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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.

Sunday, January 19, 2020
Improving Farm Communications
Jan 19 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy Community Farm

Effective communication is essential, and can be transformative for your farm operation. In this two day long interactive workshop, Improving Farm Communication, participants will address real life situations to learn about communication styles, ways to have better conversations, and have a chance to practice new skills. In this workshop we will cover the basics of Nonviolent Communication (NVC), aka, Compassionate Communication, and how it can be applied to your personal as well as your farm life and business. On-farm communication is critical for farm viability, and is one of the most common sources of conflict and frustration for farmers, family members, business partners, employees, and customers.

NVC has been used around the world for decades in all areas of people’s lives and has one of the most proven track records for reducing conflict and creating teamwork, increasing efficiency, and boosting morale.

By using examples from participants’ lives we will create a highly interactive learning environment and learn skills that can be immediately applied to your home and work life.

 

Come if you:

  1. Are part of a farm family or farm team
  2. See the benefit of improved communication skills
  3. Would like to have conversations that aren’t so awkward
  4. Are ready to tackle difficult conversations
  5. Find the stress of farm life difficult to express to others
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.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Asheville Restaurant Week: Jan. 21 – 26
Jan 21 all-day
City of Asheville

 

Enjoy the tastiest cuisine of the city during Asheville Restaurant Week, presented by the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, January 21-26, 2020! Participating restaurants will provide special menus or pricing. Click here for a full list of special pricing and participating restaurant menus. During Asheville Restaurant Week, you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant that doesn’t embrace the key tenets of farm-to-table dining. Asheville is home to more than 250 independent restaurants, 20 regional tailgate markets and a growing number of craft breweries. Their commitment to using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, has earned Asheville the designation as one of the top ten food and wine destinations in the United States. This is one week not to miss!

Celebrating our Culinary Community

During Asheville Restaurant Week, you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant that doesn’t embrace the key tenets of farm-to-table dining. Asheville is home to nearly 250 independent restaurants, 20 regional tailgate markets and a growing number of craft breweries. Our commitment to using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, has earned Asheville the designation as one of the top ten food and wine destinations in the United States.

 

Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Asheville Restaurant Week: Jan. 21 – 26
Jan 22 all-day
City of Asheville

 

Enjoy the tastiest cuisine of the city during Asheville Restaurant Week, presented by the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, January 21-26, 2020! Participating restaurants will provide special menus or pricing. Click here for a full list of special pricing and participating restaurant menus. During Asheville Restaurant Week, you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant that doesn’t embrace the key tenets of farm-to-table dining. Asheville is home to more than 250 independent restaurants, 20 regional tailgate markets and a growing number of craft breweries. Their commitment to using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, has earned Asheville the designation as one of the top ten food and wine destinations in the United States. This is one week not to miss!

Celebrating our Culinary Community

During Asheville Restaurant Week, you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant that doesn’t embrace the key tenets of farm-to-table dining. Asheville is home to nearly 250 independent restaurants, 20 regional tailgate markets and a growing number of craft breweries. Our commitment to using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, has earned Asheville the designation as one of the top ten food and wine destinations in the United States.

 

Thursday, January 23, 2020
Asheville Restaurant Week: Jan. 21 – 26
Jan 23 all-day
City of Asheville

 

Enjoy the tastiest cuisine of the city during Asheville Restaurant Week, presented by the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, January 21-26, 2020! Participating restaurants will provide special menus or pricing. Click here for a full list of special pricing and participating restaurant menus. During Asheville Restaurant Week, you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant that doesn’t embrace the key tenets of farm-to-table dining. Asheville is home to more than 250 independent restaurants, 20 regional tailgate markets and a growing number of craft breweries. Their commitment to using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, has earned Asheville the designation as one of the top ten food and wine destinations in the United States. This is one week not to miss!

Celebrating our Culinary Community

During Asheville Restaurant Week, you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant that doesn’t embrace the key tenets of farm-to-table dining. Asheville is home to nearly 250 independent restaurants, 20 regional tailgate markets and a growing number of craft breweries. Our commitment to using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, has earned Asheville the designation as one of the top ten food and wine destinations in the United States.

 

Thirsty Thursday
Jan 23 @ 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Margaret and Maxwell

Every Thursday through March, enjoy a 5oz glass of wine for half-price.

A great way to discover a new wine for the new year.

