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.
We need your help to get this built – it will be a volunteer-built park October 4-8, 2023.
Rendering of the future Candace Pickens Park to be built October 2023. Learn more about Playgrounds by Leathers.
Sign Up to Help!
*** If you’d like to volunteer to help please SIGN UP HERE ***
Before the build dates it will take a lot of coordination – we’re looking for a few good people to help as:
Childcare Coordinators – providing supervision and fun activities for kids during construction
Food Coordinators – acquiring food from the community for each day of the build
Want to help? Know someone who might be able to help with one of these coordinator positions? Email: [email protected] or call David Rodgers 828.545.9571
In mid-May we will have a design similar to the former playground to present to the community.
Donate to help build the park!
There will be a transaction fee of 2.89% plus .30 USD for PayPal transactions. For transactions of $500 or more the Asheville City Schools Foundation (ACSF) strongly recommends checks or wire transfers. For wire transfers or the transfer of stock contact Rebecca Abide at [email protected]. ACSF is a 501(c)3 organization and donations are normally tax deductible. However, always consult your taxadviser. Cash should be conveyed in person, of course.
Checks should be mailed to:
Asheville City Schools Foundation
P.O. Box 3196
Asheville, NC 28802 Foundation
Memo: Candace Pickens Park
Jones Park Playground was a treasured community park used by families from across the city of Asheville. Unfortunately, it was removed without a replacement plan in September of 2021. Members of the community began working immediately to find a solution to get this playground rebuilt with donated funds and labor from the community. In this process the park was renamed Candace Pickens Memorial Park. Candace played in this park and brought her son to play. She was tragically killed here in 2016. October 4-8 hundreds of volunteers from neighborhoods across the city and county will be giving their time to help bring this playground back. Working side by side we are building more than just a playground, we are building community and connections that will last lifetimes.
We need your help to get this built – it will be a volunteer-built park October 4-8, 2023.
Rendering of the future Candace Pickens Park to be built October 2023. Learn more about Playgrounds by Leathers.
Sign Up to Help!
*** If you’d like to volunteer to help please SIGN UP HERE ***
Before the build dates it will take a lot of coordination – we’re looking for a few good people to help as:
Childcare Coordinators – providing supervision and fun activities for kids during construction
Food Coordinators – acquiring food from the community for each day of the build
Want to help? Know someone who might be able to help with one of these coordinator positions? Email: [email protected] or call David Rodgers 828.545.9571
In mid-May we will have a design similar to the former playground to present to the community.
Donate to help build the park!
There will be a transaction fee of 2.89% plus .30 USD for PayPal transactions. For transactions of $500 or more the Asheville City Schools Foundation (ACSF) strongly recommends checks or wire transfers. For wire transfers or the transfer of stock contact Rebecca Abide at [email protected]. ACSF is a 501(c)3 organization and donations are normally tax deductible. However, always consult your taxadviser. Cash should be conveyed in person, of course.
Checks should be mailed to:
Asheville City Schools Foundation
P.O. Box 3196
Asheville, NC 28802 Foundation
Memo: Candace Pickens Park
Eliada’s Annual Corn Maze and Fall Festival is the agency’s single largest fundraiser. Through your volunteer support, you are directly impacting the lives of vulnerable children in our community.
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Literacy Together has a determined group of students waiting for volunteer tutors so they can move forward on their goals for a better future. We’re offering in-person and remote volunteer opportunities. We have programs teaching English to immigrants, adult literacy for folks working on a GED, and youth literacy for kids struggling to learn to read. In addition, we welcome everyone -even if they are not ready to volunteer- to attend to learn about the literacy challenges we face in Buncombe County. Thank you!

We need your help to get this built – it will be a volunteer-built park October 4-8, 2023.
Rendering of the future Candace Pickens Park to be built October 2023. Learn more about Playgrounds by Leathers.
Sign Up to Help!
*** If you’d like to volunteer to help please SIGN UP HERE ***
Before the build dates it will take a lot of coordination – we’re looking for a few good people to help as:
Childcare Coordinators – providing supervision and fun activities for kids during construction
Food Coordinators – acquiring food from the community for each day of the build
Want to help? Know someone who might be able to help with one of these coordinator positions? Email: [email protected] or call David Rodgers 828.545.9571
In mid-May we will have a design similar to the former playground to present to the community.
