Events Calendar

Matinees: Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00PM

Evenings: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30PM. Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00PM

Flat Rock Playhouse Mainstage
2661 Greenville Highway Flat Rock, NC 28731

Students at the Visual Arts Preschool at Roots + Wings School of Art and Design engage with pre-K education fundamentals through a dynamic, arts based curriculum. Literacy, numeracy, social skills, community building, cultural and environmental studies are approached through an art and design thinking lens, as students explore learning concepts experientially across multiple platforms.

The Roots + Wings Visual Arts Preschool ‘Best of 2018’ collection is a cross section of the diverse pre-K education program and includes investigations into art movements, community and culture, storytelling, and creative play.

The Biltmore Estate has been planning the largest exhibition in its historic gardens for almost a decade. And finally, last week, Chihuly at Biltmore opened with a mega installation of glass sculptures from the famous artist Dale Chihuly. Tens of thousands of glass pieces from all around the world reside in 14 locations around the Estate (which is the very first large-scale N.C. Chihuly installation).

The exhibition is up from now until Oct. 7th, free admission with a Biltmore day pass (and free for annual pass holders). Chihuly at Nightis a special, ongoing event where the glass sculptures are lit up, plus live music in the gardens + a wine bar. Tickets are $37.50 for kids + range from $65 – 75 for adults ($10 discount for pass holders).

Three new works were blown just for Biltmore, and 6 new compositions were put together.

Program Highlights:
The evening will feature pianist, Christopher Tavernier. “Exploring New Horizons” with the “Great Piano Classics” and Christopher will astound the classical purists with his grace and technique. The program will begin with some of the most demanding classical music written by the world’s greatest composers and will combine his passion for classical music with today’s musical themes from Hollywood’s Greatest Mega-Hits.

The Music Foundation of WNC is sponsoring its Sixth Annual World Masterwork Series – Exploring New Horizons… the Great Piano Classics from Classical Music to Popular Hollywood Mega-Hits. The performance, an unprecedented and technically challenging piano concert is sure to sell out weeks prior before it comes to the Diana Wortham theatre on Saturday September 1, at 6:45 p.m.

“We are doing something that is very seldom done anywhere in the world,” says Joann Freeburg, Music Foundation of Western North Carolina founder. “You won’t have to be a classical music fan to enjoy this concert. You can appreciate it from a historical, technical and performance perspective. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity where you can experience the classical style with today’s current popular music.

The evening will feature pianist Christopher Tavernier. “Exploring New Horizons” with the “Great Piano Classics” and Christopher will astound the classical purists with his grace and technique. The program will begin with some of the most demanding classical music written by the world’s greatest composers and will combine his passion for classical music with today’s musical themes from Hollywood’s Greatest Mega-Hits.

The piano that Tavernier will be playing on is especially noteworthy. Made in Boston, MA provided by Freeburg Pianos in Hendersonville, is the latest American-made Mason and Hamlin model CC-94 Concert Grand piano and is making its premier “Main Stage” performance at the Diana Wortham Theatre this September. It is the third longest handmade piano in the world at nine-feet-four-inches long. The piano will be tuned to the Equal-Beating Victorian temperament, a tuning method that was preferred in Europe during the 1800s and still by many classical performers. The resulting rich sound to both the trained and untrained ear is often described as more vibrant that tuning commonly used today.

Christopher Tavernier made his orchestral debut with the Tar River Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of thirteen in Rocky Mount, NC, performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in the opening concert of the orchestra’s Fall 2013 season. Since then he has won the Hendersonville, Asheville, Augusta, and Charlotte Symphony concerto competitions, and second prize in the National Elizabeth Harper Vaughn Concerto Competition in Kingsport, Tennessee, where he was the youngest performer in the history of the competition. In the summer of 2017 he was one of two pianists who won the Brevard Music Festival Jan and Beattie Wood Concerto Competition, competing in a field that included college undergraduate and graduate students.

In addition to a growing solo repertoire, Christopher has performed concerti by Bach, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Prokofiev. Also, a dedicated chamber musician, he performs frequently with the Rutherford Chamber Consort. In addition, he has performed benefit concerts in support of the Mission Foundation’s “Ladies Night Out” — a collaboration of women helping women who provide free mammograms and health screenings for uninsured/underinsured women, the Hunger Coalition of Henderson County and Music Education Programs throughout Western North Carolina.

Christopher has been featured on ABC affiliate television station WLOS, CBS affiliate WSPA in Spartanburg (Scene on 7), Carolinas CW62 (Studio 62), and Carolina Live NPR radio, and WCQS in Asheville, NC. In 2015 he was named the first International Perzina Artist in the company’s 147 year history. Christopher has published recordings in DVD and CD formats.

