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.

Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Beer Release: Winter 2018-2019 Chocolatized
Dec 26 @ 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Pisgah Brewing Company

The darkest of Pisgah brews, the beer formerly known as Vortex II took a significant transformation when Pisgah brewers added a heavy dose (25lbs in 5bbls) of raw cocoa nibs from local Chocolate legends, French Broad Chocolates, to the brite tanks… thus creating what will now only be known as “Chocolatized”. Congratulations to the Pisgah brewers, as this Russian Imperial Stout aged on cocoa nibs brought home a coveted Gold Medal at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival for the Chocolate Beer Category.

A new 500ml bottle package and a new design courtesy of Zak Rutherford Designs!

The Taproom will open at 4pm, at which point bottles and draft pours will be available. Happy Holidays!

https://www.facebook.com/events/235028144075482/

Blue Ghost’s Resilience IPA Release
Dec 26 @ 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Blue Ghost Brewing Company

We’re supporting those impacted by the Camp Fire by brewing #ResilienceIPA. We will donate 100% of Resilience sales to the Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief Fund to help Butte County rebuild its community. #ButteStrong #SierraNevada

Beer: Blue Ghost’s Resilience IPA – 6.7% ABV, 70 IBUs

Food: Wing Night Wednesday with other offerings from The Hungry Ghost

https://www.facebook.com/events/579137659211037/

Naptown Stomp Goes To Lindy Focus!
Dec 26 2018 @ 4:00 pm – Jan 1 2019 @ 11:00 am

Hey Indy!

Celebrate your New Year with us at the best dance event of the year!

-6 nights of dancing✅
-Internationally known instructors ✅
-Music by several killer bands and musicians ✅
-Amazing sets showcasing the brilliant work of Chick Webb, Jimmie Lunceford, LIONEL HAMPTON, and more✅
-Dancing with hundreds of your best friends from across the country✅

You don’t want to miss this!
More information and tickets can be found here:
http://www.lindyfocus.com

We are using this event to coordinate carpool, housing, and other information. If it’s your first time going to Focus, let us know what questions you have!
*note that while staying the whole week is an amazing experience, you can also join us for part of the time as well!

https://www.facebook.com/events/775945079412902/

$10 Grilled Cheese & Beer Night
Dec 26 @ 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Wedge at Foundation

With Melt Your Heart being on site at Foundy daily, we’re joining up to bring you $10 Wednesdays. Come to our Foundation location and get any grilled cheese sandwich and any beer for just $10!

https://www.facebook.com/events/289160965275137/

Lights Before Christmas at Riverbanks Zoo
Dec 26 @ 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 26 @ 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.

Candlelight Christmas Evenings (December)
Dec 26 @ 5:30 pm – 11:00 pm
Biltmore

Candlelight Christmas Evenings*
Saturday, November 3, 2018 – Saturday, January 5, 2019 (Select Dates)

*Check website for availability/dates
*By reservation only.
*Pricing varies by date.

Candlelight, firelight, and live music bring holiday warmth to the extravagant holiday décor of Biltmore House, creating an evening to remember. Evening guests can also take advantage of Antler Hill Village & Winery to enjoy free wine tastings. Advance reservations are required for evening visits.

Learn more about #ChristmasAtBiltmore or plan your visit: biltmore.com/Christmas

https://www.facebook.com/events/1524627331014393/?event_time_id=1524627434347716

Beer Release: Bonus Cup Coffee Stout (Asheville)
Dec 26 @ 6:00 pm – 11:00 pm
UpCountry Brewing Company

Join us for the release of our newest brew this Wednesday, 12/26 at 6PM: Bonus Cup Coffee Stout!

Made with cold brewed coffee from our friends at Counter Culture and darkened with roasted barley, this beer is toasty, roasty, rich, and smooth. Flaked oats give this brew a creamy mouthfeel, pairing wonderfully with the coffee flavor and aroma.

ABV 5.9%
15 IBU

https://www.facebook.com/events/1007260396127554/

Winter Lights
Dec 26 @ 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
The North Carolina Arboretum

Experience Asheville’s brightest holiday tradition at Winter Lights at The North Carolina Arboretum. Walk through an outdoor winter wonderland and see the Arboretum’s gardens dressed in more than half-a-million holiday lights. Roast s’mores by the fire, listen to your favorite holiday tunes or enjoy a cup of hot cocoa, cider or beer. Proceeds from the event will support the Arboretum’s educational programs, exhibit and facilities year-round.

