Asheville Event Calendar

 

https://asheville.scenethink.com/mountainxpress/cal

 

 

Top Events & Festivals in Asheville & Western NC

 

https://www.romanticasheville.com/events.html

 

 

Asheville Today

 

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Other Asheville (and surrounding areas) Things to Do

 (Listed in No Particular Order)

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North Carolina Arboretum –100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville

 

• Nestled in the Southern Appalachian Mountains just south of Asheville, The North Carolina Arboretum offers acres of cultivated gardens and groomed trails featuring some of the most beautiful, botanically-diverse plants in the region.

 

Asheville Art Museum – 2 S Pack Sq, Asheville

 

• The home collection of 20th-century American art is always on display at the Asheville Art Museum. The museum also hosts several guest exhibits in all types, styles and forms. Lose yourself in the rich variety of beauty and talent on display, you will not be disappointed.  2 S Pack Sq, Asheville

 

 

Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 382: Folk Art Center, Visitor Center and Park Store

 

• The Folk Art Center showcases the finest in traditional and contemporary craft of the Southern Appalachians. It houses the Southern Highland Craft Guild’s century-old Allanstand Craft shop, exhibitions in 3 galleries, a library, auditorium, and a cooperating association book store and Parkway information desk.  Guild artisans demonstrate a variety of arts and crafts in the Folk Art Center Lobby.

 

Blue Ridge Parkway – Called America’s Favorite Drive

 

• A Blue Ridge Parkway experience is unlike any other: a slow-paced and relaxing drive revealing stunning long-range vistas and close-up views of the rugged mountains and pastoral landscapes of the Appalachian Highlands. The Parkway meanders for 469 miles, through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The parkway protects a diversity of plants and animals, and provides opportunities for enjoying all that makes this region of the country so special.

 

Pack Place – Downtown Asheville

 

• Only in Asheville can one find such a diverse mix of culture. Arts, theatre, dance, African American heritage, and Geology are all things that define our world; to find them all at the same location is nothing short of amazing. Pack Place houses the Asheville Art Museum, Colburn Earth Science Museum, Diana Wortham Theatre, and the YMI Cultural Center, making it one of the highest concentrations of culture in the South.

 

• The Asheville Art Museum -The Museum plays a vital role in the arts community of Western North Carolina as its sole visual arts facility. As the only resource for art programs and museum quality collections in the region, The Asheville Art Museum strives to work with the community to enhance both public access and education of the arts by offering workshops, lectures, a library, films and more. They also offer volunteer opportunities, travel programs, and an amazing collection of art.

 

• The Colburn Earth Science Museum - Striving to foster an appreciation of the Earth and its mineral resources, The Colburn Earth Science Museum provides the public with exhibits, educational programming, and the collection and upkeep of specimens. They offer an extraordinary collection of mineral crystals and gemstones both from North Carolina, and all over the planet. Check out the amethyst crystal cluster from Due West, South Carolina in the Hall of Minerals, be amazed by the 2,405.5 carat boulder opal from Australia, and explore the Petrology Collection, the Fossil Collection and more. Asheville is a fitting home for the museum as North Carolina's mineral fields have the greatest variety of minerals in the nation.

 

• Diana Wortham Theatre - One of Asheville's finest theaters offers year round performances of theater, music, and dance. Hosting a variety of nationally touring acts as well as professional and avocational regional arts groups, the Diana Wortham Theatre provides an invaluable resource to Western North Carolina. The 500+ seat theater was designed by Peter George to have flawless acoustics, state of the art lighting, and an overall intimate feel.

 

 

• YMI Cultural Center exists to celebrate African American Culture and Diversity in the Asheville community. Since it was started in 1893 as the Young Mens Institute, the YMI has served Asheville's minority citizens. Preserving and engaging with the history of African Americans in Western North Carolina, the YMI strives to “Facilitate a cultural dialog through the promotion of on-going programs and special events.” These events include the Asheville Goombay! Festival, an Annual Kwanzaa Celebration, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration. There are several noteworthy permanent exhibits: "In the Spirit of Africa" which includes selections of traditional and contemporary African masks, figurative woodcarvings, beadwork, jewelry, and textiles. "African American Culture-Ancestral Legacies Program" presents children from throughout the region with the chance to study music, dance, painting, sculpture, and other traditional African crafts. These and other permanent and traveling exhibitions are just some of the ways in which the YMI Cultural Center helps Asheville to celebrate its proud African American heritage.

