Top Spring Events in Asheville

As the warmer temperatures bring beautiful blooms to the Blue Ridge Mountains, Asheville’s calendar of festivals and celebrations also blossoms. Experience these colorful events that are sure to help you leave winter behind and put that spring back in your step.

Here is a look at the spring events in Asheville in 2023.

Spring Flowers and the Outdoors Reign

These Asheville happenings embody the bright spirit of spring. 

• Biltmore Blooms, April 1 - May 25, 2023: Nothing says spring quite like the tens of thousands of blooms bursting on the grounds of Biltmore, America’s Largest Home. The two-month spring flower celebration kicks off with orchids in the conservatory and 50,000 tulips of all shades and hues. April brings irises, roses and azaleas. Pink and white mountain laurel and rhododendrons close the show. Biltmore will be introducing a new exhibit, Italian Renaissance Alive, beginning March 3 and will be the perfect complement to the Blooms fest.
• Asheville Orchid Festival, April 1 - 2, 2023: Hundreds of orchids will fill The North Carolina Arboretum this spring at the Asheville Orchid Festival. Hosted by the Western North Carolina Orchid Society, guests can purchase orchid plants, view dazzling orchid displays and attend classes and lectures. 
• WNC Farmers Market Spring Festival, April 22 - 23, 2023: Enjoy this free, two-day event at the region's largest farmers' market. This festival will feature locally sourced food and produce, music, kids crafts and a special food truck ramp cook-off. Market shops will be open to connect with local growers and farmers, and participants can grow their plant collection at the Growing in the Mountains Plant Sale.
• The Resilience Festival, April 29, 2023: This wellness festival, located at The Outpost on 521 Amboy Rd., includes hip-hop, stand-up yoga, breath work, Tai Chi, Zumba and other on-site wellness practitioners. Event runs from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. 
• Get in Gear Fest, May 6, 2023: Connect with some of Western North Carolina's top gear makers and brands with a full day of outdoor recreation and experiences at the 2023 Get in Gear Fest. This family-friendly event features activities for all ages and outdoor experience levels, including live music, food trucks, local craft beer and non-alcoholic beverages. New this year, the event will be held at The Outpost, and attendees can demo or purchase e-bikes, mountain bikes, tents, hammocks and other locally-made outdoor gear. 
• Asheville Herb Festival, May 5 - May 7, 2023: The largest herb festival in the United States and Canada is now in its fourth decade. Learn from herb growers, herbalists and related businesses while also seeing demonstrations from experts on natural gardening and landscaping.

Music in the Mountains

Get into a rhythm this season with these toe-tapping music celebrations.

• Asheville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks 2023: Experience the music of this full orchestra thanks to a series of Masterworks concerts. Dig into Spanish culture with Guitarra Española (March 18), embrace drama and mastery over adversity with New World (April 15), and then enjoy the ever-changing vibe of American music with Asheville Amadeus headliner Béla Fleck (May 11-20).   
• Downtown After 5, April through September 2023: On every third Friday of the month, head down to Lexington Avenue in downtown Asheville for free concerts by top local, regional and national bands. This street festival also includes local beer on tap and a variety of food vendors.
• LEAF Retreat (Black Mountain), May 11 - 14, 2023: Join together with music lovers gathered at beautiful Lake Eden in the nearby town of Black Mountain to experience powerful music, art and culture. This beloved local tradition takes place on the site of the historic Black Mountain College. This year’s spring retreat will uplift and honor First Nations, Indigenous & Latinx peoples as a precursor to LEAF's fall festival, “Legends of The Americas!”
• Asheville Symphony Orchestra presents Asheville Amadeus, May 11 - May 20, 2023: Experience 10 days of an art celebration with one of Asheville's most innovative orchestras, which brings together some of the most talented artists, musicians, brewers and entertainers. 

Live music is back in Asheville! Check out some of these acts that are hitting the stage in Asheville this spring.

• The Get Right Band at the Salvage Station, April 7
• Flatland Calvary at The Orange Peel, April 13
• Caroline Rose at The Orange Peel, April 18
• Mt. Joy at Harrah's Cherokee Center - Asheville, April 20
• Lucinda Williams at The Orange Peel, May 3
• The String Cheese Incident at the Salvage Station, May 4 - May 6
• Robert Plant & Alison Krauss at Harrah's Cherokee Center - Asheville, May 9
• Eilen Jewell at the Grey Eagle, May 12
• American Patchwork Quartet at the Wortham Center, May 18

Art on Display

Asheville is known for its creative spirit. See hundreds of artists in action as you experience their creativity first-hand.

• Too Much Is Just Right at the Asheville Art Museum, through May 29, 2023: Too Much Just Right: The Legacy of Pattern and Decoration features more than 70 artworks from the Pattern and Decoration movement as well as art created in the 80s' to now. The exhibit explores the varied and vibrant approaches to pattern and decoration in art as well as the history of their uses in art.
• Italian Renaissance Alive at Biltmore,  March 3, 2023 through January 7, 2024: Biltmore is bringing a brand-new immersive experience to Asheville in 2023. Italian Renaissance Alive invites guests to enjoy one of history's greatest artistic periods through stories of famous artists and their artworks. Visitors will encounter large-scale projections with 360-degree views set to a powerful musical score featuring Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Raphael, Botticelli and more.
• {Re}HAPPENING, April 8, 2023: This one-day festival and fundraiser during which artists celebrate the legacy of the historic Black Mountain College. Founded in 1933, Black Mountain College was one of the leading experimental liberal art schools in America until its closure in 1957. 
• River Arts District Second Saturdays: On the second Saturday of each month, more than 200 artists of the River Arts District extend a special welcome to you. Many galleries host special events, demonstrations and sales as part of the celebration. 
• Asheville Makers Faire, April 22, 2023: Bring the family to this showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness. The Asheville  Makers Faire is a gathering of fascinating, curious people who enjoy learning and who love sharing what they can do. From engineers to artists to scientists to crafters, Makers Faire is a venue for these "makers" to show hobbies, experiments, projects. 
• Weaverville Art Safari Studio Tour, April 29 - 30, 2023: The Weaverville Art Safari is one of the original studio tours in the Asheville area. It is a self guided free event that offers a unique look at the artists' work in their working environment, featuring those who specialize in handmade pottery, glass, photography, sculpture, jewelry, furniture, painting, drawing, fiber art, wood art and more. 

Experience Asheville's Vibrant Cultural Scene

Explore cultural traditions through dance, song, food and crafts

• Asheville Bread Festival, April 22 - 23, 2023: After a three-year hiatus, the Asheville Bread Festival returns in 2023. This two-day event is an opportunity for bread enthusasist and professional bakers to break bread together, improve their baking skills, share ideas and network within the artisan bread community. 
• GRINDFest, May 26 - 29, 2023: GrindFest is a free, three-day festival that celebrates Black freedom, as well as the success of Black entrepreneurs + business owners in Asheville. Held in the River Arts District, the celebration includes a weekend full of music, live performances, food, local vendors + learning opportunities.
• Asheville Beer Week, (May 19-27): Cheers to the happenings, faces, and places that make the Asheville area's beer scene so special. You'll enjoy tastings, dinners and discussions along with some new and creative programming that leans into the Western North Carolina lifestyle of good beer, the outdoors, good food, and good people.  

Watch and Participate in Major Sporting Events

• Southern Conference Basketball Championships, March 2 - 6 at Harrah's Cherokee -- Asheville: Cheer on your favorite team from the Southern Conference this season in Asheville. From March 2 through March 6, teams will compete for a chance to make the NCAA Tournament.