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, August 5, 2023
Take Root Festival at Root Cause Farm
Aug 5 @ 3:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Root Cause Farm

Mark your calendars for August 5th from 3-8pm. Come taste, learn, play, and help us cultivate a thriving community rooted in love for the land. Together, let’s celebrate the bountiful harvest of life and the magic that happens when we all Take Root.

Join us for a delightful day of family-friendly fun and a celebration of all things farm-tastic at the Take Root Festival! Come immerse yourself in the vibrant world of gardens and community as we gather at the picturesque Root Cause Farm. With rolling green pastures, blooming flowers, and a thriving community, this is an event you won’t want to miss! We’ll have food trucks, live music, local business representatives, flower bouquets, farm tours, beer and cider, and more!

As a fundraiser, your participation directly supports our farm’s mission to promote sustainable agriculture, community engagement, and feed our community at no-cost. By attending the Take Root Festival, you’re helping us grow a brighter, healthier future for generations to come!

The Mountain Dance and Folk Festival
Aug 5 @ 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Lipinsky Hall Auditorium at UNCA

Bascom Lamar Lunsford founded the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival as a means for people to share and understand the beauty and dignity of the Southern Appalachian music, dance and storytelling traditions that have been handed down through generations in Western North Carolina.  He saw the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival grow to be the oldest gathering of its kind in the nation and it continues in this way, a platform for the talented of the high country lying between the Great Smoky and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Come celebrate the 96th Anniversary of the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival! Doors open each night at 6:00pm with performances starting promptly at 7:00pm. Bonus!  Youth Talent Celebration, August 5, 2023, 2-4:00pm

2023 TICKET PRICES

Advanced Purchase through August 4, 2023:

Adults $20.00, Students & Children (12 years & Under) $5.00, 3-night package $50.00, Group (10 or more) $15.00/person.

At the Door:

Adults $25.00, Students $10.00, Children (6-12 years) $5.00, 3-night package $50.00, Group (10 or more) $20.00/person

Sunday, August 6, 2023
AVL Music Fest
Aug 6 @ 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Various Locations Asheville NC

Spotlighting Asheville’s diverse music and arts scene, AVLFest will fill area concert halls, clubs, and outdoor venues alike with an exceptional
lineup of local, regional, and national talent. Performance showcases are set to take place throughout the week with wristbands granting passholders entry to 20+ Asheville venues, discounts at numerous local retailers and restaurants, as well as presale access and discounts to the 3-4 separately ticketed AVLFest stand alone events.

Participating venues include (listed in order of capacity): Salvage Station, Highland Brewing Company, The Outpost, Burial Beer’s Forestry Camp, The Orange Peel, New Belgium Brewing, The Grey Eagle, Wortham Center for the Performing Arts, Asheville Music Hall, Wicked Weed Brewing’s Funkatorium, One World West, The One Stop, Jack Of the Wood, 27 Club, The Odd, Fleetwood’s, The Cork and Keg, Alley Cat, French Broad River Brewery, and more TBD.

Committed to supporting local community causes, AVLFest has partnered with several Asheville nonprofits including RiverLink, Black Wall Street, Homeward Bound, and Campaign for Southern Equality. In addition to raising awareness for their respective missions, a portion of proceeds from ticket sales will go directly to benefitting these nonprofits.

 

Monday, August 7, 2023
Ticketed In-Person | Bring Me Your Midnight: Rachel Griffin in conversation with Kristin Dwyer
Aug 7 @ 6:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore

Malaprop’s is thrilled to host Rachel Griffin with her newest book, Bring Me Your Midnight. Rachel with be in conversation with Kristin Dwyer, author of Some Mistakes Were Made. Space is limited and tickets are required.

EVENT TICKET INCLUDES:
~ One (1) signed hardcover copy of Bring Me Your Midnight
 ~ Admission for up to two (2) people. We will check you in by name at the door. No tickets will be mailed.

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS AND EVENT DETAILS.

If you cannot attend the event and would like to purchase signed books, click here to order before August 7.


