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.
TRYON, NC – Gather your Krewe! The Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce will present a Mardi Gras Extravaganza from 5 to 10 p.m. on Saturday March 2, 2019, at the Harmon Field air gym.
There will be music, dancing and a warm bon fire to keep you going all night! All-You-Can-Eat & Drink, consisting of oysters roasted over an open fire, shrimp, mussels, crawdads, low country boil, barbecue chicken wings, authentic gumbo, coleslaw, rolls, iced tea, coffee, King Cakes and a great selection of draft beers and wine.
Time to get creative, a proper Mardi Gras event has the best masks, so bring yours to be entered to win the Most Unique Mask contest. Masks provide an element of mystery-who will be the lucky winner?
Tickets are $50 and can be purchased at The Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce office or online via our website CarolinaFoothillsChamber.com. Please be sure you buy your tickets in advance, Tickets are not sold at the door. 21+ Event-No Coolers-No Pets
For more information, call Christina Feagan at (828) 859-6236.
The Organic Growers School’s Spring Conference offers practical, regionally-appropriate workshops on organic growing, permaculture, homesteading, urban farming, and rural living plus a trade show, seed exchange, raffle, special guests, and pre-conference, on-farm events. More than 150 workshops over the three days including Community Food, Cooking, Earth Skills, Beginning Farmers, Advanced Farmers, Gardening, Herbs, Homesteading, Livestock, Mushrooms, Permaculture, Pollinators, Poultry, Soil, Sustainable Forestry, and Sustainable Living.
The Organic Growers School Spring Conference is a one-of-a-kind event that brings people of all walks of life together for a weekend of learning and networking. Since 1993 the OGS Spring Conference has been the best way to kick-off the season. As the largest grassroots conferences of its kind in the region, Organic Growers School has served to reinforce Southern Appalachian’s role as a regional leader in sustainable food and farming. Attendees come from 18 states and Canada, and have described the event as a kick start to the growing season.
A sampling of classes includes: Community Gardens for Good; Foundations of Indian Cooking; Wild Edibles; Introduction to Flower Farming; Integrated Pest Management; Holistic Gardening; Ginger & Tumeric; Happy Healthy Homesteading 101; Animal Breeding; Medicinal Mushrooms; Appalachian Permaculture Plants; Eat, Prey, Bug; Indigenous Soil Solutions; Horse Powered Logging; Solar for Home & Farm; Restoring Planetary Waters; Cultivating Medicinal Herbs (Half Day); Beginning Cheese Making (Half Day); Grow Your Own Mushrooms (Half Day); Equipment Operation & Maintenance for Women (Half Day).
Pre-Conference Workshops on March 8, 2019 from 9:30 to 4:30. Cost: $55 with any weekend registration $70 without. Pre-Registration is required. Four options:
Finding, Buying, & Loving the Land— Site Assessment & Land Design for Farmers, Homesteaders, and Land Seekers with Peter Bane
Year-Round Growing on the Farm & Garden with Pam Dawling & Ira Wallace
Integrated Animal Agriculture—Incorporating livestock into Your Farm & Homestead with Meredith Leigh
Water and Agriculture—Critical Consciousness for Healing the Planet with John & Jonathan Tod
This is a pre-conference day long workshop of the Organic Growers School’s 26th Spring Conference. Pre-conference registration is discounted with full conference registration, but weekend attendance is not required to attend/register.
How do you read the potential of a piece of property? Learn what the realtors, developers, and sellers won’t tell you. In this all-day workshop, we will develop land literacy through a permaculture lens, learning a sophisticated set of tools for assessment and design. Invaluable whether you are planning to you buy land or want to assess and learn how to work land you already own. We come at this from three directions:
Finding the Land: What’s valuable now and over the long-term? What factors are immutable and what can you change, and with how much effort? What’s on the site and what’s not but still matters? We’ll look at slope, aspect, sun, altitude, climate (rain, temps, wind, frost dates, microclimates), tree cover and other vegetation, wildlife, water, market value, location, road access, neighbors, ease of development, soil, and structures.
Buying the Land: How much land do you need and how much can you actually manage? What things are important to know and what’s hidden in land contracts? We’ll discuss your highest intentions for the land and your financial situation, ownership options such as fee simple or collective title, and development potential. We will explore other creative land access choices including leasing and sharing, and the steps in buying.
