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.

January – February 2020 Jan – Feb 2020
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Sunday, January 19, 2020
Asheville Mardi Gras Parade Volunteers Needed
Jan 19 all-day
South Slope
Asheville Mardi Gras Parade February 23
The 13th annual Asheville Mardi Gras parade will take place on February 23 in South Slope and we’re looking for parade day volunteers. The Asheville Mardi Gras parade is an all-inclusive, family friendly, full-color spectacle that is fun, entertaining, full of music, floats, dancing and celebrating. Spectators receive beads and candy and the photo opportunities are always amazing.

Details include: 

* About 20-25 volunteers needed for this rain or shine event. There will be 2 shifts, estimated to be from approx. 11a to 2/3p, and 2p to 5/6p.
*Setting up, manning and breaking down street barricades
*Assisting with krewe and float line up and timing as the parade begins
*Identifying parked cars that might need to be towed and checking for obstacles to smooth crowd control along the parade route.
*Coordinating with the Parade Logistics manager and city police
*Carrying 1 or 2 parade banners (Costumes optional but always encouraged!)
*Assisting with end of parade float disbursement
*Trash pick up following the parade set up and marching route. This is mostly paper trash and beads.  It’s rarely more than a few bags total.
Returning barricades, cones, etc. to the post-parade collection point
Confirmed Volunteer perks include $10 gift card to Vortex Donuts & Coffee and a free beer at Catawba.  Possibly more perks to come!
Email Dane if you’re interested in helping out, [email protected]
AMG is also seeking a Parade Day Logistics Manager as a PAID POSITION for Sunday, Feb. 23. Ideal person should have outdoor event coordination experience, flexibility and a good sense of humor. Duties include coordinating volunteers, ensuring cones and barricades are in place at all check points, answering any traffic/parked car/pedestrian concerns, acting as parade day primary contact for police and security and Mardi Gras leadership, coordinating compliance with City parade permit requirements, and helping ensure a timely start and finish to the parade. Candidate could plan to cover the parade route via bicycle or scooter or use walkie talkies to accomplish oversight of the .5 mile parade route. This position pays $125 for the day. More details available to any interested candidate. Email Dane if you’re interested in the position, [email protected]
Read more
Categories: Outdoors Volunteers
Modelface Comedy Presents: Michael Palascak
Jan 19 @ 7:00 pm
The Mothlight

Comedian Michael Palascak
Live at The Mothlight
Sunday, January 19th
Doors 7pm
Tickets: $15

Michael Palascak was named the 2018 Stand-up of the Year by the Late Nite Last Week podcast for his performance on The Late Late Show with James Corden. He’s also done stand-up on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, CONAN, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Letterman, Comedy Central’s HALF HOUR, was a top 5 Finalist on LAST COMIC STANDING, and this past summer he performed at Montreal’s Just For Laughs Comedy Festival where he taped a set for Kevin Hart’s LOL network. Norm Macdonald said Michael reminds him, “…of a guy that’s just as funny offstage as on, which is like magic.” Michael’s short film You’re Alive was accepted into numerous festivals including the Hollywood Comedy Shorts Festival and was the winner of the Audience Award at the Chicago Comedy Film Festival.

http://www.michaelpalascak.com/

Featuring James Harrod and Kelly Morgan

Read more
Categories: Comedy Featured Nightlife Theatre
Monday, January 20, 2020
Martin Luther King Weekend Retreat “Being Beloved Community”
Jan 20 all-day
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center

 

Retreatants will be invited to pause, to stop running, to stop ‘doing’, to calm minds and bodies and be at ease. During this retreat, the focus is on reconciliation, transformation, healing and how to bring quantitative change in one’s life by the mindfulness practices of walking, eating and sitting meditation, connecting with ancestors, deep listening, loving speech and the practice of touching the earth. A retreat is an opportunity to let go of worry and anxiety about the past and the future, rest, and begin to be present for what is happening in the present moment.

