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.

Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Tweetsie Christmas
Dec 11 @ 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Tweetsie Railroad

Open 5:00 – 10:00 p.m. Advance Tickets Required. Enjoy the wonder of the park dazzlingly lit for the holidays, with a nighttime train and more.

Wednesday, December 12, 2018
A Flat Rock Playhouse Christmas
Dec 12 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse

All new! In 2017, we broke box office records with A Flat Rock Playhouse Christmas. In 2018, come join us for a brand new version of this holiday tradition.

Matinees: Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00PM

Evenings: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30PM. Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00PM

Flat Rock Playhouse Mainstage
2661 Greenville Highway Flat Rock, NC 28731

THE POLAR EXPRESS Train Ride
Dec 12 all-day

All Aboard THE POLAR EXPRESS! This memorable journey will take you on an incredible journey! Believe the magic this Holiday season!

Over 88,000 guests rode THE POLAR EXPRESS with the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in 2017 and we hope to see you in 2018! The 1¼ hour round-trip excursion comes to life as the train departs the Bryson City depot for a journey through the quiet wilderness for a special visit at the North Pole. Set to the sounds of the motion picture soundtrack, guests on board will enjoy warm cocoa and a treat while listening and reading along with the magical story. Children’s faces show the magic of the season when the train arrives at the North Pole to find Santa Claus waiting. Santa will board THE POLAR EXPRESS, greeting each child and presenting them with a special gift as in the story, their own silver sleigh bell. Christmas carols will be sung as they return back to the Bryson City Depot.

THE POLAR EXPRESS begins November 9, 2018, and operates through December 31, 2018.

Lights Before Christmas at Riverbanks Zoo
Dec 12 @ 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Riverbanks Zoo
Bring the kids and the camera and see why Lights Before Christmas has continued as a family tradition for 30 years!

  • Nearly one million twinkling lights
  • Countless decorative images
  • Holly Jolly Christmas Parade
  • Animated Story Tree
  • Animal Characters
  • Nightly visits with Santa (start at 6:00PM through December 23)
  • Warm memories and holiday cheer around the Jingle Bell Bonfire
  • Hot cocoa, s’mores and other festive foods available for purchase

While you may spot a few night owls during Lights, most of our residents will be off-exhibit to catch some zzz’s.

Tweetsie Christmas
Dec 12 @ 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Tweetsie Railroad

Open 5:00 – 10:00 p.m. Advance Tickets Required. Enjoy the wonder of the park dazzlingly lit for the holidays, with a nighttime train and more.

Thursday, December 13, 2018
A Flat Rock Playhouse Christmas
Dec 13 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse

All new! In 2017, we broke box office records with A Flat Rock Playhouse Christmas. In 2018, come join us for a brand new version of this holiday tradition.

Matinees: Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00PM

Evenings: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30PM. Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00PM

Flat Rock Playhouse Mainstage
2661 Greenville Highway Flat Rock, NC 28731

Junie B. in Jingle Bells Batman Smells!
Dec 13 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse Downtown

Junie B. Jones, First-Grader, is super-excited about the upcoming Holiday Sing-Along and Secret Santa gift exchange at her school. Too bad tattletale May keeps ruining all of Junie B.’s fun. So when Junie B. draws May’s name for Secret Santa, she comes up with the perfect plan to teach her nemesis a lesson! But will the Christmas spirit of peace and goodwill interfere before she can give you-know-who what she deserves? A hilarious and endearing tale based on the best-selling book series by Barbara Park.

Showtimes are Thursdays at 3:00PM, Fridays at 1:00PM and 4:00PM, Saturdays at 1:00PM and 4:00PM, and Sundays at 3:00PM.

 

Playhouse Downtown 125 S. Main St. Hendersonville, NC 28792

THE POLAR EXPRESS Train Ride
Dec 13 all-day

All Aboard THE POLAR EXPRESS! This memorable journey will take you on an incredible journey! Believe the magic this Holiday season!

Over 88,000 guests rode THE POLAR EXPRESS with the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in 2017 and we hope to see you in 2018! The 1¼ hour round-trip excursion comes to life as the train departs the Bryson City depot for a journey through the quiet wilderness for a special visit at the North Pole. Set to the sounds of the motion picture soundtrack, guests on board will enjoy warm cocoa and a treat while listening and reading along with the magical story. Children’s faces show the magic of the season when the train arrives at the North Pole to find Santa Claus waiting. Santa will board THE POLAR EXPRESS, greeting each child and presenting them with a special gift as in the story, their own silver sleigh bell. Christmas carols will be sung as they return back to the Bryson City Depot.

