Final Week of The Swanannoa Gathering

July 31 - August 6, 2016   Swanannoa Gathering - Mando and Banjo Week and Fiddle Week  One of the finest programs of its kind anywhere, staffed by some of the world’s best players and instructors.  

Mando & Banjo Week features classes in two of the instruments that are at the core of several of the most popular folk genres, including bluegrass, old-time, Irish and Scottish, as well as some of the more adventurous blendings of traditional and jazz flavors known as ‘new acoustic’ music.

photo courtesy of Swanannoa Gathering

Mando & Banjo Week has been paired with our Fiddle Week, offering classes in similar styles, to encourage students from both programs to jam with each other, and with guitar classes in both programs to provide rhythm players, the possibilities for impromptu bands and jam sessions are rich, indeed.

There will be concerts throughout the week featuring our world-class staff, and the optional Student Showcase at week’s end will be an opportunity for students to show what they have learned.

 

The Largest One-day WNC Arts Street Festival this Weekend in Asheville

May 21, 2016     Montford Music and Arts Festival    This is the largest one-day, free music and arts festival in Western NC - so large it's held on two streets: Montford and Soco. 

photos courtesy of Monford Music and Arts Festival

Enjoy more than 100 vendors of art, crafts, plants and food along with two stages of non-stop entertainment with 20 performing music groups and a children’s area. The Festival is known for its many quality craft persons and artists who return every year to offer their wares. The special Juried Artists section exemplifies the degree of excellence you will find at the festival.

Located near the Asheville NC Visitors Center in Historic Montford with shady tree-lined streets and unique architecture, from turn of the century “Victorian” to Arts and Craft designs.  On street parking and a bike corral will be available. The event will be held rain or shine and admission is free.

Shindig on the Green this Saturday at Pack Square

August 29, 2015   Shindig on the Green   Held outdoors at Pack Square Park in the heart of downtown Asheville, this FREE event  was voted the #1 Local Outdoor Concert in the Mountain Xpress "Best of WNC" survey for four years. 

Bring your instruments, your lawn chair or blanket, family and friends and join the fun eight summer Saturdays. Performances include Long-standing house band The Stoney Creek Boys Bluegrass and Old-Time String Bands, Big Circle Mountain Dancers, Clog Dancers, Smooth Dancers, Ballad Singers and Storytellers. If you love old time Mountain music and Bluegrass this is the place to be.

Homegrown in Pritchard Park

June 27    Homegrown in the Park  - John Wilkes Booth and the Black Toothe    Free performances by local singer/songwriters each Thursday between Memorial Day and Labor Day at Pritchard Park in downtown Asheville. Held from 6 PM - 8 PM and sponsored by 98.1 The River radio station.

Get a link for Homegrown in the Park and other Asheville events, attractions and lodging on the Asheville NC Visitor Guide.

The Folk Art Center Hosts Heritage Weekend

A whimmy diddle is an
Appalachian mountain toy
made of two wood sticks

September 15 - 16  at the Folk Art Center, Milepost 382 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville NC - Heritage Weekend is a two-day celebration of traditional crafts and music.

The 32nd free festival is sponsored by the Southern Highland Craft Guild and features traditional music, dancing and heritage craft demonstrations. A highlight of the weekend is the 32nd Annual World Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle Competition on Saturday, 2:00-3:00 PM. Joe “Colonel Buncombe” Bly will emcee the competition.

Apple Chill Cloggers

During Heritage Weekend, visitors learn from area experts about beekeeping, rifle making, coopering, heritage toy making, natural dyeing, spinning, quilting, whittling, print making and furniture making. Other highlights include sheep shearing demonstrations throughout the day on Saturday. The entertainment schedule is jam-packed with regional musicians on both days.

85th Annual Mountain Dance and Folk Festival in Asheville

August 2-4   85th Annual Mountain Dance and Folk Festival  The nation's longest running folk festival, the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival showcases the top talent in traditional mountain music and dance during a three-evening festival at the wonderfully intimate Diana Wortham Theatre at Pack Place in Asheville NC.  Come enjoy performances by hundreds of the Southern Appalachians' best traditional mountain musicians and dancers and celebrate the treasured cultural heritage of Western North Carolina.

Since 1928, mountain fiddlers, banjo pickers, dulcimer sweepers, dancers, balladeers and others have come to enjoy themselves “along about sundown” the first weekend in August at the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival. At the  2012 Festival,  performers  will take to the stage for the 85th time in downtown Asheville at 7 PM each evening.

Tickets are for sale on-line before the event.

The Swannanoa Gathering Begins Today at Warren Wilson College

July 8 - August 11 at Warren Wilson College, Swannanoa NC - Founded in 1991, The Swannanoa Gathering is Warren Wilson College's continuing education program of summer folk arts workshops held on the campus in the Swannanoa Valley on the outskirts of Asheville.

Each week offers a different instrument and/or musical style (Traditional Song Week, Celtic Week, Old-Time Week, Guitar Week, Contemporary Folk Week, Mando & Banjo Week, Fiddle Week). Public Concerts are offered at Kittredge Theatre at 7:30 PM throughout the Gathering.

Asheville Summer Program "Homegrown in Pritchard Park" begins this week

May 31  Homegrown in Pritchard Park Presented by 98.1 the River, Pritchard Park will host local singer-song writers all summer long. Stroll through the park on Thursday evenings this summer and enjoy local talent, the beautiful weather and some great fun. The concert series is offered FREE from Memorial Day, May 31st, through Labor Day, September 6. Events are weather permitting.