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.
11am roundtable conversation | 7pm performances
This event brings together accomplished dance artists Eleanor Hullihan, Rashaun Mitchell, Silas Riener and Mina Nishimura for a series of performances and conversations that examine Black Mountain College’s continuing influence on the world of dance. Join us for a roundtable conversation at 11am and dance performances beginning at 7pm.
BMC Dance is curated by Eleanor Hullihan.
Performances:
Rashaun Mitchell + Silas Riener
Performed by Mitchell and Riener, this performance draws from their embodied “Desire Lines” practice that combines movement, vocalization, and object manipulation into site-responsive, community-oriented performance installations. A desire line in landscape architecture refers to an unofficial route or social trail that breaks protocol with prescribed pathways, sometimes the shortest distance between two points, sometimes simply a good way to follow one’s curiosity. Desire lines represent an accumulated record of transformation in public space, a model for a permissive dance-making process that invites us to reimagine the self and its environment.
Rashaun Mitchell + Silas Riener are New York-based dance artists who create collaborative performance installations using improvisational techniques, digital technologies, audio scores, and material construction. They use movement to build speculative worlds which expose and reconcile the unfamiliar. Their physical practice synthesizes improvisation, formal dance training, athletic sports, building and construction. Their collaborative process involves the blurring of a professional and romantic relationship. Two very different sensibilities and experiences of race and culture synthesize and clash in ways that suggest comparative models for how to co-exist, assimilate, or reimagine society.
Since 2010 they have created over 25 multidisciplinary dance works including site-responsive installations, concert dances, gallery performances and dances for film. They have been artists-in-residence at Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Mt Tremper Arts, pieter, Jacob’s Pillow, New York City Center, The Watermill Center, MANCC, Headlands Center for the Arts, BOFFO, Center for Ballet and the Arts, Petronio Residency Center, and Baryshnikov Arts Center. Their work has been commissioned by BAM/Next Wave, The Barbican, REDCAT, EMPAC, The Walker Art Center, MCA Chicago, The Wexner, On The Boards, Danspace Project, Madison Square Park Conservancy, The Joyce Theater, The LAB, Marfa Sounding, Gagosian Premieres, SFMOMA, and MoMA PS1. Mitchell and Riener are currently Caroline Hearst Artists in Residence, and inaugural members of NCC Akron’s multi-year Creative Administration Residency.
Photos of Rashaun Mitchell + Silas Riener by Paula Lobo and Alex John Beck.
Mina Nishimura
Untitled (confined madness / glorious zombie/ colored lines) is a practice of becoming a glorious zombie. No will power. No tangling thoughts. Supported by astral projection practice, peripherals of a performance site and images of marginalized beings, a body will keep being moved around without establishing anything. The work may incorporate colored line drawing in order to dig a well while flying high.
Mina Nishimura is a dance artist originally from Tokyo. Buddhism-influenced philosophical concepts are reflected across her somatic, performance and choreographic practices. She has been performing and collaborating with a number of groundbreaking artists, most recently including John Jasperse, Kota Yamazaki, Dean Moss, Yasuko Yokoshi and Rashaun Mitchell + Silas Riener. Nishimura is a recipient of Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award 2019, and was the 2021-22 Renewal Residency Artist at Danspace Project in NY, where she premiered Mapping a Forest while Searching for an Opposite Term of Exorcist in 2022. She currently teaches at Bennington College where she completed her MFA fellowship in 2021.
Photos of Mina Nishimura by Shane Prudente.
Eleanor Hullihan + Zach Cooper
miniatures 2023
A series of miniature studies performed by Eleanor Hullihan and Zach Cooper.
Eleanor Hullihan is a movement artist living in Asheville after many years dancing, teaching and creating performances in NYC. Her work is a journey of uncovering and physicalizing the delicate and magical internal world. She has performed with John Jasperse, Beth Gill, Andrew Ondrejcak, Sufjan Stevens, Jessica Dessner, Sarah Michelson, Miguel Gutierrez, Jennifer Monson, Tere O’Connor, The Merce Cunningham Trust and Rashaun Mitchell + Silas Riener among others. Eleanor makes performances with Katy Pyle, Asli Bulbul, Emma Judkins, Adam Schatz, Zach Cooper and Jimmy Jolliff. She has been a contributing writer and curator for Movement Research. She is a movement coach for musicians and actors and maintains a pilates-based teaching practice for professional dancers and non dancers alike who seek deep and subtle support. Eleanor owned and operated two pilates studios in NYC and was on faculty at the American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School and Sarah Lawrence College. Eleanor attended UNCSA as a high school student and has a BFA from NYU Tisch Dance.
