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.

Thursday, August 20, 2020
Western NC Regional Online Poetry Competition
Aug 20 all-day
Online

Caldwell Arts Council announces its “Western NC Regional Online Poetry Competition,” featuring Final Judge Kari Gunter-Seymour, Poet Laureate of the state of Ohio and $1200 in total cash awards! Click here for a printable pdf of these guidelines.

Eligibility and Guidelines:

  • Residents of the following 31 counties in western North Carolina are eligible to enter:  Alexander,
    Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Davie, Forsyth, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Stokes, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, and Yancey.
  • The deadline for entry is midnight, September 15, 2020.
  • Entrants must be at least 18 years of age at time of submission.
  • Each entrant may submit up to two original poems.
  • Cost to enter is $10 for up to two poems.
  • All entries AND entry fees must be submitted electronically. See below for submission and payment details. No U.S.P.S. mailed entries, checks or cash will be accepted.
  • Poems must not have been written before January 1, 2019.
  • Previously published poems are not eligible for submission.
  • Poems can be of any subject matter or style; however the Caldwell Arts Council reserves the right to decline the written or audible posting/performance of any entered poem to its website, or other Arts Council platform due to its unsuitability for wide audiences as determined solely by the Caldwell Arts Council.
  • Poems must be submitted electronically as a WORD document using .doc or .docx as your file
    extension.
  • Poems cannot exceed 100 lines.
  • All poems must be single spaced, in Times New Roman font, and be 12pt. type.
  • Winning entrants must agree to allow their poems to be posted on the Caldwell Arts Council’s website and/or to be used in subsequent marketing/promotional materials by the Caldwell Arts Council.
  • Entrants reserve/keep all other publication rights.
  • Caldwell Arts Council staff, board members and their immediate family members are ineligible to
    enter.
Bender Gallery presents artist Toland Sand
Aug 20 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Bender Gallery

Light Squared

When a friend gave Toland Sand a stained glass studio in 1977, he embarked upon a journey that would lead him to explore the myriad qualities that define glass as a medium. Sand’s 43 years as a sculptor has resulted in works of stained glass, blown glass, and every combination in between. A pioneer in utilizing the unique properties of dichroic glass, Sand begins his current sculpture with optical crystal and dichroic coated glass, hand worked by grinding in ever finer stages until a polish is achieved. Seeking balance, harmony, and symmetry, with an accent on deconstructed form, his work inhabits the symbolic, the cosmic, and the mystery. Sand is inspired by his peers as well as artists such as Isamu Noguchi, David Smith, Henry Moore, and Mark Rothko.
Sand’s work can be found numerous public and private collections including the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass, Neenah, WI, Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN, Imagine Museum, Sarasota, FL, and others.

Bender Gallery continues to be open and welcoming visitors into our gallery in limited numbers and with facemasks, of course. We remain dedicated to supporting our artists during these unprecedented times by making ourselves available almost anytime you wish to speak with us to answer questions and sharing their work online and through social media. We and our artists thank you for your support!

Friday, August 21, 2020
Artists Collective | Spartanburg 2020 Juried Exhibition Calling Artists
Aug 21 all-day
Online
showtime

Artists Collective | Spartanburg 2020 Juried Exhibition

4 state exhibit – SC, NC, TN, GA

We have struggled with whether to cancel this exhibit or not. We know that artists need this type of exhibit more than ever so we are continuing as planned. The dates are Sept. 15 – Oct. 17. There will not be an awards reception this year, but we will make the awards announcements online at a given time. The exhibit can be viewed during normal business hours. Last year this was a very successful event and prizes totaled $4500. We plan the same this year.

Arts Business Buncombe County, please fill out Survey
Aug 21 all-day
Online
Arts organizations were among the first to have to close their doors, and many have suffered substantial losses. Americans for the Arts Impact Dashboard shows over $5.2 million in lost revenue so far from the 89 arts organizations in Buncombe County that have responded. For perspective, there are (were) almost 500 arts organizations and close to 10,000 creative jobs in Buncombe County before the pandemic.

If you are an arts business in Buncombe County, please take a few minutes to fill out this survey! This data is vital to our advocacy efforts on behalf of the Buncombe County arts sector. Help us, help you!

