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, March 7, 2024
Toddler Story Time
Mar 7 @ 10:30 am – 11:00 am
Fairview Library
  Join us for a story time designed for children ages 3 to 5 years as we share books, songs, rhymes, and activities.
2024 WNC Regional Scholastic Art Awards Exhibition
Mar 7 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

The Museum recognizes Western North Carolina youth for their original artworks

Award winners will be featured in a student exhibition in the Museum’s Van Winkle Law Firm Gallery and Multipurpose Space from January 24–March 25, 2024. All regional award recipients will be honored at a closing reception on March 21.

The Asheville Art Museum and the Asheville Area Section of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) are the Western North Carolina (WNC) regional Affiliate Partners of the National Scholastic Art Awards. This ongoing community partnership has supported the creative talents of our region’s youth for 44 years. The WNC regional program is open to students in grades 7–12, ages 13-18, across 24 counties.

“I’m thrilled to witness the incredible talent showcased in the 2024 Western North Carolina Scholastic Art Awards exhibition,” said Susan Hendley, School & Teacher Programs Manager at the Asheville Art Museum.  “This is a celebration of original works by students across the WNC region and highlights the profound impact of arts education.”

The regional program is judged in two groups: Group I, grades 7–9 and Group II, grades 10–12. Out of more than 500 total art entries, over 200 works have been recognized by the judges; Gold and Silver Key awards are featured in this exhibition, with select Honorable Mentions displayed digitally. The 2024 regional judges include Victoria Bradbury, Associate Professor and Chair of New Media at UNC Asheville, Andrew Davis, Studio Technician and instructor at Winthrop University, and Jenny Pickens, a native Asheville artist and educator.

Those works receiving Gold Keys have been submitted to compete in the 101st Annual National Scholastic Art Awards Program in New York City. Of the Gold Key Award recipients, five students have also been nominated for American Visions, indicating their work is the Best in Show of the regional awards. One of these American Visions Nominees will receive an American Visions Medal at the 2024 National Scholastic Art Awards.

Visit the Museum’s website for more information about the student exhibition.

Thanks to our sponsors, Jon and Ann Kemske, Russell and Ladene Newton, and Frugal Framer.

Download Student Artworks
American Art in the Atomic Age: 1940-1960
Mar 7 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum
Images: Left: Minna Wright Citron, Squid Under Pier, 1948, color etching, soft-ground, and engraving on paper, edition 42/50, 15 x 17 7/8 inches, 2010 Collections Circle purchase, Asheville Art Museum. © Estate of Minna Citron/Licensed by VAGA at ARS, New York. Right: Dorothy Dehner, Woman #2, 1954, watercolor and ink on paper, 22 3/4 x 18”, courtesy of Dolan Maxwell.

The Asheville Art Museum is pleased to announce the upcoming exhibition American Art in the Atomic Age: 1940–1960, which explores the groundbreaking contributions of artists who worked at the experimental printmaking studio Atelier 17 in the wake of World War II. Co-curated by Marilyn Laufer and Tom Butler, American Art in the Atomic Age which draws from the holdings of Dolan/Maxwell, the Asheville Art Museum Collection, and private collections will be on view from November 10, 2023–April 29, 2024.

Atelier 17 operated in New York for fifteen years, between 1940 and 1955. The studio’s founder, Stanley William Hayter (1901–1988) established the workshop in Paris but relocated to New York just as the Nazi occupation of Paris began in 1940. Hayter’s new studio attracted European emigrants like André Masson, Yves Tanguy, and Joan Miró, as well as American artists like Dorothy Dehner, Judith Rothschild, and Karl Schrag, allowing for an exchange of artistic ideas and processes between European and American artists.

The Asheville Art Museum will present over 100 works that exemplify the cross-cultural exchange and profound social and political impact of Atelier 17 on American art. Prints made at Atelier 17—including those by Stanley William Hayter, Louise Nevelson, and Perle Fine—will be in conversation with works by European Surrealists who were working at the studio in the 1940s and 1950s. The exhibition will also feature a selection of domestic mid-century objects that exemplify how the ideas and aesthetics of post-war abstraction became a part of everyday life.

