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.

Saturday, May 21, 2022
ASAP’s Asheville City Market
May 21 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Asheville City Market

After two pandemic years operating as ASAP Farmers Market at A-B Tech, Asheville City Market will return downtown on April 2, from 9 a.m. to noon. Every Saturday, N. Market St. will be closed between Woodfin and E. Walnut streets. Customers can enjoy open-air shopping for local goods from nearly 50 vendors, including farmers, artisan food makers, services, and more.

In addition to in-season fruits and vegetables, vendors from across Western North Carolina provide specialty products like cheese, eggs, grassfed meat and pastured pork, rice, pasta, artisan bread, honey, plants, body care products, and much more. As a producer-only market, each vendor has a personal hand in growing, raising, or crafting their products, giving customers the opportunity to connect directly with farmers and other local producers. A weekly list of vendors is available by subscribing to the market’s newsletter at asapconnections.org.

Asheville City Market will offer ASAP’s Double SNAP for Fruits and Vegetables, which matches SNAP dollars with tokens that can be used for produce. For instance, if a SNAP customer swipes their EBT card for $10, they will receive $10 in SNAP tokens as well as $10 in Farm Fresh Bucks. SNAP tokens may be used for SNAP-eligible products from any vendor, including produce, meat, cheese, eggs, bread, plants, and more. Farm Fresh Bucks may only be used for fruits and vegetables.

Free parking for customers is available at HomeTrust Bank and Family Justice Center (across from the YMCA at 35 Woodfin St.). There are bus stops on the N1 and N2 routes one block away, on Broadway

Asheville Fitness Sampler
May 21 @ 9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Highland Brewing Company

Asheville Fitness Sampler

Expect FIVE 25-minute back to back “tastes” of fitness + health and wellness experience stations. Take one or all five classes! No rules. Not strict. Have fun! We are teaming up with Highland Brewing – meet us in The Meadow for an INCREDIBLE day!

Swag bag for the first 50 sign ups!!

Made Possible By our incredible sponsor (and your fave chiros) Radius Chiropractic

The Schedule:

9:00am: Doors Open. Come into the market area and explore!

9:30am: Barre Classic with Marissa of Pure Barre Asheville

10:00am: Full Body Functional Agility with Preston of Asheville Fit Tribe

10:30am: Soul Power Dance with Misa Terral

11:00am : Hip Hop Fitness with Illysa of Dance Club Asheville

11:30am Yoga Flow with Ruth Morrow

Post workout eats & hydration by Loco Bowls & Smash NC

Experience Stations

(All included with the cost of a ticket)

