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.
Located within the wildly-popular and botanically beautiful Southern Appalachian Mountains, The North Carolina Arboretum offers more than 10 miles of hiking trails that connect to many other area attractions such as Lake Powhatan, the Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Visitors of all ages and abilities can enjoy their hiking experience at the Arboretum as trail options include easy, moderate, and difficult challenge levels. All trails are dog-friendly and visitors are asked to adhere to the proper waste disposing procedures for pets.
Part of a running group that would like to use the Arboretum as a starting point or parking location? Please review our Running Group Guidance and email [email protected] with any questions.
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The Asheville Downtown Association is thrilled to announce the return of the beloved Pritchard Park Arts and Culture Series, made possible through a generous partnership with the Trina Mullen Foundation, City of Asheville Parks and Recreation, ArtsAVL, and Explore Asheville. This summer series will run from May 28 through August 30, featuring exciting activations every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM.
Mondays: Pickin’ in the Park
Enjoy performances by local singer-songwriters in an intimate and relaxed setting. Experience the rich musical heritage of Asheville as talented musicians share their stories and songs.
DSSOLVR PRESENTS:
ROBERT’S TOTALLY RAD TRIVIA
Every Monday, at 7:00 PM, come on down
Trivia with Billy is Asheville’s best eclectic trivia night. This blend of factoids, music knowledge, and critical thinking is guaranteed to have a little bit for everyone. A diverse team of thinkers is a must if you want to win. There are bonuses prizes on nights with 10+ teams, if your team beats the ever-present brewery team, and for best team name. This trivia takes a lot more than just being good at Jeopardy! This is the perfect way to extend your weekend, or start your week. As a wise man once said, “I drink and I know things,” and this is your chance to prove it!
Trivia with Billy
prizes and more
FELIX MENDELSSOHN Cello Sonata No. 2
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor
EDVARD GRIEG Cello Sonata in A minor
Tickets go on sale to the general public on May 1. To receive early access to tickets for this event, become a donor today! Donor presale begins March 25.
Hosted by the witty & sagacious Jason Mencer, our epic pub trivia night runs every Monday from 7:30-9:30pm! Plus $5.00 well drinks all night!
Come test your brain power with tasty pub fare, an adult beverage or two — and a team of your smartest friends! Win prizes each round and crow a little about what a smarty-pants you are!
Come join us for a night of laughter with the hilarious Zo Myers at The Bier Garden! Get ready to be entertained by Zo’s unique brand of humor and witty jokes. This in person event promises to be a night full of fun and laughter that you won’t want to miss. Grab your friends and head over to The Bier Garden for a memorable evening of standup comedy! Featuring Cayla Clarke & Jordan Julius. Get food, drinks and laughs! Largest beer selection in Asheville! Doors open at 7p so come get your spot early! Tickets $12/$15 at door
Come join Slice of Life Comedy for a night of laughter with the hilarious Zo Myers at The Bier Garden! Get ready to be entertained by Zo’s unique brand of humor and witty jokes. This in person event promises to be a night full of fun and laughter that you won’t want to miss. Grab your friends and head over to The Bier Garden for a memorable evening of standup comedy! Featuring Cayla Clarke & Jordan Julius. Get food, drinks and laughs! Largest beer selection in Asheville! Doors open at 7p so come get your spot early! Tickets $12/$15 at door
Located within the wildly-popular and botanically beautiful Southern Appalachian Mountains, The North Carolina Arboretum offers more than 10 miles of hiking trails that connect to many other area attractions such as Lake Powhatan, the Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Visitors of all ages and abilities can enjoy their hiking experience at the Arboretum as trail options include easy, moderate, and difficult challenge levels. All trails are dog-friendly and visitors are asked to adhere to the proper waste disposing procedures for pets.
Part of a running group that would like to use the Arboretum as a starting point or parking location? Please review our Running Group Guidance and email [email protected] with any questions.