Tickets range from $8-18 and must be purchased in advance online at www.ncwinterlights.com.

https://www.facebook.com/events/183329605927836/?event_time_id=183329662594497

FBVMA Mountain Music Jam
Dec 26 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Sanctuary Brewing Company

The French Broad Valley Music Association jam session is focused on regional fiddle tunes and songs. Carol Rifkin and John Mitchell cohost weekly, bring an instrument to play or just enjoy the music, its free, kid friendly, donations encouraged. Key Players are intermediate to advanced but beginners are most welcome and encouraged to attend to listen, learn/quietly play along. More experienced players sit in the inner circle and take turns choosing fiddle tunes or songs. Guests, families and kids are invited to listen and often sing along. This style of community play has been used to entertain and pass down music to kids for generations.

The French Broad Valley Music Association is a 501c3 non-profit organization formed to celebrate local musical heritage. “Our community. Our music. Our sense of place.”

https://www.facebook.com/events/1979894692038890/?event_time_id=1979894828705543

Gatlinburg Trolley Ride of Lights
Dec 26 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Visit Gatlinburg

Tour Gatlinburg’s most dazzling light displays by hopping aboard the Gatlinburg Trolley Ride of Lights! This popular winter tradition is the perfect way to see our mountain town in all its Winter Magic splendor. Get your tickets today!

https://www.facebook.com/events/726348577700947/?event_time_id=726348594367612

¡Triskatrivia! Themed Trivia Night
Dec 26 @ 7:00 pm – 8:45 pm
Triskelion Brewing Company

¡Triskatrivia!

Wednesday nights are for Themed Trivia! Every Wednesday will be a new themed trivia night.

Teams can be up to six people, no phones, no yelling out of answers. There will be several rounds of questions, each a different category based on the night’s theme. There will also be a “Very Hard Questions” round, in which the players on the winning team will all get a free beer.

Glorious prizes will be awarded to the first and second place teams.

Come on out and show off your Brainz!!!

https://www.facebook.com/events/597876384004364/?event_time_id=597876420671027

The Greatest Showman Sing-Along – Only 2 Shows!
Dec 26 @ 7:00 pm – 8:40 pm
Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co.

YOU ASKED FOR MORE SCREENINGS!

TWO MORE CHANCES FOR A FANTASTIC & UNIQUE MOVIE EXPERIENCE!

Our four screenings of The Greatest Showman Sing-Along this year sold out in advance with the entire theater singing along. We’ve never seen so many happy faces walking out of the theater.

You don’t have to know the words to the songs! The Sing-Along version of the movie shows the lyrics of each song at the bottom of the screen to help the audience.

CLICK LINK BELOW to see a video example of what it’s like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4qCbA4r3WA

It doesn’t matter if you are a terrible singer, so come out for this unique screening and have some fun!

TICKETS: Tickets are only $3.00. You can also purchase tickets at our 675 Merrimon Avenue location.

PURCHASE ONLINE TICKETS HERE:
https://www.eventbrite.com/o/asheville-pizza-and-brewing-co-14694243693

MOVIE SYNOPSIS: Inspired by the imagination of P. T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman is an original musical that celebrates the birth of show business & tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.

CONTENT GUIDELINE: Rated PG for thematic elements. The word “damn” is used a few times.

https://www.facebook.com/events/365539307576381/?event_time_id=365539310909714

12 Dates of Christmas
Dec 26 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
North Carolina Stage Company

After seeing her fiancé on TV kissing another woman at the Thanksgiving Day Parade, Mary’s life falls apart — just in time for the holidays. Over the next year, she stumbles back into the dating world, where “romance” ranges from weird and creepy to absurd and comical. It seems nothing can help Mary’s growing cynicism, until the charm and innocence of a five-year-old boy unexpectedly brings a new outlook on life and love. This heartwarming one woman show offers a hilarious and modern alternative to the old standards of the holiday season.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1658799787558592/?event_time_id=1658799850891919

Contact Improv Men’s Group
Dec 26 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Homewood

Open to any who identify as male and aspire to an open heart.

