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.
Each year, the Week of the Young Child spotlights young children, families, and early educators. Buncombe Partnership for Children usually celebrates with a day of outdoor play and performance, but this year, we’re moving the party online!
It is so important to give hope to our children during what are uneasy times. We are excited for a fun-filled week of music, gardening, art, storytime, and family connection. Knowing that circumstances are different for everyone, we will focus on providing experiences you can enjoy wherever you are celebrating. All activities will be live-streamed and/or posted on YouTube.
There’s something special planned for each day of the week! For more information about Music Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Work Together Wednesday, Artsy Thursday, and Family Friday please visit https://www.facebook.com/events/216960056254414/.
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.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, Atlanta’s Center for Puppetry Arts is closed, but as it notes on its homepage, it’s “digitally open.”
That includes livestreaming performances and an expanded lineup of digital learning activities and workshops, which are all available for free online.
https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/center-for-puppetry-arts-livestream-performances-for-free/KuBGQBiqLKxYs2l0WORhWO/?fbclid=IwAR17Ds6ftqLlyHEMda-rNXz3a9PHlERNkHuILTYJON58mQ005dZtC-DkUSc

Ready, set, snap! Connect with fellow nature lovers from around the world in the 2020 City Nature Challenge, a worldwide bioblitz held April 24 – 27 that encourages participants to get outside and celebrate their region’s biodiversity by taking photos of plants and animals found in their communities and uploading them to iNaturalist. This year, the Challenge will not be a regional competition but rather a four-day global citizen-science collaboration that embraces the healing power of nature and supports scientists worldwide. The Arboretum will be serving as the lead institution for the Western North Carolina region and will be offering a variety of online programming for adults and youth in conjunction with the Challenge.
How to Participate
1.) Download iNaturalist, a free mobile application on your iPhone or Android device.
2.) From April 24 – 27, get outside in your backyard or a nearby natural area (while practicing social distancing) and take pictures of wildlife, including plants and animals (no pets, please!).
3.) Upload your photos to iNaturalist and tell your friends to join in on the fun! **Children 12 & under can submit their photos via ecoexplore.net.
Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence at Home
Around the world, people of all ages have joined Mo Willems in his studio for weekday LUNCH DOODLES. The three-week run, all 15 episodes and their downloadable activities, are archived below. Let the doodling continue! Please tag your artwork on social media with #MoLunchDoodles so that we can all see it!
We applaud the many other authors and illustrators who are sharing stories and leading activities online. For a short list of people to visit, click here. [Please note that this list is just a small number of the many wonderful artists who are sharing their talent and insights at this time. So, grab a favorite grown-up and look around the internet to discover authors/illustrators who are new to you!]
You can always visit Kennedy Center @ Home to enjoy free videos of extraordinary live and on-demand performances. Our KC Ed Now site also has fun educational activities to do at home.
Mo Willems and the Kennedy Center thank YOU for sharing your creativity with us! This pandemic is going to require some time to get better. It is also going to require lots of kindness, lots of empathy, and lots and lots of doodles. Doodle on, fellow ART MAKERS!
A NOTE FROM NICK – Thank you so much for checking out The Social Distancing Festival. I can’t believe how quickly this all happened (on so many levels). I am so grateful to have gotten the chance to connect with artists around the world. You have really kept me company during this tough and lonely time.
My small team of AMAZING colleagues and I have been through hundreds of submissions, and are really proud to present you with this collection of art, as well as our ever-growing calendar of live streams from around the world. We’ll keep taking submissions and updating the site, so keep coming back!
I hope that you enjoy the work displayed on this site. I hope that you can get lost in work of all different mediums and styles from artists in all different stages of their careers . I hope you read their stories and feel connected through a shared love of art and creation and life. And I hope that helps to get you through.
That’s really, ultimately, the whole point.
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.

