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.

Friday, January 26, 2024
Growing Minds: “I Tried Local…” free virtual toolkit
Jan 26 all-day
online

Growing Minds has published “I Tried Local…” a Toolkit for Engaging Kids with Local Food and Farms. This resource—intended for early care and education through second grade classrooms—offers an immersive curriculum designed around 10 crops grown in North Carolina. The print toolkit is currently available to educators in North Carolina who participate in a virtual training with Growing Minds. A free digital version is also available to anyone on the Growing Minds website.

Each unit includes an overview of a North Carolina–grown crop, lesson plans, recipes, coloring pages, book recommendations, discussion prompts, and a link to the “Meet Your Farmer” video series featuring North Carolina farmers. The toolkit also offers resources for implementing the core elements of farm to school—gardens, classroom cooking and taste tests, farm field trips and farmer visits, and local foods in meals or snacks.
Growing Minds will host a series of virtual training to support educators interested in using the toolkit. The first will be held on Zoom on Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Register here or contact [email protected] for more information.
School Garden Grants
Jan 26 all-day
online

Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County are happy to announce for the seventeenth year we are offering School Garden Grants to Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools, including state charter schools.

We provide a notice of the application period along with instructions to all school principals, elementary through senior high. Additional information is available on our websitebuncombemastergardener.org where you can learn more about the guidelines for receiving a grant and get access to the online 2024 School Garden Grants Application.

All applications must be completed online. Completed applications will be accepted beginning January 12, 2024, and must be submitted no later than 9 p.m. on February 15, 2024. If you have any questions, please call the Extension Office at 828-255-5522.

We are proud of our partnership with Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools. Since 2007, we have awarded 60 School Garden Grants totaling over $47,000. These grants have involved more than 17,500 students and hundreds of teachers, parents, and community volunteers.

School gardens grow more than plants. They grow imagination and creativity. They make math and science come alive, and they build community. We hope your school will join us in 2024.

Click on the link below to review the guidelines for school garden grants:
Guidelines for 2024 School Garden Grants

 

Student Soil + Water Scholarship
Jan 26 all-day
online

Buncombe County students interested in entering the field of conservation, agriculture or another natural resource program can win a $1,000 scholarship from The Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District.

The William Hamilton Memorial Scholarship will provide a student with money to go towards their studies. Eligible students must attend or plan to attend an accredited college or university and must submit a proposal for a volunteer conservation project in Buncombe County.

One winner will be selected by a committee of Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District staff and Supervisors and the funds will be dispersed directly to the institution upon completion of the volunteer project.

Scholarship Timeline:

February 28, 2024 – Deadline to apply

April 11, 2024 – Winning applicant announced

June 30, 2024 – Deadline to complete volunteer project

July 11, 2024 – Presentation to the Board, award dispersed

The winner is also expected to attend a Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District Board meeting to present the results of their project and accept their scholarship.

Find the application below. Completed applications and questions can be sent to [email protected].

The application can also be mailed to:
Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District
Attn: Jen Knight and Rose Wall
49 Mount Carmel Road
Asheville NC, 28806

Saturday, January 27, 2024
School Garden Grants
Jan 27 all-day
online

Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County are happy to announce for the seventeenth year we are offering School Garden Grants to Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools, including state charter schools.

We provide a notice of the application period along with instructions to all school principals, elementary through senior high. Additional information is available on our websitebuncombemastergardener.org where you can learn more about the guidelines for receiving a grant and get access to the online 2024 School Garden Grants Application.

All applications must be completed online. Completed applications will be accepted beginning January 12, 2024, and must be submitted no later than 9 p.m. on February 15, 2024. If you have any questions, please call the Extension Office at 828-255-5522.

We are proud of our partnership with Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools. Since 2007, we have awarded 60 School Garden Grants totaling over $47,000. These grants have involved more than 17,500 students and hundreds of teachers, parents, and community volunteers.

School gardens grow more than plants. They grow imagination and creativity. They make math and science come alive, and they build community. We hope your school will join us in 2024.

