Explore family friendly events, theatres, galleries, concerts, nightlife, things to do, and more in the Greenville, SC and Upstate areas.

Interested in adding an event to our calendar? Please click the green “Post Your Event” button below.

Thursday, August 17, 2023
Applications open: 2024 Asheville Fringe Arts Festival
Aug 17 all-day
online w/ Asheville Fringe Arts

APPLICATIONS OPEN NOW!

Do you have a boundary-pushing, innovative performance piece, short film or installation that you’re ready to share?

We will open applications for the film portion of the festival in fall 2023. Films must be submitted via FilmFreeway. Our application fee for films is $5.


NOW CONSIDERING WORKS OF ALL KINDS

We accept live performances from 5 to 60 minutes in length, plus installations and films. We’re open to other types of performance as well – let’s talk! Depending on its length, your piece may be grouped with another show, or scheduled as a Random Act of Fringe. RAFs are free and open to the public, and artists receive a stipend for their performance, rather than relying on door sales.

Typically each artist with a ticketed show gets 2 performances. But in 2024, we’re exploring the option of giving a few shows 3 performances, at select venues only. Our venues range from 20-80 person capacity.

1. FRINGE SHOT

A piece that is
5-15 minutes long

May be paired with another performance, or be selected as a free Random Act of Fringe.

2. SHORT FORM

A piece that is
20-40 minutes long

May be paired with another show.

3. FULL-LENGTH

A piece that is
45-60 minutes long

Ticketed theater-style show.

4. INSTALLATION

A piece that is
Site-specific (any length)

May be in an unusual location, or repeated many times. May be seen by as few as one person at a time.

5. FILM

A piece that is
Designed specifically for film.

May be of any genre & length. Could be combined with other films for a showcase or film night.
Submit on Film Freeway Fall 2023

3. THE ASHEVILLE FRINGE ARTS FESTIVAL IS A JURIED FESTIVAL.

We carefully review each and every submission. You’ll know by late October if your piece is selected. Should your piece get selected, there is a $35 participation fee.

Call for Writers: Southern Author Expo
Aug 17 all-day
online

Enter by August 25, 2023 for a chance to become one of our featured self-published or professionally published local authors.

Important to Note

Selected authors will not be offered compensation or a speaker’s fee. Selected authors will need to submit a short sample (if different from the application sample) to be featured on the Library’s website. Selected authors must secure copyright permissions for displayed excerpts. Authors who have participated in previous author events with Greenville County Library System need to re-apply for consideration.

Fall Classes + Workshops at Greenville Center for Creative Arts
Aug 17 all-day
Greenville Center for Creative Arts

Register for 5-week classes like Watercolor Basics, Drawing Fundamentals, and Oil Painting- Simple Approaches to Realism and so much more.

If 5-week classes aren’t what you’re looking for, explore 1-, 2-, & 3-day workshop offerings like Creating a Visual Dialogue With Mixed Media Collage & Beginner’s Guide To Printmaking. Our Fall Session classes and workshops have something for artists of all skill levels, interests, and ages!

Greenville Center for Creative Arts (GCCA) was established in 2015 by a dedicated group of artists, educators, and community leaders in response to the need for hands-on arts education in Greenville. Located in the former Brandon Textile Mill in the Village of West Greenville, it is the area’s only nonprofit community art center focused on providing high-quality visual arts instruction and engagement. Our vision is to be a recognized hub for accessible visual arts education and experiences through our work to energize and empower the arts community.

Flat Rock Playhouse: Fall Classes and Auditions for the World Premiere Musical
Aug 17 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse

Announcing 8 weeks of Fall Musical Theatre/Theatre Camps for rising K-12th Graders and Adults!

With new content for every program,

returning students will always have the chance to dive into fresh material.

Share what you have learned with a performance at the end of the semester!

Greenville Humane Society Urgent Need of Foster Homes
Aug 17 all-day
Greenville Humane Society

We’ve all experienced being sick and we can all agree it’s not any fun. Maybe your body hurts or you’re feeling run down. All you want to do is lay down and relax at home. Within a few days, most of us start to feel better. We get back to our normal schedules. Our shelter animals don’t have that luxury. When they’re sick, all they want is a comfortable home to relax in. A family that will help nurse them back to health. Reassurance that everything is going to be alright.

