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, April 14, 2018
UNCA Women’s Soccer v. Alumni
Apr 14 @ 4:00 pm
UNCA

Come cheer on the Bulldogs!

Environmental Awards and Trashion Show
Apr 14 @ 5:00 pm
Environmental Awards and Trashion Show
GreenWorks will host the Environmental Awards and Trashion Show on Saturday, April 14, 2018 at 5 pm. The event is hosted by the DoubleTree by Hilton Asheville-Biltmore at 114 Hendersonville Road in Asheville, NC 28803.
The Trashion Show is a new twist on the Environmental Awards ceremony presented by GreenWorks. For the first time, designers and artists throughout Asheville will come together to create one of a kind wearable fashion made from items headed to the landfill or recycling facility, or that have served their purpose and reached the end of their life.
MG Road Garden & Gun’s Mint Julep Month
Apr 14 @ 5:00 pm – 10:01 pm
MG Road Bar & Lounge
MG Road Garden & Gun’s Mint Julep Month @ MG Road Bar & Lounge | Asheville | North Carolina | United States

Garden & Gun’s Mint Julep Month is underway, and MG Road is joining the party! From April 5 to May 5, the Asheville lounge is whipping up their own version of the classic cocktail – dubbed the MG Julep – composed of Olmeca Altos Reposado tequila, coriander, ginger and lime zest syrup, all served over crushed ice and garnished with fresh cilantro. Bottoms up!

Senior Recital: Claire Lemke, voice
Apr 14 @ 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Recital Hall - Coulter Building, Recital Hall

Senior Recital

Spring Break at MG Road
Apr 14 @ 5:00 pm – 11:59 pm
MG Road
Spring Break at MG Road @ MG Road

MG Road is is gearing up for a week-long Spring Break celebration, including some of the hottest tunes and coolest drinks in Asheville! The lounge is throwing down from Sunday, April 8 to Sunday, April 15 with night after night of special events and tiki-themed cocktails – all to give you those Spring Break vibes.

Sunday 4/8 – The Return of Freaky Tiki ft. The Krektones & Food by Rick Shaw
Monday 4/9 – The Living Room Series “Special Island Edition”
Tuesday 4/10 – Classic “Tiki” Tuesday
Wednesday 4/11 – Panama City Beach Pool Party w/ DJ Lil Meow Meow
Thursday 4/12 – Early 2000s Karaoke – MTV Spring Break Edition
Friday 4/13 – Euro Trash Party w/ DJ No Respecto
Saturday 4/14 – Hip Hop w/ DJ Warf
Sunday 4/15 – Spring Break Blowout and Drag Show

Check out www.mgroadlounge.com or follow @mgroadlounge on Instagram for more details!

Asheville Tourists Baseball Game
Apr 14 @ 6:00 pm
Asheville Tourists Baseball Game

The Asheville Tourists are a minor league baseball team based in Asheville, North Carolina. They play in the Class A South Atlantic League and have been a farm team of the Colorado Rockies since 1994.

Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in different leagues and classifications for decades, with the earliest dating to 1897. The current team has played continuously in what is now known as the South Atlantic League since 1976. They have won three league championships, first in 1984 and most recently in 2014. Previous Tourists teams won a total of four additional championships.

The Tourists play home games at McCormick Field. The park opened in 1924, renovated in 1959, and renovated again for the 1992 season. McCormick Field seats 4,000 fans, and is notable for the scoreboard which reads “Visitors” in the guest slot and “Tourists” in the home slot

Asheville Tourists vs. Columbia Fireflies
Apr 14 @ 6:05 pm
McCormick Field

Come cheer on the Tourists!

LMP Movie
Apr 14 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
UC Theater, Hinds University Center - THEATER LOBBY, Hinds University Center
The Music of John Williams
Apr 14 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Spring Awakening
Apr 14 @ 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm
PERFORMANCE HALL at BARDO ARTS CENTER

The sensational Tony-Award winning musical about 19th century German teenagers discovering the tumult of sexuality amidst a heavily repressed society. Brief nudity. Intended for mature audiences.

