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.

Tuesday, August 18, 2020
Come To Leicester Studio Tour
Aug 18 all-day
Leicester, NC

We invite you to join us for the fourteenth annual Come to Leicester studio tour. We are excited to celebrate this annual event. The Come to Leicester studio tour is held every year on the third weekend in August; for 2019, that is 17-18 August. Our community of artists create in a variety of mediums, including painting, iron work, wood work, textiles, pottery, jewelry, and brooms.  They welcome you to their open studios so that you can enjoy their talented work. Come to Leicester to see for yourself!

Due to these extraordinary times, the Tour will look a little different this year. For this Tour,
we have 21 artists exhibiting along 11 stops. Most of them have chosen to participate both days, as usual, but a number of them are only going to be open on Saturday. This *Saturday Only* distinction will be noted on each artist’s info page on our website at www.cometoleicester.org. In our brochures and on our map, this will be denoted by color. Purple for Saturday only, orange for both.

Our artists will be showing outdoors or in areas where they can distance themselves and provide good ventilation. We ask that you please stay home if you feel sick and remember the three “W’s,” as we will all be following the recommended NCDHHS and Buncombe County public health guidelines of “Wear, Wait, and Wash.” Wear a mask, wait six feet apart, and wash your hands. Hand sanitizer will be available at every stop, and we encourage you to bring your own mask. We want this to be the same wonderful experience as always, but we also want it to be a safe event for all our customers and artists.

The thing that hasn’t changed is that visitors will still be able to view unique, hand-crafted
work, see how it’s made first hand, and even purchase a piece that can be taken home and treasured for years to come. Leicester Tour artists are comprised of both local and visiting artists from nearby communities, and make work in a variety of medium including clay, fiber, glass, jewelry, metal, mixed media, painting, and wood.
Participating artists this year include Wesley Angel, Valerie Berlage, John Cummings, Raquel Egosi, Michael Forehand, Andy Gordon, Barbara Hebert, Cat Jarosz, Beth Hampton Jones, Matt Jones, Sandra Mason, Patrick McDermott, Nirado, Cindy Parks, Janet Renfro, Suzanne Saunders, Anita Walling, Doc Welty, Brad Worden, and Noel Yovovich.

OFB Spread the Joy Fundraiser
Aug 18 all-day
Online

Old Farmer's Ball

What:  Local musicians, singers, callers, and technicians have given us joy as they shared their love of music and dance with us.  We now ask our community to return that joy as they struggle financially during this difficult time by donating to our “Spread the Joy” fundraiser.

Who:  All donations will be paid directly and equally to local talent.  Your contributions will support local callers, musicians, and technicians who participated, a minimum of 4 times, either in the past year (March 2019 – March 2020) or were scheduled in the near future (March – June 2020) for OFB events and who indicated a financial need to the OFB Board.

When:  The OFB will distribute donations on a regular basis while dances continue to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so please give early and often. Consider donating the price you would have paid for admission to the dances for you, maybe several friends, and remembering that the dances were cancelled back in early March.

How:  Click the link below to donate via Paypal and please add the note: “Spread the Joy fundraiser”. Donate conveniently via your credit card, debit card or your Paypal account.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=PYS3WHNV76CWA&source=url

Online Summer Dance Lessons!
Aug 18 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Online

The Greene Space: (Still) Live from New York
Aug 18 @ 7:00 pm
Online

In episode seven of this series, host Adam Hamway shares what a few local musicians, comedians, dancers and animators can do from their apartments on Tuesday, August 18 at 7:00pm ET. Don’t miss performances by New York artists! This program streams on the Greene Space websiteYouTube, and Facebook, and is available for archived viewing.

Thursday, August 20, 2020
OFB Spread the Joy Fundraiser
Aug 20 all-day
Online

Old Farmer's Ball

What:  Local musicians, singers, callers, and technicians have given us joy as they shared their love of music and dance with us.  We now ask our community to return that joy as they struggle financially during this difficult time by donating to our “Spread the Joy” fundraiser.

