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.

Saturday, July 2, 2022
American Perspectives: Stories from the American Folk Art Museum Collection
Jul 2 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum
 

Jessie B. Telfair, Freedom Quilt, 1983, cotton with pencil, 74 × 68 inches. Collection American Folk Art Museum, NY, gift of Judith Alexander in loving memory of her sister, Rebecca Alexander, 2004.9.1. © Estate of Jessie. B. Telfair, image Gavin Ashworth.
American Perspectives: Stories from the American Folk Art Museum Collection showcases over 80 stellar works of folk and self-taught art including assemblages, needlework, paintings, pottery, quilts, and sculpture. Organized by the American Folk Art Museum in New York, this exhibition will be on view in the Explore Asheville Exhibition Hall at the Asheville Art Museum from June 18 through September 5, 2022.

Everyone has stories to tell from both the private and mutual experiences encountered throughout their lifetime. American folk and self-taught artists capture these stories in powerful visual narratives that offer firsthand testimonies to chapters in the unfolding story of America from its inception to the present. Beautiful, diverse, and truthful; the art illuminates the thoughts and experiences of individuals with an immediacy that is palpable and unique to these expressions. These artworks held meaning in the makers’ worlds filtered through their own perceptions.

The artworks are organized into four sections—Founders, Travelers, Philosophers, and Seekers—that respond to such themes as nationhood, freedom, community, imagination, opportunity, and legacy. Evocative visual juxtapositions and accessible contextual information further reveal the vital role that folk art plays as a witness to history, carrier of cultural heritage, and a reflection of the world at large through the eyes, heart, and mind of the artist.

“While the Asheville Art Museum exhibits many folk and self-taught artists, most are local to the Southeast,” says Whitney Richardson, associate curator. “American Perspectives adds a national voice to the conversation by adding New England, Midwestern, Southwestern, and West Coast artworks that the Museum could never achieve alone. The amount of creative output from folk and self-taught artists was (and still is) on a national level and this exhibition helps to put that into a clear context. Traveling to Asheville from the collection of the American Folk Art Museum in New York, this exhibition will complement and expand the Museum’s ongoing conversations around American history and storytelling through works of art.”

This exhibition has been organized by the American Folk Art Museum, NY, with support provided by Art Bridges. Originally curated for installation at the American Folk Art Museum February 11, 2020–January 3, 2021 by Stacy C. Hollander, independent curator. Tour coordinated by Emelie Gevalt, Curator of Folk Art and Curatorial Chair for Collections, the American Folk Art Museum.

Draped and Veiled Art Exhibit
Jul 2 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum
Draped and Veiled: 20×24 Polaroid Photographs by Joyce Tenneson showcases Joyce Tenneson’s Transformations series, which she began in 1985 and engaged with through 2005. Transformations features partially or fully nude figures poetically presented; Tenneson’s photographs have always been interested in the magic of the human figure, contained within bodies of all ages and emotions in a broad range that are both vulnerable and bold. This exhibition features 12 large Polaroids from the poetic series. Draped and Veiled will be on view May 25–October 10, 2022.
Gillian Laub’s Southern Rites Exhibit
Jul 2 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum
Gillian Laub, Amber and Reggie, Mount Vernon, Georgia, 2011, inkjet print, 40 × 50 inches. © Gillian Laub, courtesy of Benrubi Gallery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

American photographer Gillian Laub (born New York, 1975) has spent the last two decades investigating political conflicts, exploring family relationships, and challenging assumptions about cultural identity. In Southern Rites, Laub engages her skills as a photographer, filmmaker, and visual activist to examine the realities of racism and raise questions that are simultaneously painful and essential to understanding the American consciousness.

In 2002, Laub was sent on a magazine assignment to Mount Vernon, GA, to document the lives of teenagers in the American South. The town, nestled among fields of Vidalia onions, symbolized the archetype of pastoral, small town American life. The Montgomery County residents Laub encountered were warm, polite, protective of their neighbors, and proud of their history. Yet Laub learned that the joyful adolescent rites of passage celebrated in this rural countryside—high school homecomings and proms—were still racially segregated.

Laub continued to photograph Montgomery County over the following decade, returning even in the face of growing—and eventually violent—resistance from community members and local law enforcement. She documented a town held hostage by the racial tensions and inequities that scar much of the nation’s history. In 2009, a few months after Barack Obama’s first inauguration, Laub’s photographs of segregated proms were published in the New York Times Magazine. The story brought national attention to the town and the following year the proms were finally integrated. The power of her photographic images served as the catalyst and, for a moment, progress seemed inevitable.