Zach Cooper is a Grammy award winning composer, producer and songwriter based in Black Mountain, North Carolina. He has contributed to works by Leon Bridges, Jazmine Sullivan, Jon Batiste, Moses Sumney, Billy Porter, and Ellie Goulding, among others. Zach is also a founding member of experimental soul group King Garbage. His work has been featured in Pitchfork, The Fader, Rolling Stone, and Guitar World magazine, and he’s released records with RVNG Int’l, Styles Upon Styles and Mike Patton’s Ipecac Recordings.
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Join us for the final installment of our summertime series, the History of WNC/Appalachian Music with Buncombe County Special Collections. Flatfoot clogging for beginners! We’ll have two dance classes at Pack Memorial Library to teach you how to Appalachian clog/flat foot dance. Learn from one of the best instructors in the area, Linda Block, from the Green Grass Cloggers. Classes are free to attend, but registration is required. Adults and families are welcome (recommended for ages 8 and up). Children should be accompanied by an adult. Make sure to wear comfortable clothing and shoes that can slide but stay on your feet! Open toed shoes are not recommended. The programs are held in the Pack Memorial Library auditorium on Tuesday, August 8 from 6-7 PM and Tuesday, August 29 from 6-7 PM. Please wear comfortable clothing, water bottles with lids are welcome. |
The Campfireball is an immersive storytelling show created live and in the moment out of stories from the audience. No two shows are alike, none will ever be seen again!
At AMOS summer camps, there’s something for every imagination! So please have your child join us in fun with hands-on learning that will keep them entertained and engaged this summer.
You have the choice of signing up for all week or individual days, with full and half-day options offered. Sign your kiddo up today to be a part of fun-filled, educational, and experiential science adventures at AMOS’ extended Summer Camp this year!
Another Great Comedy Show at Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co, Theater 2! Sunday August 13 6:30p, 18+, Get Dinner, Drinks & Laughs with the area’s best standup comics. Featured and Open Mic Comedy. Performing comics get FREE entry and pizza. Get Your Tickets Now, They Go Fast!!
Feature comics Moira Goree & Jason Webb! Special guest to be announced! Hosted by Morgan Marie with a #comedyopenmic [free entry/pizza for performers]
TICKETS:
https://www.ashevillebrewing.com/movies/
Facebook:
https://facebook.com/events/s/stand-up-comedy-at-asheville-p/592425949719588/
Black Box Dance Theatre’s PATRIOT returns to the Diana Wortham Theatre at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts with Asheville’s Brothers and Sisters Like These and local veterans for an encore performance of an evening length work of multimedia dance, theatre and story-telling that examines the service and sacrifice of veterans, active-duty military, their families and those they serve.
The last of our 3 Fringe Summer Nights will have pop up performances, Asheville Fringe announcements, cold beverages and weirdo camaraderie. Join us!
Featuring:
Strange Daughters Butoh
The Accidentals
Justin Evans
Donations go to artists. Donate to Asheville Fringe at https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?donation=afs
Beginner’s workshop lesson at 7:30 P.M., then 8-11 P.M. Contra Dance with Country Waltzing at the break and the final dance. This is a partner dance but it’s not necessary to come with a partner. We have different live bands and callers.
Shrek Rave Tickets | Asheville, NC | The Orange Peel (etix.com)
Ages 18+
IT’S DUMB JUST COME HAVE FUN. WHO CARES. COOL IS DEAD.

August 25,2023 Standup Comedy at plēb urban winery
Join us for a night filled with laughter and good vibes at plēb urban winery! Get ready to have wine and beer options complete your night of standup comedy by some of the best standup comedians in the region. This in-person event is happening on Fri Aug 25 2023 at7p-9p! Featuring Hilliary Begley, Petey Smith McDowell & Morgan Bost. Hosted by Cary Goff.
Hilliary Begley- Opened for: Jon Reep, Judah Friedlander, Chanel Ali, and Fortune Feimster. Film debut in the Netflix original Dumplin’ as Aunt Lucy, or “Jennifer Anniston’s fat sister,” In Austin Film Festival winning movie When We Last Spoke with Cloris Leachman, now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Located at 289 Lyman Street, Asheville, NC 28801, plēb urban winery offers the perfect setting for an evening of comedy and wine pairings. Sit back, sip on some exquisite wine, and let the talented comedians entertain you with their hilarious jokes. Food options will be available!
Don’t miss out on this unforgettable night of laughter and fun. Grab your friends and come join us at plēb urban winery for an evening that will leave you in stitches!