Back by popular demand our BBQ & Brews now featured on the Fontana Trestle Train, will roll out this Summer! Featuring slow-cooked BBQ prepared fresh and beer tastings showcasing our local breweries! Family friendly seating is be available on this experience!

Departing from Bryson City, these trains will travel to the Fontana Trestle and arrive just around sunset for a spectacular view! A delicious BBQ meal will be served during the trip. Returning back to the Bryson City Depot at 9pm.

In the Basket

Each of you will get your own basket of Southern-style barbeque goodness with hand-pulled pork slider, a couple pork ribs, and chicken drumstick accompanied by baked beans and house-made coleslaw.

And, of course, no respectable Southern barbeque would forget to warm up some apple cobbler for dessert.

Back by popular demand our BBQ & Brews now featured on the Fontana Trestle Train, will roll out this Summer! Featuring slow-cooked BBQ prepared fresh and beer tastings showcasing our local breweries! Family friendly seating is be available on this experience!

Departing from Bryson City, these trains will travel to the Fontana Trestle and arrive just around sunset for a spectacular view! A delicious BBQ meal will be served during the trip. Returning back to the Bryson City Depot at 9pm.

In the Basket

Each of you will get your own basket of Southern-style barbeque goodness with hand-pulled pork slider, a couple pork ribs, and chicken drumstick accompanied by baked beans and house-made coleslaw.

And, of course, no respectable Southern barbeque would forget to warm up some apple cobbler for dessert.

This exquisite, interactive exhibit is designed to inspire and educate visitors about the storied history and evocative power of scent while taking them on a full sensory journey, literally! Blending flora, fashion and science, Making Scents showcases some of Mother Nature’s most fragrant botanicals and unveils the plants and flowers behind some of the world’s most iconic perfumes. Visitors will explore the mysterious power of the sense of smell, learn about the artistry and science behind the fragrance industry and even compose their own basic fragrance.

From traditional harvest and extraction methods to chemical combinations of synthetic fragrances, Making Scents uncovers the technical processes behind fragrance creation through an immersive, multisensory experience. Art, passion and craft come together inside the exhibit’s iconic bottle display, which showcases the unique designs of more than 100 perfume bottles, some dating back to ancient the Greek and Roman eras. By integrating horticulture, history and pop culture, Making Scents is sure to enlighten the senses and engage the minds of visitors about the fragrance industry and the living world in a fun, dynamic way.

This exhibit showcases the work of three leading fiber artists who explore Western North Carolina’s mountains, meadows and marshes using fabrics and fibers. Their quilted wall art offers a link to familiar images of this region, echoing the Arboretum’s role of connecting people with plants. Through their diverse styles, construction methods and subject matter, artists Mary Stori, Judy Simmons and Kate Weston add a contemporary twist to the area’s rich and storied quilt-making tradition. Their exhibit features  pieces of varying sizes, from large focal-point wall hangings to medium-sized wall art to small work suitable for tabletop display. All pieces are for sale, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting The North Carolina Arboretum Society.

About the Artists

Mary Stori

From her home in Clyde, N.C., Mary creates botanical and organic themed art quilts using artisian-made, hand-dyed cotton, linen, silk and rayon fabrics. She also utilizes hand-felted and hand-dyed wool as rich backdrops, offering texture and depth to her work. Bead embellishment is another one of her trademarks. Learn more on her website.

Judy Simmons

Judy creates her own fabric in her Fletcher, N.C. studio using surface design techniques, including fabric marbling, dyeing, color lifting and silk screening. Much of the imagery in her work utilizes her own photography printed on fabric. To learn more about Judy, please click here.

Kate Weston

From her home in Statesville, N.C., Kate focuses on the creation of complex cloth through the application of dye, paint and embellishment, such as fabric overlay or manipulation and the application of non-fiber materials.  Coupled with skillful machine quilting, Kate’s works create and stunning interplay of color and texture. Please visit Kate’s website to learn more.

Process painting workshop, where everyone is a beginner. The Painting Experience is about creativity and free expression in a supportive environment that allows for deep self-exploration through art.

Explore the world of spontaneous creation! Join Betsy Vingle and Matt Belay for a weekend dedicated to connecting with your authentic creative self. In a studio environment free of judgement and critique, learn how to paint for process rather than product, follow your energy and relate in a new way to the inner critic.

Betsy and Matt’s return for their twelfth year leading this workshop in Asheville. This weekend workshop is will be held at The Refinery Creator Space at 207 Coxe Ave, in downtown Asheville’s South Slope.

Saturday: 9:30 am – 6:00 pm

Sunday: 9:30 am – 5:30 pm

Lunch Breaks: 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm

Tuition: $410 ~ Your tuition includes all art materials, over 12 hours of facilitated painting sessions, group discussion circles in supportive community, and a video presentation about creativity and the practice of art as process.

Continuing Ed. credits are available for some health professionals. Partial scholarships and work exchange are also possible.