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.

February – March 2024 Feb – Mar 2024
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Sunday, February 25, 2024
Indoor Tropical Bonsai Display
Feb 25 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
NC Arboretum

What is Bonsai?

Bonsai is a challenging and rewarding horticultural activity, in which ordinary plants are grown in an extraordinary way. Through rigorously applied cultivation techniques, trees, shrubs, vines and even herbaceous plants are kept in a miniaturized state, developed into artistic shapes and then displayed in special containers.

What makes the Arboretum’s bonsai endeavor unique among all other public collections in the United States? Regional Interpretation. Visitors will find the Arboretum’s bonsai collection of more than 100 specimens carefully cultivated with a Southern Appalachian accent. The collection draws inspiration from the traditional roots of bonsai, but takes the form of a contemporary, Southern Appalachian influenced American garden. Plantings in the landscape include species and cultivars of American, European and Asian origin.

 

The Bonsai Exhibition Garden

Established in October 2005, The North Carolina Arboretum’s Bonsai Exhibition Garden is a world renowned garden that displays up to 50 bonsai specimens at a time. Represented are traditional Asian bonsai subjects such as Japanese maple and Chinese elm, tropical plants such as willow-leaf fig and bougainvillea, and American species such as bald cypress and limber pine. Of particular importance are the plants native to the Blue Ridge region, such as American hornbeam and eastern white pine, which enable the Arboretum to bring the thousand-year tradition of bonsai home to the mountains of Western North Carolina. Interpretive signage throughout the garden conveys information about the art and history of bonsai, and the Arboretum’s own creative approach to it.

 

Outdoor Bonsai Exhibition Garden

  • Bonsai on Display Mid May – November; 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily
  • Garden Open Year Round
  • Parking Fees
    • Personal/Standard Vehicle (up to 20′ long): $20
    • Large vehicles (21′-29′ long): $60
    • Busses and Oversize Vehicles (30′ long+): $125
    • Members: Free

    Apart from the parking fee, there is no other admission charge to enter the Arboretum or our facilities, except in the case of advertised ticketed events.

Read more
Categories: Garden
North Carolina Winery Tour Adventures
Feb 25 @ 10:30 am – 3:30 pm
North Carolina Wineries

Join us for a North Carolina winery tour and celebrate a date night, bachelorette party, retirement, family, or a weekend away while sampling our favorite local beverages along the way. Our standard tour includes visits to three Asheville area vineyards. With safe and reliable transportation provided, you can sit back, relax and just have fun.

Included:

  • Round trip transportation*
  • Three vineyard visits
  • Tastings at two of your three stops. Let’s just say that the pours at the first couple of locations are generous so we like to leave the third-stop beverage choice up to you.
  • Time commitment = up to 5 hours

Want to include specific vineyards on your Asheville wine tours? If you have “must-see” wineries in mind or want to craft a full day catered to your group’s interests, we’re always happy to create a custom experience. Reach out any time!

Read more
Categories: Food & Drink Tours
Monday, February 26, 2024
Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail
Feb 26 all-day
Asheville Area

Explore the Rich Heritage of Black Communities in Asheville

The Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail leads visitors through three areas of Asheville: Downtown, Southside, and the River Area. The entire trail takes approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes to walk and read.

Reflecting on Community Resolve

Did you know that Black people helped create this region’s first non-Indigenous households? Did you know that Black people helped build Asheville and connected Asheville globally? Black entrepreneurs created thriving business districts. Black families cultivated close-knit neighborhoods. Black people from all backgrounds built resilient communities and fostered social change.

Immerse yourself in the history and heroism of Black Ashevillians by walking the Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail. Deepen your understanding with articles, videos, and more resources available here on the trail’s website.

Follow the Trail

Experience this trail in pieces as you explore Asheville or start at one of our three introduction kiosks to learn more about how Black people in Asheville negotiated landscapes of unequal power to build resilient communities and foster social change.

Read more
Categories: Community Tours
Growing Minds: “I Tried Local…” free virtual toolkit
Feb 26 all-day
online

Growing Minds has published “I Tried Local…” a Toolkit for Engaging Kids with Local Food and Farms. This resource—intended for early care and education through second grade classrooms—offers an immersive curriculum designed around 10 crops grown in North Carolina. The print toolkit is currently available to educators in North Carolina who participate in a virtual training with Growing Minds. A free digital version is also available to anyone on the Growing Minds website.

