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.

Monday, May 8, 2023
LEAF Visiting Teaching Artists May 2023 Catalog
May 8 all-day
online
Chess Club
May 8 @ 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Black Mountain Brewing

Open to all ages and any skill set. We have a few boards, but folks are welcome to bring their own.

Blue Ridge Community College Health Career Orientation and Open House
May 8 @ 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Blue Ridge Community College-Health Sciences Building
You are invited to Blue Ridge Community College’s Health Career Orientation and Open House! Anyone interested is welcome to come to this event on the second Monday of each month from 5-7 PM in Room #2003 of the Health Science Building located at 805 6th Ave in Hendersonville near Pardee Hospital.
Attendees can ask questions about our various healthcare course offerings, obtain assistance with Viewpoint, register and take a tour of the facility.
For more information please email Heather Stewart at [email protected].
More about the Healthcare program at Blue Ridge Community College here: https://www.blueridge.edu/programs-courses/healthcare/
JAY BROWN with MICHAEL McNEVIN, and ANGIE HYMAN
May 8 @ 7:00 pm
White Horse Black Mountain

Acoustic guitarist, JAY BROWN hosts our bi-weekly Local Live series featuring a variety of talented local musicians. Jay grew up playing folk guitar with his parents and has continued to pursue a career in music as a singer-songwriter and roots musician.

Tuesday, May 9, 2023
ASAP’s 2023 Local Food Guide
May 9 all-day
online

The free, definitive resource for finding local food and farms also features farm stories and recipes.

 

The 2023 Local Food Guide, ASAP’s annual free publication for finding local food and farms, hits newsstands this week. This definitive resource lists hundreds of Appalachian Grown certified farms, farmers markets, restaurants, groceries, travel destinations, and more throughout Western North Carolina and surrounding counties in Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina. A digital version of the print Guide may be viewed at asapconnections.org/guide.

 

In addition to the listing content, the 2023 edition features stories that highlight the variety of farming across the region. Jake Puckett, of Crow Fly Farms in Marion, NC, details his passion for holistic animal management. Malcolm Banks, of Yellow Mountain Gardens in Franklin, NC, describes his mission to teach his neighbors—and the world—to grow their own food. Gwen and Jay Englebach, of Black Trumpet Farm in Leicester, NC, talk about building a business and customer relationships. Rounding out the issue are seasonal recipes from chefs at Cultura, Little Chango, The Montford, and Red Fiddle Vittles.

 

Find Local Food Guide copies at farmers markets, visitors centers, libraries, community centers, groceries, restaurants, and other partner businesses throughout the region. They are also available to pick up in the lobby of ASAP’s office in Asheville at 306 W. Haywood St., Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Contact ASAP if you need help locating a copy in your area.

 

In addition to the print Guide, ASAP maintains the online Local Food Guide at appalachiangrown.org. This database, with more than 1,400 listings, is updated throughout the year and is searchable by products, locations, activities, and more.

 

The 2023 Local Food Guide is made possible in part with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the Agricultural Marketing Service and Beginning Farmer Rancher Development Fund, as well as the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina and Asheville Regional Airport.

Hall Fletcher Elementary Plant Sale
May 9 all-day
Hall Fletcher Elementary School
Wilderness Medicine + Survival Skills at Nantahala Outdoor Center
May 9 all-day
Nantahala Outdoor Center

LEARN MORE THIS YEAR

Brush up on your wilderness medicine or learn new survival skills! SOLO Southeast & NOC are offering over 200 courses in 2023 and classes in locations across the southeast.

  • Atlanta, GA
  • Bryson City, NC
  • Chattanooga, TN
  • Collegedale, TN
  • Greenville, SC

Find your next course with SOLO Southeast and be prepared for the unexpected!

Elementary After-School Volunteer Creative Peacemakers
May 9 @ 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Deaverview Apartment Community

We are seeking volunteers to assist us in our small after school program for children in West Asheville in low-income housing.  We provide a safe and nourishing environment, healthy snacks, and creative activities.  Our program currently meets during the school year on most Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 3:00-5:00pm. You may volunteer for one or two days a week. 

