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, February 29, 2020
Curtains Up Gala Save the Date!
Feb 29 all-day
Asheville Community Theatre

Save the Date!

We have a date for our Gala (aka the not-to-be-missed party of the summer)! Go ahead and put May 30, 2020 on your calendar. Tickets will go on sale on April 1!
Early Bird Registration Open for Senior Games and Silver Arts 2020
Feb 29 all-day
Buncombe County NC

Each spring, hundreds of locals 50+ years-old enjoy participating in the Asheville-Buncombe Senior Games and Silver Arts. This year’s program will be held at locations throughout Buncombe County from Tuesday, April 14-Friday, May 15. Registration is $5 before March 9 or $10 after that date. Military veterans may register for free.

To register, fill out a registration form (see documents below) or register online at ncseniorgames.org. Archery and pickleball have registration deadline dates.

Sports include basketball, bocce, croquet, football throw, softball throw, golf, cycling, track and field, archery, cheerleading, bowling, swimming, billiards, badminton, cornhole, horseshoes, pickleball, racquetball, shuffleboard, tennis, and table tennis. Miniature golf, rowing, and team softball and basketball are new this year. Age categories start at 50 and increase at five year intervals.

Silver Arts categories are classified as Heritage (quilting, woodwork, crochet, basket weaving, jewelry, needlework, tole painting, weaving, knitting, pottery, stained glass, woodcarving, and woodturning), Visual (solo, small group, and large group), Performing, Literary (poem, short story, essay, and life experience), and Contemporary. Art pieces will be displayed at Buncombe County Libraries in April and May.

A full schedule can be accessed below as a PDF.

Follow Buncombe County Recreation on Facebook and Instagram.

Table: News Item Documents
File Name Size Type Date & Time Added
Registration 209 KB 02/04/2020 7:52 AM
Schedule 45 KB 02/04/2020 7:52 AM
Flat Rock Playhouse seeking volunteers
Feb 29 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse

Flat Rock Playhouse and The Supporting Players are excited to announce they are welcoming volunteers who will participate in various programs that take you behind-the-scenes at the State Theatre of North Carolina.

“The Supporting Players of Flat Rock Playhouse is a great way to meet and work with people that are like-minded and have a desire to come alongside the staff to help secure the future of performing arts in western North Carolina, “ remarks Karolyn Killian, President of Supporting Players. “It is a pleasure and a joy to volunteer my time and talent for such a wonderful group of people that are dedicated to excellence in live theatre and our community!”

The Supporting Players are a unique way to get an inside look into life on the Rock while making an impact on our community. If you are interested in joining this passionate collective of volunteers and becoming part of the Flat Rock Playhouse family, make sure to tune into WTZQ on March 10th at 8:00 am to hear from some of the Supporting Players. Additionally, you can visit flatrockplayhouse.org/volunteer or email [email protected] to learn more!

LEAF 50th Festival Line Up and Tickets
Feb 29 all-day
Lake Eden Arts Festival
Patron Production Preference Survey Flat Rock Playhouse
Feb 29 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse

Hello Flat Rock Playhouse Patrons, Donors, Friends, and all-around ‘Peeps!’

Please take a few minutes to take the survey and help us as we begin planning for the 2021 season and beyond.  We’ve listed a pretty large range of shows because we want to know what you’re interested in seeing on the stage.  Please choose your TOP 10 favorites in each category; Musicals and Plays. You will also have the opportunity to write in a title or author that may not otherwise be listed.  Please only choose ten of each so we can narrow down your preferences.

As an added note, we endeavor to give you exactly what your heart most desires.  That said, there are many factors that go into selecting shows.  Are the rights available? Can we afford to produce it properly? Does it align with our Union obligations?  These questions and many more are all part of the process and influence what productions we select.  It’s important to everyone at Flat Rock Playhouse that we deliver as much of what the audience desires as we can whenever we can.

Thank you for taking a few minutes to share your preferences with us.  We are hugely grateful for the insight!

Sincerely,

The Artistic Team

Flat Rock Playhouse

RiverLink’s Art & Poetry Contest Grades PreK-12
Feb 29 all-day
online
Natural Impressions: Prints from the Asheville Printmakers CANCELLED
Feb 29 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
The North Carolina Arboretum

On display daily January 18 – April 19, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the upstairs gallery of the Education Center, the Asheville Printmakers’ newest exhibit, Natural Impressions, will feature a variety of two- and three-dimensional print pieces utilizing numerous printmaking processes. Works will inspire visitors to think about the beauty and fragility of plants and the natural world through various perspectives and printmaking techniques. All pieces are available for purchase and a portion of the sales will benefit The North Carolina Arboretum Society.

