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.

Wednesday, June 17, 2020
Millennium Stage Couch Concerts
Jun 17 @ 4:00 pm
Online

Couch Concerts

Brought to you by Millennium Stage

Introducing our NEW series of live performances streamed to you!

It is in times like these that we need artists most. Watch talented artists perform their work and help us inspire, grieve, heal, and move forward as a nation.

LIVE: MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY AT 4 P.M. ET. (UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)

Cultivating Digital Photography Skills: Narrative Online Class Asheville Art Museum
Jun 17 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum Online

In this four-part class taught by Learning & Engagement Assistant Paige Taylor, explore ways to visualize narratives and tell stories using digital photography! Through a series of weekly assignments, create sequences of images that tell a story or express a narrative based on text, fiction, and personal experiences or perspectives. Use images from the Museum’s Collection and other sources for inspiration. Class time includes instruction, journaling, group shares, and discussions; individual preparation between classes includes responding to weekly photo prompts and short readings.

JUNE 3, 10, 17, & 24—Wednesdays, 6–8pm
Registration deadline: June2

THIS FREE PROGRAM WILL TAKE PLACE VIRTUALLY VIA ZOOM. SPACE IS LIMITED.

Good Vibes Summer Tour 2020: Rebelution + Steel Pulse, The Green, Keznamdi, DJ Mackle
Jun 17 @ 6:00 pm
Salvage Station

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Hendersonville Art and Architecture Walking Tours
Jun 17 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Henderson County Library

The popular FREE Art and Architecture Walking Tours offered by the Arts Council of Henderson County return for 2020. The 90-minute tour of the Historic West Side gathers at 6:00 pm in back of the Henderson County Library at 301 Washington Street. Tours are led by Doug Gelbert who has created over 400 architectural tours in towns across the United States and Canada. All tours are free of charge and no pre-registration is required. Just show up ready to walk. As always, dogs are welcome to accompany their well-behaved owners on the Art and Architectural Walking Tours.

Chorus Line POSTPONED to 2021 Season
Jun 17 @ 7:30 pm
Flat Rock Playhouse
Thank You For Being a Friend: The Unauthorized Golden Girls Musical
Jun 17 @ 7:30 pm
Asheville Community Theatre

Picture it. Asheville 2020 and the girls are back, the Golden Girls that is, in the production of Thank You For Being A Friend, the unauthorized Golden Girls musical parody. Our favorite senior ladies are spending their golden years together in a wicker-filled bungalow in Miami. But when pop superstar Ricky Martin moves in next door, his loud outdoor parties keep the cheesecake-loving retirees awake. The score is eventually settled at the annual Shady Oaks Retirement Home Talent Show. You’ll laugh, you’ll laugh so hard you’ll cry … and you may have some cheesecake!

Thank You For Being A Friend is presented as part of Asheville Community Theatre’s Artistic Horizons program, a program that gives local artists the opportunity to pursue new creative paths in the theatre. In the 2019-20 season, Artistic Horizons will feature four productions created by new, emerging, or established writers who are expanding their craft to include playwriting, or are helmed by first time directors who want to workshop a piece before committing to a full performance run.

Car Seat Headrest
Jun 17 @ 9:00 pm
The Orange Peel

Thursday, June 18, 2020
 Keith’s Corner! Czech composer Leoš Janáček
Jun 18 all-day
Online
It’s time for a brand new Keith’s Corner! This week, Keith explores the music of Czech composer Leoš Janáček, specifically the Adagio movement from the Idyll for String Orchestra. The featured performance is by A Far Cry, a self-conducted and Boston-based chamber orchestra.
Apply Now for a Preservation Grant
Jun 18 all-day
Online
Our second and final grant round of 2020 is now open.  We will be accepting grant applications through August 9th in the following categories:
1. Bricks and Mortar -Rehabilitation, restoration and repair of structures that are 50 years of age or older
2. Public Education -Development of educational materials and programs that advance knowledge of our shared history
3. Planning, Survey and Designation -Planning and design for building rehabilitation and restoration projects, historic resource surveys and local or national designations
Asheville Art Museum Summer Art Camp To Go!
Jun 18 all-day
online classes

Summer Art Camp To Go!

