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.
Blue Spiral 1’s most diverse annual exhibition presents artists who have never previously shown in the gallery. This year’s show features nine artists working in a range of media, including painting, ceramics, textiles, mixed media, photography, and wood.
Artists: Anna Buckner, Mark Flowers, David Knox, Hiromi Moneyhun, Kris Rehring, Ben Strear, Gregor Turk
The exhibit is on loan from the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and has been supplemented with artifacts from the Smith-McDowell House collection. Entrance to the exhibit is included with Smith-McDowell House admission – and is always free for members – and runs through May 16, 2020.
The exhibit seeks to put the local men and women who served in context with the larger events happening in North Carolina, the United States, and the world. In the exhibit, visitors will find displays and interactive elements telling the stories of just a few of our hometown heroes.
Shapeshifters, the newest exhibition in the John Cram Partner Gallery. Shapeshifters brings together the works of two acclaimed regional artists, Cherokee-based Joshua Adams and Atlanta-based Jiha Moon, who use masks and other objects to explore culture, material, and representation, particularly in the contemporary American South.
The Museum, with the assistance of its volunteer docents and support from the Asheville Area Section of the American Institute of Architects, is proud to sponsor the WNC Regional Scholastic Art Awards. Students in grades 7–12 from across our region are invited to submit work for this special juried competition. The Museum works with the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers to facilitate regional judging of student artwork and recognition of our community’s burgeoning artistic talent.
In early spring each year, award winners are featured in an exhibition, and are honored at a ceremony. Regional Gold Key recipients’ work is sent to the National Scholastic Art Awards hosted by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.
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Do you want to connect with community members and let them know about SAHC’s local land and water conservation work? Join us for our next volunteer training and learn everything you need to know. Feel free to bring your lunch!
Celebrate Valentine’s Day this Friday, February 14th from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Vineyard Vines at Asheville Outlets. Enjoy complimentary sips + snacks while you shop, along with DIY Valentine’s day cards to color in-store or take home! Visit ShopAshevilleOutlets.com for more information. Free and open to the public.
Registration is open for UNC Asheville’s 2020 Pi(e) Run, an annual fun run that celebrates all things Pi(e). This year’s event will be held on Pi Day, Saturday, March 14, at Pi time, 3:14 p.m. Runners will run 3.14 miles around UNC Asheville’s campus and celebrate with pie at the finish line. The event is open to the public with an early-bird rate of $15 before Feb. 15. Runners who sign up before March 1 will receive a t-shirt and swag bag, and registration continues through March 14 at a cost of $20, with on-site registration and check-in starting at 2 p.m. the day of the race. Visit unca.edu/pi-run to sign up.
The 2020 Pi Day Run will start from UNC Asheville’s Quad and circle University Heights three times, via campus sidewalks, concluding with pie at the finish line. The fun run includes a pie baking contest, judged by Math Leaders from the Marvelous Math Club, with prizes awarded, and this year will feature a raffle. Registration includes a raffle entry for each runner. Registration also is available for the pie contest, without the run, by filling out the interest form at unca.edu/pi-run.
Proceeds from the annual Pi(e) Run will benefit the Asheville Initiative for Math at UNC Asheville and its Marvelous Math Club at Pisgah View Community Center. Marvelous Math Club is a partnership between UNC Asheville, Asheville Housing Authority, and Asheville City Schools. The Club uses math as a catalyst to build leadership skills, create community and provide a space for individualized academic support and social-emotional growth.
WHAT IT IS… An experience unlike anything you have ever dreamed imaginable. Your host will engage your mind with charm and wit, and immerse your heightened senses of taste, smell, hearing and touch, while you sip five types of wine in complete darkness. Wine pours are paired with tasteful snacks, one liners, and hilarious hijinks. OR our beer tasting experience will take you on a journey of humor, tasting of five local beers, fun beer-friendly pairing, sight deprivation and enhancement of all remaining senses. The lights will be off, and this is not considered a meal. Designed for adults only, 21 and up. 50-60 minutes.
2 seatings for the evening, 5:30-8pm, and 8:30-11pm.
