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, January 3, 2021
Special Pre-Broadway Engagement! 1776
Jan 3 @ 1:00 pm
Peace Center

show

They knew they would make history, but not what history would make of them.

Fed up with living under the tyranny of British rule, John Adams attempts to persuade his fellow members of the Continental Congress to vote in favor of American Independence and sign the Declaration. But how much is he willing to compromise in the pursuit of freedom? And to whom does that freedom belong?

Direct from the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University, visionary director Diane Paulus (Jagged Little PillWaitressPippin) reexamines a pivotal moment in American history in a re-imagining of the Tony Award®-winning musical 1776 prior to its Broadway engagement at Roundabout Theatre Company.

Not recommended for children under 10 years of age. Parental discretion is advised.

COVID-19 Testing in Buncombe County
Jan 3 @ 1:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Allied Health Parking Lot AB Tech

Testing Site Locations in Buncombe County: Appointment required at these sites

A-B Tech, Genevieve Circle, Asheville (Allied Health Parking Lot)
Every Sunday
1:30-5:30 p.m.

Blood Drive with One Blood
Jan 3 @ 2:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Catawba Brewing Company - South Slope
Food Truck Sundays
Jan 3 @ 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Archetype Brewing

In conjunction with Sunday Sessions Live (and virtual) music: Food Truck Sundays will bring a new or rotating “staff favorite” cuisine each week to the Beechams Curve offerings.
Gan Shan West, our main culinary provider 6 days a week, is closed on Sundays. Enjoy the convenience, delicious variety and the music – all in one Sunday Funday stop!

Jack of the Wood : Sunday-Irish Session
Jan 3 @ 3:00 pm
Jack of the Wood

 

Jack of the Wood : Sunday-Irish Session 

Sundays

1 till who knows when?

Traditional Irish music is kept alive at Jack of the Wood with our unplugged Sunday session.

Jack of the Wood

95 Patton ave

Asheville, NC 28801

(828) 252.5445

http://www.jackofthewood.com/

Serving a meal at Western Carolina Rescue Ministry: Let’s Help Feed Those in Need
Jan 3 @ 4:15 pm – 6:15 pm
Western Carolina Rescue Ministry

Will be serving food at WNC Ministry

Let’s Help Feed Those in Need

To put action steps to the desire to help others. Anyone who is interested in helping those who are food insecure. We will organize a way to offer a meal once weekly to those in need.

Candlelight Christmas Evenings at Biltmore
Jan 3 @ 5:00 pm
Biltmore

Candlelight, firelight and live music bring holiday warmth to Biltmore House’s extravagant holiday décor during these nighttime tours. Candlelight Christmas Evenings include a self-guided candlelight tour of Biltmore House, next-day visit to the gardens, Antler Hill Village and Biltmore Winery. Evening guests can also take advantage of Antler Hill Village & Winery to enjoy free wine tastings.

Tickets may be purchased at www.biltmore.com or by phone (800-411-3812).

Winter Lights at The N.C. Arboretum
Jan 3 @ 5:30 pm – 10:30 pm
The N.C. Arboretum

Winter Lights at The N.C. Arboretum

November 20, 2020 – January 10, 2021

5:30 – 10:30 p.m. Nightly

Experience Asheville’s BRIGHTEST holiday tradition at Winter Lights at The North Carolina Arboretum. This year, guests are invited to take a dreamy ride through the Arboretum’s enchanted forest and attend Winter Lights safely within their own vehicles. In light of COVID-19, the Arboretum has converted its popular event into a drive-thru show, allowing guests to navigate through a one-mile stretch of the Arboretum’s campus and see unique exhibits covered in thousands of holiday lights. As the Arboretum’s largest fundraising event of the year, proceeds generated from Winter Lights will directly support the Arboretum’s mission-driven programming.

Designed with an artistic aesthetic, Winter Lights features beautifully lit displays and glowing landscapes nestled along the Arboretum’s woodland edge and garden areas. As part of the show’s redesign, visitors will enjoy several new nature-themed displays, including winter wildlife, colorful butterflies, a special insect lantern exhibit and a giant daisy “garden.” Celebrate the holiday season with the entire family at Winter Lights.

Shadrack’s Christmas lights show
Jan 3 @ 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Tryon Resort

The light show is also synchronized to music that plays on the radio station indicated at the entrance to the show.

The drive-thru light show is about 30 minutes long, and there are two ticket options for purchase which covers vehicles of up to eight people

  • Dec. 10-13: Rudolph
  • Dec. 17-20: The Grinch
  • Dec. 21-24: The Nativity
Special Pre-Broadway Engagement! 1776
Jan 3 @ 6:30 pm
Peace Center

show

They knew they would make history, but not what history would make of them.