Loving Your Land: What are the observation skills you must have as you approach and learn to live on your land? We will discuss how to engage with what you find while moving toward your goals. No matter how well you evaluate land in advance of purchase, some things can only be discerned after you spend time working on the site. Specifically you’ll learn to create a list of priorities, discern existing patterns and set others that will help you live and work harmoniously, decide on housing options and temporary structures, make the most efficient steps first, and discover the must-start soil fertility and forest management strategies for getting earliest returns.
Stewarding land is like a marriage: there is only so much you will be able to change about your land partner. It will have its own values and ideas! Learn the myriad considerations that go into meeting your land-based goals. As we move towards regenerative management, this skillset is the foundation of all our future endeavors.
The Western North Carolina Orchid Society will host its 21st annual Asheville Orchid Festival, Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The North Carolina Arboretum. This year’s event, entitled “An Orchid Expedition,” will feature educational programs, lectures and orchid exhibits from world-class orchid growers and breeders, as well as regional orchid societies. Orchids will also be available for purchase.
2:00 p.m. Ticketed Magic Show ($8 per person, all ages)
3:00-5:00 p.m. Drop-In Pop-Up Adventure Playground (free and open to the community)
Join us to celebrate the Week of the Young Child and support young children in Buncombe County!
Children ages 2+ will enjoy The Professor Whizzpop Magic Show, which placed in the Mountain Xpress “Best of WNC” poll for 10 years.
Afterward, drop in for a FREE Pop-Up Adventure Playground where kids build their own place space using imagination, loose parts, and in collaboration with their peers. There is no charge to join the playground.
Roots Hummus will be served at no charge and sweet treats from The Hop Ice Cream Cafe will be available for purchase.
AIA South Atlantic’s new ASPIRE EXPERIENCE is a one-of-a-kind conference using Asheville’s art scene, historical architecture, craft breweries, popular parks, and local businesses to create and present a program of education, inspiration, and engagement for the design and construction community. The ASPIRE EXPERIENCE offers designers the opportunity to impact change and make a difference to their community. This is a time for transformation.
Attend this dynamic EXPERIENCE and create new relationships and ideas that can be into your work and daily lives throughout the year. Meet, network, and experience the industry’s leading experts all in one place.
Transform your thinking and ideas with demonstrations of cutting-edge solutions and new, innovative methods. EXPERIENCE how you can help change your community and profession with the leading though innovators in the area.
Look beyond the event as you get inspired to make a difference in your community. Engage with visionaries and walk away with solutions and the understanding of the power you hold to create meaningful change.
Join us for Asheville’s first Drive Electric Earth Day Sunday, April 28th, from 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. at Asheville Outlets (ShopAshevilleOutlets.com)! Along with local EV drivers and their vehicles, electric bicycles and yard equipment will be on display. Featured electric vehicles will include the Tesla Model 3, Chevy Bolt and the 2019 Nissan Leaf. Plus, the latest all electric Jaguar IPace! Owners will be available to answer questions about the EV lifestyle including charging, costs and performance.
Several hotels have special rates for those attending Drive Electric Earth Day, including Holiday Inn Express & Suites Asheville SW – Outlet Ctr Area, Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott – Asheville South and Lake Powhatan Recreational Area & Campground. The event is free and open to the public.
In the mountains of North Carolina you’ll find one of America’s hippest cities. On this fun-filled Asheville scavenger hunt, we loop around the city center in search of the city’s best sights and hidden gems.
Does an obelisk impress? Where can you play 75 pinball machines? Find out on this scavenger hunt of Asheville!
Summit Coffee Asheville will be donating a portion of all proceeds throughout out the day to Dogwood Alliance to protect Southern forests and communities from destructive industrial logging. Come grab a cup of coffee to support our work protecting Southern wetlands, forests, and communities!
In celebration of American Wetlands Month, we’ll be sharing with Summit Coffee patrons the newest episode in our “Wetland Wanderer” video series! The Wetland Wanderer herself, Lucia Ibarra, will make a special guest appearance to talk about her adventures in our amazing wetland forests across the South, exploring the interconnection of wetland forest protection, climate change, and community justice
Wetlands give so much to our communities – climate regulation, clean water, flood control, and more. In this new episode, Lucia continues to explore all that wetlands have to offer as she ventures through Congaree National Park, a wetland filled with history and adventure. We’ll be screening this throughout the event, so come learn all about all Congaree!
