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.

Sunday, April 19, 2020
Get Free Books from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Apr 19 all-day
Imagination Library Online

Children under 5 years old can receive free, age-appropriate books each month until their 5th birthday! Read more and sign up here.
Malaprop’s Bookstore Home delivery throughout all Buncombe County
Apr 19 all-day
Malaprop's Bookstore

Thank you so much for your support! To care for you and our staff, Malaprop’s is closed to the public and we have ceased curbside pick up. We have also suspended in-store events and bookclubs until May 15th.  Meanwhile, we are exploring new subscription services, delivery options, and more digital content. Please see the ways we are still serving you below. Stay home and stay safe!

  • As always, you can order online 24/7 at malaprops.com. You can also call us at 828-254-6734 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily to order by phone. Yes, we can make suggestions! All orders will require prepayment. We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express and Paypal.

  • We are now offering home delivery throughout all of Buncombe County! The only requirement is a two-book minimum purchase. Deliveries will be made on Tuesdays and Fridays, with any order placed before 5 pm the previous day.  Orders will safely be left on your doorstep.

  • FREE shipping via media mail is available for orders over $50.00 (before tax) sent to addresses in the continental United States. Other orders ship via Priority Mail or other services with prices listed at checkout.

We want to thank you again for your continued support at this time. If you’re looking for other ways to support our staff, you can donate to Malaprop’s via the icon to your right, contribute the Cafe Barista’s virtual tip jar, or to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (BINC), which provides grants to booksellers in times of need. To support other local businesses, visit ashevillestrong.com.

Please take care of yourselves!

NC needs more medical volunteers
Apr 19 all-day
North Carolina Government Online

 North Carolina’s emergency management director Mike Sprayberry has renewed the call for medical volunteers.

They’re looking for volunteers with experience in the below categories who are willing to be deployed to affected areas or facilities to provide patient care:

Clinical volunteers

  • Physicians
  • Advanced care providers
  • Nurses
  • Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

Clinical support

  • Pharmacy
  • Imaging
  • Respiratory care

Non-clinical support

  • Facility maintenance
  • Safety
  • Administration
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
LIVE STREAM: Lee Smith presents Blue Marlin
Apr 21 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Malaprop's via Live Stream

Join us for a virtual event with Lee Smith! We can’t bring everyone to the store, but we’re pleased to be part of the Reader Meet Writer Okra Pick series of online events hosted by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance.

The event is free but attendance is limited and registration is required. Please CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

If you elect to attend, we will email you on the day of the event with the link & password required to attend on Zoom.

Lee Smith brings her masterful storytelling magic to this jewel of a novella that follows Jenny, an adventurous thirteen-year-old, down to Key West for a patched-up family vacation following the discovery of her father’s illicit affair. Available for the first time as a stand-alone novella, this book centers on the Blue Marlin Motel in 1959, where Jenny, her beautiful socialite mother, and chastened father share their sunny days with movie stars who are in town to make the movie Operation Petticoat. Jenny is precocious and a bit of a sleuth, so her innocent “observations” to uncover the secrets of movie stars also end up revealing the secrets of her own family. Jenny confronts the frailty of family life while also vying for the attention of actor Tony Curtis and even a role in his movie. Smith delivers humor and honesty to her flawed characters with genuine Southern dignity.

Born in the small coal-mining town of Grundy, Virginia, Lee Smith began writing stories at the age of nine and selling them for a nickel apiece. Since then, she has written seventeen works of fiction, including Fair and Tender LadiesOral History, and, most recently, Guests on Earth. She has received many awards, including the North Carolina Award for Literature and an Academy Award in Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; her novel The Last Girls was a New York Times bestseller as well as winner of the Southern Book Critics Circle Award. She lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina, with her husband, the writer Hal Crowther.

This event is free. We ask that you purchase the books featured at our events from Malaprop’s. When you do this you are not only supporting the work it takes to run an events program, you are also telling the publishers that they should keep sending authors here. Books can be ordered online 24/7. See malaprops.com for more information about current shipping and delivery options. Blue Marlin will be released on April 21st.

Blue Marlin Cover Image
Email or call for price.
ISBN: 9781949467314
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Get Free Books from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Apr 22 all-day
Imagination Library Online

Children under 5 years old can receive free, age-appropriate books each month until their 5th birthday! Read more and sign up here.
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Volunteer for Living History Days Smith-McDowell House POSTPONED TBA
Apr 23 @ 9:00 am – 2:00 pm
Smith-McDowell House

Volunteer with area 4th and 5th grade students during one our of Living History Days!