Who:  All donations will be paid directly and equally to local talent.  Your contributions will support local callers, musicians, and technicians who participated, a minimum of 4 times, either in the past year (March 2019 – March 2020) or were scheduled in the near future (March – June 2020) for OFB events and who indicated a financial need to the OFB Board.

When:  The OFB will distribute donations on a regular basis while dances continue to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so please give early and often. Consider donating the price you would have paid for admission to the dances for you, maybe several friends, and remembering that the dances were cancelled back in early March.

How:  Click the link below to donate via Paypal and please add the note: “Spread the Joy fundraiser”. Donate conveniently via your credit card, debit card or your Paypal account.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=PYS3WHNV76CWA&source=url

Virtual Tour Asheville Art Museum
Aug 20 all-day
Online
Take a 3D Museum Tour: Even while we’re closed, we want to share the Museum and exhibitions with you and your family at home! Take a virtual walk through the galleries and explore each artwork. Within the 3D tour, click the smARTguide links on the yellow dots to hear audio information about selected works of art. Scroll down on the Museum From Home page to find tours of each level, and click here to learn more about the Museum’s exhibitions.
Friday, August 21, 2020
Virtual Tour Asheville Art Museum
Aug 21 all-day
Online
Take a 3D Museum Tour: Even while we’re closed, we want to share the Museum and exhibitions with you and your family at home! Take a virtual walk through the galleries and explore each artwork. Within the 3D tour, click the smARTguide links on the yellow dots to hear audio information about selected works of art. Scroll down on the Museum From Home page to find tours of each level, and click here to learn more about the Museum’s exhibitions.
Grandfather Mountain
Aug 21 @ 8:00 am – 7:00 pm
Grandfather Mountain


To help prevent the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus), Grandfather Mountain is only selling tickets online.

Only a select number of tickets will be sold per day for certain time-slots to limit the number of guests in the park at one time, in accordance with the state of North Carolina’s phased “reopening” plan and social gathering guidelines.

Please check back closer to your visit for ticket availability. As of now, reservations are only available through June 21.

Each guest entering the park must have a ticket, which includes a time-slot. Prices are as follows:

Adult: $22
Senior (age 60+): $20
Child (ages 4-12): $9
AAA Adult: $20 (must present valid AAA card)
AAA Child: $8 (must present valid AAA card)

Hemp Xpress Trolley:  Cruisin’ Asheville 
Aug 21 @ 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 22, 2020
OFB Spread the Joy Fundraiser
Aug 22 all-day
Online

Old Farmer's Ball

What:  Local musicians, singers, callers, and technicians have given us joy as they shared their love of music and dance with us.  We now ask our community to return that joy as they struggle financially during this difficult time by donating to our “Spread the Joy” fundraiser.

Who:  All donations will be paid directly and equally to local talent.  Your contributions will support local callers, musicians, and technicians who participated, a minimum of 4 times, either in the past year (March 2019 – March 2020) or were scheduled in the near future (March – June 2020) for OFB events and who indicated a financial need to the OFB Board.

When:  The OFB will distribute donations on a regular basis while dances continue to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so please give early and often. Consider donating the price you would have paid for admission to the dances for you, maybe several friends, and remembering that the dances were cancelled back in early March.

How:  Click the link below to donate via Paypal and please add the note: “Spread the Joy fundraiser”. Donate conveniently via your credit card, debit card or your Paypal account.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=PYS3WHNV76CWA&source=url

Tour Flat Rock Playhouse’s Garden
Aug 22 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 Tour Asheville Art Museum
Aug 22 all-day
Online
Take a 3D Museum Tour: Even while we’re closed, we want to share the Museum and exhibitions with you and your family at home! Take a virtual walk through the galleries and explore each artwork. Within the 3D tour, click the smARTguide links on the yellow dots to hear audio information about selected works of art. Scroll down on the Museum From Home page to find tours of each level, and click here to learn more about the Museum’s exhibitions.
Grandfather Mountain
Aug 22 @ 8:00 am – 7:00 pm
Grandfather Mountain


To help prevent the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus), Grandfather Mountain is only selling tickets online.