Donate to help build the park!
There will be a transaction fee of 2.89% plus .30 USD for PayPal transactions. For transactions of $500 or more the Asheville City Schools Foundation (ACSF) strongly recommends checks or wire transfers. For wire transfers or the transfer of stock contact Rebecca Abide at [email protected]. ACSF is a 501(c)3 organization and donations are normally tax deductible. However, always consult your taxadviser. Cash should be conveyed in person, of course.
Checks should be mailed to:
Asheville City Schools Foundation
P.O. Box 3196
Asheville, NC 28802 Foundation
Memo: Candace Pickens Park
Eliada’s Annual Corn Maze and Fall Festival is the agency’s single largest fundraiser. Through your volunteer support, you are directly impacting the lives of vulnerable children in our community.
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Distance: Variable, 1-3 miles
Difficulty: Easy (5/10)
Join the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy and the Roan Stewardship team for a volunteer workday at the Nilsen Cabin on our Little Cove Creek Preserve. This iconic property, located on the Tennessee side of the Roan Highlands, is one of our original land acquisition projects in the area. Recently the preserve was expanded to include an adjoining 17 acres, the Nilsen Cabin on site was renovated, and a trail system was agreed upon to take visitors from the cabin to a nearby waterfall. Now we need your help to formalize and establish the new trail design. This will require volunteers to work with weed eaters, hand tools, and saws to complete the trail which will be roughly a mile and will include a historic graveyard from the 1800’s. This event will be a great opportunity to work with friends, get your hands dirty, see a beautiful waterfall, and enjoy a great day outside in the Roan Highlands.
This property is located 1.5 hours northeast of Asheville, NC and 45mins southeast of Johnson City, TN. Driving direction will be sent to volunteers following registration.
What To Bring: Close-toed shoes, work gloves, lunch, water, jacket/rain gear. Please dress in layers, the weather can be much cooler at this elevation during October.
Support Asheville GreenWorks’ Urban Forestry program by planting a native Paw Paw grown in our nursery to celebrate the release of The Hop’s Paw Paw ice cream.
You’ll need a mate to pollinate! – If you don’t have a Paw Paw already planted at your home, you may want to consider purchasing 2 from us. We will choose two different genetic strains, which is needed for cross-pollination to produce fruit. Paw Paws are self-infertile, so for good fruit set, each variety must be fertilized with pollen from a different variety of Paw Paw tree.
Paw Paws are also the host plant for Zebra Swallowtail butterflies. Learn more about Paw Paws.
Paw Paw’s can be picked up on either:
-
(Paw Paw Ice Cream release day!) Friday October 6th, 3-6pm at The Hop Merrimon – 640 Merrimon Ave #103, Asheville, NC 28804
-
Tuesday October 10th, 10am-1pm at the Sand Hill Nursery at the Buncombe County Sports Park 24 Apac Circle, Asheville, NC 28804 (first parking lot on the left past the dog park)
Please note, seedlings vary in size and will be in either 1 or 3 gallon pots.
We need your help to get this built – it will be a volunteer-built park October 4-8, 2023.
Rendering of the future Candace Pickens Park to be built October 2023. Learn more about Playgrounds by Leathers.
Sign Up to Help!
*** If you’d like to volunteer to help please SIGN UP HERE ***
Before the build dates it will take a lot of coordination – we’re looking for a few good people to help as:
Childcare Coordinators – providing supervision and fun activities for kids during construction
Food Coordinators – acquiring food from the community for each day of the build
Want to help? Know someone who might be able to help with one of these coordinator positions? Email: [email protected] or call David Rodgers 828.545.9571
In mid-May we will have a design similar to the former playground to present to the community.
Donate to help build the park!
There will be a transaction fee of 2.89% plus .30 USD for PayPal transactions. For transactions of $500 or more the Asheville City Schools Foundation (ACSF) strongly recommends checks or wire transfers. For wire transfers or the transfer of stock contact Rebecca Abide at [email protected]. ACSF is a 501(c)3 organization and donations are normally tax deductible. However, always consult your taxadviser. Cash should be conveyed in person, of course.