Archetype Brewing Tap Lounge + Venue, The Chop Shop Butchery, and Smash Events, Inc. have partnered to bring you one of the most sought-after culinary delicacies this Valentine’s Day: Jamón Ibérico. The Cinco Jotas ham, hailing from the Iberian Peninsula of Spain, is from 100% pure Ibérico pigs, who have lived free-range to feast on natural acorns, giving it a distinct flavor that pairs beautifully with our complex, delicate, high-end beers. The ham will be served with a menu of delicious tapas and we will have an exclusive tap + wine list available that evening, with specialty wine offerings and aged beers pulled from our cellar for the special occasion. Latin-style “gypsy jazz” throughout the evening by The Gypsyswingers. Reservations are required, call or text Nicolette at 919-601-0945. $100 – $125 / person
More info on Ham Night here >
We invite you to an evening of music & dance with powerful performances from Free Planet Radio & members of Toubab Krewe, featured music by Nex Millen & Adama Dembele, hip hop dance showcases by Otto Aquaboogy Vazquez & Goldilocks, and special surprises from New Orleans Legends, Dirty Dozen Brass Band! Join us for an exploration of this new bridge from our community to the world!
Tickets $75 (includes drinks & light dinner)
The music of Umphrey’s McGee unfolds like an unpredictable conversation between longtime friends. Its six participants—Brendan Bayliss [guitar, vocals], Jake Cinninger [guitar, vocals], Joel Cummins [keyboards, piano, vocals], Andy Farag [percussion], Kris Myers [drums, vocals], and Ryan Stasik [bass]—know just how to communicate with each other on stage and in the studio. A call of progressive guitar wizardry might elicit a response of soft acoustic balladry, or a funk groove could be answered by explosive percussion. At any moment, heavy guitars can give way to heavier blues as the boys uncover the elusive nexus between jaw-dropping instrumental virtuosity and airtight songcraft.
2018 saw the release of it’s not us and it’s you, [Nothing Too Fancy Music] the band’s eleventh and twelfth full-length studio albums. “[They] represent the band, because [they] basically run the gamut from prog rock to dance,” says Brendan. It’s also how the band celebrated its 20-year anniversary. Instead of retreading the catalog, they turn up with two albums worth of new tunes. “It’d be easy to play the hits from our first five or ten years,” continues Joel. “We’ve never been a band to rest on our laurels, though. New music is key to our continued development. We’re known as a strong live band, but we take so much pride in our writing.”
With over 2,400 gigs and 5 million tracks sold, the band, now in their 21st year, have enjoyed countless milestones and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. They became the first group to launch its own single artist streaming service with UMLive.net, which houses recordings of every gig since 2005. They recorded ten tracks in one day at Abbey Road for The London Session in 2015. 2016’s studio mash-up album, ZONKEY, smashed the strangest of bedfellows into a critically acclaimed collection that unites Radiohead and Beck, Talking Heads and Bob Marley, Metallica and Gorillaz, and more.
“There’s something uniquely Umphrey’s McGee that could never be mistaken for another band,” Joel concludes. “I hope it makes people think a little bit or shed a tear or two. Maybe, you smile or laugh. Life is hard. We still believe music can heal and motivate.” “We’re here,” Brendan leaves off. “We’re not going anywhere. We’re starting to find our identity.”
WHAT IT IS… An experience unlike anything you have ever dreamed imaginable. Your host will engage your mind with charm and wit, and immerse your heightened senses of taste, smell, hearing and touch, while you sip five types of wine in complete darkness. Wine pours are paired with tasteful snacks, one liners, and hilarious hijinks. OR our beer tasting experience will take you on a journey of humor, tasting of five local beers, fun beer-friendly pairing, sight deprivation and enhancement of all remaining senses. The lights will be off, and this is not considered a meal. Designed for adults only, 21 and up. 50-60 minutes.
Sideshow Special Event
Featuring TWO back-to-back burlesque/pole dancing/improv shows conceived and directed by the sensationally talented Boo Velvet and co-hosted with acclaimed improvisor and performer, George Awad.
Boo Velvet, alter ego Kathleen Hahn, owner of Danceclub Asheville, is a seasoned dancer and comedic burlesque performer in love with improv and exciting an audience. She will tease and tantalize as she shows off her beautiful and talented cast. George Awad can be found on many stages in the Asheville area performing improv and sketch comedy.
It’s burlesque! It’s improv! It’s loads of laughs! It’s fierce competition! It’s sexy, ridiculousness like you’ve never seen before. It’s The Great American Strip-Off: Valentine’s Day Edition!
Friday, February 14th, 7pm and 10:00pm shows
Syracuse native, Jessimae Peluso, from MTV’s “Girl Code”, can be heard weekly podcasts on her Sharp Tongue & Highlarious podcasts. Both available on iTunes, Stitcher, Sound Cloud and Google Play. She has a weekly Facebook live show called “Weedsday” every Wednesday that raises awareness for Alzheimer’s Disease.
