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
Highland Brewing Company
You can hear local and touring acts on the Meadow stage at this east Asheville brewery through the warm months.
Music & concerts
June 5 to 7, 2026
The Orange Peel and River Arts District · Asheville, NC
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.
Food festivals
June 6, 2026
12 p.m.
Tanger Outlets Asheville · Asheville, NC
Tanger Outlets Asheville
You can sample everything pickled, browse vendors, and enjoy a quirky community celebration of the briny snack.
Food festivals
June 7, 2026
Highland Brewing Company · Asheville, NC
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.
Dance & fitness
June 12 to 14, 2026
Asheville · Asheville, NC
Asheville
You can spend a full weekend contra dancing with live bands and callers at this welcoming Asheville gathering.
Theater & film
June 12 to 14, 2026
Wortham Center for the Performing Arts · Asheville, NC
Wortham Center for the Performing Arts
You can watch trained house cats perform tricks and play instruments in this whimsical family stage show.
Community & civic
June 13, 2026
8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Pack Square Park · Asheville, NC
Pack Square Park
You can spend a full free day celebrating Black entrepreneurship and culture with a business market, live pitch competition, and music.
Markets
June 13, 20 and 27, 2026
Pack Square Park · Asheville, NC
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.
Music & concerts
June 13, 2026
Main Street, Weaverville · Asheville, NC
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.
Classes & arts
June 18 to 21, 2026 (exhibits through July 24)
Black Mountain Center for the Arts · Asheville, NC
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.
Senior programs
Recurring (e.g. June 18, 2026)
Grove Street Community Center · Asheville, NC
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
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.
Classes & arts
June 20, 2026
2 to 5 p.m.
River Arts District · Asheville, NC
River Arts District
You can explore loose, dreamlike landscape painting in this expressive beginner-friendly acrylic workshop.
Theater & film
June 24 to 28, 2026
Wortham Center for the Performing Arts · Asheville, NC
Wortham Center for the Performing Arts
You can see the Tony-winning rock musical staged over five days at the downtown performing arts center.
Classes & arts
June 26, 2026
10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
River Arts District · Asheville, NC
River Arts District
You can pick up travel-sketching techniques with artist Claire Simpson Jones fresh off two months painting in Europe.
Community & civic
July 4, 2026
South Slope, Downtown Asheville · Asheville, NC
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.
Pickleball & rec
July 7 to 27, 2026
Aston Park Tennis Center · Asheville, NC
Aston Park Tennis Center
You can watch competitive players across pro, age-division, and skill-level brackets on the historic clay courts downtown.
Music & concerts
July 11, 18, 25 and Aug 8, 15, 22, 29, 2026
Along about sundown, 7 p.m.
Pack Square Park · Asheville, NC
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.
Markets
July 11 to 12, 2026
Harrah's Cherokee Center, Asheville · Asheville, NC
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.
Theater & film
July 23 to 25, 2026
Wortham Center for the Performing Arts · Asheville, NC
Wortham Center for the Performing Arts
You can see this Different Strokes Performing Arts Collective production during a downtown weekend run.
Dance & fitness
July 30 to August 1, 2026
evenings
Asheville, NC
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.
Music & concerts
July 30 to August 1, 2026
Asheville High School · Asheville, NC
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.
Music & concerts
August 1, 2026
Hellbender riverside venue, Asheville · Asheville, NC
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.
Theater & film
August 6 to 8, 2026
Multiple venues across Asheville · Asheville, NC
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.
Food festivals
August 8 to 9, 2026
Downtown Black Mountain · Asheville, NC
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.
Classes & arts
August 13 to 15, 2026
WNC Agricultural Center · Asheville, NC
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.
Classes & arts
August 15 to 16, 2026
Leicester, NC · Asheville, NC
Leicester, NC
You can step inside working artists' studios along a scenic rural route on this free self-guided tour just outside Asheville.
Dance & fitness
September 11 to 13, 2026
Asheville, NC
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.
Music & concerts
October 16 to 18, 2026
Deerfields Retreat, Mills River · Asheville, NC
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 & fitness
October 16 to 18, 2026
Asheville, NC
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.
Markets
November 20 to 22, 2026
Asheville area · Asheville, NC
Asheville area
You can hunt vintage-inspired home decor, antiques, and handmade goods across a three-day upscale market weekend.
Tastings
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
6 p.m.
SIP Whiskey & Wine Bar · Asheville, NC
SIP Whiskey & Wine Bar
You can taste a curated flight of wines at this recurring monthly tasting downtown.
