Calendar of Events
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.

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With less than half a decade of programming under its belt, Cold Mountain Music Festival has already been recognized as one of the Southeast’s best goldmines for live music, outdoor recreation, and family-oriented activities. Located just outside of Asheville in one of Western North Carolina’s most pristine stretches of land, Cold Mountain utilizes the vibrant Pisgah National Forest as its playground, and encourages exploration throughout the two-day immersive experience. At the heart of the festival site is the glistening Lake Logan, which boasts plenty of swimming, paddle-boarding, and fishing. Paired with performances by some of live music’s leading forces on the scene and plenty of kid-friendly offerings, the upcoming Cold Mountain Music Festival will offer the trifecta of rustic summer experiences.
Weekend passes are on sale now on the Cold Mountain Music website. General admission passes are available for $75, and youth passes for those aged 12-17 can be purchased for $40 apiece. Overnight camping spots and catered breakfast meal tickets are also available for $75 (per site) and $12-$15 (per person), respectively. Group discounts may be applied for parties of 15 or more. Enter the code DioWNC at checkout to purchase each pass (minimum 15) for $60 each. Cold Mountain Music Festival is presented by Ingles Markets, with partners iHeartMedia and Haywood County Tourism Development Authority. For more information, visit www.coldmountainmusic.org. A complete lineup can be found below.
With over 30 members, Downtown Asheville Arts District (DAAD) is comprised of cultural centers, festivals, galleries, museums, retail shops, theatres, and tours — all located within a mile radius of historic downtown Asheville. Our mission is to promote visual and performing arts in all its forms.
We welcome you to our first virtual festival! Please enjoy a holiday weekend full of music, art, and theatre, and get to know the various arts businesses and organizations who bring inspiration to every corner of Asheville.
For more information about DAAD and its members, please visit https://www.downtownavlarts.com/
This video was choreographed and directed by Lauren Hopkins and features a whole crew of performers from YouTheatre days, Studio 52, Former Apprentices, AEA company, and even director/choreographer Amy Jones!
Choreographed/Directed: Lauren Hopkins; Video edited: Ryan Jalernpan; Music edited: Amy Jones; Dancers: Lauren Hopkins, Andrew Livingston, Sher Shepherd, Lauren Imhoff, Allison Nock, Amy Jones, Stephanie Wahl, Charlie Johnson, Maria Buchanan, David Paul Kidder, Millicent Hunnicutt, Cara Dolan, Desiree Ricker, Raja Jalernpan, Casey Hebbel

