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Events in Asheville, NC

60 upcoming events near Asheville — concerts, theater, markets, library programs and more. Free to browse; each links to the source.

Music & concerts

Recurring (e.g. June 5, 2026, 7 to 9 p.m.)

Highland Brewing Company · Asheville, NC

Music & concertsFreeHappens regularly

Live music at Highland Brewing

Highland Brewing Company

You can hear local and touring acts on the Meadow stage at this east Asheville brewery through the warm months.

MusicFood and wine

Music & concerts

June 5 to 7, 2026

The Orange Peel and River Arts District · Asheville, NC

Music & concerts

Connect Beyond Festival

The Orange Peel and River Arts District

You can take in three days of music, film, storytelling, and immersive art with curated panels and live performances across downtown.

MusicOutdoorsBring the grandkids

Food festivals

June 6, 2026

12 p.m.

Tanger Outlets Asheville · Asheville, NC

Food festivals

Asheville Pickle Festival

Tanger Outlets Asheville

You can sample everything pickled, browse vendors, and enjoy a quirky community celebration of the briny snack.

Food and wineOutdoorsBring the grandkids

Food festivals

June 7, 2026

Highland Brewing Company · Asheville, NC

Food festivalsFree

Asheville Honey Fest

Highland Brewing Company

You can celebrate pollinators with honey tastings, live music, food trucks, and over 50 local vendors at this free family-friendly festival.

MusicOutdoorsBring the grandkids

Dance & fitness

June 12 to 14, 2026

Asheville · Asheville, NC

Dance & fitness

Summer Soiree contra dance weekend

Asheville

You can spend a full weekend contra dancing with live bands and callers at this welcoming Asheville gathering.

Dance and fitness

Theater & film

June 12 to 14, 2026

Wortham Center for the Performing Arts · Asheville, NC

Theater & film

The Amazing Acro-Cats Meowloween in June

Wortham Center for the Performing Arts

You can watch trained house cats perform tricks and play instruments in this whimsical family stage show.

Arts and craftsIndoorsBring the grandkids

Community & civic

June 13, 2026

8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Pack Square Park · Asheville, NC

Community & civicFree

GRINDfest

Pack Square Park

You can spend a full free day celebrating Black entrepreneurship and culture with a business market, live pitch competition, and music.

OutdoorsBring the grandkids

Markets

June 13, 20 and 27, 2026

Pack Square Park · Asheville, NC

MarketsFreeHappens regularly

Asheville Art in the Park

Pack Square Park

You can meet and shop from regional artists working in glass, ceramics, wood, jewelry, and metal at this free outdoor gallery on summer Saturdays.

Arts and craftsOutdoorsIndoors

Music & concerts

June 13, 2026

Main Street, Weaverville · Asheville, NC

Music & concertsFree

Music on Main, Weaverville

Main Street, Weaverville

Just north of Asheville you can enjoy a free family-friendly evening of live music, food, and local flavor in downtown Weaverville.

MusicBring the grandkids

Classes & arts

June 18 to 21, 2026 (exhibits through July 24)

Black Mountain Center for the Arts · Asheville, NC

Classes & artsFree

Bloom: floral, gallery and garden tour

Black Mountain Center for the Arts

You can pair fine art with live floral arrangements and a self-guided garden tour of plein air painters, with the Art from the Garden exhibit free through July 24.

GardeningArts and craftsOutdoorsIndoors

Senior programs

Recurring (e.g. June 18, 2026)

Grove Street Community Center · Asheville, NC

Senior programsFreeHappens regularly

Social Seniors at Grove Street Community Center

Grove Street Community Center

You can join other older adults for fun social activities, games, and fellowship at this regular gathering geared to seniors.

Community & civic

Week of June 19, 2026

Multiple venues across Asheville · Asheville, NC

Community & civicFree

Juneteenth Celebration Week

Multiple venues across Asheville

You can join a weeklong celebration of Black history and culture with panel discussions, film screenings, and live performances, typically free and open to the public.

