Events Calendar

Join thousands of animal lovers for a celebration of compassionate living in one of the top vegan-friendly cities in the country: Asheville, NC! Brother Wolf Animal Rescue’s 4th annual Asheville VeganFest, will take place June 8-10th. This year’s tagline “save the animals, save the earth” will focus on animal agriculture as the #1 cause of climate change, mass species extinction, and animal cruelty.

On Friday and Saturday, speakers from around the country will tackle the latest vegan issues at The Orange Peel. Speakers include Jane Velez-Mitchell (of Jane Unchained), Dr. Garth Davis (featured in Forks Over Knives, and medical director of Mission Hospital Weight Management Center), Sailesh Rao (co-producer of Cowspiracy), Earthling Ed (co-founder and co-director of Surge, a creative grassroots animal rights organization), and more!

This year during VeganFest weekend, Brother Wolf will also be hosting two nights of entertainment at The Orange Peel, featuring comedian Lee Camp on Friday and afrobeat musical guests Antibalas on Saturday. Tickets, starting at $14, can be purchased at www.theorangepeel.net. All proceeds will benefit the Brother Wolf Animal Sanctuary and the work Brother Wolf is doing to save thousands of animals each year.

On Sunday, enjoy an outdoor festival at Pack Square with over 75 vendors showcasing vegan food, beer, lifestyle products, educational speakers, and more!

Asheville VeganFest events are free and open to the public, except for ticketed benefit shows on Friday and Saturday nights.

All proceeds from Asheville VeganFest will benefit Brother Wolf Animal Rescue’s tireless work to promote Uncompromised Compassion and build No-Kill communities.

Visit www.veganfest.bwar.org for a full schedule of the weekend’s events, speakers, and vendors.

About the Festival:
Asheville VeganFest is a celebration of compassionate living in one of the country’s top-rated vegan-friendly cities. Now in its fourth year, Asheville VeganFest is better than ever, with a broad and diverse mix of A-list speakers and a great line-up of night time entertainment! Over 15,000 visitors from all walks of life are expected to attend this free, family-friendly, inspiring (and not to mention delicious) 3 day long celebration!
About Lee Camp:
From Redacted Tonight, Comedian & Writer Lee Camp comes to The Orange Peel to perform during Asheville VeganFest to Benefit Brother Wolf Animal Sanctuary. Lee is the head writer and host of the national TV show Redacted Tonight with Lee Camp on RT America. He’s a former contributor to The Onion, former staff humor writer for the Huffington Post, and his web series
“Moment of Clarity” has been viewed by millions. He’s toured the country and the world with his fierce brand of standup comedy, and George Carlin’s daughter Kelly said he’s one of the few comics keeping her father’s torch lit. Bill Hicks’s brother Steve said Lee is one of only a handful with Bill’s “message and passion.” For more go to LeeCamp.net.
“An incredibly funny man.” –John Oliver
“An amazing writer and a great political thinker. He’s the change you and I want to see.” -Janeane Garofalo
“Imagine Jon Stewart if he gave a damn. He’s like Howard Zinn after 12 beers.” -David Swanson

NewSong Music and Blue Ridge Public Radio (BPR) are proud to present the ‘NewSong Sanctuary Sessions,’ a three part weekly concert series and fundraiser for BPR, featuring some of North America’s most talented emerging songwriters. These intimate concerts will be held in the beautiful and acoustically stunning Sanctuary of downtown Asheville’s Central United Methodist Church.
Max Hatt / Edda Glass have “an incomparable spook” (Nashville Scene) and a “unique sound” (Larry Groce, NPR) that’s taken them across the county from NPR Mountain Stage to NYC’s Lincoln Center, DC’s Kennedy Center, and the Sundance Film Festival. Praised for her “impeccable vocal command” (PopMatters) and compared to a gamut of singers from Astrud Gilberto to Billie Holliday, Glass’s voice ultimately “one of a kind…you cannot confuse her with another artist” (New York Theatre Guide). Hatt’s equally distinctive guitar work combines the harmonic innovations of jazz and classical with the melodic resonance of folk, creating music that’s “subtly poignant, elegantly funky, and haunting without trying to be” (Nels Cline, Wilco). Together with Glass’s literate lyrics, this Jazz Americana evokes the grandeur of the western landscape, telling intimate stories of little people on great plains, and leaving audiences with a feeling both light and deep.
maxhatteddaglass.com