Joseph Fiore: Black Mountain College Paintings
Mar 7 @ 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center

 11am – 5pm Tuesday through Saturday

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Joseph Fiore (1925-2008) first enrolled at Black Mountain College for the Summer Session of 1946, the summer that Josef Albers invited Jacob Lawrence to teach painting at BMC. Over the next three years, Fiore also studied with Ilya Bolotowsky, Willem de Kooning, and Jean Varda. In 1949, after Josef and Anni Albers’ departure, Joe was invited to join the faculty, and he taught painting and drawing until 1956 when the college leaders decided to close.

After BMC closed, Joe and his wife Mary, whom he met and married at BMC, moved to New York City. There he became involved with the 10th Street art scene of the late 1950s and 1960s, a group of galleries that exhibited the work of young artists on the rise. Eventually he resumed his teaching career at the Philadelphia College of Art, Maryland Institute College of Art, and the National Academy.

In May of 2001, Joseph Fiore was awarded the Andrew Carnegie Prize at the National Academy of Design in New York. The Carnegie Prize is awarded “for painting” at the National Academy’s Members’ Show.

This exhibition consists of paintings in our collection donated by the artist and by The Falcon Foundation. All of the paintings were made at Black Mountain College and show Fiore’s distinctive use of color and his ability to work comfortably in the spaces between abstraction and representation.

Curated by Alice Sebrell, Director of Preservation

Vera B. Williams / STORIES Eight Decades of Politics and Picture Making
Mar 7 @ 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center

 

Exhibition and Public Programming

Vera B. Williams, an award-winning author and illustrator of children’s books, started making pictures almost as soon as she could walk. She studied at Black Mountain College in a time where summer institutes were held with classes taught by John Cage and Merce Cunningham. Williams studied under the Bauhaus luminary Josef Albers and went on to make art for the rest of her life. At the time of her death, The New York Times wrote: “Her illustrations, known for bold colors and a style reminiscent of folk art, were praised by reviewers for their great tenderness and crackling vitality.” Despite numerous awards and recognition for her children’s books, much of her wider life and work remains unexplored. This retrospective will showcase the complete range of Williams’ life and work. It will highlight her time at Black Mountain College, her political activism, and her establishment, with Paul Williams, of an influential yet little-known artist community, in addition to her work as an author and illustrator.

Author and illustrator of 17 children’s books, including Caldecott medal winner, A Chair for My Mother, Vera B. Williams always had a passion for the arts. Williams grew up in the Bronx, NY, and in 1936, when she was nine years old, one of her paintings, called Yentas, opens a new window, was included in an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. While Williams is widely known for her children’s books today, this exhibition’s expansive scope highlights unexplored aspects of her artistic practice and eight decades of life. From groundbreaking, powerful covers for Liberation Magazine, to Peace calendar collaborations with writer activist Grace Paley, to scenic sketches for Julian Beck and Judith Malina’s Living Theater, to hundreds of late life “Aging and Illness” cartoons sketches and doodles, Vera never sat still.

Williams arrived at Black Mountain College in 1945. While there, she embraced all aspects of living, working, and learning in the intensely creative college community. She was at BMC during a particularly fertile period, which allowed her to study with faculty members Buckminster Fuller and Josef Albers, and to participate in the famed summer sessions with John Cage, Merce Cunningham, M.C. Richards, and Robert Rauschenberg. In 1948, she graduated with Josef Albers as her advisor and sculptor Richard Lippold as her outside examiner. Forever one of the College’s shining stars, Vera graduated from BMC with just six semesters of coursework, at only twenty-one years old. She continued to visit BMC for years afterward, staying deeply involved with the artistic community that BMC incubated.

Anticipating the eventual closure of BMC, Williams, alongside her husband Paul Williams and a group of influential former BMC figures, founded The Gate Hill Cooperative Artists community located 30 miles north of NYC on the outskirts of Stony Point, NY. The Gate Hill Cooperative, also known as The Land, became an outcropping of Black Mountain College’s experimental ethos. Students and faculty including John Cage, M.C. Richards, David Tudor, Karen Karnes, David Weinrib, Stan VanDerBeek, and Patsy Lynch Wood shaped Gate Hill as founding members of the community. Vera B. Williams raised her three children at Gate Hill while continuing to make work.

