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.

Saturday, February 3, 2024
Of Whistlepigs and World Politics
Feb 3 @ 10:30 am
Laughing Waters Retreat Center

Join award-winning naturalist and storyteller Doug Elliott as he describes not only the natural world of the groundhog but its role in the folklore, history, mythology, and philosophy of people past and present, from Europe to the Appalachians. You might even gain new insight into today’s society and world politics!

For more information, contact Pam Torlina, [email protected].

Sunday, February 4, 2024
School Garden Grants
Feb 4 all-day
online

Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County are happy to announce for the seventeenth year we are offering School Garden Grants to Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools, including state charter schools.

We provide a notice of the application period along with instructions to all school principals, elementary through senior high. Additional information is available on our websitebuncombemastergardener.org where you can learn more about the guidelines for receiving a grant and get access to the online 2024 School Garden Grants Application.

All applications must be completed online. Completed applications will be accepted beginning January 12, 2024, and must be submitted no later than 9 p.m. on February 15, 2024. If you have any questions, please call the Extension Office at 828-255-5522.

We are proud of our partnership with Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools. Since 2007, we have awarded 60 School Garden Grants totaling over $47,000. These grants have involved more than 17,500 students and hundreds of teachers, parents, and community volunteers.

School gardens grow more than plants. They grow imagination and creativity. They make math and science come alive, and they build community. We hope your school will join us in 2024.

Click on the link below to review the guidelines for school garden grants:
Guidelines for 2024 School Garden Grants

 

Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred
Feb 4 @ 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Sigal Music Museum

Sigal Music Museum’s current special exhibition, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred, highlights items from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, which hails from all over the world. Showing November 2023 – May 2024, Worlds Apart uses a diverse range of historical instruments, objects, and visuals to bring together musical narratives from seemingly disparate parts of the globe.

 

Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred aims to increase public access to historical instruments from around the world and improve visitors’ understanding of musical traditions at the global level. Expanding beyond the typical parameters of the Western musical canon, Worlds Apart seeks to expose audiences to musical instruments and customs that are often overlooked or exotified. The instruments and other exhibit materials will offer visitors new perspectives on global music and a chance to consider how music is used for prayer and leisure in cultures around the world. By celebrating these stories, the museum intends to further its mission to collect and preserve historical musical instruments, objects, and information, which engage and enrich people of all ages through exhibits, performances, and experiential programs.

 

Displaying various objects from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred focuses on international musical instruments and cultures, celebrating rites and traditions with ancient histories and contemporary legacies. Frank Edwinn, a successful basso in the mid-20th century, studied and toured internationally, eventually settling in North Carolina, where he taught music at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Throughout his life, he purchased various objects from around the world, aiming to expose students, and himself, to the wide and wonderful world of musical instruments. This impressive collection occupies a unique position for educating audiences unfamiliar with the vast scope of global music.

And, UNCA’s Ramsey Library Special Collections is now processing the Edwinn’s papers and a few recordings that will be accessible next semester!

Monday, February 5, 2024
Developmental Day program
Feb 5 all-day
WNCSOURCE

February 5th will mark a new chapter for local nonprofit WNCSource as they begin offering
a Developmental Day program for special needs preschool children and their families.
• This comes after Helping Hand Developmental Center announced it was closing its doors
after 55 years of serving Henderson County due to funding shortfalls.
• WNCSource was able to hire several former Helping Hand staff and will contract with
Henderson County Public Schools to provide the year-round Developmental Day program
at the Tebeau Children’s Center in Hendersonville.
• The first classroom will open Monday, February 5 and serve up to 18 children between the
ages of 3 and 5 years old with a focus on social development, early learning and
kindergarten readiness.
WNCSource, a leading provider of Head Start, Early Head Start and NC Pre-K programs will soon
add a Developmental Day program to its list of services in Henderson County. The
Hendersonville-based nonprofit worked closely with Henderson County Public Schools to sustain
early childhood education programs for special needs and typically developing children. The
Helping Hand Developmental Center had provided those services for over 55 years for the school
system. However, ongoing funding shortfalls, together with difficulty in finding qualified staff had
put the agency into deep financial stress forcing it to close.
Although WNCSource has suffered similar staffing challenges and financial strain during and after
the pandemic, it agreed to take over the program and has worked closely with Henderson County
Public Schools and Helping Hand to transition its children, families and staff. WNCSource Head
Start and NC Pre-K Program Manager Amy Smith exclaimed “This is a very dedicated group of
educators and staff who genuinely love and care about these children. We are very fortunate to
have them join our staff and continue this important work!”
WNCSource will open one Developmental Day classroom on February 5, 2024 at the Tebeau
Children’s Center in Hendersonville. The class of 18 will consist of 9 special needs and 9 typically
developing students between the ages of 3 to 5 years old. The curriculum will focus on social
development, early learning and kindergarten readiness and operate year round.

