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.
The Western Arts Agencies of North Carolina (WNC Arts) was established in 1980s as a peer support group for arts councils and agencies in WNC. This group is now working to expand their advocacy support for the arts in WNC.
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Membership is not limited to Henderson County. Artists and art lovers from elsewhere are welcome to join.
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March is Red Cross Month, and for more than 130 years, heroic American Red Cross volunteers have provided hope and urgent relief to families in communities across the country.
This March the community is invited to join in the lifesaving mission of the Red Cross and be
someone’s hero by rolling up a sleeve to give blood.
According to the Red Cross, someone in the U.S. needs blood every two seconds to respond to
patient emergencies. Accident and burn victims, heart surgery and organ transplant patients,
and those receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer or sickle cell disease may all require blood.
All blood types are needed.
Be a hero in your community by rolling up a sleeve….
To make an appointment or to learn more, download the American Red Cross Blood Donor
App, visit RedCrossBlood.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enable the Blood
Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device. Completion of a RapidPass® online health history
questionnaire is encouraged to help speed up the donation process. To get started, follow the
instructions at RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass or use the Blood Donor App. A blood donor card
or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who
are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh
at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High
school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height
and weight requirements.
Immerse Yourself in Music
Become part of the BMC community. Experience the thrill of performing with the world’s most celebrated artists. Practice your craft and develop your skills in a picturesque rehearsal studio – in nature, beside the lake, amongst the white pines, alongside the stream. Share a communal lunch or an impromptu conversation with faculty and guest artists in our cafeteria. Interact with patrons who fill our auditoriums and love to hear your music.
We welcome you, the next generation of musicians and artists. We encourage you, and challenge you, to experience the magic of the Brevard Music Center. In a community of musicians, you will be transformed. On the stage and in the classroom, you will be inspired. In just one summer, you will make new friendships that will last a lifetime.
This is Brevard. Be inspired. Be here.
With the convenience of being open year-round, 7 days a week, the WNC Farmers Market offers a selection of farm-fresh produce at the lowest prices in Western N.C. Our popular retail buildings, providing a selection of non-perishables, fruits, vegetables, crafts and more, are open daily.
The Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville is proud to announce “An Evening with The Avett Brothers” on November 19, 2021, in the ExploreAsheville.com Arena. Tickets for the event will go on publicly on Friday, March 5 at 10:00am via Ticketmaster.com. A select number of tickets will be available via The Avett Guild for members. For more information about this event, please click here.
EVENT: An Evening with The Avett Brothers
WHEN: November 19, 2021 at 8:00pm (Doors at 7:00pm)
WHERE: ExploreAsheville.com Arena at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville | 87 Haywood Street
TICKETS: Public tickets go on sale begins on Friday, March 5 at 10am
The Avett Brothers made mainstream waves with their 2009 major label debut, I And Love And You, landing at #16 on the Billboard Top 200 & garnering critical acclaim. In 2012, The Carpenter hit #4 on the Billboard Top 200 & was followed by Magpie And The Dandelion (2013) which debuted at #5 on Billboard’s Top 200. True Sadness (2016) achieved The Avett Brothers’ highest career debut to date hitting #1 on Billboard’s Top Albums Chart, #1 Top Rock Albums Chart, #1 Digital Albums Chart, #3 on Billboard Top 200 & scoring 2 Grammy noms. That same year, the band was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. In 2017, documentary May It Last: A Portrait of The Avett Brothers (co-directed by Judd Apatow & Michael Bonfiglio) was released. The film followed the band as they wrote their Grammy-nominated album True Sadness. The film was released theatrically & on HBO to rave reviews & is now available on DVD/Blu-Ray/VOD. In November 2018, the band headlined a concert for Hurricane Florence Relief, raising $325,000 to help those affected by Hurricane Florence. In 2019, the band released their 10th studio album Closer Than Together feat. single High Steppin’ which reached #1 on the Americana Radio Chart. New album The Third Gleam (August 2020) debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Americana/Folk Albums Chart, with the vinyl debuting at #1 on the Vinyl Albums Chart. Single “Victory” hit #1 on the Americana Radio Singles Chart. The Avett Brothers played two drive-in shows at The Charlotte Motor Speedway in the span of three months and ended 2020 on a high note with a livestream of their 17th annual New Year’s Eve concert. An estimated 150,000 fans watched the show, which featured a full-band performance and an impressive lineup of special guests. Coming in 2022: Swept Away – a musical inspired by & featuring the music of The Avett Brothers.
