Composed in 1741 by George Frederic Handel, the Messiah and its rousing ‘Hallelujah’ chorus is one of the most famous and identifiable pieces of Baroque choral music in history. It was first performed in Dublin on April 13, 1742 and received its London premiere nearly a year later.

Known as a Scratch, People’s, or Do It Yourself (DIY) Messiah, informal choral performances of Handel’s popular work began in 1749 and has continued for almost 300 years.

So it is with great fanfare that Tryon Fine Arts Center will present DIY Messiah under the direction of Brennan Szafron, with 4 soloists and Beth Child accompanying on piano. Community members will choose their spot as soprano, alto, tenor and bass and sing along with their favorite parts! Scores provided.

A reception will follow after the performance.

This is a free community event and everyone is invited to continue this centuries old tradition of singing and enjoying Handel’s masterpiece.

Lace up your skates, hit the big ice, and enjoy the fun at Bon Secours Wellness Arena! The rink is open for all ages to practice skills, skate for fitness, or just enjoy skating while listening to music and socializing with family and friends.

Tickets include access to the ice during scheduled 2 hour windows. Concessions will be available for purchase. Price of admission includes skate rental and ice walkers based on availability as well as complimentary photos with Santa leading into Christmas.

Helmets and safety gear are recommended for beginner skaters, all sessions are skate at your own risk. For your safety and the safety of others please follow the roles outlined on site at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

PARKING:

Free parking is available in the VIP Lot off of Church Street. Entry to public skating is located in our loading dock below the VIP lot.

TICKETS:

Tickets are $15.00 per person. Price of admission includes skate rental. Credit and Debit Cards Only. NO CASH ACCEPTED. Spectators do not need tickets.

SKATE ROLL & STROLL:

We are excited to bring back two free Skate Roll & Stroll session with accommodations for people of all ages with disabilities on 12/19 & 12/27.

FREE | Ages 50 and over

Calling all adults ages 50 or better: Eat, drink, and be merry in the tackiest holiday sweater you can find. To participate in the gift exchange (not required), bring a new item wrapped or in a gift bag.

Is there more that unites us than we realize? How can spirituality help us look past our differences as people and nations and instead focus on the inherent commonality we all share as spiritual beings part of one humankind?

The world around us seems focused on amplifying the existing fractures in society, highlighting messages of division and conflict over those of peace and unity. So in this environment, how can we as individuals make a difference? Can spirituality help us foster that peace and unity? How can we stop talking over each other and start listening to those we disagree with? How can we create unified and inclusive communities that can work for the benefit of us all?

Come join a different kind of conversation – one that welcomes every perspective in a search for the truths that unite us all – as we discuss the spiritual perspective offered by the Bahá’í Teachings on our essential common humanity. Join us for a lively discussion as we explore the role of spirituality in healing the divisions present in our society.

“The tabernacle of unity hath been raised; regard ye not one another as strangers. Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch.” – Bahá’í Teachings

*** This event is free and open to all regardless of background or belief. Donations will not be accepted

Songs From The Road Band

Songs From The Road Band is an Asheville, North Carolina based bluegrass supergroup featuring Mark Schimick (mandolin), Charles Humphrey III (bass), Sam Wharton (guitar), James Schlender (fiddle), and Gabe Epstein (banjo). The band takes flight with virtuosic picking, singing, and grammy award winning songwriting. Several of their most recent singles have gone to the top of the Bluegrass Today Grassicana chart. They have 6 studio albums available at all musical outlets.

“The Western North Carolina quintet is this band of melodic pirates, roaring down the highways and backroads of Southern Appalachia in search of a stage to play, perhaps another kindred spirit to collaborate with in the sacred art of songwriting and creating something (beautiful and permanent) from nothing (thin air and momentary inspiration).”- GARRET K. WOODWARD, Smoky Mountain News (Nov 24, 2021)

The Wilson Springs Hotel

The Wilson Springs Hotel are rooted in folk music and hail from all parts of Virginia.

“The Wilson Springs Hotel are currently on tour with their second album “Old Thoughts & Memories”. It’s a collection of original songs that take you through a variety of influences; through slow & somber crooner country, to rippin’ honky tonk, to hard hitting folk influenced rock, thru almost psych-rock like guitar tones and back again, all while maintaining that watermark-like sonic fingerprint great bands possess. Their live show is not one to miss.”