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/standup-comedy-at-pleb-urban-winery-tickets-668281476887?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=wsa&aff=ebdsshwebmobile
PROMO CODE: WINECOMEDYPAIRING
FB: https://facebook.com/events/s/standup-comedy-at-pleb-urban-w/818921102840895/
TICKETS:
Standup Comedy at plēb urban winery
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/standup-comedy-at-pleb-urban-winery-tickets-668281476887?aff=oddtdtcreator
Standup Comedy at plēb urban winery
Join us for a night filled with laughter and good vibes at plēb urban winery! Get ready to have wine and beer options complete your night of standup comedy by some of the best standup comedians in the region. This in-person event is happening on Fri Aug 25 2023 at7p-9p! Featuring Hilliary Begley, Petey Smith McDowell & Morgan Bost. Hosted by Cary Goff.
Hilliary Begley- Opened for: Jon Reep, Judah Friedlander, Chanel Ali, and Fortune Feimster. Film debut in the Netflix original Dumplin’ as Aunt Lucy, or “Jennifer Anniston’s fat sister,” In Austin Film Festival winning movie When We Last Spoke with Cloris Leachman, now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Located at 289 Lyman Street, Asheville, NC 28801, plēb urban winery offers the perfect setting for an evening of comedy and wine pairings. Sit back, sip on some exquisite wine, and let the talented comedians entertain you with their hilarious jokes. Food options will be available!
Don’t miss out on this unforgettable night of laughter and fun. Grab your friends and come join us at plēb urban winery for an evening that will leave you in wine-blurred stitches!
Fb:
https://facebook.com/events/s/standup-comedy-at-pleb-urban-w/818921102840895/?mibextid=RQdjqZ
It’s time to raise the barn roof, shake the tailfeathers and Boogi! We welcome for the first time BOOGI THERAPI to the Big Barn here at Hickory Nut Gap Farm in gorgeous Fairview, NC! Come out from 6pm-9pm to to enjoy some R&B, Funk & More from one of Asheville’s best funk party bands in the area, fronted by Ryan ‘R&B’ Barber this group of talented entertainers will keep y’all
You’re gonna need fuel to get down- we have ROOT DOWN FARM food truck! Headed by Ben Holt out of Yancey County and his family, this food truck will be slinging some truly fabulous farm-to-table fare featuring all local and seasonal delights from the area.
Hickory Nut Gap will have a bar serving local beers, ciders, seltzers and non-alcoholic beverages to slake your thirst between bumps. We cannot wait to get down and have some Boogi Therapi at the farm, it’s gonna be a booty-ful night…
PET POLICY: While we normally allow leashed pets on the grounds, we ask you leave your furry friends at home for the Barn Dances.
Learn more about the Band & their music HERE
Learn more about the Food Truck & their food HERE
SILENT DISCO: HEY YA! OUTKAST DANCE PARTY
DJ CAMARO & DJ SPENCE
Ages 18+ (under 18 must be accompanied by a parent)

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Join us for the final installment of our summertime series, the History of WNC/Appalachian Music with Buncombe County Special Collections. Flatfoot clogging for beginners! We’ll have two dance classes at Pack Memorial Library to teach you how to Appalachian clog/flat foot dance. Learn from one of the best instructors in the area, Linda Block, from the Green Grass Cloggers. Classes are free to attend, but registration is required. Adults and families are welcome (recommended for ages 8 and up). Children should be accompanied by an adult. Make sure to wear comfortable clothing and shoes that can slide but stay on your feet! Open toed shoes are not recommended. The programs are held in the Pack Memorial Library auditorium on Tuesday, August 8 from 6-7 PM and Tuesday, August 29 from 6-7 PM. Please wear comfortable clothing, water bottles with lids are welcome. |
Join us for the final installment of our summertime series, the History of WNC/Appalachian Music with Buncombe County Special Collections.
We’ll have two dance classes at Pack Memorial Library to teach you how to Appalachian clog/flat foot dance. Learn from one of the best instructors in the area, Linda Block, from the Green Grass Cloggers.
Classes are free to attend, but registration is required. Adults and families are welcome.
The programs are held in the Pack Memorial Library auditorium on Tuesday, August 8 from 6-7 PM and Tuesday, August 29 from 6-7 PM.
Please wear comfortable clothing, water bottles with lids are welcome.
