Events Calendar
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.
SC BBQ Association judged BBQ Competition, live music, concessions, & kids’ activities http://www.greenvillesc.gov/calendar.aspx?EID=5575
- Sip a variety of domestic and imported wines.
- Sample light bites from local restaurants.
- Taste an array of micro-brews.
- Listen to live music.
Proceeds support ongoing conservation and education efforts at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.
Come cheer on the Tourists!

Come cheer on the Greenville Drive!

Beginner’s workshop lesson at 7:30 P.M., then 8-11 P.M. Contra Dance with Country Waltzing at the break and the final dance. This is a partner dance but it’s not necessary to come with a partner. We have different live bands and callers.
Hojotoho!: The Cry of the Valkyrie represents a collage of operatic music and personal stories illuminating the joys and challenges of being a woman in the South.
Showtimes:
April 27 & 28 @ 7:30pm
Suggested Donation $5
Please call the Box Office to reserve your ticket.
About Opera Forward
Converse Opera Theatre’s Opera Forward Series presents intimate, innovative and experimental works that challenge the definition of opera in the 21st Century.

The Diary of Anne Frank
By Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett; Newly adapted by Wendy Kesselman; Directed by Adam Cohen
April 13-29, 2018
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 2:30 pm
In this transcendentally powerful play, a young Jewish girl named Anne captures in her the diary the claustrophobic realities of her life and the lives of seven others, all of whom are hiding in an attic during the reign of Hitler. Their fear, their hope, their laughter and their grief are shared, showing the astonishing resilience of the human spirit.
The percussion ensemble features contemporary drumming and percussion from around the world. The steel band performs soca and calypso tunes, as well as classical, pop, and Latin arrangements, with guest artist Chris Tanner, director of the steel band at Miami University.
Project Host is thrilled to announce the 9th annual BBQ Cook-off & Festival, and we want you to be there! The Festival will be held April 27th and 28th, 2018 by the Reedy River at 320 S. Hudson Street. In conjunction with the South Carolina BBQ Association and the City of Greenville, we will be smokin’ at the site of the future park near the Swamp Rabbit Trail. The festival will include an “Anything Butt BBQ” competition, a Barbecue and Rib Cooking contest and great family entertainment including live music, food vendors, beverages, and games for kids. Admission is free and tasting tickets are sold at the festival. All proceeds benefit Project Host.
OUR MISSION:
Gather Community
To
Bring Help and Hope
arth Skin is based upon the forms and textures of the earth using inspiration from aerial photography of Western North Carolina and topographical maps of local areas, including Pisgah National Forest and Balsam Range. Created by ceramic artists Trish Salmon and Crystal Allen, Earth Skin includes wall structures and pieces designed for mantles, shelves and tables. All works are available for purchase and a portion of the sales will be donated to The North Carolina Arboretum Society.
About the Artists
Trish Salmon
Trish has been studying clay for many years through the various classes available to her when she lived in the Atlanta area. Taking classes at Penland was a life changing experience and a turning point in her desire to become a studio ceramicist. She and her husband moved to Western North Carolina in 2007, and she has pursued her claywork full time after her career as a kitchen designer. Immediately after retirement, she enrolled in Haywood Community College’s Professional Crafts Program in clay where she received her Associate’s Degree in 2014. She currently is a member of the Odyssey Coop Gallery in the River Arts District in Asheville, NC. She is also a founding member of Artisans on Main in downtown Weaverville where her studio is and where her work is primarily displayed.
Crystal Allen
Before discovering ceramics, Crystal earned a degree in Graphic Art and Design. She has also taught calligraphy, dabbled in watercolors and and learned how to felt, dye and spin natural fibers from her own llamas and sheep. Most recently, Crystal completed the Professional Crafts: Clay Associates degree at Haywood Community College. Her pottery is primarily functional, with altered or hand built additions. Her pieces are produced in her studio, one of her favorite places on earth!

