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.

Tuesday, February 9, 2021
Black History Month – Book List for Young Readers
Feb 9 all-day
Online
Take + Play – Borrow Ukuleles and Games from the Library
Feb 9 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Pack Memorial Library

The Perfect Turkey

Pack Youth Services introduces Take & Play, a pilot program that offers everyone the opportunity to borrow games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets from the Youth Services department at Pack Library. Take & Play items check out for three weeks, and you need to pick them up and drop them off at Pack Library. Games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets are available on a first-come, first-served basis and you check them out with your library card just like a book. Call 250-4720 for details, or drop by the library anytime we’re open.

All our library hours are listed here.

Live Stream: Amy Cherrix Launches In the Shadow of the Moon, in conversation with Allan Wolf
Feb 9 @ 6:00 pm
Online w/ Malaprop's

Join Malaprop’s own Children’s Buyer and Bookseller Amy Cherrix and Allan Wolf for this exciting virtual book launch. In the Shadow of the Moon: America, Russia, and the Hidden History of the Space Race tells the extraordinary story of the space race and the bitter rivalry that launched humankind to the moon! Signed/personalized copies of both author’s books are available, please request via the comments section during checkout. 

Click here to RSVP for this event. Prior to the event, we will email you with the link required to attend. Like most of our events, this event is free. If you decide to attend and to purchase the authors’ books, we ask that you purchase from Malaprop’s. When you do this you make it possible for us to continue hosting author events and you keep more dollars in our community. If you would like to support us without purchasing a book, you may purchase a gift card or make a donation of any amount. Thank you!


An exhilarating dive into the secret history of humankind’s race to the moon, from acclaimed author Amy Cherrix. This fascinating and immersive read is perfect for fans of Steve Sheinkin’s Bomb and M. T. Anderson’s Symphony for the City of the Dead. You’ve heard of the space race, but do you know the whole story? The most ambitious race humankind has ever undertaken was masterminded in the shadows by two engineers on opposite sides of the Cold War–Wernher von Braun, a former Nazi officer living in the US, and Sergei Korolev, a Russian rocket designer once jailed for crimes against his country–and your textbooks probably never told you. Von Braun became an American hero, recognized the world over, while Korolev toiled in obscurity. These two brilliant rocketeers never met, but together they shaped the science of spaceflight and redefined modern warfare. From Stalin’s brutal Gulag prisons and Hitler’s concentration camps to Cape Canaveral and beyond, their simultaneous quests pushed science–and human ingenuity–to the breaking point.
Amy Cherrix is the author of the middle grade nonfiction books Backyard Bears: Conservation, Habitat Changes, and the Rise of Urban Wildlife and Eye of the Storm: NASA, Drones, and the Race to Crack the Hurricane Code, a Subaru Prize for Excellence in middle grade science book finalist. In her nonwriting life, Amy is the children’s book buyer at Malaprop’s Bookstore in Asheville, North Carolina. This is her first book for teens. You can find her online at www.amycherrix.com.

Allan Wolf is an acclaimed poet and storyteller. Along with his two other historical verse novels, The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic and New Found Land: Lewis and Clark’s Voyage of Discovery, he is the author of The Blood-Hungry Spleen and Other Poems About Our Parts and the young adult novels Who Killed Christopher Goodman? and Zane’s Trace. Allan Wolf lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

Passing by Nella Larsen Book Club
Feb 9 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Online w/ Books That Age Like Wine

Passing by Nella Larsen

Clare and Irene were two childhood friends. They lost touch when Clare’s father died and she moved in with two white aunts. By hiding that Clare was part-black, they allowed her to ‘pass’ as a white woman and marry a white racist. Irene lives in Harlem, commits herself to racial uplift, and marries a black doctor. The novel centers on the meeting of the two childhood friends later in life, and the unfolding of events as each woman is fascinated and seduced by the other’s daring lifestyle. The end of the novel is famous for its ambiguity. Many see this novel as an example of the plot of the tragic mulatto, a common figure in early African-American literature. Recently, Passing has received renewed attention because of its close examination of racial and sexual ambiguities and liminal spaces. It has achieved canonical status in many American universities.

What we’re about

We will be reading the classics. We will be discussing books in depth like the book worms that we are. We may pepper in some non-fiction here and there, but the focus of the book club is classic literature.

