• Join us for an evening of live Jazz and our Featured Monthly Wine Tasting!

  Jazz Guitar w/ Chris Norred

  About the musician: Chris Norred is a multifaceted guitarist who received a BA in Jazz Performance from VCU. Originally from Virginia, he now resides in Asheville, NC where he continues to develop a unique solo guitar style. Chris writes his own arrangements of select titles by Japanese composers of popular video games such as The Legend of Zelda and Chrono Trigger amongst others. He performs exciting takes on popular Swing and Bossa songs from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. His repertoire is not limited to Jazz as he will also tap into the realm of Appalachian Fiddle Tunes and Folk music.

Every Friday Modelface Comedy brings you the best comedians from all over the country. This week we have Ayanna Dookie from NYC!

Ayanna Dookie is a stand-up comedian, writer, and storyteller. The daughter of immigrants, Ayanna’s humor is reflective of growing up Brown, Black, woman, and first generation American.

She has been featured on HBO’s Pause with Sam Jay, truTV’s Laff Tracks, 2 Dope Queens on WNYC, NPR’s Snap Judgement, Fox’s Laughs, and AXS TV’s Gotham Comedy Live. Her writing can be seen on BET’s 50 Central and MTV’s Wild n’ Out.

featuring TBA

ages 18+

Early show doors at 6:30, show at 7pm

Every Friday Modelface Comedy brings you the best comedians from all over the country. This week we have Jenny Zigrino from Los Angeles!

With the sweetness of the midwest and the sharp edge of the east coast, Jenny Zigrino brings a powerful comedic performance to any stage. She combines hilarious anecdotes and sharp, witty observations with a cheeky style that challenges social norms and what it means to be human. Her brutal honesty and undeniable charm create a compelling comedic experience you won’t forget.

She made her late night debut on Conan with Conan O’Brien and performed a total of three guest appearances. She was a Just For Laugh’s New Faces in 2016 and since then has been featured on Comedy Central, MTV, TBS, and many others. She starred in films such as Bad Santa 2 along Billy Bob Thornton and in the horror comedy Too Late in 2021. She’s headlined festivals like Moon Tower, New York Comedy Festival, and High Plains Comedy Festival. She’s written and performed several comedy specials including Comedy Central Presents the Half Hours. Her latest appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden in 2023 was met with rave reviews. Her brand new hour, Jen-Z, is available now on Comedy Central’s

featuring Good Cop/ Rad Cop

ages 18+

Early show doors at 6:30, show at 7pm

Late show doors at 9, show at 9:30pm

Ages 18+ FULLY SEATED SHOW

Ostensibly a hilarious stand-up show about the blowjob, Get on Your Knees is also an unexpectedly philosophical, coming-of-age tale of triumph. A break-out hit off-Broadway, audiences returned for repeat viewings across multiple sold out runs in NYC. This New York Times “Critic’s Pick” earned Jacqueline a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance. Jacqueline has since toured the show nationally and internationally. This tour is the very last chance to see Get on Your Knees live.

“Brilliant…”- The New York Times

“Clearly her masterwork.” – New York Magazine

“An overthinker’s delight… – The New Yorker

“The true subject of Get on Your Knees is language and its beautiful, delusional attempts to make amends for human finitude.” – New York Review of Books, by Andrea Long Chu

“In a moment when the boundaries between high and low culture have all but dissolved, Novak has found one of the few remaining tensions to play with.” – Paris Review

“The jokes are tremendous.” – Natasha Lyonne for Interview Magazine

“It was a staggering show.” – Miranda July

“…as if Andrea Dworkin and Spaulding Gray had a child they made listen to only Moms Mabley and read only Mary Oliver.” – Jeremy O. Harris

“I howled the whole time.” – Amy Sedaris

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I have seen the Muhammad Ali of comedy.” – John Mulaney

All shows will be at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheater in the Montford District of Asheville, and all will be presented absolutely FREE of charge!
Written and Directed by Skyler Goff
This World Premiere was penned by local playwright Skyler Goff and tells of the continuing adventures of our favorite Lost Boy. A fantastical way to kick off our season!

All shows will run Fridays through Sundays and all will be presented at 7:30pm and prime seats can be reserved.

Montford Park Players has been bringing some of theater’s greatest works to Western North Carolina for over 50 years. Montford Park Players continues its mission of bring free theater to the community. The summer season allows everyone to come spend an evening under the stars, seeing some of the best live performances presented in Asheville.

Montford Park Players allows patrons to bring their favorite food and beverages to their shows and sells beer, wine and concessions at the shows. If you’ve never been to the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre for a Montford show, there’s no better season than this one. If you have been, you know why you should come back and catch everything we have to offer!

Crisp Comedy takes place once a month in Leicester, NC at Noble Cider and hosted by Leicesters own Clay Jones! A fresh batch of comics each month so no two shows are the same!

ages 21+ (must have ID with you)

Free show with a suggested $12 donation

Classic Swing, Blues, Latin Music…. and more !!!

Vocal-driven with an infectious groove, the Honeylovers are guaranteed to put a grin on your face and a tap in your toes.  

Queen Bee and the Honeylovers is an Asheville, NC based band that performs classic swing, blues and Latin music. They have been voted best in Jazz 2020/21/22 in the Mountain Xpress “Best Of” poll.