Following the Outdoor Show (weather permitting) there will be a Super Bluegrass Jam in the taproom.

Songs From The Road Band

Songs From The Road Band is an Asheville, North Carolina based bluegrass supergroup featuring Mark Schimick (mandolin), Charles Humphrey III (bass), Sam Wharton (guitar), James Schlender (fiddle), and Gabe Epstein (banjo). The band takes flight with virtuosic picking, singing, and grammy award winning songwriting. Several of their most recent singles have gone to the top of the Bluegrass Today Grassicana chart. They have 6 studio albums available at all musical outlets.

“The Western North Carolina quintet is this band of melodic pirates, roaring down the highways and backroads of Southern Appalachia in search of a stage to play, perhaps another kindred spirit to collaborate with in the sacred art of songwriting and creating something (beautiful and permanent) from nothing (thin air and momentary inspiration).”- GARRET K. WOODWARD, Smoky Mountain News (Nov 24, 2021)

The Wilson Springs Hotel

The Wilson Springs Hotel are rooted in folk music and hail from all parts of Virginia.

“The Wilson Springs Hotel are currently on tour with their second album “Old Thoughts & Memories”. It’s a collection of original songs that take you through a variety of influences; through slow & somber crooner country, to rippin’ honky tonk, to hard hitting folk influenced rock, thru almost psych-rock like guitar tones and back again, all while maintaining that watermark-like sonic fingerprint great bands possess. Their live show is not one to miss.”

Following the Outdoor Show (weather permitting) there will be a Super Bluegrass Jam in the taproom.

On Saturday, December 16, Juan Holladay will be performing solo singer-songwriter style, with a surprise guest or two. He will also share a sneak peek of new material from his forthcoming album, Bedside Lights. Free show!

Juan has been singing, writing songs, and playing in bands since he was twelve years old. In 2006, he relocated from Tucson to Asheville and formed an alternative R&B band called the Secret B-Sides. Since then, he has come into a more lo-fi, down-tempo, sample-based sound with the release of solo material and video content. The nature of Juan’s art is candid and personal, reflecting heavy collaboration with Asheville’s creative community. Juan’s daughter Ora is a member of LEAF Lights and is following in her father’s footsteps as a vocalist, songwriter, musician, and performer.

This event is made possible by SPARK THE ARTS, an awareness campaign designed to inspire public participation in the arts across North Carolina by highlighting the unique way the arts lift spirits, bring people together, and heal. Created by the North Carolina Arts Council in response to the pandemic, our goal is to ignite the resurgence of North Carolina’s arts sector from the pandemic by connecting residents and visitors to arts experiences across our state.

Wanna hear the best local music ​and​ drink the best local beers? Hop aboard LaZoom’s Purple Bus and rock out with a local band while we take you on a journey to Asheville’s premiere local breweries.

Winter Wonder Walk is a live action storybook walk, and a memorable winter festival. Guests will walk through an outdoor trail while our actors bring the pages of the giant book to life. Guests set out on a quest through the kingdom of Winterland and try to find Jack Frost while meeting several wonderful characters along the way.
Before or after the trail itself, there is a large festival tent featuring a holiday market, Mrs.Claus meet and greet, a kids play area, cozy cups of hot chocolate and warm eats. Winter Wonder Walk is also the home of Asheville’s largest snowball fight with our friendly and silly ‘Snow Sprites.’ In addition to all of this, the Adventure Center runs their two aerial glow treetops courses.
Every ticket to this event will raise 4 meals for Manna foodbank, it is not only a wonderful holiday experience, it also supports our entire community. This event demonstrates the magic of reading and inspires children to pick up a book. Any child that participates in our reading program and reads 10 books will receive entry to the Winter Wonder Walk. Glow Trail admission is only available with a combo pass. Tickets available online or at the door. www.winterwonderwalk.com 4 and under FREE

Festival of Lights offers two different experiences for attendees: a drive-thru and a walk-thru. The walk-thru dates will take place on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3 from 6-8 p.m. and the drive-thru will be taking place nightly from Dec. 4 – Dec. 23 from 6-9 p.m.