Wednesday, February 10, 2021
Black History Month – Book List for Young Readers
Feb 10 all-day
Online
Take + Play – Borrow Ukuleles and Games from the Library
Feb 10 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Pack Memorial Library

The Perfect Turkey

Pack Youth Services introduces Take & Play, a pilot program that offers everyone the opportunity to borrow games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets from the Youth Services department at Pack Library. Take & Play items check out for three weeks, and you need to pick them up and drop them off at Pack Library. Games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets are available on a first-come, first-served basis and you check them out with your library card just like a book. Call 250-4720 for details, or drop by the library anytime we’re open.

All our library hours are listed here.

Learn to Play Mah Jongg
Feb 10 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Online w/ Heavenly Hand Mah Jongg

Learn to Play Mah Jongg

ONLINE lessons given at an interactive classroom website at the School of American Mah Jongg. You will play online with 2 or 3 other students while I teach you how to play in four weekly lessons at the Mah Jongg classroom. In addition, a Zoom link provides audio and visual support. Please sign up in advance as I need to mail learning materials to you for use during the class. Class meets on February 10, 17, 24 and March 3. Please register and pay for the class by Laura Hoover at the School of American Mah Jongg. https://mahjongteacher.com

What we’re about

This group is designed to teach American Mah Jongg is a fun and stimulating game of strategy, skill, and luck. Mah Jongg is a 4 player game using 152 tiles and the National Mah Jongg rule card. All lessons are done in a virtual, interactive classroom through the School of American Mah Jongg. Please refer to event details for more info or contact me at [email protected] or Facebook at LessonsFromLaura

ONLINE lessons starting soon.

Thursday, February 11, 2021
Black History Month – Book List for Young Readers
Feb 11 all-day
Online
Take + Play – Borrow Ukuleles and Games from the Library
Feb 11 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Pack Memorial Library

The Perfect Turkey

Pack Youth Services introduces Take & Play, a pilot program that offers everyone the opportunity to borrow games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets from the Youth Services department at Pack Library. Take & Play items check out for three weeks, and you need to pick them up and drop them off at Pack Library. Games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets are available on a first-come, first-served basis and you check them out with your library card just like a book. Call 250-4720 for details, or drop by the library anytime we’re open.

All our library hours are listed here.

Black Experience Book Club
Feb 11 @ 6:30 pm
YMI Impact Center

Man reading book

YMI Cultural Center and Buncombe County Public Libraries have partnered on a book club exploring modern Black authors. December’s selection is The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Asheville’s YMI Cultural Center (YMI) and Buncombe County Public Libraries (BCPL) are partnering to create a book club focusing on modern Black authors and readers. Beginning Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020, the Black Experience Book Club will meet twice per month at 6:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month.

To maximize safety, meetings will be held in a hybrid in-person and online format during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anyone interested may join the meeting via Zoom or meet in person at the YMI Impact Center, 39 S. Market St., Suite A, Asheville, NC 28801. In-person meetings will be capped at 10 participants in order to observe social distancing.

To register to attend in-person, please call YMI staff at 828-257-4540 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Thursday or email [email protected] at any time. To receive the Zoom link or for questions regarding finding copies of book club titles, please contact Alexandra Duncan at [email protected]. You may also find information about upcoming titles and request the Zoom link through the library’s Events Calendar. Visit buncombecounty.org/library and click on Events Calendar at the top of the page.

In December 2020, the Black Experience Book Club will discuss The Water Dancer, by Ta-Nehisi Coates. In January 2021, members will discuss The Coldest Winter Ever, by Sister Souljah, and in February 2021, Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi. Selected titles for future months will be announced in book club meetings, on the library’s Events Calendar, and via YMI and BCPL social media channels. Readers may borrow any of these titles at any BCPL location or at the YMI. Copies will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis, so participants are encouraged to reserve their copies early.

Friday, February 12, 2021
Black History Month – Book List for Young Readers
Feb 12 all-day
Online
Take + Play – Borrow Ukuleles and Games from the Library
Feb 12 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Pack Memorial Library

The Perfect Turkey

Pack Youth Services introduces Take & Play, a pilot program that offers everyone the opportunity to borrow games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets from the Youth Services department at Pack Library. Take & Play items check out for three weeks, and you need to pick them up and drop them off at Pack Library. Games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets are available on a first-come, first-served basis and you check them out with your library card just like a book. Call 250-4720 for details, or drop by the library anytime we’re open.

All our library hours are listed here.