Founded in 2013, the Asheville Printmakers is an energetic group of artists dedicated to expressing ideas and imagery through the medium of print. The group encompasses a wide range of processes and content, including traditional methods, such as lithography, woodcut and screen printing, and contemporary photographic printing processes, such as carbon printing, platinum-palladium and photopolymer etching. 

Parking Fees

  • Members: Free
  • Personal Vehicles: $14
  • Motorhomes / Vehicles (21’ or larger): $50
  • Buses: $100

There are no other admission charges required for visitors to access the Arboretum’s grounds and facilities during the day beyond the standard parking fees listed above.

Shapeshifters: Center for Craft
Feb 29 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Center for Craft

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.

Asheville Art Museum Acquires 15 Works from Appalachia Now! Artists
Feb 29 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

View all works acquired from the Appalachia Now! exhibition here.

The Asheville Art Museum is pleased to share that seven artists from the opening exhibition Appalachia Now! An Interdisciplinary Survey of Contemporary Art in Southern Appalachia have entered the Museum’s Collection of American Art of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Appalachia Now! was the inaugural exhibition of the newly renovated Museum that celebrated contemporary artists living and working in Southern Appalachia.

Considering available funds, the Museum’s curatorial team selected a range of works that reflect the diversity of Appalachia Now! These works were then presented to the Collectors’ Circle who voted to acquire them.

“It’s such an honor to be a part of the Asheville Art Museum’s expansion into new media,” says Lei Han, who is an associate professor and director of new media at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. “My collaborators and I are grateful for this recognition and we look forward to future collaborations with the Museum.”

“The Museum looks forward to following the careers of all the Appalachia Now! artists,” says Asheville Art Museum Executive Director Pamela Myers. “We are also very thankful for the Collectors’ Circle—for their generosity and ongoing support of the Museum, and their dedication to building the Museum’s important Collection for the enjoyment of all of our visitors.”

Japanese Doll Festival
Feb 29 @ 11:00 am – 1:30 pm
Childrens Mueseum of the Upstate Greenville

The Japanese-American Association Of South Carolina Will Be Here Again Today To Celebrate The Doll Festival. Hinamatsuri, Also Called Doll’s Day, Is A Special Day In Japan Where Ornamental Dolls Are Displayed. Come See Our Collection, And Participate In Doll-Making, Coloring, Chopstick Practice, Origami And Singing With The JAASC.

 

 

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
Feb 29 @ 7:30 pm
Hendersonville Community Theatre

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!

 

Classic Hedda Gabler
Feb 29 @ 7:30 pm
UNC Asheville’s Belk Theatre

 

Arden Stockdell-Giesler poses in period constume with pistol

TheatreUNCA will present Hedda Gabler, the 1890 drama by Henrik Ibsen, one of the founders of modernism in theater, with a new translation that director Aaron Snook calls “streamlined and accessible.” Curtain at  will rise at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 27-29, and there will be a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, March 1.

“What Ibsen did so brilliantly was create very complex human beings on the stage that could be seemingly contradictory,” says Snook. “And we’re creating some moments of transition between the acts that will be different from some other Hedda Gablers. We’re not changing the script, but using the spaces in the play itself to tell a little bit more of her story.”

Fantasticks!
Feb 29 @ 7:30 pm
Asheville Community Theatre

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.

The Fantasticks
Feb 29 @ 7:30 pm
Asheville Community Theatre

 

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.”

Modelface Comedy Presents The Totally Exhausted Women of Atlanta (saturday)
Feb 29 @ 9:00 pm
LaZoom Room

Lace Larrabee is back with another group of hilarious atlanta ladies for another weekend stand up comedy!!!
Featuring Shelby Tesio, Karen Felix, Heather Tolley-Bauer, and Karen Waygood

Sponsored by BRÖÖ Haircare

ages+
Tickets $12, VIP $18
FRIDAY 2/28
GA: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-totally-exhausted-women-friday-tickets-87848750979
VIP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vip-lazoom-comedy-totally-exhausted-women-friday-vip-tickets-87849198317

SATURDAY 2/29
GA: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-totally-exhausted-women-saturday-tickets-87849711853
VIP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lazoom-comedy-totally-exhausted-women-saturday-vip-tickets-87849878351

VIP tickets come with a bag of BRÖÖ Craft Beer Hair products worth $15!!!

Sunday, March 1, 2020
Announcing our 75th Mainstage Season! Asheville Community Theatre
Mar 1 all-day
Asheville Community Theatre

We are SO excited to announce our 75th Mainstage season! Tickets and subscriptions will go on sale later in the spring, but we wanted you to have the first look at what’s coming up next!

We’ll also be announcing Mainstage directors and audition dates, student matinees, 35below shows, the Readers Theatre Showcase season and more a little later – so keep your eyes peeled for all the ways you can plug in at Asheville Community Theatre!