* All plants are available on a sliding scale – if there’s a stick/label in it, then you pay from $3-$5/each…you get to decide.
* We’re using the honor system, so you pick out your plants, decide what you are going to pay, then either leave payment in donation bin or pay via CashApp.
* Green donation bin is located near the garden entrance by the turquoise tool shed. We accept cash or checks (payable to Hood Huggers International).
* Using CashApp? You’ll need to download the app and set up your account ahead of time, then click $, enter amount, click pay, and enter $HoodHuggers.
It’s time for kids to vote for their favorite books!
Throughout the month of March, kids can vote for the NC Children’s Book Award by visiting any Buncombe County Public Library location. The North Carolina Children’s Book Award is a children’s choice program sponsored by school and public librarians in North Carolina. The awards are designed to introduce kids to books and to instill a lifelong love of reading.
The Library has partnered with the Board of Elections to provide official voting booths for kids to vote.
Kids can vote in person at any of these libraries between March 2 and March 31:
- Enka-Candler
- Fairview
- North Asheville
- Pack Memorial
- South Buncombe
- Swannanoa
- Weaverville
- West Asheville
Kids can also vote “absentee” by asking for a ballot at any library, or they can drop their completed ballot in our book drop before the end of March to “mail in” their vote.
You are eligible to vote if 1) You’re a kid and 2) You’ve read or listened to at least 5 of the picture book nominees and/or 3) You’ve read or listened to at least 3 of the junior book nominees. Kids may vote for each category if they have read or listened to the required number of titles.
For more information on the NC Children’s Book Award and a list of the nominees, please visit the North Carolina Children’s Book Award.
If you’d like to have the picture books read to you, just click the “Read Aloud” link under any book.
Any questions? Contact your friendly neighborhood librarian.
Sunday Fun Day at Kolo
Kolo Bike Park access is just $10 for the entire day every Sunday
Enjoy the sights and sounds of the Great Smoky Mountains while traveling along the Tennessee and Nantahala (nan-tuh-HAY-luh) River.The historic trellis bridge Fontana Trestle takes you across Fontana Lake and into the beautiful Nantahala Gorge. Onboard dining is available by selecting our First Class Seating option or pre-purchasing one of our boxed lunches, an amazing unique moving dining experience. Arrive at our layover destination in the heart of the Nantahala Gorge for a one-hour layover where you can relax by the river or enjoy sightseeing!
We are operating under all current COVID-19 safety guidelines and ask that you follow all protocols. Find the information HERE! *Please be aware dining options are currently not available at your layover destination. You are advised to enjoy onboard dining by pre-purchasing a box lunch meal option along with your train tickets.*
Plan on being here by 1 hour before your departure.
2021 WNC Regional Scholastic Art Awards
The Museum, with the assistance of its volunteer docents and support from the Asheville Area Section of the American Institute of Architects, is proud to sponsor the WNC Regional Scholastic Art Awards. Students in grades 7–12 from all across our region are invited to submit work for this special juried competition. The Museum works with the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers to facilitate regional judging of student artwork and recognition of our community’s burgeoning artistic talent.
In early spring each year, award winners are featured in an exhibition, and are honored at a ceremony. Regional Gold Key recipients’ work is sent to the National Scholastic Art competition hosted by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.