Bring Me Your Midnight is a lush, romantic, and unforgettable new fantasy full of sea magic, arranged marriages, and the choice between love and duty.

Tana Fairchild’s fate has never been in question. Her life has been planned out since the moment she was born: she is to marry the governor’s son, Landon, and secure an unprecedented alliance between the witches of her island home and the mainlanders who see her very existence as a threat. Tana’s coven has appeased those who fear their power for years by releasing most of their magic into the ocean during the full moon. But when Tana misses the midnight ritual—a fatal mistake—there is no one she can turn to for help until she meets Wolfe.

Wolfe claims he is from a coven that practices dark magic, making him one of the only people who can help her. But he refuses to let Tana’s power rush into the sea, and instead teaches her his forbidden magic. A magic that makes her feel powerful. Alive. As the sea grows more violent, her coven loses control of the currents, a danger that could destroy the alliance as well as her island. Tana will have to choose between love and duty, between loyalty to her people and loyalty to her heart. Marrying Landon would secure peace for her coven but losing Wolfe and his wild magic could cost her everything else.

Rachel Griffin is the New York Times bestselling author of The Nature of Witches and Wild is the Witch. When she isn’t writing, you can find her wandering the Pacific Northwest, reading by the fire, or drinking copious amounts of coffee and tea. She lives in the Seattle area with her husband, dog, and growing collection of houseplants. Visit her online at rachelgriffinbooks.com or say hi on Instagram @TimesNewRachel.

Kristin Dwyer grew up under the California sun and prayed every day for a cloudy sky. Now Kristin and her spouse are currently raising their mischief-makers in the hills of North Carolina, where there is just the right amount of clouds. She is the author of Some Mistakes Were Made. When she’s not writing books about people kissing, Kristin is a part-time hair model and full-time TSA PreCheck. One time a credible news outlet asked for her opinion on K-pop (it was the best day of her life). Please do not talk to her about your fandom; she will try to join.

Wednesday, August 9, 2023
Pack Library Book Club
Aug 9 @ 10:30 am – 11:30 am
Pack Memorial Library
  The Pack Library Book Club is a book discussion group that meets the second Wednesday of each month at 10:30AM at the library.
Read to Puptart!
Aug 9 @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Enka-Candler Library

Puptart is a tail wagging robot dog who sits and stays, pants when listening, and responds to someone talking to and petting it. It will not jump up or run away, plus it’s fur free, so no sneezes and runny noses coming your way!

Every Wednesday afternoon, Puptart will be available for reading practice in the children’s picture book room. Help establish a joy of reading and develop early literacy skills. Sign up at the front desk, pick a book and practice reading for up to 15 minutes.

Thursday, August 10, 2023
Swannanoa Valley Book Club: Rosie’s Sweat Box: Marking Time Till Home by David Rozzell
Aug 10 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Black Mountain Public Library

Grady Rozzell at age 19 was a B-17 pilot in the 401st Bomb Group operating out of Deenethorpe Army Air Base. On Friday, May 30, 1944, Grady and his crew made their first combat mission. Their target was an airplane factory in Oschersleben, Germany. Highlights from his diary tell this story. This is his first diary entry: “10:26 . . . Over to the left front, a patch of sky is literally filled with black crust; that’s flack, my first sight of the dreaded flack I’ve heard so much about. 11:30 . . . We’ve just been attacked by enemy fighters. Those babies came within a few hundred feet of our plane and not one of my gunners shot at the fighters. Too excited to do anything but gape—and gape they did. The fighters got the ship directly behind me. I looked back in time to see the big bird go into a vertical climb and spin-off on one wing. I saw two chutes pop and stretch out their lazy canopies. There’s eight more men in that plane. Off to the left and lower is a crippled B-17 trying to fight its way home. . . . There’s about five fighters making swift passes at the ship, trying to knock it down. They look like vultures gathering around, ready for the kill.”

This book is available to purchase for $20 at the Swannanoa Valley Museum. SVM members get a 10% discount. Stop by during our open hours (Wed-Saturday, 10am-5pm) to make your purchase.

