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, July 27, 2020
Introducing Bookfix: Custom Reading Recommendations
Jul 27 all-day
Buncombe County Libraries curbside pickup

Photo of typewriter

 

 

Miss browsing the library’s shelves? Let us help with Bookfix. Call or email your local library to have a librarian put together a bundle of books tailored to your specific interests. You can pick up your personal Bookfix bundle at our curbside hold pickup service. Our Ask a Librarian line is available Monday-Saturday at (828) 250-4700 or you can email [email protected].

Tour Flat Rock Playhouse’s Garden
Jul 27 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse

Despite the cancellation of the Flat Rock Playhouse’s 2020 season due to COVID-19, folks are being encouraged to take time to enjoy the lush gardens on the grounds of the historic campus.

With a QR code reader on any smartphone, garden visitors can tap into information about the individual plants wherever they’re standing. The codes direct the phone to webpages on a Muddy Sneakers site that the garden volunteers control.

The Master Gardners have been hard at work adding some tech to our gardens! QR codes can now be found on the 62 garden beds that make up the Playhouse gardens. Visitors can use their smartphones to learn more about the plants they are seeing. Congratulations and thank you to Tamsin Allpress and all of our gardening volunteers who work to keep our gardens beautiful! Photo by volunteer Mary Smit

Yellow and
                            black striped caterpillar on orange flowers

Strolling through History Online Tour
Jul 27 @ 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Online

Image may contain: one or more people, people standing, sky and outdoor

This year, we weren’t able to host our “Strolling through History” series of walking tours, but thanks to some awesome work by interns we hosted from UNC Asheville this spring, they will be partially available virtually!

Enjoy “Scrolling” through history from your couch, or grab your tablet or smartphone and follow the tour in real life. (Make sure to follow local safety guidelines!)

The tours will be posted as links in this event discussion. Leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Live Stream: Lindsay Ellis Axiom’s End, in conversation with Hank Green
Jul 27 @ 6:00 pm
Live Stream

This is an exclusive online event for fans who purchase from Malaprop’s.* When you order Axiom’s End below, your name and email address will be added to the invitation list for the event. On the day of the event, you will receive the event link via email. You will also receive a bookplate signed by Lindsay Ellis. *NOTE: If you have already purchased Axiom’s End elsewhere, you can also gain access to the event by purchasing Hank Green’s A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor or a Malaprop’s gift card with a value of at least $10, below. Bookplates only come with Axiom’s End.

Please provide a valid email address when you order and whitelist [email protected] to make sure you receive communications about the event. 

About Axiom’s End: Published 7/21/20

The alternate history first contact adventure Axiom’s End is an extraordinary debut from Hugo finalist and video essayist Lindsay Ellis.

Truth is a human right.

Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Tour Flat Rock Playhouse’s Garden
Jul 28 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse

Despite the cancellation of the Flat Rock Playhouse’s 2020 season due to COVID-19, folks are being encouraged to take time to enjoy the lush gardens on the grounds of the historic campus.

With a QR code reader on any smartphone, garden visitors can tap into information about the individual plants wherever they’re standing. The codes direct the phone to webpages on a Muddy Sneakers site that the garden volunteers control.

The Master Gardners have been hard at work adding some tech to our gardens! QR codes can now be found on the 62 garden beds that make up the Playhouse gardens. Visitors can use their smartphones to learn more about the plants they are seeing. Congratulations and thank you to Tamsin Allpress and all of our gardening volunteers who work to keep our gardens beautiful! Photo by volunteer Mary Smit

Yellow and
                            black striped caterpillar on orange flowers

Strolling through History Online Tour
Jul 28 @ 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Online

Image may contain: one or more people, people standing, sky and outdoor

This year, we weren’t able to host our “Strolling through History” series of walking tours, but thanks to some awesome work by interns we hosted from UNC Asheville this spring, they will be partially available virtually!

Enjoy “Scrolling” through history from your couch, or grab your tablet or smartphone and follow the tour in real life. (Make sure to follow local safety guidelines!)

The tours will be posted as links in this event discussion. Leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Additional Library Curbside Service
Jul 28 @ 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Fairview, Leicester, and Oakley/South Asheville branches

 

Buncombe County Public Libraries will be opening three additional locations for curbside pickup service, the Fairview, Leicester, and Oakley/South Asheville branches. These locations will operate from 1-5 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, in addition to our current curbside pickup service locations at the Black Mountain, North Asheville, South Buncombe, and West Asheville locations. For more information about library curbside pickup service or to place an item on hold for pickup, please call your local library or the Ask-A-Librarian line (828-250-4700) or visit buncombecounty.org/library. We hope to see you soon!

