Welcome to Sky Top Orchard!

We are asking guests to visit on weekdays whenever possible. We offer the same items you love on those days as we do on weekends plus it helps keep crowds down on weekends. Thank you!

The mountains of western North Carolina are full of pick your own u-pick orchards. We offer more. In addition to a long list of apple varieties, visit Sky Top Orchard and you’ll enjoy panoramic mountain views, orchard ponds with ducks and geese, a barnyard area with sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, peacocks and more, a bamboo forest to explore, lots of picnic areas and, of course, a mountaintop of fragrant apple and fruit trees. View our downloadable map to see all that we have to offer and visit our picking schedule to find out what’s available now.

When you purchase a bushel of apples, a wagon load of pumpkins or a cooler full of apple cider you’ll take home more than the makings for delicious fall recipes, you’ll take home a mountain of memories too. And don’t forget our famous apple cider doughnuts. They’re an autumn tradition. We bet you can’t eat just one.

Ready to join us on top of our mountain? Plan Your Visit Today!

To keep guests and our staff safe, we require face masks (covering both nose and mouth) by employees and guests in any area where social distancing is difficult so plan to wear them in the fruit stand, in line for doughnuts, in any areas that are not out in the orchard where you are picking. You must also maintain a distance of 6 feet in all lines and areas where you encounter others.

Virtual Zoom lab session in the morning and socially distanced stream side demonstration at the Big Ivy River in the afternoon!

Have fun sampling local streams for water quality! This regional effort trains adults (17+) in water quality monitoring methods. Topics covered include: basic stream ecology, how to report water quality problems, aquatic insect identification, and field sampling skills. No experience necessary. Donations accepted to defray materials cost (not required for participation).
After training, volunteers work in small groups with a Group Leader to sample sites in Haywood, Madison, Buncombe, Yancey, and Mitchell counties in the spring and fall each year. Fall Sampling Start Date TBA!

RSVP required: [email protected] or 828-333-0392
EQI website: eqilab.org

4 state exhibit – SC, NC, TN, GA

The entries have been chosen for this year’s annual juried exhibition. Thank you to all who entered.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there will not be an awards reception this year, but we will make the awards announcements online at 11:00am on 26 September.

The exhibit can be viewed in our Solomon Gallery 15 September – 17 October, during normal business hours.
Tues – Sat 10am – 4pm

View the list of accepted entries.

I hope this is the first of many meetings! We can treat this as a basic meet and greet or you can bring some of your work to share. I look forward to meeting you!

Autumn Rails 2020 – An All Scale Model Railroad Show will be held at the Western NC Agricultural Center Expo Building. The show features dozens of new and used model trains, railroadiana, hobby and toy vendors.  Operating model railroad layouts from ‘Z’ scale to #1 scale. Free parking. Door prizes. Presented by the French Broad River e”N’pire NTrak Club

Instructor: Nora Watkins

Saturdays, 10am – 12:30pm
September 5th – October 3rd

A perfect introduction for those just beginning their pottery journey and seasoned beginners who want to sharpen their skills. You’ll learn the basics of making bowls, mugs, and other functional pieces through group demonstrations and plenty of individual instruction. You’ll glaze and then we’ll fire your work, resulting in microwavable, dishwasher safe pieces you’ll treasure for years to come.

Level: All Levels
Tuition: $200 + $35 Lab Fee

Down Dog Yoga Studio will lead a 50 minute all-levels yoga class, alternating between their Sculpt and Power Flow formats at the new outdoor space at Rabbit Rabbit! Classes take place outside at 10am. Rabbit Rabbit opens on Saturdays immediately after class finishes up, so feel free to stick around for a drink or to grab a taco after you work out! Rabbit Rabbit follows strict COVID safety protocols, implements social distancing at all times, including spacing around yoga mats, and requires masks to be worn when not in your personal mat space. Shoes are also required when not at your mat actively practicing during the class. Please remember to bring your mask for the time between entry and the beginning of class, and to put it back on when class ends. Thanks for your cooperation!