The Diary of Anne Frank
Apr 14 @ 7:30 pm

The Diary of Anne Frank

By Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett; Newly adapted by Wendy Kesselman; Directed by Adam Cohen

April 13-29, 2018

Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 2:30 pm

In this transcendentally powerful play, a young Jewish girl named Anne captures in her the diary the claustrophobic realities of her life and the lives of seven others, all of whom are hiding in an attic during the reign of Hitler. Their fear, their hope, their laughter and their grief are shared, showing the astonishing resilience of the human spirit.

Asheville Symphony: Sibelius’ 2nd
Apr 14 @ 8:00 pm

Featuring Joyce Yang, piano
Jayce Ogren, Conductor

Asheville Symphony Sibelius' 2nd

Adams | The Chairman Dances
Falla | Nights in the Gardens of Spain
Sibelius | Symphony No. 2

Joyce Yang captivates audiences with her virtuosity, lyricism, and interpretive sensitivity. As a Van Cliburn medalist, she showcases her colorful personality in recitals and collaborations with the world’s top orchestras and chamber musicians.


The Asheville Symphony Orchestra, established in 1960, performs and promotes symphonic music for the benefit, enjoyment and education of the people of Western North Carolina. Adult prices run $24 through $69, and are available at the Asheville Symphony Box Office, the US Cellular Center Box Office, charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000, or purchase online.

Please visit the Asheville Symphony website for more information, or call 828-254-7046.

Gramatik
Apr 14 @ 9:00 pm
LMP Movie
Apr 14 @ 10:00 pm – 11:30 pm
UC Theater, Hinds University Center - THEATER LOBBY, Hinds University Center
Sunday, April 15, 2018
51st Annual UNC Asheville Juried Student Exhibition
Apr 15 all-day

The 51st Annual UNC Asheville Juried Student Exhibition will be held in the Thom Robinson and Ray Griffin Exhibition Space. This year, UNCA’s Art Guild will be sponsoring the exhibit. Art Guild, is a campus – wide student arts organization that is open to all forms of art visual art, music, theatre.  Entry in the Juried Exhibition is open to any registered student on campus.
This year’s juror will be Robert Tynes. Robert Tynes was born in Chicago and spent his formative years in Birmingham, Alabama, with regular summer retreats to the mountains of North Carolina. He received a BA degree in Art from Rhodes College and a MFA degree in Painting from East Carolina University.
Tynes has held over twenty-five solo exhibitions of his work and has participated in more than a hundred and fifty group shows across the country. He is the recipient of several artist-in-residence grants including two from the Roswell Museum and Art Center, New Mexico and one from the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming. In addition, he has completed several large-scale commissions for The Doubletree Hotel in Kansas City, IBM Corporation in Atlanta, and the city of Charlotte’s Convention Center.
Currently Professor of Art in Painting at UNCA, Tynes has also taught at the University of Hawaii, Humboldt State University in California, and East Carolina University. He was the first Chairman of the Board for the Black Mountain College Museum & Arts Center, and has served as a member of the Boards of Directors for both the Asheville Area Arts Council and the Black Mountain Center for the Arts.
An opening reception will be Friday, April 6, 2018 from 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm. The exhibit will be open to the public Monday – Friday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. The closing reception will be Friday, May 4, 2018.

Dream Silks by Kathy Goodson
Apr 15 all-day
NC Arboretum

With 20 years of silk painting experience, WNC-based artist Kathy Goodson uses poncho jackets, scarves and framed wall art as part of her exhibit, Dream Silkson display in the Education Center daily January 13 – April 22, 2018Using a multi-step process, Goodson applies French dyes to crepe de Chine using various techniques that are often layered, creating vibrant, rich colors. After steam setting, the paintings are often re-stretched and treated with fabric paints and/or wax to create additional effects. Inspired by natural beauty, Goodson primarily focuses on plants, flowers and leaves in her work.

