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.
Love, Linda is a one-woman musical about Linda Lee Thomas, the glamorous spouse and driving force behind renowned American songwriter Cole Porter. The story of their unconventional 35-year marriage interweaves with innovative arrangements of Porter’s timeless music and clever lyrics to create the compelling narrative of Love, Linda.
In the course of the show, Linda takes us behind the glitter of their sensational social life, sharing intimate, and at times heartbreaking moments, such as the dashed dreams of having a child, Cole’s occasional hurtful sexual escapades, his crippling horse accident and her own failing health. To quote Linda from the show, their journey together was far from “a picture-perfect postcard”, but by the end of her story, she has definitively made the case that “just because a love between two people may be difficult to define, that doesn’t mean it didn’t exist.”
Love, Linda is directed by Misty Theisen and stars Karen Covington-Yow.
Seating is limited for this show!
MJ LIVE features all the biggest hits of the legendary music of Michael Jackson, including Bad, Billie Jean, Beat It, Dangerous, Smooth Criminal, Black & White, I Want You Back and many others. Relive the energy, excitement, spectacle and pure joy of this one-of-a-kind superstar and his chart-topping music, signature dance moves and award-winning showmanship. With awesome sound and lighting effects, the MJ LIVE band and the energy of the mega talented MJ LIVE dancers, the audience is invited to sing, dance and celebrate the one and only King of Pop to some of the greatest songs of all time.
Ticket Prices: $22, $27, $35, $38 Priority Seating
“A drama that’s not just a departure but a revelation” – Variety
Becca and Howie Corbett have everything a family could want, until the tragic death of their son turns their world upside down and leaves the couple drifting apart. Rabbit Hole charts their bittersweet journey from a place of uncertainty to a new reality, as they find themselves and each other. In the end, there is always hope. Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize.
We are so excited to work with director Stephanie Hickling Beckman on this production. Stephanie is the Founder and Managing Artistic Director of Different Strokes Performing Arts Collective and has directed several times in 35below. She
shares that “Rabbit Hole has been categorized as a play about parents navigating the loss of a child. Upon closer inspection, it became apparent to me that while the polarizing incident serves as a catalyst for grief, the play can’t be defined by the tragedy that occurs eight months before the opening scene. Rabbit Hole is instead a story about how a family, each in their own way, navigates a life-changing event.”
Nationally recognized comedians travel the country tasting local wine and making new fans in this new comedy circuit that brings quality comedy to folks for a fraction of what antiquated comedy clubs demand. Come out for a night of hilarious comedy and great local wines. This comedy tour takes top comedians who you’ve seen on TV and sends them out on the road to perform at wineries throughout the country. Find out which local wines pair best with hysterical laughter when The Winery Comedy Tour comes to your town.
Buy your tickets: https://pointlookoutvineyards.com/event/winery-comedy-tour/
Visit https://www.universe.com/events/25R9PS?embed=open&ref=universe_facebook_push&eventref=fb_oea for more information and to get tickets
https://www.facebook.com/events/427177671426573/
Schedule:
Wednesday, August 7 at Highland Brewing Company
Thursday, August 8 at Diana Wortham Theatre
Friday, August 9 at Diana Wortham Theatre
Saturday, August 10 at Diana Wortham Theatre
Late shows at Lazoom Room Wednesday – Friday
Tickets on Sale now at www.ashevillecomedyfestival.
Maya May – David Sitrick – Janet McNamara – Jimmy HVD – Olivia Cathcart – Mike Feeney – Chey Bell – Nat Baimel – Caitlin Checkeroski – Dylan Vattelana – Aviva Siegel – Jeff Zenisek –
You do not have to be a member to come to this event!
Ages 21+ only
Tickets $8 Advance, $10 day of show
A great mix of classic metal covers and originals… this band, out of Asheville, plays some of the most raw metal and guitar rock tunes… Iron Maiden, Queensryche, Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, Whitesnake, and so much more…and some originals as well.
Special guest: Palenium
https://www.facebook.com/events/454557718415904/
Friday, August 9th, the last remaining tickets are quickly disappearing to catch Godspeed You! Black Emperor live, along with support band Manas. The independent, 9-piece collective known as Godspeed has been making music together for almost 25 years now – their art is swelling, dark, all instrumental neo-classical anarchist rock. Heavy on the guitars and atmospheric strings. Don’t miss your chance to see this elusive band live at the Peel while you can! It is almost sold out.