Join us for Summer Art Camp To Go! Sessions are available for K–12 students. Each weekly session includes several age-appropriate art projects using a variety of materials to engage students in an exploration of art through creativity and imagination. Enrollment is limited, and registration is required.Registration includes instructional videos for each project, art materials, and daily virtual classes. Virtual classes—beginning at 10am via Zoom—include time for inspiration, Q&A, and sharing. Streaming instructional videos and creative challenges are designed to provide hours of creative engagement at your own pace each day. All art materials necessary for each session are available for curbside pickup at the Museum the week before each session begins; if you prefer to ship materials to your home, then two weeks’ advance registration is required. Registration starts this Monday. For more information, email Sharon McRorie, education programs manager, or call 828.253.3227 x124.

Members: $85, Non-Members: $95 (additional charge for shipping materials)

Asheville Art Museum: #MuseumFromHome
Jun 18 all-day
Online

Now more than ever, we’re striving to provide you with inspiration, education, relaxation, and solace through art. Until we reopen to Members and visitors, we invite you to explore our Collectionvirtual programsblog, and art activities through the Museum From Home page on our website. Here’s a sample of our latest virtual offerings:

Work of the Week: Assistant Curator Whitney Richardson examines the history of craft and its ability to let historically silenced people express themselves artistically. When craft allows artists to make their voices actively heard, it can serve an even higher purpose. The pottery of Upstate South Carolina artists known as Pottery by Eugene offers husband-and-wife team Rosa & Winton Eugene a way not only to share their skills and creativity but also to communicate their voices as African Americans. Read more here.
#MakerMonday: In the 1960s, artist Ray Johnson began to create small collages and drawings. He mailed them to friends and other artists. Sometimes he would ask them to add something and mail it back. What began as a simple and creative form of communication developed into what is now known as “mail art.” For instructions and inspiration to create your own mail art click here. Look for a new art activity on our website this Monday.
Big Star Nothing Can Hurt Me-The Orange Peel
Jun 18 all-day
Online

BIG STAR: NOTHING CAN HURT ME is a feature-length documentary about legendary Memphis band Big Star. While mainstream success eluded them, Big Star’s three albums have become critically lauded touchstones of the rock music canon. A seminal band in the history of alternative music, Big Star has been cited as an influence by artists including REM, The Replacements, Belle & Sebastian, Elliot Smith and Flaming Lips, to name just a few. With never-before-seen footage and photos of the band, in-depth interviews and a rousing musical tribute by the bands they inspired, BIG STAR: NOTHING CAN HURT ME is a story of artistic and musical salvation.

Brevard Music Center Video of the Week: Morgen! by Richard Strauss
Jun 18 all-day
Online

Video of the Week

Charles Mutter shares a performance of Morgen! (Tomorrow!) by Richard Strauss with Ilona Domnich, soprano, and Anthony Legge, piano. The text is by John Henry Mackay, translated by Richard Stokes.

And tomorrow the sun will shine again
And on the path that I shall take,
It will unite us, happy ones, again,
Amid this same sun-breathing earth…
And to the shore, broad, blue-waved,
We shall quietly and slowly descend,
Speechless we shall gaze into each other’s eyes,
And the speechless silence of bliss shall fall on us.

Digital BMC: MOZART Symphony No. 41, BUSSER Etude No. 1
Jun 18 all-day
Online

Digital BMC

Selected past performances by BMC orchestras, faculty, and guest artists on YouTube, SoundCloud, and Open Air Brevard.

Free Video: India Arie – Worthy Tour LIVE @ LEAF Festival
Jun 18 all-day
Like many movements in history and moments that changed the world, there’s more than one step that pushes us forward. When thinking about how we can qualify the current moment, we have to look at what people are fighting for and see how they determine that progress has taken place. While many inequalities that people of color have faced have been outlawed for some time, it is the equity that has escaped them. The difference being an emphasis on the identity of the person asking for help.