Volunteer Responsibilities:

  • Assist with serving snacks
  • Interact with children during activity time
  • Supervise games and outdoor free time
  • For people with background in education, there is also an opportunity to assist with curriculum development and program planning and administration

Requirements:

  • Background check
  • Orientation booklets will be provided
  • Masks are required if unvaccinated
LEGO Builders Club
May 9 @ 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Pack Memorial Library

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.

School Age – (grades K-5)
History Hour: Appalachia on the Table
May 9 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
online

Join the Asheville Museum of History Tuesday, May 9 at 6pm via Zoom for the first program in our foodways month. This event airs live and will be recorded.

In this talk Erica Abrams Locklear will discuss her new book, Appalachia on the Table: Representing Mountain Food and People, published this April by University of Georgia Press. At its core, the project asks: How do long-held preconceptions about Appalachian foodways color our perception of the region and its people? Foods that were once considered “coarse” are now trendy, while a fairly rigid idea of what “counts” as mountain food remains stagnant.

 

Abrams Locklear will discuss how socially agreed upon understandings of food can and do define its consumers in the national imagination. Her book analyzes travel writing and fiction from the turn of the twentieth century, tactics Progressive Era reformers used when describing mountain fare, fictional critiques of government programs meant to educate farmers, literary depictions of the culinary shame that can accompany mountain eating habits, and the ways in which authors celebrate mountain fare.

 

About the Speaker:

Erica Abrams Locklear is a professor of English and the Thomas Howerton Distinguished Professor of Humanities at the University of North Carolina Asheville. She is the author of Negotiating a Perilous Empowerment: Appalachian Women’s Literacies and is a seventh-generation Western North Carolinian.

 

What You May Not Know About the Occupations of Black Women in Asheville from 1800 to 1900
May 9 @ 6:00 pm
Pack Memorial Library

Pictured above: Young Black women at a cooking class at the Allen Industrial Home in Asheville. The Allen Industrial Home was opened by Miss Alsie B. Dole in 1887 to teach Negro youths and adults to read and write. The Home was operated by the Woman’s Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church until it closed in 1952.


Join presenters Zoe Rhine and Eboné Graham to learn about the occupations most commonly held by Black women in our community at the turn of the century. We’ll explore questions like: Did women have any autonomy? Were there any entrepreneurs or women who owned their own homes or businesses? How did the types of occupations for women and men compare? The answers to these questions might surprise you!

Zoe Rhine is also the author of a series of articles on this subject for the Special Collections blog, Heard Tell.

This program is free and everyone is invited. If you have any question, please contact Special Collections. This lecture is part of a series of talks centered on racial and social justice sponsored by the Friends of Buncombe County Special Collections.

 

Voivod
May 9 @ 8:00 pm
The Orange Peel
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
ASAP’s 2023 Local Food Guide
May 10 all-day
online

The free, definitive resource for finding local food and farms also features farm stories and recipes.

 

The 2023 Local Food Guide, ASAP’s annual free publication for finding local food and farms, hits newsstands this week. This definitive resource lists hundreds of Appalachian Grown certified farms, farmers markets, restaurants, groceries, travel destinations, and more throughout Western North Carolina and surrounding counties in Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina. A digital version of the print Guide may be viewed at asapconnections.org/guide.

 

In addition to the listing content, the 2023 edition features stories that highlight the variety of farming across the region. Jake Puckett, of Crow Fly Farms in Marion, NC, details his passion for holistic animal management. Malcolm Banks, of Yellow Mountain Gardens in Franklin, NC, describes his mission to teach his neighbors—and the world—to grow their own food. Gwen and Jay Englebach, of Black Trumpet Farm in Leicester, NC, talk about building a business and customer relationships. Rounding out the issue are seasonal recipes from chefs at Cultura, Little Chango, The Montford, and Red Fiddle Vittles.

 

Find Local Food Guide copies at farmers markets, visitors centers, libraries, community centers, groceries, restaurants, and other partner businesses throughout the region. They are also available to pick up in the lobby of ASAP’s office in Asheville at 306 W. Haywood St., Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Contact ASAP if you need help locating a copy in your area.