 

Growing Minds: “I Tried Local…” free virtual toolkit
Feb 5 all-day
online

Growing Minds has published “I Tried Local…” a Toolkit for Engaging Kids with Local Food and Farms. This resource—intended for early care and education through second grade classrooms—offers an immersive curriculum designed around 10 crops grown in North Carolina. The print toolkit is currently available to educators in North Carolina who participate in a virtual training with Growing Minds. A free digital version is also available to anyone on the Growing Minds website.

Each unit includes an overview of a North Carolina–grown crop, lesson plans, recipes, coloring pages, book recommendations, discussion prompts, and a link to the “Meet Your Farmer” video series featuring North Carolina farmers. The toolkit also offers resources for implementing the core elements of farm to school—gardens, classroom cooking and taste tests, farm field trips and farmer visits, and local foods in meals or snacks.
Growing Minds will host a series of virtual training to support educators interested in using the toolkit. The first will be held on Zoom on Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Register here or contact [email protected] for more information.
School Garden Grants
Feb 5 all-day
online

Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County are happy to announce for the seventeenth year we are offering School Garden Grants to Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools, including state charter schools.

We provide a notice of the application period along with instructions to all school principals, elementary through senior high. Additional information is available on our websitebuncombemastergardener.org where you can learn more about the guidelines for receiving a grant and get access to the online 2024 School Garden Grants Application.

All applications must be completed online. Completed applications will be accepted beginning January 12, 2024, and must be submitted no later than 9 p.m. on February 15, 2024. If you have any questions, please call the Extension Office at 828-255-5522.

We are proud of our partnership with Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools. Since 2007, we have awarded 60 School Garden Grants totaling over $47,000. These grants have involved more than 17,500 students and hundreds of teachers, parents, and community volunteers.

School gardens grow more than plants. They grow imagination and creativity. They make math and science come alive, and they build community. We hope your school will join us in 2024.

Click on the link below to review the guidelines for school garden grants:
Guidelines for 2024 School Garden Grants

 

Student Soil + Water Scholarship
Feb 5 all-day
online

Buncombe County students interested in entering the field of conservation, agriculture or another natural resource program can win a $1,000 scholarship from The Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District.

The William Hamilton Memorial Scholarship will provide a student with money to go towards their studies. Eligible students must attend or plan to attend an accredited college or university and must submit a proposal for a volunteer conservation project in Buncombe County.

One winner will be selected by a committee of Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District staff and Supervisors and the funds will be dispersed directly to the institution upon completion of the volunteer project.

Scholarship Timeline:

February 28, 2024 – Deadline to apply

April 11, 2024 – Winning applicant announced

June 30, 2024 – Deadline to complete volunteer project

July 11, 2024 – Presentation to the Board, award dispersed

The winner is also expected to attend a Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District Board meeting to present the results of their project and accept their scholarship.

Find the application below. Completed applications and questions can be sent to [email protected].

The application can also be mailed to:
Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District
Attn: Jen Knight and Rose Wall
49 Mount Carmel Road
Asheville NC, 28806

Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Growing Minds: “I Tried Local…” free virtual toolkit
Feb 6 all-day
online

Growing Minds has published “I Tried Local…” a Toolkit for Engaging Kids with Local Food and Farms. This resource—intended for early care and education through second grade classrooms—offers an immersive curriculum designed around 10 crops grown in North Carolina. The print toolkit is currently available to educators in North Carolina who participate in a virtual training with Growing Minds. A free digital version is also available to anyone on the Growing Minds website.

