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, August 23, 2019
Love, Linda (The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter)
Aug 23 @ 7:30 pm
ACT Performed in 35below

Love, Linda is a one-woman musical about Linda Lee Thomas, the glamorous spouse and driving force behind renowned American songwriter Cole Porter. The story of their unconventional 35-year marriage interweaves with innovative arrangements of Porter’s timeless music and clever lyrics to create the compelling narrative of Love, Linda.

In the course of the show, Linda takes us behind the glitter of their sensational social life, sharing intimate, and at times heartbreaking moments, such as the dashed dreams of having a child, Cole’s occasional hurtful sexual escapades, his crippling horse accident and her own failing health. To quote Linda from the show, their journey together was far from “a picture-perfect postcard”, but by the end of her story, she has definitively made the case that “just because a love between two people may be difficult to define, that doesn’t mean it didn’t exist.”

Love, Linda is directed by Misty Theisen and stars Karen Covington-Yow.

Seating is limited for this show!

Rabbit Hole
Aug 23 @ 7:30 pm
Asheville Community Theatre

“A drama that’s not just a departure but a revelation” – Variety

Becca and Howie Corbett have everything a family could want, until the tragic death of their son turns their world upside down and leaves the couple drifting apart. Rabbit Hole charts their bittersweet journey from a place of uncertainty to a new reality, as they find themselves and each other. In the end, there is always hope. Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize.

We are so excited to work with director Stephanie Hickling Beckman on this production. Stephanie is the Founder and Managing Artistic Director of Different Strokes Performing Arts Collective and has directed several times in 35below. She
shares that “Rabbit Hole has been categorized as a play about parents navigating the loss of a child. Upon closer inspection, it became apparent to me that while the polarizing incident serves as a catalyst for grief, the play can’t be defined by the tragedy that occurs eight months before the opening scene. Rabbit Hole is instead a story about how a family, each in their own way, navigates a life-changing event.”
 

Saturday, August 24, 2019
Love, Linda (The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter)
Aug 24 @ 7:30 pm
ACT Performed in 35below

Love, Linda is a one-woman musical about Linda Lee Thomas, the glamorous spouse and driving force behind renowned American songwriter Cole Porter. The story of their unconventional 35-year marriage interweaves with innovative arrangements of Porter’s timeless music and clever lyrics to create the compelling narrative of Love, Linda.

In the course of the show, Linda takes us behind the glitter of their sensational social life, sharing intimate, and at times heartbreaking moments, such as the dashed dreams of having a child, Cole’s occasional hurtful sexual escapades, his crippling horse accident and her own failing health. To quote Linda from the show, their journey together was far from “a picture-perfect postcard”, but by the end of her story, she has definitively made the case that “just because a love between two people may be difficult to define, that doesn’t mean it didn’t exist.”

Love, Linda is directed by Misty Theisen and stars Karen Covington-Yow.

Seating is limited for this show!

Rabbit Hole
Aug 24 @ 7:30 pm
Asheville Community Theatre

“A drama that’s not just a departure but a revelation” – Variety

Becca and Howie Corbett have everything a family could want, until the tragic death of their son turns their world upside down and leaves the couple drifting apart. Rabbit Hole charts their bittersweet journey from a place of uncertainty to a new reality, as they find themselves and each other. In the end, there is always hope. Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize.

We are so excited to work with director Stephanie Hickling Beckman on this production. Stephanie is the Founder and Managing Artistic Director of Different Strokes Performing Arts Collective and has directed several times in 35below. She
shares that “Rabbit Hole has been categorized as a play about parents navigating the loss of a child. Upon closer inspection, it became apparent to me that while the polarizing incident serves as a catalyst for grief, the play can’t be defined by the tragedy that occurs eight months before the opening scene. Rabbit Hole is instead a story about how a family, each in their own way, navigates a life-changing event.”
 

Sunday, August 25, 2019
Rabbit Hole
Aug 25 @ 2:00 pm
Asheville Community Theatre

“A drama that’s not just a departure but a revelation” – Variety

Becca and Howie Corbett have everything a family could want, until the tragic death of their son turns their world upside down and leaves the couple drifting apart. Rabbit Hole charts their bittersweet journey from a place of uncertainty to a new reality, as they find themselves and each other. In the end, there is always hope. Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize.