Click on the link below to review the guidelines for school garden grants:
Guidelines for 2024 School Garden Grants

 

Blue Ridge to Host ‘FAFSA Day’ Financial Aid Event
Jan 27 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Blue Ridge Community College

To assist college students in securing financial aid, Blue
Ridge Community College will host FAFSA Day on January 27 from 9 a.m. to noon in the
Sink Building on the Henderson County Campus.
“All students are encouraged to join us for in-person assistance with their 2024-25
FAFSA,” said Jon Grunder, Blue Ridge’s director of financial aid. “We are here to make
the process as smooth as possible and help students understand their options.”
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a form completed by current and
prospective college students in the United States to determine their eligibility for student
financial aid. This aid includes various grants, loans, and work-study funding. The
application is also part of Blue Ridge Community College’s process for awarding local
financial aid packages.
“This application is the door to numerous options for financial assistance, including
scholarships through Blue Ridge Community College,” said Grunder.
This year’s FAFSA is expected to be simpler for students to complete. The 2024-25
FAFSA rollout from December reflects the updates from the FAFSA Simplification Act,
which according to the official Federal Student Aid website significantly overhauled the
processes and systems used to award federal student aid. These changes begin with the
2024-25 award year.
Completing the FAFSA is also a requirement of the new Next NC scholarship program
which provides funding that students do not need to repay. According to the College
Foundation of North Carolina website, Next NC “is a financial aid program that helps most
North Carolinians from households making $80,000 or less pursue higher education by
fully covering tuition and fees at any community college.”
Those who wish to attend FAFSA Day at Blue Ridge Community College or another North
Carolina site can register at www.cfnc.org/pay-for-college/fafsa-day/.
For questions, Blue Ridge’s Financial Aid office can be contacted at
[email protected].
###
About Blue Ridge Community College Blue Ridge Community College is a two-year, post-secondary institution that elevates the
educational experience to prepare students for 21st-century success in the workplace or
at four-year colleges and universities. Providing real-life, affordable, and accessible
education, the College offers more than 200 degrees, diplomas, and certificates; more
than 200 online courses; and fast-tracked job training

Nonpartisan Voter Outreach Canvass
Jan 27 @ 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
West Asheville neighborhoods

Nonpartisan Voter Outreach Canvass-January 27, 2024-11:30 am -1:30 pm.

WNC Votes, a nonpartisan voter outreach coalition, will hold its first canvass of the 2024 election season on Saturday, January 27 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. Join us and help get out the vote for the March 5 primary—and make a real difference! Nonpartisan door-to-door canvassing is one of the most effective ways to increase voting and engagement among sporadic voters.

No experience needed! We go out in pairs, and each canvass provides training, all materials, and support throughout.

Registration required—exact location provided upon registration.
Register: https://bit.ly/canvass-jan27

WNC Votes includes committed individuals and local nonprofits: YWCA of Asheville, Poor People’s Campaign NC – Western Region, Just Economics WNC, Asheville Food and Beverage United, and Indivisible AVL.

Sunday, January 28, 2024
School Garden Grants
Jan 28 all-day
online

Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County are happy to announce for the seventeenth year we are offering School Garden Grants to Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools, including state charter schools.

We provide a notice of the application period along with instructions to all school principals, elementary through senior high. Additional information is available on our websitebuncombemastergardener.org where you can learn more about the guidelines for receiving a grant and get access to the online 2024 School Garden Grants Application.

All applications must be completed online. Completed applications will be accepted beginning January 12, 2024, and must be submitted no later than 9 p.m. on February 15, 2024. If you have any questions, please call the Extension Office at 828-255-5522.

We are proud of our partnership with Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools. Since 2007, we have awarded 60 School Garden Grants totaling over $47,000. These grants have involved more than 17,500 students and hundreds of teachers, parents, and community volunteers.

School gardens grow more than plants. They grow imagination and creativity. They make math and science come alive, and they build community. We hope your school will join us in 2024.

