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.
From the local favorites to new regional acts, all live from the river banks of the Nantahala. Raft, dine, then jam with us with Live Music every Friday and Saturday from 5pm-8pm between Memorial Day and Labor Day!
May 27th 5pm-8pm – Mama and the Ruckus
May 28th 5pm-8pm – The Lefties
June 2nd 5pm-8pm – Christina Chandler Trio
June 3rd 5pm-8pm – Laura Thurston
June 9th 5pm-8pm – Eddie Clayton
June 10th 1pm-4pm – Jacobs Well
June 10th 5pm-8pm – Natti Love Joys
June 16th 5pm-8pm – Rae and the Ragdolls
June 17th 5pm-8pm – Beer and Loathing
June 23rd 5pm-8pm – TBA
June 24th 5pm-8pm – Terry Haughton Trio
June 30th 5pm-8pm – Blue
July 1st 5pm-8pm – Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs
July 7th 5pm-8pm – Bayou Diesel
July 8th 5pm-8pm – Pioneer Chicken Stand
July 14th 5pm-8pm – Wyatt Espalin
July 15th 5pm-8pm – Christina Chandler Duo
July 21st 5pm-8pm – Terry Haughton
July 22nd 5pm-8pm – TG and the Stoned Rangers
July 28th 5pm-8pm – Blue
July 29th 5pm-8pm – Somebody’s Child
August 4th 5pm-8pm – Trial by Fire
August 5th 5pm-8pm – Andy Johnson
August 11th 5pm-8pm – Eddie Clayton Solo
August 12th 5pm-8pm – Eddie Clayton Band
August 18th 5pm-8pm – Big Deal Band
August 19th 1pm-4pm – Mckinney
August 19th 5pm-8pm – Funk N’ Around
August 25th 5pm-8pm – Wyatt Espalin
August 26th 5pm-8pm – Somebody’s Child
September 1st 5pm-8pm – TBA
September 2nd 5pm-8pm – Regatta 69
Wanna hear the best local music and drink the best local beers? Hop aboard LaZoom’s Purple Bus and rock out with a local band while we take you on a journey to Asheville’s premiere local breweries.
“Shine and Dine” on the railway! We cordially invite you to hop on board The Carolina Shine, GSMR’s All-Adult First Class Moonshine Car! We will be proudly serving hand crafted, triple-distilled, craft moonshine. Some of the smoothest tasting moonshine in the Carolinas! Offered on the Nantahala Gorge excursion, this shine and dine experience begins in a renovated First Class train fleet car, The Carolina Shine. The interior features copper lined walls filled with the history of moonshining in North Carolina. Learn about the proud tradition that the Appalachians established when bootlegging was an acceptable way of life and local home brews were the best in town. Read about Swain County’s very own Major Redmond, the most famous mountain moonshine outlaw of the 19th century. Once your appetite for knowledge is satisfied, enjoy sample tastings of flavors like Apple Pie, Blackberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Peach, and Strawberry moonshine. If the samples are not enough, there will be plenty of Moonshine infused cocktails like Copper Cola or Moonshiner’s Mimosa available for purchase. GSMR is excited to feature multiple craft NC based distilleries to serve our guests only the best! Each jar is handcrafted and authentically infused with real fruit, the way moonshine was meant to be made. Passengers will also enjoy a full service All-Adult First Class ride with an attendant and our popular Cajun seasoned Pulled Pork BBQ with Sweet Baby Ray’s sauce cooked in our special spices and slow roasted to perfection! During the month of October, 9am departures will feature the option of a delicious Cheesy Shrimp & Grits or Cheesy Ham Hash Brown Casserole while 2pm departures will be served the popular BBQ meal.
The July installment of our monthly poetry reading series, coordinated by Mildred Barya, will feature readings by Philip Belcher, James Davis May, James Dickson, and Sara Moore Wagner.