THE POLAR EXPRESS begins November 9, 2018, and operates through December 31, 2018.

Lights Before Christmas at Riverbanks Zoo
Dec 13 @ 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Riverbanks Zoo
Bring the kids and the camera and see why Lights Before Christmas has continued as a family tradition for 30 years!

  • Nearly one million twinkling lights
  • Countless decorative images
  • Holly Jolly Christmas Parade
  • Animated Story Tree
  • Animal Characters
  • Nightly visits with Santa (start at 6:00PM through December 23)
  • Warm memories and holiday cheer around the Jingle Bell Bonfire
  • Hot cocoa, s’mores and other festive foods available for purchase

While you may spot a few night owls during Lights, most of our residents will be off-exhibit to catch some zzz’s.

Tweetsie Christmas
Dec 13 @ 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Tweetsie Railroad

Open 5:00 – 10:00 p.m. Advance Tickets Required. Enjoy the wonder of the park dazzlingly lit for the holidays, with a nighttime train and more.

It’s a Wonderful Life
Dec 13 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
North Carolina Stage Company

This fresh adaptation of the film is set in the fictional studio of WVL Radio Theatre, which is struggling to stay on the air one snowy winter’s night. The professional voice actors are unable to get to the studio, but the show must go on—and so a small but intrepid band of employees manages to create the story’s dozens of characters and scenes using just their voices and some everyday household items for sound effects.

https://www.facebook.com/events/334279477356360/?event_time_id=334279490689692

Radio Show: Back For Christmas
Dec 13 @ 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm
The Paper Mill Lounge & Theatre

Radio Show: Back For Christmas, Sponsored by: Baxley’s Chocolate, In Your Ear Music, and The Paper Mill Lounge and Theatre. A meek British botany professor plans a “Devil’s Garden” in the basement; a grave for his henpecking wife! The story was produced on “Suspense” again on December 23, 1948 as “Holiday Story” and on December 23, 1956! A very haunting Christmas Tale!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1941146159339596/

Friday, December 14, 2018
A Flat Rock Playhouse Christmas
Dec 14 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse

All new! In 2017, we broke box office records with A Flat Rock Playhouse Christmas. In 2018, come join us for a brand new version of this holiday tradition.

Matinees: Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00PM

Evenings: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30PM. Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00PM

Flat Rock Playhouse Mainstage
2661 Greenville Highway Flat Rock, NC 28731

Junie B. in Jingle Bells Batman Smells!
Dec 14 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse Downtown

Junie B. Jones, First-Grader, is super-excited about the upcoming Holiday Sing-Along and Secret Santa gift exchange at her school. Too bad tattletale May keeps ruining all of Junie B.’s fun. So when Junie B. draws May’s name for Secret Santa, she comes up with the perfect plan to teach her nemesis a lesson! But will the Christmas spirit of peace and goodwill interfere before she can give you-know-who what she deserves? A hilarious and endearing tale based on the best-selling book series by Barbara Park.

Showtimes are Thursdays at 3:00PM, Fridays at 1:00PM and 4:00PM, Saturdays at 1:00PM and 4:00PM, and Sundays at 3:00PM.

 

Playhouse Downtown 125 S. Main St. Hendersonville, NC 28792

THE POLAR EXPRESS Train Ride
Dec 14 all-day

All Aboard THE POLAR EXPRESS! This memorable journey will take you on an incredible journey! Believe the magic this Holiday season!

Over 88,000 guests rode THE POLAR EXPRESS with the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in 2017 and we hope to see you in 2018! The 1¼ hour round-trip excursion comes to life as the train departs the Bryson City depot for a journey through the quiet wilderness for a special visit at the North Pole. Set to the sounds of the motion picture soundtrack, guests on board will enjoy warm cocoa and a treat while listening and reading along with the magical story. Children’s faces show the magic of the season when the train arrives at the North Pole to find Santa Claus waiting. Santa will board THE POLAR EXPRESS, greeting each child and presenting them with a special gift as in the story, their own silver sleigh bell. Christmas carols will be sung as they return back to the Bryson City Depot.

THE POLAR EXPRESS begins November 9, 2018, and operates through December 31, 2018.

Lights Before Christmas at Riverbanks Zoo
Dec 14 @ 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Riverbanks Zoo
Bring the kids and the camera and see why Lights Before Christmas has continued as a family tradition for 30 years!