Across the Atlantic
Across the Atlantic
American Impressionism Through the French Lens
This extraordinary exhibition, drawn from the collection of the Reading Public Museum, explores the path to Impressionism through the 19th century in France. The show examines the sometimes complex relationship between French Impressionism of the 1870s and 1880s and the American interpretation of the style in the decades that followed. More than 65 paintings and works on paper help tell the story of the “new style” of painting which developed at the end of the 19th century—one that emphasized light and atmospheric conditions, rapid or loose brushstrokes, and a focus on brightly colored scenes from everyday life, including both urban and rural settings when artists preferred to paint outdoors and capture changing effects of light during different times of day and seasons of the year.
Across the Atlantic: American Impressionism through the French Lens is organized by the Reading Public Museum, Reading, Pennsylvania.
Generous support for this project provided by Art Bridges and The Maurer Family Foundation.
The Asheville Art Museum announces Meeting the Moon, an exhibition featuring prints, photographs, ceramics, sculptures, and more from the Museum’s Collection. This exhibition will be on view in the Asheville Art Museum’s McClinton Gallery February 3 through July 26, 2021.
2021 marks the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the Apollo space program at NASA, but its inception was hardly the beginning of humankind’s fascination with Earth’s only moon. Before space travel existed, the moon—its shape, its mystery, and the face we see in it—inspired countless artists. Once astronauts landed on the moon and we saw our world from a new perspective, a surge of creativity flooded the American art scene, in paintings, prints, sculpture, music, crafts, film, and poetry.
This exhibition, whose title is taken from a 1913 Robert Frost poem, examines artwork in the Asheville Art Museum’s Collection of artists who were inspired by the unknown, then increasingly familiar moon. Meeting the Moon includes works by nationally renowned artists Newcomb Pottery, James Rosenquist, Maltby Sykes, Paul Soldner, John Lewis, Richard Ritter (Bakersville, NC), and Mark Peiser (Penland, NC). Western North Carolina artists include Jane Peiser (Penland, NC), Jak Brewer (Zionville, NC), Dirck Cruser (Asheville, NC), George Peterson (Lake Toxaway, NC), John B. Neff (NC), and Maud Gatewood (Yanceyville, NC).
“Meeting the Moon offers the opportunity to combine science and popular culture with works of art in the Museum’s Collection,” says Whitney Richardson, associate curator. “I think all visitors will find something that draws them into this exhibition, whether it’s the artwork, poetry, music, or science of space travel. It’s such an affirmation of humanity to find these mysteries, like the moon, which enchant us all.”
This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Whitney Richardson, associate curator. Visit ashevilleart.org for more information about this and other exhibitions.
This exhibition features archival objects from the Theodore Dreier Sr. Document Collection presented alongside artworks from the Museum’s Black Mountain College Collection to explore the connections between artworks and ephemera. This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by lydia see, fall 2020 curatorial fellow, with support from a Digitizing Hidden Collections grant through the Council on Library and Information Resources.
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The Asheville Art Museum presents Fantastical Forms: Ceramics as Sculpture on view at the Museum November 4, 2020 through April 5, 2021. The 25 works in this exhibition—curated by associate curator Whitney Richardson—highlight the Museum’s Collection of sculptural ceramics from the last two decades of the 20th century to the present. Each work illustrates the artist’s ability to push beyond the utilitarian and transition ceramics into the world of sculpture.
North and South Carolina artists featured include Elma McBride Johnson, Neil Noland, Norm Schulman, Virginia Scotchie, Cynthia Bringle, Jane Palmer, Michael Sherrill, and Akira Satake. Works by American artists Don Reitz, Robert Chapman Turner, Karen Karnes, Toshiko Takaezu, Bill Griffith, and Xavier Toubes are also featured in the exhibition.
Welcome to your new home, Samson and Bonita! The two red foxes will be joining the other residents of the WNC Nature Center and are coming to us from Izzie’s Pond Sanctuary in Liberty, S.C.
Samson and Bonita have something more in common than their new home. They are both less than a year old and were both injured as a result of being caught in leg-hold traps and each has three legs, which means they would not be able to survive in the wild but can live safely in a zoo environment.
“The Nature Center has long provided excellent care for animals that, for one reason or another, could not live in the wild,” said WNC Nature Center Director Chris Gentile. “We are so excited to be able to welcome red foxes back to our Center.”