Each unit includes an overview of a North Carolina–grown crop, lesson plans, recipes, coloring pages, book recommendations, discussion prompts, and a link to the “Meet Your Farmer” video series featuring North Carolina farmers. The toolkit also offers resources for implementing the core elements of farm to school—gardens, classroom cooking and taste tests, farm field trips and farmer visits, and local foods in meals or snacks.
Growing Minds will host a series of virtual training to support educators interested in using the toolkit. The first will be held on Zoom on Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Register here or contact [email protected] for more information.
School Garden Grants
Feb 6 all-day
online

Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County are happy to announce for the seventeenth year we are offering School Garden Grants to Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools, including state charter schools.

We provide a notice of the application period along with instructions to all school principals, elementary through senior high. Additional information is available on our websitebuncombemastergardener.org where you can learn more about the guidelines for receiving a grant and get access to the online 2024 School Garden Grants Application.

All applications must be completed online. Completed applications will be accepted beginning January 12, 2024, and must be submitted no later than 9 p.m. on February 15, 2024. If you have any questions, please call the Extension Office at 828-255-5522.

We are proud of our partnership with Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools. Since 2007, we have awarded 60 School Garden Grants totaling over $47,000. These grants have involved more than 17,500 students and hundreds of teachers, parents, and community volunteers.

School gardens grow more than plants. They grow imagination and creativity. They make math and science come alive, and they build community. We hope your school will join us in 2024.

Click on the link below to review the guidelines for school garden grants:
Guidelines for 2024 School Garden Grants

 

Student Soil + Water Scholarship
Feb 6 all-day
online

Buncombe County students interested in entering the field of conservation, agriculture or another natural resource program can win a $1,000 scholarship from The Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District.

The William Hamilton Memorial Scholarship will provide a student with money to go towards their studies. Eligible students must attend or plan to attend an accredited college or university and must submit a proposal for a volunteer conservation project in Buncombe County.

One winner will be selected by a committee of Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District staff and Supervisors and the funds will be dispersed directly to the institution upon completion of the volunteer project.

Scholarship Timeline:

February 28, 2024 – Deadline to apply

April 11, 2024 – Winning applicant announced

June 30, 2024 – Deadline to complete volunteer project

July 11, 2024 – Presentation to the Board, award dispersed

The winner is also expected to attend a Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District Board meeting to present the results of their project and accept their scholarship.

Find the application below. Completed applications and questions can be sent to [email protected].

The application can also be mailed to:
Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District
Attn: Jen Knight and Rose Wall
49 Mount Carmel Road
Asheville NC, 28806

Growing Minds Farm to School Mini-Grant
Feb 6 @ 6:30 am
online
ASAP’s Growing Minds mini-grants help early childhood education (ECE) centers and K-12 schools throughout the 23 westernmost counties of North Carolina provide children positive experiences with healthy local foods through these components of farm to school: school gardens, farm field trips and farmer classroom visits, and local foods served in meals, snacks, and/or taste tests.

Mini-grant applications are available three times during the 2023-2024 school year. You may apply one time during this cycle. Mini-grants must be used within a year after receiving the funding. 

Applications due by:

  • November 30, 2023
  • January 30, 2024
  • March 30, 2024

If you have questions about your eligibility to apply for funding, please email us at [email protected] before submitting your application. We are unable to provide mini-grants to schools located outside of our 23-county service area or to folks who have received a grant from us within the past year. Learn more and apply here!

Books to Action Book Club: Poverty Simulation by Just Economics
Feb 6 @ 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Pack Memorial Library

Our Books to Action Book Club be exploring the issue of Poverty by reading and discussing “Poverty, By America” by Matthew Desmond. Our examination of these issues will feature a poverty simulation lead by Just Economics.  This event will take place in Pack Memorial Library’s Lord Auditorium.

Just Economics works to educate, advocate, and organize for a just and sustainable local economy that works for all in Western North Carolina. Just Economics’ Working Poor Simulation is an experiential learning tool that exposes participants to the real life struggles of the working poor in our community. Participants are assigned identities based on real low-income people and must complete the everyday activities of their families, like going to work, paying bills, applying for public benefits, etc. The simulation involves moving between stations, which represent the institutions and businesses individuals typically interact with each month.  The simulation includes 3 month-long periods, and is followed by a reflection.