Cheers and hope to see you soon!

Le Vine Nior/Le Beir Noir (Tasting in the DARK!)
Jan 23 @ 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Conundrum

WHAT IT IS… An experience unlike anything you have ever dreamed imaginable. Your host will engage your mind with charm and wit, and immerse your heightened senses of taste, smell, hearing and touch, while you sip five types of wine in complete darkness. Wine pours are paired with tasteful snacks, one liners, and hilarious hijinks. OR our beer tasting experience will take you on a journey of humor, tasting of five local beers, fun beer-friendly pairing, sight deprivation and enhancement of all remaining senses. The lights will be off, and this is not considered a meal. Designed for adults only, 21 and up. 50-60 minutes.

Fermented Pairings Series AVL: The Secrets of Homemade Pizza II
Jan 23 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
White Labs Kitchen & Tap
Le Vine Nior/Le Beir Noir (Tasting in the DARK!)
Jan 23 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Conundrum

WHAT IT IS… An experience unlike anything you have ever dreamed imaginable. Your host will engage your mind with charm and wit, and immerse your heightened senses of taste, smell, hearing and touch, while you sip five types of wine in complete darkness. Wine pours are paired with tasteful snacks, one liners, and hilarious hijinks. OR our beer tasting experience will take you on a journey of humor, tasting of five local beers, fun beer-friendly pairing, sight deprivation and enhancement of all remaining senses. The lights will be off, and this is not considered a meal. Designed for adults only, 21 and up. 50-60 minutes.

Friday, January 24, 2020
Asheville Restaurant Week: Jan. 21 – 26
Jan 24 all-day
City of Asheville

 

Enjoy the tastiest cuisine of the city during Asheville Restaurant Week, presented by the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, January 21-26, 2020! Participating restaurants will provide special menus or pricing. Click here for a full list of special pricing and participating restaurant menus. During Asheville Restaurant Week, you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant that doesn’t embrace the key tenets of farm-to-table dining. Asheville is home to more than 250 independent restaurants, 20 regional tailgate markets and a growing number of craft breweries. Their commitment to using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, has earned Asheville the designation as one of the top ten food and wine destinations in the United States. This is one week not to miss!

Celebrating our Culinary Community

During Asheville Restaurant Week, you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant that doesn’t embrace the key tenets of farm-to-table dining. Asheville is home to nearly 250 independent restaurants, 20 regional tailgate markets and a growing number of craft breweries. Our commitment to using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, has earned Asheville the designation as one of the top ten food and wine destinations in the United States.

 

Organic Growers School 27th Annual Spring Conference, March 6–8
Jan 24 all-day
Mars Hill University

The 27th Annual Spring Conference—for farmers, gardeners, homesteaders, and sustainability seekers—is hosted by Organic Growers School (OGS), an Asheville-based non-profit organization. The conference takes place Friday–Sunday, March 6–8, 2020. The weekend event takes place at Mars Hill University in Mars Hill and the pre-conference events are in Buncombe and Henderson Counties.

Cost for  the pre-conference workshops are $60 with conference registration (Saturday, Sunday, or both) and $75 without. Cost for the weekend conference if registered by January 31, 2020 is $65 for Saturday and $80 for Sunday with the full weekend for $110.  For registration  after January 31, the cost of Saturday is $80, Sunday is $70 and the full weekend is $140.

The Spring Conference offers practical, region-specific workshops on farming, gardening, permaculture, urban growing, and rural living and includes a trade show, a seed exchange, special guest speakers, and a Saturday evening social.

More than 150 classes—both 90-minute sessions and half-day workshops—are offered on Saturday and Sunday in 17 learning tracks:

  1. Community Food

  2. Cooking

  3. Earth Skills

  4. Farmers: Beginning

  5. Farmers: Experienced

  6. Gardening: Beginning

  7. Gardening: Experienced

  8. Herbs

  9. Homesteading

  10. Livestock

  11. Mushrooms

  12. Permaculture

  13. Poultry

  14. Soils

  15. Sustainable Forestry

  16. Sustainable Living

  17. Thinking Big

This one-of-a-kind event brings people of all walks of life together for a weekend of learning, inspiration, and networking and features a host of local and regional experts. The mission of the Spring Conference is to provide down-to-earth advice on growing and sustainable living while remaining affordable and accessible. The Spring Conference is the largest locally run sustainability conference in the Southeast and is proudly focused on regionally appropriate growing methods.