What to bring: A mask, your yoga mat. Sorry, no dogs at this event!

10/3 – Sculpt
10/10 – Power Flow
10/17 – Sculpt
10/24 – Power Flow
10/31 – Sculpt

– Sculpt is a low impact, high intensity beat-based class rooted in yoga. Foundational poses are met with strength training moves like jumping jacks and squats to create a full body workout.
– Power Flow offers students a well-rounded mix of vinyasa and power yoga with deepened postures at a faster pace. This class will strengthen, challenge, and cleanse the body and mind.

Note: This particular class is not a dog-friendly event series

About Down Dog Yoga:
Combining two of Asheville’s most popular pastimes, Down Dog is a new yoga studio opening later in 2020 in Asheville. As we plan for our opening, we are offering pop-up collaborations such as this around the community! Once we open, we will offer a hot yoga studio with unique classes open to all levels, and a bar allowing dogs to play and roam off leash while their owners grab a drink. Starting later this fall, Down Dog hopes to give dog owners and yogis alike the opportunity to bring their best friends along to enjoy the activities they love most.

Farm City Day brings the farm to the city so families can learn about the importance of agriculture in everyday life. Jackson Park will be filled with activities such as: a petting zoo, educational displays, old-timey demonstrations, a fishing pond, games, wagon rides, antique and modern farm equipment, live music, food and concessions for sale, and crafters selling their wares. Coordinated by the NC Cooperative Extension Henderson County Office.

One-Day Workshop on Land-Based Living

Homestead Dreams is an entry-level workshop designed to help you incorporate small-scale sustainability and self-sufficiency into your life. Whether you own or rent a home, or live in a rural or urban setting, you can move towards self-reliance now.

Homestead Dreams is an entry-level, exploratory workshop designed to help you incorporate small-scale, self-sufficiency and sustainability into all aspects of your life. Regardless of whether you own or rent a home, or live in a rural or urban setting, you can move towards more self-reliance NOW!

Excellent for those in the exploratory stages of getting started with a land-based life. We cover common sense, relevant information to help maximize your independence, increase your connection to community, place, and self, and plan out your dreams for the next 1 to 5 years.

Appropriate for those who are incorporating agriculture, renewable energy, green building, land planning, hand-made products, and land-based living of all kinds. Includes a panel of local homesteaders and a regional expert on soil, climate, rainfall, topography, vegetation, wind, and how that affects and determines life, farming, and building in our region.

Wherever you are along the spectrum of self-reliance, join us for the exploratory workshop and:

· Enhance your confidence, skill, and excitement to create the lifestyle you imagine.

· Uncover your personal values, skills, and resources

· Chart a path to move forward over the next 1 to 5 years in your homestead plans.

· Hear from other regional homesteaders about their celebrations, challenges, and suggestions and prioritize your next steps.

Bring your lunch!

Taught by Lee Warren & Brandon Greenstein.

Ready for a change of scene, but not ready to travel in the age of COVID-19? The library has just what you need. Check out Passport Around the World. Call BCPL’s Ask a Librarian line (828) 250-4700, email [email protected], or call or email your local library, and tell us where you would like to virtually visit. Your librarian will select 5-10 items about your destination of choice, anything from documentaries, folktales, and cookbooks to travel guides, poetry, and children’s books. We will notify you when your items are ready. Pick up your Passport bundle at the curbside pickup location of your choice. Bon Voyage!

2020 A YEAR OF COVID, TURMOIL, UNCERTAINTIES, HEROES & HOPE

The year 2020 for better or worse will go down in American history as a pivotal moment. It has been often said that history is written for and by the victors.

But nowadays in a world overwhelmed with 2-second tweets, forgettable social media, conspiracy theories and online rages; modern history seems to be written by the distracted, the delusional and the destructive.

Mountain Made, a local arts & crafts boutique in Grove Arcade, is taking a different approach. We are creating a public history journal of poetry, personal musing, thoughtful insights and yes, rants on “The Year 2020”. They could be funny or serious.