We have 106 sick animals that we’re caring for at this time. With limited staff and resources, we’re doing everything we can to make every single one of them comfortable. They’re not feeling well. Many have runny noses. Some are coughing. Others are undergoing difficult heartworm treatments. It’s hard on them. But also hard on us. Our team works day in and day out caring for each animal like they’re our own. With 106 animals, you can imagine that becomes incredibly difficult and exhausting.

So we’re begging for help. We are in desperate need of foster homes to help us nurse these sick babies back to health. We even provide everything you will need for your foster pet – food, leash, collar, toys, bed, crate – anything that will make life easier so you can focus on helping them recover faster.

Whether you’re able to help for a few days, a week, or two weeks – we need you. We’re sending out this desperate plea for help. It’s been a very long time since we’ve hit a capacity like this in The Healing Place, and we need our community’s support to continue saving as many lives as possible. Please consider temporarily opening your home and heart to a shelter animal, there is no better time than now.

Power Up Spartanburg’s Existing Business Impact Grants
Aug 17 all-day
online

Access to Capital

Accessing financial resources is a key element of Power Up Spartanburg, so $10 million in loans and $665,000 in grants will be made available through Power Up: Funding.

For the first two years, 30% of funds are reserved for minority-owned businesses.

Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) will serve as fiduciary agents for these small and minority business funding opportunities.

Wilderness Medicine + Survival Skills at Nantahala Outdoor Center
Aug 17 all-day
Nantahala Outdoor Center

LEARN MORE THIS YEAR

Brush up on your wilderness medicine or learn new survival skills! SOLO Southeast & NOC are offering over 200 courses in 2023 and classes in locations across the southeast.

  • Atlanta, GA
  • Bryson City, NC
  • Chattanooga, TN
  • Collegedale, TN
  • Greenville, SC

Find your next course with SOLO Southeast and be prepared for the unexpected!

Friday, August 18, 2023
Applications open: 2024 Asheville Fringe Arts Festival
Aug 18 all-day
online w/ Asheville Fringe Arts

APPLICATIONS OPEN NOW!

Do you have a boundary-pushing, innovative performance piece, short film or installation that you’re ready to share?

We will open applications for the film portion of the festival in fall 2023. Films must be submitted via FilmFreeway. Our application fee for films is $5.


NOW CONSIDERING WORKS OF ALL KINDS

We accept live performances from 5 to 60 minutes in length, plus installations and films. We’re open to other types of performance as well – let’s talk! Depending on its length, your piece may be grouped with another show, or scheduled as a Random Act of Fringe. RAFs are free and open to the public, and artists receive a stipend for their performance, rather than relying on door sales.

Typically each artist with a ticketed show gets 2 performances. But in 2024, we’re exploring the option of giving a few shows 3 performances, at select venues only. Our venues range from 20-80 person capacity.

1. FRINGE SHOT

A piece that is
5-15 minutes long

May be paired with another performance, or be selected as a free Random Act of Fringe.

2. SHORT FORM

A piece that is
20-40 minutes long

May be paired with another show.

3. FULL-LENGTH

A piece that is
45-60 minutes long

Ticketed theater-style show.

4. INSTALLATION

A piece that is
Site-specific (any length)

May be in an unusual location, or repeated many times. May be seen by as few as one person at a time.

5. FILM

A piece that is
Designed specifically for film.

May be of any genre & length. Could be combined with other films for a showcase or film night.
Submit on Film Freeway Fall 2023

3. THE ASHEVILLE FRINGE ARTS FESTIVAL IS A JURIED FESTIVAL.

We carefully review each and every submission. You’ll know by late October if your piece is selected. Should your piece get selected, there is a $35 participation fee.

Call for Writers: Southern Author Expo
Aug 18 all-day
online

Enter by August 25, 2023 for a chance to become one of our featured self-published or professionally published local authors.

Important to Note

Selected authors will not be offered compensation or a speaker’s fee. Selected authors will need to submit a short sample (if different from the application sample) to be featured on the Library’s website. Selected authors must secure copyright permissions for displayed excerpts. Authors who have participated in previous author events with Greenville County Library System need to re-apply for consideration.

