Hit the trails and learn more about The North Carolina Arboretum’s botanically diverse forest with a guided trail walk! April through October, this free hiking program is led by trained volunteer guides who take small groups of participants along woodland trails and through a variety of forest types. Depending on the season and each guide’s area of expertise, topics of discussion may include wildflowers, plant and tree identification, natural history and more.

Guided trail walks are limited to 15 people, including the guide, and are not recommended for guests under 16 years of age. Groups depart from the Baker Visitor Center Lobby on Tuesdays at 1 p.m. and Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m..

Walks last 1.5 – 2.5 hours, are approximately one to two miles in length. As this program is held rain or shine, all participants should dress appropriately for the weather.

There is no pre-registration; walks are first-come first served and sign up sheets are located in the Baker Visitors Center.

Walks are FREE; however, donations to The North Carolina Arboretum Society are appreciated. Regular parking fees apply. Arboretum Society Members always park free.

Know Before You Go

• Guided Trail Walks are not recommended for guests under 16 years of age.
• Guided Trail Walks are rain or shine and all participants should be dressed comfortably and for the weather.
• Hikes cover 1-2 miles and last 1.5-2 hours.
• Well-behaved leashed pets are welcome to accompany their owners. In the rare case that a pet is disruptive or negatively impacts the experience, the pet and its owner may be asked to excuse themselves from the guided walk.
• COVID-19 Safety: In order to hear the guide and fully participate in the trail walk, participants will be in close proximity to one another for extended periods of time. While face coverings are not required, participants should use their best judgement to keep themselves and others safe while enjoying the trails. Individuals who are experiencing flu-like symptoms or suspect they may have been exposed to COVID-19 should not participate.
• At this time, no more than 6 spaces may be filled by a single family/group through pre-registration for any one Guided Trail Walk. If additional spaces are available on the day of the Walk, additional members of the family/group may participate. We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to welcoming larger groups in the future.

Explore Biltmore House with an Audio Guide that introduces you to the Vanderbilt family and their magnificent home’s history, architecture, and collections of fine art and furnishings.

PLUS: Immersive, multi-sensory Italian Renaissance Alive exhibition created by Grande Experiences

PLUS: FREE next-day access to Biltmore’s Gardens and Grounds

This visit includes access to:

• Italian Renaissance Alive at Amherst at Deerpark®
• 8,000 Acres of Gardens and Grounds for two consecutive days
• Antler Hill Village & Winery
• Complimentary Wine Tastings at the Winery
• Tastings require a Day-of-Visit Reservation, which can be made by:
  • Scanning the QR Code found in your Estate Guide
  • Visiting any Guest Services location
• Complimentary parking

Art Exhibition: Italian Renaissance Alive

This fascinating experience takes you on a spellbinding tour of Italy, fully immersing you in the beauty and brilliance of iconic masterworks from the greatest artistic period in history

Learn Asheville’s history, discover hidden gems, and laugh at LaZoom’s quirky sense of adventure.

• Guided comedy tour bus of historical Asheville
• 90-Minutes – tours run daily
• 15-minute break at Green Man Brewing
• $39 per person (ages 13+ only)

We collect new and gently used formal dresses, shoes, and accessories so that anyone who wants to attend a prom or formal event can do so regardless of their financial situation.

You can donate your new/gently used formal dresses, suits and accessories – or donate services like limo rides, dinners and other items to help a young person have a magical evening.

Contact Kathy to learn more about how you can receive a dress or donate items!

Come watch as teams from across the Carolinas compete in a double-elimination bracket to pull two fire trucks in a race for the best time. Then stick around for a live concert. A portion of proceeds will go to the N.C. Firefighters’ Burned Children Fund.

Admission: $15.00 pre-event, $20.00 on-site

For more information, please visit: www.wnccharityfiretruckpull.com.
Contact: 828-606-6467 or [email protected]

TFAC invites all artists: painters, sculptors, writers, performers & more — to a casual weekly drop-in gathering on Saturday mornings at 9 AM to share your works in progress, alert others, and chat about art and what’s happening in your community. The first weekly Coffee is Saturday, August 20 at 9 am. No RSVP needed, just drop by! Free parking available on Melrose Avenue, behind and alongside TFAC.

