• Parking Fees
  • Personal/Standard Vehicle (up to 20′ long): $20
  • Large vehicles (21′-29′ long): $60
  • Busses and Oversize Vehicles (30′ long+): $125
  • Members: Free

  Apart from the parking fee, there is no other admission charge to enter the Arboretum or our facilities, except in the case of advertised ticketed events.

Located within the wildly-popular and botanically beautiful Southern Appalachian Mountains, The North Carolina Arboretum offers more than 10 miles of hiking trails that connect to many other area attractions such as Lake Powhatan, the Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Visitors of all ages and abilities can enjoy their hiking experience at the Arboretum as trail options include easy, moderate, and difficult challenge levels. All trails are dog-friendly and visitors are asked to adhere to the proper waste disposing procedures for pets.

Part of a running group that would like to use the Arboretum as a starting point or parking location? Please review our Running Group Guidance and email [email protected] with any questions.

Historians estimate that skilled Black artisans outnumbered their white counterparts in the antebellum South by a margin of five to one. However, despite their presence and prevalence in all corners of the pre-industrial trade and craft fields, the stories of these skilled workers go largely unacknowledged.

Borrowing its title from a Black culture and politics magazine of the same name, Hammer and Hope celebrates the life and labor of Black chairmakers in early America. Featuring the work of two contemporary furniture makers – Robell Awake and Charlie Ryland – the pieces in this exhibition are based on the artists’ research into ladderback chairs created by the Poynors, a multigenerational family of free and enslaved craftspeople working in central Tennessee between the early nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Through the objects featured in Hammer and Hope, Awake and Ryland explore, reinterpret, and reimagine what the field of furniture-making today would look like had the history and legacy of the Poynors – and countless others that have been subject to a similar pattern of erasure – been celebrated rather than hidden. Hammer and Hope represents Awake and Ryland’s attempts, in their own words,  “at fighting erasure by making objects that engage with these long-suppressed stories.”‍

Robell Awake and Charlie Ryland are recipients of the Center for Craft’s 2022 Craft Research Fund Artist Fellowship. This substantial mid-career grant is awarded to two artists to support research projects that advance, expand, and support the creation of new research and knowledge through craft practice.

READERS THEATRE SHOWCASE

For Readers Theatre Showcase auditions, there’s no need to make an appointment – we will get you signed in when you arrive! Expect to read from the script. Prepare for your audition by reading the script beforehand.

AUDITION DATES AT A GLANCE

• The Importance of Being Earnest – February 16-18, 2024
  • Auditions: January 23, 2024 from 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM

The Importance of Being Earnest

Performance Dates: February 16-18, 2024
Auditions: January 23, 2024 from 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM
Directed By: Maggie Crowell
Production Assistant: Susan Maley

About The Importance of Being Earnest: Wilde’s most successful and enduring play is a wonderful and witty comedy of deception, disguise and misadventure. Two bachelors, Jack and Algernon, create alter egos in an effort to avoid tedious social obligations and win the hearts of Gwendolen and Cecily, the two women they adore.

additional auditions:

• The Birds – March 22-24, 2024
  • Auditions: February 27, 2024 from 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM
• Over the River and Through the Woods – April 26-28, 2024
  • Auditions: April 2, 2024 from 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM
• Enchanted April – May 31-June 2, 2024
  • Auditions: May 7, 2024 from 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM

Bring your laptops and fully-charged cellphones for this in-person phone bank session! We will be making calls to increase voter participation throughout Buncombe County during these regularly scheduled phone banks on Monday evenings and Tuesday mornings.

If you don’t have a laptop, we have several at HQ, so just be sure to bring your email login information so we can get you started. If you already have an Action ID User ID & password, bring those as well. (If you don’t have one, we’ll help you get set up with one after you arrive.)

After making calls at HQ, you’ll be encouraged to continue making calls from the comfort of your home afterwards.

We will have plenty of refreshments on hand, and we hope you’ll keep coming back, because this phone banking community is growing and having lots of fun!

Who should attend: Democrats and left-leaning unaffiliated voters welcome!

