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.

Thursday, August 25, 2022
Virtual Story Time with author and illustrator Ashley Belote
Aug 25 @ 10:00 am
online w/ Malaprop's Bookstore
Image contains the text Virtual Story Time with author and illustrator Ashley Belot Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022. 10 AM ET. Next to the text are a photo of the participant and the cover of the featured book.

Join us for a special Storytime event featuring Ashley Belote!

This 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 to purchase 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!

An overly excited elephant learns to listen with a little help from her new friends in Listen Up, Louella, an adorably humorous new picture book from Ashley Belote, the illustrator of Frankenslime. Louella is VERY excited to be at Roar Scout Camp. There’s so many fun things for her to do! But Louella is so busy having fun that she doesn’t stop to listen to anyone else… Or to realize that maybe her new friends aren’t having quite as much fun as she is. When Louella misses an important invitation, it’s up to Tarantula and the rest of their friends to help Louella learn to listen and play together.

Ashley Belote is the illustrator of Frankenslime and the author-illustrator of Listen Up, Louella . She studied traditional animation under the direction of Don Bluth. Ashley earned her BA from Alderson Broaddus University and her MA in Arts Administration from the University of Kentucky. Her graduate study included a children’s literature and illustration course through Simmons College. Ashley lives and works in North Carolina where she creates artwork that she hopes brings lots of laughs to others.

Black Experience Book Club: The Fire Next Time, by James Baldwin
Aug 25 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Noir Collective AVL

Black Experience Book Club

Join us at Join us at Noir Collective AVL, 39 S. Market St. in downtown Asheville,, for our discussion of this month’s book pick, The Fire Next Time, by James Baldwin.
WHERE TO FIND THE BOOK
AT THE LIBRARY
Call your local Buncombe County Public Library or visit buncombecounty.org/library to reserve your copy online.
NOIR COLLECTIVE AT THE YMI
Stop by the Noir Collective during open hours, call 828-257-4540, or email [email protected] to check availability.

Friday, August 26, 2022
North Asheville Book Club
Aug 26 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
North Asheville Public Library

North Asheville Book Club

Join us to discuss this month’s book: Facing the Mountain by Daniel James Brown

This is a hybrid in-person/virtual meeting. Participants may come in person to the North Asheville Library or participate via Zoom.

Registration is required for the Zoom link.

The North Asheville Book Club meets on the 3rd Tuesday of every month.

Monday, August 29, 2022
Science Fiction Book Club
Aug 29 @ 7:00 pm
online

Join host and Malaprop’s Bookseller Allison to dive into the wreck of the wily and wonderful world of science fiction, fantasy, weird fiction, speculative fiction, and literary horror with a healthy mix of underappreciated classic and contemporary books. Meets the last Monday of every month at 7 pm on Zoom. Also meets on the second Monday of every month at 7 pm to discuss the film adaptations of the books we read.  Click here to see a full schedule of what the club is reading and contact the club host to join. Club attendees get 10% off the book at Malaprop’s!

Tuesday, August 30, 2022
Romance Book Club
Aug 30 @ 7:00 pm
zoom

Romance Book Club is a space to celebrate love in literature. Whether it’s set in early 1800s London, a distant planet years into the future, a fantasy world of magic, or our own contemporary universe, we are here for the stories that end with a happily-ever-after (or at least a happily-for-now).

Meetings will take place at 7:00 PM ET on the last Tuesday of each month via Zoom. Please visit the Romance Bookclub page for the monthly selection, and email Samantha at [email protected] for the link to join.

Visiting Writers Series: The Katherine Min Memorial Reading with UNC Asheville Alumna Sarah Addison Allen
Aug 30 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Highsmith Student Union Blue Ridge Room

Join UNC Asheville Alumna and New York Times Bestselling novelist Sarah Addison Allen for the launch of her latest novel, Other Birds.

With millions of books now in print and translated into more than 30 languages, Sarah continues to serve heaping helpings of the fantastic and the familiar in fiction she describes as “”Southern-fried magic realism.”” Her books to date are: Garden Spells, The Sugar Queen, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, The Peach Keeper, Lost Lake, First Frost, and now, Other Birds. This annual reading by a graduate of UNC Asheville is held in honor of Katherine Min, the late writer and faculty member who was a mentor to many budding writers at UNC Asheville. She died in March 2019 after a long battle with cancer.