Saturday, August 12, 2023
4th Annual One Act Play Festival
Aug 12 – Aug 13 all-day
The Magnetic Theatre

The Magnetic Theatre’s One Act Play Festival returns for its fourth year of short plays, featuring a variety of different stories, playwrights, local directors, and incredible performers.

The process began with an open call for plays. A team of readers poured through hundreds of submissions to select a group of plays that varied in theme, subject matter, and style. The result? A two-weekend extravaganza featuring 24 playwrights, 17 directors, and 70+ actors, all working to bring a kaleidoscope of stories to Asheville! The Festival will run August 4-13, 2023: Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 4pm and 7:30pm, and Sundays at 4pm. There will be two shows, a Show A and a Show B, which will run from August 4-12, 2023, with the August 13th performance being a Best of the Fest show featuring audience voted favorites from both Show A and B! Be sure to come out and vote for your favorites.

Sourwood Festival
Aug 12 @ 9:00 am – 7:00 pm
Downtown Black Mountain

Voted #1 WNC festival in 1977, Black Mountain transforms four streets into a two day festival filled with handcrafted artisan products, two music stages, a petting zoo, food, demonstrations, and of course – Honey!

Wedding Vendor Show
Aug 12 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Point Lookout Vineyards

Join us to meet + mingle with our preferred wedding vendors, tour our venue, and do a tasting! This will be a great opportunity to meet photographers, videographers, florists, caterers and more!
Admission is free.

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Program Launch Party
Aug 12 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
East Asheville Library

1000 books before kindergarten banner

Share the love of reading with your child! Visit any Buncombe County Public Library to start participating in our 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Program launching Aug. 12.

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten is a nationwide initiative that encourages grown-ups to read 1,000 books with their young child (ages birth-five) before they enter kindergarten.

Studies show, a child’s brain develops rapidly in the first three years of their life. Reading with a child early on can help them develop pre-reading skills that will make it easier for them to read independently in school. Families who read to their children from a young age can help their child build early literacy skills such as letter recognition and building vocabulary.

Beginning Aug. 12, families with a child between the ages of birth to five can pick up a 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten booklet at any Library location. Caregivers record the titles of the books read to their child in the booklet. Early literacy tips are found at the top of each page for caregivers to model to their child. When you reach the “500 books read” milestone, return to any BCPL location with your booklet to receive a free canvas tote bag and continue your reading journey. When you reach the “1,000 books read” milestone, you’ve completed the program. Return to the Library for your completion certificate. Children have until they enter kindergarten to complete the program.

Launch party

On Saturday, Aug. 12, join the Library for a 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten launch party. Children’s music band Big, Bang, Boom! will headline. Enjoy games, crafts, puppets and so much more! Refreshments will be served. Families with children under five can pick up a reading log booklet to get started. This free event.

Sunday, August 13, 2023
Sourwood Festival
Aug 13 @ 9:00 am
Downtown Black Mountain

Voted #1 WNC festival in 1977, Black Mountain transforms four streets into a two-day festival filled with handcrafted artisan products, two music stages, a petting zoo, food, demonstrations, and of course – Honey!

Slice of Life Comedy Open Mic + Feature Comedy at Asheville Pizza
Aug 13 @ 6:30 pm
Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co

Another Great Comedy Show at Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co, Theater 2! Sunday August 13 6:30p, 18+, Get Dinner, Drinks & Laughs with the area’s best standup comics. Featured and Open Mic Comedy. Performing comics get FREE entry and pizza. Get Your Tickets Now, They Go Fast!!
Feature comics Moira Goree & Jason Webb! Special guest to be announced! Hosted by Morgan Marie with a #comedyopenmic [free entry/pizza for performers]
TICKETS:
https://www.ashevillebrewing.com/movies/
Facebook:
https://facebook.com/events/s/stand-up-comedy-at-asheville-p/592425949719588/

Wednesday, August 16, 2023
Enka History Book Club
Aug 16 @ 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Enka-Candler Library

The Enka History Book Club reads historical fiction and non-fiction.
We’ll be discussing, River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile by Candice Millard.
Books are available for pick up at the library in large print and regular print.