Click on the link below to review the guidelines for school garden grants:
Guidelines for 2024 School Garden Grants

 

Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred
Jan 28 @ 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Sigal Music Museum

Sigal Music Museum’s current special exhibition, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred, highlights items from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, which hails from all over the world. Showing November 2023 – May 2024, Worlds Apart uses a diverse range of historical instruments, objects, and visuals to bring together musical narratives from seemingly disparate parts of the globe.

 

Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred aims to increase public access to historical instruments from around the world and improve visitors’ understanding of musical traditions at the global level. Expanding beyond the typical parameters of the Western musical canon, Worlds Apart seeks to expose audiences to musical instruments and customs that are often overlooked or exotified. The instruments and other exhibit materials will offer visitors new perspectives on global music and a chance to consider how music is used for prayer and leisure in cultures around the world. By celebrating these stories, the museum intends to further its mission to collect and preserve historical musical instruments, objects, and information, which engage and enrich people of all ages through exhibits, performances, and experiential programs.

 

Displaying various objects from the JoAnn and Frank Edwinn Collection, Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred focuses on international musical instruments and cultures, celebrating rites and traditions with ancient histories and contemporary legacies. Frank Edwinn, a successful basso in the mid-20th century, studied and toured internationally, eventually settling in North Carolina, where he taught music at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Throughout his life, he purchased various objects from around the world, aiming to expose students, and himself, to the wide and wonderful world of musical instruments. This impressive collection occupies a unique position for educating audiences unfamiliar with the vast scope of global music.

And, UNCA’s Ramsey Library Special Collections is now processing the Edwinn’s papers and a few recordings that will be accessible next semester!

Monday, January 29, 2024
Growing Minds: “I Tried Local…” free virtual toolkit
Jan 29 all-day
online

Growing Minds has published “I Tried Local…” a Toolkit for Engaging Kids with Local Food and Farms. This resource—intended for early care and education through second grade classrooms—offers an immersive curriculum designed around 10 crops grown in North Carolina. The print toolkit is currently available to educators in North Carolina who participate in a virtual training with Growing Minds. A free digital version is also available to anyone on the Growing Minds website.

Each unit includes an overview of a North Carolina–grown crop, lesson plans, recipes, coloring pages, book recommendations, discussion prompts, and a link to the “Meet Your Farmer” video series featuring North Carolina farmers. The toolkit also offers resources for implementing the core elements of farm to school—gardens, classroom cooking and taste tests, farm field trips and farmer visits, and local foods in meals or snacks.
Growing Minds will host a series of virtual training to support educators interested in using the toolkit. The first will be held on Zoom on Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Register here or contact [email protected] for more information.
Registration open: Story Parlor Youth Summer Camps
Jan 29 all-day
Story Parlor

Wednesdays, Feb. 21-March 27 | In this 6-week series, participants ages 11-13 will unleash their imaginations, exploring the endless limits of their voice, creativity, and confidence. Students will learn about what a story includes, find inspiration in the world around them, and unleash their voices onto the page!

School Garden Grants
Jan 29 all-day
online

Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County are happy to announce for the seventeenth year we are offering School Garden Grants to Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools, including state charter schools.

We provide a notice of the application period along with instructions to all school principals, elementary through senior high. Additional information is available on our websitebuncombemastergardener.org where you can learn more about the guidelines for receiving a grant and get access to the online 2024 School Garden Grants Application.

All applications must be completed online. Completed applications will be accepted beginning January 12, 2024, and must be submitted no later than 9 p.m. on February 15, 2024. If you have any questions, please call the Extension Office at 828-255-5522.

We are proud of our partnership with Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools. Since 2007, we have awarded 60 School Garden Grants totaling over $47,000. These grants have involved more than 17,500 students and hundreds of teachers, parents, and community volunteers.

School gardens grow more than plants. They grow imagination and creativity. They make math and science come alive, and they build community. We hope your school will join us in 2024.