The early Gate Hill era represented an especially creative phase for the BMC group. For Williams, this period saw the creation of 76 covers for Liberation Magazine, a radical, groundbreaking publication. This exhibition will feature some of Williams’ most powerful Liberation covers including a design for the June 1963 edition, which contained the first full publication of MLK’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Williams’ activism work continued throughout her life. As president of PEN’s Children Committee and member of The War Resisters league, she created a wide range of political and educational posters and journal covers. Williams protested the war in Vietnam and nuclear proliferation while supporting women’s causes and racial equality. In 1981, Williams was arrested and spent a month in a federal prison on charges stemming from her political activism.

In her late 40’s, Williams embarked in earnest on her career as a children’s book author and illustrator, a career which garnered the NY Public Library’s recognition of A Chair for My Mother as one of the greatest 100 children’s books of all time. Infinitely curious and always a wanderer at heart, Williams’ personal life was as expansive as her art. In addition to her prolific picture making, Williams started and helped run a Summerhill-based alternative school, canoed the Yukon, and lived alone on a houseboat in Vancouver Harbor. She helped to organize and attended dozens of political demonstrations throughout her adult life.

Her books won many awards including the Caldecott Medal Honor Book for A Chair for My Mother in 1983, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award– Fiction category– for Scooter in 1994, the Jane Addams Honor for Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart in 2002, and the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature in 2009. Her books reflected her values, emphasizing love, compassion, kindness, joy, strength, individuality, and courage.

Images:

Cover of Vera B. Williams’ A Chair for My Mother, published in 1982.

Vera B. Williams, Cover for Liberation Magazine, November 1958.

Western North Carolina Glass: Selections from the Collection
Mar 7 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

Western North Carolina is important in the history of American glass art. Several artists of the Studio Glass Movement came to the region, including its founder Harvey K. Littleton. Begun in 1962 in Wisconsin, it was a student of Littleton’s that first came to the area in 1965 and set up a glass studio at the Penland School of Craft in Penland, North Carolina. By 1967, Mark Peiser was the first glass artist resident at the school and taught many notable artists, like Jak Brewer in 1968 and Richard Ritter who came to study in 1971. By 1977, Littleton retired from teaching and moved to nearby Spruce Pine, North Carolina and set up a glass studio at his home.

Since that time, glass artists like Ken Carder, Rick and Valerie Beck, Shane Fero, and Yaffa Sikorsky and Jeff Todd—to name only a few—have flocked to the area to reside, collaborate, and teach, making it a significant place for experimentation and education in glass. The next generation of artists like Hayden Wilson and Alex Bernstein continue to create here. The Museum is dedicated to collecting American studio glass and within that umbrella, explores the work of Artists connected to Western North Carolina. Exhibitions, including Intersections of American Art, explore glass art in the context of American Art of the 20th and 21st centuries. A variety of techniques and a willingness to push boundaries of the medium can be seen in this selection of works from the Museum’s Collection.

Goodwill Business Advisory Council (BAC) meeting
Mar 7 @ 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Goodwill Workforce Development Center

Networking and Lunch: 11:30 a.m.
Meeting: Noon – 1 p.m.
Location: Goodwill Workforce Development Center
Arrival Directions: We are located next to the DMV on Patton Avenue. Please plan to arrive at 11:30 a.m. to grab lunch before the meeting.

We invite you to join us for our Non-Profit Pitch Series: Spotlight on Community Changemakers. This exciting event will showcase the incredible work of local non-profit organizations dedicated to tackling important issues and creating positive change.

You’ll hear from eight non-profit organizations, each given five minutes to share their story and gain insights into their:

– Mission: Understand the driving force behind their work and the impact they seek to create.
– Services: Discover the valuable resources and support they offer to members of our community.
– Referral process: Learn how individuals can connect with their programs and services.
– Call to action: Leave inspired and empowered to take action, whether through volunteering, donations, or simply raising awareness.

Featured non-profits:
– Helpmate Domestic Violence Advocacy
– The Mediation Center
– Veterans Services of the Carolinas
– Sunrise Community for Recovery and Wellness
– Resources for Resilience
– Our Voice
– Western North Carolina Community Health Services
– Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte

Goodwill Business Advisory Council (BAC) meeting
Mar 7 @ 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Goodwill Workforce Development Center

Networking and Lunch: 11:30 a.m.
Meeting: Noon – 1 p.m.

