Labor Day Weekend Events & Festivals in Asheville

There are so many things to do in Asheville and the North Carolina mountains during Labor Day Weekend. In addition to endless outdoors activities like hiking, waterfalls, rafting and zip lines, there are some free festivals to enjoy:

August 29-September 1, 2014: NC Apple Festival
Downtown Hendersonville features four days of fun including one of the most best known street fairs in the Carolinas with freshly picked apples, arts and crafts, food and plenty of entertainment on eight blocks of Main Street. The King Apple Parade is held on Labor Day. After the festival, visit nearby apple orchards. See our NC Apple Festival Guide.

August 31, 2014: LAAFF Festival
This popular downtown Asheville festival is back to celebrate local culture and creativity along Lexington Avenue from 11 AM to 9 PM.  Enjoy plenty of great local music, art, food, and beer and plenty of fun for the whole family. With three stages of music, fire dancing, belly dancing, and break dancing, circus acts, pop-up theatre and other interactive arts and kids’ activities, there will be plenty to see and do. See our LAAFF Festival Guide.

August 30, 2014: Shindig on the Green
Bring your lawn chair or blanket and enjoy an evening of mountain music and dance at Pack Square Park in downtown Asheville. Local groups perform a couple of numbers each, so there’s a big variety of talent. Walk around to enjoy jam sessions away from the main stage. It’s definitely a showcase of Southern Appalachian culture. Read more about Shindig on the Green.

August 30, 2014: Spruce Street Market
This small art market in downtown Asheville features a variety of local art from 10 AM until 6 PM near Pack Square Park along Spruce Street.

August 30, 2014: RockFest
Emerald Village near Little Switzerland has free live music 11 AM-4 PM, guided tours of hidden mines, gem mining, gold panning, and the one-of-a-kind underground Black Light Mine Tour at 8:30 PM. This unique attraction is home to seven real mines and has been featured on the Travel Channel.

August 30, 2014: Founders Day Fair
Have fun while learning a little about local history at The Museum of Transylvania County Heritage in Brevard with music, clogging, food, crafts, art, authors, Civil War encampment, walking tours and more.  The museum is located at 189 West Main Street.

August 31, 2014: Kite Festival
The 12th annual Mile High Kite Festival takes place in the Beech Mountain town meadow. Located at more than 5,000 feet in elevation, the meadow makes it easy to sail kites more than a mile above sea level – with one area for demonstrations and one for visitors. The festival includes kite-flying music and announcing provided by Terry Murray and Will Smoot of the Richmond Air Force Kite Club from Virginia. Prizes will be awarded for the biggest kite, smallest kite and best decorated kite. Other activities include races with kids pulling parachute kites, face painting, and a variety of craft and food vendors. There’s also a street dance Saturday from 7-9 PM in front of town hall.

For many more things to do on Labor Day Weekend, go to www.RomanticAsheville.com Travel Guide.

New Year’s Celebrations & 20 Things to Do in Asheville

Here’s our Top 20 ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve and Day in Asheville and the NC mountains – with many things to do, ranging from festive parties to outdoors solitude! Read more details at www.romanticasheville.com/new_year.htm.