About our book, “Poverty, By America” by Matthew Desmond, from the New Yorker: “Urgent and accessible . . . It’s refreshing to read a work of social criticism that eschews the easy and often smug allure of abstraction, in favor of plainspoken practicality. Its moral force is a gut punch.” Our corresponding book discussion will be held online on February 13th at 6pm.

Book to Action is a community issue focused book club that explores books centered on issues facing our community. The book discussions take place in conjunction with a community service project, educational field trip, or presentations from local experts active in these key issues.

Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Growing Minds: “I Tried Local…” free virtual toolkit
Feb 7 all-day
online

Growing Minds has published “I Tried Local…” a Toolkit for Engaging Kids with Local Food and Farms. This resource—intended for early care and education through second grade classrooms—offers an immersive curriculum designed around 10 crops grown in North Carolina. The print toolkit is currently available to educators in North Carolina who participate in a virtual training with Growing Minds. A free digital version is also available to anyone on the Growing Minds website.

Each unit includes an overview of a North Carolina–grown crop, lesson plans, recipes, coloring pages, book recommendations, discussion prompts, and a link to the “Meet Your Farmer” video series featuring North Carolina farmers. The toolkit also offers resources for implementing the core elements of farm to school—gardens, classroom cooking and taste tests, farm field trips and farmer visits, and local foods in meals or snacks.
Growing Minds will host a series of virtual training to support educators interested in using the toolkit. The first will be held on Zoom on Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Register here or contact [email protected] for more information.
Pacolet Adult Appalachian Music (PacJAM) Spring Semester
Feb 7 all-day
Tryon Fine Arts Center

Adult Classes

Wednesdays

2:45-3:45 pm & 6:15-7:15 pm

 

Afternoon adult classes are for fiddle, beginning guitar, and beginning mandolin. Evening adult classes are for bluegrass jam, and beginning clawhammer banjo.

“If you don’t let things develop, it’s like keeping something in a bag and not letting it out to fly”
— Earl Scruggs

It’s never too late to learn to play and/or enjoy being part of the synergy that is created by adult PacJAMMERs!

Adult classes are $15/session, for a total of $210 for the 14-week session.

 

School Garden Grants
Feb 7 all-day
online

Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County are happy to announce for the seventeenth year we are offering School Garden Grants to Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools, including state charter schools.

We provide a notice of the application period along with instructions to all school principals, elementary through senior high. Additional information is available on our websitebuncombemastergardener.org where you can learn more about the guidelines for receiving a grant and get access to the online 2024 School Garden Grants Application.

All applications must be completed online. Completed applications will be accepted beginning January 12, 2024, and must be submitted no later than 9 p.m. on February 15, 2024. If you have any questions, please call the Extension Office at 828-255-5522.

We are proud of our partnership with Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools. Since 2007, we have awarded 60 School Garden Grants totaling over $47,000. These grants have involved more than 17,500 students and hundreds of teachers, parents, and community volunteers.

School gardens grow more than plants. They grow imagination and creativity. They make math and science come alive, and they build community. We hope your school will join us in 2024.

Click on the link below to review the guidelines for school garden grants:
Guidelines for 2024 School Garden Grants

 

Student Soil + Water Scholarship
Feb 7 all-day
online

Buncombe County students interested in entering the field of conservation, agriculture or another natural resource program can win a $1,000 scholarship from The Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District.

The William Hamilton Memorial Scholarship will provide a student with money to go towards their studies. Eligible students must attend or plan to attend an accredited college or university and must submit a proposal for a volunteer conservation project in Buncombe County.

One winner will be selected by a committee of Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District staff and Supervisors and the funds will be dispersed directly to the institution upon completion of the volunteer project.

Scholarship Timeline:

February 28, 2024 – Deadline to apply

April 11, 2024 – Winning applicant announced

June 30, 2024 – Deadline to complete volunteer project

July 11, 2024 – Presentation to the Board, award dispersed

The winner is also expected to attend a Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District Board meeting to present the results of their project and accept their scholarship.