Earth Skin by Trish Salmon and Crystal Allen
Apr 15 all-day
NC Arboretum

arth Skin is based upon the forms and textures of the earth using inspiration from aerial photography of Western North Carolina and topographical maps of local areas, including Pisgah National Forest and Balsam Range. Created by ceramic artists Trish Salmon and Crystal Allen, Earth Skin includes wall structures and pieces designed for mantles, shelves and tables. All works are available for purchase and a portion of the sales will be donated to The North Carolina Arboretum Society.

About the Artists

Trish Salmon

Trish has been studying clay for many years through the various classes available to her when she lived in the Atlanta area. Taking classes at Penland was a life changing experience and a turning point in her desire to become a studio ceramicist. She and her husband moved to Western North Carolina in 2007, and she has pursued her claywork full time after her career as a kitchen designer. Immediately after retirement, she enrolled in Haywood Community College’s Professional Crafts Program in clay where she received her Associate’s Degree in 2014. She currently is a member of the Odyssey Coop Gallery in the River Arts District in Asheville, NC. She is also a founding member of Artisans on Main in downtown Weaverville where her studio is and where her work is primarily displayed.

Crystal Allen

Before discovering ceramics, Crystal earned a degree in Graphic Art and Design. She has also taught calligraphy, dabbled in watercolors and and learned how to felt, dye and spin natural fibers from her own llamas and sheep. Most recently, Crystal completed the Professional Crafts: Clay Associates degree at Haywood Community College.  Her pottery is primarily functional, with altered or hand built additions. Her pieces are produced in her studio, one of her favorite places on earth!

I Am, Are U? by Zander Stefani
Apr 15 all-day

The AAAC is excited to announce Zander Stefani’s upcoming exhibition: “I Am, Are U?” in the Front Gallery of the Refinery Creator Space. An exhibition that ponders the phrase: ‘I am’, Stefani exemplifies the constant moral battle between self and other. The way all past experiences blend to become a reflection of the present moment. Life is a monumental journey and we are mere human beings facing the infinite universe.  He explores the questions of identity that we are all forced to face each day, contemplating the boundaries society embeds on us from the moment we are born. While this new body of work has a more developed sense of style, Stefani’s figures continue to portray the same sense of entrapment; plagued by the illusions presented in this world, yet realizing the infinite depths of reality. Intertwining tones of spirituality and street style fill the visual plane in Stefani’s work, bringing to light the palpable connection between the pure expression of graffiti and the intense meditation of spirituality. He tends to work autonomously, allowing the painting to reveal itself through many transparent layers of acrylic paint.
Zander Stefani (b. 1994, Toronto) is a graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design, in Savannah, GA with a BFA in painting. He currently lives in Asheville and has exhibited along the eastern United States. His work can be seen in the homes of collectors throughout North America.
Stefani on his latest body of work:
“Our world these days is so reliant on labels and beliefs in order to be properly delineated and judged. It is hard to have a conversation with a young adult that doesn’t end up revolving around social media, orientation, goals for the future, the steps you will take to get there, etc. We place so much importance on how we identify ourselves that our true spirit gets lost in the mix.
The confusion that comes after asking the first question, “who am I?” only leads to more questions: “what am I doing here?”, “what is my purpose?” “what can I accomplish in this lifetime?” “Do I stand up to those that have come before me?”. Growing up in a society that is so focused on the end result and the next step, it is all too easy to lose sight of ourselves and our connection to the universe. I try to create work that visually represents the melancholy attuned to human existence, an attempt at divulging the questions with no answers.”
The exhibition will be open to the public in the Front Gallery from Friday, April 6 – Friday, May 25, 2018 with an opening reception Friday, April 6th from 5-8 pm. The first 50 attendees to arrive will receive a free signed and editioned poster!