Asheville Gallery of Art’s March show, “Awakenings” features work by three new Gallery members: Jon Sebastian, Sara Bell, Andrea Stutesman. The show runs daily March 1 through March 31st, 2023 during gallery hours, 11am-6pm. An opening reception will be held March 3, 5-8pm; everyone is welcome.

The three artists will showcase their passion through three mediums, respectively. Not unlike the delicate and elusive trillium of the North Carolina mountain beds, these artists spring forward in the presentation of “Awakenings.” As featured artists of the month, Andrea Stutesman, Sara Bell, and Jon Sebastian join forces in presenting this amazing show by rendering their art using pastels, watercolors, and oil paints. Mesmerizing spring colors will grace the windows and walls of the gallery, rendering imagery of flowers, exotic and endangered animals, and vibrant landscapes. “Awakenings” is the second of three group shows featuring new artists to the gallery.

Andrea Stutesman
Andrea’s early art explorations began with pastels under the guidance of her mother, an accomplished painter. Her work is from the heart, inspired by her interactions with people and places or by the stories brought to her with requests for commissions. She strives to transform a sense of calm and connection that she experiences when painting that will invite viewers to slow down and enjoy the beauty of life.

Jon Sebastian
Art and painting in particular is, for artist Jon Sebastian, the selective recreation of reality according to his own principles and what he deems interesting and just in this world we share. Jon cannot remember a time when he did not paint. At Asheville Gallery of Art, Jon is now moving forward with confidence that others will find his works a compelling addition to their own collections. Jon paints immersive works filled with color, light and shadow. His subjects are of nature and of the peace and spirituality in which they envelope us.

Sara Bell
Sara Bell has always loved drawing. It’s a form of meditation for her and has now become a way for her to find peace and sanity when her world gets too overwhelming, which, as a single mom with a neuro-divergent teen, happens quite often. When it does, Sara follows John Muir’s quote, “Off into the woods I go to lose my mind and find my soul.” The results of these adventures are delightful sketches and photography of the forests. Sara then works from her photos to create her watercolors and intaglio prints.
Come visit this engaging and thoughtful exhibition at 82 Patton Avenue in downtown Asheville. For further information about this show, contact the Asheville Gallery of Art at (828) 251-5796, visit the Gallery’s website at ashevillegallery-of-art.com, or go to the Gallery’s Facebook page.

COUNTRY TWO-STEP: LEVEL- ONE  BEGINNER 1½ – Hour Class 

Saturday, March 25th 11 to 12:30pm at The Grey Eagle Music Hall, 185 Clingman Ave., Asheville. Learn this popular, fun dance. We start with the basic step and progress to foundational steps and a few cool moves. Taught by UCWDC World Champions Richard & Sue Cicchetti. Richard is a DVIDA Certified Dance Instructor. With Richard’s clear instructions and progressive method, you will learn correctly, how to remember steps and how to transition seamlessly from one step to the next. Singles are welcome. No partner is needed, bring one if you can. Treat yourself to a delicious taco at the in-house Taqueria. Early bird online discount by March 19th for $20/pp. After March 19th online and at the door $25/pp. Save your space, pre-register now at: https://tinyurl.com/3pua384k

An enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Luzene Hill advocates for Indigenous sovereignty—linguistically, culturally, and individually. Revelate builds upon Hill’s investigation of pre-contact cultures. This has led Hill to incorporate the idea of Ollin, the Nahuatl word for the natural rhythms of the universe, in Aztec cosmology in her work. Before Europeans arrived in North America, Indigenous societies were predominantly matrilineal. Women were considered sacred, involved in the decision-making process, and thrived within communities holding a worldview based on equilibrium.

Ollin emphasizes that we are in constant state of motion and discovery. Adopted as an educational framework, particularly in social justice and ethnic studies, Ollin guides individuals through a process of reflection, action, reconciliation, and transformation. This exhibition combines Hill’s use of mylar safety blankets alongside recent drawings. Capes constructed of mylar burst with energy and rustle with subtle sound, the shining material a signifier of care, awareness, displacement, and presence. Though Hill works primarily in sculpture, drawing has increasingly become an essential part of her practice as she seeks to communicate themes of feminine and Indigenous power across her entire body of work. The energy within her drawings extends to the bursts of light reflecting from her capes or the accumulation of materials in other installation works.