Find the application below. Completed applications and questions can be sent to [email protected].

The application can also be mailed to:
Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District
Attn: Jen Knight and Rose Wall
49 Mount Carmel Road
Asheville NC, 28806

Growing Minds Farm to School Mini-Grant
Feb 7 @ 6:30 am
online
ASAP’s Growing Minds mini-grants help early childhood education (ECE) centers and K-12 schools throughout the 23 westernmost counties of North Carolina provide children positive experiences with healthy local foods through these components of farm to school: school gardens, farm field trips and farmer classroom visits, and local foods served in meals, snacks, and/or taste tests.

Mini-grant applications are available three times during the 2023-2024 school year. You may apply one time during this cycle. Mini-grants must be used within a year after receiving the funding. 

Applications due by:

  • November 30, 2023
  • January 30, 2024
  • March 30, 2024

If you have questions about your eligibility to apply for funding, please email us at [email protected] before submitting your application. We are unable to provide mini-grants to schools located outside of our 23-county service area or to folks who have received a grant from us within the past year. Learn more and apply here!

Free Pool Operator Training
Feb 7 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Buncombe County Government

Buncombe County Environmental Health is hosting a FREE course for pool operators, owners, and any others who are involved in the day-to-day operation of a public pool, spa, or other body of water or are tasked with filling out the paperwork annually.

Topics that will be covered:

  • How to avoid getting your annual application sent back.
  • How to avoid a revisit fee and permit-action items specific to North Carolina.
  • Common permit conditions.
  • Industry changes and what they mean for you.
  • How to properly fill out your safety data sheet:
    • How to properly measure your sump.
    • How to determine a flow reduction, if needed.
    • How to determine that your drain covers work with your pool.

The training will be in person at 200 College St. Asheville, NC 28801. It will be broken up into two sections with the latter to work on your individual datasheet with in-person help from an Environmental Health staff member. Please note that this course is NOT a Certified Pool Operator (CPO) training course. 

Please register for one of the two courses (you may register multiple people at once):

February 7, 2024, from 9 a.m. – noonRegistration closes on January 19, 2024

February 14, 2024, from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Registration closes on January 26, 2024

To ensure a conducive learning environment for all, the number of registrants is limited, so registration is first come, first served. Once registration has closed, you will receive a confirmation email letting you know whether or not your registration has been accepted. The course agenda will be attached to emails sent to registrants attending the course.

Pacolet Junior Appalachian Music (PacJAM) Spring Semester
Feb 7 @ 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Tryon Fine Arts Center

Beginning & Intermediate youth music classes on traditional and ol’ time instruments including but not limited to, fiddle, mandolin, banjo and guitar. Students will attend 40 minutes of music enrichment, including multiple flat-footing sessions led by Alice Kexel, story-telling, visits from guest musicians, as well as learn about the heritage of the music and the region. They will have 40 minutes of group music classes, and 40 minutes of singing or JAM rehearsal.

Advanced students will have 40 minutes of group instrument lessons, followed by 30 minutes of advanced singing including harmony and shape-note singing, and finish with 50 minutes of coached, small-ensemble rehearsal.

Classes are $15/session, for a total of $210 for the first student, and a 20% discount of $168 for each additional sibling. Parents may choose to split payments when registering. Inquire with Julie Moore at [email protected] or 864-420-6407 about scholarships.

Youth Classes

Wednesdays, 4-6 pm

Middle School Musical Mania
Feb 7 @ 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm
Playhouse Jr. Education Center

Sing and dance your way through an entire mini musical! This high-energy, low-pressure virtual class explores the plot and characters of a Broadway musical as young actors learn songs and dances from the show. With fun activities and games emphasizing creative play, movement, voice, and improvisation, this process-based class will build theatre skills and allow a fun outlet for your bite-sized Broadway star. No experience is necessary. We will end the semester with a performance for family and friends at our end of session Spring Fling on Saturday April 20!

Dates: February 7-April 17

Grades: 6th-8th Grade
Day & Time: Wednesdays 4:30-6:00

Instructor: Lauren Hopkins & Lenora Thom

CPR Class
Feb 7 @ 6:00 pm
Mills River Fire & Rescue

Free Basic CPR Class if you live or work in the town of Mills River.

