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, May 4, 2023
Luzene Hill: Revelate
May 4 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

An enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Luzene Hill advocates for Indigenous sovereignty—linguistically, culturally, and individually. Revelate builds upon Hill’s investigation of pre-contact cultures. This has led Hill to incorporate the idea of Ollin, the Nahuatl word for the natural rhythms of the universe, in Aztec cosmology in her work. Before Europeans arrived in North America, Indigenous societies were predominantly matrilineal. Women were considered sacred, involved in the decision-making process, and thrived within communities holding a worldview based on equilibrium.

Ollin emphasizes that we are in constant state of motion and discovery. Adopted as an educational framework, particularly in social justice and ethnic studies, Ollin guides individuals through a process of reflection, action, reconciliation, and transformation. This exhibition combines Hill’s use of mylar safety blankets alongside recent drawings. Capes constructed of mylar burst with energy and rustle with subtle sound, the shining material a signifier of care, awareness, displacement, and presence. Though Hill works primarily in sculpture, drawing has increasingly become an essential part of her practice as she seeks to communicate themes of feminine and Indigenous power across her entire body of work. The energy within her drawings extends to the bursts of light reflecting from her capes or the accumulation of materials in other installation works.

Luzene Hill was born in Atlanta, GA, in 1946. She received her bachelor of fine art and master of fine art from Western Carolina University. She lives and works on the Qualla Boundary, Cherokee, NC.

Pulp Potential: Works in Handmade Paper
May 4 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

Paul Wong, Carbon, silver and gold, 2016, pigmented linen and cotton pulp, publisher: Dieu Donné, New York, edition 3/25, 18 × 11 inches. Gift of Dieu Donné, New York, 2022.27.06. © Paul Wong.

On View March 8 through July 24, 2023
The Van Winkle Law Firm Gallery • Level 1

Paper is an essential part of the art-making process for many artists, serving as the base for drawing, painting, printmaking, and other forms of art. As a substrate, paper can vary in weight, absorbency, color, size, and other aspects. Since industrialization, paper has primarily been produced through mechanical means that allow for consistency and affordability.

What happens, then, when an artist chooses to return to the foundations of paper, wherein it is made by hand using pulps, fibers, and dyes that reflect the human element through variations, inconsistencies, flaws, and surprises? Certain artists have sought out these qualities and embraced them, making paper not just a support on which to work, but fully a medium in and of itself.

Pulp Potential: Works in Handmade Paper is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Hilary Schroeder, former assistant curator, with assistance from Alexis Meldrum, curatorial assistant. Special thanks to Dieu Donné, New York, NY.

Re-wild your Space with Buncombe County Environmental Educators
May 4 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Weaverville Public Library

Whether you live in a rural, urban or suburban environment, nature is everywhere!
Join us to learn practical tips on how to re-wild your land (or balcony!) to support a healthy habitat for butterflies, birds, native plants – and your family.
We will also discuss yard foraging and share recipes for delicious spring greens that many folks have in abundance this time of year.

Stained with Glass: Vitreograph Prints from the Studio of Harvey K. Littleton Exhibition
May 4 @ 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.” 

The Vanderbilts at Home and Abroad
May 4 @ 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Biltmore Estate

Included with admission

Back by popular demand, The Vanderbilts at Home and Abroad exhibition offers guests:

  • An opportunity to view rarely-seen treasures from the Biltmore collection
  • A first-hand look at the Vanderbilts’ lifestyle
  • Deeper insights into George, Edith, and Cornelia’s personalities, both at home and on their extensive travels

Access to exhibitions at The Biltmore Legacy is included with Biltmore daytime admission.

Too Much Is Just Right: The Legacy of Pattern and Decoration
May 4 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

In the past 50 years in the United States and beyond, artists have sought to break down social and political hierarchies that include issues of identity, gender, power, race, authority, and authenticity. Unsurprisingly, these decades generated a reconsideration of the idea of pattern and decoration as a third option to figuration and abstraction in art. From 1972 to 1985, artists in the Pattern and Decoration movement worked to expand the visual vocabulary of contemporary art to include ethnically and culturally diverse options that eradicated the barriers between fine art and craft and questioned the dominant minimalist aesthetic. These artists did so by incorporating opulence and bold intricacies garnered from such wide-ranging inspirations as United States quilt-making and Islamic architecture.

Too Much Is Just Right: The Legacy of Pattern and Decoration features more than 70 artworks in an array of media from both the original time frame of the Pattern and Decoration movement, as well as contemporary artworks created between 1985 and the present. The artworks in this exhibition demonstrate the vibrant and varied approaches to pattern and decoration in art. Artworks from the 21st century elucidate contemporary perspectives on the employment of pattern to inform visual vocabularies and investigations of diverse themes in the present day.