“Asheville now has a soundtrack. A debut release by Queen Bee and the Honeylovers features original songs with a vivacious and nostalgic sound, and lyrics that celebrate the city’s past and present.” -The Laurel of Asheville

Their debut album, ‘Asheville’, celebrated their hometown’s history and won them #41 on WNCW’s listener-voted poll of Best Albums of 2019 as well as features on The State of Things with Frank Stasio and PBS Woodsongs. Their video for “Beacham’s Curve” won Best Soundtack at the 2019 Music Video Asheville Awards.

Queen Bee is:

Whitney Moore, vocals and drums

The Honeylovers are:

Mark Wells, piano

Trevor Stoia, upright bass

Matt Fattal, trumpet

Mattick Frick, guitar

The Blue Ridge Mountains are home to a very unique creature that some say resembles a tribe of fairies carrying blue candles through the forest. 

The Blue Ghost Firefly (Phausis reticulata) is a secretive, hard-to-find native insect that calls our area home, and for a very short amount of time in early summer, they inhabit our surrounding woodlands of Transylvania County. 

You’ll experience an educational presentation at our outdoor amphitheater starting at 9:00pm and then use the cover of darkness and special flashlights to go in search of the Blue Ghost fireflies while hiking on a paved trail through the forest. Cradle of Forestry team members will be stationed at key locations around the trail to provide further information about this amazing natural phenomenon. Please feel free to congregate near these areas with your fellow firefly enthusiasts or go explore on your own! We require everyone to stay on the trail to prevent habitat damage, and team members will clear the trail and require everyone to depart by 10:30pm.

Ticket Purchase/Pre-registration is required. This is a light rain or shine, family-friendly event!
In order to maximize our participant experience while minimizing our impact on the resource, we limit each night to 125 participants. 

t’s memorial day weekend aka the first weekend of summer! Join Modelface Comedy for some late night laughs at Catawba Brewing.

It might get a little weird, but yeah we’re all on vacation!!!

Stand Up, Music and surprise guests!

Featuring Amber Chandler, Cody Hughes, Ryan Darling, Dave Hannah, and surprise guests!

ages 18+

Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, you’ll find Asheville North Carolina. With it’s clean mountain water, Asheville has a long legacy of beer brewing and now hosts over 30 craft breweries as well as some of the best breweries in the country. On the top of many lists of must see cities for the beer enthusiasts, this mountain town is also a mecca for runners, bikers and hikers alike. We are beyond excited to be hosting the Beer City Relay again in 2023, an event that encapsulates running and craft beer. Our host brewery for 2023 is Green Man Brewery. Established in 1997, Green Man Brewing celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2022. They’ve had many years to prefect their beers and you can taste it. The event is meant to be a fun 5k or 10k relay with a team aspect. The course consists of one 5k loop. Teams of 4 will each complete the 5k course 1 time in relay. Teams of 2 will each complete the 5k course twice in relay to run a 10k.Single runners 5k option. Runners will run the 5k loop once and need no other team members.

Included with admission

Embark on a scenic journey across George Vanderbilt’s Italy with a large-scale outdoor display that combines brilliant botanical designs with authentic messages written by Vanderbilt himself.

Beautifully handcrafted of natural elements, each sculptural postcard depicts a location or landmark Vanderbilt visited more than a century ago. This captivating complement to Biltmore’s Italian Renaissance Alive exhibition reveals Vanderbilt’s passions for travel, culture, architecture, and art as well as his personal experience of such renowned Italian cities as Milan, Florence, Venice, Pisa, and Vatican City.

Adding to the charm and visual appeal of Ciao! From Italy—sure to be a hit among kids of all ages—is the G-scale model train that travels in and out of each postcard in this enlightening display!

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)

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.

Kids’ Comedy Tour: Wildly funny, this educational and entertaining tour features the perfect blend of Asheville’s history and kid-centric comedy. Geared specifically toward the 5–12 year old crowd, you’ll explore the town with our famously outlandish tour guides leading the way.

• Perfect for birthday parties
• Makes for memorable school field trips
• Tickets are $27 per person
• Beverages available for purchase at the LaZoom Room
• Departs from 76 Biltmore Avenue

Join a certified forest therapy guide for a relaxing 2.5-hour stroll through the forest on the peaceful Arboretum grounds. Through a series of invitations, you’ll have the opportunity to be present in the moment, deepening your connection with nature and community, and enjoying the many gifts nature has to offer. Your guide will share mindfulness practices designed to connect you more deeply to your inner landscapes, as well as the world around you. Inspired by Shinrin-Yoku, the Japanese art of immersing oneself in a forest environment, a forest bathing walk invites you to spend time in nature in a way that invites healing for ourselves, our fraught ecosystems, and our community. It is true nature therapy!

• Special, discounted rate of $45/person (includes parking!)
• Occurs on select dates each month
• Max group size is 15 for a more intimate experience

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.

Take a daily, short, guided stroll at 2 PM that highlights Grandfather Mountain’s rhododendron species and blooms. Included with admission. See the blooms and learn about their history, attributes and roles they play in the mountain’s ecological communities. The easygoing walks take approximately 20 minutes and are fit for guests of all ages – wheelchair and stroller accessible. Meet by the Butterfly Garden at the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery. Staff naturalists will a display inside Wilson Center. Read more about our species of rhododendron.