The retreat is being led by Sister True Moon of Clear Grace, a resident nun at Heartwood who received her novice ordination in the Plum Village Vietnamese Zen tradition headed by the Venerable Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Sister Clear Grace shares that, “the practice of mindfulness has been the greatest source of insight and transformation to heal from injustices of all kinds. It has helped me to learn truths and unlearn deeply embedded beliefs that have kept me away from the liberation of such sufferings in my daily life.”

This retreat is suitable for both beginning and experienced mindfulness practitioners. Participants may register to stay at Heartwood or sign up for the commuter option. More information, registration and other retreats at www.heartwoodrefuge.org.

Sister Clear Grace is a member of the Care Taking Council for the Earth Holder Community, a mindful Earth/Social justice initiative in the Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism. She is a Core member for ARISE Sangha (Awakening through Race, Intersectionality, and Social Equity), a community of mindfulness practitioners and monastics who come together to heal the wounds of racial injustice and social inequity, beginning with looking deeply within oneself and using energy of compassion, understanding, and love in action.

Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center, located in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, provides interfaith meditation and wellness retreat. Heartwood is neither defined by a single lineage, nor confined by any single sect or practice. Heartwood hosts teachers from all faiths and wisdom traditions to share teachings and activities that promote compassion and clarity, whether through traditional wisdom or new thought.

Read more
Categories: Community Health & Wellness Spiritual
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Forest Floor Wilderness Programs
Jan 22 all-day
Forest Floor

Forest Floor is offering sixteen different week-long camp options for ages ranging from K-10. Camps begin with the first week June 15-19 and end with the week of August 10-14. The program is structured to get kids out in the forest, exercising and playing, sharing stories and songs, solving challenges, and learning traditional crafts, wilderness skills, survival skills, and martial arts. Forest Floor programs are unique in the Asheville area because of the focus on Nature Connection Mentoring and helping children reach and exceed their potential.

Parents can drop their children off at Haw Creek Commons in Asheville between 8:30 – 9:00 AM daily, and then pick them up there between 3:00 – 3:30 PM. Camp staff will transport the children via passenger van to the forest location and back each day. An “After Camp” option with games and nature activities is available for parents who choose to pickup as late as 5:30 PM. After Camp can be reserved for specific days or the entire camp week.

 

The standard pricing for the camps is $295 per week including transportation. The Blacksmithing and Knife-making camps for Grades 6-10 only are priced at $384 per week. After Camp adds $15-30 per afternoon depending on the specific reservations. A payment plan and sibling discount are offered as well. A limited number of partial scholarships are also available. Registrations are taken online in advance at the company website www.OnTheForestFloor.org.

 

About Forest Floor Wilderness Programs – Forest Floor Wilderness Programs (FFWP) is a unique Asheville provider of Nature-Connection Mentoring programs. FFWP was founded in 2011 by Executive Director Clint Corley to bring a nationally-proven youth mentoring model to the Asheville area. The group offers summer camps, and a wide variety of other programs including weekly programs for homeschool families, bi-weekly programs for teens & public school children, Saturday programs, family campouts, and workshops for adults.

Read more
Categories: Education Family Fun Outdoors
Thursday, January 23, 2020
City Dance
Jan 23 @ 7:30 pm
Landmark Hal

Beginner’s workshop lesson at 7:30 P.M., then 8-11 P.M. Contra Dance with Country Waltzing at the break and the final dance. This is a partner dance but it’s not necessary to come with a partner. We have different live bands and callers.

Read more
Categories: Dance Featured Parks & Recreation
Friday, January 24, 2020
A Wild Food Stroll at The Grove Park Inn
Jan 24 @ 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
The Grove Park Inn

Ready to go WILD? Join us for a trip “off the eaten path.” You’ll learn how to safely gather edible wild plants, mushrooms, and other “extreme cuisine.” Stay for a stunning view of the sunset and enjoy dinner at Vue 1913 featuring a free appetizer with the edibles you met on your tour. Suitable for all ages and abilities. To register or for more info, see here. Three-hour foraging tours also available, year-round, by arrangement.

Wild food is the ultimate natural food: ultra-local, fresher, more flavorful, 10 to 100 times more nutritious than its garden-variety descendants, AND it’s free! With over 300 wild edibles, Western North Carolina is the richest temperate ecosystem on Earth. For a taste of the wild life, forage ahead and experience the life of a modern hunter-gather firsthand. It’s a unique experience in self-catering, a memorable lesson in high-class survival.