Roots of Wisdom: Native Knowledge. Shared Science.
Apr 15 all-day
NC Arboretum

Roots of Wisdom showcases the ways in which the traditional knowledge of native peoples and Western science are woven together to improve the natural world.

Featuring four indigenous communities, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, this traveling exhibit shares inspiring stories of environmental and cultural restoration that society faces today. Through the voices of elders and youth, engaging video interactives and hands-on games, visitors will gather resources, examine data and take part in the growing movement towards sustainability and the reclamation of age-old practices.

Exhibit support is provided in part by The North Carolina Arboretum SocietySmoky Mountain Living Magazine and Mosaic Community Lifestyle Realty. “Roots of Wisdom: Native Knowledge. Shared Science.” was produced and is toured by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). The exhibit was made possible with funds provided by the National Science Foundation.

Two Exhibitions Pairing Gallery Artists At Momentum Gallery, Asheville
Apr 15 all-day
Momentum Gallery
Two Exhibitions Pairing Gallery Artists At Momentum Gallery, Asheville @ Momentum Gallery

Local printmaker Bill Hall makes his Asheville gallery debut in a show that plays his graphic works off those of the late Maltby Sykes (1911-1992), while landscape paintings on found metal by Drew Galloway are presented with works by renowned wood sculptor Christian Burchard. These two shows run March 4 through April 28, 2018 at Momentum Gallery, 24 N. Lexington Ave, Asheville, NC.

Smiles of Spring Photo Contest
Apr 15 @ 12:00 am – 11:59 pm
Chimney Rock Park

It’s hard not to crack a smile while enjoying amazing views of Lake Lure and the Hickory Nut Gorge from on top of the Chimney. Capture photos of your family and friends enjoying the Park and enter them into our spring photo contest for a chance to win fabulous prizes.  We’ll use the winning entries on our website and Facebook album, and you’ll win some fun prizes. Photos must be taken within the Chimney Rock section of the Park.
GREAT PRIZES FOR THE WINNERS:
First Place – An overnight getaway to Hickory Nut Gorge with a stay at the historic 1927 Lake Lure Inn & Spa, two passes to Chimney Rock, brunch for two at the 1927 Lake Lure Inn & Spa, and two tickets for a tour with Lake Lure Boat Tours
Second Place – A Chimney Rock prize package including two passes to Chimney Rock, lunch for two at the Old Rock Café and two tickets for a tour with Lake Lure Boat Tours.
People’s Choice – Selected by our Facebook fans, the winning photo will be featured as the cover photo of our Facebook page for two weeks and the cover of our Pinterest board of winning photos. Prize includes two Park admission tickets, lunch for two at the Old Rock Café and a $20 gift certificate for Old Time Photo in Chimney Rock Village.
CONTEST RULES:

There is no fee to enter the contest. All photographs must be taken inside Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park only in areas accessible to guests between March 20, 2018- June 20, 2018. The contest is open to amateur and professional photographers.
Up to three photos per person can be submitted via any of the following ways to be eligible to win:

Facebook: First, like the Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park page and share our photo contest post on your wall. Then post your photo to our wall with the photographer’s name and a brief caption (25-75 words) through your personal Facebook account. Next, send us a private message including your contact information specified in rule #3.
Pinterest: First, re-pin our photo contest pin to one of your boards and follow our 2017 The Different Seasons of Chimney Rock Spring Photo Contest Board so we can easily contact you. Then pin your photo with the hashtags #chimneyrock AND #photocontest with your personal account, and include the photographer’s name and a brief caption (25-75 words).
Twitter: First, follow Chimney Rock Park and retweet our tweet about the photo contest. Then tweet your photo to @ChimneyRockPark with the photographer’s name and the hashtag #photocontest. Next, send us private messages with your brief photo caption.
E-mail: If you don’t have access to any social media sites listed above, you may email your digital photo with your contact information specified in rule #3 to [email protected].
Snail Mail: Send your print photo with the clearly marked photographer’s name, city & state, a brief typed photo caption and a phone number to: Photo Contest, Chimney Rock Management LLC, PO Box 39, Chimney Rock, NC 28720.

