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.
A Once-a-Year Event for Railroad Enthusiasts of All Ages!
Celebrate the golden age of steam locomotives behind Tweetsie’s historic coal-fired, steam locomotives. Special attractions for rail fans, plus enjoy all of the Wild West adventure Tweetsie has to offer!
Come be a part of the fun when the West Asheville Tailgate Market hosts a big Haywood Road block party called the ‘Summer Jam Festival! It’s our way of saying farewell to summer and bringing the whole neighborhood out for one last hurrah before fall.
Summer Jam Fest is the market’s biggest fundraiser of the year. It’s a community-oriented festival with music (a jam band, of course!), food trucks, a bounce house, a giant raffle, lawn games, contests (like best jam, best beard, etc), and so much more!
Win prizes by entering the raffle (they’re just $5 for 1 or $12 for 3, or $20 for 5 available at www.westashevilletailgatemarket.com) or enter a pint of your homemade jam into the Jam Tasting Contest and you could be crowned Jam Royalty of the WATM-world.
To highlight the Call for Artists we are hosting our third and final
Fringe Summer Night.
This free event will feature 3 Fringe artist performances:
Amanda Levesque, Jenni Cockrell, and Alli Marshall
who will present performance art, butoh dance, and spoken word. Fringe Festival organizers will be also encouraging proposal submissions and answering questions about the process.
To apply for the 2020 Asheville Fringe Arts Festival, go to our all new website: http://www.ashevillefringe.
As always, we seek to create a festival line-up that includes dance, puppetry, storytelling, performance art, theatre, and things that blur the lines. Artists are encouraged to bring their most daring work, and will find full support from the Asheville Fringe Family.
Discover the beauty of the Appalachia’s both wild and rural. Your day begins with the expansive views of Chimney Rock State Park where your group is welcome to enjoy one of the many leisure or intensive hiking trails on the property. Lunch at the award-winning Old Rock Cafe is included with this package to enjoy at your leisure after 11am. At 2pm, join the park’s animal educators for the Animal Encounter, an interactive experience where you can touch, feel, and learn about the wildlife at the park. After meeting the animals of the wild, your group will drive an easy 20 minutes North up 74A for the evening portion of your day trip.
Starting at 4pm, your evening encounter begins with an in-depth tour of the farm’s history and agricultural model along with a meet-and-greet of our farm animals. Choose our standard top-tier tour or upgrade to a horseback ride for an intimate farm experience. Immediately following the tour, your group will be treated to a plated Farm-to-Fork meal prepared by our expert catering chef including an adult beverage of your choice. Finish the day with engaging conversations and gorgeous long-range views as the sun sets.
This Labor Day Weekend art affair will feature a collection of national and regional artists specializing in hand-made works of art. There will be painters, potters, jewelers, glass blowers and much more. Asheville’s historic Pack Square is the picturesque venue for the Downtown Asheville Festival of the Arts. The show is set up on N. and S. Pack Square around Vance Memorial.
SEPTEMBER THROUGH NOVEMBER
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Bouncy House (Weekends)
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Music Making Sound Silo
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U-pick Apple Orchard
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Rides Included with Admission (Weekends)
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Outdoor Corn Pit Box and Parent Lounge
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Daily Baby Calf Feeding at 10:30am (Everyday)
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Weekend Baby Chick Holding at 2pm (Weekends)
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Weekend Only Demos (Vary per weekend)
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Examples: WNC Nature Center, Chimney Rock State Park Animal Encounter, spinning and weaving demo, pottery demo, other animal encounters
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Time Honored Traditions
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Hay Rides (Now Included in Fall Admission)
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Kiddie Cart Rides (Now Included in Fall Admission)
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Horseback Rides
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Pumpkin picking (October)
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Apple Tasting and picking
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Meadow Maze
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Lawn Games
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Trike Track
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Farm Scavenger Hunt
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Cider Pressing and Sampling
This Labor Day Weekend art affair will feature a collection of national and regional artists specializing in hand-made works of art. There will be painters, potters, jewelers, glass blowers and much more. Asheville’s historic Pack Square is the picturesque venue for the Downtown Asheville Festival of the Arts. The show is set up on N. and S. Pack Square around Vance Memorial.