Click on the link below to review the guidelines for school garden grants:
Guidelines for 2024 School Garden Grants

 

Student Soil + Water Scholarship
Jan 29 all-day
online

Buncombe County students interested in entering the field of conservation, agriculture or another natural resource program can win a $1,000 scholarship from The Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District.

The William Hamilton Memorial Scholarship will provide a student with money to go towards their studies. Eligible students must attend or plan to attend an accredited college or university and must submit a proposal for a volunteer conservation project in Buncombe County.

One winner will be selected by a committee of Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District staff and Supervisors and the funds will be dispersed directly to the institution upon completion of the volunteer project.

Scholarship Timeline:

February 28, 2024 – Deadline to apply

April 11, 2024 – Winning applicant announced

June 30, 2024 – Deadline to complete volunteer project

July 11, 2024 – Presentation to the Board, award dispersed

The winner is also expected to attend a Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District Board meeting to present the results of their project and accept their scholarship.

Find the application below. Completed applications and questions can be sent to [email protected].

The application can also be mailed to:
Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District
Attn: Jen Knight and Rose Wall
49 Mount Carmel Road
Asheville NC, 28806

Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Growing Minds: “I Tried Local…” free virtual toolkit
Jan 30 all-day
online

Growing Minds has published “I Tried Local…” a Toolkit for Engaging Kids with Local Food and Farms. This resource—intended for early care and education through second grade classrooms—offers an immersive curriculum designed around 10 crops grown in North Carolina. The print toolkit is currently available to educators in North Carolina who participate in a virtual training with Growing Minds. A free digital version is also available to anyone on the Growing Minds website.

Each unit includes an overview of a North Carolina–grown crop, lesson plans, recipes, coloring pages, book recommendations, discussion prompts, and a link to the “Meet Your Farmer” video series featuring North Carolina farmers. The toolkit also offers resources for implementing the core elements of farm to school—gardens, classroom cooking and taste tests, farm field trips and farmer visits, and local foods in meals or snacks.
Growing Minds will host a series of virtual training to support educators interested in using the toolkit. The first will be held on Zoom on Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Register here or contact [email protected] for more information.
Registration open: Story Parlor Youth Summer Camps
Jan 30 all-day
Story Parlor

Wednesdays, Feb. 21-March 27 | In this 6-week series, participants ages 11-13 will unleash their imaginations, exploring the endless limits of their voice, creativity, and confidence. Students will learn about what a story includes, find inspiration in the world around them, and unleash their voices onto the page!

School Garden Grants
Jan 30 all-day
online

Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County are happy to announce for the seventeenth year we are offering School Garden Grants to Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools, including state charter schools.

We provide a notice of the application period along with instructions to all school principals, elementary through senior high. Additional information is available on our websitebuncombemastergardener.org where you can learn more about the guidelines for receiving a grant and get access to the online 2024 School Garden Grants Application.

All applications must be completed online. Completed applications will be accepted beginning January 12, 2024, and must be submitted no later than 9 p.m. on February 15, 2024. If you have any questions, please call the Extension Office at 828-255-5522.

We are proud of our partnership with Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools. Since 2007, we have awarded 60 School Garden Grants totaling over $47,000. These grants have involved more than 17,500 students and hundreds of teachers, parents, and community volunteers.

School gardens grow more than plants. They grow imagination and creativity. They make math and science come alive, and they build community. We hope your school will join us in 2024.

Click on the link below to review the guidelines for school garden grants:
Guidelines for 2024 School Garden Grants

 

Student Soil + Water Scholarship
Jan 30 all-day
online

Buncombe County students interested in entering the field of conservation, agriculture or another natural resource program can win a $1,000 scholarship from The Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District.

The William Hamilton Memorial Scholarship will provide a student with money to go towards their studies. Eligible students must attend or plan to attend an accredited college or university and must submit a proposal for a volunteer conservation project in Buncombe County.

One winner will be selected by a committee of Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District staff and Supervisors and the funds will be dispersed directly to the institution upon completion of the volunteer project.