Every entry should be clearly labeled with the photographer’s name, city & state, a brief photo caption your photo of the Seasons of Chimney Rock, an email address and the best phone number to reach you.
Photos should be available at a minimum resolution of 1200 x 1600 pixels (1 MB minimum) to be eligible to win. Photos taken via smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices are welcome if they meet minimum requirements.
For entries showing human faces, you must list their name(s) and have written permission from any photographed person(s) to use their image.
Entries should reflect the photographer’s interpretation of a face of Chimney Rock. Emphasis will be placed on quality, composition and creativity. All entries may be used in promotions of Chimney Rock and park-related activities.
Digital images can be optimized but not dramatically altered with photo editing software. Black and white photographs are welcome.
Decisions of the judges are final.

Winners will be notified and announced  at chimneyrockpark.com and on Chimney Rock’s social media channels.
For more information, call 1-800-277-9611 or email us at [email protected].

Clemson Baseball vs. Miami FL
Apr 15 @ 1:00 pm
Clemson University

Come cheer on the Tigers!  Learn more at http://www.ClemsonTigers.com!

 

Top Bar Hive Beekeeping Class at Mayland Community College – Yancey
Apr 15 @ 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Mayland Community College - Yancey Learning Center

This class runs from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, Saturday, March April 14th, and Sunday, April 15th. A Gold Star Weekend Intensive is two full days, jam-packed with the information you need to be ready to keep your own bees in top bar hives.  It is appropriate for both novice beekeepers AND those with some beekeeping experience.

What we cover:

  • How We Got Here From There – A history of the beekeeping methods and agricultural practices that have brought us to the methods in use today. What effect are these things having on honeybees? What is causing CCD, and what can you do to help?
  • Inside the Hive – What are the bees doing in there? How can we support their natural processes and systems, managing the hive responsibly, but interfering as little as possible?
  • When to Do What & Why – Starting a new hive, performing hive inspections, comb handling, honey harvesting, wax rendering, mite monitoring, splitting your hive, winterizing. This section includes hands-on work with Gold Star equipment.
  • Terrible Things That Can Happen to Your Wonderful Bees – Forewarned is forearmed! Learn how to keep your bees healthy, and how to recognize and resolve problems in the hive.
African American Alumni Reunion Brunch
Apr 15 @ 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Hinds University Center - Illusions, Hinds University Center

Brunch for AA Alumni and current students.

LINING: SHEATHING
Apr 15 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Permanent Gallery

LINING: SHEATHING
Exhibition: January 16 – May 4
Reception: Thursday, April 19 from 5-7pm
Lining: Sheathing is a large-scale installation about the tactile and protective qualities of textiles by collaborators Denise Bookwalter and Lee Running. The artists have been working together for five years, creating installations and artist books that include printed fabric, handmade paper, woodblock prints, custom garments and embroidery. This installation has been developed in residencies at Penland School of Crafts, Penland NC, Constellation Studios, Lincoln NE, and Small Craft Advisory Press, Tallahassee FL. The focal point of the installation is a room-size tent suspended beneath a skylight. The tent is made from large printed and dyed textile panels which create a space that viewers can enter. Viewers are invited to try on one of the handmade garments and view the series of eight queen bed sized woodblock prints on handmade paper. For the exhibition at the WCU Fine Art Museum, Bookwalter and Running will also create a three-story site-specific window installation for the atrium of the Bardo Arts Center.