This is a pilot for a regular ongoing CI Men’s Group. Please share your thoughts on this Survey!
https://goo.gl/forms/iGpgDbSw5qvzbFbl1

These three gatherings will be co-facilitated by Michael Hurd and CJ O’Reilly.
If you are interested in facilitating movement based men’s work, please fill out the Survey above and mark accordingly!

We seek to grow connection between fellow men in community through relating in conversation and movement. We will explore movement, men’s issues, boundaries and consent, and enjoy some awesome creative movement physicality.

We will explore movement and stillness, words and silence, in combinations of individual, pair and group work with both structured and less/un-structured time.
Sharing, discussing and labbing around themes, topics and skills that commonly arise in dance (and life), for instance:

– co-creative community and connection
– our experiences of being male on and off the dance floor
– communicating around boundaries and consent verbally and non-verbally
– the play of receptivity and assertiveness in dance communication
– skills for etiquette and safety, eg. safe & fun weight sharing; skills for initiating, maintaining & ending dances

Dec. 19, 26, Jan 2 – 7:30pm-9:30pm
at Homewood
19 Zillicoa St Asheville NC 28801

Drop-ins for these gatherings are welcome. Pre-register if you would like.

Register here: https://goo.gl/forms/DLLnv27Xz0uLpWK52
Website: https://www.ashevillejam.com/contact-improv-mens-group/

Suggested Contribution:
$50 ($30-75) for the 3 weeks or $10-20 per week
None turned away for lack of funds.

https://www.facebook.com/events/273461286648306/?event_time_id=273461309981637

Geeks Who Drink Trivia Night
Dec 26 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Catawba Brewing Company

Do you have a bunch of useless facts stored in the back of your head? Do you like the occasional beer on a week day? Well… Trivia on Wednesday nights at Catawba Brewing might’ve just become your new weekly tradition. Come join us and Geeks Who Drink Pub Quizzes at 7:30!

https://www.facebook.com/events/216005722664010/?event_time_id=216007932663789

Geeks Who Drink Trivia Night
Dec 26 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Catawba Brewing Company

Do you have a bunch of useless facts stored in the back of your head? Do you like the occasional beer on a week day? Well… Trivia on Wednesday nights at Catawba Brewing might’ve just become your new weekly tradition. Come join us and Geeks Who Drink Pub Quizzes at 7:30!

https://www.facebook.com/events/216005722664010/?event_time_id=216008329330416

Ben’s Winter Music Series W/The Dirty Badgers Trio
Dec 26 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Bens Tune Up

The Dirty Badgers are back at Ben’s Tune up! Playing Every Wed starting Nov 28th through December. Come check them out in our new cozy indoor space! 8-11 Free show
The Dirty Badgers describe their music as high mountain rock n roll. From lonesome country blues to grunge-funk sax throwdowns, the Badgers mix of fuzzy guitar riffs, over-the-top saxophone, and growling 3-part vocals bring an energy reminiscent of the glory days of punk with the attitude of ramblin’ country outlaws.

You may find them under the bright lights of the big stage playing their original high mountain rock or in a dark, hazy bar paying tribute to country and blues legends. Regardless of what instruments they bring to the stage, the DBs aim to bring out the wild and free side of us all.

https://www.facebook.com/events/726567121051761/

Cody Siniard & Friends Christmas Show
Dec 26 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
185 King Street

Cody Siniard, Chrysalis Trio & Drew Stevens perform a Christmas concert you don’t want to miss at 185 King Street. $5 members/ $10 non-members.

https://www.facebook.com/events/203418340555642/

6 Week Inversion Series
Dec 26 @ 8:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Danceclub Asheville

All things upside down!
The pole invert is the basis of almost all upside down tricks. It’s very important that it’s done with control, and done safely.

In this six week series you will work on your basic invert, and different inverted trick variations. Come spend class upside down!

Prerequisite: Beginner 2 Level (6 months of pole experience) or contact our instructors to see if you’re ready!

$96 for 6 week series – Reserve your spot here: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=330572&stype=-8&sView=day&sLoc=0

https://www.facebook.com/events/1284340138374227/?event_time_id=1284340181707556

90’s Night at the Retrocade!
Dec 26 @ 9:00 pm – Dec 27 @ 2:00 am
Asheville Retrocade

Join us every Wednesday for your favorite 90’s jams, movies and other 90’s surprises! 9pm-2am, 21+

It’s totally rad!

https://www.facebook.com/events/2065479293766354/

Thursday, December 27, 2018
THE POLAR EXPRESS Train Ride
Dec 27 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.