Sigal Music Museum’s current special exhibition, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred, highlights items from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, which hails from all over the world. Showing November 2023 – May 2024, Worlds Apart uses a diverse range of historical instruments, objects, and visuals to bring together musical narratives from seemingly disparate parts of the globe.

 

Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred aims to increase public access to historical instruments from around the world and improve visitors’ understanding of musical traditions at the global level. Expanding beyond the typical parameters of the Western musical canon, Worlds Apart seeks to expose audiences to musical instruments and customs that are often overlooked or exotified. The instruments and other exhibit materials will offer visitors new perspectives on global music and a chance to consider how music is used for prayer and leisure in cultures around the world. By celebrating these stories, the museum intends to further its mission to collect and preserve historical musical instruments, objects, and information, which engage and enrich people of all ages through exhibits, performances, and experiential programs.

 

Displaying various objects from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred focuses on international musical instruments and cultures, celebrating rites and traditions with ancient histories and contemporary legacies. Frank Edwinn, a successful basso in the mid-20th century, studied and toured internationally, eventually settling in North Carolina, where he taught music at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Throughout his life, he purchased various objects from around the world, aiming to expose students, and himself, to the wide and wonderful world of musical instruments. This impressive collection occupies a unique position for educating audiences unfamiliar with the vast scope of global music.

And, UNCA’s Ramsey Library Special Collections is now processing the Edwinn’s papers and a few recordings that will be accessible next semester!

Join us for a fun and interactive story time designed for children ages 18 months to 3 years.

This charming English-style cafe and tea room features literary decor and a wonderful menu. If you like tea 🫖 and books 📚 you will love this cafe! I’m looking forward to having a nice, hot pot of tea during the cold and dreary month of January. Come join me!

To see the menu and photos of this charming cafe go to thebookandbee.com.

For lunch it’s first come/first serve.

Directed by Charlie Flynn-McIver

PLAYFUL | COMING OF AGE | COMEDY

It’s 1973 and 19 year old Linda O’Shea has been tasked by her mother with explaining the birds and the bees to her little sister. Things quickly snowball into crisis after the conversation is overheard by the parish priest. As secrets are unintentionally revealed, it takes every member of the modest, Irish Catholic O’Shea family — from Linda’s quirky younger sister to her sassy aunt — to keep the family’s name in good standing.

Content advisory: strong language and sensitive subject matter

Trying out your new reading skills in front of other people can be intimidating! But dogs always listen and never judge, even when we make mistakes. Practice reading with a furry pal at the library every Tuesday afternoon and improve your skills with the listening ear of a certified therapy dog from the Alliance of Therapy Dogs.

Read with Flora the Golden Retriever every first and third Tuesday from 4 – 5 p.m.

Read with Rascal the King Charles Spaniel every second and fourth Tuesday from 3 – 4 p.m.

All participants must register and sign a waiver to take part. Call the library at 828-250-4738 or e-mail [email protected] for more information.

Join us for a lively language enrichment story time designed for children ages 4 to 18 months.

Join us for a lively language enrichment story time designed for children ages 4 to 18 months.

Come down the Pack Memorial Library and play with LEGOs!
Show off your building skills and make new friends with other LEGO maniacs.

Please leave your personal LEGOs at home, because we’ve got plenty.

Youth Production Auditions

This an immersive performance workshop that is specially tailored for young artists who aspire to learn and grow in the performing arts. Read more about Youth Productions HERE.

At the First Cast Meeting, students will be taught a dance combination and song to take home and practice for auditions and parents will receive comprehensive information about the entire Youth Production process.

Disney’s 101 Dalmatians Kids

Ages: 8-12
Performance Dates: March 8-10, 2024
First Cast Meeting: Tuesday, January 23, 2024 at 4:30 PM
Auditions: Thursday, January 25, 2024 at 4:30 PM

About Disney’s 101 Dalmatians Kids: 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. Based on the classic animated film, Disney’s 101 Dalmatians Kids is a fur-raising adventure with a high-spirited score and lovable characters that will charm and delight all audiences.

