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, July 26, 2020
Shop + Dine Henderson County
Jul 26 all-day
Online

COC Shop and Dine

What is Shop & Dine HC?

Shop & Dine HC is a collaborative movement designed to remind the public of the benefits and importance of spending their dollars with our local businesses. Local businesses lay the framework for a strong community and we want Henderson County to shop local, spend local, save local.

Why does shopping locally matter?

When you shop locally:

  • $0.02 of every $1 stays in the community through the Sales Tax. These dollars support county and municipal budgets for schools, law enforcement, infrastructure, and more.
  • you help create and retain jobs for existing businesses as they succeed and grow, and create a successful business community that attracts other businesses and entrepreneurs.
  • those same businesses you are supporting will give back to our community through donations to non-profits, civic clubs, youth programs, and more.

Simply put – our local businesses make our community better.

Want to get involved?

Be part of the conversation!

Join the Shop & Dine Facebook Group

 

Shop to Win!

When shopping in Henderson County:

  • take a selfie, post it to Facebook or Instagram
  • use the #ShopandDineHC
  • tag the Chamber @hendersoncochamber and business visited
  • be entered to win bi-monthly contests.

Contests begin July 1, 2020.

Staff Picks of the Week BMC: Explore Space With NASA at Home
Jul 26 all-day
Online

Around The Web w/ BMC

Live-streamed performances, resources, and activities we love from around the web, updated weekly.

Explore Space
With NASA at Home

Bring the universe into your home with virtual tours, family activities, podcasts, and more!

Staff Picks of the Week BMC: How to Understand The Circle of Fifths
Jul 26 all-day
Online

How to Understand
The Circle of Fifths

How is the Circle of Fifths used in music composition? Mark Newman uses visuals to help explain!

Staff Picks of the Week BMC: Tap-Dancing Noses At The Royal Opera House
Jul 26 all-day
Online

Tap-Dancing Noses At
The Royal Opera House

Don’t miss this scene from Shostakovich’s surreal and vibrant first opera, featuring tap-dancing noses.

Staff Picks of the Week Brevard Music Center Beethoven Rocks! Multimedia Experience
Jul 26 all-day
Online

Around The Web w/ BMC

Live-streamed performances, resources, and activities we love from around the web, updated weekly.

Beethoven Rocks!
Multimedia Experience

Join the Kennedy Center in a fun exploration of the life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven.

Stay Active with Your Library Card
Jul 26 all-day
Online

You don’t need to give up your fitness or workout routine just because COVID-19 has you spending more time at home. If you’ve got a library card and access to WiFi, it’s easy to stay active with digital resources. (If you need a new library card or renewal, call Ask a Librarian at (828) 250-4700 or follow these steps.)

North Carolina Digital Library

Support Independent Restaurants
Jul 26 all-day
Online
Sharing this way to support our independent restaurants from our friends at the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association. A bi-partisan group in the House and Senate introduced a bill called the RESTAURANTS ACT.  This bill is the first industry-specific relief bill to be introduced for restaurants since the onset of the COVID crisis. The bill would create a Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which allows restaurants to obtain a lump sum from the Treasury to use towards a broad range of operating expenses over the balance of 2020. Learn more at saverestaurants.org
The Asheville Vibes Gift Card Giveaway
Jul 26 all-day
Online

Read on to see how YOU could win this Gift Card bundle to these 3 iconic Asheville places!

Here’s the lowdown for all of you
Ambassadors of Asheville:
If you wrote a love letter to your favorite Asheville restaurants, breweries, shops, artists, etc., who would you include and what would you say you liked about them? Our local AVL businesses need some love right about now. The new Dig Local 3.0 app’s “List Feature” is the perfect place to tell what you dig about our town, and to share it with friends and family. This new technology is currently available only on the Dig Local app.
*While anyone can create lists, you must be 21 or older to enter this contest. Winner will be randomly selected from the lists created on the app. Gift cards cannot be redeemed for cash, only product.
The Gallery at Flat Rock Offers Porch Portraits
Jul 26 all-day
varies

Suzanne has generously donated a portion of the session fee to Flat Rock Playhouse and she has a goal of raising $15,000 before the end of the year! She has currently raised $2,015, so help Suzanne reach her goal and capture some memories along the way. Check out some of her portraits above and click the link below to schedule your session today!

Inspired by the national trend of porch portraits, Suzanne of The Gallery at Flat Rock, will be offering portrait sessions and donating a portion of the session cost to Flat Rock Playhouse. 

 A fifteen-minute porch portrait session is $65 (cash or check) of which $15 will be donated to the Flat Rock Playhouse, a friend and neighbor to the gallery which made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 season. 