  • Nearly one million twinkling lights
  • Countless decorative images
  • Holly Jolly Christmas Parade
  • Animated Story Tree
  • Animal Characters
  • Nightly visits with Santa (start at 6:00PM through December 23)
  • Warm memories and holiday cheer around the Jingle Bell Bonfire
  • Hot cocoa, s’mores and other festive foods available for purchase

While you may spot a few night owls during Lights, most of our residents will be off-exhibit to catch some zzz’s.

Tweetsie Christmas
Dec 14 @ 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Tweetsie Railroad

Open 5:00 – 10:00 p.m. Advance Tickets Required. Enjoy the wonder of the park dazzlingly lit for the holidays, with a nighttime train and more.

NUNCRACKERS
Dec 14 @ 7:30 pm
Hendersonville Community Theatre

Mount St. Helen’s nuns are putting on a Christmas show which is an original ballet based on “The Nutcracker“. The show is filled with the traditional “nunsense humor” and one-liners that have made the Nunsense shows so popular.

Sold Out! Free Theatre! A Christmas Carol.
Dec 14 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Montford Park Players

Montford Park Players Presents ALL-TEEN version of A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

Produced by Montford Park Players at Land of the Sky UCC

Show Dates:
December 14-23
Fridays & Saturdays @ 7:30pm; Sundays @ 7:30pm

Montford Park Players, an Asheville theatrical tradition, is overjoyed to present the local holiday tradition, A Christmas Carol! All performances will be held at Land of the Sky UCC, 15 Overbrook Place, off Tunnel Road in Asheville, from December 14th through the 23rd on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings at 7:30pm. This performance like ALL of Montford Park Players’ shows will be absolutely FREE to attend. (No performance on Saturday, Dec. 15, due to the church’s schedule).

This year, the Montford Park Players’ Education Division takes over, with all of the acting, designing and even the technical elements being run by the Montford Moppets, MPP’s squad of talented tweens and teens. Under the guidance of longtime Moppets instructors, Ashleigh Goff and Skyler Goff, this year’s version promises a youthful vibrancy for this family-friendly classic.

Almost everyone knows this story of Ebenezer Scrooge and his visit from four spirits, some ghastly, some benevolent, on Christmas Eve. Through a magical journey through Scrooge’s past, present and future Christmases, they show him the true meaning of the holiday season, and allow him the opportunity to connect with his own generosity and goodness. In this version, adapted by co-director Skyler Goff, the Cratchit spend their own Christmas Eve hearing the story of how Uncle Scrooge became the kind benefactor he is today.

Montford Park Players, has been presenting Shakespeare and other classical works to the Asheville community since 1973, and has since grown to be one of Western North Carolina’s most beloved and well-known cultural attractions.

For more information or to reserve seats, go to montfordparkplayers.org, or call at (828) 254-5146.

https://www.facebook.com/events/2267828916772371/?event_time_id=2267828933439036

Saturday, December 15, 2018
A Flat Rock Playhouse Christmas
Dec 15 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse

All new! In 2017, we broke box office records with A Flat Rock Playhouse Christmas. In 2018, come join us for a brand new version of this holiday tradition.

Matinees: Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00PM

Evenings: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30PM. Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00PM

Flat Rock Playhouse Mainstage
2661 Greenville Highway Flat Rock, NC 28731

Junie B. in Jingle Bells Batman Smells!
Dec 15 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse Downtown

Junie B. Jones, First-Grader, is super-excited about the upcoming Holiday Sing-Along and Secret Santa gift exchange at her school. Too bad tattletale May keeps ruining all of Junie B.’s fun. So when Junie B. draws May’s name for Secret Santa, she comes up with the perfect plan to teach her nemesis a lesson! But will the Christmas spirit of peace and goodwill interfere before she can give you-know-who what she deserves? A hilarious and endearing tale based on the best-selling book series by Barbara Park.

Showtimes are Thursdays at 3:00PM, Fridays at 1:00PM and 4:00PM, Saturdays at 1:00PM and 4:00PM, and Sundays at 3:00PM.

 

Playhouse Downtown 125 S. Main St. Hendersonville, NC 28792

THE POLAR EXPRESS Train Ride
Dec 15 all-day

All Aboard THE POLAR EXPRESS! This memorable journey will take you on an incredible journey! Believe the magic this Holiday season!

Over 88,000 guests rode THE POLAR EXPRESS with the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in 2017 and we hope to see you in 2018! The 1¼ hour round-trip excursion comes to life as the train departs the Bryson City depot for a journey through the quiet wilderness for a special visit at the North Pole. Set to the sounds of the motion picture soundtrack, guests on board will enjoy warm cocoa and a treat while listening and reading along with the magical story. Children’s faces show the magic of the season when the train arrives at the North Pole to find Santa Claus waiting. Santa will board THE POLAR EXPRESS, greeting each child and presenting them with a special gift as in the story, their own silver sleigh bell. Christmas carols will be sung as they return back to the Bryson City Depot.

