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.

Learn gardening basics on how to improve soil, composting, what and when to plant, pest control measures and other techniques to get your vegetable garden off to a great start in this 3-day program. Led by John Murphy. ZOOM Class. March 16, 17, & 18th. 3:30-5:00.
Free Drive-thru COVID-19 Testing
The Brevard Music Center in association with the Pisgah Health Foundation announces a free drive-thru COVID-19 testing site for everyone – the insured and uninsured, those on Medicare and Medicaid – everyone!
Keystone Laboratory of Asheville will administer the COVID-19 tests and antibody tests, with results typically available within 5 business days depending on volume.
When: Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Please no early arrivals.
Where: Brevard Music Center Main Parking lot (entrance on Music Camp Road off Probart Street)
Who: Anyone who wants a test.
How:
- Appointments are not necessary. Participants will be served in the order of their arrival.
- Participants can choose to be tested for COVID-19 via nasal swab or have the COVID-19 antibody test via blood sample.
- Participants will receive their test results at the contact information provided at check-in, typically within 5 business days depending on volume.
What:
- A driver’s license is helpful, but not required.
- A doctor’s order is not required.
- If you have private insurance, please bring your insurance card with you.
- If you have Medicare or Medicaid, please bring your card with you.
- If you do not have insurance, you will be asked to sign an affidavit stating so.
- Please wear a mask and stay in your vehicle while on BMC’s campus.
- If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, please seek medical attention from your medical provider, urgent care, or the hospital.
- Please leave pets at home.
Questions: Please email [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Join us for a small Paddy’s Day celebration on March 17th!
– We’ll have live trad/bluegrass music from Mike Martin and the Beautiful Mess from 4-8pm
– 2 Irish beers on tap: A traditional Irish Stout and an Irish Red!
– A little game of giveaways. Find a 4 leaf clover in the tasting room, receive a prize at the bar!

Join us EVERY Wednesday night for Kid’s Night! Children receive a free four-count kid’s meal with the purchase of an adult meal. See you on Wednesdays!
Join us for a virtual Jazz Hour hosted by composer and Steinway Pianist, Michael Jefry Stevens. It happens to be Michael’s Birthday. He’ll be playing his own compositions for the occasion. This program is free, but registration is required.
This program is sponsored by the Friends of Pack Library. Visit their bookstore inside of Pack to support them and all library programs!
Adventures in Stage Design
Age: Adult (18+)
Virtual Platform: Zoom
Instructor: Dennis C. Maulden
Supplies Needed: An internet connection. This class will use household art supplies such as paper, pencil, pens, magazines, scissors, etc.

Looking to get involved, stay active, and meet some new friends? Sand Hill Community Garden workdays take place on Wednesdays (6-8 p.m.) and Saturdays (10 a.m.-noon) from Feb. 27-Oct. 30, 2021, at Buncombe County Sports Park. The garden is located on 16 Apac Dr. in West Asheville/Enka-Candler.
Join friends and neighbors as they come together on common ground to raise fresh, organic vegetables and fruits for the Enka community.
Expect to wear a mask and maintain social distance throughout. Tools and hand sanitizer are available, but any gloves, loppers, pruners, or gardening tools you can bring will decrease the amount of contact between volunteers. Please wear work clothes to get dirty and closed-toe shoes. Sunscreen, water, and a hat are also handy items to have on hand.
Sand Hill Community Garden has been growing fresh produce since 2011 and raised over 1,200 lbs. of organic produce last year.
NOTE: Community workdays are weather dependent. Please join the community garden email list (send your info to [email protected]) to stay up on workday tasks and other garden news.
To receive the I Heart Parks monthly newsletter, sign up online. Follow Buncombe County Recreation on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates.

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Matt Waters is a soul artist from Cincinnati, OH. A unique blend of an acoustic songwriter & funk frontman, Waters began his career at age fourteen as a young guitarist searching for every opportunity to step onto the stage. He soon discovered his voice, and began stepping out as a solo artist.

Happy St. Pats! Come out and paint Emerald Forest with us! 16+ welcome. BYOB for 21+. Folks who register together will have a table for their group. Masks required but painters can take breaks for sipping!