Tour Flat Rock Playhouse’s Garden
Jul 26 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

UNC Weight Research Program: Free 8-week program Health-E From Home
Jul 26 all-day
Online

Health-e from Home is a free 8-week program designed to help you make a few small changes to your everyday health habits – and it can be done at home, or anywhere. Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are evaluating the acceptability and usage of this free online program that is designed to help people who are spending more time at home due to COVID-19 build healthier habits.  Those who join the study will receive access to weekly lessons and tailored feedback from the study team that will encourage small changes to their eating, small increases in activity, and simple activities to promote well-being. Participants will complete a brief, 20-minute survey at the beginning and end of the program, as well as weekly check-in questions to help the study team provide personalized feedback to help individuals meet their health goals.  Those who are interested in focusing on maintaining or losing weight will also be invited to a private Facebook group to join other study members working to meet weight goals during the study. To learn more and find out if you are eligible to participate, please visit http://healthefromhome.org.

Virtual Exhibit: Hillbilly Land Myth and Reality of Appalachian Culture
Jul 26 all-day
Online WNC Historical Society
ABOUT THE EXHIBIT

The hillbilly stereotype is one that is alive and well in American popular culture as a quick survey of the cable dial reveals with such shows as Moonshiners, Appalachian Outlaws, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, and countless others.

Surprisingly, it is one often displayed among educated sorts here in Western North Carolina who would never dream of disparaging any minority or “out group,” but do not hesitate to characterize native Western North Carolinians, as a group, as ignorant, in-bred, hopelessly retrograde, violent, snake-handling, moonshining/meth-making rednecks.

The Hillbillyland Exhibition explores the power, prevalence, and persistence of the hillbilly stereotype from the days of its beginnings in the late 19th century to the present day. The exhibit takes a unique approach by focusing on photography featuring the people of the region, some of them stereotypical images, combined with poetry and short prose pieces that challenge and complicate these stereotypes.

Visit the Virtual Exhibit
Virtual Tour 1918 vs. 2020 Flu Pandemics WNC
Jul 26 all-day
Online Smith-McDowell House

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT

In the midst of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, we take an in-depth look at the 1918 influenza epidemic in Western North Carolina through newspaper clippings, advertisements, ephemera, photographs, and oral history and place the events of 1918 into context with our present-day response to the coronavirus pandemic.

https://www.wnchistory.org/virtual-exhibits/influenza/?utm_source=Western%20North%20Carolina%20Historical%20Association&utm_campaign=78fa0bbdf8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_01_23_05_25_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7424f63c4d-78fa0bbdf8-329482143

Your Voice Matters: Advocate for those experiencing poverty
Jul 26 all-day
Online
MANNA’s mission is to involve, educate, and unite people in the work of ending hunger, and an important part of this mission is advocating for those living in and experiencing the effects of poverty.
As a non-partisan organization, dedicated to sharing information about the issues affecting the people we serve together, MANNA does not endorse political parties or candidates. We simply ask people to work with our elected officials to make legislation that works for us all, and makes our region, our state, and our country stronger from the ground up.
If you are interested in receiving advocacy-related emails from MANNA FoodBank, please follow link. By clicking here, you are signing up to receive information from MANNA about ways you can use your voice, and actions you can take, to help work towards our vision of a hunger-free Western North Carolina.
Kid’s TRACK Trail at Charles D. Owen Park 
Jul 26 @ 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
Charles D. Owen Park 

Buncombe County Recreation Services has partnered with the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation’s Kids in Parks program to install a new TRACK Trail at Charles D. Owen Park in Swannanoa. Children and families are invited to hike the new TRACK Trail, which was installed in celebration with National Great Outdoors Month and with support from the Buncombe County Community Recreation Grant award.

The TRACK Trail follows the walking path around the ponds at Charles D. Owen Park and meanders along the Swannanoa River. The new trailhead sign, located between the ponds, provides four brochure-led activity guides that allow young hikers to learn about and connect with the natural features found along the trail. Activity guides are available in English y en español.

TRACK Trails are designed to turn an ordinary hike into a fun-filled, discovery-packed adventure – and the fun doesn’t stop when the trail ends. After their outing, kids can register their TRACK Trail adventures at KidsinParks.com to earn a series of prizes designed to make their next outdoor adventure more meaningful and encourage continued participation in the program. Since the program’s inception in 2009, more than 1.5 million TRACK Trail adventures have been completed.

Nature Connects®: Art with LEGO® Bricks
Jul 26 @ 8:00 am – 9:00 pm
The North Carolina Arboretum

Please note: Nature Connects®: Art with LEGO® Bricks has been postponed until July; however, the exhibit will have an extended schedule and will be open until November 1. We look forward to seeing you!