Hit the trails and learn more about The North Carolina Arboretum’s botanically diverse forest with a guided trail walk! April through October, this free hiking program is led by trained volunteer guides who take small groups of participants along woodland trails and through a variety of forest types. Depending on the season and each guide’s area of expertise, topics of discussion may include wildflowers, plant and tree identification, natural history and more.
Guided trail walks are limited to 15 people, including the guide, and are not recommended for guests under 16 years of age. Groups depart from the Baker Visitor Center Lobby on Tuesdays at 1 p.m. and Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m..
Walks last 1.5 – 2.5 hours, are approximately one to two miles in length. As this program is held rain or shine, all participants should dress appropriately for the weather.
There is no pre-registration; walks are first-come first served and sign up sheets are located in the Baker Visitors Center.
Walks are FREE; however, donations to The North Carolina Arboretum Society are appreciated. Regular parking fees apply. Arboretum Society Members always park free.
Know Before You Go
- Guided Trail Walks are not recommended for guests under 16 years of age.
- Guided Trail Walks are rain or shine and all participants should be dressed comfortably and for the weather.
- Hikes cover 1-2 miles and last 1.5-2 hours.
- Well-behaved leashed pets are welcome to accompany their owners. In the rare case that a pet is disruptive or negatively impacts the experience, the pet and its owner may be asked to excuse themselves from the guided walk.
In 2014, a group of Vietnam combat veterans began meeting at the Charles George VA Hospital in Asheville to participate in a unique creative writing program. The focus was capturing their stories through essays and poetry to find the voices war had taken from them. The hope was to reclaim a sense of their shared humanity, build camaraderie and find some degree of healing.
To continue this work, the NC Veterans Writing Alliance Foundation will be offering free creative writing classes at the East Asheville Library in June and July. The goal is to provide healing through the art of creative writing to all veterans in our community.
Join other veterans for this series of classes on Tuesdays at 4:30 p.m. from June 11-July 30 at the East Asheville library. To sign up, please e-mail Ron Toler at [email protected].
The Asheville Downtown Association is thrilled to announce the return of the beloved Pritchard Park Arts and Culture Series, made possible through a generous partnership with the Trina Mullen Foundation, City of Asheville Parks and Recreation, ArtsAVL, and Explore Asheville. This summer series will run from May 28 through August 30, featuring exciting activations every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM.
Tuesdays: Hoop Jam
Join the fun with hula hoops and a live DJ. Whether you’re a seasoned hooper or a beginner, this vibrant event invites everyone to dance, spin, and groove to the music in a welcoming and energetic atmosphere.
The Fiddle/Mando & Banjo Weeks Concert II on Tuesday, July 2 features the wide-ranging music of mandolin virtuoso Mike Marshall, classical mandolinist Caterina Lichtenberg, progressive bluegrass from mandolinists Emory Lester and John Reischman, and banjo player Bill Evans, Irish music & more from Andrew Finn Magill, Alan Murray and Liz Knowles, and old-time from the college’s own Natalya Weinstein.
All shows begin at 7:30 pm in the college’s Kittredge Theatre. Tickets are $35 per concert (during Old-Time Week, ticket price includes dances following concerts). Children under 12 are $17. Limited tickets are available for check or cash only in Asheville at Malaprops Bookstore, and in Black Mountain at Acoustic Corner.
STANDING ROOM ONLY
Located within the wildly-popular and botanically beautiful Southern Appalachian Mountains, The North Carolina Arboretum offers more than 10 miles of hiking trails that connect to many other area attractions such as Lake Powhatan, the Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Visitors of all ages and abilities can enjoy their hiking experience at the Arboretum as trail options include easy, moderate, and difficult challenge levels. All trails are dog-friendly and visitors are asked to adhere to the proper waste disposing procedures for pets.
Part of a running group that would like to use the Arboretum as a starting point or parking location? Please review our Running Group Guidance and email [email protected] with any questions.
Grab some dinner and a pint while enjoying our long-running Old-Time jam! Featuring many talented musicians from the local WNC area, our traditional Appalachian mountain music jam runs from 5-9pm every Wednesday night at Jack of the Wood!
