The Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County, in partnership with the City of Asheville, has planned the 2023 Juneteenth Celebration with the intended outcomes of a diverse celebration that fosters broad participation, fosters community awareness and appreciation, and celebrates the liberation of enslaved people. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19 th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War had ended and that the enslaved were now free. This was two-and-a-half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. Thus, starting the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. The City of Asheville designated Juneteenth as a City holiday in 2021, and on June 8, Mayor Esther Manheimer issued a proclamation acknowledging Juneteenth as a day of celebration for Black Americans.
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.
NC Rhododendron PageantOne of the area’s most respected and longest standing scholarship opportunities for young women.
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Rhododendron Craft FairOur yearly show offers exhibitors of talented local and regional artists & craftspeople a venue for their work.
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Live MusicThe Rhododendron Craft Fair showcases a variety of live music performances throughout both days.
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Street DancesOn Friday and Saturday nights, join us for a Square Dance downtown.
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Classic Car ShowJoin us on Saturday for the Rhododendron Classic Car Show.
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10K RunThe Annual Rhododendron 10K Run is held on Saturday morning.
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The Festival offers opportunities to connect to the world and each other at the scenic and inspiring Lake Eden. Explore indigenous art and culture as we celebrate Legends of Americas; experience music and traditions of global artists; and be inspired by creatives and thought leaders from both local and international communities. Live music, dance, and performance arts are offered alongside camp and lake outdoor adventures, healing arts workshops and practitioners, the longest continually running poetry slam in the world, kids adventures and workshops, mountain drum circle, and so much more! |
NC Rhododendron PageantOne of the area’s most respected and longest standing scholarship opportunities for young women.
|
Rhododendron Craft FairOur yearly show offers exhibitors of talented local and regional artists & craftspeople a venue for their work.
|
Live MusicThe Rhododendron Craft Fair showcases a variety of live music performances throughout both days.
|
Street DancesOn Friday and Saturday nights, join us for a Square Dance downtown.
|
Classic Car ShowJoin us on Saturday for the Rhododendron Classic Car Show.
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10K RunThe Annual Rhododendron 10K Run is held on Saturday morning.
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The Festival offers opportunities to connect to the world and each other at the scenic and inspiring Lake Eden. Explore indigenous art and culture as we celebrate Legends of Americas; experience music and traditions of global artists; and be inspired by creatives and thought leaders from both local and international communities. Live music, dance, and performance arts are offered alongside camp and lake outdoor adventures, healing arts workshops and practitioners, the longest continually running poetry slam in the world, kids adventures and workshops, mountain drum circle, and so much more! |
The Juneteenth Celebrations will culminate with a two-day Juneteenth Festival at Pack Square Park, Saturday, June 17, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m., and Sunday, June 18, 1 p.m. – 6 p.m. Featured groups include:
- Guest MC, Ty Russell, WLOS
- The Stanley Baird Group, LLC
- Westsound Productions
- Virtuous
- Malecia Williams
- Delta House Jazz Band
- Eaze Dogg
- Hypnotic Band
- WIZEDEV
- The Carolina Diva Diamondz and Others
NC Rhododendron PageantOne of the area’s most respected and longest standing scholarship opportunities for young women.
|
Rhododendron Craft FairOur yearly show offers exhibitors of talented local and regional artists & craftspeople a venue for their work.
|
Live MusicThe Rhododendron Craft Fair showcases a variety of live music performances throughout both days.
|
Street DancesOn Friday and Saturday nights, join us for a Square Dance downtown.
|
Classic Car ShowJoin us on Saturday for the Rhododendron Classic Car Show.
|
10K RunThe Annual Rhododendron 10K Run is held on Saturday morning.