The Arboretum is excited to welcome back the widely popular traveling exhibit, Nature Connects®: Art with LEGO® Bricks by Sean Kenney. Featuring 14 larger-than-life-size sculptures place created with nearly 500,000 LEGO Bricks, this family-friendly exhibit draws inspiration from the living world and combines art, play and science to create an inspiring intersection of education, entertainment and the environment. New sculptures include a 5-foot tall colorful peacock, giant dragonfly, bonsai tree and more!

 

Animal Habitats VIP Tours
Jul 26 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Grandfather Mountain

See where the cougars and otters sleep overnight, meet black bears that are not commonly on display, learn the ins and outs of what it takes to care for the animals year-round, observe a training session and find out why the animals call Grandfather Mountain home.

Offered on weekends, April – October.

Environmental Impact II Exhibit
Jul 26 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
The North Carolina Arboretum

This exhibit will reopen on Wednesday, July 1, and will be on display daily through Sunday, August 2. On display daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. inside the Baker Exhibit Center, Environmental Impact II features more than 50 artworks, including paintings, photography, sculptures and film, focused on generating public attention surrounding environmental issues and unintended consequences…

To help protect the safety of our guests and staff, a one-way route will be enforced inside the exhibit hall. All guests ages 11 years and older will be required to wear a face covering while inside the Baker Exhibit Center. Thank you for your cooperation! 

Ingles Tools for Schools Supply Drive
Jul 26 @ 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
Ingles

The ( Super-Safe-Social-Distancing Drive-Thru Only )
Ingles Tools for Schools Supply Drive
Ingles Tools for Schools Supply Drive: August 4th located at 29 Tunnel Rd.
In partnership with Eblen Charities
Distribution by appointment: August 12th
If your office or group is interested in sponsoring and/or collecting school supplies
please contact Amanda Putnam at [email protected]
Live Stream Yoga in the Park Asheville
Jul 26 @ 9:00 am – 10:15 am
live stream

Live Stream Yoga

Join me

for a 75 minute live yoga class:

Wednesday

April 29th @ 7:00 a.m.

Rise n’ Shine Mindful Wake-up Flow

(all-levels)

Friday

May 1st @ 12:00 p.m.

Vinyasa Pick-Me-Up Hour

(some experience recommended)

Sunday

May 3rd @ 9:00 a.m.

Mindful Wake-up Flow

(all-levels)

Monday

May 4th @ 7:30 p.m.

Vinyasa n’ Yin Yoga

(some experience recommended)

(More classes to be added, join my facebook page for current event listings: https://www.facebook.com/ceceyogini/ )

All live streams are suggested

$5

Send me an email to receive a free zoom link or connect with me on facebook to follow along with on-going class events. zoom links will be posted in class events on facebook.

The Year 2020 with Mountain Made Art Gallery
Jul 26 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Mountain Made - Asheville Art Gallery

Image may contain: outdoor

THE YEAR 2020 While we aren’t able to do our live demos so far this year, we have another idea! Nancy Dillingham is one of our local writers and Nancy is a poet. She has written at least 10 books of poetry because we have them at Mountain Made. She has probably written more. “In Fred Chappell’s introduction to Dillingham’s book, Like Headlines: New and Selected Poems, he says: “Poetry is news that stays news” and that, in Dillingham’s poetry, “we wait both for the future to appear and for the past to subside.” Nancy is going to be our feature demo artist for the year and sharing her writing experiences. We are doing a book of poetry or thoughts on “The Year 2020”. They could be funny or serious. So our demo this year is going to be writing. Email it to us, bring it by Mountain Made, or use our demo table to put your thoughts down on paper and leave it with us. We are then, around the middle of Nov., going to put it all together into a book! It won’t be fancy but it will be for sale. We will take donations and it will all go to charity. We haven’t decided if it will be one or several but “The Year 2020” will let us know where it is most needed! We have a lot to think about this year so put it on paper and share your thoughts! Be sure to put your name on it, city and state but if you want to remain anonymous that is fine too.

Bluegrass Brunch
Jul 26 @ 10:30 am – 3:00 pm
The One Stop at Asheville Music Hall

Image

Bluegrass Brunch
hosted by Aaron Woody Wood & The Sufi Brothers

Pickin’ on the Porch w/ Chicken Coop Willaye 1030AM
Bald Mountain Boys 11AM – 12:30PM
Sufi Brothers 12:45PM – 3PM

Be sure to check out our Bloody Mary Bar, the BEST selection of pickled products and other additions in Asheville. The MOJO Kitchen will be serving a special Brunch menu until 3PM as well.

Food & music start at 10:30am
ADULT beverages at Noon.

Strolling through History Online Tour
Jul 26 @ 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!

3 Day Vintage Pop Up Shop
Jul 26 @ 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Ambrose West

Image may contain: text that says 'vintage trunk show 100's of items $5-$20'

VINTAGE POP UP! 💛
🌈 NEW ITEMS!