Read more
Categories: Education Food & Drink Outdoors
Saturday, January 25, 2020
Asheville Mardi Gras Parade Volunteers Needed
Jan 25 all-day
South Slope
Asheville Mardi Gras Parade February 23
The 13th annual Asheville Mardi Gras parade will take place on February 23 in South Slope and we’re looking for parade day volunteers. The Asheville Mardi Gras parade is an all-inclusive, family friendly, full-color spectacle that is fun, entertaining, full of music, floats, dancing and celebrating. Spectators receive beads and candy and the photo opportunities are always amazing.

Details include: 

* About 20-25 volunteers needed for this rain or shine event. There will be 2 shifts, estimated to be from approx. 11a to 2/3p, and 2p to 5/6p.
*Setting up, manning and breaking down street barricades
*Assisting with krewe and float line up and timing as the parade begins
*Identifying parked cars that might need to be towed and checking for obstacles to smooth crowd control along the parade route.
*Coordinating with the Parade Logistics manager and city police
*Carrying 1 or 2 parade banners (Costumes optional but always encouraged!)
*Assisting with end of parade float disbursement
*Trash pick up following the parade set up and marching route. This is mostly paper trash and beads.  It’s rarely more than a few bags total.
Returning barricades, cones, etc. to the post-parade collection point
Confirmed Volunteer perks include $10 gift card to Vortex Donuts & Coffee and a free beer at Catawba.  Possibly more perks to come!
Email Dane if you’re interested in helping out, [email protected]
AMG is also seeking a Parade Day Logistics Manager as a PAID POSITION for Sunday, Feb. 23. Ideal person should have outdoor event coordination experience, flexibility and a good sense of humor. Duties include coordinating volunteers, ensuring cones and barricades are in place at all check points, answering any traffic/parked car/pedestrian concerns, acting as parade day primary contact for police and security and Mardi Gras leadership, coordinating compliance with City parade permit requirements, and helping ensure a timely start and finish to the parade. Candidate could plan to cover the parade route via bicycle or scooter or use walkie talkies to accomplish oversight of the .5 mile parade route. This position pays $125 for the day. More details available to any interested candidate. Email Dane if you’re interested in the position, [email protected]
Read more
Categories: Outdoors Volunteers
Environmental Education: RiverLink Summer Camps
Jan 25 all-day
Buncombe County NC

Environmental Education is crucial to what RiverLink does. We believe that in order for someone to protect their environment, they must first understand it. Our education programs focus on getting students out in the watershed for hands-on experiential learning. We help students foster a love and appreciation for their water resources by allowing them to see, hear and interact with their local waterways. As a result of engaging with our program we hope that students will be inspired to become the next generation of watershed stewards.

RiverRATS Education Program

Read more
Categories: Education Family Fun Outdoors
Forest Floor Wilderness Programs
Jan 25 all-day
Forest Floor

Forest Floor is offering sixteen different week-long camp options for ages ranging from K-10. Camps begin with the first week June 15-19 and end with the week of August 10-14. The program is structured to get kids out in the forest, exercising and playing, sharing stories and songs, solving challenges, and learning traditional crafts, wilderness skills, survival skills, and martial arts. Forest Floor programs are unique in the Asheville area because of the focus on Nature Connection Mentoring and helping children reach and exceed their potential.

Parents can drop their children off at Haw Creek Commons in Asheville between 8:30 – 9:00 AM daily, and then pick them up there between 3:00 – 3:30 PM. Camp staff will transport the children via passenger van to the forest location and back each day. An “After Camp” option with games and nature activities is available for parents who choose to pickup as late as 5:30 PM. After Camp can be reserved for specific days or the entire camp week.

 

The standard pricing for the camps is $295 per week including transportation. The Blacksmithing and Knife-making camps for Grades 6-10 only are priced at $384 per week. After Camp adds $15-30 per afternoon depending on the specific reservations. A payment plan and sibling discount are offered as well. A limited number of partial scholarships are also available. Registrations are taken online in advance at the company website www.OnTheForestFloor.org.