Live Stream: Allan Wolf and Brianne Farley Launch No Buddy Like a Book
Feb 12 @ 6:00 pm
Online w/ Malaprop's

We’re excited to celebrate the release of the new picture book by Asheville writer Allan Wolf and illustrator Brianne Farley! RSVP here to receive an email on the day of the event with the link you’ll need to attend.

Signed and personalized copies available from Malaprop’s! Pre-order below and get your copy signed or personalized by Allan Wolf. If you would like personalization (ex. “To Maia”), just indicate that in the comments area when ordering.

There is no fee to attend but we encourage you to purchase from Malaprop’s to help us continue connecting writers and readers and support our local economy. If you would like to support us without purchasing a book, you may also purchase a gift card or make a donation of any amount below. Thank you!


Calling readers and daydreamers, word mavens and lovers of adventure! This celebration of the power of books is a rallying cry for letting imaginations soar.
We learn important stuff from books.
We learn to speak and think.
We learn why icebergs stay afloat . . .
and why Titanics sink.
Have you ever wanted to climb to the top of Everest with one hand behind your back? Kiss a crocodile all by yourself on the Nile River? How about learning how to bottle moonlight, or track a distant star? There are endless things to discover and whole universes to explore simply by reading a book. But books are only smears of ink without the reader’s mind to give their letters meaning and bring them to life. With a rollicking, rhyming text and delightful artwork, poet and storyteller Allan Wolf and illustrator Brianne Farley remind us that books, no matter how they may be consumed, give readers of every background an opportunity to expand their world and spark their imagination. With infectious enthusiasm, No Buddy Like a Book offers an ode to the wonders of language–written, spoken, and everything in between.

Allan Wolf is the author of many award-winning books for children and teens, including The Day the Universe Exploded My Head and The Blood-Hungry Spleen and Other Poems About Our Parts. Before the publication of No Buddy Like a Book, Allan Wolf frequently recited the text of the poem for educators and students, to avid response. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

Brianne Farley is the author-illustrator of Secret Tree Fort and Ike’s Incredible Ink. Her work has appeared in McSweeney’s, the New York Times, and elsewhere. Brianne Farley lives and works in Traverse City, Michigan.

Saturday, February 13, 2021
Black History Month – Book List for Young Readers
Feb 13 all-day
Online
Take + Play – Borrow Ukuleles and Games from the Library
Feb 13 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Pack Memorial Library

The Perfect Turkey

Pack Youth Services introduces Take & Play, a pilot program that offers everyone the opportunity to borrow games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets from the Youth Services department at Pack Library. Take & Play items check out for three weeks, and you need to pick them up and drop them off at Pack Library. Games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets are available on a first-come, first-served basis and you check them out with your library card just like a book. Call 250-4720 for details, or drop by the library anytime we’re open.

All our library hours are listed here.

Cupid is Stupid Car Smashing
Feb 13 @ 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Hi-Wire Brewing

2020 broke all of our hearts. Come channel that rage into a good cause at our second-annual Cupid is Stupid Car Smashing on Saturday, Feb. 13 from 3-6pm in our Big Top taproom’s parking lot. You get 5 hits for $5 or 15 hits for $10 with your choice of bludgeoning device from our arsenal. All proceeds from the event will be split between the USBG National Charity Foundation and the North Carolina Restaurant Workers Relief Fund. So come out, play your favorite angry song, and get to swinging. You know you need this after the past year we’ve had.
If you want to have a whack at it, sign-ups must be done in person during the event at the check-in table outside. Time slots will be first come first served. Protective eyewear will be provided and sanitized between each use. Participants must wear protective gloves, so feel free to bring your own, but we will have heavy-duty gloves to use as well as disposable rubber gloves to wear under them. Social distancing and COVID-19 safety measures must be followed at all times. We recommend getting a table or reserving an igloo while you wait for your turn.
Sunday, February 14, 2021
Black History Month – Book List for Young Readers
Feb 14 all-day
Online
Take + Play – Borrow Ukuleles and Games from the Library
Feb 14 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Pack Memorial Library

The Perfect Turkey

Pack Youth Services introduces Take & Play, a pilot program that offers everyone the opportunity to borrow games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets from the Youth Services department at Pack Library. Take & Play items check out for three weeks, and you need to pick them up and drop them off at Pack Library. Games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets are available on a first-come, first-served basis and you check them out with your library card just like a book. Call 250-4720 for details, or drop by the library anytime we’re open.