Neuro Assessments with Radius Chiropractic

Mini acupuncture sessions with East Acupuncture & Wellness Boutique

Trail tips & mini coaching with Tera Pruett

Chair Massage by Hand and Stone Massage & Facial Spa

Movement Coaching with Samantha Nivens

Essential Oil Experience with Kristin Linde

Mineral Status Quiz with Calle of ReNourished Co

1:1 Clarity Sessions with Bloom Embodied Wellbeing

Matcha Latte Samples from Matcha Nude

Shopping 

Botanical Tortoise Co

Kai Leia Clay Studio

Zyia with Katie Nix

Hey Girl Clay

Auditions for Hamlet
May 21 @ 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
online w/ MONTFORD PARK PLAYERS
Through June 25, 2022
The Montford Park Players is pleased to announce auditions for Hamlet, directed by Glenna Grant.
Actors will submit initial audition information online through our website at https://www.montfordparkplayers.org/abou…/volunteers-page/ and may do so at any time.
The Montford Park Players is committed to gender-neutral and race-conscious casting. ALL are welcome and invited to participate! Community theatre is at its best when it fully embraces and engages its FULL community, not just one portion.
BIPOC actors, we need you.
LGBTQIA+ actors, we need you.
Actors with disabilities, we need you.
Actors of all ages, we need you.
For auditions for Hamlet, the submission deadline is 11:59pm Saturday, June 25th, 2022. Callbacks will be held in person on Saturday & Sunday, July 2nd and 3rd, from 10am to 4pm. Callback location is TBD. The director will contact each pre-selected actor with specific times.
Hamlet will be performed Fridays through Sundays, September 23rd – October 22nd at 7:30 pm.
Specific instructions for audition submissions:
On the website above, click on the link below “Actor Season Audition Form”
Sign in to your Google account (required as most information will be shared in Google documents)
Fill out and submit the form – if you have a headshot and/or resume (not required), please upload them as part of your application.
FILMING INSTRUCTIONS
Please audition for whatever character you are most interested in! Record a 90-second video of yourself reading a Shakespeare monologue that fits the characters you’d like to be considered for – you can do so on your phone.
If possible, please film in Landscape mode, framing yourself from the waist up if able, with a neutral background. Make sure you’re well lit so that we can see your lovely face! (These are not hard and fast rules, just ideal circumstances.)
Please name your video with your name, not the default title; ex. “Smith, John Video”
On the website, click on the link below “Actor Season Video Upload Link” and upload your video.
The director will review each application and video, and will contact prospective actors for callbacks.
Important: This season, the Montford Park Players will require that all persons involved with any show must be fully vaccinated, or present a request for exemption, stating the reasons. The Executive Director, in consultation with the director, will make the final decision on the selection or non-selection of any person who is not fully vaccinated.
Anyone who is interested in a technical role only (stage management, lights, sound, etc.) should send an email to [email protected] and include your background, if any. We welcome all volunteers!
Black Mountain Garden Sale
May 21 @ 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Black Mountain Town Square

Plants, plants, & more plants will be showcased at the Black Mountain Garden Sale on Friday, May 20, 4 -8pm and Saturday, May 21, 9am-4pm at the Town Square Parking Lot at the corner of E. State St. and Richardson Blvd.

Hosted by Black Mountain Beautification Committee the sale will feature annuals, herbs, native plants, perennials, shrubs, trees, and vegetable starts from specialty plant vendors. Plus garden décor including garden containers, wood carvings, and other special items.

The popular Clothesline Sale will have personal services for sale. Buy raffle tickets to take a chance to win plants. Proceeds help support the Seed Money Award and to keep the town beautiful!

More info at blackmountainbeautification.org. Let us help you create the garden of your dreams!

Black Mountain Tailgate Market
May 21 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Black Mountain Tailgate Market

Black Mountain Tailgate Market

COME CELEBRATE!

OPEN FROM MAY – NOVEMBER :: 9AM – NOON

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Our market is a seasonal Saturday morning community event featuring organic and sustainably grown produce, plants, cut flowers, herbs, locally raised meats, seafood, breads, pastries, cheeses, eggs and local arts and handcrafted items. A family event every Saturday from May through November.

Visit us on Facebook!

Buncombe County Seeks Community Member for Communications Steering Committee
May 21 @ 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
Online w/ Buncombe County Government

Buncombe County’s newly consolidated 911 Call Center is looking to complete membership of its Communications Steering Committee (CSC) with a community member at-large. As part of the agreement of the consolidation, the CSC will meet at least quarterly to review performance and compliance data and to consider and resolve questions, issues, and disputes relating to 911 call center operations.

The CSC membership includes:

  1. Buncombe County Director for 911 Communications
  2. Sheriff or designee
  3. Chief of Asheville Police Department or designee
  4. Asheville Fire Chief or designee
  5. Buncombe County Management designee
  6. A representative from among other municipalities’ law enforcement agencies dispatched through the 911 Call Center
  7. A representative from among other municipal and County fire departments dispatched through the 911 Call Center
  8. One community member at-large.

If you would like to be considered for the community member at-large position on the CSC, please answer the below questions and follow the instructions for submitting them.

Application Questions

Name:

Contact Information (phone and/or email):

1) Briefly, explain why you want to be a part of the Communications Steering Committee.

