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.
The 2023 Food Waste Solutions Summit is a regional gathering aimed at disrupting food waste issues facing our communities, expanding our networks, and inspiring dynamic solutions. This third summit builds on collaborative efforts activated by the 2017 and 2019 events, bringing together local businesses, organizations, and university leaders to expand cross-sector conversations and deepen partnerships. The past two summits attracted hundreds of attendees from dozens of community organizations, businesses, and government agencies and resulted in the launch of Food Waste Solutions WNC, a collaborative network addressing food waste recovery issues including:
- Support for edible food waste collection and redistribution
- Increased landfill diversion tactics
- Innovative enterprise development
- Development of community and municipal level compost initiatives
Because of this work, the Asheville area now serves as a model for other communities across North Carolina striving to reduce food waste.
Join us on a journey into the world of butterflies and plants, and see the complex relationship between monarchs and milkweed. “Monarchs and Milkweed” explores how very survival of these majestic creatures has been shaped over time by one another, traveling through the seasons of a calendar year and revealing how both insect and plant grow and interact, culminating in a massive migration that crosses a continent.
National Novel Writing Month is here and West Asheville Library has you covered!
We’ve set aside a quiet space for all our aspiring novelists to come work towards their word count goals. So come spend an hour or two with us and get into the creative flow.
STATIONARY FUN – Creekside play area has a treehouse and wee slide ➤ The Big Barn has our Sound Silo full of instruments to play on and make noise, trikes on the trike track around a REAL tractor and cornhole boards(ask the staff for bags) ➤ On the grassy slope behind the Big Barn we’ve got our famous and fast culvert tunnel slides for all ages, hammocks on the hill and tetherball!
Availability: All stationary fun is available every day during business hours of 10-5, starting September 2nd, through the rest of the season- tetherball will be back in action starting September 6th!
ANIMALS TO SEE – We will have a brooder house full of chicks in various ages and stages all season, there will typically be mama pigs and piglets in agritourism pens on the hill, more rarely there will be grazing cattle in a nearby field.
FOOD TRUCK SCHEDULE
9/2 Sat 11-4 Fern Leaf CCS Food Truck
9/16 Sat 11-4 Milk & Honey Food Truck – they will be serving HNG beef for their all-American burger!
9/24 Sun 11-4 *Big Barn Market* Root Down Farm Food Truck
9/30 Sat 11-4 Milk & Honey Food Truck
10/7 Sat 11-4 Fern Leaf CCS Food Truck
10/14 Sat 11-4 Milk & Honey Food Truck
10/15 Sun 11-4 El Bodegon Food Truck
10/22 Sun 11-4 El Bodegon Food Truck
10/29 Sun 11-4 *Big Barn Market* Grush’s Cajun Dino Grill Food Truck
11/4 Sat 11-4 Fern Leaf CCS Food Truck
FALL SEASONAL OFFERINGS
APPLES – Our partners in Edneyville, NC, Lyda Farms, bring some of the best in the region. Local and low spray, folks come every year to get the best of fall in NC by the bag to bake, stew, butter, sauce and of course, crunch into while sitting on the farm.
Availability: Apples will be available to buy starting September 9th, they will typically run out Mid to late October.
FRESH PRESSED CIDER – We press fresh apple cider every year, comprised of our historical orchard apples on the Old Sherrill’s Inn property and apples from our partner Lyda Farms. This is a raw, unpasteurized product – delicious and changeable as the season, no added sugar or seasonings.
Availability: 1st pressing September 13th, bottled cider will be in the store for purchase September 14th!
JACKOLANTERN PUMPKINS – We work with several WNC veggie farmers in the area, including Hawkins Farms. We’ll have pumpkins arranged all around the Farm Store to display their beauty AND make sure you get *just the right one*. The seeds are dynamite when roasted, too…
Availability: Coming Mid-September, they will typically run out by end of October so make sure you get yours!
EDIBLE SQUASH & DECORATIVE GOURDS – From Mr. Anthony Cole’s farms, we have some long-lasting festive gourds to decoarate for the season, and a broad variety of edible squashes and pumpkins perfect for pies, soups and pasta.
Availability: Coming Mid-September.
Food Scraps Drop Off
The City of Asheville, in partnership with Buncombe County and the Natural Resources Defense Council, is offering a FREE Food Scrap Drop-Off program in
two locations for all Buncombe County residents. This organic matter will be collected and turned into good clean compost, keeping it OUT of our landfill and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Register for Food Scraps Drop Off
Need a handy kitchen countertop food scrap bin? Let us know on the registration form! We’ll be having bin giveaways at city and county facilities and would love to give you one.
