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.

Friday, October 23, 2020
Bucket List: Guide to Art Institutions in WNC
Oct 23 all-day
WNC

Bucket List: Guide to Art Institutions in WNC
Western North Carolina is known as the artist’s enclave of the Southeast—but where should we layfolk go to enjoy the fruits of these labors? Here’s our guide to enjoying art—painted, sculpted, sketched, and otherwise crafted—across the region.

 

Call for Sculpture Artists Tucker’s Gallery Outdoor Sculpture Gallery
Oct 23 all-day
Online

 by Tom Risser of Waxhaw, North Carolina

The Caldwell Arts Council and the City of Lenoir, NC seek sculptors to participate in Tucker’s Gallery, an outdoor sculpture sales gallery with three-dimensional artwork mounted in 12 pedestal-planters  in downtown Lenoir for up to one year.  Artists receive stipends for delivery and retrieval of sculptural art, and sculptures may be sold with 30% commission to the Caldwell Arts Council.

Find application at website.

Happy 25th Anniversary, LEAFers! October 23-25 Virtual Celebration
Oct 23 all-day
Online
Happy 25th Anniversary, LEAFers!

It was this week, 25 years ago that we first came together to gather, share cultural experiences and build community at the majestic Lake Eden. We started as a local festival and have grown into an international nonprofit rooted in the belief that cultural exposure, proximity and equitable access can bring a community together. Our mission is to cultivate a thriving global community generated by the power of cultural CURIOSITY, CONNECTION, and PRESERVATION through global music and ARTS EDUCATION and experiences. That mission is always growing, never finished and we can’t do it without you.

While we won’t be able to come together in-person the way we have in the past, we are determined to keep the LEAF Love flowing strong! We are bringing back V-LEAF on October 23-25, 2020 for a weekend of virtual music, conversation, cultural arts and more! As you prepare for the next great digital LEAF experience, check out “the BEST 25 years of LEAF PLAYLIST” by Martin Anderson of WNCW and 20 year LEAF MC.

Mandala Paintings by Jane Hennessy
Oct 23 all-day
Online

Waltzing in Vienna

My mother has exclusively created these stunning wood panel paintings with exquisite detail and depth, perfect for any home! They come ready to hang with wire and have painted sides, along with standing ‘off the wall’ with a classic gallery depth of 2 inches. Please look at the detail of each photo to see how some of them are ‘raised’ a bit with her magical painting technique. For the amount of work these took, they are priced to sell! Uplift the energy in your home just in time for the holiday season.

One of These Days by Whitfield Lovell
Oct 23 all-day
Online blog Asheville Art Museum

Whitfield Lovell, One of These Days, 2006, charcoal and china on wood, 84 × 37 × 4 ½ inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2007 Collectors’ Circle with additional funds provided by Phillip Broughton & David Smith, 2007.33.01.29. © Whitfield Lovell

Whitfield Lovell, One of These Days, 2006, charcoal and china on wood, 84 × 37 × 4 ½ inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2007 Collectors’ Circle with additional funds provided by Phillip Broughton & David Smith, 2007.33.01.29. © Whitfield Lovell

Online Education Series – From Mountain Crafts to Arts and Crafts
Oct 23 all-day
Online

When Charlotte Yale and Eleanor Vance arrived in Biltmore Village in 1901, they had no idea how many hundreds of young men and women they would influence over the course of the next fifty years. Together they lead Biltmore Estate Industries and Tryon Toymakers and Woodcarvers into nationally respected Arts and Crafts enterprises, providing young men and women with critical skills in woodworking, woodcarving, toy making, and weaving. This three-part video prepared by author Bruce Johnson traces their lives and their influences, offering a glimpse into their dedication to improving the lives of area young men and women.
The Met Collection Online
Oct 23 all-day
Online w/ Brevard Music Center

Staff Picks From Around the Web Brevard Music Center

The Met Museum:
The Met Collection

Browse the Metropolitan Museum of Arts’ virtual collection of masks, musical instruments, and more!