Then, in early 2011, tragedy struck the town. Justin Patterson, a twenty-two-year-old unarmed African American man—whose segregated high school homecoming Laub had photographed—was shot and killed by a sixty-two-year-old white man. Laub’s project, which began as an exploration of segregated high school rituals, evolved into an urgent mandate to confront the painful realities of discrimination and structural racism. Laub continued to document the town over the following decade, during which the country re-elected its first African American president and the ubiquity of camera phones gave rise to citizen journalism exposing racially motivated violence. As the Black Lives Matter movement and national protests proliferated, Laub uncovered a complex story about adolescence, race, the legacy of slavery, and the deeply rooted practice of segregation in the American South.

Southern Rites is a specific story about 21st century young people in the American South, yet it poses a universal question about human experience: can a new generation liberate itself from a harrowing and traumatic past to create a different future?

Southern Rites is curated by Maya Benton and organized by the International Center of Photography.

In Living Color: At Home with Paint, Paper, and Thread
Jul 2 @ 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Marquee Asheville D11

Image for In Living Color: At Home with Paint, Paper, and Thread

Brighten your walls with with works from Artsville Collective’s upcoming exhibition, “In Living Color: At Home with Paint, Paper and Thread.”  Allow these abstract pieces, in varying sizes and mediums, to light up your life. Collectively, the artwork’s tonal range is of blended neutrals and ventures into spring and fall palettes. Suit your design pleasures with pure color or wabi-sabi textural designs in a range of perspectives from three uniquely talented artists: Betsy Meyer, fibers; Karen Stastny, painting, and Michelle Wise, mixed media. Also showing: the Retro pop art of Daryl Slaton, which can be activated on your phone to reveal an animated story. For a softer approach, consider the mixed media art of Louise Glickman using paint, textiles, and natural plant materials.

Stained with Glass: Vitreograph Prints from the Studio of Harvey K. Littleton Exhibition
Jul 2 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum
 
Left: Thermon Statom, Frankincense, 1999, siligraphy from glass plate with digital transfer on BFK Rives paper, edition 50/50, 36 1/4 × 29 3/8 inches. Asheville Art Museum. © Thermon Statom. | Right: Dale Chihuly, Suite of Ten Prints: Chandelier, 1994, 4-color intaglio from glass plate on BRK Rives paper, edition 34/50, image: 29 ½ × 23 ½ inches, sheet: 36 × 29 ½ inches. Asheville Art Museum. © Dale Chihuly / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Asheville, N.C.—The selection of works from the Asheville Art Museum’s Collection presented in Stained with Glass: Vitreograph Prints from the Studio of Harvey K. Littleton features imagery that recreates the sensation and colors of stained glass. The exhibition showcases Littleton and the range of makers who worked with him, including Dale Chihuly, Cynthia Bringle, Thermon Statom, and more. This exhibition—organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator—will be on view in The Van Winkle Law Firm Gallery at the Museum from January 12 through May 23, 2022.

In 1974 Harvey K. Littleton (Corning, NY 1922–2013 Spruce Pine, NC) developed a process for using glass to create prints on paper. Littleton, who began as a ceramicist and became a leading figure in the American Studio Glass Movement, expanded his curiosity around the experimental potential of glass into innovations in the world of printmaking. A wide circle of artists in a variety of media—including glass, ceramics, and painting—were invited to Littleton’s studio in Spruce Pine, NC, to create prints using the vitreograph process developed by Littleton. Upending notions of both traditional glassmaking and printmaking, vitreographs innovatively combine the two into something new. The resulting prints created through a process of etched glass, ink, and paper create rich, colorful scenes reminiscent of luminous stained glass.

“Printmaking is a medium that many artists explore at some point in their career,” says Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator. “The process is often collaborative, as they may find themselves working with a print studio and highly skilled printmaker. The medium can also be quite experimental. Harvey Littleton’s contribution to the field is very much so in this spirit, as seen in his incorporation of glass and his invitation to artists who might otherwise not have explored works on paper. Through this exhibition, we are able to appreciate how the artists bring their work in clay, glass, or paint to ink and paper.” 