Scholarship Timeline:

February 28, 2024 – Deadline to apply

April 11, 2024 – Winning applicant announced

June 30, 2024 – Deadline to complete volunteer project

July 11, 2024 – Presentation to the Board, award dispersed

The winner is also expected to attend a Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District Board meeting to present the results of their project and accept their scholarship.

Find the application below. Completed applications and questions can be sent to [email protected].

The application can also be mailed to:
Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District
Attn: Jen Knight and Rose Wall
49 Mount Carmel Road
Asheville NC, 28806

Growing Minds Farm to School Mini-Grant
Jan 30 @ 6:30 am
online
ASAP’s Growing Minds mini-grants help early childhood education (ECE) centers and K-12 schools throughout the 23 westernmost counties of North Carolina provide children positive experiences with healthy local foods through these components of farm to school: school gardens, farm field trips and farmer classroom visits, and local foods served in meals, snacks, and/or taste tests.

Mini-grant applications are available three times during the 2023-2024 school year. You may apply one time during this cycle. Mini-grants must be used within a year after receiving the funding. 

Applications due by:

  • November 30, 2023
  • January 30, 2024
  • March 30, 2024

If you have questions about your eligibility to apply for funding, please email us at [email protected] before submitting your application. We are unable to provide mini-grants to schools located outside of our 23-county service area or to folks who have received a grant from us within the past year. Learn more and apply here!

Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Growing Minds: “I Tried Local…” free virtual toolkit
Jan 31 all-day
online

Growing Minds has published “I Tried Local…” a Toolkit for Engaging Kids with Local Food and Farms. This resource—intended for early care and education through second grade classrooms—offers an immersive curriculum designed around 10 crops grown in North Carolina. The print toolkit is currently available to educators in North Carolina who participate in a virtual training with Growing Minds. A free digital version is also available to anyone on the Growing Minds website.

Each unit includes an overview of a North Carolina–grown crop, lesson plans, recipes, coloring pages, book recommendations, discussion prompts, and a link to the “Meet Your Farmer” video series featuring North Carolina farmers. The toolkit also offers resources for implementing the core elements of farm to school—gardens, classroom cooking and taste tests, farm field trips and farmer visits, and local foods in meals or snacks.
Growing Minds will host a series of virtual training to support educators interested in using the toolkit. The first will be held on Zoom on Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Register here or contact [email protected] for more information.
Pacolet Adult Appalachian Music (PacJAM) Spring Semester
Jan 31 all-day
Tryon Fine Arts Center

Adult Classes

Wednesdays

2:45-3:45 pm & 6:15-7:15 pm

 

Afternoon adult classes are for fiddle, beginning guitar, and beginning mandolin. Evening adult classes are for bluegrass jam, and beginning clawhammer banjo.

“If you don’t let things develop, it’s like keeping something in a bag and not letting it out to fly”
— Earl Scruggs

It’s never too late to learn to play and/or enjoy being part of the synergy that is created by adult PacJAMMERs!

Adult classes are $15/session, for a total of $210 for the 14-week session.

 

Registration open: Story Parlor Youth Summer Camps
Jan 31 all-day
Story Parlor

Wednesdays, Feb. 21-March 27 | In this 6-week series, participants ages 11-13 will unleash their imaginations, exploring the endless limits of their voice, creativity, and confidence. Students will learn about what a story includes, find inspiration in the world around them, and unleash their voices onto the page!

School Garden Grants
Jan 31 all-day
online

Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County are happy to announce for the seventeenth year we are offering School Garden Grants to Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools, including state charter schools.

We provide a notice of the application period along with instructions to all school principals, elementary through senior high. Additional information is available on our websitebuncombemastergardener.org where you can learn more about the guidelines for receiving a grant and get access to the online 2024 School Garden Grants Application.

All applications must be completed online. Completed applications will be accepted beginning January 12, 2024, and must be submitted no later than 9 p.m. on February 15, 2024. If you have any questions, please call the Extension Office at 828-255-5522.