Darren Nicholson Band is a group of Appalachian musicians who have common respect for and love of American acoustic music. There are GRAMMY and award-winning musicians in this band, and the members each have long track records as credible, national performers; including performances at Carnegie Hall and the Grand Ole Opry. They are known for creatively blending Bluegrass, Folk, Gospel, and Swing, into a new American acoustic music experience. Darren was recently given the “key to the city” in Canton, NC where he was honored for his musical and civic contributions to the community. Recently off Five national #1 songs and more than a dozen top-ten songs, 5 IBMA nominations, 3 IBMA Wins Including Album of the Year, Darren is excited to announce a handful of special dates with some bluegrass all-stars.
Come enjoy an evening of live music, food and drinks at the Isis Music Hall. Reservations are highly recommended.
This concert will also be Live Streamed from the Isis Music Hall Facebook Page

The Fine Arts Center Jazz Concert Series is a collaboration between the Fine Arts Center and Peace Center that gives up-and-coming young artists the opportunity to showcase their skills and perform in a professional setting. Featuring students from the jazz studies department, which is directed by Jazz Guitarist Steve Watson, these concerts give audiences a chance to see local rising artists. Wednesday’s concert will feature the addition of Jazz Saxophone, Jazz Banjo, and Jazz Mandolin.
Jerry Donoghue is founder of the Asheville Compassionate Communication Center and the Inner Presence Coaching Institute in Asheville, NC. Jerry is a Master Spiritual Coach who specializes in training couples to be more compassionate with themselves and each other through his courses and private coaching. He also trains helping professionals in gentle, non-invasive, non-prescriptive approaches to support that rely on the clients’/students’ innate intelligence. He draws on his many years of teaching people compassion communication, self-compassion, and nondual awareness work to create this dynamic Inner Presence Inquiry Work. He shows us in a totally practical and deeply experiential way, how to fully enter, lovingly embrace and be present to the disowned, painful and rejected parts of ourselves. www.ashevilleccc.com
What we’re about
The Asheville Wisdom Exchange is a sacred space for the non-judgmental exchange of insight and wisdom in our quest to better express the Divine inherent within us. Topics vary weekly utilizing a combination of experts and open discussion in a unique and respectful format based upon the premise that we all can learn from each other. We welcome you to join us and share your voice in the uplifting of humanity.
We meet via Zoom every Wednesday from 7 – 8:15 p.m.
https://www.ashevillewisdomexchange.org


Limited capacity, mask required
21+
Become booking ready after learning from commercial voice over actor and coach, Jessica Lynn Verdi. In this three-week course, you’ll pinpoint types of brands you’ll easily book, characteristics your unique voice offers, and how to put a demo together so that you can submit to agents for representation! Taking this class is the first step to a successful commercial voice over career from home!
Bio for Instructor Jessica Lynn Verdi:
Jessica Lynn Verdi is an improviser, actress, social media influencer, and producer born and raised in Los Angeles. She has performed in improvised plays in the style of Tennessee Williams, Dorothy Parker, Nora Ephron, Inspector Morse, Star Trek: TNG, and more. Jessica is the producer, director, and a performer in “Actor’s Nightmare”, “X-Files UnClassified”, and Ripley’s “GLAM” at Impro Studio in Los Angeles. She is also the co-creator and host of “Flip the Script” podcast, a gender-flipped vintage radio show, and can be seen regularly on the Twitch channel Hyper RPG as Hannah from “Rat Queens” and Chrissy from “Bloodcurdling Tales from the Loop”. Jessica also spoke on the “How to be a Superstar Host” panel at San Diego Comic Convention and starred in a Buzzfeed video that recieved over 1 million views. Jessica can be heard as the voice of Best Buy for their most recent radio advertising campaign.

Get moving in this fun, high-energy dance class focusing on Broadway-style choreography through the decades. Each live zoom class features a full-body warm up, a step-by-step breakdown of theatre dance vocabulary, and Broadway-style choreography to learn and perfect throughout the semester. Join Studio 52 to get a weekly workout, learn how to fill your movement with character, and step into your next dance audition or production feeling confident!