Useful and Beautiful: Silvercraft by William Waldo Dodge
Jul 2 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum
Left to right: William Waldo Dodge Jr., Teapot, 1928, hammered silver and ebony, 8 × 5 3/4 × 9 1/2 inches. Asheville Art Museum. © Estate of William Waldo Dodge Jr. | William Waldo Dodge Jr., Lidded vegetable bowl, 1932, hammered silver, 6 × 6 5/8 × 6 5/8 inches. Asheville Art Museum. © Estate of William Waldo Dodge Jr.

Useful and Beautiful: Silvercraft by William Waldo Dodge features a selection of functional silver works by Dodge drawn from the Museum’s Collection. Organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Whitney Richardson, associate curator, this exhibition will be on view in the Debra McClinton Gallery at the Museum from February 23 through October 17, 2022.

William Waldo Dodge Jr. (Washington, DC 1895–1971 Asheville, NC) moved to Asheville in 1924 as a trained architect and a newly skilled silversmith. When he opened for business promoting his handwrought silver tableware, including plates, candlesticks, flatware (spoons, forks, and knives), and serving dishes, he did so in a true Arts and Crafts tradition. The aesthetics of the style were dictated by its philosophy: an artist’s handmade creation should reflect their hard work and skill, and the resulting artwork should highlight the material from which it was made. Dodge’s silver often displayed his hammer marks and inventive techniques, revealing the beauty of these useful household goods.

The Arts and Crafts style of England became popular in the United States in the early 1900s. Asheville was an early adopter of the movement because of the popularity and abundance of Arts and Crafts architecture in neighborhoods like Biltmore Forest, Biltmore Village, and the area around The Grove Park Inn. The title of this exhibition was taken from the famous quotation by one of the founding members of the English Arts and Crafts Movement, William Morris, who said, “have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” Not only did Dodge follow this suggestion; he contributed to American Arts and Crafts silver’s relevancy persisting almost halfway into the 20th century.

“It has been over 15 years since the Museum exhibited its collection of William Waldo Dodge silver and I am looking forward to displaying it in the new space with some new acquisitions added,” said Whitney Richardson, associate curator. Learn more at ashevilleart.org.

11 Year Anniversary Oak & Smoke Party!
Jul 2 @ 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Dalton Distillery

Come join Dalton Distillery for their 11 year anniversary party! Owner Adam Dalton will be smoking a variety of meats with the 100% French oak chips used to age the award winning Hammond Oak Rum. Food is free to enjoy with purchase of a $5 tour and tasting!

Franny’s Farmacy will also be celebrating with us by passing out samples, coupons, and hosting a Tourist baseball ticket raffle.

Festivities start at 1pm

Music by Iggy Radio 2pm-5pm

Loomis Bros. Circus
Jul 2 @ 1:30 pm
WNC Agricultural Center

loomis-bros-circus-11

Loomis Brothers Circus began as a childhood dream for Justin Loomis and has now grown to be one of America’s best and most beautiful circuses.

Now in our 24th year, our show travels throughout the country, concentrating on the southern and central United States and visiting a different city every almost ever other day! Our show is presented in the traditional circus format, but with a modern twist. We are the only circus in North America to feature Three Rings, Exotic Animals AND Live Music.

Our production team is always working to bring you and your family the finest acts from around the world and our show changes with each tour, however you will always be led on a magical circus journey by Justin Loomis, the world’s premier singing ringmaster.

Our big show is a traditional style circus, just like you remember as a kid. The sights of superhuman athleticism and animal magnificence, the sounds of our singing ringmaster, the smells of fresh popcorn and cotton candy ….they’re all here.

Our International Cast of Performers will have you on the edge of your seat with their amazing skills which include a rotating program of specialty and animal acts from all corners of the globe including Juggling, Dogs, Rolla Bolla, Unicycles, Motorcycle Daredevils, Aerialists, and Elephants. All our animal performers receive the best, loving care –  24 hours a day, 7 days a week.   

When our circus comes to town, it’s always for a good cause. We are always looking at ways to work with the local communities in which we perform. In fact, our circus has raised money for organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club, Lions Club,4-H, Chamber of Commerce, Parks & Recreation, Elementary Schools, City Councils, Townships, Fair Associations, Zoo teaching programs, Regional Chapters of Shriners International and many more.

Loomis Bros. Circus will spark your imagination and take you on a magical journey where the impossible becomes reality. It’s good old fashioned family entertainment in your town! Don’t miss it!