Polar Plunge in Lake Lure on New Year’s Day

1. Asheville Restaurants: Many are open late on New Year’s Eve and feature a lively bar to celebrate the New Year. Make reservations ASAP!
2. Downtown Asheville: While there is no public outdoor event to welcome the new year, there will be plenty of indoor venues to celebrate – including many restaurants, clubs, pubs, live music venues, etc. If the weather is nice, the streets will be buzzing with lots of activity and fun street entertainers.
3. Grove Park Inn: The New Year arrives with parties, dancing, champagne, and party favors throughout the resort – make restaurant and hotel reservations ASAP! And see the Gingerbread creations.
4. Inn on Biltmore Estate: New Year’s Eve Gala is high style! Their hotel package (Dec 30-Jan 1) includes your guest room, breakfast buffet, black-tie five-course gala, midnight fireworks and toast, admission tickets to the estate, and more.
5. Harrah’s Cherokee Casino will have live entertainment at multiple locations. At Essence Lounge is the New Year’s Eve Roaring 20s Countdown. Reserve a table for 2 for $200 and receive VIP Wristbands, a bottle of Möet & Chandon, keepsake champagne flutes and more.
6. Great Smoky Mountains Railroad: Spend the evening on the train, rolling along the tracks while dancing the night away! Includes a three-course gourmet dinner, live music and midnight toast.
7. Mountain Magnolia Inn: This historic inn in Hot Springs has a great New Year’s Package that includes one, two nights or three nights with a special dinner for two, live entertainment, dancing and sing-along, appetizers, party favor and a sparkling toast.
8. Beer Pubs: Plenty of pubs and bars to celebrate with local brews! Many are within walking distance in downtown Asheville.
9. Orange Peel: Railroad Earth concert
10. Tressa’s Jazz & Blues: Great jazz club with live music, party favors, midnight toast & balloon drop. Dance all night to the soulful groove of Asheville’s wildly popular band Lyric with special guest Ruby Mayfield on saxophone. Complimentary soul food. Champagne fountains and midnight toast.
11. Fur Ball Gala: A black-tie benefit for Brother Wolfe Animal Rescue, DJ, live entertainment, open bar, heavy hors d’oeuvres and silent auction.
12. Wine & Cocktails: Hang out with your sweetie at a downtown Asheville wine or cocktail bar.
13. Vacation Packages: See our holiday vacation packages page for the latest deals and specials.
14. New Year’s Polar Plunge: Take the plunge into Lake Lure and freeze for a reason – to support local charities.
15. Pampering in Style: Get pampered in one of the fabulous bed and breakfast inns in and around Asheville.
16. Hibernate: Recover from holiday stress with a tranquil stay in a cozy cabin, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
17. Biltmore Estate: Biltmore Estate is open on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. See America’s largest home decked out in festive finery! Restaurants are open (make dining reservations in advance)
18. Get Outdoors: Start work on that New Year’s resolution to lose a few pounds and enjoy a hike to a waterfall!
19. Shop: There’s plenty shopping options on Friday and Saturday to find those special after holiday deals.
20. LaZoom Comedy Bus Tours: Take the zany tour on the big purple bus.

Get more details on all of these events for New Years in Asheville at www.romanticasheville.com/new_year.htm.

Best Christmas Holiday Asheville Special Events

Biltmore House Candlelight

There are so many great events to enjoy during the holiday season in Asheville and the western North Carolina mountains. See details on these upcoming events and more at http://www.romanticasheville.com/holidays.htm.

Now through January 12: Christmas at Biltmore with candlelight evenings inside the Biltmore House

Now through December 29: Polar Express Train excursions on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad.

Now through January 5: Carolina Christmas at Smith-McDowell House museum with decorations from the Victorian period.

Now through January 2: National Gingerbread House Competition on display at Grove Park Inn.

Now through January 1: Shadrack’s Christmas Wonderland two-mile drive through light spectacular.

Now through January 2: Winter Wonderland with wintery décor, gingerbread houses and great shopping at Grove Arcade.

December 4-21: Aluminum Christmas Tree Museum in downtown Brevard.

December 4-22: A Christmas Story at Flat Rock Playhouse, State Theatre of NC.

December 5-22: Favorite holiday play, A Christmas Carol, by Montford Players in Asheville Masonic Temple downtown.

December 6-8: Historic Biltmore Village transforms into a quaint Victorian village on the first weekend of December for Dickens in the Village. Horse-drawn carriages will trot along decorated streets as carolers, storytellers and instrumentalists stroll the village in period costumes.