High School Musical Scenes + Songs
Feb 7 @ 6:15 pm – 7:45 pm
Playhouse Jr. Education Center

Are you wanting to hone your talent and become a true triple threat? This class will focus on acting through songs, scene work, and choreography. This process-based class will build your musical theatre skills and help you become more confident through your performing. We will end the semester with a performance for family and friends at our end of session Spring Fling on Saturday April 20.

Dates: February 7-April 17

Grades: 9th-12th Grades
Day & Time: Wednesdays 6:15-7:45

Instructor: Lauren Hopkins & Lenora Thom

Westie Wednesdays at Continuum ft. Ryan Pflumm
Feb 7 @ 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
CONTINUUM ART

Help us relaunch the Westie scene in a premier venue showcasing spacious dance floors, high ceilings, and a vintage vibe. If you are new to West Coast Swing, come check out for yourself the popular dance style that can be done to a wide variety of music, including pop, country, blues, and contemporary music! For those looking to advance their skills, the Hendersonville WCS community is excited to welcome Pro Instructor Ryan Pflumm to Continuum!

As always, the dress is casual and no partner is needed. Join us for an incredible night of connecting and dancing with our MONTHLY event every FIRST Wednesday!

PRIVATE LESSONS
If you would like to book a private lesson with Ryan for $75 per hour, please message Continuum with the following:

  1. Which timeslot(s)
  2. number of people attending
    Times:
    3:30-4:30pm
    4:30-5:30pm
    5:30-6:30pm
    first come, first served

CLASSES
7:00-8:00pm Intermediate w/ Ryan Pflumm!
7:00-8:00pm Beginner w/ Rachel Harris
8:00-10:00pm Social Dance

Each class is $10 and includes a pass to the social dance. The social dance is $7 without a lesson. Music will be DJ’d by Pro Instructor Ryan Pflumm.

Bring your own beer/wine. Liquor and other beverages above 16% alcohol content are strictly prohibited.

Masks are encouraged but, not required.

Cash, cards, Venmo, PayPal, and Cash app are accepted.

Thursday, February 8, 2024
Growing Minds: “I Tried Local…” free virtual toolkit
Feb 8 all-day
online

Growing Minds has published “I Tried Local…” a Toolkit for Engaging Kids with Local Food and Farms. This resource—intended for early care and education through second grade classrooms—offers an immersive curriculum designed around 10 crops grown in North Carolina. The print toolkit is currently available to educators in North Carolina who participate in a virtual training with Growing Minds. A free digital version is also available to anyone on the Growing Minds website.

Each unit includes an overview of a North Carolina–grown crop, lesson plans, recipes, coloring pages, book recommendations, discussion prompts, and a link to the “Meet Your Farmer” video series featuring North Carolina farmers. The toolkit also offers resources for implementing the core elements of farm to school—gardens, classroom cooking and taste tests, farm field trips and farmer visits, and local foods in meals or snacks.
Growing Minds will host a series of virtual training to support educators interested in using the toolkit. The first will be held on Zoom on Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Register here or contact [email protected] for more information.
School Garden Grants
Feb 8 all-day
online

Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County are happy to announce for the seventeenth year we are offering School Garden Grants to Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools, including state charter schools.

We provide a notice of the application period along with instructions to all school principals, elementary through senior high. Additional information is available on our websitebuncombemastergardener.org where you can learn more about the guidelines for receiving a grant and get access to the online 2024 School Garden Grants Application.

All applications must be completed online. Completed applications will be accepted beginning January 12, 2024, and must be submitted no later than 9 p.m. on February 15, 2024. If you have any questions, please call the Extension Office at 828-255-5522.

We are proud of our partnership with Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools. Since 2007, we have awarded 60 School Garden Grants totaling over $47,000. These grants have involved more than 17,500 students and hundreds of teachers, parents, and community volunteers.

School gardens grow more than plants. They grow imagination and creativity. They make math and science come alive, and they build community. We hope your school will join us in 2024.

Click on the link below to review the guidelines for school garden grants:
Guidelines for 2024 School Garden Grants

 

Student Soil + Water Scholarship
Feb 8 all-day
online

Buncombe County students interested in entering the field of conservation, agriculture or another natural resource program can win a $1,000 scholarship from The Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District.