Carmen
Jul 2 @ 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Parker Concert Hall, Brevard Music Center

Carmen

Bizet’s smoldering drama Carmen is one of the most popular operas of all time. With some of opera’s most iconic melodies, this tale of seduction and obsession promises to thrill both the seasoned opera lover and the opera-curious!


PERFORMANCE & ARTIST DETAILS
Janiec Opera Company of the Brevard Music Center
Brevard Festival Orchestra
Conductor, Joseph Mechavich

GEORGES BIZET Carmen

Sung in French with English supertitles

Auditorium seating is reserved.

 

Chase Pastorius + Taub
Jul 2 @ 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
One World Brewing West

Chase Pastorius & Taub

With each player having a unique approach to their instrument, the performances are nothing short of inspiring, if not mind-melting. For lovers of funky jazz and virtuosic musicianship, this group delivers on all fronts.

ADAM CHASE

https://adamchasemusic.com

Drummer, Adam Chase, is an acclaimed music director and drummer that has built a name for himself by putting together a variety of Funky and Jazzy All-Star projects. Adam’s unique approach to drum reflects his unique personality and his visionary approach to performance. Chase has worked with an uncanny amount of acclaimed musicians including Fred Wesley, Clyde Stubblefield, John Medeski, MonoNeon, George Porter Jr. (The Meters), Adam Deitch (Lettuce), Aron Magner (Disco Biscuits), Scott Metzger (JRad), Craig Robinson, Antwaun Stanley, Shaun Martin (Snarky Puppy), Domi Degalle, Dennis Chambers, Marcus King, Isaiah Sharkey (John Mayer), Robert Walter (Greyboy Allstars), Jeff Sipe, Claude Coleman Jr. (Ween) and many others.

FELIX PASTORIUS

https://felixpastorius.com

Bassist, Felix Pastorius bears the name of his father, whose reputation often proceeds him. While the lineage is intriguing for most, the dedication to the mastery of the bass guitar is more notable than his last name when it comes to the musician that is Felix Pastorius. Having toured with the YellowJackets as a teenager and traveling the world with groups including Jeff Coffin’s Mu’tet, Cindy Blackman Santana Group, Hipster Assassins and Aesop Rocky, Pastorius has continued to prove to be able to do anything imaginable on the bass guitar. From the most complex explorations to the tastiest pocket grooves. Pastorius alone is worth the cost of admission.

$10 tickets/$12 DOS

West Side Story
Jul 2 @ 2:00 pm
Flat Rock Playhouse
West Side Story. July 1 - 30.

The number one requested musical from our 2019 show survey: you asked for it, you got it! From the first notes to the final breath, West Side Story is one of the most memorable musicals and greatest love stories of all time. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is transported to modern-day New York City as two young, idealistic lovers find themselves caught between warring street gangs, the ‘American’ Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks. Their struggle to survive in a world of fear, violence, and prejudice remains one of the most innovative, heart-wrenching, and relevant musical dramas of our time. With a score by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, West Side Story is widely regarded as among the best musicals ever written.

Daily Meditation + Support (online)
Jul 2 @ 3:00 pm – 3:30 pm
online

Hosted by: The Buddhist Studies Institute

FREE – ONLINE – 30 MINUTES – DAILY
🌺Guided meditation support and community🌺

🌸Stabilization and Liberation:
In order to liberate our minds– we need stable calm.

🌸Consistency & Commitment:
Stabilizing in calm clear presence takes consistent training.

🌸Support & Community:
Daily Meditation is a container and support for your meditation focus.

Expand your meditation circle- join us online any day or every day!

Formerly known as 100 Days of practice to support a Tibetan Yogis tradition to practice 100 days in the winter, this has now been expanded to continue daily. To learn more and register: https://buddhiststudiesinstitute.org/daily-meditation/

Proud Mary Theatre Company presents: Head Over Hills
Jul 2 @ 3:00 pm
Artists Collective | Spartanburg

Proud Mary Theatre Company presents the Upstate premiere of the bold new musical comedy Head Over Heels by The Go-Go’s, the Musical Comedy of the Summer for seven performances only June 24-July 2, 2022.

This laugh-out-loud love story is set to the music of the iconic 1980’s all-female rock band The Go-Go’s (2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee), including the hit songs, “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Vacation,” “Head Over Heels,” and Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven is a Place on Earth” and “Mad About You.”