Give us 2-4 hours. Enjoy a day of music and memories — and the knowledge that you helped to bring a community together! You’ll also get a little swag: a 11th Annual Festival Tee Shirt, snacks, a drink ticket, and our new Blue Ridge Pride Center buttons and stickers. Volunteer roles include: setup and breakdown, selling wristbands, beverages or merchandise, and assisting with volunteer check-in or VIP. Learn more and sign up here.
Film screenings of award-winning international/national/local films, premieres & official selections. Feature Film “Beautiful Jinn” by Bayram Fazli screens on Friday, 8-10pm. Screenings of Short Drama Animation, Short Dramas, Experimental Films, and Documentaries will run Saturday 11am – 6pm. Vote for Audience Award!
TRMF has become the festival of choice for filmmakers and film lovers who are seeking a unique Western North Carolina high quality cinema experience and a place to indulge their passion for film. The Festival connects audiences to compelling documentaries, award-winning international releases with tantalizing discussions with visiting filmmakers. This year the festival will be screening 46 films from 26 countries which also includes two selected films from Western North Carolina.
We’ve sent three lucky winners to London and one lucky winner to Hawaii – but in this summer’s raffle, someone’s going to win $10,000! Heck, you could go to BOTH London and Hawaii if you won (fly coach, stay in hostels?) Or build that outdoor firepit you’ve seen on HGTV, or rent a super swank beach house for a week, or anything you want, really, because it’s your $10,000!
Raffle tickets are $50 and only 500 will be sold! And proceeds from every ticket you buy supports operations and programming at Asheville Community Theatre!
ELIGIBILITY: Present employees of Asheville Community Theatre and any immediate family members residing with the employees are not eligible to participate. Must be 18 years or older to enter. Contest void where prohibited. You need not be present to win.
Come experience the love of clay with our talented artists at Odyssey ClayWorks! Learn to sculpt, coil, and even get to try your hand at throwing on the potter’s wheel in a fun and upbeat atmosphere. All skill levels welcome.
From Buncombe County Libraries:
Do you love to read? Do you like children? The Buncombe County Public Library’s Preschool Outreach Project (POP) is currently looking for volunteers. POP is an outreach service of the library, a program designed to bring the joy and excitement of books to children in child care centers. Our volunteers offer stories, songs, puppets and smiles to our youngest book lovers – children under the age of 5.
No formal experience is needed, just a strong commitment to both children and reading. Most volunteers spend approximately five hours per month on POP, reading twice a month at their assigned center. We ask that volunteers commit to participate with our program for one full school year. All story time materials are provided by the library.
All POP volunteers must participate in story time training and submit to a background check. The next training is Monday, Aug. 26.
Interested volunteers must complete a volunteer application before Aug. 19. Applications can be filled out here.
The Sourwood Festival fills downtown Black Mountain with wholesome entertainment for both adults and children in August each year.
Over 30,000 people from all over America will be in attendance at the festival which grows in popularity each year.
Music, dancing, arts & crafts, super food, kid’s rides and games, face painting and more in a no alcohol environment make it the perfect event for you and your entire family.
With about 200 vendors you will discover lots of local and unique arts and crafts and there will be something to please every palate with BBQ and vegetarian faire, custom-crafted ice cream and funnel cakes and jellies. Summertime favorites include the sausages and corn on the cob.
Add to that the honey and bee demos as well as the gourmet sourwood honey – you don’t want to miss this event!
Momentum Gallery in downtown Asheville hosts new summer exhibitions – Mariella Bisson, Setting Shapes; Oil paintings by two new painters: Samantha Keely Smith and Paul Sattler; and a group invitational called Give Me Wood. These exhibitions continue at 24 N Lexington Avenue through the end of August.
Mariella Bisson deftly delineates the sculptural planes of regional waterfalls and sylvan scenes creating refreshingly contemporary landscape paintings. Her oil-over-collage paintings feature built-up texture, suggesting the complex surface of stone and tree bark, lichen, and moss. Bisson’s paintings demonstrate a strong understanding of formal composition and reflect a sensibility honed from time she’s spent immersed in the outdoors. Of note, Bisson is a two-time recipient of the Pollock-Krasner grant and was awarded a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship in painting.