December 6-8: Toe River Studio Tour, About an hour north of Asheville, tucked in the lush green mountains is one of the finest collections of artists and craftsmen in the world and the acclaimed Penland School of Crafts. More than 100 fine artists and crafts people in every medium open their studios for a free, self-guided cultural adventure.

December 6: Asheville Downtown Gallery Art Walk. Galleries stay open late with special exhibits and artist mingling.

December 6: Candlelight Christmas Stroll in Weaverville, 6-9 PM, with luminaries along the streets, local choirs and bands will provide music, and horse and buggy rides will be available through town.

December 6: Olde Fashioned Hendersonville Christmas, walk down Main Street in downtown with hot cider and cookies with carolers, music, food and great shopping! 5-8 PM

December 6-7 and 13-14: Dillsboro Festival of Lights & Luminaries, journey back to the days of yesteryear. Experience the magic as the entire town is transformed into a winter wonderland of lights, candles, laughter and song.

Grove Park Inn Gingerbread House

December 6: Art After Dark in downtown Waynesville with shows, refreshments, live music at many galleries. 6-9 PM.

December 6-23: Lake Julian Festival of Lights drive-thru show with more than 50 animated light displays and thousands of colored lights from the comfort of your vehicle.

December 7: Experience an 1830s era Christmas as it may have been celebrated in the mountains of North Carolina with a Christmas Candlelight Tour at Vance Birthplace.

December 7: Holiday Twilight Tour in downtown Brevard. The downtown businesses will be “open-housing” all day, providing refreshments, entertainment and a preview of holiday gifts. The streets will be closed and many holiday activities have been planned, 4-8 PM.

December 7: Handcrafted Christmas at Addison Farms Vineyard in Asheville features locally crafted gifts.

December 7 & 14: Guild Artist Holiday Sale  at the Folk Art Center: The Guild Artist Holiday Sale provides an opportunity for individual members and the organization to sell over-runs, discontinued stock and studio seconds in a festive atmosphere during the holiday season. 10 AM-4 PM

December 7, 14, 21 & 28: Christmas at Connemara. Visit on Saturday mornings between Thanksgiving and New Year’s with local musicians and storytellers performing traditional holiday stories and music. Hot cider and cookies will be served. This free festive celebration honors Carl Sandburg and the family holiday tradition of music.

December 7: A Night Before Christmas along Downtown Waynesville’s Main Street area is filled with bright lights, friendly folks, the wonderful sounds of the Christmas season, delicious food & drink. 6-9 PM.

December 7 & 14: Santa on the Chimney at Chimney Rock State Park. Watch Santa practicing for his world-wide chimney-dropping tour on Christmas Eve. Only his “practice chimney” is 312 feet tall!

December 11-29: Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol by NC Stage Company. We know what happens to Scrooge, but what about his old business partner Marley?

December 13-14: Warren Haynes Christmas Jam in downtown Asheville with a stellar line-up.

December 14: “A Victorian Candlelight Christmas” at Thomas Wolfe Memorial. Discover some of the oldest Christmas customs in an authentic Victorian home in downtown Asheville with two special guided tours (5 & 5:30 PM) and an open house of the Thomas Wolfe home, a Queen Anne-style boardinghouse run by our most famous native son’s mother, Julia Wolfe. The house will be filled with authentic-era decorations and furniture and lit by candlelight. Open 6-8 PM. $10/person

December 14: Montford Home Tour. Explore Asheville’s oldest, most historic neighborhood comprised of Victorian, Arts and Crafts, Greek Revival and Dutch Colonial homes built in the 1890s to 1920s. 1-5 PM.

December 15: A Swannanoa Solstice  is a tapestry of joyful and thoughtful seasonal reflection beautifully woven from the mountains’ Appalachian, Scots-Irish and world influences. Two shows at Diana Wortham Theatre in downtown Asheville.

December 19-22: The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris at Asheville Community Theatre.

