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.

Monday, March 8, 2021
Hike with a Naturalist
Mar 8 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Chimney Rock State Park

Spend an hour hiking one of our six different trails with a naturalist. This is educational excursion will give you a better understanding of the flora and fauna that can be found in the Park. You may even learn some of the Park’s history as well.

Tuesday, March 9, 2021
The Classic Hikes of the Smokies: Mingus Creek
Mar 9 @ 9:00 am
Great Smoky Mountains National Park

 Mingus Creek

4 miles | easy

Historic cemeteries and mill, wildflowers

2021 CLASSIC HIKES OF THE SMOKIES

Discover America’s most-visited national park with a guided day hike! The Classic Hikes of the Smokies feature interpretation of the history, flora, and fauna of park trails. Hikes vary in distance, difficulty, and location within the park to provide a comprehensive overview of the Smokies, exposing hikers to high Appalachian vistas, streams teeming with aquatic life, the best collection of log structures on the Eastern Seaboard, and much more.

After completing registration…
You will receive an email the Friday before the hike with directions, and more information. All hikes begin at 9 a.m

Friday, March 12, 2021
Creative Writing Group online
Mar 12 @ 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Online w/ Leicester Library

Come join us for creative writing online! We’ll meet on Zoom and do several rounds of writing and reading our writing to each other. Our focus is creating a supportive and fun environment through writing exercises and discussion

Saturday, March 13, 2021
Naturalist Niche: Early Spring Birding Walk
Mar 13 @ 8:00 am – 10:00 am
Chimney Rock Park
Cost: Includes Park admission. Advance registration required.

Chimney Rock is an amazing spot to see spring migrants as they make their way back from the warmer, sunnier regions.  Make sure you bring your binoculars to get a peek at numerous species traveling north.  Just how many will you add to your list?  A Park bird list can be found here. This hike is considered easy-to-moderate and does require advance registration.

Early Spring Hours at Grandfather Mountain
Mar 13 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Grandfather Mountain

2021 Park Admission

(Presently, tickets are only available through online reservations. Click here to book your visit!)

Sunday, March 14, 2021
Early Spring Hours at Grandfather Mountain
Mar 14 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Grandfather Mountain

2021 Park Admission

(Presently, tickets are only available through online reservations. Click here to book your visit!)

Monday, March 15, 2021
Early Spring Hours at Grandfather Mountain
Mar 15 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Grandfather Mountain

2021 Park Admission

(Presently, tickets are only available through online reservations. Click here to book your visit!)

Hike with a Naturalist
Mar 15 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Chimney Rock State Park

Spend an hour hiking one of our six different trails with a naturalist. This is educational excursion will give you a better understanding of the flora and fauna that can be found in the Park. You may even learn some of the Park’s history as well.

Tuesday, March 16, 2021
Early Spring Hours at Grandfather Mountain
Mar 16 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Grandfather Mountain

2021 Park Admission

(Presently, tickets are only available through online reservations. Click here to book your visit!)

UNCA Visiting Writers Series: CJ Hauser
Mar 16 @ 7:00 pm
Online w/ UNCA

Visiting Writers Series

Each year, the Department of English brings visiting writers across genres for readings and master classes with students, hosted by our Writer-in-Residence, Wiley Cash. In recent years, the department has hosted several award-winning writers, including Ben Fountain, Camille Dungy, David Ebershoff, Chrystal Hana Kim, Frank X Walker, and many others.

https://cjhauser.com

CJ Hauser teaches creative writing and literature at Colgate University. Her novel, Family of Origin, was published by Doubleday in 2019. She is also the author of the novel The From-Aways, and her fiction has appeared, or is forthcoming, in Tin HouseNarrative Magazine, The Paris Review, TriQuarterly, Esquire, Third Coast, and The Kenyon Review.

This event is free and open to the public, but you must register at this link:

Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Early Spring Hours at Grandfather Mountain
Mar 17 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Grandfather Mountain

2021 Park Admission

(Presently, tickets are only available through online reservations. Click here to book your visit!)

Thursday, March 18, 2021
Early Spring Hours at Grandfather Mountain
Mar 18 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Grandfather Mountain

2021 Park Admission

(Presently, tickets are only available through online reservations. Click here to book your visit!)

Friday, March 19, 2021
Early Spring Hours at Grandfather Mountain
Mar 19 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Grandfather Mountain

2021 Park Admission

(Presently, tickets are only available through online reservations. Click here to book your visit!)