Mayfest is the one of the longest running festivals in N.C., drawing visitors from across the region for a full day of springtime, family fun. Annual entertainment and traditions will be enjoyed including live music from Rutherford County Line and the Houston Bernard Band, a Car, Truck and Bike Show, and a variety of artisans and crafters showcasing their one-of-a-kind items. Youngsters will have a ball in the Kids Playland featuring inflatables and rock climbing walls, plus obstacle courses, face painting, and the Pinewood Derby Race. Local dancers, gymnasts and cheerleaders will perform, a Doggie Kissing booth will be open, and friendly fur babies will take the spotlight during the 4 Paws Kingdom Pet Contest. No festival is complete without fabulous food vendors. Indulge yourself with delicious BBQ, turkey legs, roasted corn, stir-fry, funnel cakes, kettle corn, cotton candy, homemade ice cream, and much more.
Come celebrate the beginning of a new gardening season at the Spring Fling Plant Sale! The Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County in partnership with the Asheville Blue Ridge Rose Society will host the Spring Fling Plant Sale on Saturday, May 11, from 10 am. to 2 pm. The sale will be held in the parking lot of the American Red Cross, 100 Edgewood Road, off of Merrimon Avenue in Asheville. The sale will be held rain or shine.
The Asheville Blue Ridge Rose Society will sell many varieties of roses, including own-root, fragrant, miniature, and old garden roses. Expert rosarians will be on hand to help you choose the perfect rose and to give practical advice on growing and caring for roses.
Extension Master GardenerSM volunteers will offer a variety of sun and shade perennials, with a focus on natives and pollinator friendly selections. Plants are grown by Master Gardeners with tender loving care. We will also offer a nice selection of garden accessories. Personal shoppers will be available to assist you with the best plants for your special space, give you plant suggestions for Mother’s Day gifts, and answer your gardening questions.
We will also be offering an on-going pruning tool sharpening workshop. Bring your small hand tools (pruners) and loppers to learn how to clean and sharpen them. This is a free workshop but donations are greatly appreciated.
Defenders is excited to announce the launch of our 2019 seasonal series: Wildlife Workshops & Walkabouts! In this free, fun and educational series, you’ll have a chance to learn about your local wildlife and the habitat on which they depend. These lectures and hands-on activities will get you out into the great outdoors to discover the amazing world around you.
Our first event celebrates the salamanders of Southern Appalachia. Join us and special guest presenter, herpetologist and salamander expert R. Graham Reynolds, PhD on Thursday, May 16th to learn about the salamanders of our area – including rare and imperiled species such as the hellbender and green salamander – why they’re important and how we’re addressing conservation challenges they face. Dr. Reynolds is an Assistant Professor of Biology at UNC Asheville and an Associate at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology in Cambridge, MA. Following his presentation, we will learn how to create backyard salamander sanctuaries of our own. Then, join us on Saturday, May 18th for a walkabout in Rocky Fork State Park, TN. We’ll look for salamanders and explore this important area that supports an array of wildlife.
To learn more about our work to recover the imperiled eastern hellbender salamander, click here. https://medium.com/wild-without-end/diving-in-for-hellbender-conservation-a04219501768
Lecture and Hands-On Activity — Thursday May 16, 2019
5:30-7:00pm
Defenders of Wildlife’s Southeast Office
1 Rankin Avenue, 2nd Floor
Asheville, NC 28801
Refreshments provided.
AND
Walkabout — Saturday, May 18, 2019
7:30am – 3:00pm
Rocky Form State Park, TN
501 Rocky Fork Rd., Flag Pond, TN 37657
For more info, email Tracy at [email protected]
This 2019 series is sponsored by weilerwoodsforwildlife.com
5 th Annual Tryon International Film Festival BBQ Fundraiser
Brought to you by the Polk County Film Initiative
Join us for the 5 th Annual, Tryon International Film Festival BBQ Fundraiser, at Mountain Brook Vineyards
in Tryon.
Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, bell bottom jeans, tie-dyed shirts and free spirit, as we trip back to
1969 for a special screening of “Woodstock”.
Rap with all your friends and dig the music of Michael Baughman. Then munch out on the classic BBQ of
Bird Mountain and Tim Wright. Soak in the fabulous wines which are grown, bottled and produced on
Mountain Brooks’ spectacular seven-acre vineyard.