December 21: Christmas on the Mountain at Thomas Wolfe Memorial. Come and experience one of our greatest Appalachian traditions of Storytelling with one of the world’s best Storytellers, Shelia Kay Adams.

December 21: Holiday Homecoming  at Oconaluftee Visitor Center in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 10 AM-2 PM. Located near Cherokee, see old time crafts being demonstrated. Learn by observing the practical arts of quilting, weaving, and basket and doll making, apple cider and apple butter.

For more information, go to http://www.romanticasheville.com/holidays.htm.

Best Asheville Events & Festivals in August & September

The Biltmore Village Art & Craft Fair in Asheville

There are some great events and outdoor festivals in Asheville, North Carolina and other towns in the mountains in August and September. Here is a calendar of our favorites (see more details at www.romanticasheville.com/summer_festivals.htm):

August 1-3, 2013: Mountain Dance & Folk Festival brings mountain fiddlers, banjo pickers, dulcimer sweepers, dancers, balladeers and others together for plenty of authentic bluegrass music.

August 1-4, 2013: NC Mineral and Gem Festival attracts thousands of visitors from across the country to shop, swap and discover beautiful jewelry, gem stones, minerals, fossils and more in Spruce Pine.

August 2-3, 2013: Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair is the oldest and largest crafts fair in the Blue Ridge with 250+ craftfolk showing their work as well as live entertainment, children activities and a wide variety of food in downtown Burnsville.

August 3-4, 2013: Village Art & Craft Fair is held on the grounds of the Cathedral of All Souls in Biltmore Village near the entrance to the Biltmore Estate. The fair hosts 125 artists from 20 states representing the full spectrum of craft media – jewelry, ceramic, wood, fiber, metals, two-dimensional art and more. Love it!

August 8-11, 2013: Wild Goose Festival combines justice, spirituality, music and the arts in Hot Springs. Talk, listen, eat and camp together, captivated and challenged by the call of radical humanity, and who seek to celebrate diversity and promote the common good.

August 10, 2013: Wood Day at Folk Art Center features skilled woodworkers for an exciting day exploring various forms of woodcraft, including the Carve Off Competition.

August 10, 17, 24, 30, 2013: Shindig on the Green features musicians and dancers from across Western North Carolina gathering on these Saturday nights to share the region’s stirring Southern Appalachian mountain culture and traditions.

August 10-11, 2013: Sourwood Festival always has plenty to see and do at this free street fair in downtown Black Mountain with great music and lots of fun, and of course lots of great mountain cooking.

August 10, 2013: Second Saturdays in River Arts District includes artist demonstrations, classes, open studios and fun. Spend the day hopping from studio to studio to view a range of mediums and an abundance of creativity.

August 10, 2013: Riverfest 2013 is a fundraiser at French Broad River Park in West Asheville for Riverlink and includes live music, dancing, hooping, aerial acts, juggling, along with local food trucks, craft brewers, arts/crafts, and the fun “Anything that Floats” parade.

August 13-17, 2013: Laugh Your Asheville Off Comedy Festival is the largest stand-up comedy event in the southeast.

August 16, 2013: Downtown After Five is an outdoor party with live music, food and beer in downtown Asheville.

August 16-17, 2013: Dirty Dancing Festival is a must for fans of the cult-classic movie. Relive memories of Baby’s first dance in the film’s original, breathtaking backdrop of Lake Lure.

August 22-24, 2013: Asheville Wine & Food Festival showcases the finest regional, national, and international wines, exceptional local restaurants, craft beer and spirits, and handcrafted artisanal foods for three days of palate-pleasing indulgence.

August 23-24, 2013: Speaking of Gardening Symposium at the North Carolina Arboretum brings the world’s gardens to Asheville at this popular event for horticulture professionals and enthusiasts.

August 22-25, 2013: YMI Cultural Center 120th Anniversary Founder’s Celebration is held in downtown Asheville.

