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.

Wednesday, July 21, 2021
Asheville Outlets Announces Pack 2 School Supplies Drive
Jul 21 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Outlets

Help local underprivileged students start the school year with the supplies they need for success! Asheville Outlets will host a Pack 2 School Supplies Drive from Saturday, July 10 through Saturday, August 7, 2021. Throughout the five-week drive, marked bins will be available in the food court for donation drop-off. Student supply needs include: #2 pencils, erasers, colored pencils, crayons, glue sticks, school scissors, folders, spiral notebooks, marbled composition notebooks, dry ease markers (pencil & regular size) and pencil pouches. Classroom needs include white & color copy paper, Band-Aids, Kleenex, hand sanitizer, Ziploc bags, disinfectant wipes, and hand soap. School children at four local elementary schools will be the recipients of supplies collected during the program. The campaign will conclude on Saturday, August 7 with a live remote broadcast with iHeart Radio and gift card giveaways. For more information, visit ShopAshevilleOutlets.com.

Old World/New Soil Art Exhibit
Jul 21 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

Old World/New Soil

Foreign-Born American Artists from the Asheville Art Museum Collection

DATES:
May 7–August 2, 2021
LOCATION:
Appleby Foundation Exhibition Hall

Inspired by Allen H. Eaton’s book from 1932, Immigrant Gifts to American Life: Some Experiments in Appreciation of the Contributions of Our Foreign-Born Citizens to American Culture, this exhibition focuses on those artists in the Asheville Art Museum Collection who were born outside of the United States of America. As an American art museum, the exhibition calls attention to the fact that we have decided to collect those artists who came to this country – either at their own prompting or out of necessity. As they adopted America as their new home, we have, in turn, embraced them, their creative output, and their artwork.

Old World/New Soil: Foreign-Born American Artists from the Asheville Art Museum Collection is curated by Assistant Curator Whitney Richardson.

Our Strength Is Our People Art Exhibit
Jul 21 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

Sadie, a Cotton Mill Spinner, Lancaster, South Carolina

May 7–August 2, 2021

Our Strength Is Our People

The Humanist Photographs of Lewis Hine

DATES:
May 7–August 2, 2021
LOCATION:
Appleby Foundation Exhibition Hall

This exhibition surveys the life’s work of Lewis Wickes Hine (1874–1940), the father of American documentary photography. Consisting entirely of rare vintage prints, it covers the three overarching themes of Hine’s three-decade career—the immigrant experience, child labor, and the American worker—and culminates in his magnificent studies of the construction of the Empire State Building.

Our Strength Is Our People is organized by art2art Circulating Exhibitions, LLC. All works are from the private collection of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg.

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Public Domain: Photography and the Preservation of Public Lands Exhibition
Jul 21 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Art Museum

11am–6pm. Late-night Thursdays until 9pm; closed Tuesdays.

Public Domain: Photography and the Preservation of Public Lands presents works drawn from the Asheville Art Museum’s Collection by artists looking both regionally and nationally at lands that are either state or federally managed or have become so. This exhibition will be on view in the Asheville Art Museum’s Van Winkle Law Firm Gallery May 19 through August 30, 2021. 

“The Asheville Art Museum’s growing collection of photography features a variety of artworks that consider humankind’s impact on our environment and world,” said Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator. “The imagery featured in Public Domain reminds us of the critical role that artists play in environmental activism and preservation, affecting change at a range of levels”. 

Through images capturing the beauty, changes, and even devastation to the American landscape, photographers have played a vital role in advocating for the preservation of nature via the establishment and maintenance of state parks, national parks and monuments, and other federally protected lands. From George Masa and Timothy McCoy’s photographs of Great Smoky Mountains National Park to a selection of works from Robert Glenn Ketchum’s Overlooked in America: The Success and Failure of Federal Land Management series, these artworks provoke contemplation of both nature’s beauty and a calling to protect it. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Bureau of Land Management whose mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. 

Photographers include Robert Glenn Ketchum, George Masa, Timothy McCoy, Benjamin Porter, Sally Gall, and more. 