Mark your calendar for this year’s Independent Bookstore Day — Saturday, April 28th, 2018!
Line up in the morning for first shot at the unique, limited edition products that will go on sale that day only in independent bookstores. We can’t reserve any of the product — it’s first come, first served — so be sure to get here when we open at 10am.
South Carolina author and journalist Tom Poland will be signing copies of his latest book, South Carolina Country Roads: Of Train Depots, Filling Stations & Other Vanishing Charms (Arcadia, paperback, $24.99), at a book signing at 11am.
We’ll also be celebrating the release of The Lemonade Year (Shadow Mountain Publishing, softcover, $15.99, on sale 4/3/18), Amy Willoughby Burle‘s debut novel. Amy will be at the store for a book talk and signing at 2pm. This event is free and open to the public, but please RSVP to Fiction Addiction if you plan to attend.
Venture off the beaten path to forgotten roads, where a hidden South Carolina exists. Time-travel and dead-end at a ferry that leads to wild islands. Cross a rusting steel truss bridge into a scene from the 1930s. Behold an old gristmill and imagine its creaking, clashing gears grinding corn. See an old gas pump wreathed in honeysuckle. Drive through a ghost town and wonder why it died. When’s the last time you saw a country store’s cured hams hanging from wires? How about a vintage Bull Durham tobacco ad on old brick? Tom Poland explores scenic back roads that lead to heirloom tomatoes, poke salad, restaurants once gas stations, overgrown ruins and other soulful relics.
Nina’s once-sweet life has unexpectedly turned sour. Her marriage is over, her job is in jeopardy, and her teenage daughter is slipping away from her. Then her father dies and issues with Nina’s mother come to a head; her estranged brother, Ray, comes home; and her sister, Lola, is tempted to blow a big family secret out of the water. They say the truth will set you free, but first it will make a huge mess of things.
All Nina’s got left is her final photography assignment shooting images for the book 32 Ways to Make Lemonade. Well, that and the attention of a younger man, but Oliver’s on-again-off-again romantic interest in her ebbs and flows so much she is seasick. And then Jack, her ex-husband, shows up, wanting to get back together.
As Nina struggles to find a way through her complicated relationships and to uncover her true path, she discovers just how valuable a second chance at life and happiness can be.
April 28-29, 2018
Western North Carolina Agricultural Center
1301 Fanning Bridge Rd.
Fletcher, N.C. 28732
If you are using GPS and enter the WNC Ag Center address, it will take you to the incorrect parking lot. Please stay on 280 and park at Gate 6. You can use “WNC Ag Center Park-n-Ride” for more accurate GPS directions.
Check out the website for the list of workshops/speakers