Locations
West Asheville Library – “Food Scrap Bin Shelters” on the south side of the building
942 Haywood Road, Asheville
Library open hours
Stephens-Lee Recreation Center “Food Scrap Shed” next to the Community Garden on the North side of the parking lot
30 Washington Carver Avenue, Asheville
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- Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Saturday, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
- Sunday, 12 – 4 p.m.
Murphy Oakley Community Center and Library – “Food Scrap Bin Shelters” on the east side of the parking lot
749 Fairview Road, Asheville
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- Dawn – Dusk
Buncombe County Landfill – Convenience Center85 Panther Branch Road, Alexander
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- Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
- Saturday, 8 a.m. – 12:30 pm
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Learn Asheville’s history, discover hidden gems, and laugh at LaZoom’s quirky sense of adventure.
- Guided comedy tour bus of historical Asheville
- 90-Minutes – tours run daily
- 15-minute break at Green Man Brewing
- $39 per person (ages 13+ only)
Literacy Together has a determined group of students waiting for volunteer tutors so they can move forward on their goals for a better future. We’re offering in-person and remote volunteer opportunities. We have programs teaching English to immigrants, adult literacy for folks working on a GED, and youth literacy for kids struggling to learn to read. In addition, we welcome everyone -even if they are not ready to volunteer- to attend to learn about the literacy challenges we face in Buncombe County. Thank you!
Tyger Tyger Gallery is pleased to present Reckoning: Adornment as Narrative, a group exhibition curated by Asheville-based artist and curator Erika Diamond.
Reckoning: Adornment as Narrative is an exhibition of diverse practices, anchored at three points: methods of reckoning; the function of adornment; and the fusing of personal and cultural narrative. It features acts of glitz, embellishment, and homage by Shae Bishop, David Harper Clemons, Kashif Dennis, Annie Evelyn, Margaret Jacobs, Julia Kwon, Katrina Majkut, Heather Mackenzie, and Luis Sahagun. Through material language, each artist tells the story of their identity. Inherent to these stories are contradictions—between labor and value, feminine and masculine, natural and fabricated.
Imaginations will soar in this new musical based on Peter H. Reynolds’ best-selling book, The Dot.
DOT DOT DOT: A New Musical is an exciting new musical based on the Creatrilogy trio of award-winning picture books by New York Times bestselling author Peter H. Reynolds (The Dot, Ish and Sky Color). Adapted by Composers Keelay Gipson and Sam Salmond, the musical, like the series, celebrates the power of originality, self-expression, and opening our eyes to look beyond the expected.
When Marisol (Sky Color), a young artist and curator of the Musee de Marisol, decides that her gallery requires more than her own art, her search for emerging talent leads her to Vashti (The Dot), whose dots inspire Ramon (Ish) to become an artist in his own right.
The musical follows Marisol’s journey to help her new friends, and her entire community, break free from self-criticism and learn to let their imaginations soar. Recommended for grades 1-4.
The Student Series is open to school groups, homeschoolers, community groups and families.
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Bargain Hendo Thrift Store will be permanently closing its doors on December 13th.
• WNCSource operates the small thrift store which is located on the corner of King Street
and 2nd Avenue in Hendersonville.
• Bargain Hendo first opened in December of 2020 and was meant to support the programs
and services WNCSource provides in 4 western North Carolina Counties. Unfortunately,
low sales and competition from other local thrift stores has made the store less than
profitable.
• But don’t worry, starting Thursday, November 2nd, Bargain Hendo will be open
Wednesdays through Fridays 10AM to 4PM and Saturdays from 10AM to 2PM with some
incredible bargains and sales to clear the shelves.
• Bargain Hendo’s last day is December 13th
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Join us for a fun and interactive story time designed for children ages 18 months to 3 years.
Throughout the history of painting from the mid-19th century forward, artists have used an
endless variety of approaches to record their world. Beyond the Lens: Photorealist Perspectives on Looking, Seeing, and Painting continues this thread, offering an opportunity to explore a singular and still forceful aspect of American art. Photorealism shares many of the approaches of historical and modernist realism, with a twist. The use of the camera as a basic tool for organizing visual information in advance of painterly expression is now quite common, but Photorealists embraced the camera as the focal point in their creative process.