 

In addition to the print Guide, ASAP maintains the online Local Food Guide at appalachiangrown.org. This database, with more than 1,400 listings, is updated throughout the year and is searchable by products, locations, activities, and more.

 

The 2023 Local Food Guide is made possible in part with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the Agricultural Marketing Service and Beginning Farmer Rancher Development Fund, as well as the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina and Asheville Regional Airport.

Hall Fletcher Elementary Plant Sale
May 10 all-day
Hall Fletcher Elementary School
Wilderness Medicine + Survival Skills at Nantahala Outdoor Center
May 10 all-day
Nantahala Outdoor Center

LEARN MORE THIS YEAR

Brush up on your wilderness medicine or learn new survival skills! SOLO Southeast & NOC are offering over 200 courses in 2023 and classes in locations across the southeast.

  • Atlanta, GA
  • Bryson City, NC
  • Chattanooga, TN
  • Collegedale, TN
  • Greenville, SC

Find your next course with SOLO Southeast and be prepared for the unexpected!

Spring Homeschool Day
May 10 @ 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Chimney Rock State Park
Advance Registration Requires.

Chimney Rock’s Spring Homeschool Day is the perfect way to shake off the winter cobwebs and enjoy the beauty of spring! Join our education team for programs created to engage your student’s interest in the natural world around us. After morning activities conclude, hang out for a fun-filled afternoon in the Park with plenty of ways to expand your experience.

Burton Street Community Center’s Mother’s Day Lunch
May 10 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Burton Street Community Center

All mother and mother figures – please join us for an early Mother’s Day meal celebrating how wonderful all of you are! Call 828-254-1942 for more information.

Free

Create Your Marketing Materials Using Canva
May 10 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
online

Online: Zoom webinar
No cost due to sponsor support


Would you like to have sharp and cleverly designed marketing pieces for your business? Good news, you don’t need experience in graphic design or even an investment in expensive software to do so. This session will show you how to use Canva, a free, web-based resource that will allow you to go from being a beginner to a master at graphics overnight! Learn how to create and publish professional and creative marketing designs that include brochures, flyers, social media graphics, logos, labels and more that would normally cost you a fortune. Turn your imagination into finished designs in minutes!

Speaker(s): TenBiz

Co-Sponsor(s): Henderson County Chamber of Commerce, Brevard/Transylvania Chamber of Commerce

Webinar info will be emailed after registration.

Young Professionals Social
May 10 @ 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Dry Falls Brewing

The YP’s Monthly Social offers a chance for those professionals under 40 to meet through a laid-back networking opportunity. Months will rotate with guest speakers and professional development opportunities as well. Join us each month on the 2nd Wednesday from 5:00 – 6:00 pm at Dry Falls Brewing Co.

A big thanks to AdventHealth Hendersonville & Spectrum Reach for presenting this program for the 2023 year!

Adults Only Trivia Night Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company
May 10 @ 6:30 pm – 8:15 pm
Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company

EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 6:30 pm ~ FREE!

AGES 18+ ADULTS ONLY ~ NO KIDS ALLOWED

ON OUR HUGE SCREEN IN THEATER 2!

ENJOY DINNER & DRINKS (FULL BAR) WHILE PLAYING

There are 3 rounds with new winners each round so you can show up late, miss a round and still be a winner. Plus, we have mid-round prizes to create as many winners as possible.

The questions are presented by a hilarious host on our giant movie screen and includes fun videos in each round.  You haven’t played a trivia night like this one!

Improv Level One: Communicate. Collaborate. Play
May 10 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Whitmire Activity Center

Enrollment is now open for two adult improvisation acting classes offered by Hendersonville Theatre (HT). Classes will be taught by professional improvisation actor and comedian Emily Swindal. Both classes are open to anyone over the age of 18, regardless of experience level.