Read more about registering for Disney’s 101 Dalmatians Kids HERE

Do you have a rising kindergartner and questions about what it means to be “ready for kindergarten”?
This drop-in event is intended to provide families with an opportunity to meet representatives from local schools and ask any questions pertaining to the registration process as well as specifics about each school. We encourage anyone with a rising kindergartener for the current academic year to attend and chat with friendly staff about your school options. Participants will have an opportunity to receive free resources and materials to support their children’s transition to kindergarten.
If you have a child who will be 4 by August 31, 2024, you may also attend to get information on eligibilty for Buncombe Pre-K options.

Great news for poets and poetry lovers: Dark City Poet’s Society is returning to the Black Mountain Library. DCPS is a completely free poetry group that is open to poets of all ages and experience levels. Join us at the Black Mountain Library from 6-7:30 p.m. on the first Tuesday of every month for our (respectful) critique group. DCPS will meet at BAD Craft from 6-7 p.m. on the third Tuesday for our monthly open mic Poetry Night. Find out more on Instagram @darkcitypoetssociety or contact the Black Mountain Library.

Blue Mountain Healing Center is excited to host a 3 series energetic defense workshop at Skinny Beats.

Workshop Dates for all 3 Classes:
Jan 23 – 5:50PM to 8:00PM
Jan 30 – 5:50PM to 8:00PM
Feb 6 – 5:50PM to 8:00PM

WHO ARE THESE CLASSES FOR?
These classes are for participants who are familiar or comfortable in with working in the energetic or spiritual realms.
Energetically or spiritually sensitive people who are seeking tools on how to manage and defend against challenging situations and relationships.
People who want to create energetic and spiritual shelters to staff off harmful collective patterns and intrusive energies.
Frontline high stress pressured public facing work environments that cause energetic and spiritual exhaustion.
Challenging interpersonal or family dynamics that cause energetic or spiritual drop outs.

DYNAMICS WE WILL COVER
Emotional and Energetic Dumping
Energetic Powerlessness In Conflict
Energetic & Spiritual Boundary Crossing
Money & Relationship Interference​
Managing Challenging Dynamics With Others Who Are: Badgering Guilt Ridden Demanding Entitled Dominant and Abusive

WHAT PARTICIPANTS WILL LEARN
Understanding Energetic Boundaries​​
Mindfulness Practices​
Energy Management Tools​​
Visualization Techniques:​​
Identifying and Clearing Negative Energies:​​
Creating Your Sacred Space​​
Practical Applications in Daily Life​
Group Energetic Dynamics​​
Self-Care and Energetic Hygiene​
​
* Classes are limited to 20 participants per class and fee’s must be paid in advance to secure your spot. Please arrive no later than @ 5:50 to get settled and ready for a fast moving and exciting class. Teaching will begin at 6:00 sharp!. Short breaks are given to help participants process the information and solidify these teachings.

This is a hybrid event with limited in-store seating and the option to attend online.

The event is free but registration is required for both in-person and virtual attendance. 

Please click here to register for the VIRTUAL event. The link required to attend will be emailed to registrants prior to the event. 

Please click here to register for the IN-PERSON event. Note the important event details on the RSVP form.

This event includes a book signing. If you would like a signed book but can’t attend in person, you may order a signed copy online below. If you would like to have your book personalized, please order online or call the store at least two hours before the start of the event. When ordering online, use the comments field to provide a name for personalization, e.g. “To Paul.” NOTE: We do our best to get books personalized when requested but personalization is not guaranteed.

If you decide to attend and to purchase books, we ask that you purchase from Malaprop’s. When you do this you make it possible for us to continue hosting author events and you keep more dollars in our community. You may also support our work by purchasing a gift card or making a donation of any amount below. Thank you!

Featuring over 100 delicious recipes that utilize whole foods, classic ferments, hearty broths, and healing herbs and spices, The Nourishing Asian Kitchen presents an innovative approach to experiencing Asian cuisine while promoting nutritious, garden-to-place meals that are easy to make.