Ready, set, snap! Connect with fellow nature lovers from around the world in the 2020 City Nature Challenge, a worldwide bioblitz held April 24 – 27 that encourages participants to get outside and celebrate their region’s biodiversity by taking photos of plants and animals found in their communities and uploading them to iNaturalist. This year, the Challenge will not be a regional competition but rather a four-day global citizen-science collaboration that embraces the healing power of nature and supports scientists worldwide. The Arboretum will be serving as the lead institution for the Western North Carolina region and will be offering a variety of online programming for adults and youth in conjunction with the Challenge.
How to Participate
1.) Download iNaturalist, a free mobile application on your iPhone or Android device.
2.) From April 24 – 27, get outside in your backyard or a nearby natural area (while practicing social distancing) and take pictures of wildlife, including plants and animals (no pets, please!).
3.) Upload your photos to iNaturalist and tell your friends to join in on the fun! **Children 12 & under can submit their photos via ecoexplore.net.
Welcome to The Social Distancing Festival.
This is a site for celebrating art from all over the world, showcasing amazing talent, and coming together as a community at a time when we need it more than ever.
A NOTE FROM NICK – Thank you so much for checking out The Social Distancing Festival. I can’t believe how quickly this all happened (on so many levels). I am so grateful to have gotten the chance to connect with artists around the world. You have really kept me company during this tough and lonely time.
My small team of AMAZING colleagues and I have been through hundreds of submissions, and are really proud to present you with this collection of art, as well as our ever-growing calendar of live streams from around the world. We’ll keep taking submissions and updating the site, so keep coming back!
I hope that you enjoy the work displayed on this site. I hope that you can get lost in work of all different mediums and styles from artists in all different stages of their careers . I hope you read their stories and feel connected through a shared love of art and creation and life. And I hope that helps to get you through.
That’s really, ultimately, the whole point.
VESSELS OF HOPE: A CALL FOR HELP FROM THE VILLAGE POTTERS CLAY CENTER
Sarah Wells Rolland is making 500 vessels in fundraiser for TVPCC.
Sustaining TVPCC through this season of closure has become my primary job. I have applied for multiple loans, EIDL, PPP, from my personal bank, and now we wait. I am filled with hope! I believe that what we began here in 2011 is just now becoming fully grown.
So, I asked myself, What can I do? Vessels of Hope came to me immediately and I knew I had to do it. I am personally embarking on a challenging labor of love, making 500 vessels, each unique just like you. I am asking you to become a vessel of hope with me and our wonderful community for The Village Potters Clay Center.”
Sarah will be at the wheel making these Vessels of Hope for the next 12 weeks, and glazing them using a broad palette. Every vessel will vary in shape, surface and color, each one unique. They will be fired regularly as there are enough for a kiln load, expecting at least 4 firings among the large gas kiln, the new Rolland kiln, and the Kazegama wood ash kiln at TVPCC to complete this project.
As this is written, Sarah has made 121 vessels, and 120 are already purchased. During this process, pictures and videos of Sarah making the vessels will be posted to social media and shared with benefactors, so we all feel connected and continue to nurture hope in this time. When the vessels are all completed, The Village Potters team and volunteers will gather and pack them, but there will be no specific allocation of pots to people. Locals will be welcome to come by and pick up their vessel, and whether for shipping or pick up, pots will be distributed from the packed boxes, so nobody will know which pot they receive until the box is opened .
Sarah’s goal is for 500 benefactors, people who believe in the mission at The Village Potters Clay Center, and who are in a position to help. A minimum donation of $100 is asked for each Vessel of Hope, which includes shipping. For those who are able and would like to purchase more than one as gifts, individual pick up or shipping may be arranged. *10% of the proceeds generated through this project will be donated to artists in the River Arts District who are also struggling to stay open.
More from Sarah Wells Rolland: “These “Vessels of Hope” are a joyous creative pursuit for me personally, and you can be a part. I thank you for your love and support!”
The Village Potters Clay Center Team: Sarah Wells Rolland, George Rolland, Lori Theriault, Judi Harwood, Julia Mann, Christine Henry, Tori Motyl, and Lindsey Mudge,

Every April, American Folk Art honors a wild pottery tradition that began regionally in the early 1800’s. No one knows for sure when the first face jug was created, but around the mountain region of North Carolina, face jugs began to be created for the storage of moonshine around 1810. The faces, snakes and other foreboding additions were added to the clay jugs to scare the children, so they would not drink the contents. In the unadorned world of the 1800’s, the face jug was remarkable and the tradition allowed for much creativity and fun amongst potters. Face jugs continue to be created in the same fashion as of old, which includes hand digging and mixing regional soils to make the clay, using regional materials to make the glazes, in many cases using broken plates for the teeth, and wood-firing the jugs to 2300 degrees. They are still in use, holding moonshine, but not necessarily scaring the kids.