Only a select number of tickets will be sold per day for certain time-slots to limit the number of guests in the park at one time, in accordance with the state of North Carolina’s phased “reopening” plan and social gathering guidelines.

Please check back closer to your visit for ticket availability. As of now, reservations are only available through June 21.

Each guest entering the park must have a ticket, which includes a time-slot. Prices are as follows:

Adult: $22
Senior (age 60+): $20
Child (ages 4-12): $9
AAA Adult: $20 (must present valid AAA card)
AAA Child: $8 (must present valid AAA card)

Sunday, August 23, 2020
OFB Spread the Joy Fundraiser
Aug 23 all-day
Online

Old Farmer's Ball

What:  Local musicians, singers, callers, and technicians have given us joy as they shared their love of music and dance with us.  We now ask our community to return that joy as they struggle financially during this difficult time by donating to our “Spread the Joy” fundraiser.

Who:  All donations will be paid directly and equally to local talent.  Your contributions will support local callers, musicians, and technicians who participated, a minimum of 4 times, either in the past year (March 2019 – March 2020) or were scheduled in the near future (March – June 2020) for OFB events and who indicated a financial need to the OFB Board.

When:  The OFB will distribute donations on a regular basis while dances continue to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so please give early and often. Consider donating the price you would have paid for admission to the dances for you, maybe several friends, and remembering that the dances were cancelled back in early March.

How:  Click the link below to donate via Paypal and please add the note: “Spread the Joy fundraiser”. Donate conveniently via your credit card, debit card or your Paypal account.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=PYS3WHNV76CWA&source=url

Tour Flat Rock Playhouse’s Garden
Aug 23 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 Tour Asheville Art Museum
Aug 23 all-day
Online
Take a 3D Museum Tour: Even while we’re closed, we want to share the Museum and exhibitions with you and your family at home! Take a virtual walk through the galleries and explore each artwork. Within the 3D tour, click the smARTguide links on the yellow dots to hear audio information about selected works of art. Scroll down on the Museum From Home page to find tours of each level, and click here to learn more about the Museum’s exhibitions.
Monday, August 24, 2020
Street Dances CANCELLED
Aug 24 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Visitors Center

The Street Dances have been a tradition for over 100 years in Downtown Hendersonville! They began in 1918, at the end of World War I, when the city welcomed home its soldiers from the War by celebrating in the streets, and became nationally known after they were included in the guidebook Blue Ridge Music Trails, Finding A Place In The Circle, written by Fred S. Fussell. The guidebook was winner of the first PRESERVE AMERICA Presidential Award for Heritage Tourism.

The sounds of fiddles and banjos playing at the Street Dances have been a part of Henderson County’s heritage for more than 100 yearscalling people of all ages put on their dancing shoes and journey to downtown Hendersonville to enjoy toe-tapping-good mountain music and dance right in front of the main stage. The dances are held every other Monday evening July 27, August 10, 24 & September 14 at the Visitor Center, located at 201 South Main Street.

Hendersonville comes alive with people square dancing and clogging to the traditional mountain and bluegrass music performed by a live band. Plus, special appearances are often made by area clogging teams, make the Street Dances an even more entertaining, foot stomping evening.

Lively instructions are given to the dancers by a local caller. At 6:30pm, our caller, Walt Puckett, will teach audience members some basic square dancing moves used in traditional Appalachian square dancing, such as the Right Hand Across, Open the Garden Gate and the Shoe Fly Swing.

Bring a chair, and sit back, relax and enjoy mountain heritage music and dancing from 7:00-9:00pm. The seating area opens at 5:30pm, and early admission is prohibited. Admission is freeNo alcoholic beverages, backpacks or coolers allowed. 