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With less than half a decade of programming under its belt, Cold Mountain Music Festival has already been recognized as one of the Southeast’s best goldmines for live music, outdoor recreation, and family-oriented activities. Located just outside of Asheville in one of Western North Carolina’s most pristine stretches of land, Cold Mountain utilizes the vibrant Pisgah National Forest as its playground, and encourages exploration throughout the two-day immersive experience. At the heart of the festival site is the glistening Lake Logan, which boasts plenty of swimming, paddle-boarding, and fishing. Paired with performances by some of live music’s leading forces on the scene and plenty of kid-friendly offerings, the upcoming Cold Mountain Music Festival will offer the trifecta of rustic summer experiences.
Weekend passes are on sale now on the Cold Mountain Music website. General admission passes are available for $75, and youth passes for those aged 12-17 can be purchased for $40 apiece. Overnight camping spots and catered breakfast meal tickets are also available for $75 (per site) and $12-$15 (per person), respectively. Group discounts may be applied for parties of 15 or more. Enter the code DioWNC at checkout to purchase each pass (minimum 15) for $60 each. Cold Mountain Music Festival is presented by Ingles Markets, with partners iHeartMedia and Haywood County Tourism Development Authority. For more information, visit www.coldmountainmusic.org. A complete lineup can be found below.
With over 30 members, Downtown Asheville Arts District (DAAD) is comprised of cultural centers, festivals, galleries, museums, retail shops, theatres, and tours — all located within a mile radius of historic downtown Asheville. Our mission is to promote visual and performing arts in all its forms.
We welcome you to our first virtual festival! Please enjoy a holiday weekend full of music, art, and theatre, and get to know the various arts businesses and organizations who bring inspiration to every corner of Asheville.
For more information about DAAD and its members, please visit https://www.downtownavlarts.com/
May 2 – November 21
Now with special COVID-19 procedures, the North Asheville Tailgate Market features local produce direct from area farmers, local baked goods, crafts, music and more.
PLEASE SEE THE NEW PROCEDURES BEFORE COMING TO CAMPUS. You can find information, including about pre-ordering, and changes in payment and shopping procedures on the market’s website.
Open Saturdays 8 a.m.-noon in UNC Asheville Parking Lot P28. maps.unca.edu
For more information, visit northashevilletailgatemarket.com
This video was choreographed and directed by Lauren Hopkins and features a whole crew of performers from YouTheatre days, Studio 52, Former Apprentices, AEA company, and even director/choreographer Amy Jones!
Choreographed/Directed: Lauren Hopkins; Video edited: Ryan Jalernpan; Music edited: Amy Jones; Dancers: Lauren Hopkins, Andrew Livingston, Sher Shepherd, Lauren Imhoff, Allison Nock, Amy Jones, Stephanie Wahl, Charlie Johnson, Maria Buchanan, David Paul Kidder, Millicent Hunnicutt, Cara Dolan, Desiree Ricker, Raja Jalernpan, Casey Hebbel
With over 30 members, Downtown Asheville Arts District (DAAD) is comprised of cultural centers, festivals, galleries, museums, retail shops, theatres, and tours — all located within a mile radius of historic downtown Asheville. Our mission is to promote visual and performing arts in all its forms.
We welcome you to our first virtual festival! Please enjoy a holiday weekend full of music, art, and theatre, and get to know the various arts businesses and organizations who bring inspiration to every corner of Asheville.
For more information about DAAD and its members, please visit https://www.downtownavlarts.com/
With over 30 members, Downtown Asheville Arts District (DAAD) is comprised of cultural centers, festivals, galleries, museums, retail shops, theatres, and tours — all located within a mile radius of historic downtown Asheville. Our mission is to promote visual and performing arts in all its forms.
We welcome you to our first virtual festival! Please enjoy a holiday weekend full of music, art, and theatre, and get to know the various arts businesses and organizations who bring inspiration to every corner of Asheville.
For more information about DAAD and its members, please visit https://www.downtownavlarts.com/