This is a hybrid event with limited in-store seating and the option to attend online. The event is free but registration is required for both in-person and virtual attendance.
Please click here to register for the VIRTUAL event. The link required to attend will be emailed to registrants prior to the event.
Please click here to register for the IN-PERSON event. Note the important event details on the RSVP form.
All of the poets’ new books will be available to purchase in-store at the event. You may also call us at 828-254-6734 or order online below. If you decide to attend and to purchase 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. You may also support our work by purchasing a gift card or making a donation of any amount below. Thank you!
Philip Belcher is the Vice President of Programs for The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina in Asheville and the author of The Flies and Their Lovely Names, which won the South Carolina Poetry Initiative Chapbook Prize. A graduate of Furman University, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and Duke University School of Law (JD), he also earned an MFA in poetry from Converse College, and is the recipient of both the Porter Fleming Prize in Poetry and Shenandoah’s Carter Prize for the Essay. Belcher’s poems and critical prose have appeared in numerous journals, including The Southeast Review, Shenandoah, Southern Humanities Review, and elsewhere. He also served as an Advisory and Contributing Editor for Shenandoah. For more, visit https://philipbelcher.net
“Nothing dies as slowly as a scene,” Richard Hugo once said, and that line came to me often as I read these excellent, often elegiac, poems. Whether writing of youth or old age, of photographs or place, Philip Belcher creates images that endure: windblown, burning leaves become “little kites of fire”, words “bulging creels of speech”. Yet the artistry is always in service of conveying the depths of the human heart. Gentle Slaughter is a beautiful and memorable collection.” —Ron Rash
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James Davis May is the author of the poetry collection Unquiet Things, and a 2021 National Endowment for the Arts Fellow in Creative Writing. Originally from Pittsburgh, he now lives in Macon, Georgia, where he directs the creative writing program at Mercer University. His second poetry collection, Unusually Grand Ideas, was published this year by Louisiana State University Press. For more, visit https://jamesdavismay.com
“James Davis May’s second book begins quietly, chronicling a series of losses, then escalates into a harrowingly exact, artfully rendered portrait of depression: ‘I needed a darkness I’d probably survive / to escape the one I knew I wouldn’t.’ May nails the paralyzing character of his illness and somehow manages, through art and ardor, to negotiate with despair, climbing toward a position that acknowledges darkness but does not deny hope. ‘Forgive me, Love, my difficulties with joy,’ he writes to his young daughter, and to himself and his grateful readers, ‘sometimes the world doesn’t disappoint.’ Unusually Grand Ideas is wrenching, genuine, and superb.” —Mark Doty
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James Dickson teaches English and Creative Writing at Germantown High School in Mississippi. An MFA graduate from the Bennington Writing Seminars, he is the recipient of Mississippi Arts Commission fellowships, was named High School Literary Magazine Advisor of the Year by the Mississippi Scholastic Press Association, and was invited to speak at the National Educators Association 50th anniversary celebration. His poems, book reviews, and essays appear in The Common, Ruminate, Hospital Drive, The Louisiana Review, Spillway, Slant, Poetry Quarterly, McSweeney’s, Sylvia, and other publications. Some Sweet Vandal, his first collection of poems, was published by Kelsay Books in May. He lives in Jackson with his wife, their son, and a small menagerie of animals.