Each unit includes an overview of a North Carolina–grown crop, lesson plans, recipes, coloring pages, book recommendations, discussion prompts, and a link to the “Meet Your Farmer” video series featuring North Carolina farmers. The toolkit also offers resources for implementing the core elements of farm to school—gardens, classroom cooking and taste tests, farm field trips and farmer visits, and local foods in meals or snacks.
Growing Minds will host a series of virtual training to support educators interested in using the toolkit. The first will be held on Zoom on Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Register here or contact [email protected] for more information.
Read more
Categories: Community Education Family Fun Garden
Hop-on/Hop-off SIGHTSEEING TOUR
Feb 26 all-day
Asheville Area

There is no better way to DISCOVER and EXPLORE Asheville!  Hop-on board one of Gray Line’s nostalgic trolleys for a fully narrated day tour, highlighting the history, homes, hang-outs and hot spots of this “city of surprises.”

Tour Highlights include  .  .  .  Downtown Asheville  |  Montford Historic District  |  The Grove Park Inn and Grove Park Historic District  |  Thomas Wolfe District  |  Pack Square and Asheville Art Museum  |  Grove Arcade  |  River Arts District  |  Biltmore Village

Hop-On and hear the story of a city rich in architecture, history and the arts  . . .

Hop-Off and experience its eclectic shops and galleries; its world class culinary and craft brew scenes.

Tour Duration:  The complete tour (one loop) lasts approximately 90 to 100 minutes.  There is an additional 15 minute stop at the Asheville Visitor Center.  The Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour ticket is valid for TWO consecutive days.

Departure Points: Join the Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour at any of the 10 stops.  If you’re driving in to join the tour, Stop 1, the Asheville Visitor Center may be your best option.  The Visitor Center, located at 36 Montford Ave. just off I-240 at Exit 4C, offers free parking (on a first come-first served basis) and restrooms. The Asheville Visitor Center is the ONLY place to join the Overview Tour.

Read more
Categories: Tours
Indoor Tropical Bonsai Display
Feb 26 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
NC Arboretum

What is Bonsai?

Bonsai is a challenging and rewarding horticultural activity, in which ordinary plants are grown in an extraordinary way. Through rigorously applied cultivation techniques, trees, shrubs, vines and even herbaceous plants are kept in a miniaturized state, developed into artistic shapes and then displayed in special containers.

What makes the Arboretum’s bonsai endeavor unique among all other public collections in the United States? Regional Interpretation. Visitors will find the Arboretum’s bonsai collection of more than 100 specimens carefully cultivated with a Southern Appalachian accent. The collection draws inspiration from the traditional roots of bonsai, but takes the form of a contemporary, Southern Appalachian influenced American garden. Plantings in the landscape include species and cultivars of American, European and Asian origin.

 

The Bonsai Exhibition Garden

Established in October 2005, The North Carolina Arboretum’s Bonsai Exhibition Garden is a world renowned garden that displays up to 50 bonsai specimens at a time. Represented are traditional Asian bonsai subjects such as Japanese maple and Chinese elm, tropical plants such as willow-leaf fig and bougainvillea, and American species such as bald cypress and limber pine. Of particular importance are the plants native to the Blue Ridge region, such as American hornbeam and eastern white pine, which enable the Arboretum to bring the thousand-year tradition of bonsai home to the mountains of Western North Carolina. Interpretive signage throughout the garden conveys information about the art and history of bonsai, and the Arboretum’s own creative approach to it.

 

Outdoor Bonsai Exhibition Garden

  • Bonsai on Display Mid May – November; 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily
  • Garden Open Year Round
  • Parking Fees
    • Personal/Standard Vehicle (up to 20′ long): $20
    • Large vehicles (21′-29′ long): $60
    • Busses and Oversize Vehicles (30′ long+): $125
    • Members: Free

    Apart from the parking fee, there is no other admission charge to enter the Arboretum or our facilities, except in the case of advertised ticketed events.

Read more
Categories: Garden
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail
Feb 27 all-day
Asheville Area

Explore the Rich Heritage of Black Communities in Asheville

The Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail leads visitors through three areas of Asheville: Downtown, Southside, and the River Area. The entire trail takes approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes to walk and read.

Reflecting on Community Resolve

Did you know that Black people helped create this region’s first non-Indigenous households? Did you know that Black people helped build Asheville and connected Asheville globally? Black entrepreneurs created thriving business districts. Black families cultivated close-knit neighborhoods. Black people from all backgrounds built resilient communities and fostered social change.