Luzene Hill was born in Atlanta, GA, in 1946. She received her bachelor of fine art and master of fine art from Western Carolina University. She lives and works on the Qualla Boundary, Cherokee, NC.

Natural Collector is organized by the Asheville Art Museum. IMAGE: Christian Burchard, Untitled (nesting bowls), 1998, madrone burl, various from 6 × 6 × 6 to ⅜ × ⅜ × ⅜ inches. Gift of Fleur S. Bresler, 2021.76.01.

Natural Collector | Gifts of Fleur S. Bresler features around 15 artworks from the collection of Fleur S. Bresler, which include important examples of modern and contemporary American craft including wood and fiber art, as well as glass and ceramics. These works that were generously donated by contemporary craft collector Bresler to the Asheville Art Museum over the years reflect her strong interest in wood-based art and themes of nature. According to Associate Curator Whitney Richardson, “This exhibition highlights artworks that consider the natural element from which they were created or replicate known flora and fauna in unexpected materials. The selection of objects displayed illustrates how Bresler’s eye for collecting craft not only draws attention to nature and artists’ interest in it, but also accentuates her role as a natural collector with an intuitive ability to identify themes and ideas that speak to one another.” This exhibition presents work from the Collection representing the first generation of American wood turners like Rude Osolnik and Ed Moulthrop, as well as those that came after and learned from them, such as Philip Moulthrop, John Jordan, and local Western North Carolina (WNC) artist Stoney Lamar. Other WNC-based artists in Natural Collector include Anne Lemanski, whose paper sculpture of a snake captures the viewer’s imagination, and Michael Sherrill’s multimedia work that tricks the eye with its similarity to true-to-life berries. Also represented are beadwork and sculpture by Joyce J. Scott and Jack and Linda Fifield.

Paul Wong, Carbon, silver and gold, 2016, pigmented linen and cotton pulp, publisher: Dieu Donné, New York, edition 3/25, 18 × 11 inches. Gift of Dieu Donné, New York, 2022.27.06. © Paul Wong.

On View March 8 through July 24, 2023
The Van Winkle Law Firm Gallery • Level 1

Paper is an essential part of the art-making process for many artists, serving as the base for drawing, painting, printmaking, and other forms of art. As a substrate, paper can vary in weight, absorbency, color, size, and other aspects. Since industrialization, paper has primarily been produced through mechanical means that allow for consistency and affordability.

What happens, then, when an artist chooses to return to the foundations of paper, wherein it is made by hand using pulps, fibers, and dyes that reflect the human element through variations, inconsistencies, flaws, and surprises? Certain artists have sought out these qualities and embraced them, making paper not just a support on which to work, but fully a medium in and of itself.

Pulp Potential: Works in Handmade Paper is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Hilary Schroeder, former assistant curator, with assistance from Alexis Meldrum, curatorial assistant. Special thanks to Dieu Donné, New York, NY.

Have social time meet our staff and current fosters and get to know more about our Foster Program. Games, snacks, and other goodies will be provided for attendees and donations of much-needed kitten items are encouraged. Items requested include vital supplies like kitten formula and food, kitten warmers, bottles, and supplements that give foster kittens the needed boost to grow into healthy adult cats.

The full kitten supply list is available on the Blue Ridge Humane Society website at https://www.blueridgehumane.org/donate/wish-list/. There are also options available for items to be purchased online and shipped directly to Blue Ridge Humane.

As the weather warms up, the birds, bees, and cats get busy. Soon, kittens start to appear in local animal shelters, “rescued” by well-meaning animal lovers. “We are coming on that time of year when animal lovers begin finding kittens outside,” says Angela Prodrick, Blue Ridge Humane’s Executive Director. “It is important to remember that the amount of community or feral cats in our county far outnumbers the number of people living in our community. If all the kittens were brought to a local shelter, the shelter would quickly become overwhelmed.”