?Saturday, September 7th 11am-6:30pm
✨ASHEVILLE✨
Hickory Nut Gap Farm Renaissance Faire
57 Sugar Hollow Rd, Fairview, North Carolina 28730
***PLEASE NOTE THERE IS AN ENTRANCE FEE***
Sign up here to reserve your spot and for more information:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B044BA5AB2FA1FA7-hickory3
Attention all knights, pages, jesters, jousters, kings, queens, princesses and princes! Get your costumes ready, and come out and have some fun on September 7th! Boys, girls, moms, dads, come one, come all to the First Annual Renaissance Fair at the Farm. We have all sorts of fun demonstrations planned, such as fencing, sword fighting, and juggling. Other activities to be announced, including a costume contest!
Head to the bucolic hills of Fairview, just southeast of Asheville, where western North Carolina’s rich agricultural heritage lives on at family farms and artisan food producers. Experience the century-plus legacy of Hickory Nut Gap Farm, a sustainable farm run by the fifth generation of family owners. Savor award-winning farmstead cheeses at Looking Glass Creamery–a place so hands-on, the cheese maker milks the cows herself–and pick up fresh-from-the-fields produce at Flying Cloud Farm. Along the way, enjoy locally produced beverages. Live music at Hickory Nut Gap Farm by Zoe and Cloyd.
at each farm, there is a guest chef providing a dish featuring products from that particular farm. There will be a beverage pairing at each stop. At Hickory Nut Gap Farm, there are a few chef stations and live music. Transportation to and from downtown is also provided for this event.
Must be 21 and older to attend all Chow Chow events!
All events, prices, personalities, performances, venues, dates, and times are subject to change without notice. All sales are final.
Sponsored and coordinated by The Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce, the team lovingly refers to this year’s event as the Second-THIRD-ANNUAL HARMON FIELD MUSIC FESTIVAL. On Saturday, September 14 (12:00 noon to 8:00 pm), five great bands all headline the event Rich Nelson Band, Nobody’s Fault, Citizen Mojo, Lecretia w/Thunder Road, Shane Pruitt and Gregory Hodges. The music offerings are a blend of Country, Rock and Blues.
Bring your dancing shoes, a pop-up chair and a great attitude to enjoy Harmon Field at its very best! The music festival is going to be a BLAST! An assortment of food trucks will be on site. Beer and wine will also be available for purchase. A car show and craft/vendor market will also be available for perusing during the day.
Tickets can be purchased at the gate or online at CarolinaFoothillsChamber.com. Tickets are also available at the Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce office, One of the goals was to make this event affordable for attendees. Starting at 12:00 noon and running until 8:00 pm – it runs about a $1 an hour! Tickets are $8. In advance and $10. at the gate. Children 12 and under are free.
Band schedule:
Nobody’s Fault
12:20-1:45
Rich Nelson Band
2:05-3:20
Lecretia w/ Thunder Road
3:40-4:55
Citizen Mojo
5:15-6:30
SHANE PRUITT w/ Gregory Hodges
6:45-8:00 pm
Festival gate and parking will be near the Tryon Arts & Crafts Building. For more information, contact the Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce at 828-859-6236 or visit the chamber’s website and Facebook Page.
The semi-annual event is open to all children ages 15 and under and is sponsored by Buncombe County Recreation Services.
Fishing begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends promptly at 11:30 a.m.
Register online now through September 12 at midnight. On-site registration will also be available at 8:00 a.m. the day of the tournament. Your registration fee covers fishing bait, snacks, and a hot dog lunch at the conclusion of the tournament. No fishing license is required for children under 16 years of age.
This is a catch and release event. Lake Julian Park will supply a bucket for each competitor’s catch. After the fish has been weighed and measured, it will be released back into the lake. Participants bring their own pole.