Wednesday, July 29, 2020
Introducing Bookfix: Custom Reading Recommendations
Jul 29 all-day
Buncombe County Libraries curbside pickup

Photo of typewriter

 

 

Miss browsing the library’s shelves? Let us help with Bookfix. Call or email your local library to have a librarian put together a bundle of books tailored to your specific interests. You can pick up your personal Bookfix bundle at our curbside hold pickup service. Our Ask a Librarian line is available Monday-Saturday at (828) 250-4700 or you can email [email protected].

Tour Flat Rock Playhouse’s Garden
Jul 29 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse

Despite the cancellation of the Flat Rock Playhouse’s 2020 season due to COVID-19, folks are being encouraged to take time to enjoy the lush gardens on the grounds of the historic campus.

With a QR code reader on any smartphone, garden visitors can tap into information about the individual plants wherever they’re standing. The codes direct the phone to webpages on a Muddy Sneakers site that the garden volunteers control.

The Master Gardners have been hard at work adding some tech to our gardens! QR codes can now be found on the 62 garden beds that make up the Playhouse gardens. Visitors can use their smartphones to learn more about the plants they are seeing. Congratulations and thank you to Tamsin Allpress and all of our gardening volunteers who work to keep our gardens beautiful! Photo by volunteer Mary Smit

Yellow and
                            black striped caterpillar on orange flowers

Library Computer Appointments Available
Jul 29 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Buncombe County Libraries
The Perfect Turkey

Buncombe County Public Libraries will begin offering appointments for computer use on July 1. Forty-five minute appointments are available 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays at all library locations except the Oakley/South Asheville branch.

Miss Malaprop’s Storytime LIVE STREAM
Jul 29 @ 10:00 am
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.

Event date:
Wednesday, July 29, 2020 – 10:00am
Wednesday, August 5, 2020 – 10:00am
Wednesday, August 12, 2020 – 10:00am
Wednesday, August 19, 2020 – 10:00am
Event address:
Strolling through History Online Tour
Jul 29 @ 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Online

Image may contain: one or more people, people standing, sky and outdoor

This year, we weren’t able to host our “Strolling through History” series of walking tours, but thanks to some awesome work by interns we hosted from UNC Asheville this spring, they will be partially available virtually!

Enjoy “Scrolling” through history from your couch, or grab your tablet or smartphone and follow the tour in real life. (Make sure to follow local safety guidelines!)

The tours will be posted as links in this event discussion. Leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Rise Up and Read Together Book Club
Jul 29 @ 7:00 pm
The Event Space at Hi-Wire Brewing

Join us for a socially-distanced, mask-on discussion of Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You in The Event Space at Hi-Wire Brewing. Hi-Wire is donating its large event space for this book club. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are available for purchase on site. We want to make sure we have plenty of room to spread out, so please RSVP here.

When you purchase the hardcover of Stamped below, enter the code HIWIRE at checkout to receive a 10% discount on the book.

You can also purchase an e-book from Kobo or audiobook from Libro.fm. (We can’t offer a discount on those, but a Libro.fm membership is only $14.99. And don’t forget your local library! They also offer e-books.)

Thursday, July 30, 2020
Self-Guided Driving and Walking Tours Smith-McDowell House
Jul 30 all-day
Smith-McDowell House Museum

The residents of Buck House were woven in to the fabric of Asheville.

This driving tour begins at the Smith-McDowell House Museum on the campus of A-B Tech and continues through historic sites related to early occupants of the house.

Tour Flat Rock Playhouse’s Garden
Jul 30 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse

Despite the cancellation of the Flat Rock Playhouse’s 2020 season due to COVID-19, folks are being encouraged to take time to enjoy the lush gardens on the grounds of the historic campus.

With a QR code reader on any smartphone, garden visitors can tap into information about the individual plants wherever they’re standing. The codes direct the phone to webpages on a Muddy Sneakers site that the garden volunteers control.

The Master Gardners have been hard at work adding some tech to our gardens! QR codes can now be found on the 62 garden beds that make up the Playhouse gardens. Visitors can use their smartphones to learn more about the plants they are seeing. Congratulations and thank you to Tamsin Allpress and all of our gardening volunteers who work to keep our gardens beautiful! Photo by volunteer Mary Smit

Yellow and
                            black striped caterpillar on orange flowers

Strolling through History Online Tour
Jul 30 @ 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Online

Image may contain: one or more people, people standing, sky and outdoor

This year, we weren’t able to host our “Strolling through History” series of walking tours, but thanks to some awesome work by interns we hosted from UNC Asheville this spring, they will be partially available virtually!