Across from Owl Bakery

*spacious & beautiful venue, so fresh and so clean clean
*masks required, 10 person limit
*gratitude discounts
*air hugs & free stickers ❤️❤️❤️

Asheville Outlets Announces Majority of Retailers and Eateries Now Open
Jul 26 @ 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Asheville Outlets

Asheville Outlets has announced that the majority of retailers and eateries at the center are now open, including American Eagle Outfitters, Lucky Brand, RH Outlet, West Elm Outlet, Pandora, Skechers, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Tommy Hilfiger, Vera Bradley Factory Outlet Store, Johnston & Murphy Factory Store, Talbot’s Outlet, and Le Creuset, among many more.

 

Asheville Outlets is an open-air shopping center; hours are Monday through Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, 12 noon to 6:00 p.m.

This Week’s Food Truck Schedule at Highland Brewery
Jul 26 @ 12:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Highland Brewing Company
Buncombe County Outdoor Swimming
Jul 26 @ 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Buncombe County Pools Various

Child in pool

Buncombe County Recreation Services will open its five outdoor swimming pools. Safety and sanitation measures have been taken to comply with Buncombe County’s Stay Safe, Stay Smart order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pool visitors will be required to practice the Three Ws: wear a cloth face covering when entering/exiting the pool and when not in the pool, wait at least six feet apart from and avoid close contact with anyone who does not live in your household, and wash your hands or use hand sanitizer often.

Pool will open for two sessions Monday-Saturday, closing between sessions for a sanitation period that includes wiping down all common touch points. Sunday hours include one session. Admission for each session is $3 per guest. Due to limited capacity, guests are highly encouraged to purchase tickets online. If a pool is unable to open for any reason or is forced to close within the first hour of operation, all guests will receive a raincheck via the email address provided when purchasing the original ticket. Booking are currently available through July 10.

Monday-Friday
10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
2:15-5:15 p.m.

Saturday
11 a.m.-2 p.m.
3-6 p.m.

Sunday
1-6 p.m.

“While this summer is different in nearly every way for local families, we’re happy to safely and responsibly open our pools to the community,” said Josh O’Conner, Director of Buncombe County Recreation Services. “While we are not allowing toys, balls, noodles, dive sticks, and other communal items inside pools, the guest experience should be enhanced as visitors will be able to enjoy pools with a capacity limit of roughly 30% normal occupancy.”

Cane Creek Pool
590 Lower Brush Creek Road
Fletcher, NC 28732

Erwin Pool
58 Lees Creek Road
Asheville, NC 28806

Hominy Valley Pool
25 Twin Lakes Road
Candler, NC 28715

North Buncombe Pool
892 Clarks Chapel Road
Weaverville, NC 28787

Owen Pool
117 Stone Drive
Swannanoa, NC 28778

French Broad River Brewing will be donating a portion of all of their sales to LEAF
Jul 26 @ 1:00 pm – 9:00 pm
French Broad River Brewery

French Broad River Brewery has been brewing quality craft beer in the heart of Asheville, North Carolina since 2001. They consider themselves one of the original breweries to shape the craft beer culture that flourishes in WNC today.  Named after the iconic French Broad River, they are continuously inspired by its rolling waters and thriving wildlife. FBRB embodies the life and spirit of the river in all that we do and we are proud to call them a partner.

Next week, French Broad River Brewing will be donating a portion of all of their sales – online and in their taproom – to LEAF, in an effort to help support our mission and our community. Please consider supporting this local Asheville business, as they support LEAF.

July is Customer Appreciation Month Jus’ Running
Jul 26 @ 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Jus' Running
July is Customer Appreciation Month
20% OFF ALL Apparel
Free Jus’ Running Tote Bag With $100 Purchase
Thank You For Your Continued Support
Emerson String Quartet
Jul 26 @ 2:00 pm
Online

The Emerson String Quartet has maintained its status as one of the world’s premier chamber music ensembles for more than four decades. “With musicians like this,” wrote a reviewer for The Times (London), “there must be some hope for humanity.” The quartet has made more than 30 acclaimed recordings, and has been honored with nine Grammys® (including two for Best Classical Album), three Gramophone Awards, the Avery Fisher Prize, and Musical America’s “Ensemble of the Year” award. The quartet collaborates with some of today’s most esteemed composers to premiere new works, keeping the string quartet form alive and relevant. The group has partnered in performance with such stellar soloists as Reneé Fleming, Barbara Hannigan, Evgeny Kissin, Emanuel Ax, and Yefim Bronfman.

This special preview is scheduled in conjunction with the planned appearance by the Emerson String Quartet as part of the festival’s 2021 season.

To learn more about Emerson String Quartet: http://www.emersonquartet.com/

Available via YouTube, Facebook, appsummer.org