This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator. 

Summer Animal Encounters
Jul 21 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Chimney Rock State Park

Join a Park Naturalist to meet some of our resident Animal Ambassadors.  Participants will learn what kind of wildlife inhabits the Park and their important role in the ecosystem.  You might even leave with a newfound appreciation for critters you once misunderstood.

Time: Weekdays only at 11am
Cost: Included with Park admission.
Free Admission Western North Carolina Air Museum
Jul 21 @ 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Western North Carolina Air Museum

The Western North Carolina Air Museum is a center of living history in the popular Hendersonville – Flat Rock region of the state. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to remember flying the way it used to be. Bring your kids, your camera, and your leather jacket. You can view the airplanes in an hour or so, or spend the afternoon hanger-flying with our friendly, informative staff. We can’t guarantee fine weather, but our hangar doors are open rain and shine. And we can’t guarantee that we’ll be flying on the day you visit, but we do promise to propel your imagination back to the golden age of general aviation. Come for the airplanes. Stay for the memories. There’s plenty of both right here at the Western North Carolina Air Museum.

Preserving & Promoting

Our

Carolina Flying Heritage

MARA Meetings (Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous)
Jul 21 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
HOPE COALITION

MARA Meetings (Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous)

Monday, Wednesday, Friday 

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

 

Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous is a support group of people who believe in the value of medication as a means to recovery.  We understand that our individual needs may not be the same; our backgrounds may not be the same; our futures may not be the same.  However, our desire to live a safe lifestyle joins us together.  Non-judgement is our code.

About Hope Coalition

Hope Coalition is a grassroots effort initiated by the Henderson County Partnership for Health in 2013 as a community collaborative to educate, evaluate, and implement evidence-based models on substance misuse and underage drinking in Henderson County by building capacity and creating long-term and sustainable plans that are action-oriented and focus on community level change. 

COLLEGE STUDY HALL
Jul 21 @ 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Grind Coffee House

 Mon-Fri from 2-5pm. You have access to high speed internet, work space and HALF-OFF pastries when you present your college ID.

Recovering Hope Peer Support Group
Jul 21 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
HOPE COALITION

Peer Support

Group meetings: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 2:00 – 3:00 PM

 

Please contact us for individual services at 828.388.7979, Option #2

 

Through the “lived-experience” of our peer support specialists, we will assist, encourage, empower and advocate with others on their journey to finding their own path to recovery. Recovery is possible but is not meant to do alone. We do recover together.

About Hope Coalition

Hope Coalition is a grassroots effort initiated by the Henderson County Partnership for Health in 2013 as a community collaborative to educate, evaluate, and implement evidence-based models on substance misuse and underage drinking in Henderson County by building capacity and creating long-term and sustainable plans that are action-oriented and focus on community level change. 

Weaverville Tailgate Market
Jul 21 @ 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Weaverville Tailgate Market
River Arts District Farmers Market
Jul 21 @ 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
River Arts District Farmers Market
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River Arts District Farmers Market

Wednesdays 3-5:30 PM

Dog Adoption Event with Mountain Pet Rescue
Jul 21 @ 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Down Dog

Dog Adoption Event with Mountain Pet Rescue

Help us support a paw-some cause! Mountain Pet Rescue will be bringing adorable, adoptable pups while Twisted Roots cooks up some delicious grub!

Wednesday Kid’s Night! Chick-fil-A Asheville Mall
Jul 21 @ 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Chick-fil-A Asheville Mall

Join us EVERY Wednesday night for Kid’s Night! Children receive a free four-count kid’s meal with the purchase of an adult meal. See you on Wednesdays!

Grow Mills River
Jul 21 @ 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Burning Blush Brewing

Gather ● Relate ● Organize ● Work
Join us for the quarterly GROW Mills River Mixer and enjoy networking with those living and working in Mills River. Registration is required to attend.
2021 West Asheville Pub Run!
Jul 21 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Archetype Brewing West

A casual 4-mile or 2.5-mile jog through West Asheville. Route is similar to last year’s with minor modifications. Visit our Pub Run Facebook page.