MUSEUM HOURS: Tues-Fri 10am-4pm/ Th 10am-7pm
Closed weekends & University holidays
828.227.ARTS

Image Caption: Detail: Denise Bookwalter, Lee Emma Running, “LINING:SHEATHING”, 2011

Scale Up: 10 Years, 10 Fellows, 10 Projects
Apr 15 @ 10:00 am – 10:15 am
Center for Craft
Scale Up: 10 Years, 10 Fellows, 10 Projects @ Center for Craft | Shelby | Ohio | United States

To mark the 10th Anniversary of the Windgate Fellowship, the Center for Craft awarded a total of ten, $10,000 Project Grants. This exhibition showcases how the next generation of craft artists used their funds to explore scale, installation, and community practice.

Artists: Andrea Donnelly (Richmond, VA), Josh Copus (Marshall, NC), Dustin Farnsworth (Montreal, QC), Brian Fleetwood (La Mesilla, NM), Ani Geragosian (Salem, MA), Adam Ledford (Philadelphia, PA), Rebecca Manson (Bedford Hills, NY), Rachel Mauser (Louisville, KY), Aaron McIntosh (Richmond, VA), and Mark Reigelman II (Brooklyn, NY).

School of Art & Design Alumni Invitational Exhibition
Apr 15 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Polygon

School of Art & Design Alumni Invitational Exhibition
Exhibition: February 13 – May 4, 2018
Reception: February 15, 2018

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the College of Fine & Performing Arts, the WCU Fine Art Museum invites 12 accomplished alumni of the School of Art & Design back to campus for this exhibition. Exhibiting artists include Amy M. Anderson, Connie Bostic, Mary Charles Griffin, Luzene Hill, Sally Jacobs, Cole Johnson, Dakota Ling, Jeff Marley, Olivia Mears, Tom Pazderka, Byron Tenesaca, and Preston Tolbert.

Image Caption: Tom Pazderka, Angels of the New Light, 2017, ash, charcoal, and oil on burned panel, 43 x 43 in

Willie Cole: Soles and Boards
Apr 15 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Fine Art Museum Gallery B

Willie Cole: Soles and Boards 
Exhibition: January 16 – May 4, 2018

Since 1989, Willie Cole has employed the image of the clothes iron in his work. Cole morphs this utilitarian object to represent and reference a range of associations from African masks to scarification to slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. This exhibition presents prints from Cole’s time working at Highpoint Editions in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 2011-2012.

Image Caption: Image Courtesy of Highpoint Editions and Willie Cole

Falafel 5K
Apr 15 @ 10:10 am

Don’t miss out on the only 5K race in Asheville that ends with a Falafel sandwich. Run with us on Sunday, April 15 at 10 am at the Asheville Jewish Community Center at 236 Charlotte Street! A local favorite, the Falafel 5K was voted one of WNC’s BEST road races in the 2015 Mountain Xpress “Best of WNC” poll. All registered participants for the 5K will receive a race shirt (unless the t-shirt free option is chosen).

Spring Awakening, a pediatric patients’ exhibition to benefit Arts For Life
Apr 15 @ 11:00 am
Spring Awakening, a pediatric patients’ exhibition to benefit Arts For Life

On April 7 through 23, Grovewood Gallery will host Spring Awakening, a pediatric patients’ exhibition to benefit Arts For Life, an Asheville-based nonprofit that provides pediatric patients and their families with arts education and engagement opportunities. An opening reception will take place on Saturday, April 7 from 2-5pm and feature live music by the Haw Creek Sweet Hots, ice cream by The Hop, and craft activities for kids. Admission is free.

All artwork will be available for sale, and 100% of proceeds will benefit Arts For Life. Grovewood Gallery will also donate 10% of all regular gallery sales from the exhibition’s opening day.

Every day across North Carolina, Arts For Life’s team of staff members, volunteers, interns, and teaching fellows brighten the lives and healthcare experiences of children and families facing serious illnesses and disabilities. By bringing visual art, music, and creative writing education into hospitals and clinics, they help these children and teens remember that they’re not just patients: they’re artists, musicians, and poets, with a world of possibility at their fingertips.