Asheville’s Power Band, “The Paper Crowns” will take the stage as the evening gets rolling. Then, as the
sun goes down, toss down a blanket let the Polk County Film initiative take you on a trip to
“Woodstock”. See how 50,000 tickets holders brought along 500,000 of their friends and turned
Woodstock into a pivoting point of the pop culture.
It will be a groovy evening to remember. Please support Year 5 of the Tryon International Film Festival.
The 44th Annual Assaults, presented by Greenville Health System, will be held on Monday, May 20, 2019.
The Assault on Mt Mitchell is one of the most intense, premier cycling experiences that draws a full field of upward of 1,000 cyclists from across the world each year. The Assault on Mt. Mitchell is a 102.7-mile self-paced ride — not race — from Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina, along the Blue Ridge Parkway, to the summit at Mt. Mitchell State Park in North Carolina —a total vertical ascent of more than 10,000 feet.
The Assault on Marion is a simultaneous 74.2-mile self-paced ride starting from Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina and ending at the 5th rest stop at the Tom Johnson Rally Park Pavilion in Marion, North Carolina.
The Collider hosts a monthly climate and environmental film series, open to the public. In collaboration with The Utopian Seed Project, The Collider will show Seeds of Time, a film by Sandy McLeod.
Seeds of Time: A man’s journey to save the future of our food
A perfect storm is brewing as agriculture pioneer Cary Fowler races against time to protect the future of our food.Seed banks around the world are crumbling, crop failures are producing starvation and rioting, and the accelerating effects of climate change are affecting farmers globally. Communities of indigenous Peruvian farmers are already suffering those effects, as they try desperately to save over 1,500 varieties of native potato in their fields.
With little time to waste, both Fowler and the farmers embark on passionate and personal journeys that may save the one resource we cannot live without: our seeds.
“Seeds of Time offers a vital, clear-headed look at the effects of climate change on global food security.” – The Los Angeles Times
The Utopian Seed Project
The Utopian Seed Project is a hands-in-the-earth organization committed to trialing crops and varieties in the Southeast to support diversity in food and farming. Its utopian vision is create an engaged network of growers, gardeners, farmers, foodies, cooks and chefs to help us educate and celebrate this diversity. Based in Asheville, NC, The Utopian Seed Project works towards achieving its overarching vision to support food security in the face of climate change through diverse and regenerative agriculture.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with refreshments provided. The screening begins at 7 p.m. The event is free & open to the public, with a suggested donation of $10/person.
The Prama Institute and Wellness Center will hold an all-day festival on Saturday, June 1st, 2019 to celebrate health and wellness. Join us for this free celebration, taking place from 8:30am-6pm at Prama’s double-domed facility, located at 310 Panhandle Rd., just south of Marshall and 20 minutes from Asheville.
There will be a variety of free yoga, dance, music, workshops, playshops, sound healing, nature walks, and many more activities taking place throughout the day from which to choose from. We will have local vendors and information booths, as well as a children’s tent. Participants will also be able to purchase a delicious and nutritious lunch prepared by Prama’s chefs.
Since 2007, the Prama Institute has become a landmark retreat and conference center in the Southeast, hosting events that promote holistic health, spirituality, the arts, environmentalism, and social activism. In 2012, it opened the Prama Wellness Center, an innovative health center that promotes positive lifestyle changes through its retreats and individualized coaching. Both facilities are located on 130 acres of idyllic, secluded rolling hills that border the French Broad River. The land is interlaced with hiking trails that connect the many affiliated projects of the Prama community.
Come and be inspired with new ideas for your garden! Join us for, Beyond the Garden Gate, tour starting at 9 am to 3 pm on Saturday, June 1, 2019. Coordinated by Buncombe County Extension Master Gardener Volunteers (EMGV), this year’s self-guided garden tour showcases 5 diverse gardens, including The Learning Garden. The Learning Garden is a newly developed group of gardens established by EMGVs which are intended to demonstrate to the public sustainable gardening practices relevant to our area.
This biennial event features unique home gardens designed and tended by Master Gardener volunteers, as well as The Learning Garden. Learn while you explore the private gardens and educational demonstration sites at The Learning Garden. The Master Gardener volunteers will be on hand to answer your gardening questions and provide helpful information.