Historic interpreters will lead students in activities, games, and demonstrations about 19th-century ways of life in the gardens and throughout the 1840s house.
Admission is $3 for each student (teachers and up to 4 chaperones are free), extra chaperones are also $3 each (cash only, correct change, please). To register your school group, please email [email protected].

Armchair Adventure Book Club: Untamed
Apr 23 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Blue Ridge Hiking Co. via Zoom
Friday, April 24, 2020
Get Free Books from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Apr 24 all-day
Imagination Library Online

Children under 5 years old can receive free, age-appropriate books each month until their 5th birthday! Read more and sign up here.
Volunteer for Living History Days Smith-McDowell House POSTPONED TBA
Apr 24 @ 9:00 am – 2:00 pm
Smith-McDowell House

Volunteer with area 4th and 5th grade students during one our of Living History Days!

Historic interpreters will lead students in activities, games, and demonstrations about 19th-century ways of life in the gardens and throughout the 1840s house.
Admission is $3 for each student (teachers and up to 4 chaperones are free), extra chaperones are also $3 each (cash only, correct change, please). To register your school group, please email [email protected].

King Creek Bog Workday
Apr 24 @ 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Hendersonville Conserving Carolina Office
Join us in protecting important bog habitat by removing species encroaching into the bog. By opening up this area and removing Woody species, we’ll be helping improve the natural habitat and encouraging bog species growth.
Volunteers must be able to walk moderate distances. Please wear long pants and closed-toe shoes and bring lunch and plenty of water.
Necessary tools and gloves will be provided. Plant ID will be taught on site.
Meet at the Hendersonville Conserving Carolina office (847 Case Street, Hendersonville, NC 28792) at 9:45am to carpool.
Please RSVP to Natalie at [email protected] or 828-697-5777 ext. 211
The Book of Longings in conversation with Elaine Neil Orr
Apr 24 @ 6:30 pm
First Baptist Church of Asheville

Kidd will be discussing her new book, THE BOOK OF LONGINGS, with author Elaine Neil Orr.

Each ticket is  and includes admission to the event and signing line and a copy of THE BOOK OF LONGINGS.

****Sue Monk Kidd will not be personalizing books****

About THE BOOK OF LONGINGS:
In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. An encounter with eighteen-year-old Jesus changes everything.
Their marriage evolves with love and conflict, humor and pathos in Nazareth, where Ana makes a home with Jesus, his brothers, and their mother, Mary. Ana’s pent-up longings intensify amid the turbulent resistance to Rome’s occupation of Israel, partially led by her brother, Judas. She is sustained by her fearless aunt Yaltha, who harbors a compelling secret. When Ana commits a brazen act that puts her in peril, she flees to Alexandria, where startling revelations and greater dangers unfold, and she finds refuge in unexpected surroundings. Ana determines her fate during a stunning convergence of events considered among the most impactful in human history.
Grounded in meticulous research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus’s life that focuses on his humanity, THE BOOK OF LONGINGS is an inspiring, unforgettable account of one woman’s bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place and culture devised to silence her. It is a triumph of storytelling both timely and timeless, from a masterful writer at the height of her powers.

Saturday, April 25, 2020
Get Free Books from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Apr 25 all-day
Imagination Library Online

Children under 5 years old can receive free, age-appropriate books each month until their 5th birthday! Read more and sign up here.
Asheville Area March for Babies
Apr 25 @ 9:00 am
McCormick Field

Asheville Area March for Babies is a fun, family-friendly 3 mile walk. We will Hope, Remember and Celebrate the lives of moms, babies and families!
Do you know someone who had trouble conceiving, suffered a miscarriage, had a premature baby, a baby born with a birth defect, or you would like to celebrate a healthy baby in your life? Show your support by joining us at this year’s 2020 March for Babies!
2020 Asheville March for Babies will start & finish at McCormick Field, home of the Asheville Tourists. Come join us for a fun day and a great way to celebrate. Because we are all March of Dimes babies!

Sunday, April 26, 2020
Get Free Books from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Apr 26 all-day
Imagination Library Online

Children under 5 years old can receive free, age-appropriate books each month until their 5th birthday! Read more and sign up here.
Monday, April 27, 2020
Conserving Carolina Volunteer Information Session
Apr 27 @ 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Conserving Carolina 847 Case Street Hendersonville, NC 28792

Want to know more about Conserving Carolina and how you can help? Join us for a Volunteer Information Session at our Polk County Office at 2060 Lynn Rd Suite 1, Columbus, NC. Learn more about our work and how you can make a difference.

