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.
What do you do when you find you’re facing an insurmountable pile of unfinished creative work? An entire digital archive of ‘maybes?’
To use an Appalachian metaphor, you pan your dirt for gemstones.
This workshop explores what it means to run creative writing through an objective sieve. It provides a framework for tackling the current pile of unfinished work, as well as addressing the indefinite ‘maybes’ of tomorrow.
Learn to sift your mounds of incomplete material, develop self-editing skills, readjust your critical lens, and polish, refine, and complete your precious pieces.
Among peers and in the safety of a validating creative space, writers can anticipate the delight of creative collaboration, the usefulness of constructive feedback, and the thrill of showcasing the rarity and purity of their finest gemstones.
Weaving a spell with emotional, inspirational and expressive poetry, this award-winning writer and spoken-word artist mesmerizes audiences with his unabashed heart, raw energy and profound truths.
Saturdays from 10:30 AM – 12 PM
Weaving a spell with emotional, inspirational and expressive poetry, this award-winning writer and spoken-word artist mesmerizes audiences with his unabashed heart, raw energy and profound truths.
Medicine of the Starry Heavens’s Stories from Stardust presents…
Poetic Pilgrimages to the Underworld: Orpheus & Drinking from the River of Light
**with music from Elan DeHaro and Summer Shine**
Join us for a night of storytelling, music, stargazing, and poetry as we explore the myth of Orpheus, the underworld, and the river of light ✨
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As Vega, the Vulture Star, crosses the zenith of our autumnal skies it carries with it Orpheus’ Lyre. It’s the sacred harp crafted by Hermes on his first day here on Earth. Gifted to Apollo and passed on to Orpheus, it’s the tool for the attunement of the poetic soul needed to journey in and out of the Underworld. Fashioned from a turtle shell, Lyre resonates the 250 million year old Permean frequency of our deep bone memories. It’s the songline of our ancestors, the safety rope that allows us to navigate the catastrophes of life.
Date: Friday, November 1st (Scorpio New Moon)
Time:
– 6pm : Poetry and saying farewell to autumn’s hillside tapestry
– 7pm: Story and stars
Where: 65 Sanford Way, Barnardsville – The Sundial at The High Meadow
~or~ the Pavilion at Wild Abundance (if rainy)
*important parking info below, carpooling encouraged*
Suggested donation: $12-36, no one turned away for lack of funds
You can Venmo @MedicineOfTheStarryHeavens, book a ticket on Eventbrite, or bring cash the night of the event.
Bring warm clothes, cushions, blankets, chairs, whatever you need to be comfy and open to the medicine of the starry heavens..
Registration is now open for The North Carolina Writers’ Network 2024 Fall Conference. The conference will open on Friday, November 1, with a keynote address by Ron Rash, author of The Caretaker, Serena, and The World Made Straight.
The Fall Conference takes place November 1-3, 2024 at the DoubleTree Asheville in Biltmore Village. The organization’s biannual conferences are hosted in different North Carolina cities each year. The last time the conference took place in Asheville was 2019. This weekend event, designed to deepen meaningful connections among attendees, is a three-day celebration of North Carolina’s literary craft with talks, workshops, panels, and resources.
Join over 200 other writers and literature enthusiasts!
The conference welcomes attendees to experience two sides of literary craft: the evolving publishing environment for North Carolina writers, as well as craft technique that makes good writing endure through the ages. Ron Rash will be joined on the conference faculty by more than three dozen award-winning and acclaimed writers, editors, and publicists leading classes on the craft and business of writing.
Saturdays from 10:30 AM – 12 PM
Saturdays from 10:30 AM – 12 PM
The North Carolina Writers Network and The Brandy Bar + Cocktails present
KATHY SMITH BOWERS & LEE STOCKDALE as next in their series “In the Company of Writers.”
The program offers a series of personal and conversational dialogues featuring guest writers/poets followed by an open mic forum that occurs the 2nd Wednesday of each month. These inspirational gatherings will elucidate and entertain those attending. The guest author speaks from 7-8 PM with an open mic from 8 -9 PM. The Chicago blues music of “Hollywood Johnny Cosgrove” (accompanied by Charlie Wilkinson) welcomes you, continues during intermission, and closes the evening. Sign-ups for the open are available at the entrance.
Cathy Smith Bowers, a former Poet-Laureate of North Carolina, lives in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The North Carolina Writers Network and The Brandy Bar + Cocktails present
KATHY SMITH BOWERS & LEE STOCKDALE as next in their series “In the Company of Writers”
The program offers a series of personal and conversational dialogues featuring guest writers/poets followed by an open mic forum that occurs the 2nd Wednesday of each month. These inspirational gatherings will elucidate and entertain those attending. The guest author speaks from 7-8 PM with an open mic from 8 -9 PM. The Chicago blues music of “Hollywood Johnny Cosgrove” (accompanied by Charlie Wilkinson) welcomes you, continues during intermission, and closes the evening. Sign-ups for the open are available at the entrance.