Three full-day, on-farm, pre-conference workshops with special guest instructors are available on Friday, March 6, 2020 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. They are:

  1. Mushroom Cultivation at the Farm & Home with William Padilla-Brown & Leif Olson at Creekside Farms Education Center in Arden, NC.

  2. Healing Our Soils through Compost, and Compost Tea: Safe & Natural Fertilizers with Troy Hinke at Living Web Farms in Mills River, NC

  3. Chickens & You: From Egg to Table with Pat Foreman & Meagan Coneybeer at Franny’s Farm in Leicester, NC.

The conference will also host an evening lecture on Friday, March 6, 2020 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with Leah Penniman entitled, Farming While Black: African Diasporic Wisdom for Farming & Food Justice. The location for this event is the Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Center, 285 Livingston St, Asheville, NC 28801.

The Spring Conference features a trade show on Saturday and Sunday that showcases a wide array of exhibitors and products from local farms, gardening suppliers, and cottage industries that specialize in organic products and resources. Also featured on Saturday and Sunday is the annual Seed and Plant Exchange booth which offers the opportunity to preserve genetic diversity and protect regionally adapted varieties. Attendees may bring excess seeds and small plants to share, barter, or trade.

For more information, visit the website at https://organicgrowersschool.org/conferences/spring/ and see the entire weekend schedule at https://organicgrowersschool.org/conferences/spring/schedule/.

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.

Le Vine Nior/Le Beir Noir (Tasting in the DARK!)
Jan 24 @ 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Conundrum

WHAT IT IS… An experience unlike anything you have ever dreamed imaginable. Your host will engage your mind with charm and wit, and immerse your heightened senses of taste, smell, hearing and touch, while you sip five types of wine in complete darkness. Wine pours are paired with tasteful snacks, one liners, and hilarious hijinks. OR our beer tasting experience will take you on a journey of humor, tasting of five local beers, fun beer-friendly pairing, sight deprivation and enhancement of all remaining senses. The lights will be off, and this is not considered a meal. Designed for adults only, 21 and up. 50-60 minutes.

Le Vine Nior/Le Beir Noir (Tasting in the DARK!)
Jan 24 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Conundrum

WHAT IT IS… An experience unlike anything you have ever dreamed imaginable. Your host will engage your mind with charm and wit, and immerse your heightened senses of taste, smell, hearing and touch, while you sip five types of wine in complete darkness. Wine pours are paired with tasteful snacks, one liners, and hilarious hijinks. OR our beer tasting experience will take you on a journey of humor, tasting of five local beers, fun beer-friendly pairing, sight deprivation and enhancement of all remaining senses. The lights will be off, and this is not considered a meal. Designed for adults only, 21 and up. 50-60 minutes.

Saturday, January 25, 2020
Asheville Restaurant Week: Jan. 21 – 26
Jan 25 all-day
City of Asheville

 

Enjoy the tastiest cuisine of the city during Asheville Restaurant Week, presented by the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, January 21-26, 2020! Participating restaurants will provide special menus or pricing. Click here for a full list of special pricing and participating restaurant menus. During Asheville Restaurant Week, you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant that doesn’t embrace the key tenets of farm-to-table dining. Asheville is home to more than 250 independent restaurants, 20 regional tailgate markets and a growing number of craft breweries. Their commitment to using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, has earned Asheville the designation as one of the top ten food and wine destinations in the United States. This is one week not to miss!

Celebrating our Culinary Community

During Asheville Restaurant Week, you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant that doesn’t embrace the key tenets of farm-to-table dining. Asheville is home to nearly 250 independent restaurants, 20 regional tailgate markets and a growing number of craft breweries. Our commitment to using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, has earned Asheville the designation as one of the top ten food and wine destinations in the United States.

 

Dunkin’s Beyond Bash
Jan 25 all-day
Participating Dunkin' Donuts Locations

Dunkin’ is inviting America to its Beyond Bash on Friday, January 24 and Saturday, January 25. Guests at participating Dunkin’ U.S. restaurants can enjoy a free sample of the Beyond Sausage Sandwich, served from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. each day while supplies last.