Fishing is allowed anyplace inside the Lake Julian Park boundaries. No boat fishing is allowed. All children must be accompanied by at least one adult.
Children will be grouped into one of five age categories and prizes awarded in each category. Prizes will be given for the biggest fish, the smallest fish, and the most fish caught. In addition, all competitors in every age group will have an opportunity to show off their casting skills. Casting poles and targets are provided and children can demonstrate their ability anytime during the tournament. There are prizes for the winners of the casting competition, too!
For years, the Sierra Club has worked with Asheville Greenworks (which provides all the equipment) to be on the French Broad River in Asheville (or perhaps the Swannanoa River) picking up trash by canoe. Kayakers can bring their own craft.
Enjoy music by Queen Bee and the Honeylovers, learn about the connections between personal, environmental, and community health, and support local nonprofits.
Integrative Family Medicine of Asheville and Wedge at Foundation are hosting the second annual Mountain Medicine Festival, a community celebration and concert highlighting the health benefits of nature and benefiting local environmental nonprofits. The all ages event will take place on Sunday, September 15, from 4:30 pm–6:30 pm at the Wedge at Foundation on Foundry Street.
“New research confirms the timeless wisdom that our health is inextricably linked with both our natural and social environment. We want to highlight and nurture these relationships to support our community,” said Dr. Brian Lewis, MD, MPH. Dr. Lewis and Dr. Chad Krisel are founders, owners, and medical providers at Integrative Family Medicine of Asheville.
Queen Bee and the Honeylovers (swing jazz) will perform, and several local environmental nonprofits will staff booths to highlight their advocacy work and volunteer opportunities.
The festival is free to attend, but donations are encouraged. All donations received will be split equally between the featured environmental nonprofits: Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, MountainTrue, Dogwood Alliance, Conserving Carolina, and Asheville GreenWorks.
New Belgium Brewing’s annual Tour de Fat is back for 2019, offering a day packed full of free festivities celebrating beer, bikes, and bemusement. This year’s tour kicks off on August 31 in Fort Collins, CO, heads to Asheville, NC, on Sept. 21, and wraps up in Tempe, AZ on October 5.
Each festival gets underway with a wildly popular costumed group bicycle ride roaming public streets in human-powered, two-wheeled euphoria. Immediately following each bike parade, revelers amass at a transformed outdoor space for an afternoon of unforgettable FREE entertainment from a touring ensemble of comedians, cirque performers, general mayhemists, top-notch live musicians and world-class New Belgium beer.
“Our love for bikes runs deep at New Belgium – we like to say our brewery was born on a bicycle seat – so every year we spread that love around the country by coming into towns and hosting the best way to spend a Saturday,” said Tour de Fat Brand Manager, John Yeast. “Big thanks in advance to everyone who will celebrate with us as we attempt to eclipse the $6 million mark of funds raised and donated to nonprofit organizations.”
This year marks the 20th season for Tour de Fat, which has raised nearly $6 million for local non-profits since it all began. The daylong festivities are free, but proceeds from beer and merchandise sales, along with parade donations, go to local non-profits. New in 2019 is a pedal-powered parade participant contest parade contest where winners will be selected based on the creativity, flair and uniqueness of their pedal-powered parade “vehicle” and rewarded with a prize pack that includes up to $500 worth of fixings to throw one heck of a party.
“A typical Tour de Fat parade draws thousands of costumed revelers together who share our mission to amaze and entertain,” Yeast explained. “To further stoke those creative fires, this year we’re offering a super sweet prize package to those people, businesses, civic groups, and the like who wow the crowd by rolling around in unmatched one-of-a-kind style.”
In typical New Belgium style, the brewery tries to leave as little of an environmental imprint as possible. Tour de Fat hosts green vendors, has compost and recycle stations and consciously works diligently to practice sustainable festivization.
“Bicycles basically run on fat and save you money, so they fit perfectly with our commitment to sustainability. Riding improves physical wellness and mental health, reduces CO2 emissions and provides a responsible form of transportation after a beer. Or two,” Yeast said.