Artworks drawn from the Asheville Art Museum’s Collection join select major loans and feature Pattern and Decoration artists Valerie Jaudon, Joyce Kozloff, Robert Kushner, and Miriam Schapiro, as well as Anni Albers, Elizabeth Alexander, Sanford Biggers, Tawny Chatmon, Margaret Curtis, Mary Engel, Cathy Fussell, Samantha Hennekke, John Himmelfarb, Anne Lemanski, Rashaad Newsome, Peter Olson, Don Reitz, Sarah Sense, Billie Ruth Sudduth, Mickalene Thomas, Shoku Teruyama, Anna Valdez, Kehinde Wiley, and more.

This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and guest curated by Marilyn Laufer & Tom Butler.

Goodwill BAC – Asheville Meeting
May 4 @ 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Hampton Inn & Suites Biltmore Area at the Asheville Outlets

Please join us for the next Goodwill Business Advisory Council (BAC) meeting to be held on Thursday, May 4, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. We’ll be meeting at the Hampton Inn & Suites Biltmore Area located at 835 Brevard Road, Asheville.

Networking and Lunch: 11:30 a.m.
Meeting: Noon – 1 p.m.
Location: Hampton Inn & Suites Biltmore Area at the Asheville Outlets – 835 Brevard Road, Asheville

Topic: Tourism, Baby!

Join us for lunch and a discussion of topics related to tourism, which is at the heart of the Asheville economy.

  • Job creation and employment (seasonal and permanent)
  • Revenue generation for the local economy
  • Infrastructure development to support tourism
  • Impact on small business growth
  • Cultural preservation
  • Demand for real estate development
  • Improved amenities and quality of life
Environmentally Friendly Landscaping
May 4 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Bullington Gardens, Inc.

Many of the landscape methods that we utilize have negative environmental repercussions. Henderson County Extension Agent and host of the Gardening in the Mountains Radio Show Steve Pettis will help you manage your landscape in the most environmentally friendly way possible.

Ring of Fire – The Music of Johnny Cash
May 4 @ 2:00 pm
Flat Rock Playhouse

From the songbook of Johnny Cash comes this unique musical about love and faith, struggle and success, rowdiness and redemption, and the healing power of home and family. More than two dozen classic hits including “I Walk The Line,” “A Boy Named Sue,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” and, of course, “Ring of Fire.” Performed by a multi-talented cast, Ring of Fire paints a musical portrait of ‘The Man in Black’ that promises to be a foot-stompin’, crowd-pleasin’ salute to a unique musical legend!

Ring of Fire, The Life and Music of Johnny Cash
May 4 @ 2:00 pm
Flat Rock Playhouse

From the songbook of Johnny Cash comes this unique musical about love and faith, struggle and success, rowdiness and redemption, and the healing power of home and family. More than two dozen classic hits including “I Walk the Line,” “A Boy Named Sue,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” and, of course, “Ring of Fire.” Performed by a multi-talented cast.

 

Director Ben Hope adds “Having spent many years working on various productions of Ring of Fire (this production will be my personal 10th!), The most extraordinary thing I keep finding about Mr. Cash is how unanimously loved he is, even now, 20 years since his death. No other project seems to attract such a varied and enthusiastic crowd as the music of Johnny Cash. I think it’s because he wrote for the ordinary. His words and music are authentic and simple, and he speaks plainly about things we all connect with. He was fallible, with personal demons and shortcomings. He makes us feel like our own imperfections are normal and mundane, and he teaches us that there’s beauty and hope, even in despair. I love Johnny Cash, and I know Flat Rock audiences are going to love Ring of Fire’.”

 

Don’t miss this inspiring story, all the great music, and an evening of iconic Johnny Cash!

 

Ring of Fire is presented by WHKP and Carolina Ace Hardware. Flat Rock Playhouse’s 2023 Season is supported by Charlotte & Bob Otto, Optimum, WHKP, and WTZQ as well as the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. www.NCArts.org

 

For a complete lineup with show descriptions and to purchase tickets, visit www.flatrockplayhouse.org.

Elementary After-School Volunteer Creative Peacemakers
May 4 @ 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Deaverview Apartment Community

We are seeking volunteers to assist us in our small after school program for children in West Asheville in low-income housing.  We provide a safe and nourishing environment, healthy snacks, and creative activities.  Our program currently meets during the school year on most Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 3:00-5:00pm. You may volunteer for one or two days a week. 