Pickleball & rec
Year-round, posted hours
Linwood Crump Shiloh and Stephens-Lee Community Centers · Asheville, NC
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.
Music & concerts
Thursday, June 4, 2026
Grey Eagle Music Hall · Asheville, NC
Grey Eagle Music Hall
You can hear an intimate evening with the Drive-By Truckers songwriter in the River Arts District.
Markets
Daily, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
WNC Farmers Market, Brevard Rd · Asheville, NC
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.
Theater & film
Friday, July 24, 2026
Wortham Center for the Performing Arts · Asheville, NC
Wortham Center for the Performing Arts
You can catch a night of stand-up from touring comedian Steve Hofstetter downtown.
Music & concerts
Friday, June 12, 2026
7:30 p.m.
White Horse Black Mountain · Asheville, NC
White Horse Black Mountain
You can hear fingerstyle guitarist Rod Abernethy in an intimate listening-room setting near Asheville.
Lifelong learning
Monthly evenings
East Asheville Library · Asheville, NC
East Asheville Library
You can join a free monthly evening book discussion at the East Asheville branch.
Music & concerts
Monday, June 8, 2026
7 p.m.
White Horse Black Mountain · Asheville, NC
White Horse Black Mountain
You can enjoy an evening of Celtic music with sliding-scale pay-what-you-can pricing in nearby Black Mountain.
Markets
Tuesdays, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. (April to Christmas)
718 Haywood Rd · Asheville, NC
718 Haywood Rd
You can pick up local farm goods at the top weekday market in Western North Carolina every Tuesday afternoon.
Markets
Saturdays year-round, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. (April to Nov)
UNC Asheville Lot P34 · Asheville, NC
UNC Asheville Lot P34
You can shop farm-fresh produce and handmade goods every Saturday at this market running since 1980.
Markets
Year round, nearly daily
Asheville, NC
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.
Classes & arts
Multi-week sessions through 2026
Black Mountain Center for the Arts · Asheville, NC
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.
Senior programs
Daily, weekday lunches
Grove Street Community Center · Asheville, NC
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
Buncombe County Public Libraries
You can read and discuss titles centered on Western North Carolina at this free recurring library book club.
Senior programs
Ongoing weekdays
Senior Opportunity Center, Asheville · Asheville, NC
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
Asheville
You can dance waltz and contra to live piano and fiddle every Monday night, no partner or experience needed.
Music & concerts
Thursday, June 4, 2026
The Orange Peel · Asheville, NC
The Orange Peel
You can catch the prog-rock band live at Asheville's landmark downtown music hall.
Dance & fitness
Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Wortham Center for the Performing Arts · Asheville, NC
Wortham Center for the Performing Arts
You can join a relaxed evening of tap dancing for all levels at this recurring downtown social.
Markets
Select Saturdays (e.g. May 30, 2026)
5 Points, Asheville · Asheville, NC
5 Points, Asheville
You can browse handmade arts, crafts, and vintage finds from rotating vendors at this free seasonal Saturday flea.
Pickleball & rec
Saturday, June 6, 2026
10 a.m.
Asheville Sports Club · Asheville, NC
Asheville Sports Club
You can sign up for a friendly community pickleball tournament on a Saturday morning.
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
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.
Community & civic
Third Friday, April to September 2026
5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Asheville, NC
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.
Theater & film
Sunday, June 28, 2026
2 to 4 p.m.
Asheville Art Museum · Asheville, NC
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.
Dance & fitness
Saturdays, July to early September
evenings
Asheville, NC
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.
Classes & arts
Weekly, eight-week sessions
The Village Potters Clay Center, Westgate · Asheville, NC
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.
Outdoors & nature
Saturday mornings (e.g. May 9, 2026)
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The Botanical Gardens at Asheville · Asheville, NC
The Botanical Gardens at Asheville
You can join horticulturalist Roots Marshall for a guided stroll through the native-plant garden near UNC Asheville.
Lifelong learning
Saturday, June 6, 2026
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
East Asheville Library · Asheville, NC
East Asheville Library
You can kick off the summer reading season with free activities and programming at the East Asheville branch.
Markets
Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. (April to Nov)
Downtown Asheville · Asheville, NC
Downtown Asheville
You can shop locally grown food and crafts at this year-round downtown farmers market on Saturday mornings.
Classes & arts
Sundays, 3 to 4 p.m. (May 31, Oct 11, 2026)
Asheville Art Museum · Asheville, NC
Asheville Art Museum
You can join a volunteer educator for an interactive walk through the museum's collection on select Sunday afternoons.