Arrival Directions: We are located next to the DMV on Patton Avenue. Please plan to arrive at 11:30 a.m. to grab lunch before the meeting.

We invite you to join us for our Non-Profit Pitch Series: Spotlight on Community Changemakers. This exciting event will showcase the incredible work of local non-profit organizations dedicated to tackling important issues and creating positive change.

You’ll hear from eight non-profit organizations, each given five minutes to share their story and gain insights into their:

– Mission: Understand the driving force behind their work and the impact they seek to create.
– Services: Discover the valuable resources and support they offer to members of our community.
– Referral process: Learn how individuals can connect with their programs and services.
– Call to action: Leave inspired and empowered to take action, whether through volunteering, donations, or simply raising awareness.

Featured non-profits:
– Helpmate Domestic Violence Advocacy
– The Mediation Center
– Veterans Services of the Carolinas
– Sunrise Community for Recovery and Wellness
– Resources for Resilience
– Our Voice
– Western North Carolina Community Health Services
– Eblen Charities

Medicare Basics
Mar 7 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Fairview Public Library 

 

This presentation is suitable for people new to Medicare, caregivers, people leaving employer health insurance for Medicare, and others who help Medicare beneficiaries.

Asheville’s Doomed Duo: F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald
Mar 7 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
North Asheville Library

 

It’s been almost 80 years since Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald passed away in Asheville in the tragic Highland Hospital fire on March 10, 1948, and people are still enraptured by her persona. Learn more about Zelda’s life and those of her contemporaries by attending the 2024 Zelda Fitzgerald Week events, happening March 7-10.  This year’s events highlight the circumstances of women creatives from this period.

To learn about other Zelda Fitzgerald Week events, visit aurorastudio-gallery.com.

Asheville’s Doomed Duo: F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald
Thursday, March 7, 2024 from 2-3 p.m.
North Asheville Library – 1030 Merrimon Ave. – Asheville
(828) 250-4752

Join literature professor Tom Hearron at the North Asheville Library for this lecture on two of the most illustrious celebrities to call Asheville home: F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

The Fitzgeralds shared a love unique in the annals of literature. Despite the inner demons that ultimately doomed them both, they produced fiction that is as lively today as when it was written.

Tom Hearron holds a doctorate in American literature from the State University of New York at Buffalo. For over forty years he has taught writing and literature at colleges and universities in the U. S., Africa and China. He currently offers courses at OLLI/UNC Asheville.

This event is free and everyone is invited.

Becoming the Ex-Wife: The Unconventional Life & Forgotten Writings of Ursula Parrott and screening of “The Divorcee”

Saturday, March 9, 2024 from 1-4:30 p.m.
East Asheville Library – 3 Avon Rd. – Asheville
(828) 250-4738

This day-long event at the East Asheville library is free and everyone is welcome.

  • 1-2:30 p.m. – Dr. Marsha Gordon, a Film Studies professor at North Carolina State University, and former co-host of movies on the radio, will discuss her new biography of writer Ursula Parrott, Becoming the Ex-Wife. Parrott’s life reflects many issues Zelda herself faced in her professional career. Gordon loves researching, writing, and speaking about American film and culture. She regularly introduces movies, moderate panels, makes radio and podcast appearances, and lectures.
  • 2:30-3 p.m. –  Book sales/signing/intermission (Malaprop’s Books).
  • 3-4:30 p.m. – Screening of The Divorcee, which Dr. Gordon will introduce. The Divorcee is a crowd pleaser—it won Norma Shearer a Best Actress Academy Award and was based on Parrott’s 1929 best-seller, Ex-Wife. And it’s very much in the Jazz Age style with its deco design and fashion!
Adult Spelling Bee Spectator
Mar 7 @ 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Continuum Art

Join us for the inaugural Adult Spelling Bee, a fundraiser for Smart Start Partnership for Children. Proceeds from this fun, community-building event will support Smart Start’s work to support, educate, and advocate to build a strong foundation for the young children in our community.

Your $50 Adult Spelling Bee Spectator Ticket will include:

  • Heavy hors d’oeuvres by Everyday Gourmet
  • One drink ticket for beer, wine or a non-alcoholic cocktail
  • One vote for ‘Best Dressed Team’
  • An entertaining showdown of Henderson County’s best adult spellers!
March Business After Hours
Mar 7 @ 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Sherwin-Williams Candler

Come join us for Business After Hours at Sherwin-Williams Candler!