Reclaimed Creations
Dec 27 @ 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
NC Arboretum

Reclaimed Creations is a unique sculpture exhibit created by renowned artist Sayaka Ganz. Utilizing reclaimed plastic objects, such as discarded utensils, Ganz creates amazing sculptures that visually appear unified at a distance, but are in fact separated when examined up close. Described as using a “3D impressionistic” style, Ganz’s exhibit includes installations of animals in motion, which are in rich in color and energy, to create an illusion of form.

About the Artist

Born in Yokohama, Japan, Sayaka Ganz grew up living in Japan, Brazil and Hong Kong. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Indiana University, Bloomington, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. A lecturer and teacher, Ganz’s work has been displayed at various institutions around the globe, including the Hermann Geiger Foundation in Cecina, Italy, the Isle Gallery in Isle of Man, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California.

My work is about perceiving harmony, even in situations that appear chaotic from the inside. When observing my sculptures up close, one might see gaps, holes and items being held on only by small points; step away, however, and the sculptures reveal the harmony created when the objects are aligned to the same general (but not identical) direction. Similarly, it is important to gain perspective by stepping back from current problems and look at the larger picture. Then one can perceive the beauty and patterns that exist.”

Christmas at Biltmore Daytime Celebration (December)
Dec 27 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Biltmore

Christmas at Biltmore Daytime Celebration*
Saturday, November 3, 2018 – Sunday, January 6, 2019 (daily)

*Included with estate admission.
*Does not include “Candlelight Christmas Evenings”

Experience the holidays wreathed with the wonder of Biltmore. Our celebration presents Christmas on a grand scale with more than 55 trees decorated by our talented staff, accented with miles of ribbon, garlands, and lights. Festive menus in our restaurants and holiday wine tastings make for a memorable visit.

Learn more about #ChristmasAtBiltmore or plan your visit: biltmore.com/Christmas

https://www.facebook.com/events/104655743803303/?event_time_id=104655843803293

In Times of Seismic Sorrows
Dec 27 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Center for Craft

When reflecting on the current state of the environment, it seems that we have entered into times of seismic sorrows. Carbon emissions, water pollution, fracking, and changing climate patterns all point to a troubling reality with serious consequences for human and non-human populations. Through weavings, installations, sculpture, and print, artists Rena Detrixhe and Tali Weinberg (Tulsa, OK) explore the complex relationship between humans and the planet, offering insights, expressing grief, and creating space for resilience and change.

In Time of Seismic Sorrows is curated by Marilyn Zapf and organized by the Center for Craft. The Center for Craft is supported in part by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Interweaving Southern Baskets
Dec 27 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
The Bascom - A Center For The Visual Arts

The South has always been home to a blend of cultures — from Native Americans here by 14,000 years ago to Europeans 500 years ago, followed by Africans forced to migrate. By 1500, cultures in the South included Creek, Cherokee, Catawba, Choctaw, Chitimacha, and Coushatta, from Europe English, Scottish, Irish, and German, and Africans from Senegal to Congo. Baskets were integral in daily life, as agricultural equipment for gathering, sifting, storing, and serving the finished product or as receptacles for tools, clothes, sacred objects, and even infants.

Initially each culture had its own preferred basket material and method of manufacture — twilled rivercane for Native Americans, plaited oak for Europeans, and coiled grasses for Africans. Interaction between groups spurred adaptations to changing circumstances, such as the use of white oak by the Cherokee in the 1800s, as rivercane stands were decimated by European settlements. Native Americans also adopted the European picnic, flower, egg, and market baskets to sell in the 20th-century art market. Native and European Americans wove honeysuckle into baskets after 1854, when introduced from Japan. By the 17th century African Americans discovered bulrush along the coasts, coiling it into large, round “fanners” to winnow rice. Later bulrush was one medium among sweetgrass, pine needles, and palmetto, giving rise to the name “sweetgrass baskets” along the coast.