Samantha Keely Smith creates inspired and stirring abstract paintings in oil. The Brooklyn-based artist sees her paintings “as an expression of our internal turbulence. They reflect the overwhelming reality of being constantly aware of what is happening in the wider world – Change is the only constant.” Smith’s nebulous compositions are evocative of luminous cloudscapes and primordial oceans. Brilliant areas of stained pigment collide with waves of painterly brush strokes ultimately conjuring imagined environments with a timeless quality. “These paintings are about the essence of who we all are, as human beings… We all want love and connection.” Smith’s works give form to fluctuations between turbulence and calm present in everything from our emotions to the temporal world. Overall, Smith’s focus is on the underlying psychological impact of the dawning awareness of our shifting reality.
An accomplished oil painter, Paul Sattler was the recipient of the John R. Solomon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship. In 2004, he was selected to exhibit at the 179th Annual Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary Art at the National Academy of Design in New York, where he received the Wallace Truman Prize. Dramatic narratives unfold in his charged and enigmatic oil paintings which reference historic and literary sources. Sattler comments, “A diverse population of animals are enmeshed in my works’ human-inhabited environments, theatrical locales, and domestic dramas.”
Give Me Wood is an imaginative and evocative collection of contemporary painting and wood sculpture. Central to the identity and creation of all the extraordinary two- and three-dimensional works in the exhibition is the common material of wood. The participating artists defy logic, explore space (both real and imagined), carve, bend, turn, and otherwise construct some truly amazing and innovative work! Featuring Michael Alm, Garry Knox Bennett, Gil Bruvel, Christian Burchard, Tom Eckert, David Ellsworth, Ron Layport, Wendy Maruyama, and Sylvie Rosenthal.
Outback Give Back – Donate, Mate!
There’s never been a better time to stop by your local Outback Steakhouse! And The Blood Connection is giving you an easy way to eat for FREE.
For the entire month of August, TBC and Outback Steakhouse are working together to spread the word about blood donation. Partnerships like this are essential to the community’s blood supply. Outback Steakhouse’s enthusiasm to partner with TBC has helped the blood center reach new donors and save more lives!
The Outback Give Back Promotion runs August 1st – August 29th. Donors who give blood at any TBC center on any Thursday will receive a $20 Outback gift card and a free Bloomin’ Onion ® coupon. To find a center near you, click here.
On August 29th, 18 Outback Steakhouse locations will host a blood mobile for a collective blood drive at the same time, 2-7 P.M. Blood donors will receive a $20 Outback gift card and a free Bloomin’ Onion® coupon. After donating, they can walk right in and enjoy a free dinner at Outback, a thank you for saving lives!
Donors can visit any TBC center in the Upstate of South Carolina, and Raleigh and Asheville in North Carolina: 435 Woodruff Road, Greenville, SC; 341 Old Abbeville Highway, Greenwood, SC; 5116 Calhoun Memorial Hwy, Easley, SC; 1308 Sandifer Boulevard, Seneca, SC; 270 North Grove Medical Park Drive, Spartanburg, SC; 225 Airport Road, Arden, NC; 5925 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC. Centers are open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on the weekends 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Hank, Pattie & The Current – Bluegrass favorites!
Fri Aug 9th 8 pm $12 advance $15 door
Bluegrass ambassadors Hank Smith and Pattie Hopkins Kinlaw join forces once again with their original and energetic new soulgrass band, Hank and Pattie. Hank and Pattie take traditional bluegrass and infuse it with their own flair, drawing from a melting pot of styles including Latin and Jazz, which adds up to an authentic and unique reflection of American music. While some of the music sounds old school and some sounds fresh and new, their overall musicianship, vocal harmonies, impassioned delivery and innovative arrangements captivate all generations of music lovers.
Hank and Pattie are backed by an all-star band comprised of North Carolina musicians Jonah Freedman on Bass and vocals, Billie Feather on guitar, and Robert Thornhill on mandolin and vocals.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1129657643893114/
Hailing from western North Carolina, Stepchild is a five-piece cover band that performs a variety of classic songs from the ’60s forward.
Located in Historic Downtown 7th Avenue in Hendersonville, Triskelion Brewing serves up a wide variety of ales and lagers with food truck and very cool outdoor stage.
Come join the festivities!
https://www.facebook.com/events/2540672482632790/
$25 Advance / $25 Day of Show
The Aristocrats defiantly and joyously blow the supergroup stereotype to bits, thrilling audiences and fans around the world. Seatbelts are your own responsibility.