Volunteer Responsibilities:

  • Assist with serving snacks
  • Interact with children during activity time
  • Supervise games and outdoor free time
  • For people with background in education, there is also an opportunity to assist with curriculum development and program planning and administration

Requirements:

  • Background check
  • Orientation booklets will be provided
  • Masks are required if unvaccinated
Enka-Candler Tailgate Market
May 4 @ 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Enka-Candler Tailgate Market
75% of Enka-Candler Tailgate Market proceeds go towards a student and summer camp scholarship fund for Asheville Farmstead School to promote diversity and accessibility to children learning about themselves and nature through farm and forest. The remaining 25% will be given back to the local Enka-Candler community, directed by the Enka-Candler Tailgate Market Advisory Committee.

List of Supporters (Discounts, donat

Flat Rock Farmers Market
May 4 @ 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Flat Rock Farmers Market

Join us on Thursdays from 3-6 pm through October

 

Celebrating over 15 years of bringing fresh, local produce and handcrafted goods to the community of Flat Rock NC.
Join us every Thursday, May – October at our location at Pinecrest Presbyterian Church at the corner of Upward Rd and Greenville Hwy. 

Mother’s Pizza Thursday Pizza Party!
May 4 @ 3:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Oak & Grist Distilling Company

We are absolutely STOKED to announce that Mother’s Pizza is coming back for a series of Pop-Ups this Spring! Come by and get delicious Neapolitan-style pizza paired with your favorite Oak and Grist cocktails. We’re even staying open a little bit later so you can enjoy the beautiful Black Mountain sunset! Make sure you cancel those dinner plans, ‘cause you won’t wanna miss this exclusive pop-up event! Available for dine-in or take-out!

MOTHERS PIZZA WEBSITE

Weaverville Library Afternoon Book Club
May 4 @ 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Weaverville Public Library

Join us this month as we discuss Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell.  We will meet in person at the Weaverville Library with the option to join in via ZOOM. Only ZOOM participants need to register.  Copies of this title are available at the library as long as supplies last. Newcomers are always welcome.

Sklyand Library LEGO HOUR
May 4 @ 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Skyland/South Buncombe Library

Join us for free-form LEGO building every other Thursday afternoon, at 3:30pm!  All ages 5 and up are welcome, but anyone under 10 years old will need to be accompanied by a caregiver.

LEGO is provided.  Please leave your personal bricks at home.

Crime and Politics Book Club
May 4 @ 4:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore

Crime and Politics Book Club

Crime and Politics is a book club for people who want to explore the overlap between true crime and public affairs. We will explore scandals, malfeasance, murder, corruption, and cover-ups. We will alternate months, beginning with a work of true crime, then a book on politics or public affairs. Crime, from the most personal to the global, is the theme. We meet the first Thursday of the month at 4 p.m. Contact [email protected].

Join host and Malaprop’s Bookseller Patricia Furnish to discuss a range of books across true crime and public affairs. The club meets in Asheville and offsite, usually at a restaurant, on the first Thursday of the month at 4 p.m. Please email [email protected] for info and instructions to attend. See the list of upcoming dates above and click here to learn more about the club, view important news, and find the pick for this month!

Intergenerational Lego Club-East Asheville Library
May 4 @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
East Asheville Library

Intergenerational Lego Club

Have fun building a unique creation with Legos at the East Asheville Public Library!
Flex your Lego building skills and make some friends while you’re at it.
Please leave your personal Legos at home because we’ve got plenty.

Open to all ages 5 & up.

For questions call 828-250-4738.

Reptile and Amphibian Encounters
May 4 @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Skyland/South Buncombe Library
Business After Hours hosted by Beer City Comic Con
May 4 @ 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
The Mule - Devil's Foot Beverage Company

 

Come join the Chamber for Business After Hours at The Mulehosted by Beer City Comic Con!

Calling all science nerds, comic fans, cosplay enthusiasts, and those curious about our scene, the inaugural Asheville Beer City Comic Con will exceed your expectations and delight all your senses. This dynamic event will be marvelous thanks to exciting comic book and pop culture vendors, brave local artists, magnificently big brained speakers, and yummylicious beer from Western North Carolina’s best craft breweries. Please join us for a special after hours that will be linking the Mule’s “Doing Good Through Business” event with Mosaic Realty and Pisgah Legal as well as a Comic Con Ribbon Cutting. Stay after the event for Star Wars Trivia with Kipper at 7pm! This is going to be a night you do not want to miss!

Feel free to bring a gift to be raffled off as door prizes towards the end of the evening. Bring your business cards for networking and a chance to win prizes!

This event is offered as a benefit for Chamber membership. We welcome you to come and check us out! Please contact Jessica Kanupp, our Member Development Specialist, at [email protected] if you’re considering a Chamber membership.

14th Annual Authors for Literacy Dinner + Auction
May 4 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Crowne Plaza Resort Expo Center
Not Rocket Science Trivia at Highland Brewing Downtown
May 4 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Highland Brewing Downtown

Trivia, Singo, tailgate games, and more! Our games are sure to challenge you, but c’mon… it’s not rocket science!