Bent Creek Beginner’s Ride
Jul 21 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Bent Creek Rice Pinnacle Parking Area

Bent Creek Beginner's  Ride

**Weather related cancellations will be posted by 3pm the day of the ride**

Wednesday evenings there will be a Beginner oriented trail ride in Bent Creek at the Rice Pinnacle parking area that leaves at 6:00PM. This ride provides a welcoming environment for anyone who might be uncomfortable on intermediate or advanced rides. IF YOU’VE NEVER RIDDEN A TRAIL, THIS IS ABSOLUTELY THE RIDE FOR YOU!! While we’ll use gravel roads to connect trails, our focus will be on learning to have fun and improve skills on singletrack. While this is beginner focused, it will also be a fun social ride for those with more experience. *THIS IS MOUNTAIN BIKING ON MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAILS*

Where we ride and what we do will be determined by who shows up, and what we want to learn and explore. Questions from “How do I change a flat tire?” to “How do I ride over a log?” are encouraged and impromptu mini-clinics at trail features might happen.

Details:

• A mountain bike is required – This is critical as bikes with skinny tires are dangerous on trails. NO SKINNY TIRE BIKES.

• Helmets are REQUIRED(!) and biking gloves and eye protection are highly recommended.

• Please bring your own water, snacks, and a spare inner tube.

• If bad weather is predicted we’ll post a cancellation by 3:00PM.

• We’ll leave the lot at 6:00PM: If you can, be there by 5:45PM.

• We’ll try to time our rides to end just before it gets too dark to ride.

• Parking is limited. Arriving early and carpooling are recommended!

• Ride is entirely at your own risk. You assume all responsibility for your own well-being. *THIS IS MOUNTAIN BIKING ON MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAILS*. We cannot make the trails easier, but we will tailor the pace to Beginners.

Live Stream: Author Pedro Mairal + Translator Jennifer Croft present The Woman from Uruguay
Jul 21 @ 6:00 pm
Online w/ Malaprop's Bookstore

Like most of our events, this event is free, but registration is required. Click here to RSVP for this event. Prior to the event the link required to attend will be emailed to registrants.

If you decide to attend and to purchase the authors’ books, we ask that you purchase from Malaprop’s. When you do this you make it possible for us to continue hosting author events and you keep more dollars in our community. You may also support our work by purchasing a gift card or making a donation of any amount below. Thank you!


Lucas Pereyra, an unemployed writer in his forties, embarks on a day trip from Buenos Aires to Montevideo to pick up fifteen thousand dollars in cash. An advance due to him on his upcoming novel, the small fortune might mean the solution to his problems, most importantly the tension he has with his wife. While she spends her days at work and her nights out on the town-with a lover, perhaps, he doesn’t know for sure-Lucas is stuck at home all day staring at the blank page, caring for his son Maiko and fantasizing about the one thing that keeps him going: the woman from Uruguay whom he met at a conference and has been longing to see ever since.

But that woman, Magalí Guerra Zabala, is a free spirit with her own relationship troubles, and the day they spend together in this beautiful city on the beach winds up being nothing like Lucas predicted. The constantly surprising, moving story of this dramatically transformative day in their lives, The Woman from Uruguay is both a gripping narrative and a tender, thought-provoking exploration of the nature of relationships. An international bestseller published in fourteen countries, it is the masterpiece of one of the most original voices in Latin American literature today.

Pedro Mairal is a professor of English literature in Buenos Aires. In 1998 he was awarded the Premio Clarín and in 2007 he was included in the Hay Festival’s Bogotá 39 list, which named the 39 best Latin American authors under 39. Among his novels are A Night with Sabrina Love, which was made into a film and widely translated, and The Woman from Uruguay, which was a bestseller in Latin America and Spain and has been published in twelve countries.