Bring the grandkids

Classes & arts

June 20, 2026

2 to 5 p.m.

River Arts District · Asheville, NC

Classes & arts

Dreamscapes: Abstract Acrylic Landscape Painting

River Arts District

You can explore loose, dreamlike landscape painting in this expressive beginner-friendly acrylic workshop.

Classes and talksIndoors

Theater & film

June 24 to 28, 2026

Wortham Center for the Performing Arts · Asheville, NC

Theater & film

Spring Awakening (musical)

Wortham Center for the Performing Arts

You can see the Tony-winning rock musical staged over five days at the downtown performing arts center.

Arts and craftsIndoors

Classes & arts

June 26, 2026

10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

River Arts District · Asheville, NC

Classes & arts

Travel Sketching with Watercolors

River Arts District

You can pick up travel-sketching techniques with artist Claire Simpson Jones fresh off two months painting in Europe.

Arts and craftsIndoors

Community & civic

July 4, 2026

South Slope, Downtown Asheville · Asheville, NC

Community & civicFree

Independence Day on the South Slope

South Slope, Downtown Asheville

You can spend the Fourth with live music, food vendors, the Ultimate Air Dogs show, and a 9:30 p.m. fireworks finale, all free.

MusicHolidayBring the grandkids

Pickleball & rec

July 7 to 27, 2026

Aston Park Tennis Center · Asheville, NC

Pickleball & rec

Asheville Open tennis tournament

Aston Park Tennis Center

You can watch competitive players across pro, age-division, and skill-level brackets on the historic clay courts downtown.

PickleballOutdoors

Music & concerts

July 11, 18, 25 and Aug 8, 15, 22, 29, 2026

Along about sundown, 7 p.m.

Pack Square Park · Asheville, NC

Music & concertsFreeHappens regularly

Shindig on the Green

Pack Square Park

You can settle into a lawn chair for old-time string bands, bluegrass, clog dancers, and storytellers at this free 60th-season mountain tradition on Saturday evenings.

MusicOutdoors

Markets

July 11 to 12, 2026

Harrah's Cherokee Center, Asheville · Asheville, NC

MarketsFree

Big Crafty / WNC maker market at Harrah's Cherokee Center

Harrah's Cherokee Center, Asheville

You can shop hundreds of regional makers under one roof, with free Sunday admission to the area's favorite modern craft market.

Arts and craftsOutdoors

Theater & film

July 23 to 25, 2026

Wortham Center for the Performing Arts · Asheville, NC

Theater & film

Ethnically Ambiguous (theater)

Wortham Center for the Performing Arts

You can see this Different Strokes Performing Arts Collective production during a downtown weekend run.

Arts and craftsIndoors

Dance & fitness

July 30 to August 1, 2026

evenings

Asheville, NC

Dance & fitness

Mountain Dance and Folk Festival

The Mountain Dance and Folk Festival is one of the country's oldest, with its 99th run set for July 30 through August 1, 2026. Each night brings a different stage show of mountain music and clogging. It is the bigger, ticketed cousin of Shindig.

Dance and fitnessOutdoorsBring the grandkids

Music & concerts

July 30 to August 1, 2026

Asheville High School · Asheville, NC

Music & concerts

Mountain Dance & Folk Festival (99th year)

Asheville High School

You can hear ballad singers, banjo players, and flatfoot dancers preserve Southern Appalachian traditions at the nation's longest-running folk festival.

Dance and fitnessOutdoorsBring the grandkids

Music & concerts

August 1, 2026

Hellbender riverside venue, Asheville · Asheville, NC

Music & concerts

Hellbender by the Orange Peel inaugural concert

Hellbender riverside venue, Asheville

You can be among the first crowds at this new riverside venue with Rhiannon Giddens, Mavis Staples, and Mary Chapin Carpenter.

Music

Theater & film

August 6 to 8, 2026

Multiple venues across Asheville · Asheville, NC

Theater & film

Asheville Comedy Festival (18th year)

Multiple venues across Asheville

You can see more than 30 of the nation's fastest-rising stand-up comics over three nights of showcases at one of the country's longest-running comedy events.