Sherwin-Williams Paint goes to Candler! We are an industry leader of architectural coatings, celebrating our newest location covering the Candler and Canton areas. We are happy to supply both retail DIY and wholesale contractors with paint, painting supplies, and expert advice for any project. Come see the new store, meet the team, and enjoy some food and drink on us.

 

Food will be catered from EveryDay Gourmet & we will have a variety of beer, wine, and NA beverages. Parking is available at the store & the empty storefront to the right, and the SECU across the street has generously offered to be overflow parking as well.

 

Sherwin-Williams Candler is located at 107 Smokey Park Highway, Asheville, 28806. If the GPS of your choice doesn’t show that address yet (the building is that new!), you can find us by heading for the SECU at 111 Smokey Park and looking across the street.

Feel free to bring a gift to be raffled off as door prizes towards the end of the evening. Bring your business cards for networking and a chance to win prizes!

Please take a look below at our members who have renewed for another year!

 

 

This event is offered as a benefit for Chamber membership. We welcome you to come and check us out! Please contact Jessica Kanupp, our Member Development Specialist, at [email protected] if you’re considering a Chamber membership.

Blue Ridge Orchestra presents “Musique Ménage”
Mar 7 @ 6:00 pm
Governor's Western Residence

Music Ménage features a chamber ensemble of select orchestra musicians and the return of multi-talented vocalists from the Opera Theatre at UNC Greensboro.

 

BRO Music Director Milton Crotts and Opera Theatre Director David Holley promise an evening of elegant opera music including selections from Mozart’s comedic masterpiece The Impresario, “Chi il bel sogno” from Puccini’s La Rondine, and “Morro, ma prima in grazia” from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera about the assassination of Swedish King Gustav III.  The program features iconic songs sung by the title characters of three beloved French operas: Bizet’s Carmen sings the defiant and challenging “Habanera”; Massenet’s Manon performs her celebratory “Gavotte”; Lakme and her servant girl Mallika sing the hauntingly beautiful “Flower Duet” by Leo Delibes. The emotional tenor aria “La Serenata”, the “Intermezzo” from Cavalleria Rusticana, and the “Meditation” from Thais are among the many other highlights of these intimate concerts.

 

The Thursday evening salon in the Governor’s graceful mountain retreat will be accompanied by wine and delectables. Fortunate attendees will have an opportunity to mingle with the gifted performers on both evenings. The Orchestra is delighted to extend its collaboration with the UNC Greensboro Opera Theatre as part of its ongoing mission to promote connections that enhance the musical experiences of WNC audiences. UNC Greensboro is renowned for its Opera Theatre program – UNCG productions have earned seven first-place awards in the National Opera Association’s annual competition and its graduates perform with celebrated opera companies across the country. Our exclusive performances help make these musical partnerships possible.

 

 

General Admission Tickets: $80, Includes wine, and savory hors d’oeuvres

Blue Ridge Orchestra’s Musique Ménage
Mar 7 @ 6:00 pm
Governor's Western Residence

Our evening includes savory bites, and fantastic desserts ~ all while we pour local wines, beers, and coffees. We will enjoy music, conversation, and the beautiful mountaintop scenery framing some of Asheville’s best views. Fortunate attendees can experience an exclusive chance to mingle with performing artists.
This event will sell quickly. Make your reservation today!

Milton Crotts, conductor

“Musique Ménage” translates from French as “household of music.” Join us to observe and absorb the gifts and talents of our small ensemble led by Music Director, Milton Crotts. We will be joined by UNC Greensboro’s Opera Theatre, courtesy of David Holley, Theatre Director, for two afternoons of intimate music and variety for the ear.