Please leave your pets comfortably at home. A Hendersonville City ordinance allows event organizers to exclude animals from the event space for the health, safety and welfare of the community, dogs, patrons, and vendors and their products.

In case of inclement weather the dance will be postponed until 8:00pm, and if the weather does not cooperate by 8:00pm, the performance will be cancelled.

For additional information call the Henderson County Tourism Development Authority at 828-693-9708. The Street Dances are coordinated, produced, and sponsored by Henderson County Tourism Development Authority

Tuesday, August 25, 2020
Carl Sandburg Home Free Tour Days CANCELLED
Aug 25 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Carl Sandburg Home
  • Sandburg Home Free Tour Days and National Park Fee Free Days (when noted)
    Visitors can enjoy free tours of the Sandburg Home on 10 days in 2020. Five days are also fee free days at all national parks.
  • April 11, 2020 (first Saturday of local school spring break)
  • April 18, 2020 – First Day of National Park Week (national fee free day)
  • June 13, 2020 (Sandburgs’ wedding anniversary)
  • August 25, 2020 – National Park Service Birthday (national fee free day)
  • September 26, 2020 – National Public Lands Day (national fee free day)
  • October 17, 2020 (Park Anniversary)
  • November 11, 2020 – Veterans Day
  • December 26, 2020 (Saturday after Christmas)
Online Summer Dance Lessons!
Aug 25 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Online

Thursday, August 27, 2020
Virtual Tour Asheville Art Museum
Aug 27 all-day
Online
Take a 3D Museum Tour: Even while we’re closed, we want to share the Museum and exhibitions with you and your family at home! Take a virtual walk through the galleries and explore each artwork. Within the 3D tour, click the smARTguide links on the yellow dots to hear audio information about selected works of art. Scroll down on the Museum From Home page to find tours of each level, and click here to learn more about the Museum’s exhibitions.
City Dance
Aug 27 @ 7:30 pm
Landmark Hal

Beginner’s workshop lesson at 7:30 P.M., then 8-11 P.M. Contra Dance with Country Waltzing at the break and the final dance. This is a partner dance but it’s not necessary to come with a partner. We have different live bands and callers.

Friday, August 28, 2020
Virtual Tour Asheville Art Museum
Aug 28 all-day
Online
Take a 3D Museum Tour: Even while we’re closed, we want to share the Museum and exhibitions with you and your family at home! Take a virtual walk through the galleries and explore each artwork. Within the 3D tour, click the smARTguide links on the yellow dots to hear audio information about selected works of art. Scroll down on the Museum From Home page to find tours of each level, and click here to learn more about the Museum’s exhibitions.
Grandfather Mountain
Aug 28 @ 8:00 am – 7:00 pm
Grandfather Mountain


To help prevent the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus), Grandfather Mountain is only selling tickets online.

Only a select number of tickets will be sold per day for certain time-slots to limit the number of guests in the park at one time, in accordance with the state of North Carolina’s phased “reopening” plan and social gathering guidelines.

Please check back closer to your visit for ticket availability. As of now, reservations are only available through June 21.

Each guest entering the park must have a ticket, which includes a time-slot. Prices are as follows:

Adult: $22
Senior (age 60+): $20
Child (ages 4-12): $9
AAA Adult: $20 (must present valid AAA card)
AAA Child: $8 (must present valid AAA card)

Saturday, August 29, 2020
OFB Spread the Joy Fundraiser
Aug 29 all-day
Online

Old Farmer's Ball

What:  Local musicians, singers, callers, and technicians have given us joy as they shared their love of music and dance with us.  We now ask our community to return that joy as they struggle financially during this difficult time by donating to our “Spread the Joy” fundraiser.

Who:  All donations will be paid directly and equally to local talent.  Your contributions will support local callers, musicians, and technicians who participated, a minimum of 4 times, either in the past year (March 2019 – March 2020) or were scheduled in the near future (March – June 2020) for OFB events and who indicated a financial need to the OFB Board.