 

About Forest Floor Wilderness Programs – Forest Floor Wilderness Programs (FFWP) is a unique Asheville provider of Nature-Connection Mentoring programs. FFWP was founded in 2011 by Executive Director Clint Corley to bring a nationally-proven youth mentoring model to the Asheville area. The group offers summer camps, and a wide variety of other programs including weekly programs for homeschool families, bi-weekly programs for teens & public school children, Saturday programs, family campouts, and workshops for adults.

Read more
Categories: Education Family Fun Outdoors
Redesigning Our Future: National Environmental Summit for High School Students
Jan 25 all-day
Catawba College

Read more
Categories: Education Family Fun Outdoors
Asheville Hot Chocolate Races
Jan 25 @ 8:30 am – 11:00 am
Isaac Dickson Elementary School

Participate in one of the Asheville Hot Chocolate Races and enjoy a steaming cup of cocoa from French Broad Chocolates after completing your race, 5k and 10k are chip timed, 1K Kids Hill Climb and Marshmallow Dash are untimed fun runs for ages 12 and under.

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Categories: Family Fun Health & Wellness Outdoors Sports
Snowflake Hike
Jan 25 @ 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Carvers Gap

Location: Carvers Gap
Difficulty: Moderate (5-6) with an elevation gain of 650′ and snow
Distance: 4~ miles out and back
Cost: FREE but Pre-Registration is Required!
In 1885, a self educated farmer Wilson A. Bently attached a microscope to his bellows camera and became the first person to photograph a snowflake. After photographing over 5000 snowflakes, he found that no two snowflakes are alike and come in all sorts of shapes and patterns. Join SAHC in our own snowflake observations as we trek through the gorgeous, high elevation winter wonderland of Carvers Gap. If weather permits, we will collect snowflakes on cardboard sheets and examine their delicate and unique patterns through hand lenses and magnifying glasses.
NOTICE: Please bring your own magnifying glass or hand lens (5x-10x should be fine). We have a limited number of magnification tools for individuals to use.
Read more
Categories: Hike Outdoors
Public Roadside Cleanup
Jan 25 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
175 Bingham Road

Image

Join our Water Quality Coordinator, Laura Anderson, on a public roadside cleanup! This 2hr event will focus around picking up litter along one of Asheville’s heavily trashed roads.

Bingham Road is a frequently trafficked and polluted road within the Asheville City Limits. As it rains, water sweeps this man-made debris into drains that lead directly into our streams — polluting our land and water. Keeping these areas free from litter is important to us as a community, so lets work together to protect the areas we love!

We will meet in the Buncombe County School’s parking lot, look for the Asheville GreenWorks truck.

All supplies will be provided, including: gloves, grabbers, yellow safety vests and trash bags. Just bring yourself dressed in warm clothes that can get dirty!

Read more
Categories: Outdoors Volunteers
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Asheville Mardi Gras Parade Volunteers Needed
Jan 26 all-day
South Slope
Asheville Mardi Gras Parade February 23
The 13th annual Asheville Mardi Gras parade will take place on February 23 in South Slope and we’re looking for parade day volunteers. The Asheville Mardi Gras parade is an all-inclusive, family friendly, full-color spectacle that is fun, entertaining, full of music, floats, dancing and celebrating. Spectators receive beads and candy and the photo opportunities are always amazing.

Details include: 