Program:

 Opera a la carte with musicians from the BRO and
UNC Greensboro Opera Theatre:

UNC Greensboro Opera Theatre,
Courtesy of David Holley, Theatre Director

Blue Ridge Orchestra Chamber Ensemble
Milton Crotts, BRO Music Director

BRO Music Director Milton Crotts and Opera Theatre Director David Holley promise an evening of elegant opera music including selections from Mozart’s comedic masterpiece The Impresario, “Chi il bel sogno” from Puccini’s La Rondine, and “Morro, ma prima in grazia” from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera about the assassination of Swedish King Gustav III.  The program features iconic songs sung by the title characters of three beloved French operas: Bizet’s Carmen sings the defiant and challenging “Habanera”; Massenet’s Manon performs her celebratory “Gavotte”; Lakme and her servant girl Mallika sing the hauntingly beautiful “Flower Duet” by Leo Delibes. The emotional tenor aria “La Serenata”, the “Intermezzo” from Cavalleria Rusticana, and the “Meditation” from Thais are among the many other highlights of these intimate concerts.

PLEASE NOTE: March 7th ticket purchases include wine, savory hors d’oeuvres, and an exclusive chance to mingle with performing artists. Wine and delectables will NOT be provided on March 8th due to the nature of this larger event.


ALL ARTS OPEN MIC
Mar 7 @ 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Story Parlor

Held on First Thursdays, join this all-arts open mic presented by Story Parlor and Speakeasy Improv. Prepare a five minute original piece in whatever medium you so choose — storytelling, music, poetry, literature, comedy, dance — or simply come to enjoy and support the local arts community.

BLUEGRASS JAM Hosted by Drew Matulich
Mar 7 @ 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Jack of the Wood

BLUEGRASS JAM

Hosted by Drew Matulich


Don’t miss your chance to check out some of the best pickers from all over WNC at our amazing Bluegrass Jam curated by the talented Drew Matulich — every Thursday starting at 7:00 pm! A real show-stopping performance only at Jack of the Wood! Open jam starts at 9:30 pm.

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Montreal Canadiens
Mar 7 @ 7:00 pm
PNC Arena

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Montreal Canadiens

Jazz Jam
Mar 7 @ 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
LEAF Global Arts

Join us for Jazz Jam Thursday every Thursday from 7-10. There is a suggested donation of $10 and local craft beer and wine for sale. Come as you are or bring an instrument! Open jam starts at 8 after a House Band set guaranteed to fill your soul with groove and joy.
Public parking is available at Marjorie Street, across from Packs Tavern.

Old Farmer’s Ball Thursday Dance
Mar 7 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Bryson Gym Warren Wilson College

Our Thursday Dance

This dance is fragrance-free (no perfume, cologne, strong deodorant, etc.), out of respect for those with sensitivities.

Schedule

  • Every Thursday night (except as indicated on the calendar)
  • Beginner lesson at 7:30 pm (advanced dancers are welcome to help out during the lesson!)
  • Dance 8 pm – 11 pm

Cost

  • Non-members: $12
  • OFB Members: $10
  • Warren Wilson community: $1

If this is your first time dancing with us, your second dance is free!

State of the Union Watch Party
Mar 7 @ 8:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Buncombe County Democratic Party

The Biden campaign is encouraging State of the Union Watch Parties in North Carolina’s most critical counties, including Buncombe County. Please plan to join us for an evening of viewing this important address together, followed by conversation and fellowship — we will provide refreshments.

Who should attend: Democrats and left-leaning unaffiliated voters.

Friday, March 8, 2024
101 Dalmatians Kid
Mar 8 all-day
Asheville Community Theatre

Pet owners, Roger and Anita, live happily in London with their Dalmatians, Pongo and Perdita, stalwart dogs devoted to raising their puppies. Everything is quiet until Anita’s former classmate, the monstrous Cruella De Vil, plots to steal the puppies for her new fur coat. The Dalmatians rally all the dogs of London for a daring rescue of the puppies from Cruella and her bumbling henchmen.

2024 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament
Mar 8 all-day
Bon Secours Wellness Arena

The Southeastern Conference unveiled the tournament schedule for the 2024 Women’s Basketball Tournament in anticipation of the on-sale of reserved ticket books scheduled for Thursday, November 2.

The SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament returns to Greenville, S.C, March 6-10. This is the seventh trip to Greenville for the tournament. The city previously hosted the event in 2005, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023.

A reserved ticket book for the tournament, to be held at Bon Secours Wellness Arena is $130. A ticket book contains seven tickets, one for each session, which allows one person to attend all 13 games. All ticket prices are subject to additional taxes and fees and can be purchased here. There will also be tournament hospitality options available starting at $350.