NPS Photo
On Memorial Day folk musicians from across the region will share a day of toe-tapping fun and music. Just as Carl Sandburg’s family enjoyed sitting on the porch while he played a guitar and sang for them, you can experience the joy of music at Connemara. All performances take place in the amphitheater, unless otherwise specified, and signs will direct festival goers.
2020 Performers include:
- Pretty Little Goat Band
- Jon Shain
- Kat Williams
- Amanda Anne Platt and the Honeycutters
Parking
Keep in mind that our parking lots fill up quickly. We will run a courtesy shuttle from satellite parking lots at the Flat Rock Playhouse (located across the street) and from the Flat Rock Village Offices (110 Village Center Drive) to the park entrance, throughout the day. It is a short walk from the park entrance to the amphitheater. There will be also be a shuttle operating inside the park to take visitors from the entrance to the amphitheater, Sandburg Home and barn area.
The event will be held at the new amphitheater located near the park entrance. Bench seating is available and visitors are also welcome to bring lawn chairs and blankets as seating is expected to fill quickly. Come prepared for warm weather, with sun protection, water and snacks. Dogs are not permitted in the seating areas for the festival.
This video was choreographed and directed by Lauren Hopkins and features a whole crew of performers from YouTheatre days, Studio 52, Former Apprentices, AEA company, and even director/choreographer Amy Jones!
Choreographed/Directed: Lauren Hopkins; Video edited: Ryan Jalernpan; Music edited: Amy Jones; Dancers: Lauren Hopkins, Andrew Livingston, Sher Shepherd, Lauren Imhoff, Allison Nock, Amy Jones, Stephanie Wahl, Charlie Johnson, Maria Buchanan, David Paul Kidder, Millicent Hunnicutt, Cara Dolan, Desiree Ricker, Raja Jalernpan, Casey Hebbel
Opening day for ECTM at our new location at AB Tech Enka. We will be in the parking lot of the Small Business Center, 1465 Sand Hill Road (across from Ingles, at the traffic light). Please share and invite your friends and family! We know this second season of ECTM is going to be amazing. Thank you for supporting local!
Vendors for 5/7:
Rainbow Ridge Gardens
Myseanica Farm
Bonny Bath natural body products
Whisk bakery
Saturnia Farm and Nursery
Jake’s Farm
Asheville Microgreens
Throwing Copper
Cornerstone Tea
Sustainabillies Nursery and Farm
Sister of Mother Earth herbal products
HeadShrink Farm heritage beef
The Real Molloy Food Truck
Sugar Whirled cotton candy – AB Tech Small Business featured booth.
*Many more vendors as the season goes on! Check out our website for a full list of vendors for the season. https://www.ashevillefarmstead.org/enka-candler-tailgate-market
COVID-19 Precautions:
To start, we will be holding fast to safety precautions listed below. As the CDC and NC governmental regulations soften, we will follow suit. Please know that we are making every effort to keep both our vendors and our community safe and well.
*No-contact payment: Tap’n’Pay , Venmo, Paypal payments only. No cash payments or card swipes will be accepted.
*Handwashing station upon entering Market
*Limited shopper numbers (car queue will be used, if necessary)
*1 customer at vendor table at a time
*Only touch what you are purchasing
*6ft Social Distancing required
*Masks highly encouraged. All vendors and Market staff will wear masks.
*No Music or Kids tent (yet)
*No craft/artisan vendors until non-essential businesses are allowed to open. We are hopeful this will be by June, or earlier.

Every Thursday starting May 4, we’ll have free dance class for kids to tune into!
Our instructor Rebecca will be plugging into Zoom to instruct kids of all ages and all experience levels from 4-5 PM. To get into the class, please create a free Zoom account. Follow this meeting information to get logged into class.
Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4527027407
Password: rodance
Thanks to the Friends of the Library for sponsoring this program.
Bookends Used Book Store at Pack Library – Asheville, NC
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.
This video was choreographed and directed by Lauren Hopkins and features a whole crew of performers from YouTheatre days, Studio 52, Former Apprentices, AEA company, and even director/choreographer Amy Jones!
Choreographed/Directed: Lauren Hopkins; Video edited: Ryan Jalernpan; Music edited: Amy Jones; Dancers: Lauren Hopkins, Andrew Livingston, Sher Shepherd, Lauren Imhoff, Allison Nock, Amy Jones, Stephanie Wahl, Charlie Johnson, Maria Buchanan, David Paul Kidder, Millicent Hunnicutt, Cara Dolan, Desiree Ricker, Raja Jalernpan, Casey Hebbel