Arts and craftsOutdoorsIndoorsBring the grandkids

Food festivals

August 8 to 9, 2026

Downtown Black Mountain · Asheville, NC

Food festivalsFree

Sourwood Festival, Black Mountain

Downtown Black Mountain

You can taste prized sourwood honey, hear live music, and browse craft vendors at this free small-town celebration just east of Asheville.

Arts and craftsMusicOutdoorsBring the grandkids

Classes & arts

August 13 to 15, 2026

WNC Agricultural Center · Asheville, NC

Classes & arts

Mountain Quilt Show

WNC Agricultural Center

You can see hundreds of quilts from across the country, browse vendors, and watch live demonstrations, with children 12 and under admitted free.

Arts and craftsIndoorsBring the grandkids

Classes & arts

August 15 to 16, 2026

Leicester, NC · Asheville, NC

Classes & artsFree

Come to Leicester Artist Studio Tour

Leicester, NC

You can step inside working artists' studios along a scenic rural route on this free self-guided tour just outside Asheville.

Arts and craftsIndoors

Dance & fitness

September 11 to 13, 2026

Asheville, NC

Dance & fitnessFree

Goombay Festival

Goombay is a free downtown festival celebrating African and Caribbean heritage with food, art, music, and dance, anchored by the YMI Cultural Center. It usually lands in late summer. The block fills with drumming and street food.

Dance and fitnessOutdoorsBring the grandkids

Music & concerts

October 16 to 18, 2026

Deerfields Retreat, Mills River · Asheville, NC

Music & concerts

LEAF Global Arts Festival

Deerfields Retreat, Mills River

You can experience world music, dance, and immersive arts at a brand-new location for this beloved fall festival near Asheville.

Dance and fitnessOutdoorsBring the grandkids

Dance & fitness

October 16 to 18, 2026

Asheville, NC

Dance & fitness

LEAF Festival

LEAF Global Arts puts on a multi-day music and arts festival each fall at Lake Eden near Black Mountain, just outside Asheville. There is world music, dance, workshops, and storytelling by the lake. It draws a wide, all-ages crowd.

Dance and fitnessOutdoorsBring the grandkids

Markets

November 20 to 22, 2026

Asheville area · Asheville, NC

Markets

Vintage Market Days of Asheville Metro

Asheville area

You can hunt vintage-inspired home decor, antiques, and handmade goods across a three-day upscale market weekend.

Food and wineOutdoors

Tastings

Wednesday, June 10, 2026

6 p.m.

SIP Whiskey & Wine Bar · Asheville, NC

TastingsHappens regularly

Monthly Wine Tasting at SIP Whiskey & Wine Bar

SIP Whiskey & Wine Bar

You can taste a curated flight of wines at this recurring monthly tasting downtown.

Food and wine

Pickleball & rec

Year-round, posted hours

Linwood Crump Shiloh and Stephens-Lee Community Centers · Asheville, NC

Pickleball & recHappens regularly

Indoor pickleball at Shiloh and Stephens-Lee centers

Linwood Crump Shiloh and Stephens-Lee Community Centers

You can play indoor pickleball year-round for 5 dollars a visit or 20 dollars for a five-visit pass at two city community centers.

PickleballIndoors

Music & concerts

Thursday, June 4, 2026

Grey Eagle Music Hall · Asheville, NC

Music & concerts

Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers) at Grey Eagle

Grey Eagle Music Hall

You can hear an intimate evening with the Drive-By Truckers songwriter in the River Arts District.

Music

Markets

Daily, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

WNC Farmers Market, Brevard Rd · Asheville, NC

MarketsFreeHappens regularly

Western North Carolina Farmers Market

WNC Farmers Market, Brevard Rd

You can browse produce, plants, and mountain crafts daily at this large year-round market with free admission and parking.