All our library hours are listed here.

Monday, February 15, 2021
Black History Month – Book List for Young Readers
Feb 15 all-day
Online
Take + Play – Borrow Ukuleles and Games from the Library
Feb 15 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Pack Memorial Library

The Perfect Turkey

Pack Youth Services introduces Take & Play, a pilot program that offers everyone the opportunity to borrow games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets from the Youth Services department at Pack Library. Take & Play items check out for three weeks, and you need to pick them up and drop them off at Pack Library. Games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets are available on a first-come, first-served basis and you check them out with your library card just like a book. Call 250-4720 for details, or drop by the library anytime we’re open.

All our library hours are listed here.

AniMonday! Anime Games, Music All Day
Feb 15 @ 1:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Asheville Retrocade

May be an image of one or more people and hair

Join us for Animoday! Every Monday all day. Listen to anime music, play anime games, watch anime, and talk anime!

Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Black History Month – Book List for Young Readers
Feb 16 all-day
Online
Take + Play – Borrow Ukuleles and Games from the Library
Feb 16 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Pack Memorial Library

The Perfect Turkey

Pack Youth Services introduces Take & Play, a pilot program that offers everyone the opportunity to borrow games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets from the Youth Services department at Pack Library. Take & Play items check out for three weeks, and you need to pick them up and drop them off at Pack Library. Games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets are available on a first-come, first-served basis and you check them out with your library card just like a book. Call 250-4720 for details, or drop by the library anytime we’re open.

All our library hours are listed here.

North Asheville Book Club “Talking to Strangers” by Malcolm Gladwell
Feb 16 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Online w/ North Asheville Library

May be an image of book and text that says 'Talking to Strangers PEOPLE North Asheville Book Club Malcolm Gladwell TIMES bextkelling OUTLEERS EVISIONIST HISTORY Tuesday, February 16th 2:00pm'

The North Asheville Book Club meets on the 3rd Tuesday of every month. Stay tuned for next month’s selection!

Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Black History Month – Book List for Young Readers
Feb 17 all-day
Online
Take + Play – Borrow Ukuleles and Games from the Library
Feb 17 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Pack Memorial Library

The Perfect Turkey

Pack Youth Services introduces Take & Play, a pilot program that offers everyone the opportunity to borrow games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets from the Youth Services department at Pack Library. Take & Play items check out for three weeks, and you need to pick them up and drop them off at Pack Library. Games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets are available on a first-come, first-served basis and you check them out with your library card just like a book. Call 250-4720 for details, or drop by the library anytime we’re open.

All our library hours are listed here.

Learn to Play Mah Jongg
Feb 17 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Online w/ Heavenly Hand Mah Jongg

Learn to Play Mah Jongg

ONLINE lessons given at an interactive classroom website at the School of American Mah Jongg. You will play online with 2 or 3 other students while I teach you how to play in four weekly lessons at the Mah Jongg classroom. In addition, a Zoom link provides audio and visual support. Please sign up in advance as I need to mail learning materials to you for use during the class. Class meets on February 10, 17, 24 and March 3. Please register and pay for the class by Laura Hoover at the School of American Mah Jongg. https://mahjongteacher.com

What we’re about

This group is designed to teach American Mah Jongg is a fun and stimulating game of strategy, skill, and luck. Mah Jongg is a 4 player game using 152 tiles and the National Mah Jongg rule card. All lessons are done in a virtual, interactive classroom through the School of American Mah Jongg. Please refer to event details for more info or contact me at [email protected] or Facebook at LessonsFromLaura

ONLINE lessons starting soon.

Thursday, February 18, 2021
Black History Month – Book List for Young Readers
Feb 18 all-day
Online
Take + Play – Borrow Ukuleles and Games from the Library
Feb 18 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Pack Memorial Library

The Perfect Turkey

Pack Youth Services introduces Take & Play, a pilot program that offers everyone the opportunity to borrow games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets from the Youth Services department at Pack Library. Take & Play items check out for three weeks, and you need to pick them up and drop them off at Pack Library. Games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets are available on a first-come, first-served basis and you check them out with your library card just like a book. Call 250-4720 for details, or drop by the library anytime we’re open.

All our library hours are listed here.

Friday, February 19, 2021
Black History Month – Book List for Young Readers
Feb 19 all-day
Online