We invite young LEAFers to join LEAF Resident Teaching Artist Adama Dembele for a virtual drumming and dance class for elementary age kids. Adama is a master djembefola (djembe player) from the Ivory Coast, West Africa, and has been a part of LEAF since 2005. He currently teaches year round after school classes with LEAF Schools & Streets, and he is excited to offer video classes in which students can take a journey to explore the sounds, rhythms and movements of West African culture right from their own home!
https://www.facebook.com/events/199994081418039/
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.
Join me on Wednesday mornings at 10:00am (EST) through the month of April for “Baby Boogie Dance Party LIVE!” These fun and interactive Facebook Live dance parties will air from the Baby Steps Dance Asheville page (not from within this event page). I will post previous videos in the comment section of this event page so you can access them at your convenience! Be sure to follow Baby Steps Dance Asheville on Facebook to stay connected and interact with me during live videos! Spread the word to your friends- community and connection is what we all need these days, and I am happy to bring some movement and joy to your families!
Virtual Tip Jar (thank you for your support!):
https://paypal.me/babystepsdanceavl?locale.x=en_US
ABOUT BABY BOOGIE DANCE PARTY LIVE!
Together we’ll connect and get our wiggles out through fun action songs, movement games, sing-a-longs and skill building! Activities are focused towards toddlers and young children, but older children and caregivers are encouraged to join in on the dancing! I’ll see you on the virtual dance floor!

Margaret works at Pack Memorial Library. Currently, she is at home with the rest of us trying to flatten the curve by social distancing. The wonderful thing about Margaret is she is multi-talented!
We decided we should feature her art skills throughout the week with evening art programs! Video lessons will be featured every three days and in between, we’ll post the supplies needed. If you have any questions, about a certain class or material needed, let us know, send a comment or DM. We’re also interested in what you’ve been making, so please share if you want to!
Live Zoom classes for adults will be coming up as well, so if you have immediate questions, you can ask her directly by attending a class! (Dates will be posted soon.)
For most of these lessons, we advise there be a parent supervising young children. Most of the projects are kid friendly with adult supervision.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, Atlanta’s Center for Puppetry Arts is closed, but as it notes on its homepage, it’s “digitally open.”
That includes livestreaming performances and an expanded lineup of digital learning activities and workshops, which are all available for free online.
https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/center-for-puppetry-arts-livestream-performances-for-free/KuBGQBiqLKxYs2l0WORhWO/?fbclid=IwAR17Ds6ftqLlyHEMda-rNXz3a9PHlERNkHuILTYJON58mQ005dZtC-DkUSc

Ready, set, snap! Connect with fellow nature lovers from around the world in the 2020 City Nature Challenge, a worldwide bioblitz held April 24 – 27 that encourages participants to get outside and celebrate their region’s biodiversity by taking photos of plants and animals found in their communities and uploading them to iNaturalist. This year, the Challenge will not be a regional competition but rather a four-day global citizen-science collaboration that embraces the healing power of nature and supports scientists worldwide. The Arboretum will be serving as the lead institution for the Western North Carolina region and will be offering a variety of online programming for adults and youth in conjunction with the Challenge.
How to Participate
1.) Download iNaturalist, a free mobile application on your iPhone or Android device.
2.) From April 24 – 27, get outside in your backyard or a nearby natural area (while practicing social distancing) and take pictures of wildlife, including plants and animals (no pets, please!).
3.) Upload your photos to iNaturalist and tell your friends to join in on the fun! **Children 12 & under can submit their photos via ecoexplore.net.
Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence at Home
Around the world, people of all ages have joined Mo Willems in his studio for weekday LUNCH DOODLES. The three-week run, all 15 episodes and their downloadable activities, are archived below. Let the doodling continue! Please tag your artwork on social media with #MoLunchDoodles so that we can all see it!
We applaud the many other authors and illustrators who are sharing stories and leading activities online. For a short list of people to visit, click here. [Please note that this list is just a small number of the many wonderful artists who are sharing their talent and insights at this time. So, grab a favorite grown-up and look around the internet to discover authors/illustrators who are new to you!]
You can always visit Kennedy Center @ Home to enjoy free videos of extraordinary live and on-demand performances. Our KC Ed Now site also has fun educational activities to do at home.
Mo Willems and the Kennedy Center thank YOU for sharing your creativity with us! This pandemic is going to require some time to get better. It is also going to require lots of kindness, lots of empathy, and lots and lots of doodles. Doodle on, fellow ART MAKERS!
Welcome to The Social Distancing Festival.
This is a site for celebrating art from all over the world, showcasing amazing talent, and coming together as a community at a time when we need it more than ever.
A NOTE FROM NICK – Thank you so much for checking out The Social Distancing Festival. I can’t believe how quickly this all happened (on so many levels). I am so grateful to have gotten the chance to connect with artists around the world. You have really kept me company during this tough and lonely time.
My small team of AMAZING colleagues and I have been through hundreds of submissions, and are really proud to present you with this collection of art, as well as our ever-growing calendar of live streams from around the world. We’ll keep taking submissions and updating the site, so keep coming back!
I hope that you enjoy the work displayed on this site. I hope that you can get lost in work of all different mediums and styles from artists in all different stages of their careers . I hope you read their stories and feel connected through a shared love of art and creation and life. And I hope that helps to get you through.
That’s really, ultimately, the whole point.
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.

