open to any woman in her 50’s: married, single, gay, straight, black, white or any other color. We will gather, eat, drink, laugh and commiserate when necessary. I am hopeful many of us will make meaningful friendships along the way
Tickets must be purchased online this year. Your ticket is valid for a one-time use any night of the festival; tickets are not date-specific.
- $10 for personal vehicles (standard cars/vans)
- $25 for sprinter vans, trailblazers, and conversion vans
- $50 for buses and motorcoaches
- 20% of the proceeds benefit Special Olympics Buncombe County
Lake Julian Festival of Lights has become a tradition for many mountain families and visitors. Visitors are invited to watch the lights twinkle over the lake and listen to their favorite seasonal tunes while driving through the magical wonderland.
Lake Julian Festival of Lights takes place nightly from December 1-23 from 6 p.m.-9 p.m. Please check our Facebook page for information on closings due to winter weather.
Dust off your thinking caps, grab your friends, and join us for Trivia Night at the taproom every Wednesday at 6pm!
Winter Lights returns to the gardens November 19-January 1
Tickets are now sold PER VEHICLE, not per person.
We are thrilled to announce that the 2021 Winter Lights holiday event will welcome members and guests back into the gardens as it returns to the traditional outdoor walk-through open-air show format. The famously tall 50-foot lighted tree and the Quilt Garden will be back, outfitted with new designs in lights, while throughout the gardens, popular arrangements will mingle with ones never seen before.
You can find everything you need to know about Asheville’s Brightest Holiday Tradition at the tabs above, and be sure to secure your tickets now.
We hope you will join us this holiday season!
Winter Lights is the Arboretum’s largest annual fundraiser, and supports many parts of its mission driven programming.
you all!
vs. 
TV: BALLY SPORTS SOUTHEAST – RADIO: CHARLOTTEWFNZ 610 AM/102.5 FM
This event is a free event, but registration is required. Click here to register. The link required to attend will be emailed to registrants prior to the event.
If you decide to attend and purchase the authors’ books, we ask that you purchase from Malaprop’s. When you do this you make it possible for us to continue hosting author events and you keep more dollars in our community. You may also support our work by purchasing a gift card or making a donation of any amount below. Thank you!
Queer history is a living practice. Talk to any group of LGBTQ people today, and they will not agree on what story should be told. Many people desire to celebrate the past by erecting plaques and painting rainbow crosswalks, but queer and trans people in the twenty-first century need more than just symbols–they need access to power, justice for marginalized people, spaces of belonging. Approaching the past through a lens of queer and trans survival and world-building transforms history itself into a tool for imagining and realizing a better future.
Living Queer History tells the story of an LGBTQ community in Roanoke, Virginia, a small city on the edge of Appalachia. Interweaving historical analysis, theory, and memoir, Gregory Samantha Rosenthal tells the story of their own journey–coming out and transitioning as a transgender woman–in the midst of working on a community-based history project that documented a multigenerational southern LGBTQ community. Based on over forty interviews with LGBTQ elders, Living Queer History explores how queer people today think about the past and how history lives on in the present.
Gregory Samantha Rosenthal is Associate Professor of History at Roanoke College and co-founder of the Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History Project.
Samantha Allen is the author of Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States (Little, Brown; 2019), a travelogue that the New York Times Book Review called “a powerful book of memoir and reportage” and that the Los Angeles Times dubbed “a book necessary for anyone in or allied with the queer community.”
This two man adaptation is a fast-paced and imaginative production that combines Dickens’ brilliant original text with both traditional and unexpected Christmas music, along with old-fashioned foley-style sound effects. These dynamic performers beautifully impart this epic, timeless story of discovery of the heart, appealing to both adults and children in a fresh way.
$25.00 Virtual Tickets at See Upcoming Dates for Zoom – A Christmas Carol at North Carolina (thundertix.com)
Flamingosis splices together old school soul, wild funk, and D.I.Y. electronic with a radiant message meant for any moment. After generating 100 million streams, attracting 100K cumulative social media followers, and receiving acclaim from Pitchfork, MTV, ThisSongIsSick, and many more, the New Jersey-raised and Brooklyn-based artist and producer embeds an important affirmation within the framework of his first full-length album in four years, Daymaker.
Since 2012, he has carved out a niche of his own in addition to collaborating in the studio and on stage with Big Gigantic, GRiZ, Madeon, Tokimonsta, and Matoma, among others. Not to mention, he graced the bills of festivals such as Austin City Limits, Electric Forest, Okeechobee, Holy Ship!, and Voodoo Music + Arts, to name a few. Critical acclaim followed with Pitchfork describing “Believe In Me” as “a new summer anthem.” Regarding 2016’s Bright Moments, MTV wrote, “The producer’s new album weaves smooth 1970s and 1980s samples into perfect grooves.” In 2019, he began to widen the sonic palette. For the first time, he hit the studio with collaborators to architect what would become Daymaker. He worked closely with an all-star cast of musicians, including keyboardist Borahm Lee [Pretty Lights], Jeff Franca [Thievery Corporation], Eddie Roberts [The New Mastersounds], Hunter Roberts, hip-hop funk duo Recess, Mike Tallman of funk and roots outfit Euforquestra and the Color Red label, and more. Now, he introduces Daymaker with a Brazilian bounce, tropical house flavor, and chilled beats on lead single “Wild Summer.”
Mike Zito is one of the most lauded artists in the contemporary blues arena today and rightfully so, but for him, the thing that counts the most is maintaining his honesty, authenticity and integrity. Those are the qualities that have steered Zito’s career since the beginning and continue to define every effort he’s offered since.