Join us for an evening of amazing music and stand up comedy to benefit Brother Wolf Animal Sanctuary during Asheville VeganFest weekend! Featuring Antibalas, an American, Brooklyn-based afrobeat band and Lee Camp, comedian and independent news reporter!
About the Festival:
Asheville VeganFest is a celebration of compassionate living in one of the country’s top-rated vegan-friendly cities. Now in its fourth year, Asheville VeganFest is better than ever, with a broad and diverse mix of A-list speakers and a great line-up of night time entertainment! Over 15,000 visitors from all walks of life are expected to attend this free, family-friendly, inspiring (and not to mention delicious) 3 day long celebration!
About Antibalas:
The musical collective known as Antibalas (Spanish for bullet-proof or anti-bullets) was conceived of in Mexico City and formed in Brooklyn New York. The early nucleus of the group was composed of the band’s founder Martín Perna and included several members from the Soul Providers / Dap Kings band, performing their first show in May 1998 in Harlem, NY. Soon after, Lagos, Nigeria native Amayo joined the band after seeing the band at a neighborhood concert. Fluent in the afrobeat music of Fela, he began composing and performing lyrics and assuming the role of the group’s lead vocalist / frontman.
The band began rehearsing and composing at Desco 41st street studios and later at the first Daptone Studios at Amayo’s Afro Spot venue. They spent their first year performing exclusively in noncommercial spaces in lofts, community centers, parks, art galleries. In August 1999, they created a weekly residence called Africalia at Tribeca club NoMoore that ran for 18 months, where the band and repertoire expanded. In 2001, following their debut record (reissued independently, then licensed to Ninja Tune) they began touring internationally, from Glastonbury, Montreux to Newport Jazz and other renowned rock, jazz and world music festivals. Around 2003, following their third album “Who Is This America,” the Dap Kings and Antibalas both became very busy, each group developed its separate full-time lineup although the groups would remain close, later reuniting with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and Charles Bradley for the 2014 Daptone Super Soul Revue across summer festivals and theaters in Europe and culminating in a three night run at New York’s Apollo Theater. The group toured heavily performing over one hundred shows per year spread across North America and Europe between 2002 and 2007 with the releases of their third album, “Who Is This America”, and fourth, “Security”.
From 2007-2012 many members and former members of the Antibalas participated in the Tony-Award winning Broadway musical FELA!, including the show’s musical director Aaron Johnson, lead saxophonist Stuart Bogie, and assistant MD trumpeter Jordan McLean. In 2011, the group returned to the Daptone House of Soul to record their most recent album, “Antibalas” produced by emeritus member Gabriel Roth. The group toured heavily throughout the US and Europe, and later that year, performed songs from the album live on NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Antibalas has recorded five studio albums on the Daptone, Ninja Tune, Anti-, and Ropeadope labels as well as a number of singles and EPs. The band is currently finishing their sixth studio album due out in mid-2017. Though recognized for their fluency in Afrobeat and funk music, the band is known to collaborate with diverse groups and artists, from Angélique Kidjo to Jovanotti to Medeski Martin & Wood to Public Enemy, and served as the house band at Carnegie Hall in 2014 (Music of Paul Simon), 2015
(Music of David Byrne & Talking Heads) and most recently 2017’s Music of Aretha Franklin. The Antibalas horns have performed on Grammy award-winning albums by Angelique Kidjo, and Mark Ronson and dozens of albums, sound tracks and live guest appearances with artists including The Roots, My Morning Jacket, TV on the Radio, Santigold, Jovanotti, Nneka, Ed Sheeran, Alabama Shakes, The String Cheese Incident and numerous others. Former Antibalas members have gone on to record and perform with The Dap Kings, Arcade Fire, Mark Ronson, the Black Keys, the Arks, Menahan Street Band, the El Michels Affair, Iron and Wine, Bat For Lashes, and Imogen Heap.
antibalas.com