Saturday, March 20, 2021
LitCafe Experiences: DuPont Forest History Hike w/ Danny Bernstein
Mar 20 @ 8:20 am – 2:30 pm
Transylvania County Library 

What is an airstrip doing in the middle of DuPont State Recreational Forest? Why the formal entrance into a state forest? And how did the lakes come to be?

Come on a moderate all-day hike through historic DuPont Forest where we will walk, talk, take photos and even speculate. DuPont Forest is in Cedar Mountain, located between Hendersonville and Brevard. We will visit Bridal Veil Falls and four lakes. Although the hike focuses on DuPont Forest history, we might see some early spring flowers and buds.

Here are the details:

  • The hike is 7.5 miles and about 800 feet of altitude gain over the day. The trails are well-maintained but will be muddy and rocky.
  • Meet at the Transylvania County Library (212 S Gaston St, Brevard, NCby 8:20am. We will depart from there in a caravan and arrive at the Fawn Lake Access Area of DuPont just before 9am.
  • Wear light boots or good sneakers with hiking sock, a rain jacket (no matter the weather forecast) and a couple of layers of warm clothing – a long sleeve shirt and a fleece.
  • Bring lunch and snacks and at least one quart of water – two pints. Water will not be available  on the hike.
  • There are no toilets in the forest. We will stop several times for trail breaks in the woods. There is also no cell service in the area including the forest.
  • Note: For liability reasons, no dogs are allowed on this hike.

Questions, concerns? Email me at [email protected]

Early Spring Hours at Grandfather Mountain
Mar 20 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Grandfather Mountain

2021 Park Admission

(Presently, tickets are only available through online reservations. Click here to book your visit!)

LitCafe Experiences: DuPont Forest History Hike with author Danny Bernstein
Mar 20 @ 9:00 am – 2:30 pm
DuPont State Recreational Forest
 

Come on a moderate, 7.5-mile, all-day hike through historic DuPont Forest where we will walk, talk, and take photographs. We will visit Bridal Veil Falls and four lakes. Although the hike focuses on DuPont Forest history, we might see some early spring flowers and buds.

Meet: Transylvania County Library
Cost: $10 WNCHA members; $20 general public
Registration: You must preregister for this event.

Monday, March 22, 2021
Hike with a Naturalist
Mar 22 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Chimney Rock State Park

Spend an hour hiking one of our six different trails with a naturalist. This is educational excursion will give you a better understanding of the flora and fauna that can be found in the Park. You may even learn some of the Park’s history as well.

Thursday, March 25, 2021
Hiking for Hunger
Mar 25 all-day
Online w/ Hiking for Hunger

Former Volunteer Manager, Micah Tomlinson, and former MANNA Community Market Driver, Keeka Grant-Tomlinson, began hiking the Appalachian Trail together as part of Hiking for Hunger – a fundraiser created by both of them to help raise awareness of hunger and food insecurity in WNC, while also raising funds for MANNA FoodBank.
To follow along with their thru-hike and to learn more about Hiking for Hunger, Hiking for Hunger | Making miles for meals in Western North Carolina.
Friday, March 26, 2021
Hiking for Hunger
Mar 26 all-day
Online w/ Hiking for Hunger

Former Volunteer Manager, Micah Tomlinson, and former MANNA Community Market Driver, Keeka Grant-Tomlinson, began hiking the Appalachian Trail together as part of Hiking for Hunger – a fundraiser created by both of them to help raise awareness of hunger and food insecurity in WNC, while also raising funds for MANNA FoodBank.
To follow along with their thru-hike and to learn more about Hiking for Hunger, Hiking for Hunger | Making miles for meals in Western North Carolina.
Saturday, March 27, 2021
Hiking for Hunger
Mar 27 all-day
Online w/ Hiking for Hunger

Former Volunteer Manager, Micah Tomlinson, and former MANNA Community Market Driver, Keeka Grant-Tomlinson, began hiking the Appalachian Trail together as part of Hiking for Hunger – a fundraiser created by both of them to help raise awareness of hunger and food insecurity in WNC, while also raising funds for MANNA FoodBank.
To follow along with their thru-hike and to learn more about Hiking for Hunger, Hiking for Hunger | Making miles for meals in Western North Carolina.
Sunday, March 28, 2021
Hiking for Hunger
Mar 28 all-day
Online w/ Hiking for Hunger

Former Volunteer Manager, Micah Tomlinson, and former MANNA Community Market Driver, Keeka Grant-Tomlinson, began hiking the Appalachian Trail together as part of Hiking for Hunger – a fundraiser created by both of them to help raise awareness of hunger and food insecurity in WNC, while also raising funds for MANNA FoodBank.
To follow along with their thru-hike and to learn more about Hiking for Hunger, Hiking for Hunger | Making miles for meals in Western North Carolina.
Monday, March 29, 2021
Hike with a Naturalist
Mar 29 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Chimney Rock State Park

Spend an hour hiking one of our six different trails with a naturalist. This is educational excursion will give you a better understanding of the flora and fauna that can be found in the Park. You may even learn some of the Park’s history as well.