* About 20-25 volunteers needed for this rain or shine event. There will be 2 shifts, estimated to be from approx. 11a to 2/3p, and 2p to 5/6p.
*Setting up, manning and breaking down street barricades
*Assisting with krewe and float line up and timing as the parade begins
*Identifying parked cars that might need to be towed and checking for obstacles to smooth crowd control along the parade route.
*Coordinating with the Parade Logistics manager and city police
*Carrying 1 or 2 parade banners (Costumes optional but always encouraged!)
*Assisting with end of parade float disbursement
*Trash pick up following the parade set up and marching route. This is mostly paper trash and beads.  It’s rarely more than a few bags total.
Returning barricades, cones, etc. to the post-parade collection point
Confirmed Volunteer perks include $10 gift card to Vortex Donuts & Coffee and a free beer at Catawba.  Possibly more perks to come!
Email Dane if you’re interested in helping out, [email protected]
AMG is also seeking a Parade Day Logistics Manager as a PAID POSITION for Sunday, Feb. 23. Ideal person should have outdoor event coordination experience, flexibility and a good sense of humor. Duties include coordinating volunteers, ensuring cones and barricades are in place at all check points, answering any traffic/parked car/pedestrian concerns, acting as parade day primary contact for police and security and Mardi Gras leadership, coordinating compliance with City parade permit requirements, and helping ensure a timely start and finish to the parade. Candidate could plan to cover the parade route via bicycle or scooter or use walkie talkies to accomplish oversight of the .5 mile parade route. This position pays $125 for the day. More details available to any interested candidate. Email Dane if you’re interested in the position, [email protected]
Read more
Categories: Outdoors Volunteers
Redesigning Our Future: National Environmental Summit for High School Students
Jan 26 all-day
Catawba College

Read more
Categories: Education Family Fun Outdoors
Comedy at Fleetwood’s: Jeena Bloom
Jan 26 @ 8:00 pm
Fleetwood's

Jeena Bloom is a transgender comic that SiriusXM once described as “the unicorniest unicorn in New York City.” She brings a wild and profane sense of humor along with bracing honesty to the stage. Jeena has been featured on Comedy Central, Viceland, SiriusXM, Vulture and on the popular podcast Guys We Fucked. She is the winner of the 2018 Harlem Comedy Festival and can now be seen dividing her time between Los Angeles and New York and everywhere in between.

Tickets $7 advance, $10 day of
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/comedy-at-fleetwoods-jeena-bloom-tickets-84782925011

Read more
Categories: Comedy Featured Nightlife Theatre
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Creative Sector Talk: The Opportunity for Special Events to Help Build an Equitable and Inclusive Community
Jan 28 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Center for Craft

We know special events and festivals have long been employed as powerful tools in supporting business, motivating entrepreneurship, and promoting the arts. Additionally, the City of Asheville is focusing on special events and how they can help build an equitable and inclusive community. But government doesn’t just change on its own. What internal and external efforts are needed to maximize returns? Hear from the City’s Outdoor Special Events office about their collaborations with the City’s Office of Equity & Inclusion. Learn about the confines we’re all working within as community members, and why it takes an inside effort within government to push forward. Where are your opportunities to create and participate in special events that help build an equitable and inclusive community?

Speakers: City of Asheville Outdoor Event Manager Jon Fillman and Business Inclusion Manager Rosanna Mulcahy

Read more
Categories: Art & Craft Community Featured Festivals Other Parks & Recreation Theatre
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
New Diabetes Wellness and Prevention Cohorts YWCA
Jan 29 all-day
YWCA Asheville

We are dedicated to promoting health equity and reducing the disparity in diabetes outcomes that disproportionately affect the Black community in Buncombe County. 

If you have type 2 diabetes or are at risk the YWCA offers a life-changing journey!

What are the benefits? 

  • Weekly educational support groups
  • Membership to the YWCA Fitness and Aquatic Center
  • Consultations with a pharmacist

We will explore important topics such as:

  • Monitoring blood glucose (sugar)
  • Engaging in physical activity
  • Making healthy food choices, planning meals and controlling portion size
  • Knowing your medications
  • Understanding complications associated with diabetes
  • Managing stress and social situations
  • Setting goals and problem solving

All of this is offered to you for an affordable, sliding scale, monthly fee!
For more information or to sign up, call Leah Berger-Singer at (828)254-7206 x 212

Read more
Categories: Community Health & Wellness
Thursday, January 30, 2020
New Diabetes Wellness and Prevention Cohorts YWCA
Jan 30 all-day
YWCA Asheville

We are dedicated to promoting health equity and reducing the disparity in diabetes outcomes that disproportionately affect the Black community in Buncombe County. 

If you have type 2 diabetes or are at risk the YWCA offers a life-changing journey!

What are the benefits? 