Immerse yourself in the history and heroism of Black Ashevillians by walking the Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail. Deepen your understanding with articles, videos, and more resources available here on the trail’s website.

Follow the Trail

Experience this trail in pieces as you explore Asheville or start at one of our three introduction kiosks to learn more about how Black people in Asheville negotiated landscapes of unequal power to build resilient communities and foster social change.

Read more
Categories: Community Tours
Growing Minds: “I Tried Local…” free virtual toolkit
Feb 27 all-day
online

Growing Minds has published “I Tried Local…” a Toolkit for Engaging Kids with Local Food and Farms. This resource—intended for early care and education through second grade classrooms—offers an immersive curriculum designed around 10 crops grown in North Carolina. The print toolkit is currently available to educators in North Carolina who participate in a virtual training with Growing Minds. A free digital version is also available to anyone on the Growing Minds website.

Each unit includes an overview of a North Carolina–grown crop, lesson plans, recipes, coloring pages, book recommendations, discussion prompts, and a link to the “Meet Your Farmer” video series featuring North Carolina farmers. The toolkit also offers resources for implementing the core elements of farm to school—gardens, classroom cooking and taste tests, farm field trips and farmer visits, and local foods in meals or snacks.
Growing Minds will host a series of virtual training to support educators interested in using the toolkit. The first will be held on Zoom on Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Register here or contact [email protected] for more information.
Read more
Categories: Community Education Family Fun Garden
Growing Minds Farm to School Mini-Grant
Feb 27 @ 6:30 am
online
ASAP’s Growing Minds mini-grants help early childhood education (ECE) centers and K-12 schools throughout the 23 westernmost counties of North Carolina provide children positive experiences with healthy local foods through these components of farm to school: school gardens, farm field trips and farmer classroom visits, and local foods served in meals, snacks, and/or taste tests.

Mini-grant applications are available three times during the 2023-2024 school year. You may apply one time during this cycle. Mini-grants must be used within a year after receiving the funding. 

Applications due by:

  • November 30, 2023
  • January 30, 2024
  • March 30, 2024

If you have questions about your eligibility to apply for funding, please email us at [email protected] before submitting your application. We are unable to provide mini-grants to schools located outside of our 23-county service area or to folks who have received a grant from us within the past year. Learn more and apply here!

Read more
Categories: Community Education Garden Grants
Indoor Tropical Bonsai Display
Feb 27 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
NC Arboretum

What is Bonsai?

Bonsai is a challenging and rewarding horticultural activity, in which ordinary plants are grown in an extraordinary way. Through rigorously applied cultivation techniques, trees, shrubs, vines and even herbaceous plants are kept in a miniaturized state, developed into artistic shapes and then displayed in special containers.

What makes the Arboretum’s bonsai endeavor unique among all other public collections in the United States? Regional Interpretation. Visitors will find the Arboretum’s bonsai collection of more than 100 specimens carefully cultivated with a Southern Appalachian accent. The collection draws inspiration from the traditional roots of bonsai, but takes the form of a contemporary, Southern Appalachian influenced American garden. Plantings in the landscape include species and cultivars of American, European and Asian origin.

 

The Bonsai Exhibition Garden

Established in October 2005, The North Carolina Arboretum’s Bonsai Exhibition Garden is a world renowned garden that displays up to 50 bonsai specimens at a time. Represented are traditional Asian bonsai subjects such as Japanese maple and Chinese elm, tropical plants such as willow-leaf fig and bougainvillea, and American species such as bald cypress and limber pine. Of particular importance are the plants native to the Blue Ridge region, such as American hornbeam and eastern white pine, which enable the Arboretum to bring the thousand-year tradition of bonsai home to the mountains of Western North Carolina. Interpretive signage throughout the garden conveys information about the art and history of bonsai, and the Arboretum’s own creative approach to it.

 

Outdoor Bonsai Exhibition Garden

  • Bonsai on Display Mid May – November; 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily
  • Garden Open Year Round
  • Parking Fees
    • Personal/Standard Vehicle (up to 20′ long): $20
    • Large vehicles (21′-29′ long): $60
    • Busses and Oversize Vehicles (30′ long+): $125
    • Members: Free

    Apart from the parking fee, there is no other admission charge to enter the Arboretum or our facilities, except in the case of advertised ticketed events.

Read more
Categories: Garden
Basics of Vegetable Gardening
Feb 27 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Bullington Gardens

Late winter is the perfect time to start planning for summer gardens and what better way to start than with the Basics of Vegetable Gardening class! Come prepared to learn about what it takes to start growing your own vegetables in our area. Join experienced teacher and former director, John Murphy, as he guides you through vegetable gardening basics.