“Silky bends, sweet legato lines, and tuneful shred characterize Travis Larson‘s playing… instrumental rock fans should catch this guy.” -Guitar Player Magazine
Dinner reservations are available in the dining room, limited seating in the music hall and balcony will be first come first serve.
Main Stage Standing/Dancing Show
https://www.facebook.com/events/809032356128561/
Burlesque! Burlesque! Burlesque! presents the 7th annual Geektastic Nerdlesque Revue at The Grey Eagle!
Asheville’s biggest nerdlesque show! Geektastic is an annual celebration of geek and pop culture featuring burlesque and variety acts from all over the ‘Verse! Whether you’re crazy for Cortana or have a Boba Fettish, Geektastic has something for everypony!
Joining us this year is headlining performer Rebel Belle!
Hosted by Asheville hero Toybox Theatre and feature performances by Silver Kitsune and the Asheville Burlesque Pageant reigning Royal “High”ness, Ariel Allegro!
This year’s raffle basket proceeds will be donated to the Asheville Cat Weirdos Emergency Fund!
Showtime: 9 PM
Friday Night Tickets:
http://www.thegreyeagle.com/event/1866856-burlesque-burlesque-asheville/
TWO NIGHT PASSES AVAILABLE HERE:
https://www.thegreyeagle.com/event/1866863/
https://www.facebook.com/events/2426550334244218/
The Ex-Optimists (NC/TX) makes their Asheville debut with Personality Cult, and Ugly Runner
https://www.facebook.com/events/2438395022858296/
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
plus MANAS
Show: 9pm
Doors: 8pm
$25 – $28
Ages 18+
Tickets & Info: www.theorangepeel.net/event/godspeed-you-black-emperor/
Godspeed You! Black Emperor began with Efrim Menuck, Mauro Pezzente and Mike Moya in Montréal in the early 90s, playing a handful of shows and recording a self-released cassette as a trio before beginning to transform the group into a large band. Recruiting numerous Montreal musicians through 1995-1996, GYBE mounted sense-rattling wall-of-sound performances, featuring as many as 14 musicians and several 16mm film projectors, eventually self-recording their debut vinyl-only version of F#A#∞, released on Constellation in late summer 1997. The band’s Hotel2Tango warehouse space in Montréal’s Mile-End district was a central hive of DIY activity, with band rehearsal rooms, silkscreen and wood shops, and weekend shows that took place under the radar.
The group settled into a permanent nine-member line-up by late 1998, with Aidan Girt and Bruce Cawdron on drums, Thierry Amar and Mauro on basses, Efrim, Dave Bryant and Roger Tellier-Craig on guitars, and Norsola Johnson and Sophie Trudeau on cello and violin respectively. The band toured and recorded continuously from 1998-2002 and gained a reputation for mesmerising live shows marked by orchestral dynamics, epic rock power and clunky, beautiful film loops. Following hundreds of concerts and the release of four records – F#A#∞ (1997), Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada EP (1999), and the double albums Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven (2000) and Yanqui U.X.O. (2002), GYBE went on hiatus in 2003.
Various GYBE offshoots continued with their own momentum through the 2000s, most notably The Silver Mt Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band (including Efrim, Sophie and Thierry), Hrsta (led by Moya), Fly Pan Am (featuring Roger), Esmerine (co-founded by Bruce), 1-Speed Bike (Aidan’s solo punk-techno project) and Set Fire To Flames (led by Dave, and including Bruce, Moya, Roger and Sophie).
Godspeed returned to live performance in December 2010, when the band was invited to curate and perform at All Tomorrow’s Parties in the UK. This was followed by renewed and extensive international touring. October 2012 saw the release of ‘ALLELUJAH! DON’T BEND! ASCEND!, their first recorded work in a decade, to near-unanimous critical acclaim, including a 9.3 rating and Best New Music at Pitchfork and the appearance on countless year-end lists. The similarly praised ‘Asunder, Sweet And Other Distress’ followed in March 2015; this album marked the group’s first personnel change in many years, with Tim Herzog replacing Bruce on drums. Throughout Godspeed’s ‘post-hiatus’ period, experimental filmmaker Karl Lemieux has been the band’s primary creator (and projectionist) of 16mm film footage and loops; an array of analog film projectors remains central to GYBE’s live performances.