Enjoy “Scrolling” through history from your couch, or grab your tablet or smartphone and follow the tour in real life. (Make sure to follow local safety guidelines!)

The tours will be posted as links in this event discussion. Leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Additional Library Curbside Service
Jul 30 @ 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Fairview, Leicester, and Oakley/South Asheville branches

 

Buncombe County Public Libraries will be opening three additional locations for curbside pickup service, the Fairview, Leicester, and Oakley/South Asheville branches. These locations will operate from 1-5 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, in addition to our current curbside pickup service locations at the Black Mountain, North Asheville, South Buncombe, and West Asheville locations. For more information about library curbside pickup service or to place an item on hold for pickup, please call your local library or the Ask-A-Librarian line (828-250-4700) or visit buncombecounty.org/library. We hope to see you soon!

Live Stream: Lara Prescott presents The Secrets We Kept
Jul 30 @ 7:00 pm
Live Stream

We’re pleased to be part of the Reader Meet Writer series of online events hosted by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance.

The event is free but registration is required and attendance is limited. Please CLICK HERE TO REGISTER. Once registered, we will email you on the day of the event with the link and password required to attend on Zoom. If you decide to attend and to purchase the author’s book(s), we ask that you purchase from Malalprop’s. When you do this you are supporting our work and keeping more dollars in our community. Thank you!

THE SECRETS WE KEPT

At the height of the Cold War, Irina, a young Russian-American secretary, is plucked from the CIA typing pool and given the assignment of a lifetime. Her mission: to help smuggle Doctor Zhivago into the USSR, where it is banned, and enable Boris Pasternak’s magnum opus to make its way into print around the world. Mentoring Irina is the glamorous Sally Forrester: a seasoned spy who has honed her gift for deceit, using her magnetism and charm to pry secrets out of powerful men. Under Sally’s tutelage, Irina learns how to invisibly ferry classified documents–and discovers deeply buried truths about herself. The Secrets We Kept combines a legendary literary love story–the decades-long affair between Pasternak and his mistress and muse, Olga Ivinskaya, who inspired Zhivago’s heroine, Lara–with a narrative about two women empowered to lead lives of extraordinary intrigue and risk. Told with soaring emotional intensity and captivating historical detail, this is an unforgettable debut: a celebration of the powerful belief that a work of art can change the world.

Lara Prescott received her MFA from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, Austin. She was previously an animal protection advocate and a political campaign operative. Her stories have appeared in The Southern Review, The Hudson Review, Crazyhorse, Day One, and Tin House Flash Fridays. She won the 2016 Crazyhorse Fiction Prize for the first chapter of The Secrets We Kept. She lives in Austin, Texas.

Friday, July 31, 2020
Anti-Racisim: Resources Literacy Council
Jul 31 all-day
Online

Recognizing and understanding racism, and actively unlearning the everyday, built-in mechanisms of systemic racism is an ongoing effort that must be made by every single one of us. It can be difficult to navigate issues, origins, and solutions surrounding systemic racism, especially with so many different angles portrayed by the media.
There are countless truthful resources to help us find our way to social justice and equity. Here are just a few educational resources and ways to help our Black communities:
Educational reading:
The above photo has an excellent list of books!
Community:
Media:
Follow Black activists and voices on social media! Please reach out to us if you’d like suggestions on whom to follow.
Blue Ridge Craft Trails Month
Jul 31 all-day
Throughout Henderson County

July is the Blue Ridge Craft Trails Month in Henderson County, hosted by the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area. Explore three distinct trails guide visitors through the towns of Hendersonville and Flat Rock, and into the Blue Ridge Mountain countryside, showcasing 18 nationally-renowned artists in their studios and galleries on this self-guided tour.

Introducing Bookfix: Custom Reading Recommendations
Jul 31 all-day
Buncombe County Libraries curbside pickup

Photo of typewriter

 

 

Miss browsing the library’s shelves? Let us help with Bookfix. Call or email your local library to have a librarian put together a bundle of books tailored to your specific interests. You can pick up your personal Bookfix bundle at our curbside hold pickup service. Our Ask a Librarian line is available Monday-Saturday at (828) 250-4700 or you can email [email protected].

Self-Guided Driving and Walking Tours Smith-McDowell House
Jul 31 all-day
Smith-McDowell House Museum

The residents of Buck House were woven in to the fabric of Asheville.

This driving tour begins at the Smith-McDowell House Museum on the campus of A-B Tech and continues through historic sites related to early occupants of the house.

Tour Flat Rock Playhouse’s Garden
Jul 31 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse

Despite the cancellation of the Flat Rock Playhouse’s 2020 season due to COVID-19, folks are being encouraged to take time to enjoy the lush gardens on the grounds of the historic campus.