Ages 18+ (under 18 must be accompanied by a parent)
DJ ERIK MATTOX
Ages 18+ (under 18 must be accompanied by a parent)
The brilliant colors of traditional costumes and the songs and folkloric dance of Mexico by local, talented youth will fill The White Horse Black Mountain on Friday, September 8. Ballet Folklórico Raíces, a program of Raíces Emma-Erwin, a local Latine cultural arts organization, will share the stage with musician David LaMotte and the Indigenous Mä hñäkihu musical group.
Ballet Folklórico Raíces was organized just last fall by Latine teens, some of whom had been dancing with Raíces Emma Erwin programs for almost 10 years. They applied for and received grant funding to hire professional folklorico dancer, Daniel Vega Vazquez, as their instructor and creative director. He is the founder of Ballet Folklorico Asheville. Verner Learning Center in Emma provides space for their weekly and intensive rehearsals and they have performed six times in the last year including at the Hola Carolina festival in downtown Asheville.
“I think it’s something beautiful,” Yoltzin Alviter Hernandez, 16, says. She started folklorico dancing in the first grade and loves how it allows her to embrace her culture and share it with other people. “All the colors and each dance has a meaning behind it.”
David LaMotte is a big fan of Ballet Folklórico Raíces and traditional cultural art, dance and music. He proposed the event to create awareness about the youth dance group, to support their funding needs, and to have fun. He is contributing his talent to the evening–including a song in Spanish– and a portion of ticket proceeds will benefit the program. Mä hñäkihu, the namesake of a language and cultural preservation project based in Emma, is composed mostly of Hñähñu musicians who are Indigenous to the Mezquital Valley in Mexico.
DJ JAZE & DJ ERIK MATTOX
Ages 18+ (under 18 must be accompanied by a parent)
Class cost: $150
Min students: 6
Max students: 12
Class Dates: Saturdays, July 22 – September 9 (8 weeks)
Time: 1 pm to 2 pm
Must be 18+ to attend
The last day to receive a full refund is June 22, 2023. After June 22, 2023, no refund will be issued.
Class Description:
Does tap dancing seem a little daunting? Is it something you always wanted to try but didn’t have the time to commit to months of classes at a time? Whether you are preparing for a show that has tap involved or you are just interested in a new skill for fun, this class is for you. Allison Starling will break down the basics of tap into easy to catch on to moves that build the foundation of any tap number. This 8 week class is a comprehensive basics course that you don’t want to miss!
DJ SPENCE & DJ CAMARO
Virgos get in free
Ages 18+ (under 18 must be accompanied by a parent)
LIVE MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT
We are lining up some GREAT entertainment for 2023!
Look forward to 3 LIVE Bands AND a guest appearance by Franke Previte and Lisa Sherman!
ASHEVILLE BALLET
Festival favorites, Asheville Ballet will be teaching all your favorite dance moves and adding some new twists.
AND, they’ll be performing on stage and encouraging you to get on your feet, too!
REFRESHMENTS
Come hungry and enjoy the tasty food trucks coming this year – your stomach will thank you.
And, we always have the best local beer, wine, cider, and mead of any festival around!
Imagine this: it’s 2001 and you’re seeing No Doubt’s video for Hella Good for the first time. Maybe you’re sitting on a carpeted floor eating pop tarts and watching cable TV when it happens. Your aesthetic ideals have shifted since the matrix came out a couple years back and you find yourself wondering what it takes to become a badass. Quickly you determine that it has a lot to do with motorcycles, jet skis, wet looking hair and wearing black. You don’t even know about Evenescence yet but pop music is about to take some real dips into heavy riffs and darker themes. You’re for it—it makes you feel alive. Let’s run that one back, shall we?
⚡️Saturday, September 16th⚡️
☠️10pm-1am☠️
🏍️DJ Lil Meow Meow🏍️
⛓️at @littlejumbobar ⛓️
♥️$5 suggested donation♥️
Another Great Comedy Show at Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co, Theater 2! 6:30p, 18+, Get Dinner, Drinks & Laughs with the areas best standup comics. Featured and Open Mic Comedy. Performing comics get FREE entry and pizza. Get Your Tickets Now!! Hosted Morgan Marie. Featuring James Burkes, Jack Pearson & more great comics!
Standup Comedy at plēb urban winery
Join us for a night filled with laughter and good vibes at plēb urban winery! Get ready to have great night of standup comedy by some of the best comedians in the region. This in-person event is on tap for Fri Sept 22 2023 at7p-9p! Featuring Moira Goree, Petey Smith McDowell, Jess Cooley & Jason Webb. Hosted by Morgan Marie.
Foodtruck will be available for the whole show!