2) How will your life experience and unique perspective help us in regard to performance and compliance data and resolving questions, issues, and disputes relating to 911 call center operations? Please note if you are bilingual.

3) What do you consider the most pressing challenge for public safety communications (911)?

4) Where do you live?

  • Asheville City
  • South Buncombe (such as Arden/Avery’s Creek/Royal Pines)
  • North Buncombe (such as Woodfin/Weaverville/Barnardsville)
  • East Buncombe (such as Swannanoa/Black Mountain/Montreat)
  • West Buncombe (such as Candler/Leicester)

5) Have you lived in Buncombe County for 1 year or more? Yes or No

Submit your application questions by email or in person to Jennifer Aviles by May 31, 2022, to [email protected] or 200 College St., Third Floor, Asheville NC 28801. If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Aviles at (828) 250-4089.

The Brevard Project: Reimagining the Future of Orchestral Programming
May 21 @ 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
apply online

Dates: July 11 – 16, 2022
Application: Available now through MyBMC
Cost: A $600 fee covers all housing, meals, classes, materials, and concert tickets. Spots are limited and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Please note: Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required for all students, faculty, and summer staff for the 2022 season. Please see our FAQ page for more information.


Program Summary

Brevard Music Center (BMC) presents The Brevard Project: Reimagining the Future of Orchestral Programming, a six-day intensive seminar and think-tank on orchestral programming intended for professionals and influencers in the orchestral field. Presented by Brevard Music Center in partnership with Bard College, the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the South Dakota Symphony, the University of Michigan School of Music, and Project Director Joseph Horowitz, The Brevard Project takes place July 11-16, 2022. The central goals of The Brevard Project are to re-evaluate the artistic mission of the American orchestra and to share the skills needed to curate a more comprehensive, more inclusive American orchestral repertoire.


Curriculum

The Brevard Project: Reimagining the Future of Orchestral Programing complements Brevard Music Center’s week-long “Dvořák’s Prophecy” festival from July 11-16 and is inspired by Joseph Horowitz’s acclaimed new book Dvořák’s Prophecy and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music. Part think-tank, part seminar, this inaugural Project gathering equips practitioners and scholars alike to begin to answer questions about the dense nexus of culture and race, of historical, political, and moral reckonings surrounding the story of American orchestral music. The central goals of this program are to re-evaluate the artistic mission of the American orchestra and to share the skills needed to curate a more comprehensive, more inclusive American orchestral repertoire. The Brevard Project is designed for conductors, artistic administrators, executive directors, community engagement specialists, conservatory students, and engaged orchestra Board members.

Moving forward requires a fresh and closer look at our musical past – and to the lagging formation of an American symphonic canon. A new narrative of American classical music will be proposed that explores timely and topical issues that impact present and future orchestral programming. Why did our repertoire remain so stubbornly Eurocentric? What can we learn from this history? What can be mined from the treasure trove of long-hidden indigenous and Black music that can help to pave the future?

Classroom sessions will be highly interactive, drawing upon first-hand accounts of humanities-infused approaches to programming and community engagement. Topics of exploration include creating a “new paradigm” for American orchestral repertoire, rethinking the concert experience, and redefining the role of the music director. Participants will be challenged to envision programming and organizational initiatives to promote symphonic events grounded in the American experience, past and present.


The Faculty

A remarkable faculty has been assembled for this groundbreaking exercise.
*virtual participant

Joseph Horowitz, Project Director
Leon Botstein, President, Bard College; Music Director, American Symphony; Founder, Bard Festival and The Orchestra Now
Lorenzo Candelaria, Dean, Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University
Mark Clague, Music Historian, University of Michigan
JoAnn Falletta*, Music Director, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
Christopher Gibbs*, Music Historian, Bard Conservatory; Artistic Co-Director, Bard Festival
Delta David Gier, Music Director, South Dakota Symphony
Blake-Anthony Johnson, CEO, Chicago Sinfonietta
Keith Lockhart*, Artistic Director, Brevard Music Center
Douglas McLennan, Founder/Editor, ArtsJournal
Jason Posnock, Chief Artistic Officer, Brevard Music Center
Jesse Rosen, Former CEO, League of American Orchestras
Larry Tamburri, CEO, Newark School of the Arts (former CEO, Pittsburgh and New Jersey Symphonies)