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The Juneteenth Celebrations will culminate with a two-day Juneteenth Festival at Pack Square Park, Saturday, June 17, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m., and Sunday, June 18, 1 p.m. – 6 p.m. Featured groups include:
- Guest MC, Ty Russell, WLOS
- The Stanley Baird Group, LLC
- Westsound Productions
- Virtuous
- Malecia Williams
- Delta House Jazz Band
- Eaze Dogg
- Hypnotic Band
- WIZEDEV
- The Carolina Diva Diamondz and Others
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The Festival offers opportunities to connect to the world and each other at the scenic and inspiring Lake Eden. Explore indigenous art and culture as we celebrate Legends of Americas; experience music and traditions of global artists; and be inspired by creatives and thought leaders from both local and international communities. Live music, dance, and performance arts are offered alongside camp and lake outdoor adventures, healing arts workshops and practitioners, the longest continually running poetry slam in the world, kids adventures and workshops, mountain drum circle, and so much more! |
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The Festival offers opportunities to connect to the world and each other at the scenic and inspiring Lake Eden. Explore indigenous art and culture as we celebrate Legends of Americas; experience music and traditions of global artists; and be inspired by creatives and thought leaders from both local and international communities. Live music, dance, and performance arts are offered alongside camp and lake outdoor adventures, healing arts workshops and practitioners, the longest continually running poetry slam in the world, kids adventures and workshops, mountain drum circle, and so much more! |
Please join us for MoonieFest! There will be Live Music & a Karaoke Contest by Thunderstruck Entertainment. Live music includes Misdemeanor, Jeremy Whiteside and Joe Roads. This is a free event that also includes a raffle and cornhole. There will be a food truck, ice cream and drinks available on the premises at cost. MoonieFest is a fundraising event to benefit Stage 4 No More: Search for a Cure. Help Jennifer in her fight to find healing from stage 4 cancer. Donations appreciated.Want to know why it is called “MoonieFest”? Well, come join us and find out. Thank you.
Other ways to help:
https://gofund.me/57aec302
https://givesendgo.com/G9QUV?utm_source=sharelink&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campai
Come celebrate the 150th Year of Shipley Farms on Saturday, June 24th at the inaugural Good Fields Appalachian Food & Farms Festival.
Experience a variety of dishes using Shipley Farms meats and all the flavors of the High Country prepared by leading chefs and restaurants from across the region.
Chef lineup:
- Steven Goff (Tastee Diner, Asheville), 2019 NC Chef of the Year
- Andres Prussing, CEC (Golden Owl Tavern, Charlotte)
- Andy Long (Over Yonder, Valle Crucis)
- Ashley Boyd (300 East, Charlotte)
- Gerald Hawkins (Leah and Louise, Charlotte)
- Courtney Evans (Leah and Louise, Charlotte)
- Daniel Wheeler (Culinary Instructor, CCCTI, Charlotte/Hudson/Boone
- Preeti Waas (Cheeni Indian Food Emporium, Raleigh)
- Sam Ratchford (Vidalia, Boone)
- Sera Cuni (Cafe Root Cellar, Chapel Hill)
- Jamisen Booker (Weathered Soul)
- and more to come!
The festival will also feature storytelling, sunset around the firepit, and a book signing by Evan Peter Smith, author of “Here By The Owl”, the story of Shipley Farms patriarch R.G. Shipley, from his days of top secret research in World War II, through his entrepreneurial ventures at age 101. Hear live bluegrass music from Nick Chandler and Delivered.
Ticketholders will have access to the Pasture, with complementary food and beverage tastings from all participating chefs.
Rain or shine, 4PM ‘til sunset in the Pasture at the historic Shipley Farm, Vilas, NC
*discounts available for seniors, veterans, Watauga County residents, Ruritan club members, and former students of RG and Agnes*
Near the summer solstice each year, over 1,000 people convene from around the world for The Firefly Gathering. Here, folks come together to connect and share skills with the common goal of expanding our capacity to live well with one another and our beloved Earth.
Days are filled with a wide variety of classes focused on deepening our relationship with the wisdom and rhythms of nature, dipping into the deep wells of ancestral knowledge, and integrating these skills into our daily lives and communities.
Evenings are filled with live music, dancing under the moon and stars, opportunities to connect with each other, and of course–the fireflies–who dazzle us with their beautiful display of light as they communicate in the darkness! A variety of nature connection programs guide children and teens to engage through learning and play.
For many, coming to The Firefly Gathering is a life-changing experience that they return to year after year.