Beyond the Lens presents key works from the collection of Louis K. and Susan Pear Meisel,
bringing together paintings and works on paper dating from the 1970s to the present to focus on this profoundly influential art movement. The exhibition includes work by highly acclaimed formative artists of the movement such as Charles Bell, Robert Bechtle, Tom Blackwell, Richard Estes, Audrey Flack, and Ralph Goings as well as paintings by the successive generations of Photorealist artists Anthony Brunelli, Davis Cone, Bertrand Meniel, Rod Penner, and Raphaella Spence. Featured artworks in the exhibition include diverse subject matters, but the primary focus is on the common and every day: urban scenes, “portraits” of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, still life compositions using toys, food, candy wrappers, and salt and pepper shakers. All provide opportunities for virtuoso studies in how light, reflection, and the camera as intermediary shapes our perception of the material world.
This multigenerational survey demonstrates how the 35-mm camera, and later technological
advances in digital image-making, informed and impacted the painterly gesture. Taken together, the paintings and works on paper in Beyond the Lens show how simply spellbinding these virtuosic works of art can be.
“Beyond the Lens offers a fascinating look into the Photorealism movement and delves into the profound connection between the artists’ observation and creative process,” says Pamela L. Myers, Executive Director of Asheville Art Museum. “We are delighted to present this curated collection of artworks encapsulating the creative vision and technical precision that defines this artistic genre.”
Photorealism found its roots in the late 1960s in California and New York, coexisting with an explosion of new ideas in art-making that included Conceptual, Pop, Minimalism, Land and Performance Art. At first, representational realism coexisted with the thematic and conceptual explosion but was eventually relegated to the margins regarding critical and curatorial attention. Often misunderstood and sometimes negatively criticized or lampooned as a betrayal of modernism’s commitment to abstraction, the artists involved in Photorealism remained committed explorers of the trail they had blazed. In the decades of the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century, realistic and symbolic painting experienced a renaissance, as contemporary artists are increasingly drawn to narrative and storytelling. Concurrently, using a camera as a preparatory tool equally legitimate and valuable as pencils and pens has made the rubric of Photorealism increasingly relevant.
This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and guest curated by Terrie Sultan.
This exhibition is sponsored in part by Jim and Julia Calkins Peterson.
Opening Reception for the Artist Nov. 3, 6-8PM.
Tracey Morgan Gallery is pleased to present A Mirror, Not a Window, an exhibition of new and recent work by artist Hannah Cole. This is Cole’s second solo exhibition with the gallery. A reception for the artist will be held Friday, November 3 from 6-8PM.
This collection of paintings and sculptures continues Cole’s interest in creating, completely by hand, reproductions of small details and objects culled from her everyday life, turning the viewer’s attention to often overlooked aspects of our surrounding environment and reframing the very definition of representational art. With nods to pop art, trompe l’oeil, and modern American painters, Cole poses big questions about the nature of the artist’s hand, and the drive to (re)create.
A grouping of wall sculptures of nearly exact replicas of books which are hand-painted on wood blocks are included in the exhibition. These books are all non-fiction, mostly art related, though now un-readable. Instead of looking to books for answers, these objects force the viewer to provide the substance. The most self-referential of the group is Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation in which the French philosopher talks in dense prose about our culture of signs and signals eventually becoming copies without any originals. In Cole’s tongue-in-cheek nod, her faithful replica of Baudriallard’s philosophical work becomes an art object whose meaning has shifted completely from the original. Cole’s painted wood block cannot be read and has no actual utility at all, except as an object to contemplate.
A recurring element in Cole’s paintings is a hand-rendered tape measure running along the edge of her canvases. By including this common, easily recognizable object, Cole calls to question the “truth” of representation. Can we trust these measurements simply because they have identifiable markings? Other paintings on Styrofoam show painted wood grain edges, subverting the viewer’s expectation of where the painting itself is, and what it’s made of. We expect a painting to be on the outward-facing surface, but what if the faithful representation is painted on the sides?
In this contemporary age of Artificial Intelligence flooding us with copies, reproductions, fakes, and deliberate decep-tions, anxieties regarding authenticity and authorship run high. Cole’s work invites contemplation of these deeply philosophical issues with a playful tone, presenting serious questions by way of common objects.
Hannah Cole studied at Yale University and Boston University. Her work has been exhibited at The Turchin Center for Visual Arts, NC; the Drawing Center, NY; the University of Maine Museum of Art; the Sherman Gallery at Boston University, MA; Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Greenville, NC; and the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, among other national and international institutions. She currently lives and works in Asheville, NC.