– STANDING ROOM ONLY
– RAIN OR SHINE
Free show! Sit ins are encouraged at this open Bluegrass jam.
Sing songs that celebrate Peace & Community, with Resident Teaching Artist Melissa McKinney. Sing, play, drum, and dance while learning songs from the Justice Choir Songbook.
Wednesdays at 6 p.m.
$15 drop-in class
All ages welcome.
Independence Day Fireworks
Karaoke Night at Hickory Tavern
Legendary British rock band The Kinks are revered for their early
classics: proto-garage rockers like “All Day and all of the Night” and “You
Really Got Me.” Their hits continued into the ‘70s (“Lola”) and even the
1980s (“Come Dancing”), and the group was inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
Primary songwriter Ray Davies has always displayed a distinctly English
perspective. The group’s seventh studio album, 1969’s Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British
Empire) is today held in high esteem among critics.
The Kinks turned out many critically-acclaimed and popular records, but they were about more that hit songs.
Ray Davies crafted many conceptually-oriented, rock-opera type albums. Arthur is among his best.
As originally conceived, Arthur was planned as the soundtrack for a TV special set to air in late 1969. Beset by
scheduling and financing challenges, the TV special was never completed nor aired. But the conceptually-
oriented Arthur LP arrived in shops in October 1969, and a single from the record, “Victoria” made it onto the
UK charts.
More than a half century later, Asheville-based
musician and songwriter Chris Tullar has drawn
upon Arthur to create a wholly new work, one
that is also a concept album, Not Arthur. For this month’s Music to Your Ears, Chris will join Bill to discuss the
influential Kinks album and talk about how he found inspiration within it.
Join us for live music and lively discussion as we explore The Kinks’ Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the
British Empire). Music to Your Ears takes place on Wednesday, July 3 at 7pm at the Asheville Guitar Bar in the
historic River Arts District.
ABOUT THE DISCUSSION SERIES
Music to Your Ears is Bill Kopp’s monthly discussion series hosted by Asheville Guitar Bar and co-sponsored
by AshevilleFM. On the first Wednesday of each month, music enthusiasts gather to discuss an important
album, artist or musical movement. An interactive evening, MTYE isn’t a lecture; it’s a discussion – and live
music performance – led by experts and designed to enrich the listening experience.
ABOUT BILL KOPP (blog.musoscribe.com)
With over 500 bylines in regional publications (Mountain Xpress, Bold Life, WNC Magazine and more),
Asheville-based speaker, author and music journalist is an acknowledged expert on popular music. Author of
two books – Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to The Dark Side of the Moon and Disturbing the
Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave – Bill Kopp writes for publications across the country and
abroad. A contributing editor at Goldmine Magazine, he has authored more than 30 album liner note essays
and conducted more than 1100 interviews. He regularly hosts discussions on artists and albums of historical
importance, and is a frequent guest on music-focused radio programs and podcasts.
Iconoclastic pianist and cultural visionary Lara Downes presents THIS LAND, a musical reflection on American imagination, transformation, migration, and innovation, the cycles of our history, the power of resilience and resistance, and the beauty that grows at the crossroads of our American journeys. Music by Copland, Ellington, Bonds, Still, Joplin, and many, many more.
Tickets go on sale to the general public on May 1. To receive early access to tickets for this event, become a donor today! Donor presale begins March 25.
On Wednesday, July 3, the Fiddle/Mando & Banjo Weeks Concert III will highlight an extraordinary lineup of great players featuring jazz violinists Sara Caswell and Evan Price and swing mandolinist Joe K. Walsh, bluegrass mandolinists Matt Flinner and Alan Bibey, bassist Kevin Kehrberg and guitarists Ed Dodson and Greg Ruby.
All shows begin at 7:30 pm in the college’s Kittredge Theatre. Tickets are $35 per concert (during Old-Time Week, ticket price includes dances following concerts). Children under 12 are $17. Limited tickets are available for check or cash only in Asheville at Malaprops Bookstore, and in Black Mountain at Acoustic Corner.
