Things to Do in Asheville This Memorial Day Weekend -- May 27-30, 2022

Ready to make your weekend plans? Experience some of the best events happening all around the Blue Ridge Mountains. As you plan your getaway to Asheville, check out our easy-to-use accommodations search tool to find room availability and rates.

Here are ideas for what to do this weekend:

GRINDFest 2022

Friday - Monday, May 27-30, 9 a.m.
Black Wall Street AVL

Grindfest is BACK! This free, 4-day event celebrates the success of Black entrepreneurs + business owners in Asheville. A block-party style event will take place with a weekend full of music, games, live performance, food, local vendors + learning, employment and partnership opportunities. The goal of the festival is to highlight the progress made by people of color while also connecting folks in the community.

Live Music, Comedy, Dance and Theatre

Friday (May 27):

• David Barnard (Singer/Songwriter) at Citizen Vinyl, 4 p.m.
• An Evening with Ash & Eric (Folk) at Isis Restaurant and Music Hall, 7 p.m.
• The Feels (Soul/R&B/Americana/Groove) at Highland Brewing Company, 7 p.m.
• Robert Earl Keen (Country) at The Orange Peel, 7 p.m.
• A Mid Summer Night's Dream (Ballet) at Diana Wortham Theatre, 7 p.m.
• Crystal Bowersox (Country/Folk) at The Grey Eagle, 7 p.m.
• As You Like It (Free Shakespeare) at Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, 7:30 p.m.
• Salsa Night at Alley Cat Social Club, 8 p.m.
• Ian Aber (Stand-up Comedy) at Getaway River Bar, 8 p.m.
• Unspoken Tradition (Bluegrass) at Isis Restaurant and Music Hall, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday (May 28):

• Saturday Spins (DJ's) at Citizen Vinyl, 1 p.m.
• Lyric (Funk/R&B/Lyricist) at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, 2 p.m.
• A Mid Summer Night's Dream (Ballet) at Diana Wortham Theatre, 3 p.m.
• Jason Whitaker (Guitarist) Hilton Garden Inn Asheville South, 6 p.m.
• An Evening with Nikki Talley & Jason Sharp (Country/Folk/Old Time) at Isis Restaurant and Music Hall, 7 p.m.
• JPEGMAFIA (Rap) at The Orange Peel, 7 p.m.
• Asheville 8 String Collective (Jazz/Funk/Blues/Fusion) at Highland Brewing Downtown Taproom, 7 p.m.
• A Mid Summer Night's Dream (Ballet) at Diana Wortham Theatre, 7 p.m.
• As You Like It (Free Shakespeare) at Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, 7:30 p.m.
• Ryan Singer (Stand-up Comedy) at Getaway River Bar, 8 p.m.
• Alien Music Club Presents "Leonard Cohen: The Deep Cuts" at Isis Restaurant and Music Hall, 8:30 p.m.

Sunday (May 29):

• Life's A Drag Brunch at Asheville Beauty Academy, 12 p.m.
• Brunch and Beats (Funk/Jazz) at Forestry Camp, 1 p.m.
• The Lucky Losers (Soul/Blues/Rock/Gospel/Country) at Highland Brewing Company, 2 p.m.
• Asheville Baroque Concerts: Whirlwinds (Chamber) at St. Giles Chapel in Deerfields, 3 p.m.
• Symphonic Reflections "Love Evolves; Musical Expression Endures" (Symphony) at UNCA - Lipinsky Auditorium, 3 p.m.
• Laura Blackley & The Wildflowers (Folk/Country/Blues) at One World Brewing West, 6 p.m.
• Jasmine Ellis (Stand-Up Comedy) at Asheville Beauty Academy, 6:30 p.m.
• As You Like It (Free Shakespeare) at Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, 7:30 p.m.
• Toad the Wet Sprocket (Alternative/Indie) at Diana Wortham Theatre, 7:30 p.m.

Tailgate & Specialty Markets

Shop local at the Asheville area's numerous farmers, tailgate, and holiday markets. Here's a look at some of the markets you can visit this weekend:

• Plant Sale and Vendor Market: Friday, May 27, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. at The North Carolina Arboretum.
• WNC Farmers Market: Open 7 days a week, year-round, at 570 Brevard Road
• East Asheville Tailgate Market: Open every Friday, 3 p.m. - 6 p.m., through October, at 954 Tunnel Road
• North Asheville Tailgate Market: Open Saturdays, 8 a.m. - 12 p.m., through November, at UNC Asheville Campus
• Asheville City Market: Open Saturdays, 9 a.m. - noon, through December, at North Market Street in Downtown Asheville
• Black Mountain Tailgate Market: Open Saturdays, 9 a.m. - noon, through November 19, at 130 Montreat Road, Black Mountain
• Meadow Market: Open Sundays, 12 p.m. - 5 p.m., through July 3, at Highland Brewing Company

Visit an art studio or art exhibition

Asheville is home to hundreds of artists, galleries and studios making creative expression a way of life here in the mountains. Here is a look at some of the current art exhibitions in the city:

• LOAM - Tarag Singh + Alex Stilber Exhibit (Mixed Media) at Art Garden AVL through May 30, 2022
• The Wyeths: Three Generations | Works from the Bank of America Collection (Mixed Media) at Asheville Art Museum through May 30, 2022
• Oh the Places We've Been and The Places We'll Go (Paintings) at The Asheville Gallery of Art through May 31, 2022
• Season of Promise Exhibition at Bottle Riot through June 17, 2022
• Floralia (Glass Vessels/Botanical Sculptures/Mixed Media) at North Carolina Glass Center through June 20, 2022
• Kazegama Women (Pottery) at The Village Potters Clay Center, through June 26, 2022
• Gillian Laub's Southern Rites (Photography) at Asheville Art Museum through July 4, 2022
• Monet & Friends, Life, Light & Color (Immersive Video Exhibit) at Biltmore through July 10, 2022
• Unconventional Perceptions (Three-Dimensional Photography) by Ricardo Conti at Contemporaneo Gallery through July 30, 2022
• No Man's Land/Tierra de Nadie by Ernest Javi (Multimedia) at Contemporaneo Gallery through August 12, 2022
• Draped and Veiled: 20x24 Polaroid Photographs by Joyce Tenneson (Photography) at Asheville Art Museum through August 25, 2022

Go for a hike

Experience incredible layered mountain vistas, thundering waterfalls and gorgeous forests on a hike in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Begin browsing hikes with our Asheville Hiking Guide. And, find the hike just right for you by checking out our Asheville Hike Finder tool. The tool gives you the opportunity to filter hikes by length, difficult, popularity and distance from Asheville.

Leave No Trace

As you're out exploring the trails and waterfalls that make the Blue Ridge Mountains so special, it's important to leave everything as you found it. Follow these seven principles of Leave No Trace to ensure you and future generations can enjoy these mountains for years to come.