Thursday, April 1, 2021
Spring Photo Contest – “Buds + Blooms”
Apr 1 all-day
Chimney Rock State Park

THURSDAY, APRIL 1 – FRIDAY, APRIL 30

Time: 12:00 am – 11:59 pm
Cost: No additional cost to enter.

The dormancy of winter is coming to an end, and life is beginning to return to the forests. Wildflowers blooming and buds on trees are an indication that spring and warmer weather are right around the corner. This is the perfect opportunity to capture some beautiful images of the Park’s spring blooms and enter them into our “Buds & Blooms” Photo Contest. We’ll use the winning entries on our website and Facebook album, and you’ll win some fun prizes. Photos must be taken within the Chimney Rock section of the Park.

GREAT PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED TO 3 WINNING ENTRIES

Celebrate National Poetry Month at the Library Black Out Poetry Kits
Apr 1 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
All Buncombe County Libraries

Photo of typewriter

 

April is National Poetry Month and we invite all poets, would be poets and poetry fans to celebrate with Buncombe County Public Libraries.  We’ll be hosting the following free events at libraries all over the county.  For more information on any of these programs, contact your friendly neighborhood library.

Black Out Poetry Kits Available at the Library
All Month Long
Every Library

Come to any library and pick up a free kit to create a black out poetry masterpiece. Black out poetry doesn’t start with a blank page, it starts with a page of words taken from an old book. Poets will eliminate words to create a poem composed of the words left on the page. Visit any branch of Buncombe County Public Libraries in April to pick up your very own black out poetry kit featuring markers, inspiration and pages of print to begin your creation. When you’re finished, photograph your creation and upload it to facebook or instagram. Tag your library’s account and we’ll feature it as a post! You can also drop your poem by the library and we’ll post it for you. Kits are available while supplies last.

Live Stream Reader Meet Writer: Wild Women and the Blues with Denny S. Bryce
Apr 1 @ 7:00 pm
Online w/ Malaprop's

We’re pleased to be part of the Reader Meet Writer series of online events hosted by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance.

This event is free but registration is required. Prior to the event we will send an email with the link required to complete your registration and attend on Zoom.


In a stirring and impeccably researched novel of Jazz-Age Chicago in all its vibrant life, two stories intertwine nearly a hundred years apart, as a chorus girl and a film student deal with loss, forgiveness, and love…in all its joy, sadness, and imperfections.

“Why would I talk to you about my life? I don’t know you, and even if I did, I don’t tell my story to just any boy with long hair, who probably smokes weed.You wanna hear about me. You gotta tell me something about you. To make this worth my while.”

1925: Chicago is the jazz capital of the world, and the Dreamland Café is the ritziest black-and-tan club in town. Honoree Dalcour is a sharecropper’s daughter, willing to work hard and dance every night on her way to the top. Dreamland offers a path to the good life, socializing with celebrities like Louis Armstrong and filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. But Chicago is also awash in bootleg whiskey, gambling, and gangsters. And a young woman driven by ambition might risk more than she can stand to lose.

2015: Film student Sawyer Hayes arrives at the bedside of 110-year-old Honoree Dalcour, still reeling from a devastating loss that has taken him right to the brink. Sawyer has rested all his hope on this frail but formidable woman, the only living link to the legendary Oscar Micheaux. If he’s right—if she can fill in the blanks in his research, perhaps he can complete his thesis and begin a new chapter in his life. But the links Honoree makes are not ones he’s expecting…

Piece by piece, Honoree reveals her past and her secrets, while Sawyer fights tooth and nail to keep his. It’s a story of courage and ambition, hot jazz and illicit passions. And as past meets present, for Honoree, it’s a final chance to be truly heard and seen before it’s too late. No matter the cost…

DENNY S. BRYCE is an award-winning author and three-time RWA Golden Heart® finalist, including twice for Wild Women and the Blues. In addition to writing for NPR Books and FROLIC Media, the former professional dancer is a public relations professional who has spent over two decades running her own marketing and event management firm. A member of the Historical Novel Society, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and Novelists, Inc., she is a frequent speaker at author events. Originally from Chicago, she now lives in Savannah, Georgia. Visit her online at DennySBryce.com.