Fall Classes + Workshops at Greenville Center for Creative Arts
Aug 18 all-day
Greenville Center for Creative Arts

Register for 5-week classes like Watercolor Basics, Drawing Fundamentals, and Oil Painting- Simple Approaches to Realism and so much more.

If 5-week classes aren’t what you’re looking for, explore 1-, 2-, & 3-day workshop offerings like Creating a Visual Dialogue With Mixed Media Collage & Beginner’s Guide To Printmaking. Our Fall Session classes and workshops have something for artists of all skill levels, interests, and ages!

Greenville Center for Creative Arts (GCCA) was established in 2015 by a dedicated group of artists, educators, and community leaders in response to the need for hands-on arts education in Greenville. Located in the former Brandon Textile Mill in the Village of West Greenville, it is the area’s only nonprofit community art center focused on providing high-quality visual arts instruction and engagement. Our vision is to be a recognized hub for accessible visual arts education and experiences through our work to energize and empower the arts community.

Flat Rock Playhouse: Fall Classes and Auditions for the World Premiere Musical
Aug 18 all-day
Flat Rock Playhouse

Announcing 8 weeks of Fall Musical Theatre/Theatre Camps for rising K-12th Graders and Adults!

With new content for every program,

returning students will always have the chance to dive into fresh material.

Share what you have learned with a performance at the end of the semester!

Greenville Humane Society Urgent Need of Foster Homes
Aug 18 all-day
Greenville Humane Society

We’ve all experienced being sick and we can all agree it’s not any fun. Maybe your body hurts or you’re feeling run down. All you want to do is lay down and relax at home. Within a few days, most of us start to feel better. We get back to our normal schedules. Our shelter animals don’t have that luxury. When they’re sick, all they want is a comfortable home to relax in. A family that will help nurse them back to health. Reassurance that everything is going to be alright.

We have 106 sick animals that we’re caring for at this time. With limited staff and resources, we’re doing everything we can to make every single one of them comfortable. They’re not feeling well. Many have runny noses. Some are coughing. Others are undergoing difficult heartworm treatments. It’s hard on them. But also hard on us. Our team works day in and day out caring for each animal like they’re our own. With 106 animals, you can imagine that becomes incredibly difficult and exhausting.

So we’re begging for help. We are in desperate need of foster homes to help us nurse these sick babies back to health. We even provide everything you will need for your foster pet – food, leash, collar, toys, bed, crate – anything that will make life easier so you can focus on helping them recover faster.

Whether you’re able to help for a few days, a week, or two weeks – we need you. We’re sending out this desperate plea for help. It’s been a very long time since we’ve hit a capacity like this in The Healing Place, and we need our community’s support to continue saving as many lives as possible. Please consider temporarily opening your home and heart to a shelter animal, there is no better time than now.

NOC Paddling School
Aug 18 all-day
Nantahala Outdoor Center

Voted “Best Place to Learn” by Outside, NOC Paddling School has taught more paddlers than anyone else, with 50 years of experience going into every class. Our commitment to the sport and to providing the best possible instruction has not waivered. So come and let us be your respected and experienced instructor.

Spartanburg Community Aviation Program
Aug 18 all-day
online

Do you know a student who is interested in Aviation?

Six individuals between 16-20 years old will have the opportunity to learn from the full resources available at the Spartanburg Memorial Downtown Airport this summer. Piloted in partnership with the airport’s aviation groups and the Spartanburg Science Center, students will be taken through a seven week program. At the conclusion of the course the group will present their experiences in a digital format to members of each of the contributing organizations.

Aviation Program Schedule:

SCHOLARSHIPS APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN

Fall 2023 Session
Sept 10 -October 22
Fall Graduation Nov. 6

 

Please email a 250-300 word essay, written by your child explaining why they want to participate in the program.  This should be student written: email the form below and the essay to [email protected]

Take our Science Center survey
Aug 18 all-day
online
Take our Science Center survey to share feedback for future planning!
The first 50 responses will be entered into a drawing to win a $25 gift card of your choice! We have partnered with Heightened Development to facilitate this process. All responses will remain confidential. The survey will remain open until September 21st, but we encourage you to respond as soon as possible through the link below.
Survey
The Curator’s Journal: A Year-long Insider’s View of American Bonsai at The North Carolina Arboretum
Aug 18 all-day
online w/ The North Carolina Arboretum

Registration is ongoing through the year. Get new updates and access all previous entries in a convenient online library.