Checks should be mailed to:
Asheville City Schools Foundation
P.O. Box 3196
Asheville, NC 28802 Foundation
Memo: Candace Pickens Park
Eliada’s Annual Corn Maze and Fall Festival is the agency’s single largest fundraiser. Through your volunteer support, you are directly impacting the lives of vulnerable children in our community.
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- Schedule:
12:00 PM Brewery doors open
1:00 PM Welcome and Fashion Show
1:30 PM Hustle Souls
2:15 PM Marz Hooligan (on the Patio Stage)
2:30 PM Slow Ride Competition
2:50 PM Toybox Theatre
3:15 PM Dale Hollow
4:15 PM Night Owl Circus
4:35 PM Dance Contest
5:00 PM Pimps of Joytime
7:00 PM So long and farewell until 2024
We need your help to get this built – it will be a volunteer-built park October 4-8, 2023.
Rendering of the future Candace Pickens Park to be built October 2023. Learn more about Playgrounds by Leathers.
Sign Up to Help!
*** If you’d like to volunteer to help please SIGN UP HERE ***
Before the build dates it will take a lot of coordination – we’re looking for a few good people to help as:
Childcare Coordinators – providing supervision and fun activities for kids during construction
Food Coordinators – acquiring food from the community for each day of the build
Want to help? Know someone who might be able to help with one of these coordinator positions? Email: [email protected] or call David Rodgers 828.545.9571
In mid-May we will have a design similar to the former playground to present to the community.
Donate to help build the park!
There will be a transaction fee of 2.89% plus .30 USD for PayPal transactions. For transactions of $500 or more the Asheville City Schools Foundation (ACSF) strongly recommends checks or wire transfers. For wire transfers or the transfer of stock contact Rebecca Abide at [email protected]. ACSF is a 501(c)3 organization and donations are normally tax deductible. However, always consult your taxadviser. Cash should be conveyed in person, of course.
Checks should be mailed to:
Asheville City Schools Foundation
P.O. Box 3196
Asheville, NC 28802 Foundation
Memo: Candace Pickens Park
Eliada’s Annual Corn Maze and Fall Festival is the agency’s single largest fundraiser. Through your volunteer support, you are directly impacting the lives of vulnerable children in our community.
|
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Presenter: Dr. Ryan Blaedow, formerly with Forest Health Protection, USDA Forest Service
Oaks, the beloved trees of our forests and landscapes! How vital they are in their support to the many life forms in our gardens and yet they struggle with the ever changing conditions and urbanization of the environments in which they live.
Join us to learn from plant pathologist and oak expert Ryan Blaedow about the health and status of oaks in western North Carolina.
Video access:
To access this video on the Buncombe County Master Gardener website, click on the link below:
Update on Oaks – Trees in Transition
Eliada’s Annual Corn Maze and Fall Festival is the agency’s single largest fundraiser. Through your volunteer support, you are directly impacting the lives of vulnerable children in our community.
|
|
|
|
|
Presenter: Dr. Ryan Blaedow, formerly with Forest Health Protection, USDA Forest Service
Oaks, the beloved trees of our forests and landscapes! How vital they are in their support to the many life forms in our gardens and yet they struggle with the ever changing conditions and urbanization of the environments in which they live.
Join us to learn from plant pathologist and oak expert Ryan Blaedow about the health and status of oaks in western North Carolina.
Video access:
To access this video on the Buncombe County Master Gardener website, click on the link below:
Update on Oaks – Trees in Transition
Eliada’s Annual Corn Maze and Fall Festival is the agency’s single largest fundraiser. Through your volunteer support, you are directly impacting the lives of vulnerable children in our community.
|
|
|
Support Asheville GreenWorks’ Urban Forestry program by planting a native Paw Paw grown in our nursery to celebrate the release of The Hop’s Paw Paw ice cream.
You’ll need a mate to pollinate! – If you don’t have a Paw Paw already planted at your home, you may want to consider purchasing 2 from us. We will choose two different genetic strains, which is needed for cross-pollination to produce fruit. Paw Paws are self-infertile, so for good fruit set, each variety must be fertilized with pollen from a different variety of Paw Paw tree.
Paw Paws are also the host plant for Zebra Swallowtail butterflies. Learn more about Paw Paws.