You may have seen Jessimae on MTV’s “Girl Code” and “Safe Word”, TBS’s “Deal With It”, NBC’s “Last Call w/Carson Daly”, E!’s “Chelsea Lately”, FOX’s “World’s Funniest Fails”, VH1’s “Hip Hop Squares”, AXS’ “Gotham Live”, TruTV’s “Comedy Knockout” , and multiple appearances on Comedy Central’s “@Midnight. Chick be workin’!
Jessimae was featured in the Moontower Comedy Festival, New York Comedy Festival, Boston Comedy Festival, North Carolina Comedy & Arts Festival, Women in Arts Comedy Festival, and Just For Laughs and featured on Kevin Hart’s LOL Live network. She has contributed to Cosmopolitan Magazine, High Times Magazine, DOPE Magazine, Self Magazine, GQ.Com, Playboy.com, MadeMen.com, and was highlighted in the Huffington Post as ‘one of the funniest comics to follow on twitter’.
Television:
- MTV’s Girl Code
- TBS’ Deal With It
- NBC’s Last Call With Carson Daly
- E!’s Chelsea Lately
- Comedy Central
Festivals:
- Just For Laughs, Montreal
- New York Comedy Festival
- Boston Comedy Festival
- North Carolina Comedy & Arts Festival
- Women in Comedy Festival
One of the funniest musicals ever written. Sondheim’s joyous musical romp through Rome has desperate lovers, scheming neighbors and secrets behind every toga. This unforgettable, hysterical musical allows a terrify ensemble of comedic actors to shine!
The Fantasticks is the longest-running musical in the world and with good reason: it’s a timeless fable of love that manages to be nostalgic and universal at the same time! This musical is punctuated by a series of catchy, memorable songs, many of which have become classics. “Try To Remember” a time when this romantic charmer wasn’t enchanting audiences around the world!
The Fantasticks is directed by Mark Jones with music direction by Rob Blackwell and choreography by Jessica Garland Lowe.
An All New World Premiere! Once again, Bertie finds himself suffering the slings and arrows of misfortune at the hands of his relatives, caught between the magisterial machinations of his fierce Aunt Agatha and the plaintive pleadings of his cousin Egbert. An imperious Sir Roderick Glossop and his daughter add to another priceless predicament calling upon the redoubtable Jeeves to save the day.
This production is sponsored by Jerry McAninch in Loving Memory of Bill McAninch
The Fantasticks is a funny and romantic musical about a boy, a girl, and their two fathers who try to keep them apart. The narrator, El Gallo, asks the audience to use their imagination and follow him into a world of moonlight and magic. The lovers fall in love, grow apart and finally find their way back to each other after realizing the truth in El Gallo’s words that, “without a hurt, the heart is hollow.” The story is punctuated by a series of catchy, memorable songs, many of which have become classics.
The Fantasticks is directed by Mark Jones with music direction by Rob Blackwell and choreography by Jessica Garland Lowe. Coincidentally, Mark appeared onstage in ACT’s 1998 production of The Fantasticks!
“It’s been about 20 years since I played Matt on the ACT stage. I was a young, inexperienced actor, and person, at that time,” Mark said. “But now I am able to revisit the show with much more experience and maturity. I know much more about love, loss and heartbreak than I did at the age of 24.”
Discover a whole new world at Disney’s Aladdin, the hit Broadway musical.
From the producer of The Lion King comes the timeless story of Aladdin, a thrilling new production filled with unforgettable beauty, magic, comedy, and breathtaking spectacle. It’s an extraordinary theatrical event where one lamp and three wishes make the possibilities infinite.
Hailed by USA Today as “Pure Genie-Us,” Aladdin features all your favorite songs from the film as well as new music written by Tony® and Academy Award® winner Alan Menken (Newsies) with lyrics penned by the legendary Howard Ashman (Beauty and the Beast), Tony Award winner Tim Rice (The Lion King, Aida), and book writer Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer).
Directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Something Rotten!), this “Fabulous” and “Extravagant” (The New York Times) new musical boasts an incomparable design team, with sets, costumes, and lighting from Tony Award winners Bob Crowley (Mary Poppins), Gregg Barnes (Kinky Boots), and Natasha Katz (An American in Paris). See why audiences and critics agree, Aladdin is “Exactly What You Wish For!” (NBC-TV).
Flamenco Vivo / Carlota Santana — Friday & Saturday, February 14 & 15, 2020, 8 p.m. Hailed as “the Keeper of Flamenco” by Dance Magazine, internationally renowned artist and educator Carlota Santana has made it her mission to promote flamenco as a living art form — a vital part of Spanish culture. Serving more than 40,000 people nationwide each year, Flamenco Vivo entertains, educates and empowers through the arts. Friday & Saturday, Feb. 14 & 15, 2020 at 8 p.m. at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts.