Come say “Hi!” to Samson and Bonita at the WNC Nature center beginning Feb. 11, when they’ll enter their new habitat for the first time.
FIRST SET BY THE HOUSE BAND & SECOND SET IS A JAZZ JAM
All performances Eastern Standard Time
*Ticket sales will end 2 hours prior to each performance and the Zoom link will be sent out at that time*
Life and literature collide in this smart comedy about books and the people who love them. Ana is a Type A personality who lives in a letter-perfect world with an adoring husband, the perfect job, and her greatest passion: Book Club. But when her cherished group becomes the focus of a documentary film, their previously predictable discussions turn into pandemonium in front of the inescapable camera lens. Add a provocative new member along with some surprising book titles, and this buoyant comedy will have everyone laughing… and reflecting. Discretionary warning: Mild Adult Content and Language.
“[An] uproarious social comedy.”—chicagocritic.com
“By the end, you honestly felt like part of the book club.” —broadwayworld.com
In conjunction with Sunday Sessions Live (and virtual) music: Food Truck Sundays will bring a new or rotating “staff favorite” cuisine each week to the Beechams Curve offerings.
Gan Shan West, our main culinary provider 6 days a week, is closed on Sundays. Enjoy the convenience, delicious variety and the music – all in one Sunday Funday stop!
Jack of the Wood : Sunday-Irish Session
Sundays
1 till who knows when?
Traditional Irish music is kept alive at Jack of the Wood with our unplugged Sunday session.
Jack of the Wood
95 Patton ave
Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 252.5445
Darko Butorac, Conductor
Bernstein: On the Town Overture
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
Ravel: Tzigane
Bernstein: West Side Story Suite
Sarah Chang, Violin
Aaron Diehl, Piano
Our featured concert of the Amadeus Festival brings two blockbuster stars on the stage to celebrate two of the most important masterpieces of American music. Jazz pianist Aaron Diehl returns to Asheville for a performance of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, superstar violinist Sarah Chang closes the concert with a virtuoso suite from Bernstein’s West Side Story.
The Speakeasy is designed to use improv for positive change through fast-paced play and collaboration. Through teaching the deeper nature of improv, The Speakeasy aims to inspire Artists to stay actively engaged in their craft, grow as individuals, and contribute to the growth of their artistic community. We want our community to have a blast, grow as people, and feel comfortable doing exactly what our name says… speak easy! Instructor Tim Hearn’s approach to both the arts as well as the craft of teaching prioritizes the process of play over the final result. He implements the rules of improv as a philosophy for living and as an indispensable tool for performance.
The first course offered will be “The Fellowship,” Sundays or Mondays at 7:00pm, beginning March 7th and running for 10 weeks. With specific learning targets addressed through a focus on process over product, this course is suited to new students who have never before taken an improv class as well as to seasoned improvisers looking for a new take on familiar techniques. Each week offers a distinct lesson designed to ensure students learn through group experience and active play. Classes will be in-person with enrollment limited to ten students, and all COVID precautions will be observed. Location is TBD.
More information about Speakeasy Improv, the curriculum, and enrollment can be found at: https://themagnetictheatre.org/speakeasy-improv
For questions, please contact Artistic Director
Mountain Spirit Acoustic Series – Live Streaming event – Donations requested for the artist. This event will be streamed live on Zoom. Registration link
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Prairie Home Companion star Joe Newberry says: “Thompsonia makes the listener feel like the guest of honor at a party!”
“Thompsonia” combines Eric & Suzy Thompson’s deep devotion to old-time, acoustic blues, Cajun and bluegrass with daughter Allegra’s fresh perspective, creating feel-good music that richochets between the rowdy and the sentimental, with an abundance of groove and a bit of a quirky edge. The band features the genetically-matched vocals of Suzy and Allegra (Geoff Muldaur has dubbed this “The Everly Sisters sound”) along with stellar lead playing from Eric on mandolin and guitar, Suzy’s red-hot fiddling and Allegra’s rock-steady upright bass.