We are so excited to work with director Stephanie Hickling Beckman on this production. Stephanie is the Founder and Managing Artistic Director of Different Strokes Performing Arts Collective and has directed several times in 35below. She
shares that “Rabbit Hole has been categorized as a play about parents navigating the loss of a child. Upon closer inspection, it became apparent to me that while the polarizing incident serves as a catalyst for grief, the play can’t be defined by the tragedy that occurs eight months before the opening scene. Rabbit Hole is instead a story about how a family, each in their own way, navigates a life-changing event.”

Love Linda, The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter
Aug 25 @ 2:30 pm
ACT

Love, Linda is a one-woman musical about Linda Lee Thomas, the glamorous spouse and driving force behind renowned American songwriter Cole Porter. The story of their unconventional 35-year marriage interweaves with innovative arrangements of Porter’s timeless music and clever lyrics to create the compelling narrative of Love, Linda.

In the course of the show, Linda takes us behind the glitter of their sensational social life, sharing intimate, and at times heartbreaking moments, such as the dashed dreams of having a child, Cole’s occasional hurtful sexual escapades, his crippling horse accident and her own failing health. To quote Linda from the show, their journey together was far from “a picture-perfect postcard”, but by the end of her story, she has definitively made the case that “just because a love between two people may be difficult to define, that doesn’t mean it didn’t exist.”

Love, Linda is directed by Misty Theisen and stars Karen Covington-Yow.

Seating is limited for this show!

Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Youth Acting For ages 8-12
Aug 27 all-day
ACT

In this class, students will learn a variety of acting techniques with a focus on character development and relationships, deciding what your character wants and how you are going to achieve it, and making choices in scenes to fully develop the scene with specific blocking and movement. Students will work on scenes and monologues from a variety of popular youth plays and musicals, including Charlotte’s Web, Peter Pan, Into the Woods, The Secret Garden, and Beauty and the Beast, taking them from auditions to performance. They will also write their own original, creative scenes to perform in a final showcase during the last class.

Class Schedule:

Classes: September 7​ –​November 9, 2019: Saturdays from 1​1​:00 am-1​2​:00 ​pm
Final Showcase: Saturday, ​November 16, 2019 at 11:​0​0 am (combined with improv)
Cost: $150

Youth Improv For ages 10-15
Aug 27 all-day
ACT

This class will include instruction on improv skills, including character development, connecting in scenes, “Yes and…” acceptance technique, and building the beginning, middle, and end of a scene. We will play a variety of fun and interactive improv games, including Freeze, Murder Mystery, Props, Styles, ABC game, Changing Channels, Survivor, and Slide Show. Some of the games will be similar to the show, Whose Line it Anyway? The last class will be open for parents to watch a mini improv show to demonstrate the games and skills learned during each class. This class is open to all levels of improv from beginning to advanced.

Class Schedule:

Classes: September 7​ –​November 9, 2019: Saturdays from 10:00-11:00 am
Final Showcase: Saturday, ​November 16, 2019 at 11:​0​0 am (combined with acting)
Cost: $150

Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Adult Improv Classes Asheville Community Theatre
Aug 28 all-day
ACT

We’re offering three progressive levels of classes, Basic Improv, Beyond Basic, and The Performance Lab. There’s room for everyone in these classes, no matter your experience level!

Youth Acting For ages 8-12
Aug 28 all-day
ACT

In this class, students will learn a variety of acting techniques with a focus on character development and relationships, deciding what your character wants and how you are going to achieve it, and making choices in scenes to fully develop the scene with specific blocking and movement. Students will work on scenes and monologues from a variety of popular youth plays and musicals, including Charlotte’s Web, Peter Pan, Into the Woods, The Secret Garden, and Beauty and the Beast, taking them from auditions to performance. They will also write their own original, creative scenes to perform in a final showcase during the last class.