Enjoy the sights, sounds and tastes of the African-Caribbean. Goombay brings a variety of entertainment including dancing and the beating of West African drums ringing with the harmonic live music featuring gospel, reggae, funk and soul.
Visit contact web site for details. https://www.eventyas.com/US/Asheville/1468195370123474/Asheville-Goombay-Festival
Goombay Hours
Friday: 6-10 PM
Saturday: 11 AM-10 PM
Sunday: 12-6 PM
We’ll gather under the last evening skies of summer to observe the night sky and its wonders. Local astronomer Stephan Martin will give a tour of the stars and constellations of the summer sky while discussing some of their myths and the astronomical phenomena happening at this time. We may even see a few Taurid meteors cross our skies! All ages are welcome and no background in astronomy or science is required.
August 23, Appalachian Ridge Hard Cidery in Hendersonville
August 24, HiWire Brewing Company at the Big Top
Sept. 22, UpCountry Brewing on Haywood Road
Sept. 28, Southern Appalachian Brewery in Hendersonville
Oct. 4, Garden Deli in Burnsville
Oct. 6, Emmanuel Lutheran Church and School in West Asheville
Oct. 10, Highland Brewing Company and
Oct. 20, Saint Paul Mountain Vineyard in Hendersonville
A weekend of camping, community, connection, and celebration with van dwellers, weekend warriors, roadtrippers, overlanding geeks, and all sorts of adventure mobile lovers. There will be 400 vehicles camping and 3,000 daytime visitors on a beautiful 65-acre property just 20 minutes from downtown Asheville.
Join us for the weekend, or as a visitor Saturday during our general admission hours (10am-10pm). More information on our ticketing site.
This is a family-friendly event where all are welcome!
Beginner’s workshop lesson at 7:30 P.M., then 8-11 P.M. Contra Dance with Country Waltzing at the break and the final dance. This is a partner dance but it’s not necessary to come with a partner. We have different live bands and callers.
“Fever Dreams”
Director: Rob Underhill (Carrboro, NC)
2nd Prize Feature film winner of the 25th annual Twin Rivers Media Festival
Four creepytales guaranteed to give you Fever Dreams…The Agent: an alcoholic screenplay middleman becomes trapped in acting out a nightmare scripted especially for him. The Entertainer: our host reveals on national television a tragic love story… and the contents of his coffee table. This is followed by a concise vignette on the importance of Timed Romance. The Cameraman: a wannabee movie-maker’s documentary turns into a real life horror story! Filmmakers, Director and Actors will attend the screening and be available for questions.
Doors open at 7:30 / Film begins at 8:00. Open donation.
August 23, Appalachian Ridge Hard Cidery in Hendersonville
August 24, HiWire Brewing Company at the Big Top
Sept. 22, UpCountry Brewing on Haywood Road
Sept. 28, Southern Appalachian Brewery in Hendersonville
Oct. 4, Garden Deli in Burnsville
Oct. 6, Emmanuel Lutheran Church and School in West Asheville
Oct. 10, Highland Brewing Company and
Oct. 20, Saint Paul Mountain Vineyard in Hendersonville
Leave your passports at home and visit Europe in Asheville!
The party kicks off at a steel foundry turned luxury hotel and then travels from the heart of Asheville to England, Italy and France, with food and cocktails inspired by each location.
The homes we are visiting are historic and guests should be prepared for stairs and uneven surfaces.
Blue Ridge Pride is back and better than ever! The festivities begin on Friday evening with Friday in the Park, an opportunity for youth performers to showcase their talents on the stage at Pack Square Park!
A procession from Scandals Nightclub on Grove St. kicks off Saturday’s event at 10:00 a.m., come out and show your pride all the way from Scandals to Pack Square Park!
Finally, the festival begins at Pack Square Park at 11:00 a.m. The family-friendly environment features exciting vendors of all kinds, food, music at two different stages, dancing, performances, an inflatable bounce house, educational and community resources, and more!