About Lee Camp:
From Redacted Tonight, Comedian & Writer Lee Camp comes to The Orange Peel to perform during Asheville VeganFest to Benefit Brother Wolf Animal Sanctuary. Lee is the head writer and host of the national TV show Redacted Tonight with Lee Camp on RT America. He’s a former contributor to The Onion, former staff humor writer for the Huffington Post, and his web series
“Moment of Clarity” has been viewed by millions. He’s toured the country and the world with his fierce brand of standup comedy, and George Carlin’s daughter Kelly said he’s one of the few comics keeping her father’s torch lit. Bill Hicks’s brother Steve said Lee is one of only a handful with Bill’s “message and passion.”
For more go to leecamp.com

“An incredibly funny man.” –John Oliver
“An amazing writer and a great political thinker. He’s the change you and I want to see.” -Janeane Garofalo
“Imagine Jon Stewart if he gave a damn. He’s like Howard Zinn after 12 beers.” -David Swanson

Weekly concert series hosted by Metropolitan Arts Council http://www.greenvillesc.gov/calendar.aspx?EID=5288

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp returns to our breweries in Chico and Mills River! It’s an epic adult day camp like you’ve never seen before. We’re shaking it up with dozens of games, a ropes course, keg bowling, Hammer-Schlagen®, climbing wall, Strider pump course, and more. Enjoy full-sized pours of your favorite Sierra Nevada beers, special collaboration beers created just for Beer Camp, and awesome culinary creations. Come ready to party, get a little dirty, and experience Beer Camp in a whole new way.

ADMISSION IS $25 – includes access to all of the activities, entertainment, and FREE shuttles!

BEER: We’re serving up full-sized pours of your favorites Sierra Nevada beers alongside six exclusive beers brewed in collaboration with Sierra Nevada’s amazing employees! Beer Camp will be your one chance to try these beers and once they’re gone…well, they’re gone!

Sierra Nevada Beer List:
• Pale Ale
• Summerfest
• Hazy Little Thing IPA
• Tropical Torpedo IPA
• Southern Gothic
• 3 Weight Session IPA
• Sierraveza
• Otra Vez Lime & Agave
• Ovila Abbey White

MUSIC: Festival vibes will be monitored and maintained by these super talented entertainers!

LIVE MUSIC:
• Headliner: Zach Deputy -known for his live looping shows, and his musical style is self-described as “island-infused drum n’ bass gospel ninja soul.” Zach will be playing a selection from his latest album Wash It in the Water.
• Show Opener: The Broadcast – these Asheville sensations will rock the festival with their spirited and high energy rock stylings.

SILENT DISCO DJ’S:
• DJ Marley Carroll
• DJ Push/Pull

THE FUN STUFF: Some of Sierra Nevada’s rad versions of traditional day camp activities:
• Ropes course – It’s pretty high up, and pretty far out!
• Rock climbing wall – It’s massive. It’s probably too tall for you to climb. Wanna prove us wrong?
• Keg bowling – It’s back and it’s actually “keg chucking,” but bowling sounds more legit.
• Human foosball – Get your friends ready, or make a few new ones.
• Hammer-Schlagen ® – Yeah, this is a thing, just Google it!
• Strider pump track – This is gonna get rowdy and you’re gonna love it.
• Corn hole – Because this is one of our favorite sports.
• Arts & crafts – brought to you by Skunk Trunk Artist Collective
• Hammock lounge stations – Naptime is back and better than ever!
• Silent disco – grab some headphones and dance to the beats of one of two DJ’s spinning at the same time!
• Collaboration beer sampling tent – festival style sampling area
• MORE RAD STUFF COMING SOON!