Engage with Flamenco Vivo in a special Valentine’s Day pre-show V.I.P. tableau performance, featuring a special drink and hors d’oeuvres package at the Henry LaBrun Studio. On Saturday, Feb. 15, join the company once more in the Henry LaBrun Studio for a community dance master class, open to all ages and skill levels.
Engage with Flamenco Vivo:
Tablao Performance
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with a pre-show V.I.P. tablao performance featuring a special drink and hors d’oeuvres package, Feb. 14. at 6pm. Space is limited. Henry LaBrun Studio.
Community Dance Master Class
Open to the general public – all ages and skills. Feb. 15 at 1pm. Henry LaBrun Studio.
This public master class will increase the participant’s awareness and understanding of flamenco dance and its cultural heritage. The class is 75 minutes and includes a brief history of the origins of flamenco dance, music and song and how the various cultures that inhabited Spain have influenced flamenco.
This is a hands-on workshop with instruction in rhythmic handclaps (palmas), arm movements (braceo), body posturing (marcaje), and footwork (taconeo). The class is supportive and fun, and flamenco technique is woven into a short choreography. By the end of the class, participants will be able to perform a simple choreographed dance.
The first show of the Playhouse’s 2020 season is sure to rock your world with Music on the Rock® The Music of Queen. Dustin Brayley and Ryan Guerra join forces with Nat Zegree for the first time on the Leiman Mainstage along with Music on the Rock® favorites Eric Anthony, Paul Babelay, and Ryan Dunn. The Music of Queen will feature all your favorite hits from the legendary rock group like “We Will Rock You,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Another One Bites The Dust,” and more!
GILBERT LAWAND is a Brooklyn based comedian by way of Atlanta. You can see him performing all over the New York City area at some of the best shows such as Night Train, the Knitting Factory, and Bar Matchless as well as comedy clubs like Caroline’s, Gotham, New York Comedy Club, and the Creek and the Cave. He also produces the annual Red Clay Comedy Festival which takes place in Atlanta every September. Gilbert has performed in several festivals including Bridgetown, High Plains, and the Laughing Skull Festival where he was a finalist in 2015. He’s a frequent opener for Rory Scovel and has also opened for Dave Chappelle.
ages 18+
Tickets $10 advance, $12 day of
FRIDAY: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-gilbert-lawand-friday-tickets-89416522225
SATURDAY: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-gilbert-lawand-saturday-tickets-89418100947
Syracuse native, Jessimae Peluso, from MTV’s “Girl Code”, can be heard weekly podcasts on her Sharp Tongue & Highlarious podcasts. Both available on iTunes, Stitcher, Sound Cloud and Google Play. She has a weekly Facebook live show called “Weedsday” every Wednesday that raises awareness for Alzheimer’s Disease.
You may have seen Jessimae on MTV’s “Girl Code” and “Safe Word”, TBS’s “Deal With It”, NBC’s “Last Call w/Carson Daly”, E!’s “Chelsea Lately”, FOX’s “World’s Funniest Fails”, VH1’s “Hip Hop Squares”, AXS’ “Gotham Live”, TruTV’s “Comedy Knockout” , and multiple appearances on Comedy Central’s “@Midnight. Chick be workin’!
Jessimae was featured in the Moontower Comedy Festival, New York Comedy Festival, Boston Comedy Festival, North Carolina Comedy & Arts Festival, Women in Arts Comedy Festival, and Just For Laughs and featured on Kevin Hart’s LOL Live network. She has contributed to Cosmopolitan Magazine, High Times Magazine, DOPE Magazine, Self Magazine, GQ.Com, Playboy.com, MadeMen.com, and was highlighted in the Huffington Post as ‘one of the funniest comics to follow on twitter’.
- MTV’s Girl Code
- TBS’ Deal With It
- NBC’s Last Call With Carson Daly
- E!’s Chelsea Lately
- Comedy Central
Festivals:
- Just For Laughs, Montreal
- New York Comedy Festival
- Boston Comedy Festival
- North Carolina Comedy & Arts Festival
- Women in Comedy Festival
Sideshow Special Event
Featuring TWO back-to-back burlesque/pole dancing/improv shows conceived and directed by the sensationally talented Boo Velvet and co-hosted with acclaimed improvisor and performer, George Awad.