The Performers

Lara Downes, Pianist, producer, arts advocate
Sidney Outlaw, Baritone/pedagogue, Ithaca College
George Shirley, Tenor/pedagogue, University of Michigan


Enrollment Information

Conductors, artistic administrators, executive directors, community engagement specialists, conservatory students, and Board members are all encouraged to apply for The Brevard Project.

Capacity is limited. A $600 fee covers all housing, meals, classes, materials, and concert tickets for the week. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Apply now through MyBMC.

Tours: Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site
May 21 @ 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
The Thomas Wolfe Memorial

Old Kentucky Home -The Thomas Wolfe Memorial

American Novelist Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938)

American Novelist Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938)

Considered by many to be one of the giants of 20th-century American literature, Thomas Wolfe immortalized his childhood home in his epic autobiographical novel, Look Homeward, Angel. Wolfe’s colorful portrayal of his family, his hometown of “Altamont” Asheville, North Carolina, and “Dixieland” the Old Kentucky Home boardinghouse, earned the Victorian period house a place as one of American literature’s most famous landmarks.

House tours are offered daily at half past each hour. Last tour leaves at 4:30 pm.
Group tours by reservation.

Adult – $5.00
Student (ages 7-17) – $2.00
Adult Group (10+) – $2.50 each
Student Group – $2.00 each
6 & under – Free

Hours of Operation

9:00am – 5:00pm
Tuesday – Saturday
Sunday & Monday: CLOSED
Closed State Holidays

ADULT CONTEMPORARY DANCE CLASS WITH STEWART/OWEN DANCE
May 21 @ 9:30 am – 10:45 am
Henry LaBrun Studio

Led by Stewart/Owen Dance Co-Directors, Vanessa Owen and Gavin Stewart, this open level adult contemporary dance class gradually awakens the body and senses through guided improvisation and a follow along warm-up, followed by foundational across-the-floor exercises and center-work combinations. All experience levels welcome!

In person: $10, pay at the door

Online: $7 suggested donation, contact [email protected] for class link and details.

About Stewart/Owen Dance: Gavin Stewart and Vanessa Owen, a husband and wife duo, are the co-directors of Western North Carolina based Stewart/Owen Dance. Their choreography has been presented by festivals and companies across the U.S., and their careers have most notably taken them around the globe on fifteen U.S. State Department tours to teach, perform and choreograph contemporary dance with Washington D.C. based Company E. In 2017 they made North Carolina their home base where they work towards building a sustainable community for professional dance artists to set roots. They have choreographed music videos for artists such as Moses Sumney, Sylvan Esso and Ben Phantom. Gavin and Vanessa won the Audience Choice Award at the NYC Dance Gallery Festival 2018, were commissioned as Dance Gallery 2019 Level UP Artists, are recipients of a McDowell Regional Artist Project Grant, a North Carolina Artist Support Grant and were voted “Artists Who Most Pushed the Boundaries with the Human Body” by 2020 Asheville Fringe Arts Festival. Since the pandemic, they have focused on producing COVID-conscious dance experiences for live audiences, including drive-up performances and a guided walk-along dance exhibit presented in residence with Asheville’s beloved Wortham Center for the Performing Arts.

Biltmore Blooms Tour
May 21 @ 9:30 am – 6:00 pm
Biltmore

April 1st through May 26th, 2022

Escape to Biltmore for a unique spring getaway. Immerse yourself in waves of color as Biltmore Blooms transforms our gardens and grounds. Savor complimentary wine tastings at our Winery. All this and more—an array of outdoor activities, shops, and restaurants, and of course, the timeless beauty of Biltmore House—is yours this spring at Biltmore.