This is the first of five events in the 2022-23 Visiting Writers Series presented by the UNC Asheville English Department. Additional events in 2022 include an evening with poet torrin a. greathouse on Thursday, Oct. 20; and an evening with award-winning essayist John Jeremiah Sullivan on Tuesday, Nov. 8. In 2023, UNC Asheville welcomes U.S. poet laureate Ada Limón on Monday, Mar. 20 and fiction writer Jamel Brinkley on Thursday, Apr. 6.

Co-sponsored by Malaprops Bookstore/Cafe.

Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Foodie Book Club
Aug 31 @ 7:00 pm
online

The Foodie Book Club is a club about food writing. The club meets on the last Wednesday of every month at 7:00 PM.  Click here for details and monthly picks!

Wednesday, October 26, 2022 – 7:00pm
Wednesday, November 30, 2022 – 7:00pm
Wednesday, December 28, 2022 – 7:00pm
Thursday, September 1, 2022
Crime and Politics Book Club
Sep 1 @ 7:00 pm
online

Join host and Malaprop’s Bookseller Patricia Furnish to discuss a range of books across true crime and public affairs. The club meets the first Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. Click here to learn more about the club, view important news, and find the pick for this month.

Saturday, September 3, 2022
‘4M’ Mountain Makers Mushrooms & Music Festival
Sep 3 all-day
Jackson Arts Market

Celebration and education of Blue Ridge Mountain culture, arts, & nature.
jacksonartsmarket.com for more information

Sunday, September 4, 2022
Elks Lodge Apple Breakfast
Sep 4 @ 7:00 am – 12:00 pm
Hendersonville Elks Lodge 1616, Hendersonville,

Elks Lodge Apple Breakfast, 7am-12pm, Join Hendersonville Elks Lodge 161 for the 2022 Apple Big Breakfast, which includes
pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, grits, biscuits, gravy, hash brown casserole, apple dessert and a beverage, Proceeds to benefit
the Elks’ Christmas Charity Project, Adult tickets are $9 in advance, $10 at the door; children tickets (6-12 years old) are $6 in
advance, $7.00 at the door; children und

Tuesday, September 6, 2022
WILD (Women in Lively Discussion) Book Club
Sep 6 @ 6:30 pm
Battery Park Book Exchange

Join former Malaprop’s General Manager Linda-Marie Barrett for this woman-only book club that seeks to have fun by reading books (fiction & non) by women writers. Click here to see a full schedule of what the club is reading. Club attendees get 10% off the book at Malaprop’s!

The club meets at 6:30 P.M. on the first Tuesday of the month at the Battery Park Book Exchange. It will be held virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ONLINE- Enka-Candler Library Evening Book Club
Sep 6 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
online

ONLINE- Enka-Candler Library Evening Book Club

Chat with other book lovers about this month’s book selection.

Interested in reading ahead? Here’s what we have coming up in the next few months!
– November- “Once Upon A River” Diane Setterfield
– December- “Dutch House” Ann Patchett
– January- “Mexican Gothic” Silvia Moreno-Garcia
– February- “The Rose Code” Kate Quinn

To reserve your copy of the book, visit buncombe.nccardinal.org or swing by the library to pick one up from the book clubs holds shelf.

To join the book club email [email protected] or call us at 250-4758.

Thursday, September 8, 2022
Writing Out of Pain: Memoirs by WNC Authors Lecture and Book Discussion Series: Talk by Nancy Sehested about her memoir Marked for Life: A Prison Chaplain’s Story
Sep 8 @ 7:00 pm
West Asheville Public Library


Some of our greatest art has come in response to the pain of this world: war, accident, crime and punishment, physical and mental illness, racial and class-based inequities. As Asheville resident Nancy Sehested has written, “The deeply human questions of forgiveness, redemption, and mercy emerge from the ruins of broken lives…Pain is not the last word.”

On eight evenings from September to December, the Wilma Dykeman Legacy and the West Asheville Library will celebrate four memoirs of resilience and hope from the mountains of Western North Carolina. All events are free and will be at the West Asheville Library, except for the digital event on December 8.