Friday, April 2, 2021
Hiking for Hunger
Apr 2 all-day
Online w/ Hiking for Hunger

Former Volunteer Manager, Micah Tomlinson, and former MANNA Community Market Driver, Keeka Grant-Tomlinson, began hiking the Appalachian Trail together as part of Hiking for Hunger – a fundraiser created by both of them to help raise awareness of hunger and food insecurity in WNC, while also raising funds for MANNA FoodBank.
To follow along with their thru-hike and to learn more about Hiking for Hunger, Hiking for Hunger | Making miles for meals in Western North Carolina.
Spring Photo Contest – “Buds + Blooms”
Apr 2 all-day
Chimney Rock State Park

THURSDAY, APRIL 1 – FRIDAY, APRIL 30

Time: 12:00 am – 11:59 pm
Cost: No additional cost to enter.

The dormancy of winter is coming to an end, and life is beginning to return to the forests. Wildflowers blooming and buds on trees are an indication that spring and warmer weather are right around the corner. This is the perfect opportunity to capture some beautiful images of the Park’s spring blooms and enter them into our “Buds & Blooms” Photo Contest. We’ll use the winning entries on our website and Facebook album, and you’ll win some fun prizes. Photos must be taken within the Chimney Rock section of the Park.

GREAT PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED TO 3 WINNING ENTRIES

Voices of the River: Art + Poetry Contest
Apr 2 all-day
online w/ RiverLink

Create a river-inspired work of art for our Voices of the River: Art & Poetry Contest. You can make 2D or 3D creations, write poems, haikus or short stories, or even record a dance, skit or song that you create. Winners will receive a variety of prizes donated by local businesses and organizations.

Show Us What the River Means to You!

Every spring we host our Voices of the River: Art & Poetry Contest. We ask kids to use the river as a source of inspiration to showcase their creativity. Each year we are so amazed by the talent of these young artists, poets, and performers. Submissions can include 2D and 3D works in various mediums, poems and creative writings, and video compositions of songs, dances, or skits. Winners are selected by a council of judges made up of local artists, writers, and community leaders. Many generous businesses also donate prizes for winners from each age group and category.

This year we want you to show us “How has the river helped you during this time of isolation?”

All entries are due by Thursday April 22nd

Celebrate National Poetry Month at the Library Black Out Poetry Kits
Apr 2 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
All Buncombe County Libraries

Photo of typewriter

 

April is National Poetry Month and we invite all poets, would be poets and poetry fans to celebrate with Buncombe County Public Libraries.  We’ll be hosting the following free events at libraries all over the county.  For more information on any of these programs, contact your friendly neighborhood library.

Black Out Poetry Kits Available at the Library
All Month Long
Every Library

Come to any library and pick up a free kit to create a black out poetry masterpiece. Black out poetry doesn’t start with a blank page, it starts with a page of words taken from an old book. Poets will eliminate words to create a poem composed of the words left on the page. Visit any branch of Buncombe County Public Libraries in April to pick up your very own black out poetry kit featuring markers, inspiration and pages of print to begin your creation. When you’re finished, photograph your creation and upload it to facebook or instagram. Tag your library’s account and we’ll feature it as a post! You can also drop your poem by the library and we’ll post it for you. Kits are available while supplies last.

French Broad/Arboretum MTS hike
Apr 2 @ 9:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Bent Creek

We meet at the parking area of the French Broad River. We leave for the hike no later than 9:10 a.m. and hike 2.5 miles on the MTS trail and back for a total 5 miles hike. We walk at a pretty swift pace (2.7 to 3 mph). Hike is designed for fitness and conversation. We don’t take a break until we reach the turn around point, then we stop for brief water break. We repeat this hike on Friday. Then move on with our regular rotation of hikes.

Hikers who are new to hiking will likely be more comfortable on another meet up hike designed for people who are just beginning hiking or trying to get into shape for hiking. You might consider “WNC Easy Hikers Group,” for instance.

We meet at the parking area of the French Broad River off of Brevard Road. Coming from Asheville, go through the light at the arboretum intersection and you will see the parking area almost immediately on your left. We leave no later than 9:10 a.m. I think this is called the Brent Creek River Park.