For example, if Equality is synonymous with “leveling the playing field” then Equity should be synonymous with “more for those who need it.” Having a fuller appreciation for the difference is key to progressing our country forward. And we’ll know that we are moving in the right direction when disenfranchised communities feel hope and see change. Hope, that they will see a brighter tomorrow. Hope, their children will grow up without fear or prejudice. Hope, that the world sees them as worthy.

Music creates hope and change. From American to African voices, enjoy two vintage LEAF Concerts.

Jupiter & Okwess – Congolese Freedom Music
@ ​47th LEAF Festival 
Fall 2018

Free Video: Jupiter & Okwess – Congolese Freedom Music @ ​47th LEAF
Jun 18 all-day
Online

Like many movements in history and moments that changed the world, there’s more than one step that pushes us forward. When thinking about how we can qualify the current moment, we have to look at what people are fighting for and see how they determine that progress has taken place. While many inequalities that people of color have faced have been outlawed for some time, it is the equity that has escaped them. The difference being an emphasis on the identity of the person asking for help.

For example, if Equality is synonymous with “leveling the playing field” then Equity should be synonymous with “more for those who need it.” Having a fuller appreciation for the difference is key to progressing our country forward. And we’ll know that we are moving in the right direction when disenfranchised communities feel hope and see change. Hope, that they will see a brighter tomorrow. Hope, their children will grow up without fear or prejudice. Hope, that the world sees them as worthy.

Music creates hope and change. From American to African voices, enjoy two vintage LEAF Concerts.

India.Arie – Worthy Tour LIVE
@ 48th LEAF Festival Spring 2019

It Happened on Chiles Ave series Preservation Society
Jun 18 all-day
Online
Online Education Programming
Please enjoy the final installment of our It Happened on Chiles Ave series.  Thank you to our speaker James Vaughn for the hard work it took to put this series together.  All videos were research and produced by James and we can’t thank him enough!
Lovely Lemon Balm Learn Benefits
Jun 18 all-day
Online

Thanks to our friends at Living Web Farms for this video!

MANNAfesting Hope: One Ticket. Nine Families Fed. Fundraiser
Jun 18 all-day
Online
MANNAfesting Hope is a simple fundraising campaign to continue providing food and hope to the growing number of people who need our help.
We are asking our Blue Jean Ball enthusiasts, and ALL those who want to help our neighbors in crisis, to donate to MANNA in the amount of what one ticket to Blue Jean Ball would have been: just $95.
Your gift can help MANNAfest Hope for our community by providing enough food for over nine family food boxes.
(You can donate securely online at events.mannafoodbank.org, or send a check to MANNA with MANNAfesting Hope in the notes.)
Muscle Shoals-The Orange Peel
Jun 18 all-day
Online

Magnolia Pictures is thrilled to team up with YOU to support your favorite organization. You can help them out while watching our new releases from the safety of your home. When you buy a ticket here on your organization’s unique webpage, 30% of the net proceeds will go directly to them.

Located alongside the Tennessee River, Muscle Shoals, Alabama is the unlikely breeding ground for some of America’s most creative and defiant music.  Under the spiritual influence of the “Singing River,” as Native Americans called it, the music of Muscle Shoals has helped create some of the most important and resonant songs of all time.  At its heart is Rick Hall who founded FAME Studios.  Overcoming crushing poverty and staggering tragedies, Hall brought black and white together in Alabama’s cauldron of racial hostility to create music for the generations. He is responsible for creating the “Muscle Shoals sound” and The Swampers, the house band at FAME that eventually left to start their own successful studio, known as Muscle Shoals Sound.  Gregg Allman, Bono, Clarence Carter, Mick Jagger, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Keith Richards, Percy Sledge and others bear witness to Muscle Shoals’ magnetism, mystery and why it remains influential today.