Read more
Categories: Garden Garden Events
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail
Feb 28 all-day
Asheville Area

Explore the Rich Heritage of Black Communities in Asheville

The Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail leads visitors through three areas of Asheville: Downtown, Southside, and the River Area. The entire trail takes approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes to walk and read.

Reflecting on Community Resolve

Did you know that Black people helped create this region’s first non-Indigenous households? Did you know that Black people helped build Asheville and connected Asheville globally? Black entrepreneurs created thriving business districts. Black families cultivated close-knit neighborhoods. Black people from all backgrounds built resilient communities and fostered social change.

Immerse yourself in the history and heroism of Black Ashevillians by walking the Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail. Deepen your understanding with articles, videos, and more resources available here on the trail’s website.

Follow the Trail

Experience this trail in pieces as you explore Asheville or start at one of our three introduction kiosks to learn more about how Black people in Asheville negotiated landscapes of unequal power to build resilient communities and foster social change.

Read more
Categories: Community Tours
Growing Minds: “I Tried Local…” free virtual toolkit
Feb 28 all-day
online

Growing Minds has published “I Tried Local…” a Toolkit for Engaging Kids with Local Food and Farms. This resource—intended for early care and education through second grade classrooms—offers an immersive curriculum designed around 10 crops grown in North Carolina. The print toolkit is currently available to educators in North Carolina who participate in a virtual training with Growing Minds. A free digital version is also available to anyone on the Growing Minds website.

Each unit includes an overview of a North Carolina–grown crop, lesson plans, recipes, coloring pages, book recommendations, discussion prompts, and a link to the “Meet Your Farmer” video series featuring North Carolina farmers. The toolkit also offers resources for implementing the core elements of farm to school—gardens, classroom cooking and taste tests, farm field trips and farmer visits, and local foods in meals or snacks.
Growing Minds will host a series of virtual training to support educators interested in using the toolkit. The first will be held on Zoom on Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Register here or contact [email protected] for more information.
Read more
Categories: Community Education Family Fun Garden
Growing Minds Farm to School Mini-Grant
Feb 28 @ 6:30 am
online
ASAP’s Growing Minds mini-grants help early childhood education (ECE) centers and K-12 schools throughout the 23 westernmost counties of North Carolina provide children positive experiences with healthy local foods through these components of farm to school: school gardens, farm field trips and farmer classroom visits, and local foods served in meals, snacks, and/or taste tests.

Mini-grant applications are available three times during the 2023-2024 school year. You may apply one time during this cycle. Mini-grants must be used within a year after receiving the funding. 

Applications due by:

  • November 30, 2023
  • January 30, 2024
  • March 30, 2024

If you have questions about your eligibility to apply for funding, please email us at [email protected] before submitting your application. We are unable to provide mini-grants to schools located outside of our 23-county service area or to folks who have received a grant from us within the past year. Learn more and apply here!

Read more
Categories: Community Education Garden Grants
Art Connections Customized Tours
Feb 28 @ 9:00 am
Asheville/Weaverville Art Studios

CUSTOMIZED TOURS:

  • A custom half day tour planned with your interests in mind.  This option is approximately 3.5 hr and can be morning from 9:30-1; or afternoon from 1:30-5.

We will select 2-3 artist studio options in the Asheville or Weaverville areas based on your input and artist availability.  Three studios are standard for this custom half-day option, or two glass studios work well in this time frame (due to glass demo’s taking a bit longer than other mediums).

  • A custom full day tour planned with your interests in mind.  This option is a full day from 9:30a to approximately 4p.

Designed for the serious art lover! Lunch is included, and this tour allows for the possibility of visiting 4 artist studios that are 30-60 minutes away from Asheville: for example in Waynesville, Marshall, Burnsville, Penland or Spruce Pine.  Many of western NC’s professional artists live in these locations, so come explore more of the region with me – your local art insider!

Tour rates per participant: New Glass Plus 1 tour $65/ea. | Custom half day $85/ea. | Custom full day $165/ea.

For custom tours, planning ahead is key.   Art Connections provides tours for couples and small or medium size groups. These tours are based on your interests, your time frame, and which artists are available for a visit.  I know that everyone who considers a tour has different thoughts on what they’d enjoy seeing.  Maximize your visit by planning ahead with me. Having worked for over 30 years with so many of the artists in Western NC, I can accommodate participant interests and find options that are a good fit for each request.