Beautiful Mystery | Focus Gallery Exhibition
May 21 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Folk Art Center

Featured Artists: Judi Harwood (clay) Colin Richmond (clay) Cori Saraceni (mixed media) Lyn Lyndall (leather) Lauren Faulkenberry (paper)

Creating and Producing Livestreams
May 21 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
online w/ BLUE RIDGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

No cost due to sponsor support

This course introduces students to the world of live streaming. It details multiple platforms (Zoom, Skype, Ecamm, Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok, Instagram, and more) and the pros/cons of each in a live environment. An in depth analysis on how to maximize live streaming for business, social media, and educational content is provided. Students learn how to prepare content prior to going live and how to promote their live sessions. Live production protocols are discussed and explained. The value of repurposing live content for monetization is also a key element of this course.


Speaker(s): Chris Downey

Co-Sponsor(s): Henderson County Chamber of Commerce, Brevard/Transylvania Chamber of Commerce

Webinar info will be emailed after registration

Earth’s Gifts | Focus Gallery Exhibition
May 21 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Folk Art Center

purple patchwork lap quilt

Featured Artists: Jude Stuecker (fiber) Erica Bailey (jewelry) Mary Dashiell (clay) Steve Miller (wood) Rex Redd (clay)

Floralia
May 21 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
North Carolina Glass Center
Image for Floralia

Floralia

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From April 29 through June 20, 2022, North Carolina Glass Center will present Floralia, an exhibition to celebrate the birth of Spring. In ancient Rome, the celebration of Flora, the goddess of flowering plants, included games and festivities. Our seasonal show will capture the beauty of new beginnings with glass vessels, botanical sculpture and mixed media, all with a nature theme.

All displayed art is for sale. The purchase of art  from Floralia will support local artists and the nonprofit North Carolina Glass Center.

Open daily 10am-5pm. Closed Tuesdays. Free admission.

Haywood Community College’s Professional Crafts Program Graduate Exhibition
May 21 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Folk Art Center
Haywood Community College’s Professional Crafts Program Graduate Exhibition
May 21 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Folk Art Center
Kiwanis Club Sneaky Scavenger Race
May 21 @ 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Berkeley Mills Park in Hendersonville

he Kiwanis Club of Hendersonville invites the entire community to
participate in its 2nd Annual Sneaky Scavenger Race. Event registration goes live on
Friday, April 1 – no joke! This event is being held in conjunction with National
Scavenger Hunt Day on Saturday, May 21, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Berkeley
Mills Park in Hendersonville. Proceeds from the event will benefit the club’s Shoes and
Socks program for Henderson County youth.
Participants will engage in outdoor activities that are designed to be interactive and fun,
while challenging both the body and mind, much like traditional ‘field day’ activities.
Registration is open to teams of four, children ages 5 and up and adults. Snacks and
beverages will be provided throughout the event, and an awards ceremony will take
place around 2 p.m.
Event registration is $35 per team. For additional details and to register, please visit
https://www.hendersonvillekiwanis.org.
All proceeds from the Sneaky Scavenger Race support the Shoes & Socks program, a
Kiwanis managed program that provides shoes and socks to underprivileged students
identified by their teachers in the Henderson County school system. The program has
provided more than 5,600 pairs of shoes since its inception in 1955

Meet the Eastern Box Turtle
May 21 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
The North Carolina Arboretum

Box turtles are familiar to just about anyone who spends time outdoors, but many people are unaware of their ongoing decline in the wild. In this class, students will learn all about box turtles, including their feeding, nesting and breeding habits, legal status, threats to their survival, and how they fit into the ecological community of woodland wildlife. Naturalist Carlton Burke introduces some of these gentle reptiles, and we learn what can be done to ensure their continued well-being in the wild.