Sophia Nguyen Eng is a first-generation Vietnamese-American who left a successful career in growth marketing in Silicon Valley to start a five-acre permaculture farm in the Appalachian region of eastern Tennessee. During her time in the tech industry, Eng led successful growth marketing campaigns for startups and Fortune 500 companies like WorkDay, InVision, and Smartsheet, which led to opportunities to develop a certificate training program with CXL Institute and being a founder of the tech organization Women in Growth. A sought-after speaker, she has presented at Google HQ, GrowthHackers, and the global SaaStalk tech conferences. Now she draws on her experiences speaking on stage and her knowledge of food, farming, and health to present at homesteading conferences. Eng is also a Weston A. Price Chapter Leader and the founder of the website Sprinkle with Soil. With her husband, Tim, she raises grass-fed dairy cows, beef cattle, laying hens, broilers, ducks, sheep, goats, turkeys, and grows a variety of produce for her multi-generational family and local community. Sally Fallon Morell is the founding president of the Weston A. Price Foundation and author or coauthor of many acclaimed books, including Nourishing Traditions, The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby & Child Care, and Nourishing Broth.

Join Sophia Nguyen Eng as she discusses her book, The Nourishing Asian Kitchen. This is a hybrid event with limited in-store seating and the option to attend online. The event is free, but registration is required for both in-person and virtual attendance. Featuring over 100 delicious recipes that utilize whole foods, classic ferments, hearty broths, and healing herbs and spices, The Nourishing Asian Kitchen presents an innovative approach to experiencing Asian cuisine while promoting nutritious, garden-to-place meals that are easy to make. Sophia Nguyen Eng is a first-generation Vietnamese-American who left a successful career in growth marketing in Silicon Valley to start a five-acre permaculture farm in the Appalachian region of eastern Tennessee. During her time in the tech industry, Eng led successful growth marketing campaigns for startups and Fortune 500 companies like WorkDay, InVision, and Smartsheet, which led to opportunities to develop a certificate training program with CXL Institute and being a founder of the tech organization Women in Growth.

Mainstage Auditions

Auditions are held over two nights, and you may choose either night to audition. Please fill out the Audition Form (per show) to secure an audition time. Walk-ups will be asked to fill out the audition form on site and will need to wait until the next available time slot.

For musical auditions: In general, come dressed to dance and prepared to sing 16 bars (30-45 seconds) of a musical theatre song, in the style of the musical. Depending on the show, you may be asked to bring sheet music to be played by an accompanist or you may be asked to bring a backing track (like a karaoke track on your phone) to play on a provided speaker. Please read each show’s audition requirements.

For non-musical auditions: Generally, you will be asked to memorize and prepare a monologue or to read pages from the script in front of the director, the stage manager, and another reader. Please read each show’s audition requirements.

Matilda: The Musical

Performance Dates: April 12-May 5, 2024
Youth & Teen Auditions: January 21, 2024 at 1:00 PM
Adult Auditions: January 22 & 23, 2024 with time slot
Callbacks (for Youth, Teens, & Adults): January 25, 2024
Rehearsals: February 5, 2024-April 11, 2024
Directed and Choregraphed by: Zoe Zelonky
Music Direction by: Kristen Johnson Dominguez

About Matilda: The Musical: Immerse yourself in the extraordinary world of Matilda: The Musical, a delightfully imaginative adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s book. This Tony Award-winning musical weaves the story of Matilda, a young girl with a sharp wit, unbounded imagination, and psychokinetic powers. Despite the indifference of her shallow parents and the tyranny of the oppressive headmistress Miss Trunchbull, Matilda discovers the strength within herself to change her story. Infused with dark humor, whimsical storytelling, and dazzling performances, Matilda: The Musical is a testament to the power of imagination, resilience, and the transformative magic of learning. A must-see for audiences of all ages who love heartwarming tales of triumph against all odds.

How to prepare:

Youth & Teens will begin with the dance audition then move into the vocal audition. Please arrive before 1 PM to check in and make sure you are ready to go as auditions will begin promptly. Dance auditions will take about an hour, and vocal & acting auditions will immediately follow in the order in which you check in. After you have completed your vocal & acting audition, you will be free to go.