Just use the Contact page and send in an inquiry, we’ll go from there and work out the details.

Read more
Categories: Art & Craft Tours
Indoor Tropical Bonsai Display
Feb 28 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
NC Arboretum

What is Bonsai?

Bonsai is a challenging and rewarding horticultural activity, in which ordinary plants are grown in an extraordinary way. Through rigorously applied cultivation techniques, trees, shrubs, vines and even herbaceous plants are kept in a miniaturized state, developed into artistic shapes and then displayed in special containers.

What makes the Arboretum’s bonsai endeavor unique among all other public collections in the United States? Regional Interpretation. Visitors will find the Arboretum’s bonsai collection of more than 100 specimens carefully cultivated with a Southern Appalachian accent. The collection draws inspiration from the traditional roots of bonsai, but takes the form of a contemporary, Southern Appalachian influenced American garden. Plantings in the landscape include species and cultivars of American, European and Asian origin.

 

The Bonsai Exhibition Garden

Established in October 2005, The North Carolina Arboretum’s Bonsai Exhibition Garden is a world renowned garden that displays up to 50 bonsai specimens at a time. Represented are traditional Asian bonsai subjects such as Japanese maple and Chinese elm, tropical plants such as willow-leaf fig and bougainvillea, and American species such as bald cypress and limber pine. Of particular importance are the plants native to the Blue Ridge region, such as American hornbeam and eastern white pine, which enable the Arboretum to bring the thousand-year tradition of bonsai home to the mountains of Western North Carolina. Interpretive signage throughout the garden conveys information about the art and history of bonsai, and the Arboretum’s own creative approach to it.

 

Outdoor Bonsai Exhibition Garden

  • Bonsai on Display Mid May – November; 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily
  • Garden Open Year Round
  • Parking Fees
    • Personal/Standard Vehicle (up to 20′ long): $20
    • Large vehicles (21′-29′ long): $60
    • Busses and Oversize Vehicles (30′ long+): $125
    • Members: Free

    Apart from the parking fee, there is no other admission charge to enter the Arboretum or our facilities, except in the case of advertised ticketed events.

Read more
Categories: Garden
North Carolina Winery Tour Adventures
Feb 28 @ 10:30 am – 3:30 pm
North Carolina Wineries

Join us for a North Carolina winery tour and celebrate a date night, bachelorette party, retirement, family, or a weekend away while sampling our favorite local beverages along the way. Our standard tour includes visits to three Asheville area vineyards. With safe and reliable transportation provided, you can sit back, relax and just have fun.

Included:

  • Round trip transportation*
  • Three vineyard visits
  • Tastings at two of your three stops. Let’s just say that the pours at the first couple of locations are generous so we like to leave the third-stop beverage choice up to you.
  • Time commitment = up to 5 hours

Want to include specific vineyards on your Asheville wine tours? If you have “must-see” wineries in mind or want to craft a full day catered to your group’s interests, we’re always happy to create a custom experience. Reach out any time!

Read more
Categories: Food & Drink Tours
Thursday, February 29, 2024
Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail
Feb 29 all-day
Asheville Area

Explore the Rich Heritage of Black Communities in Asheville

The Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail leads visitors through three areas of Asheville: Downtown, Southside, and the River Area. The entire trail takes approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes to walk and read.

Reflecting on Community Resolve

Did you know that Black people helped create this region’s first non-Indigenous households? Did you know that Black people helped build Asheville and connected Asheville globally? Black entrepreneurs created thriving business districts. Black families cultivated close-knit neighborhoods. Black people from all backgrounds built resilient communities and fostered social change.

Immerse yourself in the history and heroism of Black Ashevillians by walking the Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail. Deepen your understanding with articles, videos, and more resources available here on the trail’s website.

Follow the Trail

Experience this trail in pieces as you explore Asheville or start at one of our three introduction kiosks to learn more about how Black people in Asheville negotiated landscapes of unequal power to build resilient communities and foster social change.

Read more
Categories: Community Tours
Growing Minds: “I Tried Local…” free virtual toolkit
Feb 29 all-day
online

Growing Minds has published “I Tried Local…” a Toolkit for Engaging Kids with Local Food and Farms. This resource—intended for early care and education through second grade classrooms—offers an immersive curriculum designed around 10 crops grown in North Carolina. The print toolkit is currently available to educators in North Carolina who participate in a virtual training with Growing Minds. A free digital version is also available to anyone on the Growing Minds website.