Saluda Arts Festival
May 21 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Downtown Saluda

After a two-year hiatus, the Saluda Arts Festival returns to Saluda’s historic downtown, the event will feature approximately 85 artists from the Carolinas and Tennessee, children’s’ activities, and live music on Main Street in downtown Saluda

 

 

 

Saturday Seminar: Composting
May 21 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
NC Cooperative Extension , Buncombe County Center

Saturday Seminar: Composting

Presenter: Dave Bush, Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteer

Seventy percent of the material going to landfills is organic and most of that is kitchen and yard waste that can be composted at home and returned to your soil. Join this “in the garden” program to learn to compost with a multi-bin system: what to use and what not to use, how to mix it, how to monitor the pile, when is it ready, and how to use the finished product.

Registration: The talk is free, but seating is limited and registration is required. Please click on the link below to register. If you encounter problems registering or if you have questions, call 828-255-5522.

SETH CLARK SOLO EXHIBITION
May 21 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Momentum Gallery

Seth Clark, Factory

“My work focuses on deteriorating architecture. These structures, designed to be huge forces of permanence, are continually being challenged, destroyed and forgotten. I see an inherent honesty in the face of my subject. Among all of the clutter—the shards of wood and layers of rubble—there remains a gentle resolve. As I work, I study these structures incessantly. The buildings, often on the brink of ruin, have something very energized and present trying to escape from their fragmented reality.”  –Seth Clark

This first solo show of Seth’s work at Momentum’s new space features large-scale works from his BarnGhost, and Aerial View Series.  The collection also includes some of the artist’s sculptural objects in wood.  Abstract works, which still reference weathered architecture, such as Lath Study and Vinyl Study, round out the exhibition.

The Learning Garden – Saturday Seminar Presents: COMPOSTING
May 21 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Buncombe County Extension Office

Seventy percent of the material going to landfills is organic and most of that is kitchen and yard waste that can be composted at home and returned to your soil. Join this “in the garden” program to learn to compost with a multi-bin system: what to use and what not to use, how to mix it, how to monitor the pile, when is it ready, and how to use the finished product.

In-person event. The talk is free, but attendance is limited and registration is required.
https://www.buncombemastergardener.org/upcoming-events/

TOMMY SIMPSON SOLO EXHIBITION
May 21 @ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Momentum Gallery

Simpson is an imaginist who has worked in nearly every medium, including woodworking, painting, printmaking, ceramics, bookmaking, jewelry, and writing. Whether it’s a painting or sculptural object, in each of Simpson’s works there is an identifiable style that puzzles together the artist’s personal and cultural references into a signature blend of joyfulness and subtle commentary. On describing Simpson’s sensibility, Karen S. Chambers comments, “It’s whimsical and wry, naive yet saavy, inteligent but not cerebral.”  Edward S. Cooke, Jr. (Yale University) wrote, “Simpson is simply a maker who deftly blends utility, memory, irony, and spirituality in his accomplishments. Fundemental to his life has been a conviction that ‘art can be meaningful and still give joy.’ He makes faciful, whimsical objects that incorporate verbal and visual puns and probe the meanings of cultural icons, but undertakes such commentary wthin comfortable settings. His works possess an engaging tension that employs friendly humor or familiar details and conventions to inspire long-lasting thoughtfulness.”

The collection presented at Momentum spans the past 30 years, and focuses on Simpson’s sculptural furniture including cabinets, clocks, and benches, paintings, whimsical wood sculptures, pottery, and works on paper.  Tommy Simpson’s work is included in numerous public collections including the Renwick Gallery and the American Art Museum at the Smithsonian Institute, DC; and the Museum of Art and Design, NY.  

Volunteer with Flat Rock Playhouse
May 21 @ 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
Flat Rock Playhouse
Flat Rock Playhouse Supporting
            Players

Flat Rock Playhouse believes in the power of collaboration, community, and connection. Over the years, volunteers have made it possible for our production seasons to thrive and grow.