The Curator’s Journal by Bonsai Curator Arthur Joura is a year-long course offering the ultimate insider’s view of bonsai at The North Carolina Arboretum. Regular entries chronicle growing an art and growing an enterprise. Some journal entries will be long and others more brief; some will be mostly words and others mostly pictures; some will be close-up studies of detail and others will step back to take in the wider scene. The path will not be linear, but all the entries will be steps along a journey.

You’re invited to come along.

VIRTUAL RAILFAN is live!
Aug 18 all-day
online w/ Hub City RR Museum

VIRTUAL RAILFAN is live from the Hub City RR Museum in Spartanburg.

The Virtual Railfan cameras were installed on Tuesday, July 6th at the Hub City Railroad Museum. There is one camera looking north and one looking south. The Hub City RR Museum wants to thank the City of Spartanburg for allowing us to install the cameras, and to Virtual Railfan for the install. We have already seen over 300 railfans at one time watching the video feed.
Links to live feeds: [North Camera feed] [South Camera feed]

Carolina Railroad Heritage Association

CRHA LogoThe Carolina Railroad Heritage Association is a <501(c)(3)> not for profit local association of approximately eighty members who enjoy railroads and railroad history. The CRHA is currently meeting the third Friday of each month in Fountain Inn, SC at 7:00 pm. Programs at the meetings include presentations on historical and current railroads and are presented by members as well as outside speakers. Our activities include a photo contest, occasional field trips to local railroad sites, picnics and a December pot luck dinner. CRHA members volunteer at our museum and caboose in Spartanburg, SC. If you have an interest in railroads, contact Dave Winans at [email protected] for more information about the CRHA.

For membership, please download and print the membership application and follow the instructions.

Museum Hours:
Wed: 10am – 2pm
Sat: 10am – 2pm

VOLUNTEER WITH GET OFF THE GRID FEST
Aug 18 all-day
The Music Camp

VOLUNTEER WITH US!

We’re enrolling 120 volunteers to help power GET OFF THE GRID FEST! Roles include Gatekeeper, Solar Expo Supporter, Health & Wellness Assistant, Sustainability Champion, Gnome Zone Helper, Stage Hand and more.

Each volunteer receives a 3-day festival pass, T-shirt, meal for their shift, and an invite to the volunteer pre-party at The Music Camp on August 17 from 6-9 PM.

Greenville State Farmers Market
Aug 18 @ 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Greenville State Farmers Market

 

The Greenville State Farmers Market includes retail sheds and farmer stalls that offer a wide variety of locally grown products and specialty goods. Both quality and variety are standards for the volume of products offered for sale at the Greenville State Farmers Market. Market operations continue Monday – Saturday all year long, ceasing for only two holidays: Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Find information about upcoming events and what’s in season at our market’s Facebook page.

 

Office Hours

Monday – Friday  •  7:30 am – 4 pm
Closed on State Holidays

 

Retail Hours

Monday – Saturday  •  8 am – 6 pm
Admission and parking are free
Closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day

Biltmore Estate: Ciao! From Italy Sculptural Postcard Display
Aug 18 @ 8:30 am
Biltmore Estate

Included with admission

Embark on a scenic journey across George Vanderbilt’s Italy with a large-scale outdoor display that combines brilliant botanical designs with authentic messages written by Vanderbilt himself.

Beautifully handcrafted of natural elements, each sculptural postcard depicts a location or landmark Vanderbilt visited more than a century ago. This captivating complement to Biltmore’s Italian Renaissance Alive exhibition reveals Vanderbilt’s passions for travel, culture, architecture, and art as well as his personal experience of such renowned Italian cities as Milan, Florence, Venice, Pisa, and Vatican City.

Adding to the charm and visual appeal of Ciao! From Italy—sure to be a hit among kids of all ages—is the G-scale model train that travels in and out of each postcard in this enlightening display!