Each unit includes an overview of a North Carolina–grown crop, lesson plans, recipes, coloring pages, book recommendations, discussion prompts, and a link to the “Meet Your Farmer” video series featuring North Carolina farmers. The toolkit also offers resources for implementing the core elements of farm to school—gardens, classroom cooking and taste tests, farm field trips and farmer visits, and local foods in meals or snacks.
Growing Minds will host a series of virtual training to support educators interested in using the toolkit. The first will be held on Zoom on Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Register here or contact [email protected] for more information.
Read more
Categories: Community Education Family Fun Garden
Hop-on/Hop-off SIGHTSEEING TOUR
Feb 29 all-day
Asheville Area

There is no better way to DISCOVER and EXPLORE Asheville!  Hop-on board one of Gray Line’s nostalgic trolleys for a fully narrated day tour, highlighting the history, homes, hang-outs and hot spots of this “city of surprises.”

Tour Highlights include  .  .  .  Downtown Asheville  |  Montford Historic District  |  The Grove Park Inn and Grove Park Historic District  |  Thomas Wolfe District  |  Pack Square and Asheville Art Museum  |  Grove Arcade  |  River Arts District  |  Biltmore Village

Hop-On and hear the story of a city rich in architecture, history and the arts  . . .

Hop-Off and experience its eclectic shops and galleries; its world class culinary and craft brew scenes.

Tour Duration:  The complete tour (one loop) lasts approximately 90 to 100 minutes.  There is an additional 15 minute stop at the Asheville Visitor Center.  The Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour ticket is valid for TWO consecutive days.

Departure Points: Join the Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour at any of the 10 stops.  If you’re driving in to join the tour, Stop 1, the Asheville Visitor Center may be your best option.  The Visitor Center, located at 36 Montford Ave. just off I-240 at Exit 4C, offers free parking (on a first come-first served basis) and restrooms. The Asheville Visitor Center is the ONLY place to join the Overview Tour.

Read more
Categories: Tours
Growing Minds Farm to School Mini-Grant
Feb 29 @ 6:30 am
online
ASAP’s Growing Minds mini-grants help early childhood education (ECE) centers and K-12 schools throughout the 23 westernmost counties of North Carolina provide children positive experiences with healthy local foods through these components of farm to school: school gardens, farm field trips and farmer classroom visits, and local foods served in meals, snacks, and/or taste tests.

Mini-grant applications are available three times during the 2023-2024 school year. You may apply one time during this cycle. Mini-grants must be used within a year after receiving the funding. 

Applications due by:

  • November 30, 2023
  • January 30, 2024
  • March 30, 2024

If you have questions about your eligibility to apply for funding, please email us at [email protected] before submitting your application. We are unable to provide mini-grants to schools located outside of our 23-county service area or to folks who have received a grant from us within the past year. Learn more and apply here!

Read more
Categories: Community Education Garden Grants
Indoor Tropical Bonsai Display
Feb 29 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
NC Arboretum

What is Bonsai?

Bonsai is a challenging and rewarding horticultural activity, in which ordinary plants are grown in an extraordinary way. Through rigorously applied cultivation techniques, trees, shrubs, vines and even herbaceous plants are kept in a miniaturized state, developed into artistic shapes and then displayed in special containers.

What makes the Arboretum’s bonsai endeavor unique among all other public collections in the United States? Regional Interpretation. Visitors will find the Arboretum’s bonsai collection of more than 100 specimens carefully cultivated with a Southern Appalachian accent. The collection draws inspiration from the traditional roots of bonsai, but takes the form of a contemporary, Southern Appalachian influenced American garden. Plantings in the landscape include species and cultivars of American, European and Asian origin.

 

The Bonsai Exhibition Garden

Established in October 2005, The North Carolina Arboretum’s Bonsai Exhibition Garden is a world renowned garden that displays up to 50 bonsai specimens at a time. Represented are traditional Asian bonsai subjects such as Japanese maple and Chinese elm, tropical plants such as willow-leaf fig and bougainvillea, and American species such as bald cypress and limber pine. Of particular importance are the plants native to the Blue Ridge region, such as American hornbeam and eastern white pine, which enable the Arboretum to bring the thousand-year tradition of bonsai home to the mountains of Western North Carolina. Interpretive signage throughout the garden conveys information about the art and history of bonsai, and the Arboretum’s own creative approach to it.