VISIT: http://ashevilletheatre.org/announcing-our-75th-mainstage-season/

Apply for a Preservation Grant Today!
Mar 1 all-day
Preservation Society of Asheville & Buncombe County
We are accepting grant applications until March 6th.  Grants from $500 – $5000 will be offered to the public in three categories:
  1. Bricks-And-Mortar
Rehabilitation, restoration and repair of structures that are 50 years of age or older
  1. Public Education
Development of educational materials and programs that advance knowledge of our shared history
  1. Planning, Survey and Designation
Planning and design for building rehabilitation and restoration projects, historic resource surveys and local or national designations
Early Bird Registration Open for Senior Games and Silver Arts 2020
Mar 1 all-day
Buncombe County NC

Each spring, hundreds of locals 50+ years-old enjoy participating in the Asheville-Buncombe Senior Games and Silver Arts. This year’s program will be held at locations throughout Buncombe County from Tuesday, April 14-Friday, May 15. Registration is $5 before March 9 or $10 after that date. Military veterans may register for free.

To register, fill out a registration form (see documents below) or register online at ncseniorgames.org. Archery and pickleball have registration deadline dates.

Sports include basketball, bocce, croquet, football throw, softball throw, golf, cycling, track and field, archery, cheerleading, bowling, swimming, billiards, badminton, cornhole, horseshoes, pickleball, racquetball, shuffleboard, tennis, and table tennis. Miniature golf, rowing, and team softball and basketball are new this year. Age categories start at 50 and increase at five year intervals.

Silver Arts categories are classified as Heritage (quilting, woodwork, crochet, basket weaving, jewelry, needlework, tole painting, weaving, knitting, pottery, stained glass, woodcarving, and woodturning), Visual (solo, small group, and large group), Performing, Literary (poem, short story, essay, and life experience), and Contemporary. Art pieces will be displayed at Buncombe County Libraries in April and May.

A full schedule can be accessed below as a PDF.

Follow Buncombe County Recreation on Facebook and Instagram.

Table: News Item Documents
File Name Size Type Date & Time Added
Registration 209 KB 02/04/2020 7:52 AM
Schedule 45 KB 02/04/2020 7:52 AM
Flat Rock Playhouse seeking volunteers
Mar 1 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse

Flat Rock Playhouse and The Supporting Players are excited to announce they are welcoming volunteers who will participate in various programs that take you behind-the-scenes at the State Theatre of North Carolina.

“The Supporting Players of Flat Rock Playhouse is a great way to meet and work with people that are like-minded and have a desire to come alongside the staff to help secure the future of performing arts in western North Carolina, “ remarks Karolyn Killian, President of Supporting Players. “It is a pleasure and a joy to volunteer my time and talent for such a wonderful group of people that are dedicated to excellence in live theatre and our community!”

The Supporting Players are a unique way to get an inside look into life on the Rock while making an impact on our community. If you are interested in joining this passionate collective of volunteers and becoming part of the Flat Rock Playhouse family, make sure to tune into WTZQ on March 10th at 8:00 am to hear from some of the Supporting Players. Additionally, you can visit flatrockplayhouse.org/volunteer or email [email protected] to learn more!

Natural Impressions: Prints from the Asheville Printmakers CANCELLED
Mar 1 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
The North Carolina Arboretum

On display daily January 18 – April 19, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the upstairs gallery of the Education Center, the Asheville Printmakers’ newest exhibit, Natural Impressions, will feature a variety of two- and three-dimensional print pieces utilizing numerous printmaking processes. Works will inspire visitors to think about the beauty and fragility of plants and the natural world through various perspectives and printmaking techniques. All pieces are available for purchase and a portion of the sales will benefit The North Carolina Arboretum Society.

Founded in 2013, the Asheville Printmakers is an energetic group of artists dedicated to expressing ideas and imagery through the medium of print. The group encompasses a wide range of processes and content, including traditional methods, such as lithography, woodcut and screen printing, and contemporary photographic printing processes, such as carbon printing, platinum-palladium and photopolymer etching. 

Parking Fees

  • Members: Free
  • Personal Vehicles: $14
  • Motorhomes / Vehicles (21’ or larger): $50
  • Buses: $100

There are no other admission charges required for visitors to access the Arboretum’s grounds and facilities during the day beyond the standard parking fees listed above.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
Mar 1 @ 2:00 pm
Hendersonville Community Theatre

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!

Classic Hedda Gabler
Mar 1 @ 2:00 pm
UNC Asheville’s Belk Theatre

Arden Stockdell-Giesler poses in period constume with pistol

“What Ibsen did so brilliantly was create very complex human beings on the stage that could be seemingly contradictory,” says Snook. “And we’re creating some moments of transition between the acts that will be different from some other Hedda Gablers. We’re not changing the script, but using the spaces in the play itself to tell a little bit more of her story.”

The Fantasticks
Mar 1 @ 2:30 pm
Asheville Community Theatre

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.