  • Weekly educational support groups
  • Membership to the YWCA Fitness and Aquatic Center
  • Consultations with a pharmacist

We will explore important topics such as:

  • Monitoring blood glucose (sugar)
  • Engaging in physical activity
  • Making healthy food choices, planning meals and controlling portion size
  • Knowing your medications
  • Understanding complications associated with diabetes
  • Managing stress and social situations
  • Setting goals and problem solving

All of this is offered to you for an affordable, sliding scale, monthly fee!
For more information or to sign up, call Leah Berger-Singer at (828)254-7206 x 212

Read more
Categories: Community Health & Wellness
Friday, January 31, 2020
A Wild Food Stroll at The Grove Park Inn
Jan 31 @ 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
The Grove Park Inn

Ready to go WILD? Join us for a trip “off the eaten path.” You’ll learn how to safely gather edible wild plants, mushrooms, and other “extreme cuisine.” Stay for a stunning view of the sunset and enjoy dinner at Vue 1913 featuring a free appetizer with the edibles you met on your tour. Suitable for all ages and abilities. To register or for more info, see here. Three-hour foraging tours also available, year-round, by arrangement.

Wild food is the ultimate natural food: ultra-local, fresher, more flavorful, 10 to 100 times more nutritious than its garden-variety descendants, AND it’s free! With over 300 wild edibles, Western North Carolina is the richest temperate ecosystem on Earth. For a taste of the wild life, forage ahead and experience the life of a modern hunter-gather firsthand. It’s a unique experience in self-catering, a memorable lesson in high-class survival.

Read more
Categories: Education Food & Drink Outdoors
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Asheville Mardi Gras Parade Volunteers Needed
Feb 1 all-day
South Slope
Asheville Mardi Gras Parade February 23
The 13th annual Asheville Mardi Gras parade will take place on February 23 in South Slope and we’re looking for parade day volunteers. The Asheville Mardi Gras parade is an all-inclusive, family friendly, full-color spectacle that is fun, entertaining, full of music, floats, dancing and celebrating. Spectators receive beads and candy and the photo opportunities are always amazing.

Details include: 

* About 20-25 volunteers needed for this rain or shine event. There will be 2 shifts, estimated to be from approx. 11a to 2/3p, and 2p to 5/6p.
*Setting up, manning and breaking down street barricades
*Assisting with krewe and float line up and timing as the parade begins
*Identifying parked cars that might need to be towed and checking for obstacles to smooth crowd control along the parade route.
*Coordinating with the Parade Logistics manager and city police
*Carrying 1 or 2 parade banners (Costumes optional but always encouraged!)
*Assisting with end of parade float disbursement
*Trash pick up following the parade set up and marching route. This is mostly paper trash and beads.  It’s rarely more than a few bags total.
Returning barricades, cones, etc. to the post-parade collection point
Confirmed Volunteer perks include $10 gift card to Vortex Donuts & Coffee and a free beer at Catawba.  Possibly more perks to come!
Email Dane if you’re interested in helping out, [email protected]
AMG is also seeking a Parade Day Logistics Manager as a PAID POSITION for Sunday, Feb. 23. Ideal person should have outdoor event coordination experience, flexibility and a good sense of humor. Duties include coordinating volunteers, ensuring cones and barricades are in place at all check points, answering any traffic/parked car/pedestrian concerns, acting as parade day primary contact for police and security and Mardi Gras leadership, coordinating compliance with City parade permit requirements, and helping ensure a timely start and finish to the parade. Candidate could plan to cover the parade route via bicycle or scooter or use walkie talkies to accomplish oversight of the .5 mile parade route. This position pays $125 for the day. More details available to any interested candidate. Email Dane if you’re interested in the position, [email protected]
Read more
Categories: Outdoors Volunteers
Environmental Education: RiverLink Summer Camps
Feb 1 all-day
Buncombe County NC

Environmental Education is crucial to what RiverLink does. We believe that in order for someone to protect their environment, they must first understand it. Our education programs focus on getting students out in the watershed for hands-on experiential learning. We help students foster a love and appreciation for their water resources by allowing them to see, hear and interact with their local waterways. As a result of engaging with our program we hope that students will be inspired to become the next generation of watershed stewards.