“If you’re weary of ironic poems that wink at the camera, welcome to the ardent-hearted world of James Dickson. In Some Sweet Vandal, Dickson finds delight and depth in the everyday, and always in fresh language. We meet a high school teacher who reflects on Sylvia Plath during a school shooter training, a lifeguard in a camp for mentally handicapped adults, a father imagining his toddler’s passage into a future where one day he’ll deliver his eulogy. These are poems that, with skill and insight, connect us with our humanity, and they are a tremendous gift.” ―Beth Ann Fennelly, author of Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs
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Sara Moore Wagner is the author of the poetry collection Hillbilly Madonna (2022 Driftwood Press prize winner), a 2021 National Poetry Series Finalist, and the recipient of a 2019 Sustainable Arts Foundation award. Swan Wife also won the 2021 Cider Press Review Editors’ Prize. Her poetry has appeared in many journals and anthologies including Sixth Finch, Waxwing, Nimrod, Beloit Poetry Journal, and The Cincinnati Review, among others. She lives in West Chester, Ohio with her husband Jon, and children Cohen, Daisy, and Vivienne. For more, visit www.saramoorewagner.com
“Say Dorothy Allison had a baby with Hans Christian Andersen. That ain’t right—I know it, I know—but just say. And say that girl child grows up to wander the tracks, all the while lining up pennies to be smashed on the rails, all the while picking up shed antlers and discarded needles along the berm. And say here comes a fast train, a Christ-haunted train, a train heavy with the freight of West Virginia, a cargo of such great violence and great tenderness that you know the girl is standing far, far too close to all that’s barreling past. She stands so close the force of it blows back her hair; she stands so close you’re sure she’ll get hit and won’t survive. But she doesn’t step back. No, she stands her ground. This, dear reader, is Sara Wagner, writing this book. These poems ache and ache and ache, but not once do they flinch. Read them and prepare yourself to be wrung out, to be redeemed, to be fit to be tied.” –Nickole Brown, author of To Those Who Were Our First God
“Shine and Dine” on the railway! We cordially invite you to hop on board The Carolina Shine, GSMR’s All-Adult First Class Moonshine Car! We will be proudly serving hand crafted, triple-distilled, craft moonshine. Some of the smoothest tasting moonshine in the Carolinas! Offered on the Nantahala Gorge excursion, this shine and dine experience begins in a renovated First Class train fleet car, The Carolina Shine. The interior features copper lined walls filled with the history of moonshining in North Carolina. Learn about the proud tradition that the Appalachians established when bootlegging was an acceptable way of life and local home brews were the best in town. Read about Swain County’s very own Major Redmond, the most famous mountain moonshine outlaw of the 19th century. Once your appetite for knowledge is satisfied, enjoy sample tastings of flavors like Apple Pie, Blackberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Peach, and Strawberry moonshine. If the samples are not enough, there will be plenty of Moonshine infused cocktails like Copper Cola or Moonshiner’s Mimosa available for purchase. GSMR is excited to feature multiple craft NC based distilleries to serve our guests only the best! Each jar is handcrafted and authentically infused with real fruit, the way moonshine was meant to be made. Passengers will also enjoy a full service All-Adult First Class ride with an attendant and our popular Cajun seasoned Pulled Pork BBQ with Sweet Baby Ray’s sauce cooked in our special spices and slow roasted to perfection! During the month of October, 9am departures will feature the option of a delicious Cheesy Shrimp & Grits or Cheesy Ham Hash Brown Casserole while 2pm departures will be served the popular BBQ meal.
“Shine and Dine” on the railway! We cordially invite you to hop on board The Carolina Shine, GSMR’s All-Adult First Class Moonshine Car! We will be proudly serving hand crafted, triple-distilled, craft moonshine. Some of the smoothest tasting moonshine in the Carolinas! Offered on the Nantahala Gorge excursion, this shine and dine experience begins in a renovated First Class train fleet car, The Carolina Shine. The interior features copper lined walls filled with the history of moonshining in North Carolina. Learn about the proud tradition that the Appalachians established when bootlegging was an acceptable way of life and local home brews were the best in town. Read about Swain County’s very own Major Redmond, the most famous mountain moonshine outlaw of the 19th century. Once your appetite for knowledge is satisfied, enjoy sample tastings of flavors like Apple Pie, Blackberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Peach, and Strawberry moonshine. If the samples are not enough, there will be plenty of Moonshine infused cocktails like Copper Cola or Moonshiner’s Mimosa available for purchase. GSMR is excited to feature multiple craft NC based distilleries to serve our guests only the best! Each jar is handcrafted and authentically infused with real fruit, the way moonshine was meant to be made. Passengers will also enjoy a full service All-Adult First Class ride with an attendant and our popular Cajun seasoned Pulled Pork BBQ with Sweet Baby Ray’s sauce cooked in our special spices and slow roasted to perfection! During the month of October, 9am departures will feature the option of a delicious Cheesy Shrimp & Grits or Cheesy Ham Hash Brown Casserole while 2pm departures will be served the popular BBQ meal.