Slice of Life Comedy Open Mic & Feature Comedy at Asheville Pizza
Sep 8 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co

9.8.22 Asheville Pizza & Brewing Company Gameroom (for 18+)
What: Stand up Comedy at Asheville Pizza & Brewing,
When: Thursday 9.8.22. 7:30p-9:30p, doors at 6:30p
Where: Asheville Pizza & Brewing Gameroom, 675 Merrimon Ave, Asheville 28804
Tickets: $13 (available at door or Asheville Pizza website)
Cocktails, taps & menu available while you laugh the night away to some of the area’s best Stand Up Comics in a ridiculously fun adult environment!! .
Open mic comics signup at door get 3-5m. [Free entry for performing comics, free pizza at comics table]
[Music before show provided by Buzz Radio Asheville, “All Asheville Music & Comedy, All the Time.”]
Hosted by Blaine Perry
Featuring: Jess Cooley, Julia Macias & Allison Shelnut
We will also be signing people up for the Sweet Sweepstakes for Jubilee Alternative Shelter for Women, please donate items or tix ar sliceoflifecomedy.com or get tix at: https://go.eventgroovefundraising.com/jams/

Saturday, September 10, 2022
Books to Action: Racial Justice Book Discussion + Hood Huggers Walking Tour
Sep 10 @ 10:30 am – 2:00 pm
Stephens-Lee Center

Books to Action: Racial Justice Book Discussion + Hood Huggers Walking Tour

Buncombe County Public Libraries is hosting a new book club beginning in September.

Books to Action is an issue-focused book club that will explore books centered on topics facing our community. Each book discussion will take place in conjunction with a community service project, educational field trip, or presentations from local experts active in these key issues. This book club is open to anyone over age 16 and hopes to spotlight the work of community organizations and provide an engaging opportunity to get involved on a local level.

On Sept. 10, the Book To Action club will meet at 10:30 am at the Stephens-Lee Center to discuss Ibram X. Kendi’s How to be Antiracist. After the book discussion, we will walk to Eagle Street to begin our Hood Huggers tour.

Hood Hugger walking tours explore the past, present, and future of African Americans in Asheville

Our tour will include: the East End Valley Street in downtown Asheville, home to shops and galleries featuring African American artisans and artists; the YMI Cultural Center; the Stephens Lee Community Center; The Block, and significant African American architecture in this vibrant historic neighborhood.

This event is free, but you do need to register. Please visit the library web page and use the link on the calendar for this program to sign up.

Future meetings will include book discussions and volunteer activities with Habitat for Humanity, the Family Justice Center, and Asheville Greenworks. Check the library calendar for updates on coming books and community projects.

Monday, September 12, 2022
20th Annual Arby’s Mountain Child Advocacy Center Golf Classic
Sep 12 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Kenmure Country Club

Join us at Kenmure Country Club for our 20th Annual Arby’s Golf Classic! Enjoy a golf day on this beautiful course with some friendly competition for a great cause. Your participation raises vital funding for our mission and helps every one of our children!

Mystery Book Club
Sep 12 @ 7:00 pm
Malaprops Bookstore

 

Join host Tena Frank for Malaprop’s Mystery Book Club! Click here to see a full schedule of what the club is reading. Club attendees get 10% off the book at Malaprop’s!

The club meets at Malaprop’s on the second Monday of every month at 7:00 pm.

Wednesday, September 14, 2022
Discussion Bound: The Art Prophets by Richard Polsky
Sep 14 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

The Art Prophets: The Artists, Dealers, and Tastemakers Who Shook the Art World by Richard Polsky introduces readers to influential late twentieth-century dealers and tastemakers in the art world. These risk takers opened doors for artists, identified new movements, and resurrected art forms that had fallen into obscurity. In this distinctive tour, Polsky offers an insightful and engaging dialogue between artists and the visionaries who paved their way.

Moderators: AAM Docents, Barbara Pressman and Hope Warshaw

DISCUSSION BOUND

This monthly discussion is a place to exchange ideas about readings that relate to artworks and the art world, and to learn from and about each other. Books are available at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café for a 10% discount. To add your name to our Discussion Bound mailing list, click here or call 828.253.3227 x133.

Thursday, September 15, 2022
Notorious HBC (History Book Club)
Sep 15 @ 7:00 pm
online

This club meets in-person and virtually. If you are interested in attending, please email [email protected] for more info and instructions! 

Join host and Malaprop’s bookseller Patricia Furnish to discuss a range of books across different periods of history. The club tackles challenging subjects, hence “NOTORIOUS.”  Click here to see a full schedule of what the club is reading. Club attendees get 10% off the book at Malaprop’s!

The club meets at Malaprop’s on the 3rd Thursday of every month at 7:00 pm.

