Events Calendar

We’ve heard your valuable feedback, and now you don’t have to hear us! Beginning May 4, 2021, the period between 8 and 10 a.m. on the first Tuesday morning of every month will be reserved for “Meditative Mornings,” a pause for quiet time in our gardens and on our trails. During this time, our working garden crew will abstain from using leaf blowers, mowers and other equipment so you can be sure to enjoy the sounds of birds and the wind in the trees.

Take advantage of half-price parking on the first Tuesday of every month and come out to the Arboretum to enjoy a Meditative Morning!

Join us for Empower Hour, a one-hour program and facility tour where you will experience firsthand the YWCA’s work to bridge gaps in earning power, education, health & wellness and access to childcare.

Empower Hours take place twice a month on the first and third Tuesday at 11:30 am.
Lunch is served as part of our Empower Hour, so reservations are required.

To make a reservation: contact Elizabeth Alvandi, Advancement Assistant, at (828) 254-7206 ext. 103 or [email protected].

Cook along with various healthcare professionals from Diabetes Education, Food Services, and Cardiology from the comfort of your own home.

Cooking Up Confidence is a series of 4 virtual cooking classes and will cover a variety of different cooking techniques to make home-prepared meals easier and fun! Recipes can be adapted to meet your family’s needs.

5:45-7:15 PM every other Thursday: March 7, 21 and April 4, 18

Classes will be taught using a FoodShare Spartanburg produce box, but are not required to participate. The recipe and grocery list will be sent out by the Monday before class.

If using a box, you will need to pre-order, purchase, and pick up a box before each class. It’s easy! Box orders for the first class are due by Thursday, February 29th. More information on ordering and pickup found here.

We will ask you to answer some survey questions for us at three different points during and after the class to tweak these classes to be effective for future community members. Participants must sign a liability waiver before participating.

Mackenzie Morrow is an up-and-coming artist from South Carolina whose music has been described as “sad pop” by some. She states “I write about whatever it is that I’m dealing with, and I share that because I know I’m not the only one going through it. I hope that sharing my experiences can encourage others and remind them that they are not alone.” While she started out as an instrumentalist at a young age, songwriting most accurately embodies who she is as a person and an artist.

Since Mackenzie’s last release in 2019, she has been working on her new project, Black Butterfly. This album explores topics such as mental health, love, relationships, emotional abuse, faith, feeling like an outcast, etc., and fuses together elements of pop, electronic, hip-hop, and punk. Be on the lookout for Black Butterfly coming August 18, 2023.

About Fretwell

Fretwell is Spartanburg’s newest gathering spot, located just a few steps off the Mary Black Rail Trail. Whether you’re here to rest from the Trail, have a beer or coffee with friends, or listen to live music with your family, we have a spot for you!

Guide: Christa Hebal

$55 Non-member Adult**

 (**Arboretum Members receive a 10% discount on all classes.)

Limit: 15

The changing seasons are rich with wisdom and guidance. Winter is a time for rest and dreaming, followed by spring, ripe with opportunities for renewal and growth. Cultivate those winter dreams and invite them to birth into reality during this enlivening afternoon retreat. Let your most authentic Self emerge from within and flourish amidst the beauty of the early spring! New Graph: Your guide, Christa Hebal, will lead you on a gentle journey through the awakening forest, weaving mindfulness, breathwork, forest bathing (Shinrin Yoku) and nature therapy together for a restorative afternoon on some of the trails less traveled at the North Carolina Arboretum. We’ll celebrate the experience in community, enjoying a wild-foraged tea ceremony and snacks. Bring an open mind and an open heart. All are welcome. Presented through Adult & Continuing Education Programs in collaboration with Asheville Wellness Tours.

Christa Hebal is a certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy. Born and raised in the mountains of NE Tennessee, she has lived in Asheville for 23 years. Christa has an adventurous heart, and loves to help others encounter wholeness through embodiment and nature connection practices. She has had a professional bodywork practice for 17 years as a nationally certified Massage Therapist, and is also a practitioner of Ortho-Bionomy®, Usui Reiki Master, Certified Pediatric Massage Therapist, Clinical Aromatherapist, and Certified Traditional Herbalist. She is also certified in CPR and Wilderness First Aid.

Spring Awakening & Renewal Forest Bathing Retreat | ONSITE | Saturday, March 9, 2 – 5 p.m. Or Saturday, March 23, 2 – 5 p.m.

Instructor: Susan Patrice

$24 Non-member Adult**

 (**Arboretum Members receive a 10% discount on all classes.)

Limit: 12

Take a fresh look at the objects, moments and vistas that surround you during this “awe walk” led by documentary photographer Susan Patrice. The contemplative practices she teaches help you experience place through new and loving eyes, to see beauty and wonder in your surroundings. Bring cameras or phones to capture what calls to you in the enveloping landscape. Participants will be sent meeting instructions for this small-group class that will take a slow intentional walk through parts of the Arboretum forest and forest meadow. This walk is a precursor to the generative writing and contemplative photography workshops to be held the following weekend.

Susan Patrice is a documentary photographer, community artist, and founder of Makers Circle. She recently launched Kinship Photography Collective, a global community of practice designed to create rich visual conversations that explore the intimate connections between nature, culture and belonging. Susan’s own photography and public installations focus primarily on the Southern Landscape and its people and feature intimate images that touch deeply into the questions of place, gender, and belonging.

Bohemian Bull, Greenville’s favorite American beer garden and tavern located at 3620 Pelham Rd, is making Mondays a little more entertaining with their Movie Mondays! This week, families can enjoy the Disney hit “Brave.”

Fun for the whole family, enjoy Bohemian Bull’s extensive menu and don’t forget the kids eat free coupons!

Gather with your community for a FREE tasty meal, lessons on healthy eating and information on Double Up Food Bucks (a new program through SNAP)! Community Dinners are held on the second Wednesday of each month from 6 – 7:30 pm. FREE childcare provided.

Seating is limited. Reserve your seat online.

For more information, contact Leah Berger-Singer, Preventive Health Coordinator at (828) 254-7206 ext. 212 or [email protected].