Tickets for this special event are $20 and available for purchase beginning on April 15th online at buncombemastergardener.org, NC Cooperative Extension Buncombe County Center at 49 Mt. Carmel Rd., and at EMGV events. Tickets may also be purchased on garden tour day at the Tour Registration Table at the Asheville Visitor Center, 36 Montford Avenue in Asheville. The tour is held rain or shine. For more information visit our website or call 828-255-5522.
All proceeds help support EMGV programs, such as School Garden Grants which benefits children in Buncombe County, continued development and maintenance of demonstration gardens at The Learning Garden, and other programs.
Please bring a friend, sun hat, bottle of water, and spend the day enjoying a selection of some of the most beautiful gardens in Buncombe County!
Experience everyone’s favorite train like never before as Thomas the Tank Engine chugs his way through the NC Mountains. Children can meet and take pictures with Sir Topham Hatt, listen to Thomas and Friends storytelling, and enjoy activities in the Imagination Station.
Experience everyone’s favorite train like never before as Thomas the Tank Engine chugs his way through the NC Mountains. Children can meet and take pictures with Sir Topham Hatt, listen to Thomas and Friends storytelling, and enjoy activities in the Imagination Station.
We invite you to bring your family, friends and neighbors to enjoy a musical evening in Biltmore Park Town Square. Grab a blanket and join us in Cecil Park, the green space near Hickory Tavern and Brixx Wood Fired Pizza. We will be hosting the Marsha Morgan Band – MMB plays a variety of music including beach, dance, rock, country and more. Come enjoy two full hours of live music, dancing and fun – free for everyone!
Experience everyone’s favorite train like never before as Thomas the Tank Engine chugs his way through the NC Mountains. Children can meet and take pictures with Sir Topham Hatt, listen to Thomas and Friends storytelling, and enjoy activities in the Imagination Station.
We wanted to invite you to the biggest party the River Arts District has ever seen!
Come join us in celebrating the grand opening of Girl and Goblin, Asheville’s one and only Tattoo Studio and Oddities Shop! See for yourselves our new location containing over 2,300 square feet of peculiar curiosities.
Joining the celebration will be local food trucks, free beer (21+) from local breweries, live music, multiple tattooers working all day, giveaways, sideshow performers and more! Everyone is welcome, all ages, all people!
It all goes down Sunday June 9th from 12-9.
375 Depot Street
We hope to see you there!
Email or call us for more info:
(828)691-5083
[email protected]
Experience everyone’s favorite train like never before as Thomas the Tank Engine chugs his way through the NC Mountains. Children can meet and take pictures with Sir Topham Hatt, listen to Thomas and Friends storytelling, and enjoy activities in the Imagination Station.
Experience everyone’s favorite train like never before as Thomas the Tank Engine chugs his way through the NC Mountains. Children can meet and take pictures with Sir Topham Hatt, listen to Thomas and Friends storytelling, and enjoy activities in the Imagination Station.
Experience everyone’s favorite train like never before as Thomas the Tank Engine chugs his way through the NC Mountains. Children can meet and take pictures with Sir Topham Hatt, listen to Thomas and Friends storytelling, and enjoy activities in the Imagination Station.
Experience everyone’s favorite train like never before as Thomas the Tank Engine chugs his way through the NC Mountains. Children can meet and take pictures with Sir Topham Hatt, listen to Thomas and Friends storytelling, and enjoy activities in the Imagination Station.
Experience everyone’s favorite train like never before as Thomas the Tank Engine chugs his way through the NC Mountains. Children can meet and take pictures with Sir Topham Hatt, listen to Thomas and Friends storytelling, and enjoy activities in the Imagination Station.
Homebrew Festival and tasting. Proceeds of this event benefit Just Economics, an Asheville-based non-profit organization whose mission is to build a more just and sustainable local economy that works for all in WNC.
– Sample over 100 unique home brewed beers
– Vote for your favorite for People’s Choice Award!
– Learn about Just Economics’ work and how to engage
Experience everyone’s favorite train like never before as Thomas the Tank Engine chugs his way through the NC Mountains. Children can meet and take pictures with Sir Topham Hatt, listen to Thomas and Friends storytelling, and enjoy activities in the Imagination Station.
Experience everyone’s favorite train like never before as Thomas the Tank Engine chugs his way through the NC Mountains. Children can meet and take pictures with Sir Topham Hatt, listen to Thomas and Friends storytelling, and enjoy activities in the Imagination Station.