The American Red Cross, WLOS News 13, and iHeart Radio urge donors of all blood types to come out to the 36th annual Operation Blood Drive
Right now, there is a great need for donations to address a recent drop in appointments that could lead to fewer transfusions for patients in the weeks ahead. Type O blood donors are especially needed to ensure a strong blood supply. Individuals of all blood types are urged to schedule an appointment now to give blood. Appointments can be made by downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org and using ‘OBD2023’ sponsor code, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device.
The American Red Cross, WLOS News 13, and iHeart Radio urge donors of all blood types to come out to the 36th annual Operation Blood Drive
Right now, there is a great need for donations to address a recent drop in appointments that could lead to fewer transfusions for patients in the weeks ahead. Type O blood donors are especially needed to ensure a strong blood supply. Individuals of all blood types are urged to schedule an appointment now to give blood. Appointments can be made by downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org and using ‘OBD2023’ sponsor code, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device.
Gates open for vendors at 6am, doors open at 8am.
Tickets: $7 in advance*, $10 at the gate
Tables inside: $15 each, Covered flea market spaces: $15 each
Free Parking • Door Prizes • Forum Presentations • VE Testing
Talk-In: N4DTR Repeater, 147.39+ PL 94.8
The American Red Cross, WLOS News 13, and iHeart Radio urge donors of all blood types to come out to the 36th annual Operation Blood Drive
Right now, there is a great need for donations to address a recent drop in appointments that could lead to fewer transfusions for patients in the weeks ahead. Type O blood donors are especially needed to ensure a strong blood supply. Individuals of all blood types are urged to schedule an appointment now to give blood. Appointments can be made by downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org and using ‘OBD2023’ sponsor code, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device.
The American Red Cross, WLOS News 13, and iHeart Radio urge donors of all blood types to come out to the 36th annual Operation Blood Drive
Right now, there is a great need for donations to address a recent drop in appointments that could lead to fewer transfusions for patients in the weeks ahead. Type O blood donors are especially needed to ensure a strong blood supply. Individuals of all blood types are urged to schedule an appointment now to give blood. Appointments can be made by downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org and using ‘OBD2023’ sponsor code, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device.
The American Red Cross, WLOS News 13, and iHeart Radio urge donors of all blood types to come out to the 36th annual Operation Blood Drive
Right now, there is a great need for donations to address a recent drop in appointments that could lead to fewer transfusions for patients in the weeks ahead. Type O blood donors are especially needed to ensure a strong blood supply. Individuals of all blood types are urged to schedule an appointment now to give blood. Appointments can be made by downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org and using ‘OBD2023’ sponsor code, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device.
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The Festival offers opportunities to connect to the world and each other at the scenic and inspiring Lake Eden. Explore indigenous art and culture as we celebrate Legends of Americas; experience music and traditions of global artists; and be inspired by creatives and thought leaders from both local and international communities. Live music, dance, and performance arts are offered alongside camp and lake outdoor adventures, healing arts workshops and practitioners, the longest continually running poetry slam in the world, kids adventures and workshops, mountain drum circle, and so much more! |
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The Festival offers opportunities to connect to the world and each other at the scenic and inspiring Lake Eden. Explore indigenous art and culture as we celebrate Legends of Americas; experience music and traditions of global artists; and be inspired by creatives and thought leaders from both local and international communities. Live music, dance, and performance arts are offered alongside camp and lake outdoor adventures, healing arts workshops and practitioners, the longest continually running poetry slam in the world, kids adventures and workshops, mountain drum circle, and so much more! |
Founded in 1991, we are Warren Wilson College’s educational program of summer folk arts workshops held on our campus in the Swannanoa Valley near Asheville in the heart of North Carolina’s beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.
Each year, we offer a variety of week-long programs in various forms of folk music and dance over a five-week period in July and August, taught by some of the finest folk artists and instructors in the world.
We invite you to join us.
This month-long Celtic music festival takes place on the campus of Warren Wilson College. The festival’s workshops and public performances are joyous celebrations of Scots-Irish music and dance and the many musical forms they have inspired. Check website for programs, location, dates and time.
July 9-15: Celtic Week
July 16-22: Old-Time Week
July 23-29: Contemporary Folk Week
Founded in 1991, we are Warren Wilson College’s educational program of summer folk arts workshops held on our campus in the Swannanoa Valley near Asheville in the heart of North Carolina’s beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.