RiverRATS Education Program

Read more
Categories: Education Family Fun Outdoors
Forest Floor Wilderness Programs
Feb 1 all-day
Forest Floor

Forest Floor is offering sixteen different week-long camp options for ages ranging from K-10. Camps begin with the first week June 15-19 and end with the week of August 10-14. The program is structured to get kids out in the forest, exercising and playing, sharing stories and songs, solving challenges, and learning traditional crafts, wilderness skills, survival skills, and martial arts. Forest Floor programs are unique in the Asheville area because of the focus on Nature Connection Mentoring and helping children reach and exceed their potential.

Parents can drop their children off at Haw Creek Commons in Asheville between 8:30 – 9:00 AM daily, and then pick them up there between 3:00 – 3:30 PM. Camp staff will transport the children via passenger van to the forest location and back each day. An “After Camp” option with games and nature activities is available for parents who choose to pickup as late as 5:30 PM. After Camp can be reserved for specific days or the entire camp week.

 

The standard pricing for the camps is $295 per week including transportation. The Blacksmithing and Knife-making camps for Grades 6-10 only are priced at $384 per week. After Camp adds $15-30 per afternoon depending on the specific reservations. A payment plan and sibling discount are offered as well. A limited number of partial scholarships are also available. Registrations are taken online in advance at the company website www.OnTheForestFloor.org.

 

About Forest Floor Wilderness Programs – Forest Floor Wilderness Programs (FFWP) is a unique Asheville provider of Nature-Connection Mentoring programs. FFWP was founded in 2011 by Executive Director Clint Corley to bring a nationally-proven youth mentoring model to the Asheville area. The group offers summer camps, and a wide variety of other programs including weekly programs for homeschool families, bi-weekly programs for teens & public school children, Saturday programs, family campouts, and workshops for adults.

Read more
Categories: Education Family Fun Outdoors
Guided Hikes: Grandfather Mountain
Feb 1 all-day
Grandfather Mountain

Interpretive Rangers are available to lead guided hikes, bird walks and wildflower walks for families and groups that visit Grandfather Mountain. To see the mountain in this whole new way, you can schedule an appointment by calling the interpretive ranger office at (828) 737-0833 or emailing [email protected].

Please note that walks and hikes are available for all ability levels, but hikes that take you into Grandfather Mountain’s backcountry require careful footwork, proper footwear and the ability to handle heights. All backcountry hikes require participants to traverse ladders and use cables to navigate steep sections of the trail.

Interpretive Rangers are available year-round (weather permitting) to lead guided hikes to:

MacRae Peak ($15 + park admission)
Attic Window ($25 + park admission)
Calloway Peak ($35 + park admission)

Reservations must be made at least two weeks in advance, and a minimum of two participants per hike are required. For more information, please call (828) 737-0833.

Read more
Categories: Hike Outdoors
Redesigning Our Future: National Environmental Summit for High School Students
Feb 1 all-day
Catawba College

Read more
Categories: Education Family Fun Outdoors
Sunday, February 2, 2020
Asheville Mardi Gras Parade Volunteers Needed
Feb 2 all-day
South Slope
Asheville Mardi Gras Parade February 23
The 13th annual Asheville Mardi Gras parade will take place on February 23 in South Slope and we’re looking for parade day volunteers. The Asheville Mardi Gras parade is an all-inclusive, family friendly, full-color spectacle that is fun, entertaining, full of music, floats, dancing and celebrating. Spectators receive beads and candy and the photo opportunities are always amazing.