Toe River Arts Hosts BIG INK: Woodblock Printmaking Workshop
Oct 23 all-day
Toe River Arts

Toe River Arts will host BIG INK at its Spruce Pine gallery October 23-24, 2020
for a large-scale woodblock printmaking workshop. BIG INK, founded in 2012 by Lyell Castonguay
and Carand Burnet, and based in Newmarket, New Hampshire, provides opportunities for large-scale
woodblock printing workshops in host institutions. Big Ink’s mission is to inspire a greater public
appreciation of large-scale woodblock printmaking and to extend its practice as an artistic discipline.
Toe River Arts invites artists, high school students and recent high school graduates to apply to
participate in this workshop. Twelve artists and twelve students or recent high school graduates will
collaborate to carve woodblocks to be printed on BIG INK’s “The Big Tuna,” their large-scale,
traveling printing press. No previous knowledge of woodblock printing is necessary. The workshop
fee will be waived for students and supplies will be provided. Artists will be expected to pay a $100
workshop fee and pay supply costs, with Toe River Arts members receiving a discount.
The deadline to apply is July 1, 2020 at 11:59 PM EST. Chosen applicants will be notified July 22, at
which time they will be given material lists. Participants are encouraged to attend socially distanced
“Carving Nights.” Hosted by Toe River Arts and closed to the public, these meetings will give the
artists and students the opportunity and venue to work together on their carvings. Tentatively
scheduled for August, the exact dates and locations for these events will be determined based on the
appropriate social distancing requirements at that time.
While workshop participation is limited to 12 students and 12 artists, the printing process will be open
for the public to observe. If large gatherings are determined to be unsafe due to social distancing
requirements, a limit will be placed on how many people can observe in person, and/or arrangements
will be made for online viewing of the workshop.
This workshop will accompany Think BIG Prints, an exhibition of works by BIG INK artists, in the Toe
River Arts Spruce Pine Gallery’s upstairs ARC space September 11-October 24, 2020. A reception is
planned for October 9, 5-7 PM, but will be rescheduled or moved online if large gatherings are
deemed unsafe.
This workshop is made possible by in part by support from the Blumenthal Foundation.
Information about BIG INK can be found at www.bigink.org. Information about the workshop and the
Think BIG Prints exhibition, and the application to apply to participate in the workshop can be found at
www.toeriverarts.org/artists/education-outreach/big-ink. Please contact Community Outreach
Coordinator Melanie Finlayson at [email protected] for more information.

Scarecrow Festival at Lake Julian Park
Oct 23 @ 8:00 am – 7:00 pm
Lake Julian Park

Though apple picking outings, leaf peeping, and pumpkin spice in everything define the autumn season for many in the North Carolina mountains, scarecrows are a notable symbol of farms and the fall harvest in Buncombe County. The annual Scarecrow Festival returns to Lake Julian Park in October 23–November 1. Buncombe County residents are invited to construct scarecrows as an individual, family, group, school, business, club, or organization. There is no cost to enter.

Entries will be judged on originality/creativity, design, and workmanship. First, second, and third place winners will be announced in the categories of Traditional, Recycle and Reduce, and Funny. Prizes will be awarded for Judges’ Best of Show and People’s Choice. All entries will receive one vehicle admission to Festival of Lights, the immensely popular nocturnal display of winter scenes that has become a mountain tradition.

“Find Your Color” Photo Contest Chimney Rock
Oct 23 @ 8:30 am – 5:30 pm
Chimney Rock Park

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15 – SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15

Fall “Find Your Color” Photo Contest

Time: Park hours
Cost: No additional cost to enter.

It’s during this time of year that the mountains explode with color. Capture photos of the fall season and enter them into our “Find Your Color” Photo Contest. We’ll use the winning entries on our website and Facebook album, and you’ll win some fun prizes. Photos must be taken within the Chimney Rock section of the Park.

GREAT PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED TO 3 WINNING ENTRIES

Winners will be notified and announced on Chimney Rock’s social media channels. F

“SHE” Exhibition at Bender Gallery
Oct 23 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Bender Gallery
Beach
64 x 40 x 2″
We hope this finds everyone doing well during these unprecedented times. Bender Gallery is reaching out to our followers as a reminder to visit the gallery to experience “SHE”, an extraordinary solo exhibition of acrylic, charcoal, and mixed media paintings on board by figure artist Kim Goldfarb. If you are not able to visit the gallery in person, you may view a virtual tour of the exhibition on our website.
Goldfarb paints expressive portraits of women and girls that connect to the viewer on an emotional level. She paints intuitively with an effortless easy gestural control allowing her to impart something of her emotion or state of mind in each of her paintings. Kim’s works are a tribute to feminism and its powerful mystification. The subjects are strong and confident and are informed by the artist’s own life experiences.
“SHE” runs through November 2 during regular business hours. We truly hope that you will take the time to see Kim Goldfarb’s special and emotive works.
Light Up State Street Community Pumpkin Carving Contest
Oct 23 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Black Mountain Center for the Arts