Asheville Art Museum Family Program Survey
Aug 21 all-day
Online

 

 

 

 

Calling all families! If you visit the Museum with children and/or participate in the Museum’s family programs (or might in the future!), we want to hear from you. As we transition family programs to virtual or small-group in-person formats, we need your feedback to create a model that will work for you this fall. We’re giving away a FREE guest pass to one of the first 50 people to fill out the survey.

Asheville Gallery of Art August Show 2020
Aug 21 all-day
Asheville Gallery of Art

Asheville Gallery of Art
August Show
“Vistas, Vibes and Visitors”

“Vistas, Vibes and Visitors” at Asheville Gallery of Art

Asheville Gallery of Art’s August show, “Vistas, Vibes and Visitors,” is a multi-artist show that highlights the diversity of our members’ art and celebrates all that makes Asheville great. The show runs August 1-31 during gallery hours to be announced.

We named this show after everything that best encapsulates what Asheville means to us as artists. We live in a corner of the world that is rich in vistas, whether we’re in town, roaming the mountains or looking out our windows. And the unique Asheville vibe never fails to give us energy and encouragement to be who we are. The show is also about our visitors who support and contribute to Asheville’s thriving art scene. While we’ve missed in-person interactions with tourists and local collectors lately, we look forward to opening our doors wide to everyone once again.

As a 31-member cooperative, Asheville Gallery of Art embraces the diversity of styles, techniques, mediums and viewpoints each of our artists uses to interpret both the inner and outer world. Even during this time of pandemic life, we have stayed connected to one another and to our resilient mountain community. We continue to focus on making new and exciting works and letting our art speak for us.

We wish to share this new work with you as soon as we can. Please look for our re-opening date and updated hours by visiting the gallery website at www.ashevillegallery-of-art.com, or find us on Facebook. While at our website, please be sure to visit our new online store.

Grove Arcade Makers Market Accepting Vendor Applications
Aug 21 all-day
Online

The Battery Park end of the Grove Arcade is home to the Makers Market, an outdoor bazaar with a dozen stalls filled by artisans selling their craft directly to the public. The market is now accepting vendor applications for local artist to sell their wares, and the application fee is currently waived due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Learn more about the process and vendor regulations, as well as how to apply, here.

MPO Hellbender Trail Plan comment period open until Aug 21
Aug 21 all-day
Online

MPO staff has been working with their Regional Trail Workgroup to develop a draft plan for what we are calling the Hellbender Regional Trail. This plan is based on locally planned and existing trails to determine a network that highlights and emphasizes regional connections and potential overlap with roadway projects. The draft plan is open for comment through August 21st, and is available here: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/2516fc1870db47cb8e3c7aa36dbed751.

Museum From Home
Aug 21 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 programsvirtual Museum tourblog, and art activities through the Museum From Home page. Here’s a sample of our latest virtual offerings:
Work of the Week: Communications/External Affairs Assistant Devon Fero shares why Anne Lemanski’s Tigris T-1 is her favorite contemporary work in the Museum’s exhibition A Telling Instinct: John James Audubon & Contemporary Art. “As the tiger is positioned standing on what looks to be a circus ball, it feels performative—as if visitors to the exhibition hall are intended to stop and indulge in a long moment, awed by the dreamlike nature of the tiger.” Read more…
Take a 3D Museum Tour: Take a virtual walk through the galleries and explore each artwork. Within the 3D tour, click the smARTguide links on the yellow dots to hear audio information about selected works of art. Scroll down on the Museum From Home page to find tours of each level, and click here to learn more about the Museum’s exhibitions.
On Demand Fashion Show: Costume Drama Fundraiser
Aug 21 all-day
Online

Costume Drama 2020: A Fashion Show

Now available as Video On Demand!

All tickets are $25.00 plus taxes and fees and benefit ACT.


Asheville Community Theatre’s annual fundraiser Costume Drama: A Fashion Show is a fashion show where designers create garments from unconventional materials. Twelve designers competed in this year’s challenge, four were chosen as category winners – and one was named the Best in Show winner.

As in years past, Best in Show will receive a $500 prize, and the other 3 winners will each receive a $250 prize. Winners are revealed at the end of the broadcast!


Costume Drama: A Fashion Show originally aired on Saturday, August 8, 2020. Video On Demand of this show will be available for purchase until September 30, 2020 at 11:59 pm.