Volunteers are deeply valued team members that support the arts at Flat Rock Playhouse on a powerful and poignant level by:

Maintaining and developing our beautiful gardens and grounds

Welcoming or sending off actors at the airport

Guiding guests and supporting FRP staff members as parkers

Preparing food for college-age apprentices

Attending to patrons as ushers at each performance

As we return to a full season of live productions, we want YOU to be a part of the magic.

Volunteers support the arts at Flat Rock Playhouse through gifts of time and resources, and they have the incredible opportunity to peek behind-the-scenes, learn more about how our hand-crafted productions come together, and connect with artists, staff members, and fellow volunteers. We hope you’ll join the team at Flat Rock Playhouse this season as a part of our volunteer community, Supporting Players!

Know someone who might be interested? Feel free to forward this email to your friends and family!

To learn more about how to get involved, visit our website or contact us at [email protected].

Western North Carolina Quilt Guild’s Garden of Quilts Show
May 21 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Bonclarken Conference Center-- Youth Activities Building

The Western North Carolina Quilters’ Guild, entering its 40th year of proudly promoting the art of quilting in 2022, will present a juried quilt show entitled “A Garden of Quilts” for two days, May 20-21, 2022. This exciting show will not only display fantastic award deserving quilts, but also a special exhibit of Quilts of Valor, docent tours, arts and crafts vendors, raffle baskets, used book sale, and a boutique of handmade quilted items for sale to the public made by members. The drawing for the Guild’s raffle quilt, “Mist On the Blue Ridge” will be held on Saturday, May 21 at 4 p.m. The winning ticket holder does not have to be present to win. Tickets are available through guild members and at the quilt show. Drawings for the raffle baskets will be held afterward. Some of the proceeds from the show benefit educational programs along with scholarship money for local students in fiber arts. Admission is $5 with free regular and handicap parking. Wheel chairs and walkers are welcome. Bus tours welcome. Visit www.westernncquilters.org for more information and see our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/GardenofQuiltsShow, for updates as plans evolve.

A Hand in Studio Craft: Harvey K. Littleton as Peer and Pioneer Exhibition
May 21 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

Harvey K. Littleton, Amber Maze, 1968, blown glass, 8 3/4 × 10 1/2 × 6 inches. Asheville Art Museum. © Estate of Harvey K. Littleton.
Asheville, N.C.A Hand in Studio Craft: Harvey K. Littleton as Peer and Pioneer highlights recent gifts to the Asheville Art Museum’s Collection and loans from the family of glass artist Harvey K. Littleton. This exhibition places Harvey and Bess Littleton’s collection into the context of their lives, as they moved around the United States, connected with other artists, and developed their own work. This exhibition—organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Whitney Richardson, associate curator—will be on view in the Judith S. Moore Gallery at the Museum from January 19 through June 27, 2022.

Harvey K. Littleton (Corning, NY 1922–2013 Spruce Pine, NC) founded the Studio Glass Movement in the United States in 1962 when, as a teacher, he instituted a glass art program at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, the first of its kind in the United States. He taught the next generation of glass artists—who taught the next—and his influence can still be seen today. But before he dedicated himself to the medium of glass, Littleton studied industrial design, ceramics, and metalwork at the University of Michigan and the Cranbrook Academy of Art in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He met his wife Bess Tamura Littleton, a painting student, at the University of Michigan. Over the course of their careers, Harvey and Bess collected artwork by their fellow artists and amassed an impressive collection from the early days of the Studio Glass Movement and the height of the American mid-century Studio Pottery Movement.

“This exhibition offers the viewer an exciting opportunity to see some of Harvey K. Littleton’s early work in ceramic and metal—directly from his family’s collection—before he began making art in glass,” says Whitney Richardson, associate curator. “Best known for his glassworks, those will be on display alongside the work of his students and his peers making clear the influence he had on them and the Studio Glass Movement.” 

Enjoy a Complimentary Dessert in May
May 21 @ 11:00 am – 11:00 pm
Brixx Wood Fired Pizza

During the month of May, buy one entrée and get a free dessert at Brixx Wood Fired Pizza in Biltmore Park. Mention that you saw this offer in the Town Square Reminder email newsletter and enjoy warm, friendly service over scratch made wood fired fare either in the dining room or on the spacious patio.