Fed up with living under the tyranny of British rule, John Adams attempts to persuade his fellow members of the Continental Congress to vote in favor of American Independence and sign the Declaration. But how much is he willing to compromise in the pursuit of freedom? And to whom does that freedom belong?

Direct from the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University, visionary director Diane Paulus (Jagged Little PillWaitressPippin) reexamines a pivotal moment in American history in a re-imagining of the Tony Award®-winning musical 1776 prior to its Broadway engagement at Roundabout Theatre Company.

Not recommended for children under 10 years of age. Parental discretion is advised.

North Carolina to Enter Modified Stay at Home Order
Jan 3 @ 10:00 pm – Jan 4 @ 5:00 am
North Carolina
Governor Roy Cooper announced on Tuesday, December 8th that North Carolina will begin a Modified Stay at Home Order in response to a rapid increase in North Carolina’s key COVID-19 trends. The Order requires people to stay at home between the hours of 10 pm and 5 am, and takes effect Friday, December 11th. The Order is set to remain in place until January 8, 2021.
The Order requires restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, personal care businesses, and more to close at 10 pm. Travel to and from work, to obtain food, medical care, fuel or social services, or to take care of a family member is exempted from the order. FAQs on the order can be found HERE.
Monday, January 4, 2021
Asheville Regional Airport: Special “virtual” surprise with Santa Selfie Station
Jan 4 all-day
Asheville Regional Airport
Asheville Regional Airport — Art Gallery (Media is invited at any time to visit the display – the Art Gallery is located in the main lobby of the public area of the terminal.)
A “magic” TV, in the Art Gallery window, brings passengers special messages (and safety reminders) from Santa and an invitation to come into the gallery to take a selfie. Travelers are able to stand with a virtual Santa who poses for pictures in a “COVID-friendly” way.
The holidays look much different this year because of COVID-19, especially during air travel. The airport team wanted to offer some holiday cheer and something unique for its guests. This festive, virtual display is a way to bring a smile to passengers’ faces (behind their masks) to help brighten their travel experience, in a safe and responsible manner.
VISUALS:
  • Virtual Santa, asking travelers to pose for a “selfie”
  • Virtual Santa, offering different poses: Masked Santa; Santa in sunglasses; Santa with arms outstretched; Santa posing for a back-to-back photo
  • Travelers interacting with the display
Call to Artists South Slope Art Project
Jan 4 all-day
Online
Tribute Companies is requesting Artist Qualifications for a permanent art mural(s) for their mixed-use development, The Ironwood, located on Asheland/Coxe Avenue in Downtown Asheville.
This artwork should do the following:
●  Create excitement and interest for the area.
●  Honor the diversity of Asheville’s Southside community.
●  Celebrate the vital role of African American history and culture in Asheville.
●  Connect visually to the site through interpretation of historical and cultural aspects​.
●  Be durable, low maintenance, and appropriate to the location. Integral to creating this artwork(s), is the artists’ willingness to learn about the community and have a dialogue with interested community members to help inspire and guide content creation. A range of materials/applications will be considered, including painted murals and digitally printed murals. If digital, the work must be vector based, printable, and scalable to the site specifications.
Greenworks: 7 Cleanup Supply Stations throughout Asheville + Buncombe County
Jan 4 all-day
Asheville NC

Alternate text

Covid-Friendly Clean-Up Stations: #AVLquaranclean

We’ve learned a lot about adapting this year. Back in March, we canceled all of our upcoming events and volunteer opportunities. But it didn’t stop you from working to make Asheville cleaner and safer.

So we amped up our Cleanup Supply Station program, fully stocking existing locations and adding on 2 new stations, for a total of 7 Cleanup Supply Stations throughout Asheville & Buncombe County. We threw in our catchy #AVLquaranclean hashtag on top, and you did the rest!

Since March, 132 volunteers used these stations 36 times to collect over 2,700 pounds of litter from creeks and roads on their own time!! We are also incredibly grateful to Mountain Xpress for donating newspaper stands to be repurposed into these supply stations, the City of Asheville and Buncombe County Government for supporting cleanups, and to Mast General Store and Asheville Sun Soo Martial Arts for hosting our newest stations.

These stations remain stocked and ready for your quarantine pod’s next outing. Remember to sign out supplies, report the trash back to us afterwards, and return supplies for cleaning and reuse! Read more at https://www.ashevillegreenworks.org/latest…/avlquaranclean and contact [email protected] for more information or to schedule supply pick up for larger groups.