Baskets were woven not only for use in the fields and homes or for sale in art galleries but also as a connection to ancestors and spirits, as designs were said to come from inside one’s head, from memories of one’s mother’s motifs, or from the Creator. Indeed, working with one’s hands in nature to gather materials and to form them into a basket was considered spiritually and physically healthy, becoming a part of the practice of occupational therapy around World War I.

Today, basketweavers in the South from all three traditions are teaching the next generation to continue this art. Artists from across the region work with old and new materials in old and new forms, innovating for their legacy, for art’s sake, and for political causes, as embodied in the varied vessels in this gallery and epitomized in the virtuosic miniature examples in the case at right.

Kundalini Yoga Riverwalk
Dec 27 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Victoria Downs Healing

Kundalini is the yoga of awareness. We use breath, movement, sound, and meditation to become more aware of our bodies and our minds. Kundalini is for everyone as you do the work for YOU! Class is in a private home. We have room for 12 so please contact me ahead of time and I’ll send you info and the address!

https://www.facebook.com/events/124748888433203/

Victorian Christmas
Dec 27 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
WNC Historical Association & Smith-McDowell House

Enjoy a visit to Christmas pasts from the 1840s to the 1890s. Each room contains antique and reproduction decorations and traditions. Four live trees, one of which will be decorated with traditional Appalachian decorations, hand made by our SMH over History club.
Admission at the door $9 adults, $5 children/students, free for WNC Historical Association members and A-B Tech students.
Group tours may be requested at 828-253-9231
Special 12 Days of Christmas Scavenger Hunt for children.

https://www.facebook.com/events/316661532481360/?event_time_id=316661572481356

Scott Mills
Dec 27 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Woolworth Walk

During the month of December, local artist Scott Mills will be featured in the FW Gallery at Woolworth Walk.

Scott Mills was born in Detroit, MI in 1977. He works predominately in the mediums of oil and acrylic paints. Scott is completely self-taught in his artistic career and credits his study of music as a young child for opening his imagination and leading to his love for the visual arts. His work is derived from a deep love of nature and a desire to turn the feelings of awe, mystery, gratitude and love into visual depictions that can inspire the same feelings in the viewer. Scott has his artwork included in private collections across North America and Europe. He regularly takes part in group exhibitions and solo shows across the United States. He resides in the mountains of Asheville, NC with his wife and two children.

Come meet Scott and enjoy the opening reception on First Friday, December 7th from 5-7 pm.

https://www.facebook.com/events/333772250534934/?event_time_id=333772347201591

A Matter of Taste Exhibit
Dec 27 @ 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm
The Bascom...A Visual Arts Center

As Virginia Woolf said, “one cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” Food and water are essential for survival, but mankind’s relationship to food has transformed over time from one of sustenance to one laden with personal and cultural significance.

A Matter of Taste explores depictions of food and drink in art and reveals how images of fruits and vegetables can function as complex metaphors for excess, status, memory, and politics. Drawn from southern museums and private collections, this exhibition showcases over 35 paintings, decorative arts, and works on paper by artists such as Andy Warhol, Wayne Thiebaud, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Claes Oldenburg.

This show spans 400 years and multiple continents, revealing the evolving role of food and drink in various media and cultural contexts. While depictions of fruit and vegetables appeared in ancient times, still life painting as an independent genre dates to 16th-century Holland.

In 19th-century America, still life paintings remained popular but evolved in terms of subject matter, media, and message. Painters such as Thomas Wightman, George Forster, and De Scott Evans embraced Dutch still lifes and used food as commentary on the current political climate and the transient state of the human condition.

Illustrated newspapers led to an increase of cartoons by artists such as Winslow Homer and William Hogarth, who utilized food and drink as social satire. The 20th-century modern art movement further changed the perception of food. The culture of mass production enabled Pop artists to elevate seemingly mundane foodstuffs to high art. Yet, other contemporary artists explored the symbolic and nostalgic role of food seen in works by Tim Tate, Linda Armstrong, and Laquita Thomson.

Visitors will also experience an elaborately set dining table fit for a sumptuous feast. Dining became its own art form over time and communicated one’s social standing and wealth. Each of the table’s six place settings represent a different culture and offer a glimpse into global dining customs. Selective drinkware will accompany this section revealing how tea sets and even punch bowls reflected an owner’s prestige.