LABOR DAY WEEKEND

August 30-September 2, 2013: The BIG NC Apple Festival in Downtown Hendersonville features more than 150 vendors lining eight blocks, with the King Apple Parade culminating the festival on Labor Day.

September 2-8, 2013: ICF Kayak Freestyle Canoe World Championships brings elite athletes from around the world to NOC on the Nantahala River for the biggest kayak festival of the year to vie for the title of World Champion.

September 6-15, 2013: NC Mountain State Fair is one of the biggest fairs in the southeast with plenty of exhibits, animals, food and rides.

September 8, 2013: Organicfest In Pack Square Park in downtown Asheville has live music, organic local food, cooking demos, samplings, natural arts and crafts.

September 14, 2013, Mountain Life Festival Mountain Life Festival at the Mountain Farm Museum in Great Smoky Mountains National Park preserves the legacy of Appalachian folkways, and serves as a tribute to the many families who lived on lands that would later become the Park.

September 20, 2013: Downtown After Five celebrates the arrival of the weekend with free live music, food and beer in downtown Asheville.

September 21-22, 2013: Heritage Weekend at the Folk Art Center features traditional music and dancing, storytelling and heritage craft demonstrations. A highlight of the weekend is the Annual World Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle Competition.

September 27-28, 2013: City Marathon includes a race expo downtown 5K on Friday night. On Saturday morning, the marathon and half marathon begin and end downtown.

September 21-22, 2013: Farm Tour This Farm Tour lets you explore 41 farms that are not normally open to the public, ranging from century farms cultivated by the same family for generations, to certified organic farms, to urban gardens. Come with a cooler and your appetite.

See more details on these and more events in and near Asheville at www.romanticasheville.com/summer_festivals.htm.

Memorial Day Weekend Festival & Events in Asheville & NC Mountains

Mountain Sports Festival

On Memorial Day Weekend, kick off the summer season in Asheville and the scenic North Carolina mountains  with some great festivals and events (in addition to all of the outdoor activities).

Read about the latest events and things to do for Memorial Day Weekend in Asheville.

White Squirrel Festival (TOP PICK!)
Go nuts at the White Squirrel Festival in downtown Brevard that features a parade, plenty of live music, food, arts and much. It’s one of the mountains best free North Carolina music festivals of the year, giving prominence to national who are connected locally Transylvania County. Events include the  Squirrel Box Derby, guided white squirrel tours, “Memorial Day” Parade (Saturday at 9 AM), food and plenty of arts and crafts. Free admission.

Mountain Sports Festival
Whether you’re a hardcore athlete or a newbie trying an event for the first time, the Mountain Sports Festival in West Asheville offers something for you while celebrating community, athletics and local business. The festival showcases the terrain, environment and unique culture of Asheville and the surrounding mountains. It’s organized by a volunteer group of community oriented citizens dedicated to the presenting of a well-balanced series of events that encourages participation on all levels. Live music and vendors in the Festival Village with free admission.

Kenilworth Artists Open Studio Tour
Explore this neighborhood just five minutes from downtown Asheville, home to 20+ jewelers, painters, glass-workers, fabric artists, potters, woodworkers, photographers, and more that open their studio doors for sales and demonstrations. 10 AM-5 PM.

Garden Jubilee Festival
This downtown Hendersonville festival is the ideal event for passionate gardeners searching for the perfect plants and unique lawn & garden accessories and arts & crafts, 10 AM-6 PM. It features more than 200 vendors, garden talks and food. Free admission.

Asheville Beer Week
Memorial Day Weekend kicks off Asheville Beer Week with the big Beer City Festival downtown Asheville.

Read about the latest events and things to do for Memorial Day Weekend in Asheville.

 

Holiday Events this week in Asheville and NC Mountains

Christmas Tree in downtown Asheville

More great holiday events are coming soon in Asheville and the western North Carolina mountains! For more details and happenings, go our Top 10 Asheville Holiday outings.