If you find a kitten, here are a few simple things you can do to help save lives:

Instead of immediately springing into action once kittens are found, wait and watch. If the kittens aren’t visibly sick or injured, move away from the nest and wait to see if the mother returns. If the mother returns, you can help her by providing food and shelter while she raises the kittens.

If you discover that mom isn’t returning, or if it appears that she is not coming back, then you should remove the kittens. This is crucial to the kittens’ survival. The best place for kittens to grow is with a dedicated foster. Blue Ridge Humane provides kitten kits to help kitten rescuers turn into kitten fosters.

Once kittens are about 6-8 weeks old, a finder can look to get them spayed or neutered and adopted into new homes. If you find kittens that need care and you need supplies or advice, contact the BRHS Foster and Community Outreach Team at [email protected] or (828) 393-5832. Animal lovers can also view additional resources about what to do when kittens are found at https://www.blueridgehumane.org/resources/lost-found/kittens/.

Blue Ridge Humane offers kitten care support for volunteers, as well as comprehensive training and support for fosters in the BRHS foster program. To learn more about fostering, visit https://www.blueridgehumane.org/get-involved/foster/ or contact Michaela Okuda, Foster Program Coordinator at [email protected].

The Blue Ridge Humane Society, Inc., is a 501(c)3 animal welfare organization started in 1950 and dedicated to ensuring the highest quality of life for animals in Henderson County and our neighboring communities. BRHS cares for pets awaiting adoption at the Adoption Center; offers low-cost vaccine clinics, animal education programs, pet training classes, and youth education and projects; coordinates community pet food assistance, emergency vet assistance, and the Spay Neuter Incentive Program (SNIP), which is a collaboration with Henderson County, the City of Hendersonville, and the Henderson County Animal Services Center.

If you believe in our cause, consider donating or learning how to volunteer by visiting the Blue Ridge Humane Society’s website at www.blueridgehumane.org or call (828) 692-2639.

Included with admission

Back by popular demand, The Vanderbilts at Home and Abroad exhibition offers guests:

• An opportunity to view rarely-seen treasures from the Biltmore collection
• A first-hand look at the Vanderbilts’ lifestyle
• Deeper insights into George, Edith, and Cornelia’s personalities, both at home and on their extensive travels

Access to exhibitions at The Biltmore Legacy is included with Biltmore daytime admission.

In the past 50 years in the United States and beyond, artists have sought to break down social and political hierarchies that include issues of identity, gender, power, race, authority, and authenticity. Unsurprisingly, these decades generated a reconsideration of the idea of pattern and decoration as a third option to figuration and abstraction in art. From 1972 to 1985, artists in the Pattern and Decoration movement worked to expand the visual vocabulary of contemporary art to include ethnically and culturally diverse options that eradicated the barriers between fine art and craft and questioned the dominant minimalist aesthetic. These artists did so by incorporating opulence and bold intricacies garnered from such wide-ranging inspirations as United States quilt-making and Islamic architecture. Too Much Is Just Right: The Legacy of Pattern and Decoration features more than 70 artworks in an array of media from both the original time frame of the Pattern and Decoration movement, as well as contemporary artworks created between 1985 and the present. The artworks in this exhibition demonstrate the vibrant and varied approaches to pattern and decoration in art. Artworks from the 21st century elucidate contemporary perspectives on the employment of pattern to inform visual vocabularies and investigations of diverse themes in the present day. Artworks drawn from the Asheville Art Museum’s Collection join select major loans and feature Pattern and Decoration artists Valerie Jaudon, Joyce Kozloff, Robert Kushner, and Miriam Schapiro, as well as Anni Albers, Elizabeth Alexander, Sanford Biggers, Tawny Chatmon, Margaret Curtis, Mary Engel, Cathy Fussell, Samantha Hennekke, John Himmelfarb, Anne Lemanski, Rashaad Newsome, Peter Olson, Don Reitz, Sarah Sense, Billie Ruth Sudduth, Mickalene Thomas, Shoku Teruyama, Anna Valdez, Kehinde Wiley, and more. This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and guest curated by Marilyn Laufer & Tom Butler.