Class Schedule:

Classes: September 7​ –​November 9, 2019: Saturdays from 1​1​:00 am-1​2​:00 ​pm
Final Showcase: Saturday, ​November 16, 2019 at 11:​0​0 am (combined with improv)
Cost: $150

Youth Improv For ages 10-15
Aug 28 all-day
ACT

This class will include instruction on improv skills, including character development, connecting in scenes, “Yes and…” acceptance technique, and building the beginning, middle, and end of a scene. We will play a variety of fun and interactive improv games, including Freeze, Murder Mystery, Props, Styles, ABC game, Changing Channels, Survivor, and Slide Show. Some of the games will be similar to the show, Whose Line it Anyway? The last class will be open for parents to watch a mini improv show to demonstrate the games and skills learned during each class. This class is open to all levels of improv from beginning to advanced.

Class Schedule:

Classes: September 7​ –​November 9, 2019: Saturdays from 10:00-11:00 am
Final Showcase: Saturday, ​November 16, 2019 at 11:​0​0 am (combined with acting)
Cost: $150

WNC Declassified: Local History Discoveries in Secret Documents
Aug 28 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Pack Memorial Library

WNC Declassified:Local History Discoveries in Secret Documents

Join WNC Magazine senior editor and Friends of the North Carolina Room board member Jon Elliston as he recaps his yearlong written series with a multimedia presentation in the Lord Auditorium at Pack Memorial Library.

Learn more about:

**Asheville’s Fascist: William Dudley Pelley’s obscure but infamous Silver Shirt movement lives on in his paper trail

**Swannanoa’s Superspy: Carl Duckett’s unlikely journey from small-town roots to top CIA official

**Rosman’s Spy Base: When the National Security Agency set up a mountain espionage station, it was a hard secret to keep

**Senator Sam Ervin’s Secret Wars: He stuck to the Constitution through clashes with McCarthy, the Army, CIA, and Nixon

**School Under Scrutiny: The FBI’s files on Black Mountain College tell a little-known story of art, politics, and surveillance

Local Author Launches Debut Novel at Malaprops Pop-Up
Aug 28 @ 7:00 pm
Malaprop’s Pop-Up in downtown Hendersonville

My name is Meagan Lucas and I am a Hendersonville-based writer. I’m having a book launch for my debut novel, Songbirds and Stray Dogs, at the new Malaprop’s Pop-Up in downtown Hendersonville.

In Songbirds and Stray Dogs, 21 year old Beaufort waitress, Jolene, has spent the majority of her life living in the shadow of the pain her mother caused, and trying to prove herself worthy of her Aunt’s stingy love. Unintentionally pregnant and abandoned again, Jolene tries to outrun her shame in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Penniless, alone, and chased by demons from her past, she is forced to confront her mother’s legacy, and her own fear. Song Birds and Stray Dogs is a Southern story, born of sweet tea and the Bible Belt, chow-chow and cornbread, shot guns and porch rocking. But it is also a universal story of escaping the burden of your past and finding yourself at home in a strange land.

Thursday, August 29, 2019
Adult Improv Classes Asheville Community Theatre
Aug 29 all-day
ACT

We’re offering three progressive levels of classes, Basic Improv, Beyond Basic, and The Performance Lab. There’s room for everyone in these classes, no matter your experience level!

Youth Acting For ages 8-12
Aug 29 all-day
ACT

In this class, students will learn a variety of acting techniques with a focus on character development and relationships, deciding what your character wants and how you are going to achieve it, and making choices in scenes to fully develop the scene with specific blocking and movement. Students will work on scenes and monologues from a variety of popular youth plays and musicals, including Charlotte’s Web, Peter Pan, Into the Woods, The Secret Garden, and Beauty and the Beast, taking them from auditions to performance. They will also write their own original, creative scenes to perform in a final showcase during the last class.

Class Schedule:

Classes: September 7​ –​November 9, 2019: Saturdays from 1​1​:00 am-1​2​:00 ​pm
Final Showcase: Saturday, ​November 16, 2019 at 11:​0​0 am (combined with improv)
Cost: $150

Youth Improv For ages 10-15
Aug 29 all-day
ACT

This class will include instruction on improv skills, including character development, connecting in scenes, “Yes and…” acceptance technique, and building the beginning, middle, and end of a scene. We will play a variety of fun and interactive improv games, including Freeze, Murder Mystery, Props, Styles, ABC game, Changing Channels, Survivor, and Slide Show. Some of the games will be similar to the show, Whose Line it Anyway? The last class will be open for parents to watch a mini improv show to demonstrate the games and skills learned during each class. This class is open to all levels of improv from beginning to advanced.