We have setup two interactive art stations inside the gallery:

* The first one is where you can quickly put down your thoughts on some blank paper (the original “i-pad”) and leave it with us.

* The other is a shared, public painting series where you can lay brush to canvas if you are more a visual person.

COVID-19 Visiting Policy

Masks are required when entering the museum. This is for the safety of our visitors and our docents. Exceptions will be made according to ADA instructions. Visitors must make a reservation to visit the museum. Self Guided tour reservations are available Thursday – Saturday from 10am – 5pm. To make a reservation you can call (828) 669- 9566, register at the front desk, or click here. 

ACCESSIBILITY
The first floor houses our traveling exhibit gallery and our second floor houses “Our Pathways” exhibit.  The first and second floor are accessible by ADA standards.  A lift is available to take visitors to the second floor.

YOUTH STUDIO In this small-group, in-person program, students experiment and explore a variety of media and techniques through classes and workshops led by visiting artists and Museum educators. Click here to view all Youth Studio classes and to register. Get mixed up and messy experimenting with abstract designs and patterns! Use the elements of art and a texture walk to inspire your projects. Create a collage, paintings, and monoprints. Please note: Youth Studio is held indoors and outdoors. If the weather is cooperating, we’ll do most art activities outside in the courtyard. In the event of inclement weather or the necessity of studio resources, we’ll move inside to the Museum’s Education Center. Space is limited to small groups of up to eight students; face coverings and social distancing are required.

“Shine and Dine” on the railway! We cordially invite you to hop on board The Carolina Shine, GSMR’s All-Adult First Class Moonshine Car! We will be proudly serving hand crafted, triple-distilled, craft moonshine. Some of the smoothest tasting moonshine in the Carolinas!

Offered on the Nantahala Gorge excursion, this shine and dine experience begins in a renovated First Class train fleet car, The Carolina Shine. The interior features copper lined walls filled with the history of moonshining in North Carolina. Learn about the proud tradition that the Appalachians established when bootlegging was an acceptable way of life and local home brews were the best in town. Read about Swain County’s very own Major Redmond, the most famous mountain moonshine outlaw of the 19th century.

Once your appetite for knowledge is satisfied, enjoy sample tastings of flavors like Apple Pie, Blackberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Peach, and Strawberry moonshine. If the samples are not enough, there will be plenty of Moonshine infused cocktails like Copper Cola or Moonshiner’s Mimosa available for purchase.

GSMR is excited to feature multiple craft NC based distilleries to serve our guests only the best! Each jar is handcrafted and authentically infused with real fruit, the way moonshine was meant to be made.

Passengers will also enjoy a full service All-Adult First Class ride with an attendant serving GSMR’s freshly cooked pulled pork barbeque rubbed with Cajun spices then slow-roasted to perfection served with southern sweet cornbread muffin with honey butter, coleslaw, and cinnamon apples then finish with a delicious piece of Sea Salt Caramel Cheesecake. Riders will also receive their very own Carolina Shine mason drinking jar, refillable with soda beverages and tea throughout the day, and a souvenir GSMR tote bag (1 per couple/party).

On exhibit Saturdays and Sundays from 12 – 4 p.m. (weather permitting), Rocky Cove Railroad is a G-Scale (garden scale) model train that demonstrates the coming of trains to western North Carolina at the turn of the 20th century. The exhibit is located below the Grand Garden Promenade.

We are grateful to be able to bring community together with LIVE MUSIC at a limited capacity with safe and proper precautions. Most notably, ULEAF stage will be by Triangle Park hosting amazing artists who call AVL home

We invite you to come support some of the most creative entrepreneurs in Western North  Carolina. This Pop-Up shop is promised to have everything you need to satisfy your shopping therapy needs. From fashion and skin care, to home essentials to sweet treats. Let’s ALL put our money where our mouth is and support small business.

We are grateful to be able to bring community together with LIVE MUSIC at a limited capacity with safe and proper precautions. Most notably, ULEAF stage will be by Triangle Park hosting amazing artists who call AVL home