Join us for a relaxing ride through quiet countryside on your way to small town life in western North Carolina on the Tuckasegee River Excursion. Departing from Bryson City, this 4 hour excursion travels 32 miles round-trip to Dillsboro and back to the Bryson City Depot. Pass by the famous movie set of The Fugitive starring Harrison Ford!

• About This Trip
• Things To Do
• Itinerary
• Classes of Service and Pricing
• Class Comparison
• How to Purchase
• Schedule
• The Tuckasegee (tuck-uh-SEE-jee) River Excursion includes an 1 hour and 20 minute layover in the historic town of Dillsboro, where you’ll find more than 50 shops, restaurants, a brewery, and country inns. There is time to shop, snack, and visit the many unique shops before returning to Bryson City.

JOIN US FOR UNCORKED! THIS UNIQUE RAIL LINE AND WINE EXPERIENCE WILL FUSE THE ADVENTURE OF RAILROADING WITH THE LOVE OF GOOD WINE AND GOOD COMPANY.

• About This Trip
• Meal
• How To Purchase
• Where To Go
• Schedule
• Plan on being here by one hour before departure.

NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship

Regional Semi-Finals | Online Ticket Sales Only

Experience March Madness in Greenville March 24-27, 2023 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena! The Southern Conference and Furman University hosts the Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament Regional in the first ever two-site format.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Regionals:

2 Games | March 24 at 2:30 p.m. ET & 5 p.m. ET | Session 1

2 Games | March 25 at 11:30 a.m. ET & 2 p.m. ET | Session 2

  1 Game | March 26 at 7 p.m. ET | Session 3

  1 Game | March 27 at 7 p.m. ET | Session 4

All-Session Six-Game Package- Package includes 4 separate tickets/sessions to experience all Sweet 16 and Elite 8 action!

Single-Session Package- Includes one ticket for your select day or session.

BUY NOW

The NCAA Fan Experience^TM powered by On Location is your source for the ultimate championship experience.  Choose from the best selection of tickets, in-venue hospitality access featuring tailgate-inspired food, included drink options, a meet and greet with a former NCAA player or coach and photo opportunity with the National Championship Trophy!

SECURE YOUR ACCESS

Tickets can now be bought and sold directly with other fans through the official NCAA Ticket Exchange. The NCAA Ticket Exchange allows fans to sell and buy official tickets online in an NCAA approved, safe and 100% guaranteed environment.

COUNTRY TWO-STEP:  LEVEL-TWO INTERMEDIATE 1 1/2-hour Class

Sat, March 25th 12:45 pm to 2:15 pm  at the Grey Eagle Music Hall, 185 Clingman Ave., Asheville. Take your Two-Step to the next level. Taught by UCWDC World Champions Richard & Sue Cicchetti. Richard is a DVIDA Certified Dance Instructor. With Richard’s clear instructions and progressive method, you will learn correctly, how to remember steps and how to transition seamlessly from one step to the next. Singles are welcome. No partner is needed, bring one if you can. Treat yourself to a delicious taco at the in-house Taqueria. Early bird online discount by March 19th for $20/pp. After March 19th online and at the door $25/pp.. Save your space, pre-register now at: https://tinyurl.com/mvmk83cw

Gelli printing is an easy, innovative way to create vibrant, one-of-a-kind monoprints. The results are striking, and all you need is a gelli plate, acrylic paint, and some kind of substrate (paper, fabric, etc.). In this fun, hands-on workshop, paper artist Kristen Grady will teach you everything you need to get started with this super versatile process.

Among other techniques, you’ll learn how to build multiple layers of design, create textures and an “old wall” look, and add stenciling and shimmer to your prints. Kristen will also teach you how to create two-sided prints, work with multiple prints at the same time, create a theme for your prints, use thick and thin paints in different ways, and find your color palette.

There will be plenty of time to practice each technique, and you’ll complete at least four, two-sided prints. You’ll also leave with plenty of ideas on how to use your finished prints, including incorporating them into junk journals, and how to care for and store your gelli plate, which will be yours to keep—a $25 value!

Hands on workshop meets for 3 hrs:  March 25th,  1- 4pm, $40, all materials and supplies included.

Learn the basics of polymer clay while using pre-made millefiori canes to create your own personal bead, pendant or key chain.