Cathy Smith Bowers, a former Poet-Laureate of North Carolina, lives in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Saturdays from 10:30 AM – 12 PM
Dark City Poets Society Feedback Circle is canceled since Tuesday, November 5 falls on Election Day (go vote!), but Open Mic Poetry Night will be held on the third Tuesday, 11/19, from 6:00-7:30pm at Oak & Grist!
It may be difficult to put this past month into words, so if you currently don’t have anything to share, that is completely fine. Please know it is also okay and understandable to not be quite ready to hear poetry related to the hurricane. Just know we’ll be here whenever the time feels right for you.
As usual, signups to share will begin at 5:45 p.m. Instead of donating a portion of the drink sales to Friends of the Black Mountain Library, all proceeds will go back to supporting Oak & Grist.
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Come on by for night of spoken word presented by Dark City Poets Society at Oak and Grist Distilling Company. Everyone is welcome to share a few poems or just sit back and drink for a good cause.
The event is free and $1 from every classic cocktail will be donated to Friends of the Black Mountain Library.
gn-ups to share will begin 15 minutes prior to the start of the event. We look forward to seeing you there!
Can’t make it to this one? This event happens the third tuesday of every month!
Saturdays from 10:30 AM – 12 PM
Saturdays from 10:30 AM – 12 PM
Dark City Poets Society is a completely free poetry group that is open to writers of all ages and experience levels.
Join us at the Black Mountain Library from 6:00-7:30 pm on the first Tuesday of every month for our (respectful) feedback group.
Saturdays from 10:30 AM – 12 PM
Blue Ridge Humane Society (BRHS) invites the community to participate in their 4th Annual Historic 7th Avenue District Pup Crawl Paw-liday Edition, presented by Hunter Subaru, on Saturday, December 7th, from 12-5 pm. Participants will purchase “Pawsports” and
enjoy a pet giveaway or treat and a unique pet-themed activity at participating dog-friendly food and beverage businesses, earning stamps at each stop for a chance to win a grand prize.
The event, originally scheduled for October 19th but postponed due to the impact of Hurricane Helene, will now have a holiday theme with a new activity for pets and pet owners: photos with Santa. Pet owners are asked to bring their own cameras. The Brandy Bar + Cocktails, Celtic Creamery, Guidon Brewing Co., M&T Distilling, Southern Appalachian Brewery and White Duck Taco Shop are the host businesses participating in Pup Crawl. The community is encouraged to support these businesses by purchasing food, drinks and/or gift cards regardless of whether they have a Pawsport.
Pawsports are $20 for one dog and $40 for 2 or more dogs from the same household, if purchased by December 4th. After that date, Pawsports can only be purchased on the day of the event and pricing increases to $30 for one dog and $50 for 2 or more dogs from the same household. Human-only Pawsports can be purchased for the same price that will allow participants to collect all six stamps and
be entered into the grand prize drawing. Dogs must be leashed at all times and current on vaccinations. Event will be held rain or shine.
Pawsports are available on the BRHS website, https://www.blueridgehumane.org/get-
involved/events/pupcrawl or by calling (828) 692-2639 ext. 304.
Saturdays from 10:30 AM – 12 PM
Join Dark City Poets Society at Oak and Grist Distilling Company for a night of spoken word. Everyone is welcome to share a few poems or just sit back and drink for a good cause. The event is free and $1 from every classic cocktail will be donated to Friends of the Black Mountain Library.
Sign-ups to share will begin 15 minutes prior to the start of the event. We look forward to seeing you there!
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Come on by for night of spoken word presented by Dark City Poets Society at Oak and Grist Distilling Company. Everyone is welcome to share a few poems or just sit back and drink for a good cause.
The event is free and $1 from every classic cocktail will be donated to Friends of the Black Mountain Library.
gn-ups to share will begin 15 minutes prior to the start of the event. We look forward to seeing you there!
Can’t make it to this one? This event happens the third tuesday of every month!
Saturdays from 10:30 AM – 12 PM
Join us every Thursday from 6:30pm – 8:30pm for music, poetry, comedy and stories performed by our favorite local artists! Feel free to bring your own food/drinks or anything you’d like to share!
Sign up begins at 6pm, show begins at 6:30pm. Each performer will have twelve minutes, and the show is always livestreamed on our Facebook account.
Every Monday, Ivy Rozen, Senior Editor of The Black Mountain Press, will host a poetry-specific open mic from 6:30pm-9pm. Each poet will be able to share 2-3 poems, and occasionally we will have local celebrity poets close out our night with a featured reading (email Ivy at [email protected] if you’d like to be a featured poet)!