What: Standup Comedy at plēb urban winery in the River Arts District
When: September 22, 7-9p
Where: Located at 289 Lyman Street, Asheville, NC 28801, plēb urban winery offers the perfect setting for an evening of comedy!
Tickets: $20
Get $4 off with promo code: WINECOMEDYONTAP
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/710423163807?aff=oddtdtcreator
HOST Morgan Marie is an Asheville based comic capturing the playful and often painful parallels between adolescence and “almost-adulthood.” Vibrant yet vulnerable; her high-energy storytelling is influenced by her background as an improviser. She writes a monthly beloved humor column, “Best Medicine with Morgan Marie,” for the Mountain Xpress.
Peter Smith-McDowell has been traveling around the country telling jokes since 2009. Besides his standup comedy, Petey is Asheville native and known for his hysterical Asheville memes on Instagram : instagram.com/peteysmithmcdowell
Jess Cooley is a writer and stand up comic from Upstate South Carolina, where he learned how to walk, and talk, and eat food like a real boy. Currently based in Asheville, NC, his comedy involves personal subjects like Autism, religion, and the loss of his favorite sex toy during a home invasion. His unique and colorful perspective brings his stories to life, and his demons to the spotlight.
Moira Goree is from Asheville,Nc she’s a transgender woman who is darkly funny and authentic in her delivery. Her mix of storytelling and humor will mesmerize you while crying laughing,
Jason Webb is Co-Creator and Co-Host of Follow That! at The Comedy Store on Sunset.Festivals: Bridgetown Comedy Festival, San Francisco Sketchfest, Laughing Skull Comedy Festival (Best of the Fest) !0,000 Laughs Comedy Festival (Best of the Fest), Orlando Indie Comedy Festival, Bird City Comedy Festival, Blue Whale Comedy Festival, Big Pine Comedy Festival, Orlando Indie Comedy Festival.
Beginner’s workshop lesson at 7:30 P.M., then 8-11 P.M. Contra Dance with Country Waltzing at the break and the final dance. This is a partner dance but it’s not necessary to come with a partner. We have different live bands and callers.
9.28.23 The Orange Peel’s Comedy Basement PULP
What: Stand up Comedy at The Orange Peel’s Pulp Lounge
When: Thursday September 28, 2023. 8p-10p, doors at 7:30p
Where: The Orange Peel’s Comedy Basement, Pulp Lounge103 Hilliard Ave, Downtown Asheville
Tickets: $15 (available at door or The Orange Peel website)
Cocktails available while you laugh the night away to some of the area’s best Stand Up Comics in a ridiculously fun adult environment!! Free snacks while availability lasts!
Feature comic Julia Macias! An antenna for the unwell, Julia shares all the strange characters who filter through her life. She exploded into the Asheville comedy scene in late 2021 and has touring all over the Southeast. Her view video special will be released later this year.
Guest host for this show is the fantastically loved Ryan Cox! Slice is super happy to have him running the show. Ryan is a comedian’s comedian. He is also a comedian for people who aren’t comedians. Ryan has been performing stand-up around the Southeast since 2016, with jokes ranging from crafted one-liners to twisted parenting tales to the ghost of Kmart.
We feature the area’s best comics, plus a comedy open mic. Open mic comics signup at door get 3-5m. [Free entry for performing comics, free snacks at comics table].
For more info and other standup comedy shows go to sliceoflifecomedy.com or contact Michele at [email protected]
A Convention Unlike Any Other…
Calling all science nerds, comic fans, cosplay enthusiasts, and those curious about our scene, the inaugural Asheville Beer City Comic Con will exceed your expectations and delight all your senses. This dynamic event will be marvelous thanks to exciting comic book and pop culture vendors, brave local artists, magnificently big brained speakers, and yummylicious beer from Western North Carolina’s best craft breweries. We’re packing into one weekend a super amount of musts, including:
- Intellectual seminars with renowned brainiacs from comic, academic, and civic circles discussing the Con community’s role in keeping our planet safe from harm!
- Panel discussions about the psychology of comic book characters and their influence on modern culture!
- Pop-up dance and costume events with DJs for all you freaks and geeks!
- Fancy philosophical conversations about the ontological themes of sci-fi, comics, and human nature!
- Shamazing artwork from locals you won’t find anywhere else!
- Speciality batch beers made only for BCCC—slurp!
Come to Asheville. Let’s get WEIRDER and WISER! We’ll have the best of the comic con community in a city that is welcoming and celebrates its own distinct uniqueness. This con will only be one once. (Imagine how great the t-shirts will look wrapped in polyethylene one day!)