Jennifer Croft won the Man Booker International Prize for her translation from Polish of Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk’s Flights. She is the author of Homesick, a Saroyan Prize winner, and numerous pieces in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the Paris Review Daily, and elsewhere. She holds a PhD in Comparative Literary Studies from Northwestern University and an MFA in Literary Translation from the University of Iowa.

Sand Hill Community Garden Workdays
Jul 21 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Buncombe County Sports Park

Volunteers at Sand Hill Community Garden

Looking to get involved, stay active, and meet some new friends? Sand Hill Community Garden workdays take place on Wednesdays (6-8 p.m.) and Saturdays (10 a.m.-noon) from Feb. 27-Oct. 30, 2021, at Buncombe County Sports Park. The garden is located on 16 Apac Dr. in West Asheville/Enka-Candler.

Join friends and neighbors as they come together on common ground to raise fresh, organic vegetables and fruits for the Enka community.

Expect to wear a mask and maintain social distance throughout. Tools and hand sanitizer are available, but any gloves, loppers, pruners, or gardening tools you can bring will decrease the amount of contact between volunteers. Please wear work clothes to get dirty and closed-toe shoes. Sunscreen, water, and a hat are also handy items to have on hand.

Sand Hill Community Garden has been growing fresh produce since 2011 and raised over 1,200 lbs. of organic produce last year.

NOTE: Community workdays are weather dependent. Please join the community garden email list (send your info to [email protected]) to stay up on workday tasks and other garden news.

To receive the I Heart Parks monthly newsletter, sign up online. Follow Buncombe County Recreation on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates.

Witty Wednesday Trivia
Jul 21 @ 6:30 pm
Sweeten Creek Brewing
Scoop: Witty Wednesday Trivia
Asheville Tourists vs. Hickory Crawdads
Jul 21 @ 6:35 pm
McCormick Field
Free: TRIVIA NIGHT
Jul 21 @ 7:00 pm
Rabbit Rabbit

Robert’s Totally Rad Trivia
Jul 21 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
12 Bones Brewing

Totally Rad Trivia invades 12 Bones South every Wednesday evening for two hours of Pop Culture Trivia. Grab a beer, some BBQ and buckle in for some fun and challenging Trivia.
BMC Artist Faculty: History of the Tango
Jul 21 @ 7:30 pm
Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium

BMC Artist Faculty: History of the Tango

Celebrate the 100th birthday of the brilliant Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla, master of the tango. Piazzolla revolutionized the traditional dance into a new sound incorporating elements from jazz and classical music. Flutist Amy Porter depicts the history of the tango here in one of Piazzolla’s most ambitious and popular works.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS
PIAZZOLLA Histoire du Tango
Other works TBA

Latin Night Wednesday
Jul 21 @ 9:00 pm – 11:59 pm
One World Brewing West

Latin Night Wednesday

MTN VIBEZ Presents Latin Night-every Wednesday.  Free Dance Lessons 8:30-9PM-All Skill Levels and All Latin Genres-Salsa, Bachata, Merengue, Cumbia, Reggaeton.

DJ Ephcto spins cultural bass music from 6:30pm-9pm and is a perfect time to come for some dinner prior to the start of Latin night.

Thursday, July 22, 2021
2021 Annual Juried Exhibition Calling Visual Artists
Jul 22 all-day
Online w/ Artists Collective | Spartanburg

The prospectus for our 2021 Annual Juried Exhibition is now available for download.
2021 Best of Blue Ridge: VOTE for Flat Rock Playhouse
Jul 22 all-day
Online
White text on blue background: Vote Now! Honor your favorite businesses by voting for them to be the Best of the Best. Vote for a Chance to win $250. Best of Blue Ridge 2021; the Official Community Choice Awards, BlueRidgeNow.com Times News Online

Flat Rock Playhouse is proud to be nominated in the 2021 Best of Blue Ridge from Hendersonville Times-News!

FRP was nominated in the Seasonal Attraction Category. You can vote once per day until Friday, July 23, 2021 at 11:59 PM EST.

Those who vote in more than 25 categories will be automatically entered for a chance to win a $250 Gift Card from the Hendersonville Times-News!