THE POLAR EXPRESS begins November 9, 2018, and operates through December 31, 2018.

It’s a Wonderful Life
Dec 15 @ 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
North Carolina Stage Company

This fresh adaptation of the film is set in the fictional studio of WVL Radio Theatre, which is struggling to stay on the air one snowy winter’s night. The professional voice actors are unable to get to the studio, but the show must go on—and so a small but intrepid band of employees manages to create the story’s dozens of characters and scenes using just their voices and some everyday household items for sound effects.

https://www.facebook.com/events/334279477356360/?event_time_id=334279504023024

Sparkle Up Clothing Swap
Dec 15 @ 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
The Regeneration Station

We all have that “One Night Out Outfit”. One, that has been sitting in the closet for past few years or decades? Is it a Flapper Party Dress from New Year’s Eve 2015? Best man’s tuxedo? Prom outfit? Ballroom gown? Last year’s birthday party look? One from “theatre sale” rack?
Bring it in, and swap it for a fresh new look just in time for the New Year’s Eve Party!
Sparkles, lace, rhinestones, ruffle, feathers, sequin, corsets, fur, fringe – bring it all!
Don’t forget about shoes and accessories!
All sizes, all styles, all genders – ALL ARE WELCOME! Revamp your closet at no cost to you, and no harm to the Planet.
Five dollars suggested donation to Community Roots, and you can swap till you drop!
We will serve sparkling, hot chocolate and biodegradable glitter till run out!
Let’s play dress up! Let’s celebrate!

P.S.
Please, RSVP (get your free ticket from Eventbrite). It will help us get the right amount of supplies. Also, be sure to bring your ID, if planning to have some bubbly! Cheers!

https://www.facebook.com/events/567386367040037/

Lights Before Christmas at Riverbanks Zoo
Dec 15 @ 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Riverbanks Zoo
Bring the kids and the camera and see why Lights Before Christmas has continued as a family tradition for 30 years!

  • Nearly one million twinkling lights
  • Countless decorative images
  • Holly Jolly Christmas Parade
  • Animated Story Tree
  • Animal Characters
  • Nightly visits with Santa (start at 6:00PM through December 23)
  • Warm memories and holiday cheer around the Jingle Bell Bonfire
  • Hot cocoa, s’mores and other festive foods available for purchase

While you may spot a few night owls during Lights, most of our residents will be off-exhibit to catch some zzz’s.

Tweetsie Christmas
Dec 15 @ 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Tweetsie Railroad

Open 5:00 – 10:00 p.m. Advance Tickets Required. Enjoy the wonder of the park dazzlingly lit for the holidays, with a nighttime train and more.

It’s a Wonderful Life
Dec 15 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
North Carolina Stage Company

This fresh adaptation of the film is set in the fictional studio of WVL Radio Theatre, which is struggling to stay on the air one snowy winter’s night. The professional voice actors are unable to get to the studio, but the show must go on—and so a small but intrepid band of employees manages to create the story’s dozens of characters and scenes using just their voices and some everyday household items for sound effects.

https://www.facebook.com/events/334279477356360/

It’s a Wonderful Life
Dec 15 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
North Carolina Stage Company

This fresh adaptation of the film is set in the fictional studio of WVL Radio Theatre, which is struggling to stay on the air one snowy winter’s night. The professional voice actors are unable to get to the studio, but the show must go on—and so a small but intrepid band of employees manages to create the story’s dozens of characters and scenes using just their voices and some everyday household items for sound effects.

https://www.facebook.com/events/334279477356360/?event_time_id=334279534023021

NUNCRACKERS
Dec 15 @ 7:30 pm
Hendersonville Community Theatre

Mount St. Helen’s nuns are putting on a Christmas show which is an original ballet based on “The Nutcracker“. The show is filled with the traditional “nunsense humor” and one-liners that have made the Nunsense shows so popular.

Sunday, December 16, 2018
A Flat Rock Playhouse Christmas
Dec 16 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse

All new! In 2017, we broke box office records with A Flat Rock Playhouse Christmas. In 2018, come join us for a brand new version of this holiday tradition.

Matinees: Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00PM

Evenings: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30PM. Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00PM

Flat Rock Playhouse Mainstage
2661 Greenville Highway Flat Rock, NC 28731