DATES
These programs will be offered on the first Tuesday and last Tuesday of each month (with the exception of July).
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
Tuesday, May 30, 2023
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
Tuesday, June 27, 2023
Tuesday, July 11, 2023
Tuesday, July 25, 2023
Tuesday, August 1, 2023
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
Rock Crawlers is an outdoor educational program offered through the Pisgah Visitor Center for ages 4-7.
Event Details
Rock Crawlers is an outdoor educational program offered through the Pisgah Visitor Center for ages 4-7. Programs are 1.5 hours long and begin with the reading of a forest-themed story and include fun activities, games, and a craft. Beginning on May 2nd through August 29 from 10:30 till 12:00. These programs will be offered on the first Tuesday and last Tuesday of each month. Perfect for families looking to expand their children’s knowledge of the forest and all the treasures that are hidden within.
Email: [email protected] to reserve your space!
SCHEDULE
10:30 am-12:00 pm
WHAT TO BRING
This program will utilize both indoor and outdoor spaces. Assure that your child is wearing the proper clothing for getting dirty.
Camera
Water Bottle
Comfortable Shoes for walking and getting wet!
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Come down the Pack Memorial Library and play with LEGOs! Please leave your personal LEGOs at home, because we’ve got plenty.
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This live streamed virtual event is free but registration is required. Please click here to register. The link required to attend will be emailed to registrants prior to the event.
If you decide to attend and to purchase 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. You may also support our work by purchasing a gift card or making a donation of any amount below. Thank you!
Seventy years since the radical music of the 1960s first hit the airwaves, the anthems of the era continue to resonate with our current times. Through studying these musicians and the political contexts in which their pioneering songs were birthed; amidst paranoia, psychedelic delusions, desire and civil unrest; Aaron Leonard’s Whole World in an Uproar is an important new critical history of countercultural music from the Summer of Love to the unwelcome arrival of Bob Dylan.
Aaron J. Leonard is a writer and historian with a particular focus on the history of radicalism and state suppression. He is the author of Heavy Radicals: The FBI’s Secret War on America’s Maoists and A Threat of the First Magnitude—FBI Counterintelligence & Infiltration: From the Communist Party to the Revolutionary Union, The Folk Singers & the Bureau, and Whole World in an Uproar: Music, Rebellion & Repression. He has a BA in Social Sciences and History magna cum laude, from New York University. He lives in Los Angeles.
“Shine and Dine” on the railway! We cordially invite you to hop on board The Carolina Shine, GSMR’s All-Adult First Class Moonshine Car! We will be proudly serving hand crafted, triple-distilled, craft moonshine. Some of the smoothest tasting moonshine in the Carolinas! Offered on the Nantahala Gorge excursion, this shine and dine experience begins in a renovated First Class train fleet car, The Carolina Shine. The interior features copper lined walls filled with the history of moonshining in North Carolina. Learn about the proud tradition that the Appalachians established when bootlegging was an acceptable way of life and local home brews were the best in town. Read about Swain County’s very own Major Redmond, the most famous mountain moonshine outlaw of the 19th century. Once your appetite for knowledge is satisfied, enjoy sample tastings of flavors like Apple Pie, Blackberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Peach, and Strawberry moonshine. If the samples are not enough, there will be plenty of Moonshine infused cocktails like Copper Cola or Moonshiner’s Mimosa available for purchase. GSMR is excited to feature multiple craft NC based distilleries to serve our guests only the best! Each jar is handcrafted and authentically infused with real fruit, the way moonshine was meant to be made. Passengers will also enjoy a full service All-Adult First Class ride with an attendant and our popular Cajun seasoned Pulled Pork BBQ with Sweet Baby Ray’s sauce cooked in our special spices and slow roasted to perfection! During the month of October, 9am departures will feature the option of a delicious Cheesy Shrimp & Grits or Cheesy Ham Hash Brown Casserole while 2pm departures will be served the popular BBQ meal.