Details include: 

* About 20-25 volunteers needed for this rain or shine event. There will be 2 shifts, estimated to be from approx. 11a to 2/3p, and 2p to 5/6p.
*Setting up, manning and breaking down street barricades
*Assisting with krewe and float line up and timing as the parade begins
*Identifying parked cars that might need to be towed and checking for obstacles to smooth crowd control along the parade route.
*Coordinating with the Parade Logistics manager and city police
*Carrying 1 or 2 parade banners (Costumes optional but always encouraged!)
*Assisting with end of parade float disbursement
*Trash pick up following the parade set up and marching route. This is mostly paper trash and beads.  It’s rarely more than a few bags total.
Returning barricades, cones, etc. to the post-parade collection point
Confirmed Volunteer perks include $10 gift card to Vortex Donuts & Coffee and a free beer at Catawba.  Possibly more perks to come!
Email Dane if you’re interested in helping out, [email protected]
AMG is also seeking a Parade Day Logistics Manager as a PAID POSITION for Sunday, Feb. 23. Ideal person should have outdoor event coordination experience, flexibility and a good sense of humor. Duties include coordinating volunteers, ensuring cones and barricades are in place at all check points, answering any traffic/parked car/pedestrian concerns, acting as parade day primary contact for police and security and Mardi Gras leadership, coordinating compliance with City parade permit requirements, and helping ensure a timely start and finish to the parade. Candidate could plan to cover the parade route via bicycle or scooter or use walkie talkies to accomplish oversight of the .5 mile parade route. This position pays $125 for the day. More details available to any interested candidate. Email Dane if you’re interested in the position, [email protected]
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Categories: Outdoors Volunteers
Comedy at Fleetwood’s: Blaire Erskine
Feb 2 @ 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Fleetwood's

Blaire Erskine is a weekend regular at Atlanta’s Laughing Skull Lounge, where she entertains audiences with silly observations and stories inspired by her eccentric family, rural upbringing, and love for cats. When she’s not telling jokes in Atlanta, you can catch her performing at venues all across the Southeast.

Tickets $7 advance, $10 day of
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/comedy-at-fleetwoods-blaire-erskine-tickets-86017437471

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Categories: Comedy Featured Nightlife
Monday, February 3, 2020
Early Bird tickets: 23rd annual French Broard River Festival
Feb 3 all-day
Hot Springs Campground & Spa

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Kick off spring in the mountains at the 23rd annual French Broad River Festival.  It’s part outdoor adventure, part music festival with whitewater rafting, biking, hiking, kid’s village, camping, great music, and much more.  Painter John, a popular FBRF musician, compares the atmosphere to “a big potluck at your best friend’s house”.  If you’ve been you know . . . what better way to enjoy spring in these mountains?

Weekend passes include camping

$120 online by 3/31/20
$125 online by 4/30/20
$140 at gate
$65 Saturday only
$45 whitewater rafting

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Categories: Festivals Outdoors Sports
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Early Bird tickets: 23rd annual French Broard River Festival
Feb 5 all-day
Hot Springs Campground & Spa

INTRO-IMAGE_1024px

Kick off spring in the mountains at the 23rd annual French Broad River Festival.  It’s part outdoor adventure, part music festival with whitewater rafting, biking, hiking, kid’s village, camping, great music, and much more.  Painter John, a popular FBRF musician, compares the atmosphere to “a big potluck at your best friend’s house”.  If you’ve been you know . . . what better way to enjoy spring in these mountains?

Weekend passes include camping

$120 online by 3/31/20
$125 online by 4/30/20
$140 at gate
$65 Saturday only
$45 whitewater rafting

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Categories: Festivals Outdoors Sports
Thursday, February 6, 2020
White Zombie 5k Registration Kick-Off Party
Feb 6 @ 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Catawba Brewing Company - South Slope

We’re bringing back our White Zombie 5k for the second year. To kick off registration, we’re throwing a party on Feb. 6! We’ll offer a $5 registration discount to the 5k; a neighborhood fun run; and zombie-fun galore: from drinks to merchandise. The White Zombie 5k (on May 30 during AVL Beer Week) benefits MANNA FoodBank. $5/ registration goes to MANNA.

More details:

• Register onsite to receive $5 off registration fee ($25; increases to $30 on Feb. 7).
• Join us for a free fun run (approx. 3.1 miles) from South Slope through downtown; meet in the brewery at 6 p.m.; all runners will be entered into a raffle for zombie prizes.
• Quench your thirst with special Catawba White Zombie drinks available only during this event: White Zombie beer flight or White Zombie infused cocktail.
• Show your love for White Zombie; purchase White Zombie shirts & socks.

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Categories: Community Food & Drink Fundraisers Outdoors