Boo Velvet, alter ego Kathleen Hahn, owner of Danceclub Asheville, is a seasoned dancer and comedic burlesque performer in love with improv and exciting an audience. She will tease and tantalize as she shows off her beautiful and talented cast. George Awad can be found on many stages in the Asheville area performing improv and sketch comedy.
It’s burlesque! It’s improv! It’s loads of laughs! It’s fierce competition! It’s sexy, ridiculousness like you’ve never seen before. It’s The Great American Strip-Off: Valentine’s Day Edition!
Friday, February 14th, 7pm and 10:00pm shows
With less than two weeks until the return of baseball to Downtown Greenville, the Greenville Drive are excited to announce that tickets are now on sale for all 2020 college and high school games at Fluor Field.
Highlights of this year’s amateur schedule include the return of the First Pitch Invitational, the 2020 Southern Conference Baseball Championship and appearances by some of South Carolina’s top high school programs.
“We are thrilled to announce the details of the 2020 College Baseball Series,” said Drive General Manager Eric Jarinko. “This is a great way for our fans to see a number of talented young players before they become household names in professional baseball, while getting ready for another successful season of Drive baseball.”
Tickets for all college games not involving Clemson or South Carolina will be $9, and those tickets are general admission. Tickets for games involving Clemson or South Carolina will be sold at regular tiered pricing ranging from $8-$12. All tickets for high school games at Fluor Field are $7 general admission tickets.
The 2020 slate kicks off with a four-game series between Michigan State and Merrimack from February 21-23. Friday’s contest is slated for a 4:00 PM first pitch, followed by a Saturday doubleheader that begins at 1:00 PM. The series concludes on Sunday with a 1:00 PM first pitch.
The First Pitch Invitational runs from Friday, February 28 through Sunday, March 1, and four teams will be participating. Michigan State will be joined for the weekend by the Ball State Cardinals, the Kansas Jayhawks and the Western Carolina Catamounts.
Draft your co-workers, BFFs, and neighborhood pals in your quest for kickball stardom! Registration for Buncombe County Recreation Services’ (BCRS) popular Adult Kickball League has opened. All games will be played on Wednesday evenings from April 8-May 20 at Charles D. Owen Park (875 Warren Wilson Road in Swannanoa). Staggered matches will start at 6 p.m., 7 p.m., and 8 p.m.
“We host low-cost adult sport and recreation leagues throughout the year including dodgeball and volleyball, but kickball is our most popular. It always sells out since it’s easy to learn for any skill level,” said Mac Stanley, BCRS Program Coordinator. “The league offers a low-stress, fun atmosphere in which to stay active and connect with others. The move to Charles D. Owen Park allows us to play multiple games at the same time which means we can start later in the evening for those folks busy with work, school, or parenting. Plus the mountain views can’t be beat!”
Registration is open through March 20 and cost $35 per player. Players can sign up as an individual, small group, or full team. Individuals and small groups will be placed together to form full teams.
Teams are co-ed and consist of 9-16 players, with at least three players of the opposite sex. (If a team is majority female, there must be at least three male players. If a team is majority male, there must be at least three female players.) Registration fees include a team shirt and help offset the cost of referees and field maintenance.
Follow Buncombe County Recreation on Facebook and Instagram.
- Bricks-And-Mortar
- Public Education
- Planning, Survey and Designation
Part of the 2019 – 2020 Broadway Season. Learn more about subscribing: http://bit.ly/2J6KMcs.
Discover a whole new world at Disney’s Aladdin, the hit Broadway musical.
From the producer of The Lion King comes the timeless story of Aladdin, a thrilling new production filled with unforgettable beauty, magic, comedy, and breathtaking spectacle. It’s an extraordinary theatrical event where one lamp and three wishes make the possibilities infinite.
Hailed by USA Today as “Pure Genie-Us,” Aladdin features all your favorite songs from the film as well as new music written by Tony® and Academy Award® winner Alan Menken (Newsies) with lyrics penned by the legendary Howard Ashman (Beauty and the Beast), Tony Award winner Tim Rice (The Lion King, Aida), and book writer Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer).
Directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Something Rotten!), this “Fabulous” and “Extravagant” (The New York Times) new musical boasts an incomparable design team, with sets, costumes, and lighting from Tony Award winners Bob Crowley (Mary Poppins), Gregg Barnes (Kinky Boots), and Natasha Katz (An American in Paris). See why audiences and critics agree, Aladdin is “Exactly What You Wish For!” (NBC-TV).
https://www.facebook.com/events/421128418693166/?event_time_id=421128435359831