Official Statement: Asheville Tourists
Jun 18 all-day
Online
Orange Peel: Black Lives Mater! Resources
Jun 18 all-day
Online

Image Map
BLACK LIVES MATTER!
We want to express our support for the tens of thousands of people right here in our community standing up against systemic racism and the mistreatment of people of color.  As a gathering place for the community which hosts diverse crowds on a regular basis, we want all patrons to feel safe, respected, welcome, and valued, both at our venue and when they leave. We are committed to listening, learning, and supporting black voices and black-owned businesses in our community.  Here are some ways you can help, too:

Phase 3 Industry Guidance from NCDHHS
Jun 18 all-day
Online
As we look toward the potential of moving into Phase 3 after June 26th and more businesses work to reopen and resume business in the new normal, it is important for businesses to stay up-to-date on the current recommendations.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has provided industry-specific guidance for safety measures related to COVID-19. Click “more information” below for industry-specific guidance.
Pisgah Legal: Benefits Guide During COVID-19
Jun 18 all-day
Online

This guide points towards help during this difficult time. This is not legal advice. The guide does not cover every
situation you may face. If you need additional help, contact Pisgah Legal Services at
(800) 489-6144 or apply online at pisgahlegal.org.

Pisgah Legal: Resources for supporting local Black-owned businesses
Jun 18 all-day
Online
Resources for supporting local Black-owned businesses:
  • The Hood Huggers International Green Book serves as a starting guide for anyone interested in supporting the resiliency of the African American community in Asheville. The goal is to highlight and connect the businesses and organizations listed, and to provide career inspiration for our youth.
  • The Color Of Asheville directory, compiled by Sasha Mitchell, includes African American owned businesses in Asheville, NC.
  •  AVL TODAY listing of local black-owned businesses submitted by readers.
These are just a few of the community resources available.
Please share any resources that you have to [email protected].
Pisgah Legal: Updated information for renters
Jun 18 all-day
Online

he information provided on this website is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact Pisgah Legal Services or a private attorney if you need to speak with an attorney regarding your specific situation. You can apply online for Pisgah Legal at www.pisgahlegal.org/free-legal-assistance or call 1-800-489-6144.

Pisgah Legal: What You Need to Know About Returning to Work
Jun 18 all-day
For Workers: Jessica Leaven, Employee Specialist from Grimes, Teich and Anderson, LLP, and Pisgah Legal volunteer attorney, presented a Facebook Live on “What You Need to Know About Returning to Work.”

 

Raffle: Trip to London or Cash Asheville Community Theatre
Jun 18 – Jun 17 all-day
Asheville Community Theatre

 

Tickets on sale through June 28, 2020

We know how completely odd it seems to be raffling off a trip to London right now. We’re barely leaving our homes for any reason, so jetting off around the world seems flat out bonkers! We’re hopeful that international travel and fun vacations will happen again in the future – and that’s why we extended and amended the raffle prize! If you win, you can choose the trip to London (and you have 18 months to book your travel) OR you can choose to take the cash value of the trip instead ($10,000).

Our raffles have been important fundraisers for ACT over the years, and this one is no different. ACT has lost 85% of our income as an organization, so this raffle is one of the few ways we can continue to bring a little money in the door.

Buying a raffle ticket is a great way to support ACT right now – and it just might be you who gets some really great news from us!

 

Resources to help us find our way to social justice and equity Literacy Council
Jun 18 all-day
Online

Racism, white privilege

and what it all means

Recognizing and understanding racism, and actively unlearning the everyday, built-in mechanisms of systemic racism is an ongoing effort that must be made by every single one of us. It can be difficult to navigate issues, origins, and solutions surrounding systemic racism, especially with so many different angles portrayed by the media.
There are countless truthful resources to help us find our way to social justice and equity. Here are just a few educational resources and ways to help our Black communities:
Educational reading:
The above photo has an excellent list of books!
Community:
Media:
Follow Black activists and voices on social media! Please reach out to us if you’d like suggestions on whom to follow.
Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy June Jamboree
Jun 18 all-day
Online

June Jamboree Experiences

This year, our June Jamboree celebration looks quite different than it has in previous years – it’s going to be a week-long celebration of conservation work from the Highlands of Roan to the farming communities in the French Broad River watershed. We invite you to come along with us on virtual adventures or self-guided driving tours. You don’t have to choose — you can enjoy them all! Check out the descriptions below; video, maps and other content will be posted June 15-20.