With a QR code reader on any smartphone, garden visitors can tap into information about the individual plants wherever they’re standing. The codes direct the phone to webpages on a Muddy Sneakers site that the garden volunteers control.

The Master Gardners have been hard at work adding some tech to our gardens! QR codes can now be found on the 62 garden beds that make up the Playhouse gardens. Visitors can use their smartphones to learn more about the plants they are seeing. Congratulations and thank you to Tamsin Allpress and all of our gardening volunteers who work to keep our gardens beautiful! Photo by volunteer Mary Smit

Yellow and
                            black striped caterpillar on orange flowers

Library Computer Appointments Available
Jul 31 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Buncombe County Libraries
The Perfect Turkey

Buncombe County Public Libraries will begin offering appointments for computer use on July 1. Forty-five minute appointments are available 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays at all library locations except the Oakley/South Asheville branch.

Hemp Xpress Trolley:  Cruisin’ Asheville 
Jul 31 @ 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Carolina Hemp Company

 The Hemp X Hot Box:Roll with us Fridays from 5-10pm as we coast a route through West Asheville and Downtown. Stops at UpCountry Brewing, One World Brewing West, Foggy Mountain, and The One Stop. We’ll have smokable and edible hemp products for purchase to enjoy alongside any wine or beer you bring yourselves (closed containers only). We’re happy to provide an affordable way for locals and visitors to Roll Up, Stay Safe and Party Down! Cruisin Asheville July 10th, July 31st, August 7th, August 21st. More dates to come! 

Purchase Tickets on board! One Way Pass $3 and All Night Unlimited Pass $5

Private Rentals: Spark up your next Asheville area celebration with our personalized rental platform! We offer several packages at different price tiers to best cater to your party’s needs! Our team is dedicated to working with you to create an experience that will leave your guests (and your smoke) blown away!

The Hemp Xpress is dedicated to the safety of the Asheville community; public routes and experiences are operating at half capacity within social distance guidelines. Hand sanitizer is readily available to riders, and surfaces are regularly sanitized. Buncombe County requires a face mask be worn in public places.

Saturday, August 1, 2020
Anti-Racisim: Resources Literacy Council
Aug 1 all-day
Online

Recognizing and understanding racism, and actively unlearning the everyday, built-in mechanisms of systemic racism is an ongoing effort that must be made by every single one of us. It can be difficult to navigate issues, origins, and solutions surrounding systemic racism, especially with so many different angles portrayed by the media.
There are countless truthful resources to help us find our way to social justice and equity. Here are just a few educational resources and ways to help our Black communities:
Educational reading:
The above photo has an excellent list of books!
Community:
Media:
Follow Black activists and voices on social media! Please reach out to us if you’d like suggestions on whom to follow.
Self-Guided Driving and Walking Tours Smith-McDowell House
Aug 1 all-day
Smith-McDowell House Museum

The residents of Buck House were woven in to the fabric of Asheville.

This driving tour begins at the Smith-McDowell House Museum on the campus of A-B Tech and continues through historic sites related to early occupants of the house.

Tour Flat Rock Playhouse’s Garden
Aug 1 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse

Despite the cancellation of the Flat Rock Playhouse’s 2020 season due to COVID-19, folks are being encouraged to take time to enjoy the lush gardens on the grounds of the historic campus.

With a QR code reader on any smartphone, garden visitors can tap into information about the individual plants wherever they’re standing. The codes direct the phone to webpages on a Muddy Sneakers site that the garden volunteers control.

The Master Gardners have been hard at work adding some tech to our gardens! QR codes can now be found on the 62 garden beds that make up the Playhouse gardens. Visitors can use their smartphones to learn more about the plants they are seeing. Congratulations and thank you to Tamsin Allpress and all of our gardening volunteers who work to keep our gardens beautiful! Photo by volunteer Mary Smit

Yellow and
                            black striped caterpillar on orange flowers

Virtual Pop-Up Book Sale
Aug 1 @ 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Online

No photo description available.

www.facebook.com/SmartStartPFC

Additional Library Curbside Service
Aug 1 @ 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Fairview, Leicester, and Oakley/South Asheville branches

 

Buncombe County Public Libraries will be opening three additional locations for curbside pickup service, the Fairview, Leicester, and Oakley/South Asheville branches. These locations will operate from 1-5 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, in addition to our current curbside pickup service locations at the Black Mountain, North Asheville, South Buncombe, and West Asheville locations. For more information about library curbside pickup service or to place an item on hold for pickup, please call your local library or the Ask-A-Librarian line (828-250-4700) or visit buncombecounty.org/library. We hope to see you soon!