Organic Growers School 27th Annual Spring Conference, March 6–8
Jan 25 all-day
Mars Hill University

The 27th Annual Spring Conference—for farmers, gardeners, homesteaders, and sustainability seekers—is hosted by Organic Growers School (OGS), an Asheville-based non-profit organization. The conference takes place Friday–Sunday, March 6–8, 2020. The weekend event takes place at Mars Hill University in Mars Hill and the pre-conference events are in Buncombe and Henderson Counties.

Cost for  the pre-conference workshops are $60 with conference registration (Saturday, Sunday, or both) and $75 without. Cost for the weekend conference if registered by January 31, 2020 is $65 for Saturday and $80 for Sunday with the full weekend for $110.  For registration  after January 31, the cost of Saturday is $80, Sunday is $70 and the full weekend is $140.

The Spring Conference offers practical, region-specific workshops on farming, gardening, permaculture, urban growing, and rural living and includes a trade show, a seed exchange, special guest speakers, and a Saturday evening social.

More than 150 classes—both 90-minute sessions and half-day workshops—are offered on Saturday and Sunday in 17 learning tracks:

  1. Community Food

  2. Cooking

  3. Earth Skills

  4. Farmers: Beginning

  5. Farmers: Experienced

  6. Gardening: Beginning

  7. Gardening: Experienced

  8. Herbs

  9. Homesteading

  10. Livestock

  11. Mushrooms

  12. Permaculture

  13. Poultry

  14. Soils

  15. Sustainable Forestry

  16. Sustainable Living

  17. Thinking Big

This one-of-a-kind event brings people of all walks of life together for a weekend of learning, inspiration, and networking and features a host of local and regional experts. The mission of the Spring Conference is to provide down-to-earth advice on growing and sustainable living while remaining affordable and accessible. The Spring Conference is the largest locally run sustainability conference in the Southeast and is proudly focused on regionally appropriate growing methods.

Three full-day, on-farm, pre-conference workshops with special guest instructors are available on Friday, March 6, 2020 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. They are:

  1. Mushroom Cultivation at the Farm & Home with William Padilla-Brown & Leif Olson at Creekside Farms Education Center in Arden, NC.

  2. Healing Our Soils through Compost, and Compost Tea: Safe & Natural Fertilizers with Troy Hinke at Living Web Farms in Mills River, NC

  3. Chickens & You: From Egg to Table with Pat Foreman & Meagan Coneybeer at Franny’s Farm in Leicester, NC.

The conference will also host an evening lecture on Friday, March 6, 2020 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with Leah Penniman entitled, Farming While Black: African Diasporic Wisdom for Farming & Food Justice. The location for this event is the Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Center, 285 Livingston St, Asheville, NC 28801.

The Spring Conference features a trade show on Saturday and Sunday that showcases a wide array of exhibitors and products from local farms, gardening suppliers, and cottage industries that specialize in organic products and resources. Also featured on Saturday and Sunday is the annual Seed and Plant Exchange booth which offers the opportunity to preserve genetic diversity and protect regionally adapted varieties. Attendees may bring excess seeds and small plants to share, barter, or trade.

For more information, visit the website at https://organicgrowersschool.org/conferences/spring/ and see the entire weekend schedule at https://organicgrowersschool.org/conferences/spring/schedule/.

Registration OPEN: 27th Annual Organic Growers School Spring Conference
Jan 25 all-day
Mars Hill University

Get the Early Registration Discount!

Early-registration prices for the 2020 Spring Conference are available through Friday, January 31, 2020.
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.

Le Vine Nior/Le Beir Noir (Tasting in the DARK!)
Jan 25 @ 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Conundrum

WHAT IT IS… An experience unlike anything you have ever dreamed imaginable. Your host will engage your mind with charm and wit, and immerse your heightened senses of taste, smell, hearing and touch, while you sip five types of wine in complete darkness. Wine pours are paired with tasteful snacks, one liners, and hilarious hijinks. OR our beer tasting experience will take you on a journey of humor, tasting of five local beers, fun beer-friendly pairing, sight deprivation and enhancement of all remaining senses. The lights will be off, and this is not considered a meal. Designed for adults only, 21 and up. 50-60 minutes.