LEAF 2021 announces a few key dates
Jan 4 all-day
LEAF

Spring LEAF Retreat May 13-16 at Lake Eden
LEAF Downtown/ Reimagine August 27-28
Fall LEAF Festival October 14-17 at Lake Eden 
(Size TBD*)

These events will be limited in size but will retain all the LEAF Love. LEAF Members will have priority and at times exclusive access to these events. Please note that Spring LEAF Retreat will be members-only and tickets will be made available on January 4th, 2021. Members have kept LEAF Mission alive and at work in this wild year of 2020! Your membership empowered LEAF to maintain our support of LEAF International Culture Keepers in the 10 countries and local LEAF Schools & Streets Artists. When you support culture, artists and teachers you are investing in the community and young people’s future. Interested in becoming a member? Join membership today!

All $250+ memberships will receive the 2021 LEAF Calendar hot off the press and its going to be a great year!

Pardee UNC Health: CDC Guidance on Who Should Get Tested for COVID-19
Jan 4 all-day
Online
Pardee UNC Health Care recently shared CDC guidance on who should get tested for COVID.
Considerations for Who Should Get Tested for COVID-19
  • People who have symptoms of COVID-19.
  • Click here for a Coronavirus Self-Checker
  • People who have had close contact (link to help you determine your risk) (within 6 feet for a total of 15 minutes or more) with someone with confirmed COVID-19.
  • People who have been asked or referred to get testing by their healthcare provider, links to local or state ​health departments.
Not everyone needs to be tested. If you do get tested, you should self-quarantine/isolate at home pending test results and follow the advice of your health care provider or a public health professional.
Winter Wonderland at Grove Arcade
Jan 4 @ 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
Grove Arcade

Grove Arcade is thrilled to announce the return of its annual Winter Wonderland holiday celebration.

The Arcade has transformed into a wreath-bedecked showcase for Asheville’s finest local craftspeople and retailers. Smells of pine and holly will greet visitors as they tour—at a proper social distance!—Asheville’s stunning art deco gem to discover one-of-a-kind, handcrafted local gifts, enjoy holiday-themed beverages and dining specials, and winter-y feels within the warm Grove Arcade halls. Specially curated Christmas standards and the most extravagant holiday decorations in town will transport visitors to a truly unforgettable winter paradise.

We will be hosting a local MANNA Food Bank Drive! Drop-off barrels will be placed around several areas of the Arcade to be collected and distributed by MANNA to help during these uncertain times.

For the enjoyment and safety of everyone, Grove Arcade will be taking appropriate COVID-19 precautions during Winter Wonderland. All visitors and employees will be required to follow the CDC’s health recommendations, including social distancing and mask wearing.

Enjoy a safe and jolly visit to Grove Arcade’s Winter Wonderland! And from all of us at Grove Arcade, Happy Holidays!

Christmas at Biltmore Daytime Celebration
Jan 4 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Biltmore

Buy tickets online to save up to $8 per admission. Check website for hours of operation.
Treat yourself to the beloved estate tradition known as Christmas at Biltmore, when America’s Largest Home®, Antler Hill Village, and the entire estate are at their most enchanting.
A daytime visit to Biltmore is a feast for the senses, featuring wreaths, garlands, and the sparkle of thousands of ornaments, from Biltmore House to Antler Hill Village!
Christmas at Connemara Thanksgiving to January 6
Jan 4 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Carl Sandburg House

The house will be decorated in the simple style of the Sandburg’s with poinsettias and a traditionally decorated Christmas tree throughout December until January 6th, 2021.

Free Online Courses: More Than 100 Languages Now Available
Jan 4 @ 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
online w/ Buncombe County Libraries

Planning a trip to Italy to celebrate a special anniversary? Have a child in school that needs extra practice in a foreign language? Just want to brush up that language you studied for four years in school, but somehow can’t seem to remember at all? We’ve got you covered.

Buncombe County Public Libraries now offers Transparent Language Online free to all library cardholders. Whether you’re starting at the very beginning or you’re an intermediate learner looking to enhance your vocabulary, Transparent Language Online can help. With over 110 languages to choose from, including English for non-native speakers, there is something for every learner. With mobile apps for iOS and Android devices, learners can enjoy the freedom to learn at home, in the library, or on the go.

Transparent Languages includes learning for kids of all ages. KidSpeak introduces children to English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Mandarin Chinese. The program teaches words and phrases suitable for learners’ age, needs, and interests. More than 40 activities, puzzles, and songs guide young learners through the basics, along with a cartoon friend who speaks the language.