Writing Out of Pain: Memoirs by WNC Authors Lecture and Book Discussion Series: Marked for Life, led by West Asheville Branch Librarian Sherry Roane.
Sep 15 @ 7:00 pm
West Asheville Public Library


Some of our greatest art has come in response to the pain of this world: war, accident, crime and punishment, physical and mental illness, racial and class-based inequities. As Asheville resident Nancy Sehested has written, “The deeply human questions of forgiveness, redemption, and mercy emerge from the ruins of broken lives…Pain is not the last word.”

On eight evenings from September to December, the Wilma Dykeman Legacy and the West Asheville Library will celebrate four memoirs of resilience and hope from the mountains of Western North Carolina. All events are free and will be at the West Asheville Library, except for the digital event on December 8.

About the Wilma Dykeman Legacy

The Wilma Dykeman Legacy is a tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 2012 to sustain and promote Wilma Dykeman’s values by sponsoring diverse workshops, events, and other programs.  The core values of this extraordinary woman from Buncombe County included environmental integrity, social justice, and the power of the written and spoken word.  For more information, visit www.wilmadykemanlegacy.org.

 

 

 

Saturday, September 17, 2022
Toss for a Cause Cornhole Tournament
Sep 17 @ 9:30 am
The Salvation Army-Hendersonville
Of the Universe: A Recital Benefiting Literacy Together
Sep 17 @ 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
First Presbyterian Church Asheville NC

Presenting “Of The Universe: A Recital Benefiting Literacy Together,” a vocal recital to raise awareness for Literacy Together (www.lit-together.org). Originally conceived as an event in partnership with First Presbyterian Church of Asheville’s Mission Committee, this program will emphasize sacred text settings of a historically significant nature to bring attention to the fantastic and vital work done by Literacy Together, whose mission is to transform lives and communities through the power of literacy.
The program includes Harmonia Sacra selections by Henry Purcell, Spanisches Liederbuch selections by Hugo Wolf, an oratorio aria from George Frideric Handel’s La resurrezione, art songs by Ned Rorem and Libby Larson, and selections from Benjamin Britten’s The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, Op. 35. The music program should last one hour with a reception afterward.
This event is *FREE* to the public, but all attendees are kindly asked to donate any amount to Literacy Together as they can. Please share this event with anyone you think may be interested!
Performing artists are as follows:
Casey Edwards, tenor
Barbara Weiss, harpsichord
Jeremy Roberts, organ
Katherine Haig, cello
David Berger, piano

Playing for our Partners – Music at the Old Rock Cafe
Sep 17 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Old Rock Cafe

Live music returns to the Old Rock Cafe with our new music series: Playing for our Partners. Come enjoy an evening of good food and good music on the deck overlooking the Rocky Broad River and support a good cause, too. A percentage of proceeds from each event in the series will benefit one of our local non-profit partners. The September event will feature musician Mike Pauer and support Appalachian Wildlife Refuge.

Thursday, September 22, 2022
Pups + Pints
Sep 22 @ 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Pack Square Parking Garage Rooftop

Bring your furry friends for a rooftop {paw}ty benefiting the Asheville Humane Society on Thursday, September 22nd from 5-7pm at the Pack Square Parking Garage off 26 Biltmore Avenue! This free event will include multiple breweries with beer tastings, live music, caricature art, pet portraits and more!

The Book for September is: ‘Klara and the Sun’ by Kazuo Ishiguro
Sep 22 @ 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Citizen Vinyl

The book for September is: ‘Klara and the Sun’ by Kazuo Ishiguro

From the best-selling author of Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day, a stunning new novel—his first since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature—about the wondrous, mysterious nature of the human heart.

From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change forever, Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans.

In Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love?

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/23/books/review/klara-and-the-sun-kazuo-ishiguro.html

COVID-19 safety measures
Saturday, September 24, 2022
WNC Family Fun Festival – A Hands On! Reunion
Sep 24 @ 4:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Innisfree Farm

WNC Family Fun Festival - A Hands On! Reunion

Join us on at Innisfree Farm at 1485 North Rugby Road for the WNC Family Fall Festival – a benefit for Hands On! Children’s Museum!