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Woodsy Owl’s Curiosity Club is a weekly educational program designed for children ages 4 to 7 to explore nature with their trusted adult and Cradle naturalist. Programs are 1.5 hours long and begin with the reading of a forest-themed story and include fun activities, games and a craft. Programs run weekly on Wednesdays between June 21 through August 9. Come to one or all eight programs. Great for families vacationing in the Blue Ridge mountains this summer!
The program costs $5 per child and $3 for accompanying adults – All children must be accompanied by an adult. Adults with a Cradle Season Pass get in free.
Programs take place outdoors utilizing our paved trails and outdoor amphitheater.
The program starts promptly at 10:30 A.M. at the outdoor amphitheater at the Cradle of Forestry. Plan to arrive early to find parking and check in at the Forest Discovery Center lobby.
Please ensure all members of your party are dressed appropriately for the weather and are prepared for outdoor exploration. Note that the weather at the Cradle of Forestry is often cooler than nearby Brevard and Asheville.
Please meet at outdoor amphitheater
WHAT TO BRING
Comfortable Walking Shoes
Water Bottle
Jacket
Rain Gear
CANCELLATION POLICY
All ticket purchases are NON-REFUNDABLE. Unused ticket purchases will go to support the mission and work of FIND Outdoors, a 501(c)(3) tax deductible nonprofit organization Tax ID# 56-1302500.
Customers will receive a full refund or credit in case of operator cancellation due to severe weather or other unforeseen circumstances.
Program Dates (Themes for each week to be announced):
June 21
June 28
Due to generous grant funding from the NC Museum of Natural Sciences the July sessions are FREE for all attendees:
July 5- Free for all attendees
July 12 – Free for all attendees
July 19 – Free for all attendees
July 26 – Free for all attendees
August 2
August 9
COST
Woodsy Owl’s Curiosity Club – $5 (for each child) There is no discount for child even with a pass.
Accompanying Adult (½ price general admission)- $3
If accompanying adult is a Cradle Season Passholder, their admission free, but not the child’s.
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Puptart is a tail wagging robot dog who sits and stays, pants when listening, and responds to someone talking to and petting it. It will not jump up or run away, plus it’s fur free, so no sneezes and runny noses coming your way! Every Wednesday afternoon, Puptart will be available for reading practice in the children’s picture book room. Help establish a joy of reading and develop early literacy skills. Sign up at the front desk, pick a book and practice reading for up to 15 minutes. |
Summer is in the Air…
Do you like wine?
Do you like peace and quiet?
Do you like sunsets?
If so, then come join us every Wednesday night for the sound of silence and relax!!