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With less than half a decade of programming under its belt, Cold Mountain Music Festival has already been recognized as one of the Southeast’s best goldmines for live music, outdoor recreation, and family-oriented activities. Located just outside of Asheville in one of Western North Carolina’s most pristine stretches of land, Cold Mountain utilizes the vibrant Pisgah National Forest as its playground, and encourages exploration throughout the two-day immersive experience. At the heart of the festival site is the glistening Lake Logan, which boasts plenty of swimming, paddle-boarding, and fishing. Paired with performances by some of live music’s leading forces on the scene and plenty of kid-friendly offerings, the upcoming Cold Mountain Music Festival will offer the trifecta of rustic summer experiences.
Weekend passes are on sale now on the Cold Mountain Music website. General admission passes are available for $75, and youth passes for those aged 12-17 can be purchased for $40 apiece. Overnight camping spots and catered breakfast meal tickets are also available for $75 (per site) and $12-$15 (per person), respectively. Group discounts may be applied for parties of 15 or more. Enter the code DioWNC at checkout to purchase each pass (minimum 15) for $60 each. Cold Mountain Music Festival is presented by Ingles Markets, with partners iHeartMedia and Haywood County Tourism Development Authority. For more information, visit www.coldmountainmusic.org. A complete lineup can be found below.
This video was choreographed and directed by Lauren Hopkins and features a whole crew of performers from YouTheatre days, Studio 52, Former Apprentices, AEA company, and even director/choreographer Amy Jones!
Choreographed/Directed: Lauren Hopkins; Video edited: Ryan Jalernpan; Music edited: Amy Jones; Dancers: Lauren Hopkins, Andrew Livingston, Sher Shepherd, Lauren Imhoff, Allison Nock, Amy Jones, Stephanie Wahl, Charlie Johnson, Maria Buchanan, David Paul Kidder, Millicent Hunnicutt, Cara Dolan, Desiree Ricker, Raja Jalernpan, Casey Hebbel

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With less than half a decade of programming under its belt, Cold Mountain Music Festival has already been recognized as one of the Southeast’s best goldmines for live music, outdoor recreation, and family-oriented activities. Located just outside of Asheville in one of Western North Carolina’s most pristine stretches of land, Cold Mountain utilizes the vibrant Pisgah National Forest as its playground, and encourages exploration throughout the two-day immersive experience. At the heart of the festival site is the glistening Lake Logan, which boasts plenty of swimming, paddle-boarding, and fishing. Paired with performances by some of live music’s leading forces on the scene and plenty of kid-friendly offerings, the upcoming Cold Mountain Music Festival will offer the trifecta of rustic summer experiences.
Weekend passes are on sale now on the Cold Mountain Music website. General admission passes are available for $75, and youth passes for those aged 12-17 can be purchased for $40 apiece. Overnight camping spots and catered breakfast meal tickets are also available for $75 (per site) and $12-$15 (per person), respectively. Group discounts may be applied for parties of 15 or more. Enter the code DioWNC at checkout to purchase each pass (minimum 15) for $60 each. Cold Mountain Music Festival is presented by Ingles Markets, with partners iHeartMedia and Haywood County Tourism Development Authority. For more information, visit www.coldmountainmusic.org. A complete lineup can be found below.
May 2 – November 21
Now with special COVID-19 procedures, the North Asheville Tailgate Market features local produce direct from area farmers, local baked goods, crafts, music and more.
PLEASE SEE THE NEW PROCEDURES BEFORE COMING TO CAMPUS. You can find information, including about pre-ordering, and changes in payment and shopping procedures on the market’s website.
Open Saturdays 8 a.m.-noon in UNC Asheville Parking Lot P28. maps.unca.edu
For more information, visit northashevilletailgatemarket.com
Great food, artist displays and fun activities while mingling with their neighbors.”
Perhaps the most family friendly street festival in western North Carolina, the Montford Music & Arts Festival features a special children’s area for face painting, interactive displays, sidewalk chalk art contest and other fun activities.
Located on Montford Ave. between Chestnut and Waneta Streets just down the street from downtown Asheville, the Asheville Visitors Center and Chamber of the Commerce, the all-day event will also feature a music stage with another attractive lineup in 2020. Comprised solely of local musicians, the performing schedule will be announced shortly.
Attendees will also be treated to a wide variety of specialty cuisine, courtesy of food booths and food trucks. In addition, more than 100 booth vendors will be on hand, with various artists, crafts people and nursery plant purveyors selling their merchandise.
Featuring turn-of-the-century “Victorian” homes and several bed-and-breakfast inns, a portion of Montford is proclaimed a National Register Historic District. Many of today’s Montford historic homes were designed by the same architect hired by the Vanderbilt Family to create the Biltmore Estate.
World famous authors Thomas Wolfe and O. Henry are buried in Montford at the nearby Riverside Cemetery, while the community’s rich history also dates back to the once thriving African-American community of Stumptown, which ended in the 1960’s.
The very first Montford festival was presented as strictly an arts event in 2004, held inside of Pyper’s Place, which is now Nine Mile Restaurant, and Sweet Heaven Ice Cream Shop, now a real estate office.
This video was choreographed and directed by Lauren Hopkins and features a whole crew of performers from YouTheatre days, Studio 52, Former Apprentices, AEA company, and even director/choreographer Amy Jones!
Choreographed/Directed: Lauren Hopkins; Video edited: Ryan Jalernpan; Music edited: Amy Jones; Dancers: Lauren Hopkins, Andrew Livingston, Sher Shepherd, Lauren Imhoff, Allison Nock, Amy Jones, Stephanie Wahl, Charlie Johnson, Maria Buchanan, David Paul Kidder, Millicent Hunnicutt, Cara Dolan, Desiree Ricker, Raja Jalernpan, Casey Hebbel
Opening day for ECTM at our new location at AB Tech Enka. We will be in the parking lot of the Small Business Center, 1465 Sand Hill Road (across from Ingles, at the traffic light). Please share and invite your friends and family! We know this second season of ECTM is going to be amazing. Thank you for supporting local!
Vendors for 5/7:
Rainbow Ridge Gardens
Myseanica Farm
Bonny Bath natural body products
Whisk bakery
Saturnia Farm and Nursery
Jake’s Farm
Asheville Microgreens
Throwing Copper
Cornerstone Tea
Sustainabillies Nursery and Farm
Sister of Mother Earth herbal products
HeadShrink Farm heritage beef
The Real Molloy Food Truck
Sugar Whirled cotton candy – AB Tech Small Business featured booth.
*Many more vendors as the season goes on! Check out our website for a full list of vendors for the season. https://www.ashevillefarmstead.org/enka-candler-tailgate-market
COVID-19 Precautions:
To start, we will be holding fast to safety precautions listed below. As the CDC and NC governmental regulations soften, we will follow suit. Please know that we are making every effort to keep both our vendors and our community safe and well.
*No-contact payment: Tap’n’Pay , Venmo, Paypal payments only. No cash payments or card swipes will be accepted.
*Handwashing station upon entering Market
*Limited shopper numbers (car queue will be used, if necessary)
*1 customer at vendor table at a time
*Only touch what you are purchasing
*6ft Social Distancing required
*Masks highly encouraged. All vendors and Market staff will wear masks.
*No Music or Kids tent (yet)
*No craft/artisan vendors until non-essential businesses are allowed to open. We are hopeful this will be by June, or earlier.