We have everything from office opportunities to workdays on the land.

To RSVP or for more information email [email protected] or call Natalie at 828-697-5777 ext. 211

Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Get Free Books from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Apr 29 all-day
Imagination Library Online

Children under 5 years old can receive free, age-appropriate books each month until their 5th birthday! Read more and sign up here.
Miss Malaprop’s Storytime LIVE STREAM
Apr 29 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Malaprop's LIVE STREAM

Due to Covid-19, we are live streaming Storytime in lieu of an in-store event. Join us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/malapropsbookstore/ to tune into Miss Malaprop’s Storytime from your home.

Join us with your wee ones every week on Wednesdays at 10 am for classic and contemporary stories sure to enchant and entertain. Together, we’ll introduce children to the wonderful world of books! Recommended for ages 3-9.

https://www.instagram.com/malapropsbookstore/

Event date:
Wednesday, April 15, 2020 – 10:00am
Wednesday, April 22, 2020 – 10:00am
Wednesday, April 29, 2020 – 10:00am
Wednesday, May 6, 2020 – 10:00am
Thursday, April 30, 2020
Armchair Adventure Book Club: Untamed
Apr 30 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Blue Ridge Hiking Co. via Zoom
Works in Translation Book Club
Apr 30 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore

Join host and Malaprop’s Bookstore Manager Justin Souther to discuss writers — and their literature — in translation and the cultural, political and artistic influences that mold them. Click here to see a list of the monthly selections. Attendees receive 10% off the club’s current selection at Malaprop’s!

The club usually meets the last Thursday of every month at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe.

Event date:
Thursday, January 30, 2020 – 7:00pm
Thursday, February 27, 2020 – 7:00pm
Thursday, March 26, 2020 – 7:00pm
Thursday, April 30, 2020 – 7:00pm
Saturday, May 2, 2020
North Asheville Tailgate Market – Every Saturday Morning
May 2 @ 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
North Asheville Tailgate Market

Locally grown eggplants

May 2 – November 21

Now with special COVID-19 procedures, the North Asheville Tailgate Market features local produce direct from area farmers, local baked goods, crafts, music and more.

PLEASE SEE THE NEW PROCEDURES BEFORE COMING TO CAMPUS. You can find information, including about pre-ordering, and changes in payment and shopping procedures on the market’s website.

Open Saturdays 8 a.m.-noon in UNC Asheville Parking Lot P28. maps.unca.edu

For more information, visit northashevilletailgatemarket.com

Monday, May 4, 2020
Ask a Librarian
May 4 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Buncombe County Libraries Online

Need Book Recommendations? Ask a Librarian.

 

While the libraries are closed, you can call Ask A Librarian with any questions you may have about library materials, digital services, or reference assistance. Librarians will be staffing the phones Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. to connect you with all the resources we have available. Just call Ask a Librarian at (828) 250-4700.

Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Ask a Librarian
May 5 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Buncombe County Libraries Online

Need Book Recommendations? Ask a Librarian.

 

While the libraries are closed, you can call Ask A Librarian with any questions you may have about library materials, digital services, or reference assistance. Librarians will be staffing the phones Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. to connect you with all the resources we have available. Just call Ask a Librarian at (828) 250-4700.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Ask a Librarian
May 6 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Buncombe County Libraries Online

Need Book Recommendations? Ask a Librarian.

 

While the libraries are closed, you can call Ask A Librarian with any questions you may have about library materials, digital services, or reference assistance. Librarians will be staffing the phones Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. to connect you with all the resources we have available. Just call Ask a Librarian at (828) 250-4700.

Miss Malaprop’s Storytime LIVE STREAM
May 6 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Malaprop's LIVE STREAM

Due to Covid-19, we are live streaming Storytime in lieu of an in-store event. Join us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/malapropsbookstore/ to tune into Miss Malaprop’s Storytime from your home.

Join us with your wee ones every week on Wednesdays at 10 am for classic and contemporary stories sure to enchant and entertain. Together, we’ll introduce children to the wonderful world of books! Recommended for ages 3-9.

