Thursday, March 17
• “Breaking news!” declares a flyer for Jack of the Wood (95 Patton Ave., 252-5445). “President Jack Wood declares St. Patrick’s Day a national holiday! Take off work! Sleep in! Party with no worries!” Not everyone can go to such extremes, but you can throw on some green and head downtown to celebrate with the pub’s special Irish menu and the Celtic sounds of The Woodies, 4 p.m., and Gypsy Dargle, 8:30 p.m.
• With no cover, shows at Craggie Brewing Company (197 Hilliard Ave., 254-0360) are always a good deal. For St. Patty’s Day, the bargain is even sweeter: an indie rock double header, entirely free of charge. Starting at 6 p.m., catch the instrumental swells of Hello Hugo, followed by the melodic layers of Doc Aquatic at 8 p.m.
Friday, March 18
• Spring creeps ever closer, so get some fresh air and exercise while ensuring everyone can enjoy the beauty of the coming season. Join the WNC Alliance to help create a trail on Bearwallow Mountain. To carpool or for directions: 258-8737. 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Asheville Community Yoga (8 Brookdale Road) offers free instruction, seven days a week. On Friday, in addition to their regularly scheduled classes, the Woodfin studio offers a special program for the tots: Kid Yoga. “Kids ages 5-12 have fun and learn more about how to move their bodies mindfully and take better care of themselves,” reads the group’s website. 4-4:45 p.m. Love offering.
• The Secret B-Sides’ new album, Flowers and Chocolate, won’t be released until mid-April. But you can preview the soul/hip-hop outfit’s latest offering this weekend when The French Broad Chocolate Lounge (10 S. Lexington Ave., 252-4181) hosts a listening party from 6-8 p.m. A performance by folk singer Hannah Levin follows. Free.
• Eclipse Hair Salon and Gallery (16 Wall St., 285-0019) hosts an opening reception for Pattern on Pattern, an exhibition of paintings and illustrations by Molly Rose Freeman. 7-10 p.m. Free.
Saturday, March 19
• Reads the Malaprop’s website, “A.J. Jacobs says: ‘What is it about North Carolina? First they gave us David Sedaris. Now they’ve produced Jane Borden. She’s charming, polite and, yes, very funny.’ And if you need more reasons to check out Borden’s book, I Totally Meant to Do That, she has written for The New York Times magazine and Saturday Night Live and is a staff editor at Time Out New York.” Borden visits the downtown bookstore and cafe for a free reading. 7 p.m.
• This band is worth checking out for the name alone. Spicy Moustache and the Flavor Saviors describe their music as “funk-hop” and “soul rock,” and the Asheville 10-piece’s Facebook asks, “Who wants to get funked up?” If you answered yes, check them out at Fred’s Speakeasy (122 College St., 281-0920).
• It’s pretty rare to catch an authentic one-man-band these days. But not this weekend. The Get Down (1045 Haywood Road, 505-8388) hosts Pinche Gringo, Jason Krekel and Jay Brown for its “One-Man-Band Brawl,” sure to be a spectacle of multi-instrumental mayhem. 10 p.m.
Sunday, March 20
• The Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center (56 Broadway Ave., 350-8484) hosts a panel discussion with Jerry Cullum, Cinqué Hicks, Tom Patterson and Xpress contributor Ursula Gullow. “These writers will shed light on the issues they face the field of art journalism,” reads a release for the event. “With blogs and online media beginning to lay claim to a larger and larger audience, is there any hope for print journalism? How does one find the balance between words, images, objects and ideas?” Moderated by Arnold Wengrow. $5 members and students. 3-4 p.m.
One-Man-Band Brawl!