The group meets in the community room and newcomers are always welcome.
In the case of inclement weather and winter storms, we will post canceled on this page, on our Facebook page, and on our Instagram page. Follow: @enkacandlerlibrary

Etowah Lions Farmers Market Tomato Festival
Aug 16 @ 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Etowah Lions Farmers Market

We will be featuring the wonderful world of tomatoes at our market. There will be wonderful tomato sandwiches for the taking. Craig LeHoullier “NC Tomato Man” will be on hand with a variety of tomatoes for tasting and he will also answer your tomato questions. There will be raffles with wonderful goods and produce from our market.

Read to Puptart!
Aug 16 @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Enka-Candler Library

Puptart is a tail wagging robot dog who sits and stays, pants when listening, and responds to someone talking to and petting it. It will not jump up or run away, plus it’s fur free, so no sneezes and runny noses coming your way!

Every Wednesday afternoon, Puptart will be available for reading practice in the children’s picture book room. Help establish a joy of reading and develop early literacy skills. Sign up at the front desk, pick a book and practice reading for up to 15 minutes.

Thursday, August 17, 2023
LEAF announces Festival Line Up
Aug 17 all-day
online
Friends of the South Buncombe Library Book Club: Daybreak by Belva Plain
Aug 17 @ 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
South Buncombe Library

Join us for a book discussion hosted by the Friends of the Skyland/South Buncombe Library!

This month we will be reading Daybreak by Belva Plain.  The book is available in both physical and digital editions through Buncombe County Public Libraries, and we will also have a few extra copies to borrow at the South Buncombe branch that you can stop by and sign out.

From the publisher:

The doctor’s office is cool, white, sterile. But the doctor’s words are searing: blood tests prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Margaret and Arthur Crawfield’s beloved, dying son is not their child. Now they must face Peter’s death and the shock of having a son they have never met. Grieving, yet compelled, they begin a search that will tear two families apart.

Laura and “Bud” Rice share an elegant home and two children, brilliant, handsome Tom, and cherished, chronically ill eleven-year-old Timmy. But after nineteen years of marriage, Laura’s respectable husband is a stranger—and the reason for Tom’s escalating involvement with a group of campus bigots. Suddenly the Crawfields enter their lives and shatter their fragile world. As the Rices’ quiet Southern town explodes with hate and violence, the two familes must embrace—or be destroyed by—the shattering truth.

Swannanoa Library Book Club
Aug 17 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Swannanoa Library
  Join us for a discussion of the NY Times bestselling book “Circe” by Madeline Miller.

Light refreshments will be served.

Flat Rock Book Club
Aug 17 @ 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
The 2nd Act

Please join us at The 2nd Act in Hendersonville, NC for our first monthly book club meeting that strives to read books that create a closer knit and more inclusive community! We will meet virtually and in person monthly to discuss a book, so read the book and then join in the discussion in person or online every third Thursday. All are welcome! At the end of each meeting we will vote on the next book! The virtual club meeting will be in Zoom format and will meet 2.5 hours after the in-person meeting (8:00pm EST). After the meeting there is live acoustic music so stay and enjoy the vibe with your new friends! Put us down on your calendar for every third Third Thursday!

The first book is going to be called Disability Visibility.

Synopsis from the back cover: One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent—but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings together this urgent, galvanizing collection of contemporary essays by disabled people.

From Harriet McBryde Johnson’s account of her debate with Peter Singer over her own personhood to original pieces by authors like Keah Brown and Haben Girma; from blog posts, manifestos, and eulogies to Congressional testimonies, and beyond: this anthology gives a glimpse into the rich complexity of the disabled experience, highlighting the passions, talents, and everyday lives of this community. It invites readers to question their own understandings. It celebrates and documents disability culture in the now. It looks to the future and the past with hope and love. Preview:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51456746-disability-visibility
Message me for the Zoom link to the online meetup. Thanks!