Sand Hill Artists Collective Apply to become a Featured Artist
Aug 21 all-day
Online

Sand Hill Artists Collective logo

Apply to become a Featured Artist

https://sandhillartists.com/featured-artists/

28806, 28715, 28728, 28716, and 28810 are the eligible zip codes for entry.

The 28th National Gingerbread House Competition Virtual Format Gingerbread Toolkit Released
Aug 21 all-day
Online

The National Gingerbread House Competition™

The Omni Grove Park Inn is revolutionizing the National Gingerbread House Competition – the largest in the world! – for the 2020 holiday season to ensure that the competition’s legacy built on design, innovation and tradition continues safely for future generations.

The competition will continue virtually without a public display of Gingerbread Houses at the historic hotel due to social distancing requirements surrounding COVID-19. Considering this, the hotel is generating engaging experiences in place of a physical display, including socially distanced alternatives for hotel guests and fans at-home to view the Gingerbread finalists, to be announced in the coming weeks.

Gingerbread lovers of all ages and skillsets are encouraged to enter the competition beginning August 26, 2020 and dream up the ultimate confectionary creation for the chance to win cash and prizes.

A renowned group of food, arts and media professionals – including Food Network star Carla Hall – will formally judge the Gingerbread designs both virtually and in-person.

Additionally, in lieu of an in-person August Gingerbread Workshop, the hotel will release a Digital Gingerbread Tool Kit including tips and tricks on how to digitally showcase their creations as well as the rules for entry in the new competition format.

Please visit The Omni Grove Park Inn’s website for competition updates:

https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/asheville-grove-park/things-to-do/upcoming-events/national-gingerbread-competition

 

  • August 26, 2020: The National Gingerbread House Competition Rules and Entry Form and Digital Gingerbread Toolkit are released
  • October 12, 2020: Competition Entry Deadline
  • December 1-12, 2020: Winners announced
  • December 12, 2020: Grand Prize announced
 
Vessels of Hope Fundraiser Chapter Two
Aug 21 all-day
Online

“As we continue to press into Hope, we continue to hear from supporters, and the message is loud and clear – they also feel the Hope connected to our mission, and want to keep supporting us.” Discovering new ways to sustain The Village Potters Clay Center during this season is the primary job now for the resident potters at TVPCC. As Sarah continues to apply for loans and grants, other potters are choosing hope each day by taking the torch from her to carry on the mission with a second “chapter” of Vessels of Hope.

The Village Potters are Sarah Wells Rolland, George Rolland, Judi Harwood, Lori Theriault, Julia Mann, Christine Henry, and Tori Motyl. They comprise an intentional Collective of potters who share a commitment to nurture creative exploration through education, experience, and community. The Village Potters includes a fine craft gallery, a Teaching Center offering ongoing classes in wheel and hand building for adults, an Advanced Ceramic Studies Program, and online demonstration and workshops. The Village Potters Clay Center is an educational member of The Craft Guild of the Southern Highlands, and is an official distributor for Laguna Clays.

Virtual Tour Asheville Art Museum
Aug 21 all-day
Online
Take a 3D Museum Tour: Even while we’re closed, we want to share the Museum and exhibitions with you and your family at home! Take a virtual walk through the galleries and explore each artwork. Within the 3D tour, click the smARTguide links on the yellow dots to hear audio information about selected works of art. Scroll down on the Museum From Home page to find tours of each level, and click here to learn more about the Museum’s exhibitions.
Western NC Regional Online Poetry Competition
Aug 21 all-day
Online

Caldwell Arts Council announces its “Western NC Regional Online Poetry Competition,” featuring Final Judge Kari Gunter-Seymour, Poet Laureate of the state of Ohio and $1200 in total cash awards! Click here for a printable pdf of these guidelines.

Eligibility and Guidelines:

  • Residents of the following 31 counties in western North Carolina are eligible to enter:  Alexander,
    Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Davie, Forsyth, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Stokes, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, and Yancey.
  • The deadline for entry is midnight, September 15, 2020.
  • Entrants must be at least 18 years of age at time of submission.
  • Each entrant may submit up to two original poems.
  • Cost to enter is $10 for up to two poems.
  • All entries AND entry fees must be submitted electronically. See below for submission and payment details. No U.S.P.S. mailed entries, checks or cash will be accepted.
  • Poems must not have been written before January 1, 2019.
  • Previously published poems are not eligible for submission.
  • Poems can be of any subject matter or style; however the Caldwell Arts Council reserves the right to decline the written or audible posting/performance of any entered poem to its website, or other Arts Council platform due to its unsuitability for wide audiences as determined solely by the Caldwell Arts Council.
  • Poems must be submitted electronically as a WORD document using .doc or .docx as your file
    extension.
  • Poems cannot exceed 100 lines.
  • All poems must be single spaced, in Times New Roman font, and be 12pt. type.
  • Winning entrants must agree to allow their poems to be posted on the Caldwell Arts Council’s website and/or to be used in subsequent marketing/promotional materials by the Caldwell Arts Council.
  • Entrants reserve/keep all other publication rights.
  • Caldwell Arts Council staff, board members and their immediate family members are ineligible to
    enter.
Bender Gallery presents artist Toland Sand
Aug 21 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Bender Gallery

Light Squared

When a friend gave Toland Sand a stained glass studio in 1977, he embarked upon a journey that would lead him to explore the myriad qualities that define glass as a medium. Sand’s 43 years as a sculptor has resulted in works of stained glass, blown glass, and every combination in between. A pioneer in utilizing the unique properties of dichroic glass, Sand begins his current sculpture with optical crystal and dichroic coated glass, hand worked by grinding in ever finer stages until a polish is achieved. Seeking balance, harmony, and symmetry, with an accent on deconstructed form, his work inhabits the symbolic, the cosmic, and the mystery. Sand is inspired by his peers as well as artists such as Isamu Noguchi, David Smith, Henry Moore, and Mark Rothko.
Sand’s work can be found numerous public and private collections including the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass, Neenah, WI, Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN, Imagine Museum, Sarasota, FL, and others.

Bender Gallery continues to be open and welcoming visitors into our gallery in limited numbers and with facemasks, of course. We remain dedicated to supporting our artists during these unprecedented times by making ourselves available almost anytime you wish to speak with us to answer questions and sharing their work online and through social media. We and our artists thank you for your support!

Fused Silver Earrings
Aug 21 @ 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Ignite Jewelry Studios

Join me in the studio as we use hammers, saws, files and fire to transform silver wire into a beautiful pair of silver drop earrings. Class price includes all materials.

Saturday, August 22, 2020
“Say Their Names” Art Exhibit
Aug 22 all-day
Online

The “SAY THEIR NAMES” display at The Oak Street Gallery lists the names of more than 60 Black Americans killed by police officers and the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

Artists Collective | Spartanburg 2020 Juried Exhibition Calling Artists
Aug 22 all-day
Online
showtime

Artists Collective | Spartanburg 2020 Juried Exhibition

4 state exhibit – SC, NC, TN, GA

We have struggled with whether to cancel this exhibit or not. We know that artists need this type of exhibit more than ever so we are continuing as planned. The dates are Sept. 15 – Oct. 17. There will not be an awards reception this year, but we will make the awards announcements online at a given time. The exhibit can be viewed during normal business hours. Last year this was a very successful event and prizes totaled $4500. We plan the same this year.

Arts Business Buncombe County, please fill out Survey
Aug 22 all-day
Online
Arts organizations were among the first to have to close their doors, and many have suffered substantial losses. Americans for the Arts Impact Dashboard shows over $5.2 million in lost revenue so far from the 89 arts organizations in Buncombe County that have responded. For perspective, there are (were) almost 500 arts organizations and close to 10,000 creative jobs in Buncombe County before the pandemic.

If you are an arts business in Buncombe County, please take a few minutes to fill out this survey! This data is vital to our advocacy efforts on behalf of the Buncombe County arts sector. Help us, help you!

Asheville Art Museum Family Program Survey
Aug 22 all-day
Online

 

 

 

 

Calling all families! If you visit the Museum with children and/or participate in the Museum’s family programs (or might in the future!), we want to hear from you. As we transition family programs to virtual or small-group in-person formats, we need your feedback to create a model that will work for you this fall. We’re giving away a FREE guest pass to one of the first 50 people to fill out the survey.

Asheville Art Museum Now Offering Curbside Pickup
Aug 22 all-day
Asheville Art Museum

We’re excited to now offer curbside pickup on Monday and Saturday afternoons and Thursday mornings for your purchases from the Museum Store! Browse the selection of apparel, books, handcrafted jewelry and art, inspiring toys, and more online. Simply select “pickup” at checkout, and we’ll contact you to find a time that fits your schedule.