• Dancing: Please wear clothes that allow full body movement. You will learn a short, upbeat dance combination and perform it in small groups.
• Singing: Please prepare a 1 minute cut of an upbeat musical theatre song. An accompanist will not be provided, so please bring your chosen track with you. This can be a YouTube karaoke track cued up to the correct time on your phone, an mp3 file on a flash drive, etc. We will provide a speaker for playback and will have a laptop available to play your track if needed.
• Acting: Choose one of the following audition sides (it does not have to be memorized, but if it is, that’s great, too!) and prepare to perform it. You may be asked to read another side in the audition room or at callbacks.

Adults:

• Singing: Please prepare a 1 minute cut of an upbeat musical theatre song. An accompanist will not be provided, so please bring your chosen track with you. This can be a YouTube karaoke track cued up to the correct time on your phone, an mp3 file on a flash drive, etc. We will provide a speaker for playback and will have a laptop available to play your track if needed.
• Acting: Choose one of the following audition sides (it does not have to be memorized, but if it is, that’s great, too!) and prepare to perform it. You may be asked to read another side in the audition room or at callbacks.

Audition Time Slots: 

• Youth & Teens: Youth & Teens auditions happen at the same time. Fill out the audition form HERE.
• Adults: Please select your time slot and fill out the audition form HERE.

Audition Sides

• Character Descriptions
• Youth & Teen Audition Sides
• Adult Audition Sides

Join The Watchdog and a Panel of Experts to Discuss Possible Solutions for Restoring Quality Healthcare to Western North Carolina

Mission Health used to be one of the premier hospital systems in America, a magnet for top physicians and nurses, a provider of caring, quality care for patients, and a source of pride for the community.

Five years ago, Mission’s board of directors sold the system to HCA Healthcare of Nashville, promising that the sale to the hospital giant would lead to higher-quality, more accessible, and lower-cost healthcare for the people of western North Carolina.

Now, after five years of HCA management, there’s a broad consensus that the exact opposites have occurred. The question now is:

What can we, the citizens of western North Carolina, do to once again have the best-in-class, accessible, and affordable healthcare we used to expect?

Please join Asheville Watchdog and a panel of experts for a public discussion focused on solutions.

Confirmed panelists (L-R): State Sen. Julie Mayfield; Dr. R. Bruce Kelly, MD; Karen Sanders, MSN, RN; City of Brevard Mayor Maureen Copelof. Moderator: Asheville Watchdog Exec. Editor Peter Lewis

Note: Executives of HCA Healthcare, Mission Health, the Dogwood Health Trust, and MAHEC all declined The Watchdog’s invitations to participate in this event.

The event is free, but all attendees are requested to register in advance. Space is limited. There will be no microphones on the floor; submit your question in advance.

The Asheville Symphony joins forces with “mesmerizing” guitarist, JIJI, for this cross-genre performance that includes everything from classical Spanish guitar to Led Zeppelin to Prince and more.
FULLY SEATED

ALT ASO

Join writers and poets from across the country each month for a virtual writing workshop. A link will be added to their name when more details and sign-up information becomes available. These workshops are geared towards amateur writers, ages 16 and older recommended. Follow us on Facebook for notifications too.

2024 Virtual Writers Workshops

PHONE RINGS, DOOR CHIMES, IN COMES COMPANY.

Winner of 5 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, COMPANY “strikes like a lightning bolt. It’s brilliantly conceived and funny as hell” (Variety).  Three-time Tony^® Award-winning director Marianne Elliott (War Horse, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Angels in America) helms this revelatory new production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s groundbreaking musical comedy, at once boldly sophisticated, deeply insightful, and downright hilarious.

It’s Bobbie’s 35^th birthday party, and all her friends keep asking, Why isn’t she married? Why can’t she find the right man and isn’t it time to settle down and start a family? As Bobbie searches for answers, she discovers why being single, being married, and being alive in the 21^st-century could drive a person crazy.

COMPANY features Sondheim’s award-winning songs “You Could Drive a Person Crazy,” “The Ladies Who Lunch,” “Side by Side by Side” and the iconic “Being Alive”. Let’s all drink to that!

“Dazzling! So vibrant, so alive!” – Hollywood Reporter

“GLORIOUSLY TRANSFORMATIVE. A GODSEND.” – The New York Times

“HANDS DOWN THE BEST MUSICAL PRODUCTION OF THE SEASON!” – New York Post

Official Website