Streaming figure and portrait drawing session with multiple views, one low price. Be safe, be creative, and support artists and models. Poses will vary from 1-minute gestures to 15-minute seated or reclining. NOTE: This is a REMOTE session; to participate, you’ll need the free Zoom browser plug-in. Access codes will be delivered via email prior to session start, so sign up early
Level: all, No prior figure drawing experience required, but a large computer screen is suggested.

Join us for an Easel Rider craft on Facebook Live with our Community Engagement Director, Marsha Almodovar. These fun crafts will utilize supplies you can easily find in your own home. Tune in each Thursday at 3pm EST as we go live to provide step by step instruction, and enjoy a moment of creativity and connection in your day!

Dance the night away to 80s, 90s and 00s jams at the 2020 Sneaker Soiree.
Rock your old sparkly prom dress, brightest running leggings, neon retro garb, shiniest fancy pants- whatever makes you happy! Round out your look with running shoes.
Welcome to Art in the Time of COVID– an online artwork exhibition by Pink Dog Creative artists. The work in this exhibition is either related to the COVID-19 pandemic, made during the time of Stay-At-Home orders, or is uplifting or otherwise helpful during this challenging time. Most of the work is for sale. Our artists are hard at work and appreciate your support during this difficult time. Check out our artist pages and please get in touch with artists directly for information on work, online classes, & commissions! Work will continue to be added during the quarantine, so please check back for updates.

Karen Keil Brown, Where Will Our Path Take Us, Oil on canvas, 14 x 11″
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, Atlanta’s Center for Puppetry Arts is closed, but as it notes on its homepage, it’s “digitally open.”
That includes livestreaming performances and an expanded lineup of digital learning activities and workshops, which are all available for free online.
https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/center-for-puppetry-arts-livestream-performances-for-free/KuBGQBiqLKxYs2l0WORhWO/?fbclid=IwAR17Ds6ftqLlyHEMda-rNXz3a9PHlERNkHuILTYJON58mQ005dZtC-DkUSc