 

Outdoor Bonsai Exhibition Garden

  • Bonsai on Display Mid May – November; 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily
  • Garden Open Year Round
  • Parking Fees
    • Personal/Standard Vehicle (up to 20′ long): $20
    • Large vehicles (21′-29′ long): $60
    • Busses and Oversize Vehicles (30′ long+): $125
    • Members: Free

    Apart from the parking fee, there is no other admission charge to enter the Arboretum or our facilities, except in the case of advertised ticketed events.

Read more
Categories: Garden
Dahlia Series: Getting Your Dahlias Ready for Planting
Feb 29 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am
NC Cooperative Extension, Buncombe County Center

Learn how to dig, divide, and store dahlia tubers and grow even more next year!

Read more
Categories: Garden
North Carolina Winery Tour Adventures
Feb 29 @ 10:30 am – 3:30 pm
North Carolina Wineries

Join us for a North Carolina winery tour and celebrate a date night, bachelorette party, retirement, family, or a weekend away while sampling our favorite local beverages along the way. Our standard tour includes visits to three Asheville area vineyards. With safe and reliable transportation provided, you can sit back, relax and just have fun.

Included:

  • Round trip transportation*
  • Three vineyard visits
  • Tastings at two of your three stops. Let’s just say that the pours at the first couple of locations are generous so we like to leave the third-stop beverage choice up to you.
  • Time commitment = up to 5 hours

Want to include specific vineyards on your Asheville wine tours? If you have “must-see” wineries in mind or want to craft a full day catered to your group’s interests, we’re always happy to create a custom experience. Reach out any time!

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Categories: Food & Drink Tours
Friday, March 1, 2024
Haunted History + Murder MYstery Tour
Mar 1 all-day
Gray Line Trolley Tours of Asheville

Sit back if you dare as we illuminate Asheville’s darkest history with astonishing stories of spirits & spies, ghosts & goblins, hauntings & hoodlums and mountain-made murder & mayhem.

Hear stories of . . .

  The legendary PINK LADY at the Grove Park Inn
  The GHOST of Church Street
  The 1936 UNSOLVED MURDER that shook Asheville
  The CHILD SPIRITS at the haunted hospital
  The architect walled into his own church!
  The KILLING SPREE of 1906
  NAZI AGENTS based in Asheville
  ARSON at hospital that claimed Zelda Fitzgerald

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Categories: Tours
Hop-on/Hop-off SIGHTSEEING TOUR
Mar 1 all-day
Asheville Area

There is no better way to DISCOVER and EXPLORE Asheville!  Hop-on board one of Gray Line’s nostalgic trolleys for a fully narrated day tour, highlighting the history, homes, hang-outs and hot spots of this “city of surprises.”

Tour Highlights include  .  .  .  Downtown Asheville  |  Montford Historic District  |  The Grove Park Inn and Grove Park Historic District  |  Thomas Wolfe District  |  Pack Square and Asheville Art Museum  |  Grove Arcade  |  River Arts District  |  Biltmore Village

Hop-On and hear the story of a city rich in architecture, history and the arts  . . .

Hop-Off and experience its eclectic shops and galleries; its world class culinary and craft brew scenes.

Tour Duration:  The complete tour (one loop) lasts approximately 90 to 100 minutes.  There is an additional 15 minute stop at the Asheville Visitor Center.  The Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour ticket is valid for TWO consecutive days.

Departure Points: Join the Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour at any of the 10 stops.  If you’re driving in to join the tour, Stop 1, the Asheville Visitor Center may be your best option.  The Visitor Center, located at 36 Montford Ave. just off I-240 at Exit 4C, offers free parking (on a first come-first served basis) and restrooms. The Asheville Visitor Center is the ONLY place to join the Overview Tour.

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Categories: Tours
Growing Minds Farm to School Mini-Grant
Mar 1 @ 6:30 am
online
ASAP’s Growing Minds mini-grants help early childhood education (ECE) centers and K-12 schools throughout the 23 westernmost counties of North Carolina provide children positive experiences with healthy local foods through these components of farm to school: school gardens, farm field trips and farmer classroom visits, and local foods served in meals, snacks, and/or taste tests.

Mini-grant applications are available three times during the 2023-2024 school year. You may apply one time during this cycle. Mini-grants must be used within a year after receiving the funding. 

Applications due by:

  • November 30, 2023
  • January 30, 2024
  • March 30, 2024

If you have questions about your eligibility to apply for funding, please email us at [email protected] before submitting your application. We are unable to provide mini-grants to schools located outside of our 23-county service area or to folks who have received a grant from us within the past year. Learn more and apply here!