Loomis Bros. Circus
Jul 2 @ 4:30 pm
WNC Agricultural Center

loomis-bros-circus-11

Loomis Brothers Circus began as a childhood dream for Justin Loomis and has now grown to be one of America’s best and most beautiful circuses.

Now in our 24th year, our show travels throughout the country, concentrating on the southern and central United States and visiting a different city every almost ever other day! Our show is presented in the traditional circus format, but with a modern twist. We are the only circus in North America to feature Three Rings, Exotic Animals AND Live Music.

Our production team is always working to bring you and your family the finest acts from around the world and our show changes with each tour, however you will always be led on a magical circus journey by Justin Loomis, the world’s premier singing ringmaster.

Our big show is a traditional style circus, just like you remember as a kid. The sights of superhuman athleticism and animal magnificence, the sounds of our singing ringmaster, the smells of fresh popcorn and cotton candy ….they’re all here.

Our International Cast of Performers will have you on the edge of your seat with their amazing skills which include a rotating program of specialty and animal acts from all corners of the globe including Juggling, Dogs, Rolla Bolla, Unicycles, Motorcycle Daredevils, Aerialists, and Elephants. All our animal performers receive the best, loving care –  24 hours a day, 7 days a week.   

When our circus comes to town, it’s always for a good cause. We are always looking at ways to work with the local communities in which we perform. In fact, our circus has raised money for organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club, Lions Club,4-H, Chamber of Commerce, Parks & Recreation, Elementary Schools, City Councils, Townships, Fair Associations, Zoo teaching programs, Regional Chapters of Shriners International and many more.

Loomis Bros. Circus will spark your imagination and take you on a magical journey where the impossible becomes reality. It’s good old fashioned family entertainment in your town! Don’t miss it!

Flat Rock Playhouse Volunteer Opportunity: Feed Me!
Jul 2 @ 5:00 pm
Flat Rock Playhouse

Get Involved with FEED ME!

FEED ME! is a fun opportunity to meet the apprentices and interns who come to study under the staff of Flat Rock Playhouse. On days that there are both afternoon and evening performances they are very busy between the shows and have little time to eat dinner.

This is where you come in!

FEED ME! volunteers select date(s) they would be willing to provide dinner in the Dan Dee Gift Shop and Dining Hall on the Playhouse property. A second-year Apprentice will be there to help you set up.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Jul 2 @ 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Tryon International Equestrian Center
SNL Schedule (800 × 450 px)

Legends Plaza & Tryon Stadium

Carousel Hours: Fri 5-9pm, Sat 1-9pm, Sun 1-4pm

Live Music for Saturday Night Lights Weekends:
Thur/Fri – 6-9pm, Sat 6-7:30pm, 10:15-11pm

SNL Free Activities: 6-9pm

Grand Prix: 8pm

Click HERE to book your Legends Club table or seat!

 

From carousel to competition, Tryon Resort is for all who love horses! Visit Tryon Resort on select Saturday nights May through October to enjoy our signature “Saturday Night Lights” event series.

These action-packed nights feature FREE family entertainment such as:

• Pony Rides

• Carousel Rides

• Performers like magicians & jugglers

• Live music

• Bucking Horse Rides

• Face Painting

• & more!

Plus, you can enjoy carnival-style concessions like cotton candy, popcorn and sno cones in addition to dining at one of our many restaurants.

 

 

Leashed pets are always welcome to join you, too!

 

The evening culminates with world-class show jumping competition under the lights in Tryon Stadium.

Asheville Tourists Game Highlights: AVL Jersey Giveaway and Tyler’s Amazing Balancing Act
Jul 2 @ 6:00 pm
McCormick Field

See the source image

AVL Jersey Giveaway

The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive an AVL Jersey, courtesy of Prestige Subaru! Gates will open at 4:30 PM.

Tyler’s Amazing Balancing Act

As seen on America’s Got Talent, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, Go Big Show, ESPN, and Ballparks all across the country! Watch as The Amazing Tyler balances objects of all shapes and sizes on his face.