Class Schedule:

Classes: September 7​ –​November 9, 2019: Saturdays from 10:00-11:00 am
Final Showcase: Saturday, ​November 16, 2019 at 11:​0​0 am (combined with acting)
Cost: $150

Batter Up! Rounding Third at Flat Rock Playhouse!
Aug 29 @ 2:00 pm
Flat Rock Playhouse

Rounding Third, starring FRP favorites Scott Treadway and JP Sarro. This good-humored and sincere story about a Little League coach, his team of youngsters, and his new assistant coach, is sure to hit a home run, says Rounding Third Director, Charlie Flynn-McIver. “They say that life imitates art but what is really happening here is that the art has gotten it right about life. Sports are a great metaphor for many things and when it comes to youth sports, even more so.”

Kathy Izard: The Hundred Story Home
Aug 29 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Pack Memorial Library

Kathy Izard: Reading & Signing "The Hundred Story Home" w AHOPE

Teen – (grades 6-12), Adult

Join us at Pack Memorial Library to welcome Kathy Izard, author of “The Hundred Story Home” and children’s book, “A Good Night for Mr. Coleman.” She will be conducting a reading followed by a Q&A with guests from AHOPE Day Center- Homeward Bound of WNC.

Kathy Izard is an award-winning author and speaker who helped bring transformation to Charlotte in homelessness, housing and mental health. Her memoir “The Hundred Story Home” has been featured on NPR and the TODAY Show and inspires people to be changemakers in their communities. kathyizard.com

Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe will be here for book sales and help with the book signing.

Program is free and everyone is welcome. Doors open at 5:30.

Batter Up! Rounding Third at Flat Rock Playhouse!
Aug 29 @ 7:30 pm
Flat Rock Playhouse

Rounding Third, starring FRP favorites Scott Treadway and JP Sarro. This good-humored and sincere story about a Little League coach, his team of youngsters, and his new assistant coach, is sure to hit a home run, says Rounding Third Director, Charlie Flynn-McIver. “They say that life imitates art but what is really happening here is that the art has gotten it right about life. Sports are a great metaphor for many things and when it comes to youth sports, even more so.”

Friday, August 30, 2019
Adult Improv Classes Asheville Community Theatre
Aug 30 all-day
ACT

We’re offering three progressive levels of classes, Basic Improv, Beyond Basic, and The Performance Lab. There’s room for everyone in these classes, no matter your experience level!

Youth Acting For ages 8-12
Aug 30 all-day
ACT

In this class, students will learn a variety of acting techniques with a focus on character development and relationships, deciding what your character wants and how you are going to achieve it, and making choices in scenes to fully develop the scene with specific blocking and movement. Students will work on scenes and monologues from a variety of popular youth plays and musicals, including Charlotte’s Web, Peter Pan, Into the Woods, The Secret Garden, and Beauty and the Beast, taking them from auditions to performance. They will also write their own original, creative scenes to perform in a final showcase during the last class.

Class Schedule:

Classes: September 7​ –​November 9, 2019: Saturdays from 1​1​:00 am-1​2​:00 ​pm
Final Showcase: Saturday, ​November 16, 2019 at 11:​0​0 am (combined with improv)
Cost: $150

Youth Improv For ages 10-15
Aug 30 all-day
ACT

This class will include instruction on improv skills, including character development, connecting in scenes, “Yes and…” acceptance technique, and building the beginning, middle, and end of a scene. We will play a variety of fun and interactive improv games, including Freeze, Murder Mystery, Props, Styles, ABC game, Changing Channels, Survivor, and Slide Show. Some of the games will be similar to the show, Whose Line it Anyway? The last class will be open for parents to watch a mini improv show to demonstrate the games and skills learned during each class. This class is open to all levels of improv from beginning to advanced.

Class Schedule:

Classes: September 7​ –​November 9, 2019: Saturdays from 10:00-11:00 am
Final Showcase: Saturday, ​November 16, 2019 at 11:​0​0 am (combined with acting)
Cost: $150

Arms and The Man Readers Theatre ACT
Aug 30 @ 2:30 pm
ACT: 35below

This comedy is often viewed as Shaw’s wittiest play! This is a borderline farce that will stimulate serious thinking about the nature of both romance and war. What is Raina to do when she finds that an enemy soldier has taken refuge in her room? What will her fiancée say? The plot, of course, thickens! Directed by Jim Reid and performed as Readers Theatre as a part of The Autumn Players’ Readers Theatre Showcase Series.