 

 

Thomas Wolfe Home - The Thomas Wolfe House, a National Historic Landmark, is located at 48 Spruce St. in downtown Asheville. 

 

American Novelist Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938)

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• Considered by many to be one of the giants of 20th-century American literature, Thomas Wolfe immortalized his childhood home in his epic autobiographical novel, Look Homeward, Angel. Wolfe’s colorful portrayal of his family, his hometown of “Altamont” Asheville, North Carolina, and “Dixieland” the Old Kentucky Home boardinghouse, earned the Victorian period house a place as one of American literature’s most famous landmarks.

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• The visitor center is located behind the house (52 North Market Street)

 

 

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site:  Connemara – Located in the adorable village of Flat Rock, near Hendersonville, and 30 miles south of Asheville.

 

• You will find the fascinating home of America’s poet Carl Sandburg.  It was designated as a National Historic Site in 1968 (park of the US National Park Service) to honor Sandburg’s massive collection of stories about the American people’s plights, struggles, joys and hopes.  Wife Lilian has a fantastic story of her own, breeding and milking her prize-winning goats.  It’s free to explore the grounds, but there is a small fee for a guided house tour.

 

Biltmore Estate - 1 Antler Hill Rd, Asheville (Just off of I-40)

 

• Biltmore Estate is a historic house museum and tourist attraction in Asheville. Biltmore House, the main residence, is a Châteauesque-style mansion built for George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895 and is the largest privately owned house in the United States, at 178,926 square feet (16,622.8 m2) of floor space (135,280 square feet of living area).   Still owned by George Vanderbilt's descendants, it remains one of the most prominent examples of Gilded Age mansions.

 

• With 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms and 65 fireplaces, George Vanderbilt’s French-inspired dream home, the Biltmore, is #chateaugoals to say the least. And now there’s The Inn and Village Hotel on Biltmore Estate, Antler Hill Village for dining and shopping, and a falconry school.

 

• Wander through gardens and lush grounds, tour the grand mansion and learn about the history of this opulent estate 

 

LaZoom City Comedy Bus Tour – Downtown Asheville

 

• Camp is alive and well on the LaZoom’s City Comedy Bus Tour, which makes you laugh while teaching you all about Asheville’s history. And if you don’t wind up staying in Montford, you’ll ride through it, as well as downtown Asheville, the River Arts District and more. Did we mention it’s BYOB?

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Hike to Waterfalls – Dupont State Forest

 

• As one can expect in a nature haven such as this, there are countless waterfalls to explore. Hike to any number of waterfalls in Dupont State Forest including Triple Falls, Hooker Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. You might recognize the latter from cameos in films like The Hunger Games and Last of the Mohicans.

 

Western North Carolina Cheese Trail – See locations below

 

• Asheville is home to dozens of cheesemongers honoring the traditions of Appalachian artisan cheese production. Many of these farms even let you get hands-on with their cows and goats while receiving a behind-the-scenes look at a day in the life (and a taste of their offerings). 

 

• Spend an afternoon or a weekend exploring the country roads of beautiful Western North Carolina and sample some of the best cheeses being made in the south today.  The WNC Cheese Trail (501c6) allows you to connect directly with cheesemakers, see where your favorite cheeses are crafted, and buy straight from the producers. You will find cow and goat milk cheese, fresh to aged, pasteurized and raw, as well as artisan and farmstead producers.  The cheesemaking community in WNC is vibrant and growing—come see for yourself. 

 

• The Cheesemakers of WNC
   1  Blue Ridge Mountain Creamery - Friday Tasting Tours - by appointment. Check website for more opportunities to visit
  327 Flat Creek Rd, Fairview, 828-551-5739  caveagedcheeses.com   
   2  English Farmstead  Fri & Sat 10-6pM
  19456 US 221 N, Marion, 828-756-8166  englishfarmsteadcheese.com
  3  Heritage Homestead Dairy Crumpler, By appointment only, thanks!
  828-773-8319  heritagehomestead.net      
   4  Looking Glass Creamery Thu-Sun 11-5pM
  57 Noble Rd, Fairview,  828-222-0383  ashevillecheese.com
   6  Round Mountain Creamery Tours by appointment Wed-Sat, Store Fri & Sat 12-4pm
  2203 Old Fort Rd, Black Mnt, 828-669-0718  roundmountaincreamery.com
  7  Three Graces Dairy Marshall, By appointment only, thanks!
  828-656-2195  threegracesdairy.com
  8  Spinning Spider Creamery May-Dec: Fri-Sun 12-4pm
  4717 East Fork Rd, Marshall, 828-206-5509  spinningspidercreamery.com
  9  Yellow Branch Cheese and Pottery  Apr-Nov: Tue-Sat 12-5pm.  Also by appointment or by chance!
  1073 Old Yellow Branch Rd, Robbinsville, 828-479-6710  yellowbranch.com                
  