Each year, we offer a variety of week-long programs in various forms of folk music and dance over a five-week period in July and August, taught by some of the finest folk artists and instructors in the world.
We invite you to join us.
This month-long Celtic music festival takes place on the campus of Warren Wilson College. The festival’s workshops and public performances are joyous celebrations of Scots-Irish music and dance and the many musical forms they have inspired. Check website for programs, location, dates and time.
July 9-15: Celtic Week
July 16-22: Old-Time Week
July 23-29: Contemporary Folk Week
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The Festival offers opportunities to connect to the world and each other at the scenic and inspiring Lake Eden. Explore indigenous art and culture as we celebrate Legends of Americas; experience music and traditions of global artists; and be inspired by creatives and thought leaders from both local and international communities. Live music, dance, and performance arts are offered alongside camp and lake outdoor adventures, healing arts workshops and practitioners, the longest continually running poetry slam in the world, kids adventures and workshops, mountain drum circle, and so much more! |
Founded in 1991, we are Warren Wilson College’s educational program of summer folk arts workshops held on our campus in the Swannanoa Valley near Asheville in the heart of North Carolina’s beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.
Each year, we offer a variety of week-long programs in various forms of folk music and dance over a five-week period in July and August, taught by some of the finest folk artists and instructors in the world.
We invite you to join us.
This month-long Celtic music festival takes place on the campus of Warren Wilson College. The festival’s workshops and public performances are joyous celebrations of Scots-Irish music and dance and the many musical forms they have inspired. Check website for programs, location, dates and time.
July 9-15: Celtic Week
July 16-22: Old-Time Week
July 23-29: Contemporary Folk Week
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The Festival offers opportunities to connect to the world and each other at the scenic and inspiring Lake Eden. Explore indigenous art and culture as we celebrate Legends of Americas; experience music and traditions of global artists; and be inspired by creatives and thought leaders from both local and international communities. Live music, dance, and performance arts are offered alongside camp and lake outdoor adventures, healing arts workshops and practitioners, the longest continually running poetry slam in the world, kids adventures and workshops, mountain drum circle, and so much more! |
This annual street festival celebrates the Coon dog, a loyal pet used for many years for
hunting and known for its unique bark and an amazing sense of smell, The celebration has taken place every summer for more
than 50 years and includes a parade, music, street fair with art and food, and dog judging, Begin the day with a 5k race that starts
at 8am, stay for the parade that starts at 11am, and finish the day off at the street dance that ends at 11pm,
“A wee bit of Scotland in the High Country of Western North Carolina.”
Ceud mile failte (100,000 welcomes)
High in the Mountains of Western North Carolina the ancient Celtic spirit beckons. Answering the call, as hundreds of tartan banners unfurl, are the sounds of bagpipes echoing through the valley, and once again, thousands of kilt-clad Scots make their way to MacRae Meadows for their annual gathering and games. Nowhere in the New World is there a place more reminiscent of the Scottish Highlands than the home of America’s grandest Highland Games—Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina.
Ceud mile failte to you and your family as you join us in celebrating the history of our Scottish ancestry and cheer as you watch the clans compete on MacRae Meadows. Throughout the four day weekend you and your family will sample Scottish music, dancing, foods, costumes, field games and much more, and you can shop for tartans and kilts in the vendors’ tents. A weekend so full of family fun and excitement that you’ll be longing for the mother country (even if you aren’t Scottish).
Founded in 1991, we are Warren Wilson College’s educational program of summer folk arts workshops held on our campus in the Swannanoa Valley near Asheville in the heart of North Carolina’s beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.
Each year, we offer a variety of week-long programs in various forms of folk music and dance over a five-week period in July and August, taught by some of the finest folk artists and instructors in the world.
We invite you to join us.
This month-long Celtic music festival takes place on the campus of Warren Wilson College. The festival’s workshops and public performances are joyous celebrations of Scots-Irish music and dance and the many musical forms they have inspired. Check website for programs, location, dates and time.
July 9-15: Celtic Week
July 16-22: Old-Time Week
July 23-29: Contemporary Folk Week