NC Writers Network & The Brandy Bar + Cocktails feature author Tony Robles as the next poet in their series “In the Company of Writers.” The program offers a series of personal and conversational dialogues featuring guest writers/poets followed by an open mic forum. These inspirational gatherings will elucidate and entertain those attending. The guest author speaks from 7-8 PM with an open mic from 8 -9 PM. The Chicago blues music of “Hollywood Johnny Cosgrove” (accompanied by Charlie Wilkinson) welcomes you, continues during intermission, and closes the evening. Sign-ups for the open mic are available at the entrance.
Born in San Francisco, Tony Robles now makes his home in Hendersonville. His latest poetry collection, Where the Warehouse Things was published in late 2024 by Redhawk Publications in Hickory, NC. This book focuses on masculinity, set against the backdrop of mechanical parts, tools, and the rough language of men. This, his fourth poetry collection, follows the 2023 collection Thrift Store Metamorphosis (Redhawk Publications). Among his honors, Tony was short-listed for Poet Laureate of San Francisco in 2017, named Carl Sandburg Writer in Residence by the Carl Sandburg Historic Home in 2020 and twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He holds an MFA in creative writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is working on his first novel.
The Grey Eagle and Worthwhile Sounds Present THE MOTH Presents: Asheville StorySLAM – “RESET”. All Ages. Doors: 6:30pm // Show: 7:30pm. $18.45.
The Moth StorySLAM is an open-mic storytelling competition in which anyone can share a true, personal, 5-minute story on the night’s theme. Sign up for a chance to tell a story or sit back and enjoy the show! Tonight’s theme is…
RESET: Prepare a five-minute story about a fresh start. Clean slates and wet paint. When the tide came in and the sandcastle returned to sand. Expunging your past reputation and going back to square one. Cutting bangs after the big breakup. Whether you changed your zip code, career, or outlook on life, tell us about a time you felt new. Tomorrow is another day.
Seating is not guaranteed and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be sure to arrive at least 10 minutes before the show. Admission is not guaranteed for late arrivals. All sales final. As many as 10 tickets may be available at the door for all of our StorySLAMs on a first-come, first-served basis.
Queer Girls Literary Reading Series Celebrates its Fifteenth Anniversary
Asheville, NC—On Sunday, January 26th at 6:00 PM, Eulogy at Burial Beer Company (10 Buxton Avenue in Asheville’s South Slope) will host the Fifteenth Annual Queer Girls Literary Reading, a celebration of Asheville’s queer literary women. This year’s lineup includes local and regional writers, UNCA students, and community members.
Admission to the event is by donation, with a $5-10 suggested donation (more if you can, less if you can’t). Doors will open at 5:30 PM.
Led by a certified Inward & Artward Creative Facilitator, Tikva Kingrea, this second annual, pre-Valentine’s Day workshop offers space to connect + craft a love letter from the heart. We’ll talk about the history of love letters complete with examples, what elements go into its writing, how to find and capture meaningful moments, and provide the needed materials to complete a written letter. This is a multi-disciplinary workshop focused around writing. Playful. Meaningful. Connective. Open to lovers of all types! Participants will walk away with:
– creative letter-writing
– a wax-sealed envelope and letter
– meaningful connection exercises
– a shared experience
– snacks
The 22nd annual Business of Farming Conference, presented by ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project), will be held Feb. 22 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The conference will take place at Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock, Henderson County, NC—which is a location change from A-B Tech, as originally announced. The A-B Tech Conference Center is undergoing repairs after serving as a disaster relief location during Hurricane Helene.
The conference focuses on the business side of farming, offering beginning and established farmers financial, legal, operational, and marketing tools to improve farm businesses and make professional connections. This year’s conference will also have a strong emphasis on resilience planning and resources for post-Helene recovery. More than a dozen workshops will be led by innovative farmers and specialists, including You Can’t Do It All: Hiring and Keeping a Productive Team and Planning for Farm Resiliency. A full list of workshops is at asapconnections.org.
Registration is now open at asapconnections.org. The cost is $75 by Feb. 1 and $95 after, with a discount for farm partners registering together. Scholarships are available for limited-resource and BIPOC farmers. The registration price includes a locally sourced breakfast and lunch. Lunch is sponsored by Farm Burger.
Support for the conference is provided in part by Dogwood Health Trust, NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Ross Gay is interested in joy.
Ross Gay wants to understand joy.
Ross Gay is curious about joy.
Ross Gay studies joy.
Something like that.
Ross Gay — Poet, Essayist, & National Book Critics Circle Award Winner — will visit ACS with a profound mission: to explore and understand joy.
Ross Gay is the author of four books of poetry: Against Which; Bringing the Shovel Down; Be Holding, winner of the PEN American Literary Jean Stein Award; and Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, winner of the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. In addition to his poetry, Ross has released three collections of essays— The Book of Delights was released in 2019 and was a New York Times bestseller; Inciting Joy was released in 2022, and his newest collection, The Book of (More) Delights was released in September of 2023.