Asheville Tourists vs Bowling Green Hot Rods
Jul 2 @ 6:00 pm
McCormick Field

All images  vs    Bowling Green Hot Rods

Shindig On the Green
Jul 2 @ 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Pack Square Park

The house band: Stoney Creek Boys and Rhiannon

Bring your instruments, families, friends, lawn chairs and blankets and join us for good times at the Bascom Lamar Lunsford Stage. In 2022 Shindig on the Green, which features a stage show and informal jam sessions around the park, continues at its original location — formerly known as City County Plaza, now transformed into the new Pack Square Park. Locals and visitors alike come together downtown “along about sundown,” or at 7:00pm for those who wear a watch, until 10:00p.m. Concessions are available. Come experience the beautiful music and dance traditions of Southern Appalachia on a summer evening in the mountains.

Eats and Treats: Concessions are provided by The Hop Ice Cream Cafe, and there are plenty of other establishments nearby for food and drinks.

Parking: Parking is available in marked and metered spaces throughout downtown Asheville (free after 6pm) and the city’s municipal decks (evening rates vary). Very convenient to Shindig, Buncombe County’s Charlotte Street Parking Deck is directly across College Street from Pack Square Park and the Buncombe County Courthouse. Parking for buses is available at the Asheville Public Works Building parking lot at 161 S. Charlotte Street. This lot is vacant on Saturday nights. It is recommended that passengers unload at Pack Square Park before the bus is parked in the lot.

Dogs or Other Pets: Please leave your pets at home (unless it’s a service animal). The City of Asheville restricts pets from being present at outdoor special events. Pets, even the best behaved ones, are not allowed at Pack Square Park during Shindig.

Public Transit: There is a major transfer point on College St. for public transit. Check www.ridetheart.com for maps and schedules.. Route E1 provides Saturday evening service to and from the ART Station.

Swing Nights at Continuum
Jul 2 @ 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Continuum Art Gallery, Hendersonville

Join us in our new monthly social swing event on the 1st Saturdays of every month, The
music, open vintage space and wood floors and is guaranteed to have you dancing East Coast and/or Lindy all night long, A free
lesson is offered to kick things off and will include a different combination of moves each time, No partner or rhythm needed and
dress is casual, $10 for lesson and/or social dance.

HART Theatre presents Steel Magnolias
Jul 2 @ 7:30 pm
The Fangmeyer Theatre at HART

The Fangmeyer Theatre at HART
Directed by Julie Kinter

See the play that inspired the movie we all know and love, Steel Magnolias. Step into Truvy’s Beauty Salon in Chinquapin, Louisiana, where all the ladies who are “anybody” come to get their hair done. The story follows six uniquely southern women over the course of three years as they form friendships as strong as steel. When tragedy strikes, this group of women draw on their underlying strength—and love—leaving the audience with a truly touching story by turns hilarious and poignant. “You have no idea how wonderful you are,” M’Lynn tells the ladies at the end of the play. Truvy responds, with a smile, “Of course we do.”

Suitable for all audiences.

Hendersonville Theatre Serves Up Laughs with Red, White and Tuna
Jul 2 @ 7:30 pm
Hendersonville Theatre

Red, White and Tuna is supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, and the Community Foundation of Henderson County.

Directed by Hendersonville Theater’s Beth Bristol, performers Jonathan Forrester and Victoria Lamberth play 20 quirky characters of both genders and various ages. These memorable characters include matronly ladies, cowboy disc jockeys, hippies, and a dozen other memorable, unique characters all wrapped up in politics, relationships, and gossip.

“It’s just one of the funniest plays I’ve ever worked on,” said director Beth Bristol. “And between the absolute hilarity of the script and Jonathan’s and Victoria’s antics, I can barely keep a straight face during rehearsals. They’re the perfect pair to pull off this type of zany comedy.”

Bristol returns to HT to direct her third comedy on the Hendersonville stage. She previously directed The Foreigner and Moonlight and Magnolias. She was last seen on the HT stage in 2018 in Rumors. Bristol has been a teacher for 16 years for Henderson County Public Schools.

Victoria Lamberth is an actor, director and writer who lives in Hendersonville. Victoria started acting in middle school, and she has acted professionally in Nashville, Los Angeles and Memphis. Her last appearance on the HT stage was as Barbara in August: Osage County. When she is not onstage, Lamberth is employed as Artistic Director of HT.

Jonathan Forrester has been acting, directing and stage managing for over 20 years. Forrester directed Always a Bridesmaid in 2021. Forrester is the Life Enrichment Coordinator for Trinity View Senior Living Community in Arden and serves on HT’s board of directors.