Transparent Language will be available on NC LIVE beginning Jan. 1, 2021. For all library services, your ID is your library card number and your PIN is the last four digits of your phone number. Contact your library with any questions.

Meet Biblioboard, Buncombe Library’s Newest Digital Resource
Jan 4 @ 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
online w/ Buncombe County Libraries

Create, share, and discover with Buncombe County Public Library’s newest resource, Biblioboard.

BiblioBoard Library is an easy-to-use platform of high-quality digital content. Biblioboard offers books, articles, documents, images, audios, and videos. BiblioBoard Library is host to content from traditional publishers, indie authors, cultural institutions, and local thought leaders. Users can access BiblioBoard Library through the library’s website or on the device of their choice.

Some features of Biblioboard:

  • No waitlists or holds
  • Streaming audio and video are available on a wide variety of topics
  • Check out curated collections of the best indie authors.
  • Available for desktop, iOS, and Android devices

Local authors can submit their work for inclusion in the library catalog or publish books with Press Books. You can submit and share your work locally or nationally.

Interested? Check it out, and access Biblioboard today by clicking here.

Mel Chin’s Wake Sculpture
Jan 4 @ 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
Downtown Asheville

Wake, Mel Chin’s giant animatronic sculpture, installed in New York City’s Times Square last summer, will be on view in Asheville through March 15, 2021, at 44 Collier Avenue. Chin, a WNC based conceptual artist, was named a MacArthur Fellow in September 2019.

Wake was commissioned as part of Mel Chin: All Over the Place, a multi-site survey of his works from across many decades that took place in several New York City locations. A collaborative group, led by UNC Asheville’s STEAM Studio and The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, formed to plan and raise funds for the sculpture to be seen locally.

Wake – 60 feet long, 34 feet wide and 24 feet high, conceived and designed by the artist – was engineered, sculpted and fabricated by an interdisciplinary team of UNC Asheville students, faculty, staff and community artists led by Chin. The sculpture is interactive and features decks and places to sit and contemplate.

Wake evokes the hull of a shipwreck crossed with the skeletal remains of a marine mammal. The structure is linked with a carved, 21-foot-tall animatronic sculpture, accurately derived from a figurehead of the opera star Jenny Lind that was once mounted on the 19th century clipper ship, USS Nightingale. Jenny Lind moves subtly as she breathes and scans the sky.

Visitors can experience Wake daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 44 Collier Avenue. For more details and a schedule of programming, visit ashevillearts.com.

Monte Vista Hotel: Deck The Trees
Jan 4 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Monte Vista Hotel

Deck The Trees is a fun and festive December Holiday Happening in Black Mountain. This event is a fundraiser for the Fuel Fund of the Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministries. Trees decorated in the theme And A Star Appeared will be displayed in the Monte Vista Hotel and many businesses throughout Black Mountain. Trees may be voted on by placing cash/check in the box corresponding to your favorite tree. All money collected goes directly to the Fuel Fund. For more information about Deck The Trees and to support your favorite tree(s) contact svcmblackmountain.org.

Andy Warhol: Silver Clouds Exhibit
Jan 4 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

Andy Warhol: Silver Clouds

Appleby Foundation Exhibition Hall

Andy Warhol’s Silver Clouds create an immersive experience born out of the iconic Pop artist’s interest in innovation and experimentation. Warhol collaborated with Bell Labs engineer Billy Klüver to transform the then-new material Scotchpak into an enlivened and interactive work of art. First shown in April 1966 at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City, these air- and helium-filled balloons float like pillows through a space which, combined with their metallic surface, garnered the name Silver Clouds. The clouds notably became part of the design and choreography of Merce Cunningham’s RainForest, which premiered in 1968.

To ensure the safety of Museum visitors and staff, Silver Clouds will be presented as a touch-free experience. Visitors are encouraged to view the work from a distance as the balloons, moved by gentle air currents, drift about the space while imagining the presence of Cunningham’s dancers. A video recording of RainForest in its entirety may be viewed in Reverberations: Exploring Movement in the Collection.

Dancing Atoms Barbara Morgan Photographs
Jan 4 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

Dancing Atoms

Barbara Morgan Photographs

Martha Graham: Frontier

Appleby Foundation Exhibition Hall

Barbara Morgan, a founding member of the Aperture Foundation, earned a reputation as a Modernist. Much of her work involves dance, photomontage, and a desire to capture motion. She often would design her images so that the figure was shown against neutral or blank backgrounds that heightened the energy of the motion.  As proven in Morgan’s photographs, the exploration of movement is a theme that countless photographers have been drawn to in the past.  Capturing the beauty and effort of kinetic energy on film takes not only a keen photographic eye, but, more importantly, an understanding of the science that creates such action. Morgan was one such photographer.  Her legacy of observing life in relation to “dancing atoms” is forever preserved on film and on paper, providing a glimpse into her world of photography, painting, light, and modern dance.