RSVP Required
FREE + Open to All
Max 30 participants
Join participatory artists Leap Then Look to re-imagine the experimental Light, Sound, Movement workshops that took place at Black Mountain College in the late 40s, led by W.P. “Pete” and Elizabeth Jennerjahn. Little is known of the workshops themselves, except that they continued the college’s approach to interdisciplinary art practice begun with Xanti Schawinsky’s Spectrodrama and prefigured the famous Theater Piece No.1 staged by John Cage at BMC in 1952.

“We do not always create ‘works of art,’ but rather experiments; it is not our ambition to fill museums: we are gathering experience.” Josef Albers
This collaborative workshop will take place via Zoom. Participants will be invited and encouraged to work together to create movement, sound, text, and objects, using a variety of prompts. The work will be brought together for a virtual “performance” using a randomly created time structure, allowing all elements to be included, to have equal weight and for no one “view” or experience of the piece to be the same.
From the fragments of the original Light, Sound, Movement workshop that remain in the archives at BMCM+AC, the strong spirit of experimentation emerges. Eighty years on, we will create a space for improvisation, responsiveness, collaboration, and surprise in the virtual realm.
Participants are asked to familiarise themselves with Zoom in advance of the workshops, to think about the spaces in their home in which they can work (we do not only want shots of head and shoulders, but environments filled with light, objects and bodies!) and to collect together a few materials from home which might be useful – for example, torches (flashlights), coloured plastic, cardboard, tape, string, fragments of text, awkward objects, a desk lamp, paper and pens. Please use a computer rather than a tablet or phone to join the workshop.
This work is part of a practical research project, and we will be posting content on Instagram (via Leap Then Look and BMCM+AC) from June 1st. Follow us @leap_then_look.
May 2 – November 21
Now with special COVID-19 procedures, the North Asheville Tailgate Market features local produce direct from area farmers, local baked goods, crafts, music and more.
PLEASE SEE THE NEW PROCEDURES BEFORE COMING TO CAMPUS. You can find information, including about pre-ordering, and changes in payment and shopping procedures on the market’s website.
Open Saturdays 8 a.m.-noon in UNC Asheville Parking Lot P28. maps.unca.edu
For more information, visit northashevilletailgatemarket.com