The walk-thru nights (Dec. 2 and 3) will consist of fun holiday crafts, kettlecorn, hot chocolate and the spectacular light show. Admission to the walk-thru nights is only $5 for adults, and children 16 and under get in free, making it an affordable and joyful outing for families to celebrate the holiday season together. Please note that parking for the walk-thru nights will be available at Charles T. Koontz Intermediate School. This is only a short walk from Lake Julian Park. Cars will not be permitted to enter the park unless they have a need for ADA accessible parking. Guests are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes and to dress warmly.

The drive-thru nights (Dec. 4 – Dec. 23) allow you to stay in the comfort of your own car while oooh-ing and ah-ing at the beautiful lights around Lake Julian Park. As participants drive throughout the park, they can tune into their favorite seasonal music on the radio. Admission is $10 per car for personal vehicles, $25 for sprinter vans, trailblazers, and conversion vans, and $50 for busses and motorcoaches. Purchased tickets will be valid for one-time use on any night of the festival; tickets are not date specific.

Join us in celebrating 10 Years of Winter Lights ❅

❅ November 17 through December 31!

December 16th: 6-9:30 PM $30 per event Make your own snow, festive slime, and dissolving candy canes!

From the bounty shores of England comes the Styckes-Upon-Thump Repertory Theatre Company, a stuffy old traveling troupe embarking on their fifteenth annual farewell tour of Dickens’ tale. The company includes Sir Selsdon Piddick, the consummate actor, in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, with Mrs. Bettina Salisbury, Dame Rowena Middleton-Lewis, Mrs. Cordelia ffoliet-ffolkes ffortescue Woods, Teddy Shub, and Elyot Crummels in multiple supporting roles. On this fateful Christmas Eve night, various forms of mayhem ensue as this professional company scrambles to keep the show going and everything that could go possibly wrong does, with hilarious, ridiculous results!

A Rivertree Christmas continues to be a treasured holiday tradition for music lovers in Greenville. This award winning choir delights audiences with their tonal beauty, clarity and passionate singing.

For over a decade, this most popular concert has captivated audiences with its engaging and heartwarming messages of Christmas joy and hope. This debut concert in Gunther Hall will feature carols old and new and holiday favorites sure to lift your spirits!

In keeping with their mission of inspiring young singers, Rivertree Singers has invited the Christ Church High School Choir to open the concert and join them for several seasonal songs.

Come experience the enchanting ambiance of our sparkling downtown to enjoy good cheer and festive music this holiday season.

Order early to reserve the best seats for a joyful holiday celebration with family and friends!

Bask

North Carolina’s Bask have spent the last decade exhibiting their progressive blend of heavy psychedelia and soulful Americana across North America and Europe. Sharing the road and stage with artists such as High on Fire, Pallbearer and Guided By Voices. With releases ranging from the pastoral landscapes and country twinged doom of their debut album “American Hollow” 2014, to the cosmic storytelling of sophomore followup “Ramble Beyond” 2017, and the folkloric vibe-soaked odyssey of “III” 2019. Bask enters a new era of heavy riffs, world bending compositions and fanciful visuals sure to delight listeners and live audiences alike. Catch them live this winter on the North East leg of their ten year anniversary tour.

Zombie Queen (Reunion!)

Back from the dead and ready to Rock! Exclusively playing truck stop parking lots, it’s Zombie Queen! All four members are off of probation and in rotation. Fun for the whole Famdamily! Now booking monster truck rallies, baby showers, and craft nights near YOU!

Serrate

“Serrate, an Asheville-based metallic punk band, mines influence from the sonic worlds of skramz/screamo and hardcore, resulting in a sound that blends viciousness with melody.”

– No Echo

This is an 18+ event

Truman Capote’s beloved short story, A Christmas Memory, will once again be performed as a one-man show by actor and theologian Dr. E.R. Haire, Jr. at the Episcopal Church of St. John in the Wilderness.

Performances will be held in the Wilderness Room on the following dates:

• Friday, December 15, at 7:30pm
• Saturday, December 16, at 7:30pm
• Sunday, December 17, at 2:00pm
• Sunday, December 17, at 7:30pm

The show is free to the public, but attendance is limited to 55 people per performance. RSVP is required. If the performance you would like to see is full, please consider a different performance, and/or add your name to the waitlist. Face masks are optional.