Light up State Street.png

Help us Light Up State Street and fill our beautiful downtown with Halloween Cheer with this community pumpkin carving contest! All ages are invited to participate. Children (under 15) are $5 to register, and adults (15 or older) are $10. Pumpkins must be dropped off at BMCA on Tuesday, October 27 or Wednesday, October 28. BMCA will display and illuminate the pumpkins on State Street Thursday, October 29 through Saturday, October 31st. Winners will be chosen in both age groups for 4 different categories: scariest (must be family friendly), funniest, most creative, and art(ist) inspired​​. Participants must procure their own pumpkin.

THE YEAR 2020 – An Interactive Art Project
Oct 23 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Mountain Made Art Gallery

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.

We Are Open! Swannanoa Valley Museum
Oct 23 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Swannanoa Valley Museum


It is with great excitement that we announce our opening schedule for 2020. We have not been able to reopen since March, when the Covid -19 pandemic hit and North Carolina shut down. Now the State of North Carolina is transitioning into Phase 2.5 of Governor Cooper’s phased reopening plan. Phase 2.5 allows museums to open at 50% capacity. This means the Swannanoa Valley Museum will be open starting Labor Day weekend. We will allow 10 visitors in the museum per hour. Opening hours are Thursday – Saturday from 10am – 5pm. Visitors can sign up on our website for a self-guided tour time or sign up at the museum. We are looking forward to seeing our visitors once more! To book a self-guided tour time click on this link. SVM Self-Guided Tour Reservation

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.

 

Asheville Art Museum 50 Years of Western North Carolina Glass Exhibit closes Nov.2
Oct 23 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

James D. & Judith S. Moore have been collecting studio glass from Western North Carolina for the past 40 years. In honor of our reopening, the Moores have generously donated or promised much of their stunning collection to the Museum. This inaugural exhibition in the Judith S. Moore Gallery highlights the beauty of their collection and illustrates the depth with which they have collected certain foundational artists in the Studio Glass Movement.

50 Years of Western North Carolina Glass is organized by the Asheville Art Museum. This exhibition is supported in part by the Judy Appleton Memorial Fund.

Asheville Art Museum: New Exhibition Question Bridge: Black Males
Oct 23 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

Beginning October 7, the three-hour documentary-styled art installation Question Bridge: Black Males will be on view at the Asheville Art Museum. This innovative transmedia project facilitates a dialogue between Black men from diverse and contending backgrounds, and creates a platform for them to represent and redefine Black male identity in America. The work will be on view during regular public hours from October 7, 2020 through March 15, 2021.

Question Bridge: Black Males is a project that explores critically challenging issues within the African American male community by instigating a transmedia conversation among Black men across geographic, economic, generational, educational, and social strata of American society. Question Bridge provides a safe setting for necessary, honest expression and healing dialogue on themes that divide, unite, and puzzle Black males today in the United States.

Audubon Alongside Contemporary Art in Exhibition
Oct 23 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

Adonna Khare, Pool Party, 2015, carbon pencil on paper, 6 × 20 feet. Collection of the Artist. © Adonna Khare, image Phil Hatten.

An exhibition highlighting the works of John James Audubon juxtaposed with the work of 21st-century artists who continue his tradition of animal allegories and metaphors is currently on view at the Asheville Art Museum. The exhibition features more than 40 works and will be on display in the Explore Asheville Exhibition Hall through November 30.

Portrait Sessions Give Back To The Flat Rock Playhouse
Oct 23 @ 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Porch Portraits by Suzanne

 

Porch-Portraits-Cover.jpg

Best of all, Porch Portraits by Suzanne will donate $15 of every session to our great friends at Flat Rock Playhouse. My goal is to raise $15,000 for the Playhouse by the end of the year so any money over and above the price of $65 will go straight to them.

Perhaps most exciting, an extremely generous Playhouse donor has agreed to a MATCHING GIFT CAMPAIGN up to $36,000.18! This incredibly generous donation draws on the magic of Chai, the Jewish belief that multiples of 18 bring good luck. Meaning that every session booked will result in at least $30 for the wonderful folks at Flat Rock Playhouse.