In addition to the two biggest events in town, Christmas at Biltmore House and the Gingerbread House Competition at Grove Park Inn, here are our favorites for the next week or so:

Now through December 23, 2012: Lake Julian Festival of Lights drive-thru show with more than 50 animated light displays and thousands of colored lights from the comfort of your vehicle.

Now through January 2, 2013: Carolina Christmas at Smith-McDowell House museum with decorations from the Victorian period.

December 15, 2012: Santa on the Chimney at Chimney Rock State Park. Watch Santa practicing for his world-wide chimney-dropping tour on Christmas Eve.

December 11, 2012: Celebrate Hanukkah with Chanukah Live at the Renaissance Hotel ballroom in downtown Asheville. Hosted by The Chabad House, it includes the Billy Jonas Chanukah Show, grand menorah lighting, holiday crafts, gourmet kosher dinner. Festival admission is free, but tickets will be sold at the door for food and attractions.

December 13-16, 2012: The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris at Asheville Community Theatre. They’re revamping the entire production after a highly successful 10 year run! This holiday tradition is much more naughty than nice!

December 15, 2012: “A Victorian Candlelight Christmas” at Thomas Wolfe Memorial. Discover some of the oldest Christmas customs in an authentic Victorian home in downtown Asheville with two special guided tours (5 & 5:30 PM) and an open house of the Thomas Wolfe home, a Queen Anne-style boardinghouse run by our most famous native son’s mother, Julia Wolfe.

December 15, 2012: Holiday Homecoming at Oconaluftee Visitor Center in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 10 AM-2 PM. Located near Cherokee, see old time crafts being demonstrated. Learn by observing the practical arts of quilting, weaving, and basket and doll making, apple cider and apple butter. Free.

December 15, 2012: Warren Haynes Christmas Jam in downtown Asheville with a stellar line-up: Warren Haynes Band, Blind Boys of Alabama, Sheryl Crow, The String Cheese Incident and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue.

December 16, 2012: A Swannanoa Solstice is a tapestry of joyful and thoughtful seasonal reflection beautifully woven from the mountains’ Appalachian, Scots-Irish and world influences. Celebrate winter’s allure at a special 10th anniversary edition of this beloved holiday tradition.

December 19-30, 2012: Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol by NC Stage Company. We know what happens to Scrooge, but what about his old business partner Marley?

Plan a holiday getaway and see current vacation packages and specials at RomanticAsheville.com Travel Guide.

More Holiday Events This Week in Asheville

Santa on Chimney Rock

This weekend is perhaps the busiest for holiday events in and around Asheville, North Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains. In addition to Christmas at Biltmore and the National Gingerbread House Competition on display at Grove Park Inn, check out:

December 7: Asheville Downtown Gallery Art Walk with galleries open late with special exhibits and artist mingling.

December 7: Candlelight Christmas Stroll in Weaverville, 6-9 PM, with luminaries along the streets, local choirs and bands will provide music, and horse and buggy rides.

December 7-8 and 14-15: Dillsboro Festival of Lights & Luminaries with a winter wonderland of lights, candles, laughter and song, while shopkeepers provide live music and serve holiday treats.

December 8: Guild Artist Holiday Sale at the Folk Art Center with artists selling direct with great deals.

December 8: Experience an 1830s era holiday with a Christmas Candlelight Tour at historic Vance Birthplace.

December 8: Montford Home Tour explores Asheville’s oldest, most historic neighborhood.

December 8: Christmas at Connemara honors Carl Sandburg and the family holiday tradition of music at his mountain home.

December 8: Asheville Chocolate and Arts Festival at the U.S. Cellular Center downtown with music, dance and plenty of chocolate.

December 8 & 15: Santa on the Chimney at Chimney Rock State Park as he practices chimney-dropping tour.

For more information on these and other events, go to our guide for the Top Asheville Holiday Outings & Events.