A Christmas Memory takes place during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Until he was ten years old, Truman Capote lived with elderly relatives in a small town in rural Alabama. The story is a frankly autobiographical account of those years, especially of his relationship with one of the elderly cousins, Miss Sook Faulk. This is the 21st year Dr. Haire has performed the story, from Los Angeles to Edinburgh, Scotland, with many stops in between.

It’s beginning to look a lot like…you got it! Keep the family tradition going. Same great quality, all new show! Come celebrate the season here on ‘The Rock’ with the always popular A Flat Rock Playhouse Christmas! Join in and sing along to some of your favorite holiday tunes like, “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Jingle Bells,” “O Holy Night,” and many more. With an incredible cast

featuring dancers from Pat’s School of Dance and the Flat Rock Playhouse Chorus, there is truly no better way to kick off your holiday season!

Buddy, a young orphan, mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole. The would-be elf is raised, unaware that he is actually a human, until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father and discover his true identity.

Edvard Tchivzhel, conductor

You’ll be brimming with holiday cheer when you leave this annual seasonal celebration! Gather your family and friends for Greenville’s favorite Christmas spectacular, which always features your favorites combined with fresh, new themes. Whether you’re carrying on a yuletide tradition or feeling inspired to start a new one, this concert is the perfect way to get into the spirit of the holidays.

Written by Margaret Raether

based on the writings of P.G. Wodehouse

*Please note, this performance is NOT included in the 2023-24 Season Pass*

tickets are, however, available at a 10% discount with the purchase of a season pass

Join us for an holiday presentation of Jeeves Takes a Bow! The British upper crust meets the New York mob in this witty play. Everyone’s favorite hapless hero, Bertie Wooster, embarks on an American adventure armed only with his handsome fortune, his talent for trouble, and his remarkable manservant, Jeeves. In less than a New York minute, they’re knee-deep in trouble with vengeful gangsters, chorus girls, and a new Broadway musical. 

A world premiere! Written by Jason Phillips, Abby Auman, Eli Hamilton, and Mickey Poandl and directed by Dwight Chiles.

Maybe it’s much too early in the game, but I thought I’d ask you just the same, what are you doing New Year’s? New Queer’s Eve provides a glimpse into the struggle, absurdity, camaraderie, and joy around this holiday from a LGBTQIA+ lens. The show takes place in one location, and spans several decades of New Year’s Eve celebrations. Through interconnected stories told by a collaboration of queer writers, New Queer’s Eve invites audiences to share in the joys and struggles of queer life through the decades.

*Content notification: language; sensitive subject matter; talk of death; brief burlesque scene (no full nudity.)

December 1 – 16, 2023
Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays at 7:30pm
Sundays at 4pm

NEW QUEER’S EVE
Developed by a Collaboration of Queer Writers
Directed by Dwight Chiles

Maybe it’s much too early in the game, but I thought I’d ask you just the same, what are you doing New Year’s? Join us for a look at this holiday through a new lens. New Queer’s Eve takes place in one location over multiple New Year’s Eve celebrations and provides a glimpse into the LGBTQIA+ experience through time. Through interconnected stories told by a collaboration of queer writers, New Queer’s Eve invites audiences to share in the joys and struggles of queer life through the decades.

Join us for our final Revolve Sound event of 2023 with “Community Drone” on Saturday, December 16th from 8-10pm.

Bring an instrument, plug it into one of the mixers we’ll have on hand and join the drone in progress (or just come by and listen if you prefer)!

We will have a PA, tables and a few power strips— please bring your own instrument, a cable to connect a mixer and a backup power strip just in case.

Acoustic instruments (or voices) are totally ok! If you’d like to bring a (small) amp: go for it!

Cover is $10 which goes to keep the lights on at Revolve. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

All ages, always. Tell your friends and we hope to see you there!

Details:
Name: “Community Drone” audience participation drone concert
Date and time: Saturday, December 16 from 8-10pm
Ticket info: $10, tickets available at the door and ahead of time at: https://withfriends.co/event/17086128/community_drone
Venue info: https://www.revolveavl.org/

OLD GODS OF APPALACHIA PRESENTS FAMILY TRADITIONS: A LIVE HOLIDAY EXPERIENCE

Ages 18+

FULLY SEATED SHOW