Batter Up! Rounding Third at Flat Rock Playhouse!
Aug 30 @ 8:00 pm
Flat Rock Playhouse

Rounding Third, starring FRP favorites Scott Treadway and JP Sarro. This good-humored and sincere story about a Little League coach, his team of youngsters, and his new assistant coach, is sure to hit a home run, says Rounding Third Director, Charlie Flynn-McIver. “They say that life imitates art but what is really happening here is that the art has gotten it right about life. Sports are a great metaphor for many things and when it comes to youth sports, even more so.”

Saturday, August 31, 2019
Adult Improv Classes Asheville Community Theatre
Aug 31 all-day
ACT

We’re offering three progressive levels of classes, Basic Improv, Beyond Basic, and The Performance Lab. There’s room for everyone in these classes, no matter your experience level!

Youth Acting For ages 8-12
Aug 31 all-day
ACT

In this class, students will learn a variety of acting techniques with a focus on character development and relationships, deciding what your character wants and how you are going to achieve it, and making choices in scenes to fully develop the scene with specific blocking and movement. Students will work on scenes and monologues from a variety of popular youth plays and musicals, including Charlotte’s Web, Peter Pan, Into the Woods, The Secret Garden, and Beauty and the Beast, taking them from auditions to performance. They will also write their own original, creative scenes to perform in a final showcase during the last class.

Class Schedule:

Classes: September 7​ –​November 9, 2019: Saturdays from 1​1​:00 am-1​2​:00 ​pm
Final Showcase: Saturday, ​November 16, 2019 at 11:​0​0 am (combined with improv)
Cost: $150

Youth Improv For ages 10-15
Aug 31 all-day
ACT

This class will include instruction on improv skills, including character development, connecting in scenes, “Yes and…” acceptance technique, and building the beginning, middle, and end of a scene. We will play a variety of fun and interactive improv games, including Freeze, Murder Mystery, Props, Styles, ABC game, Changing Channels, Survivor, and Slide Show. Some of the games will be similar to the show, Whose Line it Anyway? The last class will be open for parents to watch a mini improv show to demonstrate the games and skills learned during each class. This class is open to all levels of improv from beginning to advanced.

Class Schedule:

Classes: September 7​ –​November 9, 2019: Saturdays from 10:00-11:00 am
Final Showcase: Saturday, ​November 16, 2019 at 11:​0​0 am (combined with acting)
Cost: $150

“Rounding Third” at Flat Rock Playhouse
Aug 31 @ 2:00 pm
Flat Rock Playhouse

Rounding Third, starring FRP favorites Scott Treadway and JP Sarro. This good-humored and sincere story about a Little League coach, his team of youngsters, and his new assistant coach, is sure to hit a home run, says Rounding Third Director, Charlie Flynn-McIver. “They say that life imitates art but what is really happening here is that the art has gotten it right about life. Sports are a great metaphor for many things and when it comes to youth sports, even more so.”

Arms and The Man Readers Theatre ACT
Aug 31 @ 2:30 pm
ACT: 35below

This comedy is often viewed as Shaw’s wittiest play! This is a borderline farce that will stimulate serious thinking about the nature of both romance and war. What is Raina to do when she finds that an enemy soldier has taken refuge in her room? What will her fiancée say? The plot, of course, thickens! Directed by Jim Reid and performed as Readers Theatre as a part of The Autumn Players’ Readers Theatre Showcase Series.

“Rounding Third” at Flat Rock Playhouse
Aug 31 @ 8:00 pm
Flat Rock Playhouse

Rounding Third, starring FRP favorites Scott Treadway and JP Sarro. This good-humored and sincere story about a Little League coach, his team of youngsters, and his new assistant coach, is sure to hit a home run, says Rounding Third Director, Charlie Flynn-McIver. “They say that life imitates art but what is really happening here is that the art has gotten it right about life. Sports are a great metaphor for many things and when it comes to youth sports, even more so.”