Improv Level One: Communicate. Collaborate. Play. meets on Wednesdays from April 5 to May 24. Tuition is $180. In the class, students will work at getting comfortable on stage while having fun doing it. Students will learn to have compassion for themselves and their classmates as performers as they learn the fundamentals of improvisation and develop support and spontaneity. Together, they will learn the importance of “yes-and-ing,” heightening the absurdity and raising the stakes. They will also cover the differences between short form and long form improv. This is a short form class similar to Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Witty Wednesday Trivia
May 10 @ 6:30 pm
Sweeten Creek Brewing

Beat the mid week grind with some fun trivia! Win a $25 gift card for our taproom along with a $25 gift card from our resident kitchen, Bears Smokehouse BBQ!

Trivia Night
May 10 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Hickory Tavern

Every Wednesday

Trivia Night

Thursday, May 11, 2023
ASAP’s 2023 Local Food Guide
May 11 all-day
online

The free, definitive resource for finding local food and farms also features farm stories and recipes.

 

The 2023 Local Food Guide, ASAP’s annual free publication for finding local food and farms, hits newsstands this week. This definitive resource lists hundreds of Appalachian Grown certified farms, farmers markets, restaurants, groceries, travel destinations, and more throughout Western North Carolina and surrounding counties in Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina. A digital version of the print Guide may be viewed at asapconnections.org/guide.

 

In addition to the listing content, the 2023 edition features stories that highlight the variety of farming across the region. Jake Puckett, of Crow Fly Farms in Marion, NC, details his passion for holistic animal management. Malcolm Banks, of Yellow Mountain Gardens in Franklin, NC, describes his mission to teach his neighbors—and the world—to grow their own food. Gwen and Jay Englebach, of Black Trumpet Farm in Leicester, NC, talk about building a business and customer relationships. Rounding out the issue are seasonal recipes from chefs at Cultura, Little Chango, The Montford, and Red Fiddle Vittles.

 

Find Local Food Guide copies at farmers markets, visitors centers, libraries, community centers, groceries, restaurants, and other partner businesses throughout the region. They are also available to pick up in the lobby of ASAP’s office in Asheville at 306 W. Haywood St., Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Contact ASAP if you need help locating a copy in your area.

 

In addition to the print Guide, ASAP maintains the online Local Food Guide at appalachiangrown.org. This database, with more than 1,400 listings, is updated throughout the year and is searchable by products, locations, activities, and more.

 

The 2023 Local Food Guide is made possible in part with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the Agricultural Marketing Service and Beginning Farmer Rancher Development Fund, as well as the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina and Asheville Regional Airport.

Hall Fletcher Elementary Plant Sale
May 11 all-day
Hall Fletcher Elementary School
Summer Camps at Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute-PARI
May 11 all-day
PARI

Camps for all passions and interests

Summer STEM & Astronomy, and Space Exploration Camps

Residential summer camps for kids in grades 6th-12th on topics like astronomy, robotics, cryptography, and 3D modeling and printing, and more. Including our premiere camp experience, Above and Beyond.

25" Optical telescope observing at night

Weekend STEM & Astronomy, and Space Exploration Camps

Curriculum or astronomical event based camps for educators and scout leaders.

Don Cline making presentation

Tailored Camps

Build your own camping experience according to your interest.

Summer Counselor Application
6/1 – 7/31
Ages 17 years 6 months – 99
$0.00
REGISTER
Counselor in Training Application – Full Summer Session
6/11 2 PM – 7/27 10 AM
Ages 16 years 6 months – 18 years 6 mont
$0.00
REGISTER
Counselor in Training Application – Mini Session 1
6/11 2 PM – 6/30 10 AM
Ages 16 years 6 months – 18 years 6 mont
$0.00
REGISTER
Exoplanet Exploration
6/11 4 PM – 6/22 10 AM
Grades 8th – 12th
$3,960.00
REGISTER
Secrets of a Spy Station
6/25 4 PM – 6/30 10 AM
Grades 6th – 8th
$1,700.00
REGISTER
Counselor in Training Application – Mini Session 2
7/2 2 PM – 7/27 10 AM
Ages 16 years 6 months – 18 years 6 mont
$0.00
REGISTER
Above & Beyond
7/2 4 PM – 7/13 10 AM
Grades 9th – 12th
$3,960.00
REGISTER
Milky Way Trailblazers
7/16 4 PM – 7/27 10 AM
Grades 9th – 12th
$3,960.00
REGISTER
Wilderness Medicine + Survival Skills at Nantahala Outdoor Center
May 11 all-day
Nantahala Outdoor Center

LEARN MORE THIS YEAR

Brush up on your wilderness medicine or learn new survival skills! SOLO Southeast & NOC are offering over 200 courses in 2023 and classes in locations across the southeast.