 

2021 School Supply Drive – Last days
Jul 22 all-day
Online

Join United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County as we set out to once again equip students with the tools they need to win in the classroom. The donated supplies to the annual School Supply Drive are distributed to elementary and middle grades students through distribution partners working directly with youth throughout Buncombe County. We can’t thank you enough for your contribution to students and families. For more information visit www.unitedwayabc.org/schoolsupplydrive2021.

UWABC SSD Logo 2021

Buncombe County has Boards + Commission Vacancies: Make a Difference in Your Community
Jul 22 all-day
Buncombe County Government--online

Are you looking for a great way to get involved with your community and make a difference? Boards, committees, and commission members aid the governing process by keeping Buncombe County in touch with the ideas and attitudes of our community. They help provide direction for the allocation of funds, the provision of human services, protection of residents, property, and our natural resources.

Public input is vitally important to the success of our County, and right now Buncombe County has vacancies on a number of boards and commissions. Learn more about vacancies, deadlines to apply, and the application process at buncombecounty.org/transparency.

Featured board vacancies

Buncombe County Board of Adjustment

One position is available. This Board interprets zoning maps; hears and decides appeals from any order or decision of the Zoning Administrator; grants Conditional Use Permits and Planned Unit Development Permits; authorizes variances in requirements of the zoning, junkyard, and off-premise sign ordinances. They meet the second Wednesday of each month from noon-2 p.m. Applications are due by July 23.

Apply online or download a paper application.

Home and Community Care Block Grant Advisory Committee (HCCBG Advisory Committee)

HCCBG Advisory Committee serves as an advisory body to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners made up of appointed community members who meet on a monthly basis to:

  • Review funding applications and provide County Commissioners with funding recommendations for aging services;
  • Review quarterly reports and monitoring reports regarding the delivery of services from the funded agencies;
  • Consider and discuss new ways to improve/expand on aging services;
  • Review aging plan and provide input; and
  • Advocate for aging services on the local, state, and national levels.

This Board has five vacancies, and the application process will stay open until all positions are filled. Apply online or download a paper application.

Call for Sculpture Artists – 35th Annual Sculpture Celebration
Jul 22 all-day
Broyhill Walking Park

The Caldwell Arts Council announces its 35th Annual Sculpture Celebration in Lenoir, NC on Saturday September 11, 2021 at the Broyhill Walking Park in Lenoir, North Carolina.

 

Sculptors are invited to bring up to 3 sculptures for this one-day event to compete for $11,000 in cash awards, along with potential sales and commissions. Registration includes free camping, a Friday Night Sculptors’ Dinner, breakfast, and a meal voucher for the day of the event.

 

This annual family-friendly event attracts sculptors and buyers from the eastern United States to Lenoir, North Carolina and in past years, has attracted over 4,000 people. It is funded in part by generous sponsors and by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS COMMITTEE
Jul 22 all-day
Online

United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County Community Conversations Committee

We’re recruiting individuals to co-create and implement a series of Community Conversations throughout Buncombe County. The purpose of these conversations is to listen to, learn from, and work with the community; building the necessary relationships that allow ALL voices to be heard in creating solutions that elevate student success, support families, and engage communities throughout Buncombe County.

While no one can predict the future challenges our communities will face, we do know that to confront them effectively our neighbors who are most impacted by poverty and injustice must be active participants in co-creating solutions.

We’re looking for 8-10 Buncombe County residents who want to help create these solutions by serving on our Community Conversations Committee.

Committee members will:

  1. Be paid for their service ($25 per hour/applicable to community members only)
  2. Commit to serving on the committee for a minimum of 6 months (starting August 2021)
  3. Help plan, build, and conduct community conversations throughout Buncombe County
  4. Initially commit to serving 3 hours per month in planning meetings
  • Lunch will be provided at each meeting
  • Commit to any additional times needed to conduct the Community Conversations

If you’re looking for an opportunity to help create an open and honest dialogue around some of our community’s most pressing issues, we want to hear from you!

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