Monday, March 2, 2020
Natural Impressions: Prints from the Asheville Printmakers CANCELLED
Mar 2 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
The North Carolina Arboretum

On display daily January 18 – April 19, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the upstairs gallery of the Education Center, the Asheville Printmakers’ newest exhibit, Natural Impressions, will feature a variety of two- and three-dimensional print pieces utilizing numerous printmaking processes. Works will inspire visitors to think about the beauty and fragility of plants and the natural world through various perspectives and printmaking techniques. All pieces are available for purchase and a portion of the sales will benefit The North Carolina Arboretum Society.

Founded in 2013, the Asheville Printmakers is an energetic group of artists dedicated to expressing ideas and imagery through the medium of print. The group encompasses a wide range of processes and content, including traditional methods, such as lithography, woodcut and screen printing, and contemporary photographic printing processes, such as carbon printing, platinum-palladium and photopolymer etching. 

Parking Fees

  • Members: Free
  • Personal Vehicles: $14
  • Motorhomes / Vehicles (21’ or larger): $50
  • Buses: $100

There are no other admission charges required for visitors to access the Arboretum’s grounds and facilities during the day beyond the standard parking fees listed above.

Itch to Stitch Weaverville Library CANCELLED
Mar 2 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Weaverville Library

Itch to Stitch

Bring your current needle project and work while socializing with other like-minded crafters

Tuesday, March 3, 2020
Natural Impressions: Prints from the Asheville Printmakers CANCELLED
Mar 3 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
The North Carolina Arboretum

On display daily January 18 – April 19, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the upstairs gallery of the Education Center, the Asheville Printmakers’ newest exhibit, Natural Impressions, will feature a variety of two- and three-dimensional print pieces utilizing numerous printmaking processes. Works will inspire visitors to think about the beauty and fragility of plants and the natural world through various perspectives and printmaking techniques. All pieces are available for purchase and a portion of the sales will benefit The North Carolina Arboretum Society.

Founded in 2013, the Asheville Printmakers is an energetic group of artists dedicated to expressing ideas and imagery through the medium of print. The group encompasses a wide range of processes and content, including traditional methods, such as lithography, woodcut and screen printing, and contemporary photographic printing processes, such as carbon printing, platinum-palladium and photopolymer etching. 

Parking Fees

  • Members: Free
  • Personal Vehicles: $14
  • Motorhomes / Vehicles (21’ or larger): $50
  • Buses: $100

There are no other admission charges required for visitors to access the Arboretum’s grounds and facilities during the day beyond the standard parking fees listed above.

Les Miserables
Mar 3 @ 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Peace Center

Cameron Mackintosh presents the new production of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s Tony Award®-winning musical phenomenon, Les Misérables, direct from an acclaimed two-and-a-half-year return to Broadway. With its glorious new staging and dazzlingly reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo, this breathtaking new production has left both audiences and critics awestruck, cheering “Les Miz is born again!” (NY1).

Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice, and redemption – a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit. Featuring the thrilling score and beloved songs “I Dreamed A Dream,” “On My Own,” “Stars,” “Bring Him Home,” “One Day More,” and many more, this epic and uplifting story has become one of the most celebrated musicals in theatrical history.

Seen by more than 120 million people in 52 countries and in 22 languages around the globe, Les Misérables is still the world’s most popular musical, breaking box office records everywhere in its 33rd year.

Official Website

Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Natural Impressions: Prints from the Asheville Printmakers CANCELLED
Mar 4 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
The North Carolina Arboretum

On display daily January 18 – April 19, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the upstairs gallery of the Education Center, the Asheville Printmakers’ newest exhibit, Natural Impressions, will feature a variety of two- and three-dimensional print pieces utilizing numerous printmaking processes. Works will inspire visitors to think about the beauty and fragility of plants and the natural world through various perspectives and printmaking techniques. All pieces are available for purchase and a portion of the sales will benefit The North Carolina Arboretum Society.

Founded in 2013, the Asheville Printmakers is an energetic group of artists dedicated to expressing ideas and imagery through the medium of print. The group encompasses a wide range of processes and content, including traditional methods, such as lithography, woodcut and screen printing, and contemporary photographic printing processes, such as carbon printing, platinum-palladium and photopolymer etching. 

Parking Fees

  • Members: Free
  • Personal Vehicles: $14
  • Motorhomes / Vehicles (21’ or larger): $50
  • Buses: $100

There are no other admission charges required for visitors to access the Arboretum’s grounds and facilities during the day beyond the standard parking fees listed above.

Donny Edwards as Elvis
Mar 4 @ 2:00 pm
Flat Rock Playhouse
Asheville Art Museum: WNC residents pay-as-you-wish 1st Wednesdays
Mar 4 @ 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

FIRST WEDNESDAYS

WNC residents pay-as-you-wish on Wednesday, 4–6pm!