Workshop Goals
- Become familiar with some of the shared language and concepts related to racial justice
- Develop an understanding of how racism shows up in each of our lives
- Become familiar with the YWCA’s racial justice framework
- Explore the history of racial (in)justice in the United States and beyond
Romare Bearden (Charlotte, NC 1911–1988 New York, NY), African American writer and artist, is renowned for his collages. He constantly experimented with various techniques to achieve his artistic goals throughout his career. This exhibition highlights works on paper and explores his most frequently used mediums, including screen-printing, lithography, hand-colored etching, collagraph, monotype, relief print, photomontage, and collage.
Bearden’s work reflects his improvisational approach to his practice. He considered his process akin to that of jazz and blues composers. Starting with an open mind, he would let an idea evolve spontaneously.
“Romare Bearden: Ways of Working highlights Bearden’s unique artistic practice and masterful storytelling through art,” says Pamela L. Myers, Executive Director of the Asheville Art Museum. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Jerald Melberg Gallery to present these extraordinary works on paper in conversation with Bearden’s collage Sunset Express, 1984 in the Museum Collection (on view in the Museum’s SECU Collection Hall). This exhibition will also provide a glimpse into the cultural histories and personal interests that influenced his art-making practice, and we hope it encourages introspection and dialogue with our visitors.”
Jerald Melberg states, “Romare Bearden’s groundbreaking artistic practice continues to captivate audiences worldwide. With an unparalleled legacy of creativity and innovation, Bearden’s contributions to art remain deeply influential years beyond his life.” We have enjoyed organizing this exhibition with the Asheville Art Museum to showcase his artistic genius and inspire visitors from the Western North Carolina region and beyond.”
This exhibition is made possible in part by the Judy Appleton Fund. Many thanks to the Jerald Melberg Gallery for the loan of these important artworks and to Mary and Jerald Melberg for their long-standing support of the arts, artists, and the Asheville Art Museum.
Tracey Morgan Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of paintings by artist Stella Alesi in our project space. This is Alesi’s first exhibition with the gallery and is presented in conjunction with Hannah Cole: A Mirror, Not a Window in our main gallery space. A reception for both artists will be held Friday, November 3 from 6-8PM.
The works on view are from the SQUISHY series, a group of geometric, abstract oil on oil paper paintings. With the use of simple shapes and a limited color palette, these works explore the visceral experience of living at this current moment. Alesi’s colorful, “squishy” shapes bend to the demands placed on them by their seemingly heavy, unforgiving counterparts. With this work, Alesi confronts contemporary issues such as climate change and political turmoil, as well as personal trials, using basic shapes, both hard and malleable to express a state of being. The shapes are gestural, fluid, and animated – sometimes resembling body parts even in their minimalism. The effect is a playful interpretation of heavy topics – a visual play on the deep and multi-layer well of human emotions.
Stella Alesi works across several styles and mediums, including drawing, painting, photography, collage, and large wall works. Their practice is characterized by a willingness to try new approaches in the ongoing investigation into new materials and visual languages, always exploring new ways to represent the visceral nature of the human experience. Born on Long Island, New York in 1963, Alesi was raised in New Jersey. They studied at Parsons School of Design, New York City; University Hampshire, Durham; and University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Their work has been purchased by many private and commercial collections. Career highlights include a recent solo exhibit (spring of 2023) at the Northern-Southern gallery, Austin, TX and a large-scale permanent installation in the lobby of The Foundry, Austin TX. Alesi currently lives and works in both Austin, TX and Asheville, NC.
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Western North Carolina is important in the history of American glass art. Several artists of the Studio Glass Movement came to the region, including its founder Harvey K. Littleton. Begun in 1962 in Wisconsin, it was a student of Littleton’s that first came to the area in 1965 and set up a glass studio at the Penland School of Craft in Penland, North Carolina. By 1967, Mark Peiser was the first glass artist resident at the school and taught many notable artists, like Jak Brewer in 1968 and Richard Ritter who came to study in 1971. By 1977, Littleton retired from teaching and moved to nearby Spruce Pine, North Carolina and set up a glass studio at his home. Since that time, glass artists like Ken Carder, Rick and Valerie Beck, Shane Fero, and Yaffa Sikorsky and Jeff Todd—to name only a few—have flocked to the area to reside, collaborate, and teach, making it a significant place for experimentation and education in glass. The next generation of artists like Hayden Wilson and Alex Bernstein continue to create here. The Museum is dedicated to collecting American studio glass and within that umbrella, explores the work of Artists connected to Western North Carolina. Exhibitions, including Intersections of American Art, explore glass art in the context of American Art of the 20th and 21st centuries. A variety of techniques and a willingness to push boundaries of the medium can be seen in this selection of works from the Museum’s Collection. |
Take an express tour of our galleries, then go on an adventure with art, music, or storytelling in our interactive Art PLAYce. For children ages 0-5 years old and their families or caregivers.