Brixx Biltmore Park

Gillian Laub’s Southern Rites Exhibit
May 21 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum
Gillian Laub, Amber and Reggie, Mount Vernon, Georgia, 2011, inkjet print, 40 × 50 inches. © Gillian Laub, courtesy of Benrubi Gallery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

American photographer Gillian Laub (born New York, 1975) has spent the last two decades investigating political conflicts, exploring family relationships, and challenging assumptions about cultural identity. In Southern Rites, Laub engages her skills as a photographer, filmmaker, and visual activist to examine the realities of racism and raise questions that are simultaneously painful and essential to understanding the American consciousness.

In 2002, Laub was sent on a magazine assignment to Mount Vernon, GA, to document the lives of teenagers in the American South. The town, nestled among fields of Vidalia onions, symbolized the archetype of pastoral, small town American life. The Montgomery County residents Laub encountered were warm, polite, protective of their neighbors, and proud of their history. Yet Laub learned that the joyful adolescent rites of passage celebrated in this rural countryside—high school homecomings and proms—were still racially segregated.

Laub continued to photograph Montgomery County over the following decade, returning even in the face of growing—and eventually violent—resistance from community members and local law enforcement. She documented a town held hostage by the racial tensions and inequities that scar much of the nation’s history. In 2009, a few months after Barack Obama’s first inauguration, Laub’s photographs of segregated proms were published in the New York Times Magazine. The story brought national attention to the town and the following year the proms were finally integrated. The power of her photographic images served as the catalyst and, for a moment, progress seemed inevitable.

Then, in early 2011, tragedy struck the town. Justin Patterson, a twenty-two-year-old unarmed African American man—whose segregated high school homecoming Laub had photographed—was shot and killed by a sixty-two-year-old white man. Laub’s project, which began as an exploration of segregated high school rituals, evolved into an urgent mandate to confront the painful realities of discrimination and structural racism. Laub continued to document the town over the following decade, during which the country re-elected its first African American president and the ubiquity of camera phones gave rise to citizen journalism exposing racially motivated violence. As the Black Lives Matter movement and national protests proliferated, Laub uncovered a complex story about adolescence, race, the legacy of slavery, and the deeply rooted practice of segregation in the American South.

Southern Rites is a specific story about 21st century young people in the American South, yet it poses a universal question about human experience: can a new generation liberate itself from a harrowing and traumatic past to create a different future?

Southern Rites is curated by Maya Benton and organized by the International Center of Photography.

Goat Yoga at the Breweries
May 21 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Whistle Hop Brewing Company

Goats+yoga+nature+beer=SO MUCH FUN!

Come join us as we breathe, move, play and drink beer. What better way to enjoy Asheville than goat yoga at the breweries? After an hour of yoga and pictures, take your token and wander into the brewery for a free beer of your choice. Lots of options for people under 21 or those choosing not to drink alcohol!

In Living Color: At Home with Paint, Paper, and Thread
May 21 @ 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Marquee Asheville D11

Image for In Living Color: At Home with Paint, Paper, and Thread

Brighten your walls with with works from Artsville Collective’s upcoming exhibition, “In Living Color: At Home with Paint, Paper and Thread.”  Allow these abstract pieces, in varying sizes and mediums, to light up your life. Collectively, the artwork’s tonal range is of blended neutrals and ventures into spring and fall palettes. Suit your design pleasures with pure color or wabi-sabi textural designs in a range of perspectives from three uniquely talented artists: Betsy Meyer, fibers; Karen Stastny, painting, and Michelle Wise, mixed media. Also showing: the Retro pop art of Daryl Slaton, which can be activated on your phone to reveal an animated story. For a softer approach, consider the mixed media art of Louise Glickman using paint, textiles, and natural plant materials.