The 43rd annual celebration of Southern Appalachian music, dance, arts and crafts takes place Saturday, Sept. 30 at Western Carolina University.
Smart Bets: Bascom Lamar Lunsford Festival
The 50th edition of the annual festival runs Oct. 2-7 on and around the campus of Mars Hill University.
Smart Bets: Fiesta Hendersonville
The celebration of Latin American culture takes place Sunday, Sept. 24, in downtown Hendersonville.
AAAC’s Indigo Ball celebrates local creativity
If you’re in downtown Asheville on Saturday, Sept. 9, and see people dashing down the sidewalks in blue outfits and other formal attire, don’t be alarmed. These costumed folks are out reveling in the name of the Asheville Area Arts Council’s Indigo Color Ball, a sight unseen for two years — and in many ways, even longer.
Sabores del Tango celebrates the Argentine dance style
The three-day celebration of the evolution of tango includes workshops, classes and dance parties. It takes place Friday, Aug. 25, through Sunday, Aug. 27, at West Asheville church-turned-event space Center for Art & Spirit at St. George’s.
Smart Bets: Entanglements
The multi-media presentation debuts at the Revolve Project Space on Friday, Aug. 11, at 8 p.m.
Mountain Dance and Folk Festival turns 90
“The longevity of this festival comes from the wonderful ancestry that has evolved out of the mountains,” says Loretta Freeman. “You’ll have up to five generations in a family that are still playing music.”
Folkmoot returns for its 34th year
This year’s iteration, running from Thursday, July 20, to Sunday, July 30, features folk dance collectives from India, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Argentina, Russia, Israel, Taiwan and Wales. Traditional Appalachian and Cherokee groups will perform, too.
Smart bets: For Rumbough
The full evening of dance takes place at The Academy at Terpsicorps on Friday, July 21, and Saturday, July 22.
Independence Day events around WNC
Whether you favor pig pickin’ or watermelon, live music or a dramatic reading of the “Declaration of Independence,” there’s something for everyone this holiday, and Xpress has all your pie-flavored, freedom-filled needs covered.
Asheville Percussion Festival creates community around rhythm
Many of the festival’s participants come from places where the arts may be overshadowed by political controversy. This year’s lineup includes the Turkish multi-instrumentalist Omar Faruk Tekbilek and his son Murat Tekbilek, the Iranian percussionist Naghmeh Farahmand and the Lebanese drummer Yousif Sheronick with his wife, violist Kathryn Lockwood.
Terpsicorps presents a unifying performance in election’s wake
Compassion, and possibly shared frustration, is the basis of Together We Stand, a series of dance performances onstage at the Diana Wortham Theatre Thursday-Saturday, June 22-24.
Smart bets: Hola Asheville
The family-friendly festival takes place on Saturday, June 24, from noon to 8 p.m. at Pack Square Park.
New film explores the multicultural roots of traditional music and dance
The film’s world premiere is set for Thursday, June 22, at Blue Ridge Community College. Subsequent screenings will take place at the Fine Arts Theatre on Thursday, June 29, and at White Horse Black Mountain on Friday, June 30.
Three free summer festivals worth visiting
This season, two new events — the Better Dads Festival and Xpand Fest — are launching in downtown Asheville. A little further out in Hot Springs, ballad singers and hikers are coming together to celebrate the Bluff Mountain Festival’s 22nd year.
Smart bets: The Color of Dance
Three performances will take place on Thursday and Friday, June 8 and 9, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, June 10, at 3 p.m., on The BeBe Theatre Stage.
Asheville Ballet puts a fresh spin on performance
Eight resident choreographers, three composers and two visual artists will come together for a night of collaborative live performance. With no restrictions beyond a 10-minute time frame, Asheville Ballet artistic director Ann Dunn likens the show to a floral bouquet: diverse and eclectic.
Conscious party: Tour de Fat
For its first year in Asheville, Tour de Fat will bring Third Eye Blind to the stage plus additional zany entertainment and a party atmosphere. The event takes place at New Belgium Brewing’s outside grouds on Saturday, May 20.
Smart bets: The Muses of Terpsicorps
The promising dancers perform at at Diana Wortham Theatre on Sunday, May 14.
The 44th LEAF features ‘Legends of Africa’
The program that emerged from Pickering’s trip, LEAF International Rwanda, is now sending four of its performers to LEAF. The young Rwandans will join over 400 other artists at the festival’s 44th edition, which takes over Camp Rockmont from Thursday, May 11, to Sunday, May 14.
Faces in the crowd: WNC crowdfunding initiatives
Each week, Xpress highlights notable WNC crowdsourcing initiatives that may inspire readers to become new faces in the crowd. This week features a new album by local duo Tina & Her Pony, a body movement and pole dancing studio and Eliada’s on-campus hydroponic gardening project.