Hendo Book Club Meetup
Aug 17 @ 5:30 pm
Guidon Brewing Company

ATTENTION! We will be meeting on August 17th at 5:30 AT A NEW VENUE! We are meeting at Guidon Brewing, 415 8th Ave. E. Hendersonville, NC 28792. It has free parking that is plentiful and it is quiet on Thursday in the early evening. https://guidonbrewing.com/

We’ll be discussing Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver.

Thank you to all who attended July 20 meeting! It was great to meet so many newcomers. Thank you to Mike and Debbie who graciously offered to help me with some admin stuff. They will help add emails to the spreadsheet so that communication will become better via email.

Friday, August 18, 2023
LEAF announces Festival Line Up
Aug 18 all-day
online
Saturday, August 19, 2023
LEAF announces Festival Line Up
Aug 19 all-day
online
“Write Your Values” – A Free Writing Workshop For Teens And Adults Hosted By Author Misha Lazzara
Aug 19 @ 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Firestorm Books

Local author Misha Lazzara, known for her novel Manmade Constellations, is offering a free writing workshop for teens and adults titled “Write Your Values.” The workshop is scheduled for August 19th at 3pm at Firestorm Books in Asheville, NC.

In this practical workshop, participants will explore their personal values and learn how to incorporate them into their writing. From spiritual beliefs to environmental concerns, attendees will discover how to infuse their stories with deeper meaning. The workshop is designed for writers of all levels who seek to add depth and significance to their work. Attendees will gain practical insights into integrating their beliefs and passions into their writing, enhancing their storytelling abilities.

This workshop is offered as a part of Misha Lazzara’s current book tour surrounding the paperback launch of Manmade Constellations. This debut novel is a modern-day love story that explores childhood trauma, the boundaries between idealism and self-righteousness, and the heartaches we must confront in order to chart our courses forward. Published by Blackstone Publishing, the novel was originally released on August 9, 2022, and will be launched in paperback on August 10, 2023.

Celebrate the release of Donna Glee’s new book, “The Night Field”
Aug 19 @ 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Barnes and Noble
 August 19th from 3:00-4:00 p.m., Barnes & Noble welcomes local science fiction and fantasy writer, Donna Glee Williams and local musician, Lynn Rosser, to celebrate the release of Donna Glee’s new book, “The Night Field.” Get your signed copy of the book while listening to music inspired by the novel. 
Sunday, August 20, 2023
18th Annual Come to Leicester Artist Studio Tour
Aug 20 all-day
Leicester Community Center

For the 18th year in a row, artists in this small community will open their studios to the public for the annual Come to Leicester Studio Tour. This free, self-guided event is held every third weekend in August, with this year’s tour dates being August 19th and 20th, 10 AM to 5PM each day.

Visitors choose their own tour stops using a printed brochure with a full-color map of the area, with bold signs directing to the individual studios. The tour route travels through some of the most scenic rural countryside in Western North Carolina. Along the way, visitors can view beautiful, hand-crafted work and meet the artists who create it. The variety of arts and crafts on the tour includes brooms, pottery, paintings, iron work, woodworking, jewelry, fiber, mosaic, enamel, and mixed media. Local food and wine-tasting add to the experience of the day! Visit our website to print a map and see all the artists. http://cometoleicester.org

LEAF announces Festival Line Up
Aug 20 all-day
online
Club de Lectura en Español
Aug 20 @ 6:00 pm
tba
Sunday, July 16, 2023 – 6:00pm
Sunday, August 20, 2023 – 6:00pm
Sunday, September 17, 2023 – 6:00pm
Sunday, October 15, 2023 – 6:00pm

Join the Club de Lectura and read novels written by Central and South American authors. The club meets at a restaurant or cafe with food related to the monthly pick. The main goal is to connect with each other, enjoy a good read, and ask each other questions. Everyone is welcome! Please CLICK HERE to view the Club’s main page for the pick of the month, and be sure to email: [email protected] for the location of the meeting!

Monday, August 21, 2023
LEAF announces Festival Line Up
Aug 21 all-day
online
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
LEAF announces Festival Line Up
Aug 23 all-day
online