Our Favorite Asheville Holiday Events

Vance Birthplace under a winter snow

There are many festive events to enjoy in the Asheville area during the holiday season. Here are some that are coming up in the next week or so:

November 30-December 2: Historic Biltmore Village hosts their annual Dickens in the Village with horse-drawn carriages trotting along decorated streets as carolers, storytellers and instrumentalists in period costumes. Watch live excerpts from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol while enjoying fresh roasted chestnuts.

December 1: Holiday Twilight Tour in downtown Brevard is a daytime street festival. The downtown businesses will be “open-housing” all day, providing refreshments, entertainment and a preview of holiday gifts. The streets will be closed and many holiday activities have been planned, 11 AM until 5:30 PM.

December 1 & 2: The Toe River Studio Tour is an art-lovers’ dream.  An hour north of Asheville, tucked in the lush green mountains, is one of the finest collections of artists and craftsmen in the world and the acclaimed Penland School of Crafts. Find a unique blend of contemporary and traditional cultures. More than 100 fine artists and crafts people in every medium open their studios for a free, self-guided cultural adventure.

December 1 & 8: The Guild Artist Holiday Sale at the Folk Art Center is an opportunity for artists and the organization’s gift shop to sell over-runs, discontinued stock and studio seconds in a festive atmosphere during the holiday season. 10 AM-4 PM.

December 2: At the Big Crafty at the Asheville Art Museum downtown, shop indie with artists, crafters, food and music, 12-6 PM, free admission.

December 6-23: A favorite holiday play, A Christmas Carol, by Montford Players in Asheville Masonic Temple downtown.

For more things to do during the holiday season, see our Top 10 Asheville Holiday Outings.

Top 20 Asheville Spring Events & Festivals 2011

Spring in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina brings many wonderful music, art and food festivals – and most of the fun is free!  Here are our top events and festivals for the Asheville area!

Every Friday night: Drum Circle in downtown Asheville

March 26-27: Orchid Show at the NC Arboretum with orchid plants and supplies for sale by world class vendors 

March 27: Asheville Idiotarod, inspired by the famous Alaskan Sled Dog Race but instead of dogs they use people (idiots) and instead of sleds they use shopping carts

April 2–May 15: Festival of Flowers at Biltmore, the biggest Spring event with 100,000 tulips and stunning floral displays

April 8-9: BBQ Cook-off & Bluegrass Jam at the Farmers Market, free admission with plenty of great live music and food

April 9 & 23, May 7 & 21: Master Gardener Free Plant Clinics at Western NC Farmer’s Market

April 16-17: Spring INN Asheville Tour of grand B&Bs and gardens

April 23: Greening Up the Mountains free street festival in downtown Sylva

April 24: Sunrise Service at Chimney Rock on Easter Sunday morning

 April 29-May 1: French Broad River Festival in Hot Springs on the banks of the French Broad features live music and outdoor event

April 29-May 1: Spring Herb Festival at Western NC Farmer’s Market, free

April 30-May 1: Rhododendron Show at the NC Arboretum

May 7-8: Tour de Falls at DuPont State Forest, a 12-mile waterfall tour by shuttle bus

May 12-15: LEAF Festival, the equivalent of going on a year-long multi-cultural musical and dance odyssey

May 14: Dahlia Tuber and Mum Plant Sale at the NC Arboretum

May 14-15: Fiber Weekend at the Folk Art Center with demonstrations and fashion show

May 27-29: Mountain Sports Festival in Asheville for hardcore athlete and a newbies

May 28-29: Rose Show at the NC Arboretum 

May 28-29: White Squirrel Festival in downtown Brevard with a parade, plenty of live music, food, arts and more

May 28-29: Garden Jubilee Festival in downtown Hendersonville with plants and unique garden accessories and crafts 

For more information on these and other events and festivals, go to http://www.romanticasheville.com/spring_events.htm.