Center For Craft Artist Grants
Aug 22 all-day
Online

Craft Futures Fund

The Craft Futures Fund will support craft communities throughout the United States and their creative responses to COVID-19. These one-time, unrestricted grants of $5,000 will be disbursed to craft-based education projects that seed resilience, foster community, and amplify impact.

Grant Opportunities for the Crafts
Aug 22 all-day
online
The Craft Futures Fund will fund up to $30,000 each month from May 2020 – October 2020 to support craft-based education projects. These one-time, unrestricted grants of $5,000 will be disbursed to craft-based education projects that envision and build new futures for craft.
Grants and Funding of the Haywood County Arts Council
Aug 22 all-day
Online

As an advocate for the arts in our community, Haywood County Arts Council develops partnerships with schools, other nonprofits, county governments, schools, city revitalization boards, economic development councils, chambers of commerce, and tourism bureaus. These partnerships are often the catalyst for sustainable economic and community development using the arts and can lead to programs that connect diverse parts of the county through shared arts experiences.

With the assistance and support of the North Carolina Arts Council, the Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) has an important role in sustaining, growing, and advocating for the arts in Haywood County. The HCAC is a Designated County Partner (DCP) for the North Carolina Arts Council, and administers the Grassroots Arts Program subgrant process as well as the Artist Support Grant for Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Polk, Rutherford, and Transylvania Counties.

Grove Arcade Makers Market Accepting Vendor Applications
Aug 22 all-day
Online

The Battery Park end of the Grove Arcade is home to the Makers Market, an outdoor bazaar with a dozen stalls filled by artisans selling their craft directly to the public. The market is now accepting vendor applications for local artist to sell their wares, and the application fee is currently waived due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Learn more about the process and vendor regulations, as well as how to apply, here.

Kiln Maintenance for Great Firings: 1-Day Workshop with Instructor: Les Powell
Aug 22 all-day
Odyssey ClayWorks

Saturday, August 22nd
9:30 am- 4:30 pm

Want to know more about your electric kiln? Maybe how to maintain it and ensure that it lasts forever? Join Kiln Tech Les Powell, trained by Skutt, for a day dedicated to all things electric kiln. Les will show you how to replace elements, relays, bricks, and wiring. He will also demonstrate a number of best practices for loading and programs that will optimize your firings. Get the insider’s view on how to maximize your kiln’s performance.

Levels: All Levels
Tuition: $135

Museum From Home
Aug 22 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 programsvirtual Museum tourblog, and art activities through the Museum From Home page. Here’s a sample of our latest virtual offerings:
Work of the Week: Communications/External Affairs Assistant Devon Fero shares why Anne Lemanski’s Tigris T-1 is her favorite contemporary work in the Museum’s exhibition A Telling Instinct: John James Audubon & Contemporary Art. “As the tiger is positioned standing on what looks to be a circus ball, it feels performative—as if visitors to the exhibition hall are intended to stop and indulge in a long moment, awed by the dreamlike nature of the tiger.” Read more…
Take a 3D Museum Tour: Take a virtual walk through the galleries and explore each artwork. Within the 3D tour, click the smARTguide links on the yellow dots to hear audio information about selected works of art. Scroll down on the Museum From Home page to find tours of each level, and click here to learn more about the Museum’s exhibitions.
On Demand Fashion Show: Costume Drama Fundraiser
Aug 22 all-day
Online

Costume Drama 2020: A Fashion Show

Now available as Video On Demand!

All tickets are $25.00 plus taxes and fees and benefit ACT.


Asheville Community Theatre’s annual fundraiser Costume Drama: A Fashion Show is a fashion show where designers create garments from unconventional materials. Twelve designers competed in this year’s challenge, four were chosen as category winners – and one was named the Best in Show winner.

As in years past, Best in Show will receive a $500 prize, and the other 3 winners will each receive a $250 prize. Winners are revealed at the end of the broadcast!


Costume Drama: A Fashion Show originally aired on Saturday, August 8, 2020. Video On Demand of this show will be available for purchase until September 30, 2020 at 11:59 pm.

Sand Hill Artists Collective Apply to become a Featured Artist
Aug 22 all-day
Online

Sand Hill Artists Collective logo

Apply to become a Featured Artist

https://sandhillartists.com/featured-artists/

28806, 28715, 28728, 28716, and 28810 are the eligible zip codes for entry.