Ready, set, snap! Connect with fellow nature lovers from around the world in the 2020 City Nature Challenge, a worldwide bioblitz held April 24 – 27 that encourages participants to get outside and celebrate their region’s biodiversity by taking photos of plants and animals found in their communities and uploading them to iNaturalist. This year, the Challenge will not be a regional competition but rather a four-day global citizen-science collaboration that embraces the healing power of nature and supports scientists worldwide. The Arboretum will be serving as the lead institution for the Western North Carolina region and will be offering a variety of online programming for adults and youth in conjunction with the Challenge.
How to Participate
1.) Download iNaturalist, a free mobile application on your iPhone or Android device.
2.) From April 24 – 27, get outside in your backyard or a nearby natural area (while practicing social distancing) and take pictures of wildlife, including plants and animals (no pets, please!).
3.) Upload your photos to iNaturalist and tell your friends to join in on the fun! **Children 12 & under can submit their photos via ecoexplore.net.
Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence at Home
Around the world, people of all ages have joined Mo Willems in his studio for weekday LUNCH DOODLES. The three-week run, all 15 episodes and their downloadable activities, are archived below. Let the doodling continue! Please tag your artwork on social media with #MoLunchDoodles so that we can all see it!
We applaud the many other authors and illustrators who are sharing stories and leading activities online. For a short list of people to visit, click here. [Please note that this list is just a small number of the many wonderful artists who are sharing their talent and insights at this time. So, grab a favorite grown-up and look around the internet to discover authors/illustrators who are new to you!]
You can always visit Kennedy Center @ Home to enjoy free videos of extraordinary live and on-demand performances. Our KC Ed Now site also has fun educational activities to do at home.
Mo Willems and the Kennedy Center thank YOU for sharing your creativity with us! This pandemic is going to require some time to get better. It is also going to require lots of kindness, lots of empathy, and lots and lots of doodles. Doodle on, fellow ART MAKERS!
Welcome to The Social Distancing Festival.
This is a site for celebrating art from all over the world, showcasing amazing talent, and coming together as a community at a time when we need it more than ever.
A NOTE FROM NICK – Thank you so much for checking out The Social Distancing Festival. I can’t believe how quickly this all happened (on so many levels). I am so grateful to have gotten the chance to connect with artists around the world. You have really kept me company during this tough and lonely time.
My small team of AMAZING colleagues and I have been through hundreds of submissions, and are really proud to present you with this collection of art, as well as our ever-growing calendar of live streams from around the world. We’ll keep taking submissions and updating the site, so keep coming back!
I hope that you enjoy the work displayed on this site. I hope that you can get lost in work of all different mediums and styles from artists in all different stages of their careers . I hope you read their stories and feel connected through a shared love of art and creation and life. And I hope that helps to get you through.
That’s really, ultimately, the whole point.
VESSELS OF HOPE: A CALL FOR HELP FROM THE VILLAGE POTTERS CLAY CENTER
Sarah Wells Rolland is making 500 vessels in fundraiser for TVPCC.
Sustaining TVPCC through this season of closure has become my primary job. I have applied for multiple loans, EIDL, PPP, from my personal bank, and now we wait. I am filled with hope! I believe that what we began here in 2011 is just now becoming fully grown.
So, I asked myself, What can I do? Vessels of Hope came to me immediately and I knew I had to do it. I am personally embarking on a challenging labor of love, making 500 vessels, each unique just like you. I am asking you to become a vessel of hope with me and our wonderful community for The Village Potters Clay Center.”
Sarah will be at the wheel making these Vessels of Hope for the next 12 weeks, and glazing them using a broad palette. Every vessel will vary in shape, surface and color, each one unique. They will be fired regularly as there are enough for a kiln load, expecting at least 4 firings among the large gas kiln, the new Rolland kiln, and the Kazegama wood ash kiln at TVPCC to complete this project.
As this is written, Sarah has made 121 vessels, and 120 are already purchased. During this process, pictures and videos of Sarah making the vessels will be posted to social media and shared with benefactors, so we all feel connected and continue to nurture hope in this time. When the vessels are all completed, The Village Potters team and volunteers will gather and pack them, but there will be no specific allocation of pots to people. Locals will be welcome to come by and pick up their vessel, and whether for shipping or pick up, pots will be distributed from the packed boxes, so nobody will know which pot they receive until the box is opened .
Sarah’s goal is for 500 benefactors, people who believe in the mission at The Village Potters Clay Center, and who are in a position to help. A minimum donation of $100 is asked for each Vessel of Hope, which includes shipping. For those who are able and would like to purchase more than one as gifts, individual pick up or shipping may be arranged. *10% of the proceeds generated through this project will be donated to artists in the River Arts District who are also struggling to stay open.
More from Sarah Wells Rolland: “These “Vessels of Hope” are a joyous creative pursuit for me personally, and you can be a part. I thank you for your love and support!”
The Village Potters Clay Center Team: Sarah Wells Rolland, George Rolland, Lori Theriault, Judi Harwood, Julia Mann, Christine Henry, Tori Motyl, and Lindsey Mudge,

Every April, American Folk Art honors a wild pottery tradition that began regionally in the early 1800’s. No one knows for sure when the first face jug was created, but around the mountain region of North Carolina, face jugs began to be created for the storage of moonshine around 1810. The faces, snakes and other foreboding additions were added to the clay jugs to scare the children, so they would not drink the contents. In the unadorned world of the 1800’s, the face jug was remarkable and the tradition allowed for much creativity and fun amongst potters. Face jugs continue to be created in the same fashion as of old, which includes hand digging and mixing regional soils to make the clay, using regional materials to make the glazes, in many cases using broken plates for the teeth, and wood-firing the jugs to 2300 degrees. They are still in use, holding moonshine, but not necessarily scaring the kids.