Asheville Sister Cities Burns Night Supper
Jan 25 @ 5:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Country Club of Asheville

A Robert Burns 261st Birthday Celebration Dinner will be held on Saturday, January 25, 2020, at the Country Club of Asheville. The event is sponsored by the Dunkeld and Birnam Committee of Asheville Sister Cities, Inc. (a 501c3 non-profit) which will benefit from the net proceeds of the dinner, optional whisky tasting, and charity raffle & auction.
A formal Robert Burns Dinner Ceremony beginning at 5:30 pm will include a three course meal with Haggis, a piper, poets, dancers and other entertainment. Scottish attire is recommended. Cocktails and other refreshments will be available from a credit card bar. An optional Scotch Whisky Blind Tasting of five single malts will be conducted with a $50 entry fee. Guests may also buy raffle tickets for an assortment of Scottish themed gifts and bid on auction items.
Tickets for the dinner ($100 per person) may be purchased on Eventbrite.com, downloading a registration form from ashevillesistercities.org/burns/, or by sending a check payable to the Asheville Sister Cities, Inc. to 994 Clovertop Lane, Arden, NC 28704. You will receive a follow up letter with additional information.

Game Night at the Achetype
Jan 25 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Achetype

Enjoy Your Life GAME NIGHT at the ARCHETYPE
Come join us for a Game Night! Bring your favorite game (board game, cards, dominoes, etc.) and your favorite snack. There are also restaurants nearby where you can purchase food and bring it over.

Le Vine Nior/Le Beir Noir (Tasting in the DARK!)
Jan 25 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Conundrum

WHAT IT IS… An experience unlike anything you have ever dreamed imaginable. Your host will engage your mind with charm and wit, and immerse your heightened senses of taste, smell, hearing and touch, while you sip five types of wine in complete darkness. Wine pours are paired with tasteful snacks, one liners, and hilarious hijinks. OR our beer tasting experience will take you on a journey of humor, tasting of five local beers, fun beer-friendly pairing, sight deprivation and enhancement of all remaining senses. The lights will be off, and this is not considered a meal. Designed for adults only, 21 and up. 50-60 minutes.

Sunday, January 26, 2020
Asheville Restaurant Week: Jan. 21 – 26
Jan 26 all-day
City of Asheville

 

Enjoy the tastiest cuisine of the city during Asheville Restaurant Week, presented by the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, January 21-26, 2020! Participating restaurants will provide special menus or pricing. Click here for a full list of special pricing and participating restaurant menus. During Asheville Restaurant Week, you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant that doesn’t embrace the key tenets of farm-to-table dining. Asheville is home to more than 250 independent restaurants, 20 regional tailgate markets and a growing number of craft breweries. Their commitment to using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, has earned Asheville the designation as one of the top ten food and wine destinations in the United States. This is one week not to miss!

Celebrating our Culinary Community

During Asheville Restaurant Week, you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant that doesn’t embrace the key tenets of farm-to-table dining. Asheville is home to nearly 250 independent restaurants, 20 regional tailgate markets and a growing number of craft breweries. Our commitment to using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, has earned Asheville the designation as one of the top ten food and wine destinations in the United States.

 

Organic Growers School 27th Annual Spring Conference, March 6–8
Jan 26 all-day
Mars Hill University

The 27th Annual Spring Conference—for farmers, gardeners, homesteaders, and sustainability seekers—is hosted by Organic Growers School (OGS), an Asheville-based non-profit organization. The conference takes place Friday–Sunday, March 6–8, 2020. The weekend event takes place at Mars Hill University in Mars Hill and the pre-conference events are in Buncombe and Henderson Counties.

Cost for  the pre-conference workshops are $60 with conference registration (Saturday, Sunday, or both) and $75 without. Cost for the weekend conference if registered by January 31, 2020 is $65 for Saturday and $80 for Sunday with the full weekend for $110.  For registration  after January 31, the cost of Saturday is $80, Sunday is $70 and the full weekend is $140.

The Spring Conference offers practical, region-specific workshops on farming, gardening, permaculture, urban growing, and rural living and includes a trade show, a seed exchange, special guest speakers, and a Saturday evening social.

More than 150 classes—both 90-minute sessions and half-day workshops—are offered on Saturday and Sunday in 17 learning tracks:

  1. Community Food

  2. Cooking

  3. Earth Skills

  4. Farmers: Beginning

  5. Farmers: Experienced

  6. Gardening: Beginning

  7. Gardening: Experienced

  8. Herbs

  9. Homesteading

  10. Livestock

  11. Mushrooms

  12. Permaculture

  13. Poultry

  14. Soils

  15. Sustainable Forestry

  16. Sustainable Living

  17. Thinking Big

This one-of-a-kind event brings people of all walks of life together for a weekend of learning, inspiration, and networking and features a host of local and regional experts. The mission of the Spring Conference is to provide down-to-earth advice on growing and sustainable living while remaining affordable and accessible. The Spring Conference is the largest locally run sustainability conference in the Southeast and is proudly focused on regionally appropriate growing methods.