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*
Don’t miss our Opening Week Specials!
Wednesday, March 3 – Pay What You Wish
Thursday, March 4 – Dinner and a Show
Friday, March 5 – Post-Show Talkback
Saturday, March 6 – Post-Show Champagne Toast
Click here to learn more.
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
January 27 – March 24
Instructor: Lauren Hopkins
Supplies Needed: Internet connection, enough space to move around safely, comfortable clothes, light sneakers, jazz, or ballet shoes.

“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”

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March 13-21, 2021 – Online
Kick-off Live Event
March 13, 2021
Track Workshops
March 14-19, 2021
View 3 pre-recorded hour long workshops in each of 11 Themed Tracks:
Live Panel Discussion SessionsMarch 20-21, 2021Join a live Panel Discussion with each speaker from the Track workshops. Interact directly with panelists during the live Q & A portion!
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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.
Flat Rock Playhouse has launched its capital campaign, Rock Solid, in response to the effects of COVID-19. The campaign aims to preserve the legacy of the Playhouse, ignite the passion for theatre in the community, and revitalize the arts in Henderson County and beyond. The campaign kicks off with a generous match from David Leiman, meaning donors’ contributions will be matched dollar for dollar up to $118,000.
With the pandemic and government mandates still impacting live event venues, the Playhouse remains dark for the safety of patrons and artists. With performances on hold, the Playhouse has announced a capital campaign, Rock Solid, to preserve the viability of the State Theatre of North Carolina. Donations to this campaign will help to sustain the Playhouse through the following:
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Maintain and build back the staff as the Playhouse carefully returns to producing;
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Upgrades to technology;
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Management of the historic facilities and grounds;
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Ongoing operational needs; and
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A “rock solid” infrastructure for long-term sustainability.
- The Rock Solid campaign will be led not only by Playhouse leadership but also by a committee of community members committed to preserving professional performing arts, theatre arts education, and the history of the Playhouse. Dr. Pete and Jan Richards are co-chairing the Campaign Committee. These community members will be sharing their stories about the importance of the arts and their connection to the Playhouse throughout the duration of the campaign.

Plein Air Painting Tips
Don Osterberg has illustrated some of his advice on plein air painting with step-by-step stages of his pastel “Looking Glass Falls in Pisgah Forest.”
The watermedia and mixed media paintings, drawings, and monotype prints of Costanza Knight, also known as Connie Knight, are contemporary expressions that explore and celebrate the human form and the landscape. Poetry and narratives are often her creative touchstone, but she also takes inspiration from the landscapes she loves. Her diverse interests are evident in her varied styles.
Diane Dean talks about the process of painting a commission painting
Acrylic Painter, Diane Dean teaches her technique for creating heavily textured acrylic paintings using heavy gesso for surface texture, fluid and heavy body acrylics, brushes and palette knives.

Mary Alice Braukman presented “Free Up: Collage Surprise,” a workshop that was videotaped for viewing on the League’s YouTube channel. Students: Lisa Casperson, JoAnn Jenson and Sharon Richmond participated. Lynn Padgett and Diane Dean video recorded this event for publication on the Art League website for all members to view.
Braukman was the Director of the Kanuga Watercolor Workshops for 17 years, held at the Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, North Carolina. She teaches workshops throughout the United States, in experimental water media painting and collage for intermediate and advanced painters, consults on workshops, lectures, serves as juror in national, state and regional water media exhibitions.
Pat has been teaching workshops for over 20 years and has received several local and regional awards and has had solo shows as well as Kindred Spirit exhibits with her friend and colleague Janet Campbell. She is a signature member of the North East Watercolor Society, Audubon Artists, Inc. and a former elected member of the New Jersey Water Color Society and the Salmagundi Club in NYC.
Diane Dean demonstrates using a palette knife to complete a dogwood painting.
Acrylic Painter, Diane Dean teaches her technique for creating heavily textured acrylic paintings using heavy gesso for surface texture, fluid and heavy body acrylics, brushes and palette knives.