Single session tickets, if available, will go on sale in February.

 

ROUND DATE TIME (ET) MATCHUP
First Round Wednesday, March 6 11 a.m. Game 1: No. 12 vs. No. 13
Game 2: No. 11 vs. No. 14
Second Round Thursday, March 7 Noon Game 3: No. 8 vs. No. 9
Game 4: No. 5 vs. G1 Winner
6 p.m. Game 5: No. 10 vs. No. 7
Game 6: No. 6 vs. G2 Winner
Quarterfinals Friday, March 8 Noon Game 7: No. 1 vs. G3 Winner
Game 8: No. 4 vs. G4 Winner
6 p.m. Game 9: No. 2 vs. G5 Winner
Game 10: No. 3 vs. G6 Winner
Semifinals Saturday, March 9 4:30 p.m. Game 11: G7 Winner vs. G8 Winner
Game 12: G9 Winner vs. G10 Winner
Championship Sunday, March 10 3 p.m. Game 13: G11 Winner vs. G12 Winner

The second game in a session will begin 25 minutes following the conclusion of the previous game.

Asheville 2030 Survey
Mar 8 all-day
online

By 2030, we want UNC Asheville to have a sustainable enrollment of 3,800 to 4,000 students drawn to and supported by our commitment to the vision of an innovative public liberal arts and sciences university of the future known for its student-centered focus, hands-on learning, technology-driven solutions, and career-ready emphasis.


Buncombe County new vendor portal
Mar 8 all-day
online

Are you interested in doing business with Buncombe County or learning about outreach opportunities for your business? If so, Buncombe County’s new vendor portal has upgraded features so vendors can now self-register with a variety of new options. The new portal will also make it easier for all vendors to access information to bid on contracts, get updates, manage contract information, view existing contracts, and more. Additionally, updated commodity codes will allow vendors to identify what goods and services they provide, allowing the County to better determine who to solicit and increase participation in the bidding process.

In an effort to continually increase the County’s commitment to equity, one of its 2025 Strategic Plan priorities, vendors can self-identify as a Woman/Minority Business Enterprise (WMBE) or Historically Under Utilized Business (HUB).

You can visit Buncombe County’s new and improved vendor portal here. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].

Haunted History + Murder MYstery Tour
Mar 8 all-day
Gray Line Trolley Tours of Asheville

Sit back if you dare as we illuminate Asheville’s darkest history with astonishing stories of spirits & spies, ghosts & goblins, hauntings & hoodlums and mountain-made murder & mayhem.

Hear stories of . . .

  The legendary PINK LADY at the Grove Park Inn
  The GHOST of Church Street
  The 1936 UNSOLVED MURDER that shook Asheville
  The CHILD SPIRITS at the haunted hospital
  The architect walled into his own church!
  The KILLING SPREE of 1906
  NAZI AGENTS based in Asheville
  ARSON at hospital that claimed Zelda Fitzgerald

Hop-on/Hop-off SIGHTSEEING TOUR
Mar 8 all-day
Asheville Area

There is no better way to DISCOVER and EXPLORE Asheville!  Hop-on board one of Gray Line’s nostalgic trolleys for a fully narrated day tour, highlighting the history, homes, hang-outs and hot spots of this “city of surprises.”

Tour Highlights include  .  .  .  Downtown Asheville  |  Montford Historic District  |  The Grove Park Inn and Grove Park Historic District  |  Thomas Wolfe District  |  Pack Square and Asheville Art Museum  |  Grove Arcade  |  River Arts District  |  Biltmore Village

Hop-On and hear the story of a city rich in architecture, history and the arts  . . .

Hop-Off and experience its eclectic shops and galleries; its world class culinary and craft brew scenes.

Tour Duration:  The complete tour (one loop) lasts approximately 90 to 100 minutes.  There is an additional 15 minute stop at the Asheville Visitor Center.  The Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour ticket is valid for TWO consecutive days.

Departure Points: Join the Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour at any of the 10 stops.  If you’re driving in to join the tour, Stop 1, the Asheville Visitor Center may be your best option.  The Visitor Center, located at 36 Montford Ave. just off I-240 at Exit 4C, offers free parking (on a first come-first served basis) and restrooms. The Asheville Visitor Center is the ONLY place to join the Overview Tour.