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Categories: Community Education Garden Grants
Art Connections Customized Tours
Mar 1 @ 9:00 am
Asheville/Weaverville Art Studios

CUSTOMIZED TOURS:

  • A custom half day tour planned with your interests in mind.  This option is approximately 3.5 hr and can be morning from 9:30-1; or afternoon from 1:30-5.

We will select 2-3 artist studio options in the Asheville or Weaverville areas based on your input and artist availability.  Three studios are standard for this custom half-day option, or two glass studios work well in this time frame (due to glass demo’s taking a bit longer than other mediums).

  • A custom full day tour planned with your interests in mind.  This option is a full day from 9:30a to approximately 4p.

Designed for the serious art lover! Lunch is included, and this tour allows for the possibility of visiting 4 artist studios that are 30-60 minutes away from Asheville: for example in Waynesville, Marshall, Burnsville, Penland or Spruce Pine.  Many of western NC’s professional artists live in these locations, so come explore more of the region with me – your local art insider!

Tour rates per participant: New Glass Plus 1 tour $65/ea. | Custom half day $85/ea. | Custom full day $165/ea.

For custom tours, planning ahead is key.   Art Connections provides tours for couples and small or medium size groups. These tours are based on your interests, your time frame, and which artists are available for a visit.  I know that everyone who considers a tour has different thoughts on what they’d enjoy seeing.  Maximize your visit by planning ahead with me. Having worked for over 30 years with so many of the artists in Western NC, I can accommodate participant interests and find options that are a good fit for each request.

Just use the Contact page and send in an inquiry, we’ll go from there and work out the details.

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Categories: Art & Craft Tours
Indoor Tropical Bonsai Display
Mar 1 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
NC Arboretum

What is Bonsai?

Bonsai is a challenging and rewarding horticultural activity, in which ordinary plants are grown in an extraordinary way. Through rigorously applied cultivation techniques, trees, shrubs, vines and even herbaceous plants are kept in a miniaturized state, developed into artistic shapes and then displayed in special containers.

What makes the Arboretum’s bonsai endeavor unique among all other public collections in the United States? Regional Interpretation. Visitors will find the Arboretum’s bonsai collection of more than 100 specimens carefully cultivated with a Southern Appalachian accent. The collection draws inspiration from the traditional roots of bonsai, but takes the form of a contemporary, Southern Appalachian influenced American garden. Plantings in the landscape include species and cultivars of American, European and Asian origin.

 

The Bonsai Exhibition Garden

Established in October 2005, The North Carolina Arboretum’s Bonsai Exhibition Garden is a world renowned garden that displays up to 50 bonsai specimens at a time. Represented are traditional Asian bonsai subjects such as Japanese maple and Chinese elm, tropical plants such as willow-leaf fig and bougainvillea, and American species such as bald cypress and limber pine. Of particular importance are the plants native to the Blue Ridge region, such as American hornbeam and eastern white pine, which enable the Arboretum to bring the thousand-year tradition of bonsai home to the mountains of Western North Carolina. Interpretive signage throughout the garden conveys information about the art and history of bonsai, and the Arboretum’s own creative approach to it.

 

Outdoor Bonsai Exhibition Garden

  • Bonsai on Display Mid May – November; 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily
  • Garden Open Year Round
  • Parking Fees
    • Personal/Standard Vehicle (up to 20′ long): $20
    • Large vehicles (21′-29′ long): $60
    • Busses and Oversize Vehicles (30′ long+): $125
    • Members: Free

    Apart from the parking fee, there is no other admission charge to enter the Arboretum or our facilities, except in the case of advertised ticketed events.

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Categories: Garden
North Carolina Winery Tour Adventures
Mar 1 @ 10:30 am – 3:30 pm
North Carolina Wineries

Join us for a North Carolina winery tour and celebrate a date night, bachelorette party, retirement, family, or a weekend away while sampling our favorite local beverages along the way. Our standard tour includes visits to three Asheville area vineyards. With safe and reliable transportation provided, you can sit back, relax and just have fun.

Included:

  • Round trip transportation*
  • Three vineyard visits
  • Tastings at two of your three stops. Let’s just say that the pours at the first couple of locations are generous so we like to leave the third-stop beverage choice up to you.
  • Time commitment = up to 5 hours

Want to include specific vineyards on your Asheville wine tours? If you have “must-see” wineries in mind or want to craft a full day catered to your group’s interests, we’re always happy to create a custom experience. Reach out any time!

Read more
Categories: Food & Drink Tours