Food and wineOutdoors

Theater & film

Friday, July 24, 2026

Wortham Center for the Performing Arts · Asheville, NC

Theater & film

Steve Hofstetter: Begin Again (comedy)

Wortham Center for the Performing Arts

You can catch a night of stand-up from touring comedian Steve Hofstetter downtown.

Arts and craftsIndoors

Music & concerts

Friday, June 12, 2026

7:30 p.m.

White Horse Black Mountain · Asheville, NC

Music & concerts

Rod Abernethy in concert

White Horse Black Mountain

You can hear fingerstyle guitarist Rod Abernethy in an intimate listening-room setting near Asheville.

Music

Lifelong learning

Monthly evenings

East Asheville Library · Asheville, NC

Lifelong learningFreeHappens regularly

East Asheville Library Evening Book Club

East Asheville Library

You can join a free monthly evening book discussion at the East Asheville branch.

Classes and talksIndoors

Music & concerts

Monday, June 8, 2026

7 p.m.

White Horse Black Mountain · Asheville, NC

Music & concerts

Carolina Celtic with Glencoe

White Horse Black Mountain

You can enjoy an evening of Celtic music with sliding-scale pay-what-you-can pricing in nearby Black Mountain.

Music

Markets

Tuesdays, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. (April to Christmas)

718 Haywood Rd · Asheville, NC

MarketsFreeHappens regularly

West Asheville Tailgate Market

718 Haywood Rd

You can pick up local farm goods at the top weekday market in Western North Carolina every Tuesday afternoon.

Food and wineOutdoors

Markets

Saturdays year-round, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. (April to Nov)

UNC Asheville Lot P34 · Asheville, NC

MarketsFreeHappens regularly

North Asheville Tailgate Market

UNC Asheville Lot P34

You can shop farm-fresh produce and handmade goods every Saturday at this market running since 1980.

Food and wineOutdoors

Markets

Year round, nearly daily

Asheville, NC

MarketsHappens regularly

WNC Farmers Market

The Western North Carolina Farmers Market on Brevard Road is a large year-round market run by the state, with produce, plants, shops, and restaurants. It is open nearly every day, not just weekends. Apple season in fall is a big draw.

Food and wineOutdoors

Classes & arts

Multi-week sessions through 2026

Black Mountain Center for the Arts · Asheville, NC

Classes & artsHappens regularly

Pottery classes at Black Mountain Center for the Arts

Black Mountain Center for the Arts

You can join a small-studio pottery class on a rolling 2026 schedule just east of Asheville, though a waitlist often applies.

Arts and craftsIndoors

Senior programs

Daily, weekday lunches

Grove Street Community Center · Asheville, NC

Senior programsFreeHappens regularly

Council on Aging Senior Dining and Wellness

Grove Street Community Center

You can enjoy a daily hot lunch and wellness programming alongside other eligible older adults.

Lifelong learning

Monthly

Buncombe County Public Libraries · Asheville, NC

Lifelong learningFreeHappens regularly

Land of the Sky 101 Book Club

Buncombe County Public Libraries

You can read and discuss titles centered on Western North Carolina at this free recurring library book club.

Classes and talksIndoors

Senior programs

Ongoing weekdays

Senior Opportunity Center, Asheville · Asheville, NC

Senior programsFreeHappens regularly

Senior Opportunity Center activities

Senior Opportunity Center, Asheville

You can drop in for exercise programs, trivia, and arts and crafts at this Buncombe County center built for seniors.

Dance & fitness

Mondays

Asheville · Asheville, NC

Dance & fitnessHappens regularly

Asheville Monday Night Contra Dance

Asheville

You can dance waltz and contra to live piano and fiddle every Monday night, no partner or experience needed.

Dance and fitness

Music & concerts

Thursday, June 4, 2026

The Orange Peel · Asheville, NC

Music & concerts

Coheed and Cambria at The Orange Peel

The Orange Peel

You can catch the prog-rock band live at Asheville's landmark downtown music hall.

Music

Dance & fitness

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Wortham Center for the Performing Arts · Asheville, NC

Dance & fitness

Tappy Hour tap dance social

Wortham Center for the Performing Arts

You can join a relaxed evening of tap dancing for all levels at this recurring downtown social.