Paw Paw’s can be picked up on either:
-
(Paw Paw Ice Cream release day!) Friday October 6th, 3-6pm at The Hop Merrimon – 640 Merrimon Ave #103, Asheville, NC 28804
-
Tuesday October 10th, 10am-1pm at the Sand Hill Nursery at the Buncombe County Sports Park 24 Apac Circle, Asheville, NC 28804 (first parking lot on the left past the dog park)
Please note, seedlings vary in size and will be in either 1 or 3 gallon pots.
Presenter: Dr. Ryan Blaedow, formerly with Forest Health Protection, USDA Forest Service
Oaks, the beloved trees of our forests and landscapes! How vital they are in their support to the many life forms in our gardens and yet they struggle with the ever changing conditions and urbanization of the environments in which they live.
Join us to learn from plant pathologist and oak expert Ryan Blaedow about the health and status of oaks in western North Carolina.
Video access:
To access this video on the Buncombe County Master Gardener website, click on the link below:
Update on Oaks – Trees in Transition
Eliada’s Annual Corn Maze and Fall Festival is the agency’s single largest fundraiser. Through your volunteer support, you are directly impacting the lives of vulnerable children in our community.
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Seeds of Joy
The Evolution of Your Home Garden
We have five speakers who will present wonderful ideas we can use in Western North
Carolina! Bookending the day, Linda Vater, popular YouTuber, will start us off with
gardening for your favorite season, and our very own Craig Mauney from the Mountain
Horticulture Crops Research and Extension Center will close us out with tips and tricks
for WNC wildlife and landscaping challenges. In between, our speakers will be Brannen
Basham of Spriggly’s Beescaping, podcaster Leslie Harris of Into the Garden with Leslie,
and Heather Andrews of Garden Thoughtfully. What an inspiring lineup!
The event will be held at Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock. With easy access
just off I-26, the facility offers a roomy conference center with excellent graphic displays
and sound, plus a central area where the vendors will be situated so you can easily see
everything they have to offer.
The symposium fee is $65, or $60 if you register before the early bird deadline.
We have a fabulous caterer who will provide a morning snack,
lunch, and an afternoon coffee break.
As always, there will be wonderful door prizes, great vendors, and plenty of free parking.
Attendance for the full day is valid for 5 hours of continuing education.
Details and information for online registration will be released in August.
Visit buncombemastergardener.org for more information.
Presenter: Dr. Ryan Blaedow, formerly with Forest Health Protection, USDA Forest Service
Oaks, the beloved trees of our forests and landscapes! How vital they are in their support to the many life forms in our gardens and yet they struggle with the ever changing conditions and urbanization of the environments in which they live.
Join us to learn from plant pathologist and oak expert Ryan Blaedow about the health and status of oaks in western North Carolina.
Video access:
To access this video on the Buncombe County Master Gardener website, click on the link below:
Update on Oaks – Trees in Transition
Eliada’s Annual Corn Maze and Fall Festival is the agency’s single largest fundraiser. Through your volunteer support, you are directly impacting the lives of vulnerable children in our community.
|
|
|
Presenter: Dr. Ryan Blaedow, formerly with Forest Health Protection, USDA Forest Service
Oaks, the beloved trees of our forests and landscapes! How vital they are in their support to the many life forms in our gardens and yet they struggle with the ever changing conditions and urbanization of the environments in which they live.
Join us to learn from plant pathologist and oak expert Ryan Blaedow about the health and status of oaks in western North Carolina.
Video access:
To access this video on the Buncombe County Master Gardener website, click on the link below:
Update on Oaks – Trees in Transition
Eliada’s Annual Corn Maze and Fall Festival is the agency’s single largest fundraiser. Through your volunteer support, you are directly impacting the lives of vulnerable children in our community.
|
|
|
Presenter: Dr. Ryan Blaedow, formerly with Forest Health Protection, USDA Forest Service
Oaks, the beloved trees of our forests and landscapes! How vital they are in their support to the many life forms in our gardens and yet they struggle with the ever changing conditions and urbanization of the environments in which they live.
Join us to learn from plant pathologist and oak expert Ryan Blaedow about the health and status of oaks in western North Carolina.
Video access:
To access this video on the Buncombe County Master Gardener website, click on the link below:
Update on Oaks – Trees in Transition
Eliada’s Annual Corn Maze and Fall Festival is the agency’s single largest fundraiser. Through your volunteer support, you are directly impacting the lives of vulnerable children in our community.
|
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