Every Wednesday
Trivia Night
Trivia Night at Hickory Tavern
“Shine and Dine” on the railway! We cordially invite you to hop on board The Carolina Shine, GSMR’s All-Adult First Class Moonshine Car! We will be proudly serving hand crafted, triple-distilled, craft moonshine. Some of the smoothest tasting moonshine in the Carolinas! Offered on the Nantahala Gorge excursion, this shine and dine experience begins in a renovated First Class train fleet car, The Carolina Shine. The interior features copper lined walls filled with the history of moonshining in North Carolina. Learn about the proud tradition that the Appalachians established when bootlegging was an acceptable way of life and local home brews were the best in town. Read about Swain County’s very own Major Redmond, the most famous mountain moonshine outlaw of the 19th century. Once your appetite for knowledge is satisfied, enjoy sample tastings of flavors like Apple Pie, Blackberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Peach, and Strawberry moonshine. If the samples are not enough, there will be plenty of Moonshine infused cocktails like Copper Cola or Moonshiner’s Mimosa available for purchase. GSMR is excited to feature multiple craft NC based distilleries to serve our guests only the best! Each jar is handcrafted and authentically infused with real fruit, the way moonshine was meant to be made. Passengers will also enjoy a full service All-Adult First Class ride with an attendant and our popular Cajun seasoned Pulled Pork BBQ with Sweet Baby Ray’s sauce cooked in our special spices and slow roasted to perfection! During the month of October, 9am departures will feature the option of a delicious Cheesy Shrimp & Grits or Cheesy Ham Hash Brown Casserole while 2pm departures will be served the popular BBQ meal.
Food, wine, music by Gin Mill Pickers.
This event is centered on community and connection while unleashing, empowering, and embracing our true selves on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment. Dr. Jenny Nuccio, founder of Imani Collective and author of “Let It Be Wild”, will share some of the stories behind her book. There will be time for engaging discussions and personal discoveries to encourage attendees to share their “wild soul dream.” The heartbeat of this evening is fellowship and true community that fosters space to dream within the space we cultivate together.
Join Half-Mile Farm Thursday evening between 5 – 6:30 pm in the Woodland View room for a Calvisius Caviar tasting. Calvisius produces the largest variety of caviars in the world and is an industry benchmark in terms of farming standards, quality and quantity of the caviar produced.
Hosted events are for Half-Mile Farm guests only.
To attend this complimentary event at Half-Mile Farm Thursday, July 13, book your stay today.
Sip and stroll through the Arboretum’s gardens in the glow of the golden hour, all while listening to live music from a variety of local and regional artists! ArborEvenings runs Thursdays and most Fridays through September 30, 2022 from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m.
There is no additional cost to attend ArborEvenings beyond our standard parking fee. As always, Arboretum Society members and their accompanying guests can enter for FREE (guests must be in member vehicles to receive free entry). Proceeds from ArborEvenings help support the The North Carolina Arboretum Society and further advance the Arboretum’s mission.
Beverage Service
Beer, Wine, and soft drinks will be for sale onsite at the Green Gardener’s Shed from 5:30 to 8:15 p.m. each night of the event. Outside alcohol is strictly prohibited, but guests are welcome to bring in water or a favorite non-alcoholic beverage.
Food Available for Pre-Order, Picnics Welcome
Although the Bent Creek Bistro will not be open during the event, they will be offering their delicious dining options at ArborEvenings via pre-order! Simply place your online order — including alcoholic beverages — up until 11 a.m. on the date you plan to attend, then pick up your order at the Baker Information Desk between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. (In the event of rain cancellation, pre-orders will be fully refunded.)
Guests are welcome to bring in outside food and non-alcoholic beverages. However, outside alcohol is strictly prohibited.
Find more information here.
- Live Music, 6:00 p.m. and $8 specialty martinis all day at Leo’s Italian Social
It’s almost the weekend – cheers to that! Come enjoy a glass of wine and a stunning sunset view with us!
On July 14 and 15, the Friends of Pack Library will be having their annual Super Summer Antique, Collectible, & Coffee Table Books Sale at Pack Library. There will also be a sale in Bookends Used Book Store in the Library during the sale hours.
On Friday, July 14 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. all books in the sale downstairs at Pack Library will be priced as marked. Children’s books will be priced as marked and available downstairs on Friday only. All items in Bookends Used Book Store will be half off the marked price with books in the children’s area of the bookstore specially priced at just twenty-five cents each.
On Saturday, July 15 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., books in the book sale downstairs will be half off the marked price. Items in Bookends will be the same prices as Friday, half off everything with children’s books for twenty-five cents.
All proceeds from the sale will benefit the library.