We are proud of our partnership with Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools. Since 2007, we have awarded 60 School Garden Grants totaling over $47,000. These grants have involved more than 17,500 students and hundreds of teachers, parents, and community volunteers.

School gardens grow more than plants. They grow imagination and creativity. They make math and science come alive, and they build community. We hope your school will join us in 2024.

Click on the link below to review the guidelines for school garden grants:
Guidelines for 2024 School Garden Grants

 

Student Soil + Water Scholarship
Jan 31 all-day
online

Buncombe County students interested in entering the field of conservation, agriculture or another natural resource program can win a $1,000 scholarship from The Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District.

The William Hamilton Memorial Scholarship will provide a student with money to go towards their studies. Eligible students must attend or plan to attend an accredited college or university and must submit a proposal for a volunteer conservation project in Buncombe County.

One winner will be selected by a committee of Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District staff and Supervisors and the funds will be dispersed directly to the institution upon completion of the volunteer project.

Scholarship Timeline:

February 28, 2024 – Deadline to apply

April 11, 2024 – Winning applicant announced

June 30, 2024 – Deadline to complete volunteer project

July 11, 2024 – Presentation to the Board, award dispersed

The winner is also expected to attend a Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District Board meeting to present the results of their project and accept their scholarship.

Find the application below. Completed applications and questions can be sent to [email protected].

The application can also be mailed to:
Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District
Attn: Jen Knight and Rose Wall
49 Mount Carmel Road
Asheville NC, 28806

Growing Minds Farm to School Mini-Grant
Jan 31 @ 6:30 am
online
ASAP’s Growing Minds mini-grants help early childhood education (ECE) centers and K-12 schools throughout the 23 westernmost counties of North Carolina provide children positive experiences with healthy local foods through these components of farm to school: school gardens, farm field trips and farmer classroom visits, and local foods served in meals, snacks, and/or taste tests.

Mini-grant applications are available three times during the 2023-2024 school year. You may apply one time during this cycle. Mini-grants must be used within a year after receiving the funding. 

Applications due by:

  • November 30, 2023
  • January 30, 2024
  • March 30, 2024

If you have questions about your eligibility to apply for funding, please email us at [email protected] before submitting your application. We are unable to provide mini-grants to schools located outside of our 23-county service area or to folks who have received a grant from us within the past year. Learn more and apply here!

Pacolet Junior Appalachian Music (PacJAM) Spring Semester
Jan 31 @ 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Tryon Fine Arts Center

Beginning & Intermediate youth music classes on traditional and ol’ time instruments including but not limited to, fiddle, mandolin, banjo and guitar. Students will attend 40 minutes of music enrichment, including multiple flat-footing sessions led by Alice Kexel, story-telling, visits from guest musicians, as well as learn about the heritage of the music and the region. They will have 40 minutes of group music classes, and 40 minutes of singing or JAM rehearsal.

Advanced students will have 40 minutes of group instrument lessons, followed by 30 minutes of advanced singing including harmony and shape-note singing, and finish with 50 minutes of coached, small-ensemble rehearsal.

Classes are $15/session, for a total of $210 for the first student, and a 20% discount of $168 for each additional sibling. Parents may choose to split payments when registering. Inquire with Julie Moore at [email protected] or 864-420-6407 about scholarships.

Youth Classes

Wednesdays, 4-6 pm

Thursday, February 1, 2024
Free screening of “The Right to Read!”
Feb 1 all-day
online

In celebration of Black History Month this February, you can join a free virtual screening of “The Right to Read” on February 1st. The film will be available for 24 hours, so mark your calendars! Register here.

Growing Minds: “I Tried Local…” free virtual toolkit
Feb 1 all-day
online

Growing Minds has published “I Tried Local…” a Toolkit for Engaging Kids with Local Food and Farms. This resource—intended for early care and education through second grade classrooms—offers an immersive curriculum designed around 10 crops grown in North Carolina. The print toolkit is currently available to educators in North Carolina who participate in a virtual training with Growing Minds. A free digital version is also available to anyone on the Growing Minds website.