  Farm-Stops Along the Trail
   10 Addison Farms Vineyard Fri & Sat 12-5pM; Sun 1-5pM; or by appointment 
  4005 New Leicester HWY, Leicester, 828-581-9463  addisonfarms.net
   11 Hickory Nut Gap Farm 10am-6pm everyday      
  57 Sugar Hollow RD, Fairview, , 828-628-1027  hickorynutgap.com
   12 Linville Falls Winery  Apr-Sep: 12-6pM everyday,  Oct- Mar:12-5pM Thu-Sun   
  9557 Linville Falls HWY, Newland, 828-765-1400  linvillefallswinery.com
  13 Ripshin Goat Dairy Lenior, by appointment  
  Liza Plaster & William Early  828-758-0906 

 

Shoji Spa & Lodge - Hot Springs Zen Time - 96 Avondale Heights

 

• Eight minutes from downtown Asheville—and 2,500 feet above sea level—sits Shoji Spa & Lodge, a Japanese-inspired woodland sanctuary that features private salt hot tubs ideal for soaking stress away.

 

Pisgah National Forest - Pisgah Ranger District: Take I 26 East to Exit 40 (Airport Rd.) Turn right on Airport Road (Hwy. 280) and continue on it until reaching Pisgah Forest. Turn right on US Hwy. 276 North. The ranger district office is approximately 2 miles on US 276.

 

• The Pisgah National Forest is a land of mile-high peaks, cascading waterfalls, and heavily forested slopes.  Comprised of over 500,000 acres, the Pisgah is primarily a hardwood forest with whitewater rivers, waterfalls, and hundreds of miles of trails. 

 

• This national forest is home of the first tract of land purchased under the Weeks Act of 1911 which led to the creation of the national forests in the eastern US. 

 

• It is also home of the first school of forestry in the US, now preserved at the Cradle of Forestry in America historic site, and boasts two of the first designated wilderness areas in the east.

 

Omni Grove Park Inn –  290 Macon Avenue, Asheville

 

• There’s a reason guests have been staying at The Omni Grove Park Inn for over a hundred years. We invite you to come relax, rejuvenate and to breathe in the clean mountain air. The Inn, set atop Sunset Mountain, features guest rooms with spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and its lush Donald Ross–designed golf course. 

 

• Host to the Annual National Gingerbread House Competition in November-December.

 

River Arts District – 140 Roberts St, downtown Asheville

 

• The River Arts District is place brimming with the enthusiasm of many working artists who love their work and enjoy the public's reaction to the work. This district is made up of four adjacent areas along the river, warehouses converted into artist studios, galleries and shops.

 

Grove Arcade – 1 Page Avenue, downtown Asheville

 

• Grove Arcade is a beautifully preserved historical building in the heart of Downtown Asheville that represents the heart and character of the town. It’s rich history and ornate architecture combined with its eclectic mix of shops and restaurants offer patrons a full-day immersion into Asheville lifestyle and culture.

 

Black Mountain - Nestled deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains, 15 miles East of Asheville, NC, you will find a special town called Black Mountain.

 

• With a population of 7,500, it has been ranked “One of the 50 Safest Towns in North Carolina” as well as the “Best Small Town in Western North Carolina.” Boasting spectacular mountain views, it was recently voted by Trip Advisor as one of the “Prettiest Small Towns in America to Vacation.”

 

• Formerly home to renowned Black Mountain College, Black Mountain is nationally recognized for arts, crafts, furniture, and music. It is currently home to over 200 businesses, including restaurants, bed and breakfasts, specialty shops, four breweries, and a recently announced large manufacturing operation. Because of its hospitality to visitors and businesses alike, it has been designated as a “Entrepreneurial Friendly Community.”

 

• The surrounding mountains offer walking, hiking, biking trails, greenways, camping, trout fishing, lakes, and nearby waterfalls. The valley is home to six major conference centers, two colleges, and several well-known summer camps.