 

CALLING ALL WNC FAMILIES! Join us at the Innisfree Farm on Saturday, September 24, 2022 for the WNC Family Fall Festival- A Hands On! Reunion presented by Turf Mountain Sod. All proceeds from this event benefit Hands On! Children’s Museum, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

WNC Family Fun Festival - A Hands On! Reunion image

LOCATION & PARKING

The WNC Family Fall Festival is located at the Innisfree Farm located at 1485 North Rugby Road. Parking is free and avaliable on the property.

WNC Family Fun Festival - A Hands On! Reunion image

TICKETS

Tickets for this event is $40 per adult, $20 per child, and $75 per adult couple. Tickets include access to all festival activities, ONE (1) BBQ/Hot Dog Dinner, soft drinks, and ONE (1) alocholic beverage for adults 21+. Additional alocholic beverages will be available for purchase. All attendees are encouraged to bring a lawn chair and/or blanket.

ACTIVITIES

Event activites include but are not limited to: Fun Children’s Games, Old-Fashioned Cake Walk, Face Painting, Live DJ, Hay Rides, Pony Rides, 50/50 Cash Raffle, and Fireworks!

50/50 RAFFLE

Adults 18+ are eligible to purchase ticket(s) for the 50/50 raffle. At the conclusion of the WNC Family Fall Festival a drawing will take place to determine the winner of the raffle. The winner will receive 50% of the total raffle ticket sales.

Tickets are $5 each, or FIVE (5) tickets can be purchases for $20. Raffle tickets are available to purchase in-person at Hands On! Children’s Museum Tuesday – Satrurday between 9am and 5pm. The museum is located at 318 North Main Street in Downtown Hendersonville. Tickets will also be available for purchase during the WNC Family Fall Festival.

The drawing will take place at the conclusion of the event, and you do not need to be present to win. The winner of the 50/50 raffle is responsible for their taxes (federal and state). Any fees or other taxes in connection with the 50/50 raffle, are the sole responsibility of the winner. The winner will receive IRS Form W2G, and the amount of the winnings will be reported to the IRS of the winnings. State and Federal Taxes are the sole responsibility of the winner. The ticket purchase price does not qualify as a charitable contribution.

EVENT POLICIES

WEATHER: Please note this event is rain or shine. In the evevent of dangerous inclement weather conditons, the event will be cancelled and your ticket purchase will become a tax-deductible donation to the museum.

PETS: For the safety of all event attendees, non-service animals are not allowed on the property. Please do not bring your pet(s) to this event.

Monday, September 26, 2022
Science Fiction Book Club
Sep 26 @ 7:00 pm
online

Join host and Malaprop’s Bookseller Allison to dive into the wreck of the wily and wonderful world of science fiction, fantasy, weird fiction, speculative fiction, and literary horror with a healthy mix of underappreciated classic and contemporary books. Meets the last Monday of every month at 7 pm on Zoom. Also meets on the second Monday of every month at 7 pm to discuss the film adaptations of the books we read.  Click here to see a full schedule of what the club is reading and contact the club host to join. Club attendees get 10% off the book at Malaprop’s!

Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Romance Book Club
Sep 27 @ 7:00 pm
zoom

Romance Book Club is a space to celebrate love in literature. Whether it’s set in early 1800s London, a distant planet years into the future, a fantasy world of magic, or our own contemporary universe, we are here for the stories that end with a happily-ever-after (or at least a happily-for-now).

Meetings will take place at 7:00 PM ET on the last Tuesday of each month via Zoom. Please visit the Romance Bookclub page for the monthly selection, and email Samantha at [email protected] for the link to join.

Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Foodie Book Club
Sep 28 @ 7:00 pm
online

The Foodie Book Club is a club about food writing. The club meets on the last Wednesday of every month at 7:00 PM.  Click here for details and monthly picks!

Wednesday, October 26, 2022 – 7:00pm
Wednesday, November 30, 2022 – 7:00pm
Wednesday, December 28, 2022 – 7:00pm
Friday, September 30, 2022
Edible North Carolina Event at Plott Hound Books
Sep 30 @ 11:00 am
Plott Hound Books

Join University of North Carolina food historian Marcie Cohen Ferris and award-winning cookbook author Ronni Lundy as they discuss the book, “Edible North Carolina: A Journey across a State of Flavor.” The new book from University of North Carolina Press provides a 360-degree view of a state known for its farming and food, with compelling essays from leading North Carolina writers, cooks, farmers, entrepreneurs, and food equity activists. Ferris, the book’s editor, and Lundy, a contributing essayist, will talk about the book.