Movies & Meaning was founded in 2015 as a gathering of people around art and activism—those who desire to heal our personal and cultural wounds as a diverse community, laugh and cry around the “campfire experience” of great movies, and gain tools for constructive, respectful, and thoughtful dialogue across boundaries of religion, class, race, and age.
Where is the festival?
At Diana Wortham Theatre in downtown Asheville. 18 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801.
What does the festival cost?
The price for the three-day event is $299, but since this community is committed to creating an event accessible to all, we offer tickets on a sliding scale. If the minimum sliding scale amount is beyond your reach, contact us and we’ll let you know how to spread the cost of attending for as little as $15 a month: [email protected]
Celebrate spring in the Smoky Mountains with a free, family-friendly event in the Nantahala Gorge. Don’t miss the NOC 8 Ball Race and gear raffle, demos, and specials at NOC’s Outfitter’s Store.
This year’s Spring Fling will feature a carnage-filled 8 Ball competition! We will run competitors in heats of six from the NOC Founder’s Bridge to the Old Highway Bridge on the NOC Campus. There will be three 8 ball paddlers scattered along the course trying to stop the racers progression downriver. We will take the top competitor from each heat and run them all against each other in the final heat to determine the top 3 paddlers and champions of the NOC Spring Fling 8 Ball Race. The awards ceremony will take place after the final heat is completed.
To read more about what an 8 Ball Competition is all about, click here.
Scheduled releases of the Cascades and Upper sections of the Nantahala River round out this Bryson City weekend. Free NOC shuttles will run from the commercial Nantahala put-in from 9:30am – 3:30pm on both Saturday and Sunday.
Roots of Wisdom showcases the ways in which the traditional knowledge of native peoples and Western science are woven together to improve the natural world.
Featuring four indigenous communities, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, this traveling exhibit shares inspiring stories of environmental and cultural restoration that society faces today. Through the voices of elders and youth, engaging video interactives and hands-on games, visitors will gather resources, examine data and take part in the growing movement towards sustainability and the reclamation of age-old practices.
Exhibit support is provided in part by The North Carolina Arboretum Society, Smoky Mountain Living Magazine and Mosaic Community Lifestyle Realty. “Roots of Wisdom: Native Knowledge. Shared Science.” was produced and is toured by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). The exhibit was made possible with funds provided by the National Science Foundation.
When spring arrives in Spartanburg, it can only mean one thing – it’s time for a fling! This year, tens of thousands of people will converge on downtown Spartanburg for Spring Fling, April 27-29.
There are surprises on every corner, whether it’s a stage filled with non-stop entertainment or new attractions. The festival features four stages, offering everything from entertainment options for the little ones in the Family Fun Zone to national entertainers.
In addition, each year Spring Fling includes a wide variety of food and market vendors, special attractions like the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System Criterium cycling race, and our Family Fun Zone for the kids. There’s definitely something for everyone at Spring Fling!
It’s hard not to crack a smile while enjoying amazing views of Lake Lure and the Hickory Nut Gorge from on top of the Chimney. Capture photos of your family and friends enjoying the Park and enter them into our spring photo contest for a chance to win fabulous prizes. We’ll use the winning entries on our website and Facebook album, and you’ll win some fun prizes. Photos must be taken within the Chimney Rock section of the Park.
GREAT PRIZES FOR THE WINNERS:
First Place – An overnight getaway to Hickory Nut Gorge with a stay at the historic 1927 Lake Lure Inn & Spa, two passes to Chimney Rock, brunch for two at the 1927 Lake Lure Inn & Spa, and two tickets for a tour with Lake Lure Boat Tours
Second Place – A Chimney Rock prize package including two passes to Chimney Rock, lunch for two at the Old Rock Café and two tickets for a tour with Lake Lure Boat Tours.
People’s Choice – Selected by our Facebook fans, the winning photo will be featured as the cover photo of our Facebook page for two weeks and the cover of our Pinterest board of winning photos. Prize includes two Park admission tickets, lunch for two at the Old Rock Café and a $20 gift certificate for Old Time Photo in Chimney Rock Village.
CONTEST RULES:
There is no fee to enter the contest. All photographs must be taken inside Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park only in areas accessible to guests between March 20, 2018- June 20, 2018. The contest is open to amateur and professional photographers.
Up to three photos per person can be submitted via any of the following ways to be eligible to win:
Facebook: First, like the Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park page and share our photo contest post on your wall. Then post your photo to our wall with the photographer’s name and a brief caption (25-75 words) through your personal Facebook account. Next, send us a private message including your contact information specified in rule #3.
Pinterest: First, re-pin our photo contest pin to one of your boards and follow our 2017 The Different Seasons of Chimney Rock Spring Photo Contest Board so we can easily contact you. Then pin your photo with the hashtags #chimneyrock AND #photocontest with your personal account, and include the photographer’s name and a brief caption (25-75 words).
Twitter: First, follow Chimney Rock Park and retweet our tweet about the photo contest. Then tweet your photo to @ChimneyRockPark with the photographer’s name and the hashtag #photocontest. Next, send us private messages with your brief photo caption.
E-mail: If you don’t have access to any social media sites listed above, you may email your digital photo with your contact information specified in rule #3 to [email protected].
Snail Mail: Send your print photo with the clearly marked photographer’s name, city & state, a brief typed photo caption and a phone number to: Photo Contest, Chimney Rock Management LLC, PO Box 39, Chimney Rock, NC 28720.
Every entry should be clearly labeled with the photographer’s name, city & state, a brief photo caption your photo of the Seasons of Chimney Rock, an email address and the best phone number to reach you.
Photos should be available at a minimum resolution of 1200 x 1600 pixels (1 MB minimum) to be eligible to win. Photos taken via smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices are welcome if they meet minimum requirements.
For entries showing human faces, you must list their name(s) and have written permission from any photographed person(s) to use their image.
Entries should reflect the photographer’s interpretation of a face of Chimney Rock. Emphasis will be placed on quality, composition and creativity. All entries may be used in promotions of Chimney Rock and park-related activities.
Digital images can be optimized but not dramatically altered with photo editing software. Black and white photographs are welcome.
Decisions of the judges are final.
Winners will be notified and announced at chimneyrockpark.com and on Chimney Rock’s social media channels.
For more information, call 1-800-277-9611 or email us at [email protected].