  • Atlanta, GA
  • Bryson City, NC
  • Chattanooga, TN
  • Collegedale, TN
  • Greenville, SC

Find your next course with SOLO Southeast and be prepared for the unexpected!

Entrepreneur’s Breakfast
May 11 @ 7:30 am – 9:00 am
Highland Lake Inn, Grand Ole Hall

Join the Chamber for an inspiring program featuring two area entrepreneur Power Couples, Cheryl and Brian, Stuller Power Solutions, and Toni and Josh, Warren Restoration. Hear about their journeys and the lessons they learned along the way to create their successful businesses.

Eliada Lunch of a Lifetime
May 11 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Crowne Plaza

Our Annual Lunch of a Lifetime is quickly approaching and space is limited! Please consider joining us for our one-hour lunch and presentation to hear more about how we are growing at Eliada! We would love you see you there.

Click HERE to become a Priority Table Sponsor. Please send your company logo to [email protected].

Click HERE to purchase a table of 8 or…

Click HERE to purchase individual seats at $15 each

What You Need to Know

  • WHEN: Thursday, May 11th from 12 – 1 pm
  • WHERE: The Crowne Plaza Expo Center (1 Resort Drive, Asheville, NC 28806)
  • WHY: Raise $50,000 which will provide shelter, residential treatment, education, and life skills for children and young adults at Eliada. Helping children and teens in crisis develop the skills they need to overcome life’s obstacles and become productive adults helps ensure the future of our community. We cannot achieve this without your support.
  • HOW TO ATTEND: The event is a fundraiser, but there is no minimum or maximum gift expected. We are happy for the opportunity to educate and inspire people about the valuable services we provide for children and youth. Tickets are $15 each or $120 for a table of 8 or $1000 for a priority table sponsorship. Any questions – reach out to Dillon Rubalcava ([email protected]).
  • MISSION: Helping Children Succeed
  • SERVICE AREA: State of North Carolina – Eliada serves more than 600 children annually through 5 key programs that provide a place to live, education, special education, food and clothing, and intensive therapy to children who need these services. While most children are from Buncombe and surrounding counties, Eliada serves children from all corners of NC.
Lunch of a Lifetime
May 11 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Crowne Plaza

During this action-packed hour, we will weave together an array of Eliada stories, milestones, and successes centered on this year’s theme: Gather and GrowPlease note change of date to May 11th, 2023. All donations will go to benefit the children and youth of Eliada, now in its 120th year of helping children succeed

Eliada relies on the generosity of our community and its businesses. If your business is looking to support Eliada, please consider purchasing a Table Sponsorship. Promote your business at Lunch of a Lifetime and digitally, and get 8 tickets to attend for a great meal and greater stories. 

Purchase a Corporate Table Sponsorship here

We also love and need support from our wonderful community and everyone in it. If you would like to purchase a full table (8 tickets) or individual tickets, then please join us and bring your friends to learn more about Eliada Homes.

Purchase a Full Table (8 tickets) here

Purchase Individual tickets here

 

• WHY: To learn more about our mission and raise funds which will provide shelter, residential treatment, education, and life skills for children and young adults at Eliada. Helping children and teens in crisis develop the skills they need to overcome life’s obstacles and become productive adults helps ensure the future of our community. But we cannot do it without your support.

 

• MISSION: Helping Children Succeed

• SERVICE AREA: State of North Carolina – Eliada serves more than 500 children annually through 5 key programs that provide a place to live, education, special education, food and clothing, and intensive therapy to children who need these services. While most children are from Buncombe and surrounding counties, Eliada serves children from all corners of NC.