https://www.instagram.com/malapropsbookstore/

Event date:
Wednesday, April 15, 2020 – 10:00am
Wednesday, April 22, 2020 – 10:00am
Wednesday, April 29, 2020 – 10:00am
Wednesday, May 6, 2020 – 10:00am
Thursday, May 7, 2020
Virtual Volunteer — the community need is real. Hands On Asheville-Buncombe COVID-19
May 7 all-day
Hands On Asheville-Buncombe
COVID-19 VOLUNTEER RESPONSE EFFORTS
STORIES & APPRECIATION
So many of you are doing amazing things right now to help each other and our community. Volunteers are showing up in unprecedented numbers, giving their time and talents. In fact, Hands On Asheville-Buncombe has seen a 59% increase in overall volunteerism compared to this same time last year. And make no mistake, your efforts are making a difference.
We thank each and every one of you who’ve helped during this crisis. We would also like to encourage all of you to continue to volunteer — the community need is real. Please visit the Hands On Asheville-Buncombe COVID-19 page to give and get help.
https://www.handsonasheville.org/need/index/?q=&age=&agency_id=&county=&min_available_slots=&dateOn=&distance=&zip=&need_impact_area=&need_init_id=&qualification_id=&cat_id=&meta[]=&meta[]=&meta[]=virtual_need&meta[]=&allowTeams=&ug_id=&s=1
Ask a Librarian
May 7 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Buncombe County Libraries Online

Need Book Recommendations? Ask a Librarian.

 

While the libraries are closed, you can call Ask A Librarian with any questions you may have about library materials, digital services, or reference assistance. Librarians will be staffing the phones Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. to connect you with all the resources we have available. Just call Ask a Librarian at (828) 250-4700.

Armchair Adventure Book Club: Untamed
May 7 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Blue Ridge Hiking Co. via Zoom
Enka-Candler Tailgate Market
May 7 @ 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Enka-Candler Tailgate Market

Opening day for ECTM at our new location at AB Tech Enka. We will be in the parking lot of the Small Business Center, 1465 Sand Hill Road (across from Ingles, at the traffic light). Please share and invite your friends and family! We know this second season of ECTM is going to be amazing. Thank you for supporting local!

Vendors for 5/7:
Rainbow Ridge Gardens
Myseanica Farm
Bonny Bath natural body products
Whisk bakery
Saturnia Farm and Nursery
Jake’s Farm
Asheville Microgreens
Throwing Copper
Cornerstone Tea
Sustainabillies Nursery and Farm
Sister of Mother Earth herbal products
HeadShrink Farm heritage beef
The Real Molloy Food Truck
Sugar Whirled cotton candy – AB Tech Small Business featured booth.
*Many more vendors as the season goes on! Check out our website for a full list of vendors for the season. https://www.ashevillefarmstead.org/enka-candler-tailgate-market

COVID-19 Precautions:
To start, we will be holding fast to safety precautions listed below. As the CDC and NC governmental regulations soften, we will follow suit. Please know that we are making every effort to keep both our vendors and our community safe and well.

*No-contact payment: Tap’n’Pay , Venmo, Paypal payments only. No cash payments or card swipes will be accepted.
*Handwashing station upon entering Market
*Limited shopper numbers (car queue will be used, if necessary)
*1 customer at vendor table at a time
*Only touch what you are purchasing
*6ft Social Distancing required
*Masks highly encouraged. All vendors and Market staff will wear masks.
*No Music or Kids tent (yet)
*No craft/artisan vendors until non-essential businesses are allowed to open. We are hopeful this will be by June, or earlier.

Friday, May 8, 2020
Virtual Volunteer — the community need is real. Hands On Asheville-Buncombe COVID-19
May 8 all-day
Hands On Asheville-Buncombe
COVID-19 VOLUNTEER RESPONSE EFFORTS
STORIES & APPRECIATION
So many of you are doing amazing things right now to help each other and our community. Volunteers are showing up in unprecedented numbers, giving their time and talents. In fact, Hands On Asheville-Buncombe has seen a 59% increase in overall volunteerism compared to this same time last year. And make no mistake, your efforts are making a difference.
We thank each and every one of you who’ve helped during this crisis. We would also like to encourage all of you to continue to volunteer — the community need is real. Please visit the Hands On Asheville-Buncombe COVID-19 page to give and get help.
https://www.handsonasheville.org/need/index/?q=&age=&agency_id=&county=&min_available_slots=&dateOn=&distance=&zip=&need_impact_area=&need_init_id=&qualification_id=&cat_id=&meta[]=&meta[]=&meta[]=virtual_need&meta[]=&allowTeams=&ug_id=&s=1
Literacy Changing Lives Tour
May 8 @ 9:00 am
Literacy Council

 

Would you like to learn more about how literacy changes our students’ lives?

Please join us for coffee and a one-hour tour of the Literacy Council.

UPCOMING TOUR DATES for 2020

Friday, January 10 – 9am | Monday, February 10 – 4pm | Friday, March 13 – 9am
Monday, April 13 – 4pm | Friday, May 8 – 9am | Monday, June 8 – 4pm