Tours will meet in our Windgate Foundation Atrium and begin at 11:30am. Please arrive no later than 11:15am to allow enough time to check-in. Strollers are welcome, and we will have a limited number of strollers available on site. Light refreshments will be provided.
Visitors are invited to spend more time exploring our galleries or having lunch in the Perspective Café after Tot Time concludes at 12:30pm. Online registration for this event is recommended as it is an event with limited capacity.
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Imaginations will soar in this new musical based on Peter H. Reynolds’ best-selling book, The Dot.
DOT DOT DOT: A New Musical is an exciting new musical based on the Creatrilogy trio of award-winning picture books by New York Times bestselling author Peter H. Reynolds (The Dot, Ish and Sky Color). Adapted by Composers Keelay Gipson and Sam Salmond, the musical, like the series, celebrates the power of originality, self-expression, and opening our eyes to look beyond the expected.
When Marisol (Sky Color), a young artist and curator of the Musee de Marisol, decides that her gallery requires more than her own art, her search for emerging talent leads her to Vashti (The Dot), whose dots inspire Ramon (Ish) to become an artist in his own right.
The musical follows Marisol’s journey to help her new friends, and her entire community, break free from self-criticism and learn to let their imaginations soar. Recommended for grades 1-4.
The Student Series is open to school groups, homeschoolers, community groups and families.
It’s back! Our Kolo Bike Park monthly after-school club runs every Tuesday & Thursday afternoon for ages 6-13 from 3-6 pm.
This club is for our local shredders to keep riding and growing their mountain bike skills all year long. This club is NOT to teach children how to ride and it is a requirement that they enjoy biking and can successfully ride their bike off-road before joining. Our highly skilled and trained staff will help campers working on bike handling and riding all the features and trails our 125-acre park has to offer.
- $350 per camper per month
- Runs Tuesdays and Thursdays in October, and November. Please note that you need to purchase a membership for EACH month!
- $20 discount for either multiple months or for each multiple campers (you may not stack discounts, sorry!)
- We run rain or shine! If it is too muddy to ride, we will adjust programming for bike maintenance lessons, alternative activities, etc.
- Campers must bring their own bike, helmet, water bottle, snack, and any protective gear each day
- A $25 cancellation fee will be charged in canceled less than 2 weeks before the first session.
- No refunds for cancellations made within 2 weeks of the first session!
You may book online or call our office at 828.225.2921. To book online choose October 3 for the October Club and November 2 for the November Club.
Students will receive a solid foundation in beginner Ukulele skills for vocalists. Chords, Rhythm patterns, and basic theory will be introduced through songs with an uplifting message. Students will also learn to play the song that the Songwriting Class will be writing and get to record it in the One Mic Studio.
Queer Music Exploration – Students will explore guitar, bass, drums, singing and piano with a focus on learning music by artists from the LGBTQ+ community. Students will have the chance to interact with their peers and share their experiences through music.
Come join us for Business After Hours at Red Tree Builders!
Feel free to bring a gift to be raffled off as door prizes towards the end of the evening. Bring your business cards for networking and a chance to win prizes!
This event is offered as a benefit for Chamber membership. We welcome you to come and check us out! Please contact Jessica Kanupp, our Member Development Specialist, at [email protected] if you’re considering a Chamber membership.
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– STANDING ROOM ONLY
– RAIN OR SHINE
Dr. George D. Pappas will examine the literary pathways that transformed fiction into U.S. law in order to dispossess Native Americans of their ancient homelands. Using a discursive analysis, Pappas will offer a unique insight into decoding how the U.S. Supreme Court camouflaged its dehumanization of Native Americans to obtain ownership of their land. Known collectively as the Marshall Trilogy, these three decisions issued between 1823 and 1832 “formed the legal basis for the dispossession of indigenous populations,” according to Pappas.