When:  The OFB will distribute donations on a regular basis while dances continue to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so please give early and often. Consider donating the price you would have paid for admission to the dances for you, maybe several friends, and remembering that the dances were cancelled back in early March.

How:  Click the link below to donate via Paypal and please add the note: “Spread the Joy fundraiser”. Donate conveniently via your credit card, debit card or your Paypal account.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=PYS3WHNV76CWA&source=url

Tour Flat Rock Playhouse’s Garden
Aug 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

Virtual Tour Asheville Art Museum
Aug 29 all-day
Online
Take a 3D Museum Tour: Even while we’re closed, we want to share the Museum and exhibitions with you and your family at home! Take a virtual walk through the galleries and explore each artwork. Within the 3D tour, click the smARTguide links on the yellow dots to hear audio information about selected works of art. Scroll down on the Museum From Home page to find tours of each level, and click here to learn more about the Museum’s exhibitions.
Grandfather Mountain
Aug 29 @ 8:00 am – 7:00 pm
Grandfather Mountain


To help prevent the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus), Grandfather Mountain is only selling tickets online.

Only a select number of tickets will be sold per day for certain time-slots to limit the number of guests in the park at one time, in accordance with the state of North Carolina’s phased “reopening” plan and social gathering guidelines.

Please check back closer to your visit for ticket availability. As of now, reservations are only available through June 21.

Each guest entering the park must have a ticket, which includes a time-slot. Prices are as follows:

Adult: $22
Senior (age 60+): $20
Child (ages 4-12): $9
AAA Adult: $20 (must present valid AAA card)
AAA Child: $8 (must present valid AAA card)

Sunday, August 30, 2020
Asheville Walking Tour
Aug 30 all-day
Asheville
This insider excursion provides you with tips and local secrets about the best way to do Asheville on a budget! You will have a better understanding of how Asheville became the unique, quirky city you see now and learn everything we are doing to “Keep Asheville Weird.” This is the only tip-based walking tour, allowing you to pay what you think it’s worth. We will follow the urban trail, stopping along the way to taste donuts, gin and honey for free and finish the tour with some special beer tastings at one of the best local breweries in South Slope! I want you to know and love my city as much as I do and I am excited to share this experience with you!
  • I have been living in Asheville for about 3 years now
  • I have been on many tours myself and know what is good :)
  • I speak English, Spanish & Portuguese
  • I believe you should only have to pay exactly what you believe it is worth to you and here is your chance!
  • Satisfaction guaranteed or it’s free!
  • You will reap all the benefits of my connections to the community with all offers and discounts
  • I offer personalized itinerary planning, officially or unofficially
  • I am also just a lot of fun to be around ;)
BMC Staff Picks From Around the Web: Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
Aug 30 all-day
Online

Jacob’s Pillow
Dance Festival

Don’t miss exhilarating performances from Jacob’s Pillow, a Massachusetts-based dance center, school, and performance space.

OFB Spread the Joy Fundraiser
Aug 30 all-day
Online

Old Farmer's Ball

What:  Local musicians, singers, callers, and technicians have given us joy as they shared their love of music and dance with us.  We now ask our community to return that joy as they struggle financially during this difficult time by donating to our “Spread the Joy” fundraiser.

Who:  All donations will be paid directly and equally to local talent.  Your contributions will support local callers, musicians, and technicians who participated, a minimum of 4 times, either in the past year (March 2019 – March 2020) or were scheduled in the near future (March – June 2020) for OFB events and who indicated a financial need to the OFB Board.

When:  The OFB will distribute donations on a regular basis while dances continue to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so please give early and often. Consider donating the price you would have paid for admission to the dances for you, maybe several friends, and remembering that the dances were cancelled back in early March.

How:  Click the link below to donate via Paypal and please add the note: “Spread the Joy fundraiser”. Donate conveniently via your credit card, debit card or your Paypal account.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=PYS3WHNV76CWA&source=url