The William Hamilton Memorial Scholarship will provide a student with money to go towards their studies. Eligible students must attend or plan to attend an accredited college or university and must submit a proposal for a volunteer conservation project in Buncombe County.

One winner will be selected by a committee of Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District staff and Supervisors and the funds will be dispersed directly to the institution upon completion of the volunteer project.

Scholarship Timeline:

February 28, 2024 – Deadline to apply

April 11, 2024 – Winning applicant announced

June 30, 2024 – Deadline to complete volunteer project

July 11, 2024 – Presentation to the Board, award dispersed

The winner is also expected to attend a Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District Board meeting to present the results of their project and accept their scholarship.

Find the application below. Completed applications and questions can be sent to [email protected].

The application can also be mailed to:
Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District
Attn: Jen Knight and Rose Wall
49 Mount Carmel Road
Asheville NC, 28806

Growing Minds Farm to School Mini-Grant
Feb 8 @ 6:30 am
online
ASAP’s Growing Minds mini-grants help early childhood education (ECE) centers and K-12 schools throughout the 23 westernmost counties of North Carolina provide children positive experiences with healthy local foods through these components of farm to school: school gardens, farm field trips and farmer classroom visits, and local foods served in meals, snacks, and/or taste tests.

Mini-grant applications are available three times during the 2023-2024 school year. You may apply one time during this cycle. Mini-grants must be used within a year after receiving the funding. 

Applications due by:

  • November 30, 2023
  • January 30, 2024
  • March 30, 2024

If you have questions about your eligibility to apply for funding, please email us at [email protected] before submitting your application. We are unable to provide mini-grants to schools located outside of our 23-county service area or to folks who have received a grant from us within the past year. Learn more and apply here!

Blood Drive
Feb 8 @ 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Advent Health
This February show some love by donating blood!
Someone needs blood in the U.S. every two seconds. This constant demand means there is always a need for more blood. To make sure community blood supplies are stocked and available, we’re hosting a blood drive. Be a sweetheart and save lives! All donors will receive $50 in TBC Rewards to use for an e-gift card of your choice.
There are people in your community who need you. 🙏
To schedule your lifesaving appointment, click the link below: 👇
https://donate.thebloodconnection.org/…/drive…/221615
High School Acting + Improv
Feb 8 @ 5:15 pm – 6:45 pm
Playhouse Jr. Education Center

In this 10-week session, teen artists will learn from industry experts in acting, character development, scene work, and improv! In their weekly acting class students will explore the nuances of theatre technique and provide a framework approaching scenes and monologues. This session is ideal for students who are passionate about theatre, excited to collaborate in a pre-professional environment with peers and industry experts, and looking to grow and develop as artists. With new material every semester, this class can (and should) be taken multiple times! We will end the semester with a performance for family and friends at our end of session Spring Fling on Saturday April 20!

Dates: February 8-April 18

Grades: 9th-12th Grades
Day & Time: Thursdays 5:15-6:45

Instructor: Angie Harrell

Town Hall Discussion: Climate Change + Resilience in WNC
Feb 8 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
UNC Asheville Reuter Center

 

Free | Suggested Donation $12 | 

Limit: 100

Join this community Town Hall to discuss the timely and critical issues related to climate change and how residents and visitors to Western North Carolina can build and enhance resiliency strategies to address these changes. Meeting at UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center, the Town Hall will feature an address by noted climate scientist Allison Crimmins,  director of the Fifth National Climate Assessment. A select panel of eminent scientists and researchers engaged in climate change research will be led by Deke Arndt, the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Reserve a spot to attend virtually (via Livestream) or in person through the form linked here.

Deke Arndt (Panel moderator), director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI); Allison Crimmins, director of the Fifth National Climate Assessment, detailed to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Air and Radiation; Ken Kunkel, lead scientist, Technical Support Unit for NCICS and director of the North Carolina Climate Science Report; Allyza Lustig, U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP); and Laura Lengnick, award-winning soil scientist and author of “Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate,” founder and principal at Cultivating Resilience, LLC.