Ingles SOCON Basketball Championships
Mar 8 all-day
Harrah's Cherokee Center- Asheville

Learn + Grow ADULT + CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Mar 8 all-day
NC Arboretum

Plants Connect Us in Place

Throughout Southern Appalachia this month, the first spring ephemerals — floral harbingers of the colorful season to come — begin their journey toward the light. Trillium, Trout Lily, Bloodroot, Dicentra: All appear the most delicate of flowers, yet they are mighty enough to push through heavy layers of damp leaf duff to reach the sun’s rays. Usher in the brightening days like these first flowers with courses that extend the Arboretum’s mission to connect people with plants and learn more about what roots us in our special place in nature.

Eco Gardening: Principles in Practice | In Person Version – ONSITE, Three Sessions: Wednesdays, March 6, 20 & April 3, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Or  Asynchronous Version – Open March 6 through May 31.


Emergence: Spring Wildflower Walk | ONSITE | Saturday, March 9, 1 – 3 p.m. or Saturday, March 16, 1 – 3 p.m.


Lifelong Gardening | ONSITE | Wednesday, March 13, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.


Free! Lunch & Learn: Previewing the Cullowhee Native Plants Conference | ONSITE | Thursday, March 14, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.


Native Plants for the Vegetable Garden | ONSITE | Thursday, March 14, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.


Botany Basics | In Person Version – ONSITE, Six Sessions: Tuesdays & Thursdays, March 19 – April 4, 1 – 3 p.m. Or Asynchronous Version – Open April 4 through June 30.


Soil Health Check Up | ONSITE | Wednesday, March 27, 1:30 – 4 p.m.


Free! Arboretum Reads Nature’s Best Hope by Doug Tallamy | ONSITE | Two Sessions: Thursday, April 4 & 18, 3:30 – 5 p.m.


Registration is also open for our signature plant-based core classes in April. Join us for Spring Native Flora ID (field and blended field/online sections), Spring Native Tree ID (online, field and intensive versions). Plan ahead in April to learn about exotics at the Orchid Festival, April 12 – 14, held at the Arboretum, then return to learn about our native azaleas at the Native Azalea Day, April 27. 

Registration for Tanglewood Youth Theatre Classes
Mar 8 all-day
online w/ Asheville Community Theatre

Tanglewood Summer has long been a successful and inspirational part of children’s creative education in Western North Carolina. Our theatre camp has been extremely popular and is well-suited for any young person interested in exploring the exciting world of theatre. Our faculty represents some of the finest talent in the area, and we are thrilled to have them at Tanglewood Summer.

We have something for every kid this summer – whether it’s your first or one-hundred-and-first time trying theatre, Tanglewood Summer is the place for YOU!

Stormwater: TAKE ACTION
Mar 8 all-day
WNC

Introducing RiverLink’s year-long campaign to recruit absolutely everyone to help restore the health of the French Broad River.

Untreated rainwater (also known as stormwater) flows off hard surfaces such as parking lots and roofs, and carries sediment, pollutants and bacteria with it, negatively impacting water quality. The sheer volume and velocity of rain runoff is the biggest threat today to the French Broad River.
Our campaign includes educational resources and action steps everyone can take to protect our rivers and streams here in Western North Carolina. You’ll also find real-life stories of local people taking action to reduce rain runoff at their homes and businesses. We want YOU to join us!

As a resident or business owner in WNC, you can be part of the solution. Here are four ways to take action to reduce rain runoff and protect our rivers and streams:

  • Disconnecting Your Downspout
  • Installing Rain Barrels
  • Implementing Rain Gardens
  • Other Green Infrastructure

Rain Garden Guide

Interested in creating an eco-friendly oasis? Read more about the benefits and steps to set up your rain garden.

Downspout Disconnect Guide

Learn how to disconnect your downspout and its benefits for sustainable stormwater management.

Rain Barrel Guide

Discover an affordable and easy-to-install solution for collecting rooftop runoff.

WaterRICH Guide

The FREE WaterRICH Guide will teach you how to harvest rainwater, create garden features which promote water seeping into the soil (stormwater features), and reduce outside water needs.

Ready to spread the word about river health and reducing rain runoff?