Hundreds of baby kittens are expected and Blue Ridge Humane Society staff are getting ready with a Kitten Shower to gather items needed to care for the most vulnerable.
The Kitten Shower will be March 21-27 and feature donation drop-off locations around Henderson County. Individuals can purchase items from the BRHS Kitten Registry at local pet supply stores or online. Items include vital supplies like kitten formula and food, kitten warmers, bottles, and supplements that give foster kittens a boost to grow into healthy adults.
Supplies can be dropped off at the following locations during the week of March 21-28:
- Barker’s Anonymous: 401 Kanuga Rd, Hendersonville, NC 28739
- PetCo Hendersonville: 118 Highlands Square Dr, Hendersonville, NC 28792
- PetSmart Hendersonville: 213 Greenville Hwy, Hendersonville, NC 28792
- Pet Source: 1927 Spartanburg Hwy, Hendersonville, NC 28792
- Wag! A Unique Pet Boutique: 231-A N. Main Street, Hendersonville, NC 28792
- BRHS Thrift Store: 1214 Greenville Hwy, Hendersonville, NC 28792
- BRHS Admin Office: 100 Chadwick Square Court, Suite B, Hendersonville, NC 28739
- BRHS Adoption Center: 88 Centipede Lane, Hendersonville, NC 28792
The full kitten supply list is available on the Blue Ridge Humane Society website at https://www.blueridgehumane.org/donate/wish-list/. There are also options available for items to be purchased online and shipped directly to Blue Ridge Humane.
Kitten lovers will also have the opportunity to Name a Kitten as part of the event with a $10 donation. As names are used over the year, donors will receive a photo of the kitten they named. Naming donations can be made online, over the phone, or via mail.
The week will include a “foster happy hour” for interested individuals to virtually meet Morgan Harrell, the Foster Program Manager, and learn more about becoming a BRHS foster parent. Registration info will be listed online on the BRHS calendar.
As the weather warms up, the birds, bees, and cats get busy. Soon, kittens start to appear in local animal shelters, “rescued” by well-meaning animal lovers. “We are coming on that time of year when animal lovers begin finding kittens outside,” says Angela Prodrick, Blue Ridge Humane’s Executive Director. “It is important to remember that the amount of community or feral cats in our county far outnumbers the number of people living in our community. If all the kittens were brought to a local shelter, the shelter would quickly become overwhelmed. If you find a kitten, there are a few simple things that you can do to help us save lives.”
Once kittens are about 6-8 weeks old, a finder can look to get them spayed or neutered and adopted into new homes. If you find kittens that are in need of care and need supplies or advice, contact the BRHS Foster and Community Outreach Team at [email protected] or (828) 393-5832. Animal lovers can also view additional resources about what to do when kittens are found at https://www.blueridgehumane.org/resources/lost-found/kittens/.
Blue Ridge Humane offers kitten care support for volunteers, as well as comprehensive training and support for fosters in the BRHS foster program. To learn more about fostering, visit https://www.blueridgehumane.org/get-involved/foster/ or contact Harrell at [email protected].
The Blue Ridge Humane Society, Inc., is a 501(c)3 animal welfare organization started in 1950 dedicated to ensuring the highest quality of life for animals in Henderson County and our neighboring communities. BRHS cares for pets awaiting adoption and in foster homes; offers low-cost vaccine clinics, animal education programs, pet training classes, and youth education and projects; coordinates community pet food assistance, emergency vet assistance, and the Spay Neuter Incentive Program (SNIP), which is a collaboration with Henderson County, the City of Hendersonville, and the Henderson County Animal Services Center.
If you believe in our cause, consider making a donation or learning how to volunteer by visiting the Blue Ridge Humane Society’s website at www.blueridgehumane.org or call (828) 692-2639.