This exhibition is organized by the Syracuse University Art Galleries.

Fantastical Forms: Ceramics as Sculpture Asheville Art Museum
Jan 4 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum
Left: Virginia Scotchie, Object Maker Series, 2020, glazed stoneware. Asheville Art Museum. © Virginia Scotchie. Right: Jane Palmer, Untitled, circa 1990, glazed stoneware, 41 × 14 ¼ × 21 ½ inches. Asheville Art Museum. © Estate of Jane Palmer.

The Asheville Art Museum presents Fantastical Forms: Ceramics as Sculpture on view at the Museum November 4, 2020 through April 5, 2021. The 25 works in this exhibition—curated by associate curator Whitney Richardson—highlight the Museum’s Collection of sculptural ceramics from the last two decades of the 20th century to the present. Each work illustrates the artist’s ability to push beyond the utilitarian and transition ceramics into the world of sculpture.

North and South Carolina artists featured include Elma McBride Johnson, Neil Noland, Norm Schulman, Virginia Scotchie, Cynthia Bringle, Jane Palmer, Michael Sherrill, and Akira Satake. Works by American artists Don Reitz, Robert Chapman Turner, Karen Karnes, Toshiko Takaezu, Bill Griffith, and Xavier Toubes are also featured in the exhibition.

Gallerie Bazaar: a gift show
Jan 4 @ 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Art Garden AVL

We’re turning the gallery into a bazaar for the holidays! The gallery will be filled with affordable and giftable original art and prints from a wide array of local artist and craftspeople. We’ll be donating 10% of gallery bazaar sales to MANNA food bank in Asheville. It’s been a rough year; come find a sweet little piece of art to brighten someone’s holiday, and support local artists when you do.
Show Dates: Nov 14 – Jan 4.
Gallery Hours: 11-5 pm.
(closed Wednesdays)
Featured artists tba very soon ~ there’s still time to participate if you’d like to submit some artwork~ send us a message!
cover art: “Earth Rhythm” by @Annie Kyla Bennett Art
Reverberations Exploring Movement in the Collection Art Exhibit
Jan 4 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

Marianne Preger-Simon, Portrait of Merce Cunningham, 1953, ink on paper, 11 ⅜ × 10 inches. Black Mountain College Collection, gift of the Artist, 2009.17.12.41. © Marianne Preger-Simon

Reverberations

Exploring Movement in the Collection

Appleby Foundation Exhibition Hall

Movement in static mediums such as painting, drawing, and photography is difficult to express, yet many artists feel called to explore it. Movement serves as an impetus for creation—to either capture it or create it in entirely different mediums. The works here, selected from the Asheville Art Museum’s Collection, highlight additional approaches to rendering a lasting imprint of the ephemeral. Artists such as Walter Iooss and Blythe Bohnen are concerned with the motion of the human form, evoking a sense of elongated or contracted muscles, of limbs moving through space. Others, like Robyn Horn and Bernar Venet, approach the challenge through abstraction, foregoing representation yet communicating an atmosphere of dynamic change. Marianne Preger-Simon’s drawings of her fellow dancers at Black Mountain College in the summer of 1953 are not only portraits but also a dance of pencil on paper, created in the spirit of artist Josef Albers’s line studies as she simultaneously worked with choreographer Merce Cunningham. Each of these artists ultimately reflects on the time-based ephemeral nature of movement.

Bringing in the Light Asheville Gallery of Art
Jan 4 @ 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Asheville Gallery of Art

Asheville Gallery of Art’s January show, “Bringing in the Light”, features four new artists to the gallery: Olga Dorenko, Rebecca Gottesman, Donny Luke, and Susan Voorhees.
The variety of work displayed contains common themes of light, joy, and optimism for the year ahead.
December 31-January 31
Gallery Hours: Thurs-Sun Noon-5pm
Candlelight Christmas Evenings at Biltmore
Jan 4 @ 5:00 pm
Biltmore

Candlelight, firelight and live music bring holiday warmth to Biltmore House’s extravagant holiday décor during these nighttime tours. Candlelight Christmas Evenings include a self-guided candlelight tour of Biltmore House, next-day visit to the gardens, Antler Hill Village and Biltmore Winery. Evening guests can also take advantage of Antler Hill Village & Winery to enjoy free wine tastings.

Tickets may be purchased at www.biltmore.com or by phone (800-411-3812).