A fifty-year flood is a remarkable and unforgettable event that lingers in the mind long after the floodwaters have receded. The same can be said of Asheville, NC rock band Fifty Year Flood – their infectious grooves and powerful live show exceed all expectations and leave witnesses dumbstruck.
From the sexy, soulful vocals of lead singer Elise Jones, to the double-threat guitar work of Ken Jones and Chris Stivers, and the indelible groove of drummer Jon Gott and bassist Greg Terhune – their passion for their music rises, crests, and breaks on the shores of all who bear witness, leaving a joyous flotsam in their wake.
Founded by Ken and Elise Jones, Fifty Year Flood’s original sound is hard rocking, hook-laden and soulful – their songs tell stories of joy, desire, and armageddon, of blue-eyed desperation and ecstasy, of guaranteed exits and the healing power of rain.
The band has truly evolved from a husband and wife project into a great fellowship of friends, all contributing their passion and talents to something much greater than themselves. Chris Stivers has evolved into a strong creative voice of the band, with his unique, swampy guitar work brought to the foreground of the band’s new material, while Greg has breathed new life into the rhythmic foundations of FYF’s sound. Newest member, Jon, is proving himself to be the missing piece of the FYF puzzle, elevating the band to new sonic levels with his tight yet fluid grooves.
The band is in high gear, writing their best material to date, so look for them performing at a venue near you. The Flood cometh…”
Killer Queen’s first public shows were at London University, following in the footsteps of the real
Queen who had played their first shows there decades earlier.
Killer Queen’s UK popularity grew to such an extent they soon secured a residency in London’s
Strand Theatre attracting nationwide BBC coverage – the first tribute to have a show in the West
End .
The band’s reputation continued to grow both in the UK and abroad leading to an awards ceremony
in Leicester Square, hosted by Suggs from Madness who presented them with the award for
“Worldwide Best Tribute Band”. They also scored a number one hit when they they were asked to
recreate Queen’s harmonies for “The Real Life” with Fatboy Slim.
By now they were in demand in European arenas playing Ahoy, where the now reformed Queen
would be performing only a few months later. They were delighted to sell out Forest National Arena
where Queen filmed the concert set piece videos such as Hammer To Fall and Don’t Stop Me Now.
Killer Queen then joined forces with Bjorn Again and The Bootleg Beatles for a Waverley
Stadium show in Edinburgh. It was this performance that led to the band being selected to represent
Queen in a re-staged tribute LiveAid concert held by Sir Bob Geldof. They performed with him at
his arena charity concert to raise funds for the homeless.
In 2016 Killer Queen set their sights on America including the awe inspiring Red Rocks Arena in
Colorado – one of the countries most prestigious venues. The Beatles, Springsteen, U2 have all
played there and the band are delighted it’s become a regular fixture on Killer Queen’s tour sheet.
By 2020 the band were pulling huge arena audiences in Cardiff Motorpoint, Liverpool and
Nottingham. 2021 sees them back on the road ready to delight huge audiences the world over.
Located within the wildly-popular and botanically beautiful Southern Appalachian Mountains, The North Carolina Arboretum offers more than 10 miles of hiking trails that connect to many other area attractions such as Lake Powhatan, the Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Visitors of all ages and abilities can enjoy their hiking experience at the Arboretum as trail options include easy, moderate, and difficult challenge levels. All trails are dog-friendly and visitors are asked to adhere to the proper waste disposing procedures for pets.
Part of a running group that would like to use the Arboretum as a starting point or parking location? Please review our Running Group Guidance and email [email protected] with any questions.
Celebrate Independence Day with Patriotic Pops at Brevard Music Center. Hear the Brevard Symphonic Winds joined by members of the Janiec Opera Company, as they perform inspirational American music, traditional Sousa marches, and Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture complete with the sounds of live cannon!
Tickets go on sale to the general public on May 1. To receive early access to tickets for this event, become a donor today! Donor presale begins March 25.
Join us for our annual 4th of July Celebration! A Low Country Boil with The Silo Cookhouse & Root & Bone + Live Music + FIREWORKS!