Enjoy a ‘hands on’ experience in polymer clay. You will learn the basics of working with polymer using pre-made polymer millefiori themed canes. These tiny designs add up to create your unique expression on a bead set, keychain or pendant.

Polymer is a versatile and captivating medium exploring the possibilities of color, form, shape and texture. Applications are endless! This class is designed to introduce the basics of conditioning, forming and curing the clay. You’ll learn the foundational design principles of pattern, rhythm, contrast and movement as you choose embellishments to give work a personal voice. *Please note all millefiori canes shown are OOAK and pictures are for suggestion and reference only.

Email [email protected] or register directly on EventBright at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/525307879007

Craig LeHoullier, author of Epic Tomatoes and Growing Vegetables in Strawbales, and a 40 year gardener with an expertise in heirloom tomatoes, moved to Hendersonville with his wife, Susan in January 2020 – then COVID hit, closing down his workshop agenda. Craig and Al met for coffee and the idea of providing workshops at the Veterans Healing Farm quickly took shape. At this event, Craig will tell some garden stories and provide some sneak peaks at four programs that will take place in the coming months. He will have plenty of time for questions, share some garden seeds, and his books will be available to flip through; signed copies will be available to purchase.

Set your growing dreams in motion this Spring with this four-part Gardening Series led by Laura Ruby and supported by Reems Creek Nursery! In our region, with most warmth-loving plants ready to go outside in mid-May, March is the right time to begin planning your garden, starting your seeds, and prepping your growing area. Discover when to seed and transplant, which vegetables and perennials to plant, site location based on natural water and sun flows in your space, and simple techniques for keeping your garden healthy as the season progresses.

From Lawn to Garden

We will meet in the garden for our third class together. This workshop will be very hands-on, including direct seeding and converting a lawn into a garden. You will get to see established gardens and learn how each was created, planted, amended, etc. You will also see how fruit production can be integrated with growing flowers and veggies.

*Note: This class will be taking place in a mulched garden and is less wheelchair accessible than the Reems Creek Nursery location. Please contact [email protected] for more accessibility information. 

HT’s New Works Series offers exciting script-in-hand readings of new plays by emerging local playwrights. The readings are followed by a talk back with the playwright and actors to provide feedback to the playwright. A short discussion will follow each reading to provide feedback to the playwright about their script.

There is no charge to attend or to participate, however donations are welcome and will be used to support HT.

Hendersonville Theatre is committed to exploring and developing new work for American theater, supporting local playwrights with their creative process from concept to production.

Playwrights who would like to submit work for consideration for the New Works Series can follow the submission guidelines posted at www.HVLtheatre.org/about-us and email questions to [email protected].

Wanna hear the best local music ​and​ drink the best local beers? Hop aboard LaZoom’s Purple Bus and rock out with a local band while we take you on a journey to Asheville’s premiere local breweries.

All Bodies Movement & Wellness is a queer-owned, anti-racist, trans-positive, fat-positive gym based in Asheville, NC. Our focus is on helping clients and members develop sustainable movement practices, undo the damage of diet culture, and heal their relationships with their bodies…and we’re growing!

We are excited to expand into a larger studio space and want to invite you to come check it out! Join us at our Grand Opening for a fun evening of checking out our brand new gym space while connecting with other community members.

Enjoy fancy mocktails and appetizers and learn more about our programs and services. Attire: NOT exercise clothes! This is a kid and family-friendly event.

Ben Krakauer is a banjo player and composer (and Warren Wilson College music professor) rooted in bluegrass, jazz, and new acoustic music. He has toured with David Grisman and has recorded for Acoustic Disc, CMH Records, and the Fiddle Masters series. His band features virtuoso musicians David Benedict (mandolin), Bennett Sullivan (guitar, vocals), and Kevin Kehrberg (bass). They will be premiering music from his new album Hidden Animals, which releases on March 22nd, 2023 on Adhyâropa Records.

Doors open 30 minutes prior to showtime. Seating is general admission. Online ticket sales end 1 hour prior to showtime. There may still be last-minute tickets available in the office if none are available online. Contact BMCA for information – 828.669.0930.