For decades, Flat Rock Playhouse has been opening their collective hearts and sharing their fabulous talents to bring joy and entertainment to western North Carolina. This is an opportunity to show our gratitude at a time when they really need our support.

Together, let’s make magic happen! Help us kick off this campaign by contributing today.

Virtual Tours at Asheville Art Museum
Oct 23 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Online w/ Asheville Art Museum

Virtual Visits for Students

Groups of pre-K–12 students are invited to schedule an interactive Virtual Visit to the Museum! Led by volunteer docents with Museum staff, our inquiry-based, conversational Virtual Visits introduce the Museum’s galleries with a 3D tour and challenge students to hone their observation skills. All pre-K–12 Virtual Visits make connections to the NC Standard Course of Study.

Virtual Visits for pre-K–12 groups are $50 for 5–25 participants from one or multiple devices through Zoom or Google Meet. Virtual Visits are available Monday through Friday from 9am to 4pm, and last 30–45 minutes. At least two weeks’ advanced notice is required.

For more information about Virtual Visits for adults, college, and university students, click here. For Virtual Visits for family and friend groups with children, click here.

WoodLands Gallery Hello Fall
Oct 23 @ 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
WoodLands Gallery
Slow Art Fridays Before Social Distancing
Oct 23 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Online

Bernice Sims, Taylor Rolling Store, circa 2008, acrylic on canvas, 18 × 24 1/8 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2010 Collectors’ Circle members Anne Burkhardt and Cherry Lentz Saenger, 2011.07.24. © Estate of Bernice Sims.

Join Doris Potash, master docent and Barbara Pressman, touring docent, for an interactive conversation about three artworks in our Collection. Before the discussion, find a quiet space. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Now open your eyes, and engage with the artworks in the image gallery; click on the thumbnail for a larger image, and spend about 15 minutes looking slowly at each.

  • What’s going on in this artwork? What do you see that makes you say that?
  • What events or social interactions can you identify in these artworks?
  • What mood have the artists created?
  • Which non-socially distant experiences in these artworks are you hoping to have when it’s safe?
The Pumpkin Patch
Oct 23 @ 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
North Carolina Glass Center
Saturday, October 24, 2020
Bucket List: Guide to Art Institutions in WNC
Oct 24 all-day
WNC

Bucket List: Guide to Art Institutions in WNC
Western North Carolina is known as the artist’s enclave of the Southeast—but where should we layfolk go to enjoy the fruits of these labors? Here’s our guide to enjoying art—painted, sculpted, sketched, and otherwise crafted—across the region.

 

Call for Sculpture Artists Tucker’s Gallery Outdoor Sculpture Gallery
Oct 24 all-day
Online

 by Tom Risser of Waxhaw, North Carolina

The Caldwell Arts Council and the City of Lenoir, NC seek sculptors to participate in Tucker’s Gallery, an outdoor sculpture sales gallery with three-dimensional artwork mounted in 12 pedestal-planters  in downtown Lenoir for up to one year.  Artists receive stipends for delivery and retrieval of sculptural art, and sculptures may be sold with 30% commission to the Caldwell Arts Council.

Find application at website.

Happy 25th Anniversary, LEAFers! October 23-25 Virtual Celebration
Oct 24 all-day
Online
Happy 25th Anniversary, LEAFers!

It was this week, 25 years ago that we first came together to gather, share cultural experiences and build community at the majestic Lake Eden. We started as a local festival and have grown into an international nonprofit rooted in the belief that cultural exposure, proximity and equitable access can bring a community together. Our mission is to cultivate a thriving global community generated by the power of cultural CURIOSITY, CONNECTION, and PRESERVATION through global music and ARTS EDUCATION and experiences. That mission is always growing, never finished and we can’t do it without you.

While we won’t be able to come together in-person the way we have in the past, we are determined to keep the LEAF Love flowing strong! We are bringing back V-LEAF on October 23-25, 2020 for a weekend of virtual music, conversation, cultural arts and more! As you prepare for the next great digital LEAF experience, check out “the BEST 25 years of LEAF PLAYLIST” by Martin Anderson of WNCW and 20 year LEAF MC.