SHUTTLES: PLEASE DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE. Really, we can’t stress this enough, if you overindulge, leave your car or bike overnight and come back for it the next day. Take the free shuttle or a taxi; you’ll make some new friends and keep everyone safe. We also created these great options for you:
1. ASHEVILLE FREE SHUTTLE – Shuttles are continuously looping, taking off at 11:30 am from the A-B Tech Community College – 340 Victoria Rd. Asheville, NC 28801. Use parking lot B-7 in front of the Dogwood Building. Free overnight parking is included. 2. HENDERSONVILLE FREE SHUTTLE – Shuttles are continuously looping taking off at 11:30 am from the Courthouse Annex Parking Lot adjacent to Fourth Avenue and Grove Street.
3. PARKING OR TAXI – Complimentary parking available at the WNC Agricultural Center located two miles from the brewery. Shuttles will run continuously 11:30 am – 5 pm. Free overnight parking is included. All taxi/Uber/personal car pick-up will be at the WNC Ag Center.
***FESTIVAL SPECIFICS, PARKING, AND SHUTTLE INFORMATION SUBJECT TO CHANGE***
***THERE IS NO PARKING ON SITE AT SIERRA NEVADA***
***PLEASE FEST RESPONSIBLY!***

You loved Beatles music when you were a kid. Now YOUR kids have a chance to experience the magic of the Beatles LIVE in concert. On the afternoon of Saturday June 16 at The Orange Peel, Abbey Road LIVE! will be playing a special all-ages family matinee show.
Abbey Road LIVE! is well known in the Southeast for their energetic concerts at clubs, theaters and festivals. This time, the focus will be on the kids. Expect fun classics such as “Octopus’ Garden”, “Yellow Submarine”, and “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”. Does your child have a a favorite Beatles tune? Abbey Road LIVE! loves to take requests, and has often been known to invite kids on stage to sing along.
This rare event will be big fun for the whole family!
abbeyroadlive.com

 NFL football players and upstate South Carolina natives Adam Humphries and Charone Peake are holding the second annual Upstate Elite Youth Football Camp at Dorman High School on Wed., June 20. Youth will experience professional football instruction, sports performance coaching and motivational speakers.

This free camp for participants ages 8-13 will take place at the Dorman High School Stadium located at 1005 Cavalier Way Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. The camp runs from 9 a.m. to noon, followed by a free autograph session for campers. Interested campers are encouraged to register online in advance at www.upstateelite2018.eventbrite.com.

Adam Humphries is a wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Humphries finished second on the Buccaneers in total receptions in 2017. Peake is a wide receiver for the New York Jets. He played in 15 regular season games for the Jets in 2016. Both Humphries and Peake were three-year Lettermen at Clemson.

Want to see what all the mud is about at the Mad Mountain Mud Run? If you are curious about the Mud Run or just want to enjoy the muddy entertainment, attend the FREE Finish Line Festival on Saturday, June 23, 2018 from noon to 6 pm. The festival is being held during the 7th Annual Mad Mountain Mud Run, a benefit for Hands On! Children’s Museum. The community is invited to cheer on the muddy runners while enjoying food, beverages, and live entertainment with friends and family.

The 3rd Annual Fletcher Firefly Festival will be held on Saturday, June 23rd from 1-10pm at Blue Ghost Brewing.
Enjoy the release of new Summer Seasonals including a Tangerine Hefeweizen and a Toasted Coconut Blonde Ale, 30+ local artists and vendors, a kids’ bounce house and crafts, and live music from Barstool Sailors, Fwuit, and The Stipe Brothers! FREE.
Bring your own lawn chairs and/or blankets.
For more information, click here. 