Each unit includes an overview of a North Carolina–grown crop, lesson plans, recipes, coloring pages, book recommendations, discussion prompts, and a link to the “Meet Your Farmer” video series featuring North Carolina farmers. The toolkit also offers resources for implementing the core elements of farm to school—gardens, classroom cooking and taste tests, farm field trips and farmer visits, and local foods in meals or snacks.
Growing Minds will host a series of virtual training to support educators interested in using the toolkit. The first will be held on Zoom on Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Register here or contact [email protected] for more information.
Registration open: Story Parlor Youth Summer Camps
Feb 1 all-day
Story Parlor

Wednesdays, Feb. 21-March 27 | In this 6-week series, participants ages 11-13 will unleash their imaginations, exploring the endless limits of their voice, creativity, and confidence. Students will learn about what a story includes, find inspiration in the world around them, and unleash their voices onto the page!

School Garden Grants
Feb 1 all-day
online

Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County are happy to announce for the seventeenth year we are offering School Garden Grants to Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools, including state charter schools.

We provide a notice of the application period along with instructions to all school principals, elementary through senior high. Additional information is available on our websitebuncombemastergardener.org where you can learn more about the guidelines for receiving a grant and get access to the online 2024 School Garden Grants Application.

All applications must be completed online. Completed applications will be accepted beginning January 12, 2024, and must be submitted no later than 9 p.m. on February 15, 2024. If you have any questions, please call the Extension Office at 828-255-5522.

We are proud of our partnership with Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools. Since 2007, we have awarded 60 School Garden Grants totaling over $47,000. These grants have involved more than 17,500 students and hundreds of teachers, parents, and community volunteers.

School gardens grow more than plants. They grow imagination and creativity. They make math and science come alive, and they build community. We hope your school will join us in 2024.

Click on the link below to review the guidelines for school garden grants:
Guidelines for 2024 School Garden Grants

 

Student Soil + Water Scholarship
Feb 1 all-day
online

Buncombe County students interested in entering the field of conservation, agriculture or another natural resource program can win a $1,000 scholarship from The Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District.

The William Hamilton Memorial Scholarship will provide a student with money to go towards their studies. Eligible students must attend or plan to attend an accredited college or university and must submit a proposal for a volunteer conservation project in Buncombe County.

One winner will be selected by a committee of Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District staff and Supervisors and the funds will be dispersed directly to the institution upon completion of the volunteer project.

Scholarship Timeline:

February 28, 2024 – Deadline to apply

April 11, 2024 – Winning applicant announced

June 30, 2024 – Deadline to complete volunteer project

July 11, 2024 – Presentation to the Board, award dispersed

The winner is also expected to attend a Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District Board meeting to present the results of their project and accept their scholarship.

Find the application below. Completed applications and questions can be sent to [email protected].

The application can also be mailed to:
Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District
Attn: Jen Knight and Rose Wall
49 Mount Carmel Road
Asheville NC, 28806

Growing Minds Farm to School Mini-Grant
Feb 1 @ 6:30 am
online
ASAP’s Growing Minds mini-grants help early childhood education (ECE) centers and K-12 schools throughout the 23 westernmost counties of North Carolina provide children positive experiences with healthy local foods through these components of farm to school: school gardens, farm field trips and farmer classroom visits, and local foods served in meals, snacks, and/or taste tests.

Mini-grant applications are available three times during the 2023-2024 school year. You may apply one time during this cycle. Mini-grants must be used within a year after receiving the funding. 

Applications due by:

  • November 30, 2023
  • January 30, 2024
  • March 30, 2024

If you have questions about your eligibility to apply for funding, please email us at [email protected] before submitting your application. We are unable to provide mini-grants to schools located outside of our 23-county service area or to folks who have received a grant from us within the past year. Learn more and apply here!