Godspeed collaborated with Holy Body Tattoo on monumental in 2016-2017, performing live to the acclaimed contemporary dance piece in various cities around the world. The band also premiered new work commissioned to memorialize the 100th anniversary of the WWI Battle of Messines at a live concert event on the site of the massacre at Heuvelland, Belgium in June 2017.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor announced their third post-reunion album (and seventh record overall) Luciferian Towers in early August, with a 22 September 2017 release date.
https://www.facebook.com/events/2388910658032826/
Kicking things off at 10pm for a great night of Music featuring AMFM
Jeff White – Denver, CO 10pm
Andy Mowatt’s Frequency Movement – Lancaster , PA 11pm
There’s something about the music one hears when in “the islands” it can be the perfect soundtrack to watching the waves roll in, drink in hand, sunburned feet buried in the cool sand it’s calming, fun, and carefree. Jeff White is the purveyor of such music. It is one of life’s greatest ironies that a young man who has been both struck by lightning and bitten by a shark can produce such dulcet tones and irie vibes.
White has been a veritable beach bum since his birth in Florida where he grew up in a small island community. The island experience is imbued in his soul and it is conspicuous in his music. Proficient on bass, guitar, keys, drums and percussion, White credits such influences as Sublime, Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, Sam Cooke, Jack Johnson, Barrington Levy and Paul Simon. No neophyte to touring, he has delighted audiences with his brand of “acoustic roots soul” in 47 U.S. states, several Central and South American countries and many Caribbean islands including St. Thomas where he is now based.
Jeff Uses a Boss Loop Station to Seamlessly record tracks on the Fly, creating his signature sound. He Proudly Plays Breedlove Guitars and Uses D’Addario Strings Exclusively
https://www.facebook.com/events/390738991536437/
Genre: Funk
Cover: $5 Suggested Donation @ Door
Show: 10PM
Ages: 21+
AMFM: Andy Mowatt’s Frequency Movement
“Consistently stellar” (Price, PA Musician Mag), “Andy Mowatt’s Steely Jam” is a funk-driven powerhouse from Pennsylvania, led by guitarist Andy Mowatt, “an absolute musical genius” (Devoy, Tellus 360) and “jazz-rock flamethrower on guitar” (Campbell, Gigspots). A fusion of New Orleans and Central PA, Mowatt’s “bright arrangements keep things sounding fresh” (PA Musician) and “inspire you to expand your mind and think outside the confines of traditional jazz, soul and funk!” (Robert, Positive Music Reviews). “Confident, to-the-point, and elegant” (Rocha, The Flinging Times), Andy and his group entertain and impress crowds with unique originals and modern twists on classic hits, “and yet, through many influences, each tune retains a sound that is distinctly Mowatt’s” (O’Brien, Fly Magazine).
web: https://www.andymowatt.com
Tour: https://goo.gl/zhfTDB
Spotify: https://goo.gl/ykauns
Apple Music: https://goo.gl/XLLPJu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndyMowattsFrequencyMovement/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amfm_andy/
YouTube: https://goo.gl/vxqkT6
vid: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4-zO824GfTe4O6fUzLwgcl8eZ98rdhgK
https://www.facebook.com/events/611502086031256/
Every Friday night you can find DJ Databoy and DJ Woodside spinning your favorite rap records. Dancing is permitted! No Cover.
https://www.facebook.com/events/2530249150380639/?event_time_id=2530253737046847
There are amazing things you can do with Watermelon. Come check it out!
https://www.facebook.com/events/1994546117262039/
Summer is all about outdoor fun, spending quality time together as a family and taking in the wonderful sights of nature. Submit your photos of your family hiking, sunlight making its way through the trees or of the fantastic views that make Chimney Rock so special. 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.
Cost: No cost to enter contest.
https://www.facebook.com/events/540542089755630/?event_time_id=540542253088947
Our Parents Morning Out program provides a safe nurturing environment for children to participate in a variety of organized activities, while giving parents a break. Each Parents Morning Out has a different theme. Open to children 12 months to 12 years, and occurs the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month. Sign up at the front desk.
https://www.facebook.com/events/640690433075829/
Our Parents Morning Out program provides a safe nurturing environment for children to participate in a variety of organized activities, while giving parents a break. Each Parents Morning Out has a different theme. Open to children 12 months to 12 years, and occurs the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month. Sign up at the front desk.
https://www.facebook.com/events/640690433075829/?event_time_id=640690446409161