Three full-day, on-farm, pre-conference workshops with special guest instructors are available on Friday, March 6, 2020 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. They are:

  1. Mushroom Cultivation at the Farm & Home with William Padilla-Brown & Leif Olson at Creekside Farms Education Center in Arden, NC.

  2. Healing Our Soils through Compost, and Compost Tea: Safe & Natural Fertilizers with Troy Hinke at Living Web Farms in Mills River, NC

  3. Chickens & You: From Egg to Table with Pat Foreman & Meagan Coneybeer at Franny’s Farm in Leicester, NC.

The conference will also host an evening lecture on Friday, March 6, 2020 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with Leah Penniman entitled, Farming While Black: African Diasporic Wisdom for Farming & Food Justice. The location for this event is the Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Center, 285 Livingston St, Asheville, NC 28801.

The Spring Conference features a trade show on Saturday and Sunday that showcases a wide array of exhibitors and products from local farms, gardening suppliers, and cottage industries that specialize in organic products and resources. Also featured on Saturday and Sunday is the annual Seed and Plant Exchange booth which offers the opportunity to preserve genetic diversity and protect regionally adapted varieties. Attendees may bring excess seeds and small plants to share, barter, or trade.

For more information, visit the website at https://organicgrowersschool.org/conferences/spring/ and see the entire weekend schedule at https://organicgrowersschool.org/conferences/spring/schedule/.

Registration OPEN: 27th Annual Organic Growers School Spring Conference
Jan 26 all-day
Mars Hill University

Get the Early Registration Discount!

Early-registration prices for the 2020 Spring Conference are available through Friday, January 31, 2020.
Meet Up Game Day! @ Earthfare – Westgate
Jan 26 @ 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Earthfare - Westgate

Bring games, friends, eat, drink, hang out, and of course- battle to the death!

…or whatever your objective is.

Plenty of space, plenty of games – get the word out to all of your gaming friends. Games below! Feel free to request any you would like to play

Le Vine Nior/Le Beir Noir (Tasting in the DARK!)
Jan 26 @ 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Conundrum

WHAT IT IS… An experience unlike anything you have ever dreamed imaginable. Your host will engage your mind with charm and wit, and immerse your heightened senses of taste, smell, hearing and touch, while you sip five types of wine in complete darkness. Wine pours are paired with tasteful snacks, one liners, and hilarious hijinks. OR our beer tasting experience will take you on a journey of humor, tasting of five local beers, fun beer-friendly pairing, sight deprivation and enhancement of all remaining senses. The lights will be off, and this is not considered a meal. Designed for adults only, 21 and up. 50-60 minutes.

Le Vine Nior/Le Beir Noir (Tasting in the DARK!)
Jan 26 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Conundrum

WHAT IT IS… An experience unlike anything you have ever dreamed imaginable. Your host will engage your mind with charm and wit, and immerse your heightened senses of taste, smell, hearing and touch, while you sip five types of wine in complete darkness. Wine pours are paired with tasteful snacks, one liners, and hilarious hijinks. OR our beer tasting experience will take you on a journey of humor, tasting of five local beers, fun beer-friendly pairing, sight deprivation and enhancement of all remaining senses. The lights will be off, and this is not considered a meal. Designed for adults only, 21 and up. 50-60 minutes.

Monday, January 27, 2020
Quarter Cow Butchery Class: Front Quarter
Jan 27 @ 4:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Hickory Nut Gap Farm

LEARN

Learn about how our cattle are raised from our farm director Asher Wright.  He will discuss rotational grazing model, health benefits of grassfed beef and how various inputs on the production side impact the quality of the meat.

EAT

Enjoy a beautiful spread of our in-house made Charcuterie & a locally crafted adult beverage of your choice.

WATCH

Watch head butcher Brian Bermingham demonstrate how to break down each part of a quarter cow, explaining each step of the process along the way.

You’ll learn from our butcher about the differences between each cut, including how they differ in texture, flavor, and cooking requirements.

TAKE

Each participant will take home a portion of different cuts of beef from the class!