Parental guidance is suggested due to references to alcohol and smoking, adult situations and language, some of which may be considered blasphemous. Showtimes are 7:30 PM on Fridays and Saturdays and 3 PM on Sundays. Hendersonville Theater has made masks optional for patrons, but volunteers, staff and performers are fully vaccinated. No proof of vaccination is required to attend a performance.

Loomis Bros. Circus
Jul 2 @ 7:30 pm
WNC Agricultural Center

loomis-bros-circus-11

Loomis Brothers Circus began as a childhood dream for Justin Loomis and has now grown to be one of America’s best and most beautiful circuses.

Now in our 24th year, our show travels throughout the country, concentrating on the southern and central United States and visiting a different city every almost ever other day! Our show is presented in the traditional circus format, but with a modern twist. We are the only circus in North America to feature Three Rings, Exotic Animals AND Live Music.

Our production team is always working to bring you and your family the finest acts from around the world and our show changes with each tour, however you will always be led on a magical circus journey by Justin Loomis, the world’s premier singing ringmaster.

Our big show is a traditional style circus, just like you remember as a kid. The sights of superhuman athleticism and animal magnificence, the sounds of our singing ringmaster, the smells of fresh popcorn and cotton candy ….they’re all here.

Our International Cast of Performers will have you on the edge of your seat with their amazing skills which include a rotating program of specialty and animal acts from all corners of the globe including Juggling, Dogs, Rolla Bolla, Unicycles, Motorcycle Daredevils, Aerialists, and Elephants. All our animal performers receive the best, loving care –  24 hours a day, 7 days a week.   

When our circus comes to town, it’s always for a good cause. We are always looking at ways to work with the local communities in which we perform. In fact, our circus has raised money for organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club, Lions Club,4-H, Chamber of Commerce, Parks & Recreation, Elementary Schools, City Councils, Townships, Fair Associations, Zoo teaching programs, Regional Chapters of Shriners International and many more.

Loomis Bros. Circus will spark your imagination and take you on a magical journey where the impossible becomes reality. It’s good old fashioned family entertainment in your town! Don’t miss it!

RED, WHITE AND TUNA
Jul 2 @ 7:30 pm
Hendersonville Theatre

By Ed Howard, Joe Sears, and Jaston Williams

DIRECTED BY BETH BRISTOL

Welcome to Tuna, where the Lion’s Club is too liberal and Patsy Cline never dies. It’s the Fourth of July and time for the Tuna High School Reunion! Two comedic actors ignite the stage with over 20 polyester-clad characters from Texas’ third smallest town. Full of fireworks, fun, and gossip, this loving send-up of rural America is full of memorable characters and hilarious spoofs.

Red, White and Tuna
Jul 2 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Hendersonville Theatre

Welcome to Tuna, where the Lion’s Club is too liberal and Patsy Cline never dies. It’s the Fourth of July and time for the Tuna High School Reunion! Two comedic actors ignite the stage with over 20 polyester-clad characters from Texas’ third smallest town. Full of fireworks, fun, and gossip, this loving send-up of rural America is full of memorable characters and hilarious spoofs.

The Little Prince
Jul 2 @ 7:30 pm
Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre

Jason Williams

by Rick Cummins & John Scoullar book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Directed by Jason Williams Opening 6/10/2022 – 7/9/2022

Proud Mary Theatre Company presents: Head Over Hills
Jul 2 @ 8:00 pm
ARTISTS COLLECTIVE SPARTANBURG

Proud Mary Theatre Company presents the Upstate premiere of the bold new musical comedy Head Over Heels by The Go-Go’s, the Musical Comedy of the Summer for seven performances only June 24-July 2, 2022.

This laugh-out-loud love story is set to the music of the iconic 1980’s all-female rock band The Go-Go’s (2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee), including the hit songs, “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Vacation,” “Head Over Heels,” and Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven is a Place on Earth” and “Mad About You.”

The Masked Singer National Tour 2022
Jul 2 @ 8:00 pm
Bon Secours Wellness Arena

THE MASKED SINGER ranks as this season’s #1 primetime entertainment series among Adults 18-49 and averages 7.9 million multi-platform viewers, marking a +74% lift from Live + Same Day.  In February 2020, its Season Three post-Super Bowl LIV premiere drew a massive audience of more than 27 million viewers.