Mandala Paintings by Jane Hennessy
Oct 24 all-day
Online

Waltzing in Vienna

My mother has exclusively created these stunning wood panel paintings with exquisite detail and depth, perfect for any home! They come ready to hang with wire and have painted sides, along with standing ‘off the wall’ with a classic gallery depth of 2 inches. Please look at the detail of each photo to see how some of them are ‘raised’ a bit with her magical painting technique. For the amount of work these took, they are priced to sell! Uplift the energy in your home just in time for the holiday season.

One of These Days by Whitfield Lovell
Oct 24 all-day
Online blog Asheville Art Museum

Whitfield Lovell, One of These Days, 2006, charcoal and china on wood, 84 × 37 × 4 ½ inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2007 Collectors’ Circle with additional funds provided by Phillip Broughton & David Smith, 2007.33.01.29. © Whitfield Lovell

Whitfield Lovell, One of These Days, 2006, charcoal and china on wood, 84 × 37 × 4 ½ inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by 2007 Collectors’ Circle with additional funds provided by Phillip Broughton & David Smith, 2007.33.01.29. © Whitfield Lovell

Online Education Series – From Mountain Crafts to Arts and Crafts
Oct 24 all-day
Online

When Charlotte Yale and Eleanor Vance arrived in Biltmore Village in 1901, they had no idea how many hundreds of young men and women they would influence over the course of the next fifty years. Together they lead Biltmore Estate Industries and Tryon Toymakers and Woodcarvers into nationally respected Arts and Crafts enterprises, providing young men and women with critical skills in woodworking, woodcarving, toy making, and weaving. This three-part video prepared by author Bruce Johnson traces their lives and their influences, offering a glimpse into their dedication to improving the lives of area young men and women.
The Met Collection Online
Oct 24 all-day
Online w/ Brevard Music Center

Staff Picks From Around the Web Brevard Music Center

The Met Museum:
The Met Collection

Browse the Metropolitan Museum of Arts’ virtual collection of masks, musical instruments, and more!

Toe River Arts Hosts BIG INK: Woodblock Printmaking Workshop
Oct 24 all-day
Toe River Arts

Toe River Arts will host BIG INK at its Spruce Pine gallery October 23-24, 2020
for a large-scale woodblock printmaking workshop. BIG INK, founded in 2012 by Lyell Castonguay
and Carand Burnet, and based in Newmarket, New Hampshire, provides opportunities for large-scale
woodblock printing workshops in host institutions. Big Ink’s mission is to inspire a greater public
appreciation of large-scale woodblock printmaking and to extend its practice as an artistic discipline.
Toe River Arts invites artists, high school students and recent high school graduates to apply to
participate in this workshop. Twelve artists and twelve students or recent high school graduates will
collaborate to carve woodblocks to be printed on BIG INK’s “The Big Tuna,” their large-scale,
traveling printing press. No previous knowledge of woodblock printing is necessary. The workshop
fee will be waived for students and supplies will be provided. Artists will be expected to pay a $100
workshop fee and pay supply costs, with Toe River Arts members receiving a discount.
The deadline to apply is July 1, 2020 at 11:59 PM EST. Chosen applicants will be notified July 22, at
which time they will be given material lists. Participants are encouraged to attend socially distanced
“Carving Nights.” Hosted by Toe River Arts and closed to the public, these meetings will give the
artists and students the opportunity and venue to work together on their carvings. Tentatively
scheduled for August, the exact dates and locations for these events will be determined based on the
appropriate social distancing requirements at that time.
While workshop participation is limited to 12 students and 12 artists, the printing process will be open
for the public to observe. If large gatherings are determined to be unsafe due to social distancing
requirements, a limit will be placed on how many people can observe in person, and/or arrangements
will be made for online viewing of the workshop.
This workshop will accompany Think BIG Prints, an exhibition of works by BIG INK artists, in the Toe
River Arts Spruce Pine Gallery’s upstairs ARC space September 11-October 24, 2020. A reception is
planned for October 9, 5-7 PM, but will be rescheduled or moved online if large gatherings are
deemed unsafe.
This workshop is made possible by in part by support from the Blumenthal Foundation.
Information about BIG INK can be found at www.bigink.org. Information about the workshop and the
Think BIG Prints exhibition, and the application to apply to participate in the workshop can be found at
www.toeriverarts.org/artists/education-outreach/big-ink. Please contact Community Outreach
Coordinator Melanie Finlayson at [email protected] for more information.