Open Studio at Different Wrld
May 4 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Different Wrld

Come have a drink and experiment with art materials while connecting with your community! Asheville Art Museum will host Open Studio at Different Wrld on the the first Thursday evening of each month throughout the year.

This free drop-in program, which is facilitated by the Asheville Art Museum and hosted at Different Wrld, aims to expose and engage participants with the Museum’s Collection and changing exhibitions. Attendees must be 21 or older to participate. The Asheville Art Museum will provide all instruction, supplies, and materials.

Waverly Front Porch Series
May 4 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Waverly Inn

Join us on select Thursdays from April through September for live Americana music from the Waverly front porch along with great southern fare and cold beverages. Bring a lawn chair and/or blanket from 6-8pm for a great evening in Hendersonville.

May 4: Jess Jocoy, Waverly Front Porch Series

June 1: Letters to Abigail, Waverly Front Porch Series

June 29: The Gathering Dark, Waverly Front Porch Series

July 27: The Last Full Measure, Waverly Front Porch Series

September 7: Angela Easterling, Waverly Front Porch Series

October 5: David Childers, Waverly Front Porch Series

Asheville Tourists vs. Greenville Drive
May 4 @ 6:30 pm
McCormick Field

Join us for Thirsty Thursday presented by Catawba Brewing Co. and 105.9 The Mountain. $1 Domestic Beer, $1 Coca-Cola and $3 Craft Beer.

Intro to Sketch
May 4 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Whitmire Activity Center

Want to know how to write like they do on SNL? Would you like to level up your comedy knowledge? Learn the basics of sketch comedy writing! We’ll talk about the history of sketch, and the differences between the famous sketch and improv schools based in NYC, Chicago, and LA. Want to learn about the crossover of skills practiced in sketch writing and improv? Are you interested in learning some of the differences between British and American humor? Are you curious about the similarities between sketch and satire? (Think: The Onion.) We’ll talk about it! We’ll read a variety of sketch scripts, break them down into parts, and learn the mechanics. We’ll watch a number of sketches together, practice identifying the formula, and specifically labeling what’s funny about them. We’ll also practice idea generation and pitching. Hold onto your hat!

About the Teacher

Emily Swindal lived in New York City for 8 years as an actor and improv comedian and relocated to Hendersonville during the pandemic. Emily has studied and performed improv and sketch comedy writing at NYC’s Magnet Theater and Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre NY. Emily has performed with an assortment of improv teams. Some of her past instructors include Elana Fishbein, Peter McNerney, Ross Taylor, Michael Lutton, and Nicole Drespel. She has a BFA in Musical Theatre from Shenandoah Conservatory. Emily can’t wait to meet you.

The String Cheese Incident
May 4 @ 6:30 pm
Salvage Station

The String Cheese Incident will be performing LIVE on the Outdoor Stage at Salvage Station for an incredible three-night run (Thursday, May 4th, Friday, May 5th and Saturday, May 6th)! Doors open at 5:30pm and the music starts at 6:30pm. All tickets are General Admission and these shows are all-ages with children under 7 free.

Root Down will be serving their delicious twist on Southern Soul food PLUS we will have additional food trucks on-site for the duration of the show.  And, of course, we will have MULTIPLE full bars open for you to enjoy!

American Brass Quintet
May 4 @ 7:00 pm
Tryon Fine Arts Center

Known as the “high priests of brass,” the American Brass Quintet has performed around the world and across the United States at many prestigious venues. Known for playing a wide range of music, they are accomplished in early, classical, and contemporary compositions. They play with assurance, technical prowess, and bravura.

Jazz Jam
May 4 @ 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
LEAF Global Arts Center

Our jazz trio with Thommy Knoles on keys, Felix Pastorius on bass, and Paul Gladstone on drums will perform an opening set from about 7-8:15 pm.

An open jam session follows. Drop-ins are welcome and encouraged for a suggested donation of $10.

Jazz Jam will feature a diverse array of music from jazz’s rich history, ranging from 1940s bebop up to 1970s jazz fusion, as well as material from prominent present-day composers. Bring your instruments and jam with us, or just come and enjoy!

LAZOOM Tours: GHOST COMEDY BUS TOUR
May 4 @ 7:00 pm
LaZoom Room


GHOST COMEDY BUS TOUR

Grab a local beer, crucifix and a rubber chicken* —You might survive this hour long hilarious haunted ghost tour of Asheville.

  • Guided comedy bus tour of Haunted Asheville
  • 60 minutes; tours run nightly after dark
  • $33 per person (Ages 17+ only)
  • Departs from 76 Biltmore Avenue

*Legal Note: Crucifix not required to board the bus; we do not condone exorcisms, chickens, rubber, or any combination of the three.