“I have nothing to hide; it seems my honesty is what people relate to most,” he once told Vintage Guitar magazine. “Anders (Osborne) told me early on, ‘If you don’t believe what you’re singing, you’ll never be a good singer.’ I try not to write fluff; I try to make every word count.”
Join OGS for a Tour of Cuba’s Sustainable Farms
Learn from farmers and food activists about Cuba’s transition to agroecological farming practices and its national policies that prioritize sustainable farming and hunger remediation.
Connect with farmers, consumers, activists, NGOs, policymakers, and experts working to transform the global food system.
Acquire the knowledge and strategies to create just, sustainable, local, and healthy food systems in your own communities.
The 29th Annual National Gingerbread House Competition™ – the largest in the world – will be held at the resort on Monday, November 22, 2021. This year, the Competition will be a combination of aspects from The 2020 National Gingerbread House Competition™, while bringing back the in-person events that make this experience so special to the competitors, Gingerbread enthusiasts, and the hotel. It is our mission to ensure that the Competition’s legacy built on design, innovation and tradition continues for future generations.
Like last year, the Competition will conduct the first round of judging virtually. This will enable documentation of the creation process, enhance the first round of the judging experience, and ensure the competition will continue safely, even if unforeseen circumstances were to arise. The first round is meant to give the judges a visual idea of the creation by showcasing a framework and different portions of the piece that highlight the story behind it- even if your final product is not yet completed. More details on this below.
The second round of judging will be done in-person at the hotel in the Grand Ballroom as in years past. The Omni Grove Park Inn is thrilled to once again display all Gingerbread entries at the Resort for public viewing to celebrate the hard work and dedication that goes into these edible works of art. All Gingerbread entries will be reviewed in-person during the second round to ensure the integrity of the Gingerbread creation physically meets the criteria.
For those who may not travel this season, the hotel will continue, “The 12 Days of Gingerbread” by releasing one of the Top 12 finalists, per day, on the hotel’s Facebook (@omnigroveparkinn) and Instagram (@omnigrovepark) channels from December 1 – 12, 2021 to spark Ginger-love for all during the happiest season of the year! This provides an in-person and virtual way for all to enjoy.
The winning creations will be on display Sunday, November 28, 2021 – Sunday, January 2, 2022. The Omni Grove Park Inn invites guests not staying at the Resort to view the display after 3:00 p.m. on Sundays or anytime Monday through Thursday, based on parking availability and excluding holidays and the following dates: December 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31 and January 1. Public viewing on December 26 and January 2 will reopen after 3:00 p.m. Please note that only Registered Resort Pets will be permitted. No outside pets will be allowed.
A new partnership from Buncombe County and the City of Asheville aims to help reduce greenhouse gases and organic matter in the landfill by offering residents a place to drop off compostable matter. Starting Oct. 4, County residents can drop off food scraps and other compostable materials at the Buncombe County Landfill Convenience Center to be recycled into compost. The City of Asheville is operating a drop-off location at Stephens-Lee Recreation Center that also opens to the public on Oct. 4. Read more about that initiative here.
Organic waste in landfills generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. By composting wasted food and other organics, methane emissions may be significantly reduced. For residents who are interested in composting but worry about bears or finding the space for backyard composting Buncombe County is proud to partner with the City of Asheville and Food Waste Solutions to open two compost drop-off locations for County residents.
In alignment with the Buncombe County Strategic Plan goals, the Landfill compost drop-off center is part of a pilot program designed to assess interest and engagement for food waste diversion and composting in Buncombe County.
How the compost drop-off works
- Collect compostable materials at home and make sure to remove all produce stickers, rubber bands, wrappers, ties, bags, and plastics.
- To collect materials use a compost pail, bucket, paper bags, or other certified compostable bag.
- At the landfill scalehouse let us know you would like to drop off your compostable materials and staff will direct you to the drop-off location.
- Empty food scraps and compostable waste into the cart on-site.
- Close and secure lid when finished.
- Do not overfill.
With the convenience of being open year-round, 7 days a week, the WNC Farmers Market offers a selection of farm-fresh produce at the lowest prices in Western N.C. Our popular retail buildings, providing a selection of non-perishables, fruits, vegetables, crafts and more, are open daily.
Artist Michael Fowler creates evocative abstract landscape paintings by incorporating vibrant colors with subtle, complex details. His semi-large-scale approach invites viewers to step into his work and build a sense of wonder and contemplation surrounding the natural world. Fowler’s artistic response in contemplating nature is to capture something of a landscape’s pleasantness, which is often unexpected harmonies of color and shape. In his latest exhibit, Arbor Huescapes, Fowler highlights the distinctive vegetation – primarily trees – and topography of North and South Carolina’s midlands and piedmont regions.
Fowler received his Bachelor of Arts from Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas with a focus in Advertising Design. He then attended the University of Nebraska where he received a Master’s degree in Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing with a minor in Art History. From there, he attended the University of Memphis where he earned a Doctorate in Higher Education. Based in North Augusta, South Carolina, Fowler is currently an associate professor of design and computer graphics and serves as the Mary Durban Toole Chair of Art at the University of South Carolina in Aiken. His paintings are in a number of public and private collections nationally, and he actively exhibits in regional and national shows.
Please note: Arbor Huescapes has been rescheduled due to the COVID-19 crisis and will now open in fall 2021. The exhibit is on display daily September 18, 2021 – January 9, 2022, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. inside the Baker Exhibit Center. All works are available for purchase and a portion of sales will be donated to The North Carolina Arboretum Society.