THE MASKED SINGER National Tour live show will feature celebrity guest hosts from the TV show (to be announced at a later date), as well as one local celebrity at every show who will perform in a top-secret disguise. The audience will attempt to decipher the clues to guess the identity until the local celebrity is unmasked at the end of the night. The evening will feature fan-favorite masked characters from the TV show live on stage in an incredible production of song, dance and craziness that only THE MASKED SINGER could deliver.

West Side Story
Jul 2 @ 8:00 pm
Flat Rock Playhouse
West Side Story. July 1 - 30.

The number one requested musical from our 2019 show survey: you asked for it, you got it! From the first notes to the final breath, West Side Story is one of the most memorable musicals and greatest love stories of all time. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is transported to modern-day New York City as two young, idealistic lovers find themselves caught between warring street gangs, the ‘American’ Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks. Their struggle to survive in a world of fear, violence, and prejudice remains one of the most innovative, heart-wrenching, and relevant musical dramas of our time. With a score by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, West Side Story is widely regarded as among the best musicals ever written.

Lunar Vacation
Jul 2 @ 9:00 pm
The Grey Eagle

Lunar Vacation

The week that guitarists Grace Repasky and Maggie Geeslin turned old enough to drive, Lunar Vacation was officially formed.

Repasky and Geeslin met in the eighth grade and began exchanging musical efforts almost immediately, but that blessed autonomy of first cars meant they could conquer Atlanta’s sprawling suburbs and play to their adolescent hearts’ desire. The pair forged a cluster of demos — just enough to fill a set — and took to as many stages as Atlanta could offer them. Local momentum building, they added classmates Matteo DeLurgio on synth and Connor Dowd on drums to sonically match their songs’ increasingly rambunctious spirit.

Upon high school’s end, Lunar Vacation released a pair of well-received EPs, Swell and Artificial Flavors, and landed support runs for the likes of Remo Drive, Sidney Gish, and SALES. The band nabbed infatuated fans across the US while racking up millions of streams on their independently released music. In more than one sense, Lunar Vacation had graduated.

Back in Atlanta, Geeslin was working in a record store (Criminal Records) when Daniel Gleason of the band Grouplove came in. Following a quick connection and hours of conversation, the members of Lunar Vacation felt Gleason could be one to color in the sound they’d been honing live — melodious guitars swirling atop propulsive, often psychedelic rhythm — and capture it in the studio. The band recorded “Unlucky” with Gleason and released it in early 2020, the song drawing attention as “swoon-worthy” from The FADER, “shimmering … wistful, sun-kissed indie-pop” from American Songwriter, and “equal parts Mac DeMarco and Snail Mail” from Paste Magazine. Lunar Vacation continued recording with Gleason in the producer’s chair.

While putting the finishing touches on their highly anticipated debut album, the band are thrilled to share new song “Shrug” via Keeled Scales, their first offering on the critically acclaimed indie label.

The song follows Repasky through an anxious conversation with herself. The melody is buoyant though agitated, its guitars warbling like questions marks and lyrics ringing distinctly relatable. Lines like This isn’t how I want to be / I didn’t know I could care that much and Invited but I’ll never show / Sit at home playing too much Wilco cut into a listener’s mind and vibrate there, like thoughts of one’s own. There’s a carefree sense of triumph in Repasky’s refrain: Why don’t you just shrug it off?

In “Shrug” as well as the songs to come, Lunar Vacation boast a celebratory sound, a reckless sense of ecstasy specific to fluid youth and rock solid friendship. In spite of life’s bits that inspire these songs — some darker than others — Repasky, Geeslin, DeLurgio, and Dowd reliably find the light in the thing. Drawing from early influences like Rilo Kiley and Tame Impala, and landing a little closer to contemporary favorites like Alvvays and Slow Pulp, Lunar Vacation make bright music replete with bliss.

Repasky suggested the band name Lunar Vacation to Geeslin at a show, leaning over at a loud moment to say it. It’s easy to imagine others finding out about the band in this same way.

FUTURE CRIB

A five-piece band of creatives based in Nashville, TN, Future Crib delivers dynamic performances that bounce between poppy make-you-wanna-dance tunes and experimental yet engaging tracks that prod at life’s shared realities. There’s a clear preference for good songs and exciting sounds over genre bounds and expectations, and this is evident on their upcoming album, Full Time Smile, set for release in September 2021. Over all, Future Crib creates music for everyone, inviting all to a fun, welcoming show where you can feel free to get down.