Revelry Unique Downtown Events and Carolina Music Planner are excited to announce that Gracie and Rachel will be joining us for a night of live music on Saturday, June 23. The historic theatre at the Asheville Masonic Temple is an artistic, intimate space, and will be the perfect setting for this special evening.

Special guests STACE & Tina and Her Pony will help us to welcome Gracie and Rachel to Asheville, NC. A night filled with stringed instruments, powerhouse female vocals, and thought provoking original music, this is an event you’ll not want to miss.

80 Broadway St. Asheville, NC 28801

6:30pm Doors/7:00pm Show

Ticket Information:

Advance: $18/balcony & $22/floor
Door: $20/balcony & $25/floor
(plus tax/applicable online fees)

Gracie and Rachel are a study in duality: light and dark, classical training with a pop sensibility, Californians in New York. On their debut full-length, Gracie and Rachel pit anxiety and tension against an almost serene self-assurance. The duo announced the album via NPR alongside the introspective video premiere for “Only A Child.” The self-titled record (out June 23, 2017) quickly won the hearts of NPR fans who voted them to #4 on NPR’s Your Favorite New Artist, with Bob Boilen describing as having “a terrific tension in the sound, an underpinning of mystery set against a baroque, but modern, pop foreground.” The duo has since recorded an NPR Tiny Desk Concert and was named to NPR 100 Best Songs of 2017, Bob Boilen’s Top 10 Albums of 2017 and Slingshot 2018, public radio’s artist incubator program for emerging artists.

Their music is a compelling juxtaposition of Gracie’s piano and lead vocals and Rachel’s violin and voice, augmented with stark percussion. The nine orchestral pop songs on Gracie and Rachel tell a story that’s rooted in the truth —their truth — but retain an enigmatic air that makes them relatable to anyone who has ever found their heart racing with doubt and pushed forward regardless or triumphed in subverting expectations imposed from without. Seen on stages with Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, Joseph, Ani DiFranco, Tall Heights, and San Fermin, the live experience displays a passionate, tangible quality to their deeply rooted bond, an intimate connection that is vibrantly apparent on stage and equally imprinted on their record.

Links:
Website: http://www.gracieandrachel.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gracieandrachel
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gracieandrachel
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gracieandrachel
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/GracieandRachelMusic
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4jKFMEVOa9uon9utRFsLLX
Tiny Desk Concert session: https://n.pr/2yX5k0z
NPR Slingshot 2018: https://www.npr.org/2018/01/09/570751142/slingshot2018 – gracie-and-rachel

Presented in collaboration with the Asheville Percussion Festival, 51’15.657″ for a speaking percussionist is Bonnie Whiting’s realization of a solo simultaneous performance of  John Cage’s 45′ for a speaker and 27’10.554″ for a percussionist. These are vintage pieces: music from the mid-50’s and part of a series of timed works that Cage enjoyed mixing together and referred to in notes and letters as “the ten thousand things.” A culmination of 14 months of work and study, Whiting’s version is the first to feature one performer executing both pieces in their entirety. Cage subjected several of his lectures to chance procedures, and the result is his quirky and imaginative 45′ for a speaker. This particular version of the percussion score is a fusion of traditional percussion instruments and found-objects. See and hear more on Whiting’s debut solo CD/Blu-Ray album out on Mode Records: John Cage: Complete Works Vol. 4: Music for Speaking Percussionist (April, 2017.) $8 for BMCM+AC members + students w/ID / $12 non-members – Tickets Available Here: https://bonniewhiting.brownpapertickets.com

Presented in collaboration with the Asheville Percussion Festival, 51’15.657″ for a Speaking Percussionist is Bonnie Whiting’s realization of a solo simultaneous performance of John Cage’s 45′ for a Speaker and 27’10.554″ for a Percussionist. These are vintage pieces: music from the mid-50’s and part of a series of timed works that Cage enjoyed mixing together and referred to in notes and letters as “the ten thousand things.” A culmination of 14 months of work and study, Whiting is the first performer to execute both pieces in their entirety.