“Guggisberg and Baldwin have laid a new avenue. By joining Italian coldworking to the Swedish overlay, they have embarked upon an innovative sequence of experimentation and research not only on surfaces, but also on color and the interplay of color and texture through surface treatment. These explorations have increasingly drawn them to probe the expressive fields of textural elements. Initially soft and tactile, with the new strong angles, facets and deep cuts, the surface itself takes on a kind of fourth dimension, something sculptural that moves beyond the limits set by height, width, and volume.”
A quote from Louise Berndt, writing in “Battuto 2002: Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg”
1918 vs. 2020
In the midst of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, we take an in-depth look at the 1918 influenza epidemic in Western North Carolina through newspaper clippings, advertisements, ephemera, photographs, and oral history and place the events of 1918 into context with our present-day response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Costume Drama 2021: Designer Application
Costume Drama: A Fashion Show is an eclectic evening of inventive fashion that is one of the highlights of the Asheville summer! It is a fundraiser that supports Asheville Community Theatre (ACT). For 2021, we will again present Costume Drama as a filmed show that will be streamed.
Costume Drama: A Fashion Show is currently scheduled to be filmed on the ACT stage on Monday, August 9 and Tuesday, August 10 and broadcast on Saturday, September 11, 2021.
We are seeking 20 designers (5 designers per category) for Costume Drama 2021. Submitting an application does not guarantee a spot in the show. Please fill out the application below in order to be considered for a spot. If selected, you will be notified by April 23rd. Designers who are selected will receive free hair and makeup services for their model, free entry to watch the show, professional photos of their designs, and a chance to compete for cash prizes.
If you have any questions, please contact director Sara Fields Bridges ([email protected]).
Completed applications should be submitted on or before April 10, 2021.
Design Categories
This year’s categories are:
Toybox – Garments for this category should be made from items one might find in a toybox. Think board games, puzzles, dolls, blocks, LEGOS, matchbox cars, balls, musical instruments, art supplies, etc. Please, no guns or toys that promote violence.
Garage Sale – Garments for this category should be made from items one might find in a garage or basement. Think recycling, tools, patio furniture, camping gear, vintage dishes, exercise equipment, old technology, appliances, etc. Please, no repurposed clothing items.
Knots Landing – Garments for this category should be made of rope, ribbon, cording, etc. Could be related to nautical themes or braiding/knot work, or macrame. Rope could be the material or rope could be made from other materials. Must be made with unconventional, non-clothing materials rather than a garment made from conventional yarn or fiber.
Mix and Match Throwback – In honor of Costume Drama’s 10 year anniversary, garments for this category should be created from items from 2 of the 4 categories featured in our first show – tape, feathers, paper, and flowers.
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Buncombe County has opened the application cycle of the Community Recreation Grants program for projects taking place from July 2021-June 2022. The grants are part of other countywide initiatives that help make Buncombe County a place everyone from infants to retirees has the opportunity to be strong, healthy, and successful. The program is intended to help community nonprofits make immediate improvements and jump-start long-term progress that align with the Buncombe 2025 plan. Grants range in amounts from $500-$6,000, depending on the number of qualifying applicants.
Eligibility
Eligible entities include Buncombe County nonprofits focused on providing equitable access to recreational, fitness, cultural, and wellness activities to the public at no- or low-cost. These funds are intended to be a leveraging tool that promote partnerships between the County and area nonprofits and are not a donation, funding stream, or sponsorship opportunity. Programs applying for funding should align with the Buncombe 2025 plan’s focus areas, as well as embody the spirt of Buncombe County Recreation Services’ mission: Connect Communities. Preserve Culture. Change Lives.
Projects funded in the past have included creative placemaking, increasing safe connections to a wider range of play and wellness activities for underserved residents, supporting access to experiences that preserve regional and international cultures, improvements to public athletic fields and fitness courses, expanding environmental education, building food security through community gardens, and establishing multigenerational outdoor spaces for neighbors to connect with each other and foster community pride.
Want to apply?
Application, guidelines, and a list of 2020 recipients are available online. Questions should be directed to [email protected].
The grant application deadline is 5 p.m. on Fri., Mar. 26, 2021. Late applications will not be accepted.