One of the most recognized classical ballets of all time, Giselle tells a story of love and loss through the exquisite choreography of Marius Petipa performed by phenomenal Guest Artists Katherine Barkman of Washington Ballet and International Ballet‘s own Sebastian Vinet.

One of the most recognized classical ballets of all time, Giselle tells a story of love and loss through the exquisite choreography of Marius Petipa performed by phenomenal Guest Artists Katherine Barkman of Washington Ballet and International Ballet‘s own Sebastian Vinet.

One of the most recognized classical ballets of all time, Giselle tells a story of love and loss through the exquisite choreography of Marius Petipa performed by phenomenal Guest Artists Katherine Barkman of Washington Ballet and International Ballet‘s own Sebastian Vinet.

One of the most recognized classical ballets of all time, Giselle tells a story of love and loss through the exquisite choreography of Marius Petipa performed by phenomenal Guest Artists Katherine Barkman of Washington Ballet and International Ballet‘s own Sebastian Vinet.
Opening day for ECTM at our new location at AB Tech Enka. We will be in the parking lot of the Small Business Center, 1465 Sand Hill Road (across from Ingles, at the traffic light). Please share and invite your friends and family! We know this second season of ECTM is going to be amazing. Thank you for supporting local!
Vendors for 5/7:
Rainbow Ridge Gardens
Myseanica Farm
Bonny Bath natural body products
Whisk bakery
Saturnia Farm and Nursery
Jake’s Farm
Asheville Microgreens
Throwing Copper
Cornerstone Tea
Sustainabillies Nursery and Farm
Sister of Mother Earth herbal products
HeadShrink Farm heritage beef
The Real Molloy Food Truck
Sugar Whirled cotton candy – AB Tech Small Business featured booth.
*Many more vendors as the season goes on! Check out our website for a full list of vendors for the season. https://www.ashevillefarmstead.org/enka-candler-tailgate-market
COVID-19 Precautions:
To start, we will be holding fast to safety precautions listed below. As the CDC and NC governmental regulations soften, we will follow suit. Please know that we are making every effort to keep both our vendors and our community safe and well.
*No-contact payment: Tap’n’Pay , Venmo, Paypal payments only. No cash payments or card swipes will be accepted.
*Handwashing station upon entering Market
*Limited shopper numbers (car queue will be used, if necessary)
*1 customer at vendor table at a time
*Only touch what you are purchasing
*6ft Social Distancing required
*Masks highly encouraged. All vendors and Market staff will wear masks.
*No Music or Kids tent (yet)
*No craft/artisan vendors until non-essential businesses are allowed to open. We are hopeful this will be by June, or earlier.
May 2 – November 21
Now with special COVID-19 procedures, the North Asheville Tailgate Market features local produce direct from area farmers, local baked goods, crafts, music and more.
PLEASE SEE THE NEW PROCEDURES BEFORE COMING TO CAMPUS. You can find information, including about pre-ordering, and changes in payment and shopping procedures on the market’s website.
Open Saturdays 8 a.m.-noon in UNC Asheville Parking Lot P28. maps.unca.edu
For more information, visit northashevilletailgatemarket.com