$8 for BMCM+AC members + students w/ID / $12 non-members

Advance Tickets available here: https://bonniewhiting.brownpapertickets.com

Weekly concert series hosted by Metropolitan Arts Council http://www.greenvillesc.gov/calendar.aspx?EID=5290

The Asheville Downtown Association will host the Ingles Independence Day Celebration on Wednesday, July 4 from 2-10pm at Pack Square Park in downtown Asheville. This event is produced in partnership with the City of Asheville.

The free event features family activities throughout the day, with a fireworks extravaganza capping off the event at 9:30pm.

The Ultimate Air Dogs return to Asheville for the 4^th of July event. Competitions will take place at 2pm, 4pm and 6pm, with the finals at 7:30pm. Learn more about the Ultimate Air Dogs and how to register your dog to compete at ultimateairdogs.com. Pets are only allowed in the Air Dogs area and not throughout the rest of the event.

Two giant slides, an obstacle course, a toddler bouncy house and a slack-line area will be part of a $3 wristband allowing kids to jump, bounce, balance  and race as many times as they’d like. There will also be free children’s crafts provided by LEAF Easel Rider and lawn games provided by the Girl Scouts.

The Splashville Fountain will be on until 6pm as well for kids to cool off and splash about.

Stage entertainment kicks off at 5pm with local outfit, The Moon and You. This husband-and-wife team’s vocal blend and heartfelt lyrics form a sound that is warm and inviting with songs ranging from folk to bluegrass, country to jazzy.

Up next at 6:30pm is Redleg Husky, a country and bluegrass group hailing from right here in Asheville. The duo pushes musical boundaries in their impassioned live show.

Headlining the Ingles Independence Day Celebration is The Larry Keel Experience. Described by music critics and reviewers as the most powerful, innovative and all-out exhilarating acoustic flatpicking guitarist performing today, Keel has shared the stage with legends like Del McCoury, Bill Monroe and John Hartford. The Larry Keel Experience combines a multitude of musical influences, instrumental dexterity, and original songs to create an explosive acoustic sound. The Larry Keel Experience will hit the stage at 8pm.

Beer and wine will be available for purchase including local, regional and national brews. Water and other drinks will also be available for purchase.

Food vendors include: Cecilia’s Kitchen, D.O.G.S., El Kimchi, The Grubbery Food Truck, Gypsy Queen Cuisine, The Hop, Kernal Mike’s Famous Kettle Corn, Mac Daddy’s Organic Lemonade, Paris Festival Bakery, Sugar and Snow Gelato and Sunshine Sammies.

No outside alcohol, pets or vending will be permitted. Parking is available in City of Asheville parking decks, on the street or in private lots.

This event would not be possible without the support of our sponsors: Ingles Markets, City of Asheville, Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, Pepsi, Kudzu Brands, Go Minis, AT&T, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Sam Adams, 99.9 Kiss Country, Mix 96.5, Rock 105.1, The 828.com, Asheville Scene, Asheville Citizen-Times, Buncombe County, Renaissance Asheville Hotel, Asheville Color & Imaging and Moe’s Original Bar B que.

The Ingles Independence Day Celebration is a production of the Asheville Downtown Association, a nonprofit organization committed to the preservation and improvement of the central business district.

More information about the Ingles Independence Day Celebration and the Asheville Downtown Association can be found online at www.ashevilledowntown.org.

Event Type: Local Event
Event Category: Art & Culture,Entertainment,Family
Link: http://www.artfestival.com/festivals/2nd-annual-downtown-asheville-festival-arts

When:
Saturday, July 7th, 2018
10:00am to 5:00pm
Sunday, July 8th, 2018
10:00am to 5:00pm

Where:
1 N Pack Square in Asheville, NC

Cost:
Free Admission