Dance and fitness

Markets

Select Saturdays (e.g. May 30, 2026)

5 Points, Asheville · Asheville, NC

MarketsFreeHappens regularly

5 Points Flea Market

5 Points, Asheville

You can browse handmade arts, crafts, and vintage finds from rotating vendors at this free seasonal Saturday flea.

Food and wineOutdoors

Pickleball & rec

Saturday, June 6, 2026

10 a.m.

Asheville Sports Club · Asheville, NC

Pickleball & rec

Pickleball Tournament at Asheville Sports Club

Asheville Sports Club

You can sign up for a friendly community pickleball tournament on a Saturday morning.

Pickleball

Pickleball & rec

Mon/Wed/Fri 7 a.m. to 12 p.m.; Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun 12 to 5 p.m.

Asheville Parks & Recreation courts · Asheville, NC

Pickleball & recFreeHappens regularly

Free shared-use pickleball open play

Asheville Parks & Recreation courts

You can play pickleball for free on the city's dual-lined outdoor courts during posted pickleball hours, with rollaway nets at several parks.

PickleballOutdoors

Community & civic

Third Friday, April to September 2026

5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Asheville, NC

Community & civicFreeHappens regularly

Downtown After 5

Downtown After 5 is a free monthly street party in Pack Square Park with live bands, food trucks, local drinks, and an artisan market. It runs on Friday evenings in the warmer months. The Asheville Downtown Association puts it on.

OutdoorsBring the grandkids

Theater & film

Sunday, June 28, 2026

2 to 4 p.m.

Asheville Art Museum · Asheville, NC

Theater & film

Exhibition on Screen: Frida Kahlo

Asheville Art Museum

You can watch a richly filmed documentary on Frida Kahlo's life and work on the museum's big screen for 12 to 15 dollars.

Arts and craftsIndoors

Dance & fitness

Saturdays, July to early September

evenings

Asheville, NC

Dance & fitnessFreeHappens regularly

Shindig on the Green

Shindig on the Green is a free summer Saturday night gathering of bluegrass and Appalachian music and dance at Pack Square Park downtown. People bring lawn chairs and blankets and stay until well after dark. It runs most Saturdays from July into early September.

MusicDance and fitnessOutdoors

Classes & arts

Weekly, eight-week sessions

The Village Potters Clay Center, Westgate · Asheville, NC

Classes & artsHappens regularly

Eight-week pottery classes at The Village Potters

The Village Potters Clay Center, Westgate

You can sign up for an eight-week wheel or handbuilding course built for beginners and clay veterans alike.

Arts and craftsIndoors

Outdoors & nature

Saturday mornings (e.g. May 9, 2026)

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The Botanical Gardens at Asheville · Asheville, NC

Outdoors & natureHappens regularly

Guided Garden Tour at Asheville Botanical Garden

The Botanical Gardens at Asheville

You can join horticulturalist Roots Marshall for a guided stroll through the native-plant garden near UNC Asheville.

GardeningOutdoors

Lifelong learning

Saturday, June 6, 2026

10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

East Asheville Library · Asheville, NC

Lifelong learningFree

Summer Library Fest kickoff

East Asheville Library

You can kick off the summer reading season with free activities and programming at the East Asheville branch.

Classes and talksIndoors

Markets

Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. (April to Nov)

Downtown Asheville · Asheville, NC

MarketsFreeHappens regularly

Asheville City Market

Downtown Asheville

You can shop locally grown food and crafts at this year-round downtown farmers market on Saturday mornings.

Food and wineOutdoors

Classes & arts

Sundays, 3 to 4 p.m. (May 31, Oct 11, 2026)

Asheville Art Museum · Asheville, NC

Classes & artsHappens regularly

Public Tour: Discovering Art in Asheville

Asheville Art Museum

You can join a volunteer educator for an interactive walk through the museum's collection on select Sunday afternoons.

VolunteeringIndoors