Things to Do in Asheville This Weekend -- August 6-8, 2021

Ready to make your weekend plans? Here's a list of 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:

Mountain Dance and Folk Festival

Thursday-Saturday, August 5-7, 6:30 p.m.
Lipinsky Hall, UNC Asheville

Listen to the toe-tapping sounds of Southern Appalachian Music at The Mountain Dance and Folk Festival - the longest running folk festival of its kind. Founded in 1928 by Bascom Lamar Lunsford, this popular music fest celebrates the finest of the spring bands, square dance teams, and ballad singers from across the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair

Friday - Saturday, August 6-7, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
The Square in Downtown Burnsville

The Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair returns with a focus on high-quality handmade crafts. The juried entry process ensures a variety of crafts, from ceramics and wood carvings to jewelry, blown and sculpted glass, metalwork, textiles and woven baskets. Enjoy bluegrass music and clogging underneath the shade trees on the Town Square. Food trucks will complement the offerings from downtown eateries.

Fridays at the Folk Art Center - A History of Appalachian Music

Friday, August 6, 7:30 p.m.
Folk Art Center, Blue Ridge Parkway

Learn about the history and evolution of southern Appalachian music. Join a Parkway ranger for an evening of cultural and song study following the tracks of the original people of these hills, the Cherokee, through European and African immigration, to the present day understanding (and misunderstanding) of Appalachian Folk Music.

Chow Chow 2021

This year, Asheville's signature culinary event series combines a series of virtual and in-person events all summer long. Here are this weekend's special events celebrating the unique foodways of Southern Appalachia. Learn more about Chow Chow 2021.

Chow Chow Virtual Series: Container Gardening

Saturday, August 7, 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Online

No matter your space, you can grow fresh produce! Join Ona Armstrong, artist and gardener with Firefly Valley Arts & Wellness to learn about different container garden options for different spaces from a herb garden in your indoor kitchen window to a vertical salsa garden outside on your balcony or porch. The demo will also include tips on how to safely and creatively use found, recycled or repurposed materials for container gardens for edible plants.

Freedom Community Market

Sunday, August 8, 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Weaverville

Spend a Sunday morning perusing this outdoor market, which offers everything from locally produced food, artisanal products, eco-home goods, and herbal remedies. Beyond shopping, this event also offers experiences in healing arts and bodywork, live music, dancing, yoga, and workshops. Kids activities include imagination station and face painting.

Live Music, Comedy and Theatre

Asheville's booming and diverse music scene takes center stage this weekend with bands set to perform musical styles from bluegrass to jazz to rock & roll. And, get ready to laugh! The live performance schedule also includes comedy shows.

Friday (August 6):

• The Get Right Band (Psychedelic Indie Rock) at Highland Brewing Company, 6 p.m.
• Bright Eyes (Alternative/Indie) at Rabbit Rabbit, 6:30 p.m.
• Jimmy Allen with Lathan Warlick (Country) at Silverados, 7 p.m.
• Seven Minutes to Kill (Stand-up Comedy) at Attic Salt Theatre Company, 8 p.m.
• Everybody Free: Dance Party (Dark House Music) at Asheville Beauty Academy, 10 p.m.

Saturday (August 7):

• Give to the Music Benefit Concert featuring Tommy DeCarlo of BOSTON & Rock Academy at The Orange Peel, 6 p.m.
• Slide Guitar Master Scott Ainslie (Acoustic Blues) at Isis Restaurant and Music Hall, 7 p.m.
• Sketches! Or it Didn't Happen: A TMT Comedy Revue at The Magnetic Theatre, 7:30 p.m.
• Ska City (Ska/Two-Tone/Trojan Rocksteady) at White Horse Black Mountain, 8 p.m.
• Big Something with the Mantras (Rock/Jam) at Salvage Station, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday (August 8):

• Brunch of Joker (Stand-up Comedy) at The Grey Eagle, 12 p.m.
• Garrick Ohlsson Plays Beethoven (Orchestra) at Brevard Music Center, 3 p.m.
• Chalwa (Reggae) at Highland Brewing Company, 3 p.m.
• Free Family Theatre: The Sword in the Stone (World Premiere) at Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, 7:30 p.m.
• Drag Show: Sissy Sunday at Getaway River Bar, 9 p.m.

Tailgate Markets

Shop fresh and local at the Asheville area's numerous farmers markets and tailgate markets. Here's a look at some of the markets you can enjoy:

• WNC Farmers Market: Open 7 days a week, year-round, at 570 Brevard Road
• East Asheville Tailgate Market: Fridays, 3-6 p.m. at Groce United Methodist Church (954 Tunnel Rd.).
• ASAP Farmers Market: Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at AB Tech Campus Bailey Student Center (340 Victoria Road).
• North Asheville Tailgate Market: Saturdays, 8 a.m. to Noon at UNC Asheville Campus (1 University Heights).
• Black Mountain Tailgate Market: Saturdays, 9 a.m. to Noon at First Baptist Church Parking Lot (130 Montreat Road)

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:

• Alabama Visionary Folk Artist: James 'Buddy' Snipe, at American Folk Art and Framing, through August 19, 2021
• The Nature of Summer at Asheville Gallery of Art, through August 31, 2021
• One Day I Will Disappear at Bender Gallery, through August 31, 2021
• Keyser Siso Recent Works at Contemporaneo Gallery, though August 31, 2021
• Suite Américaine at Center for Craft, through September 3, 2021
• Stickwork by Patrick Dougherty at Biltmore, through September 30, 2021
• Olympics-Themed Exhibitions at Asheville Art Museum through October 4, 2021
• Mel Chin's Wake at 44 Collier Avenue, through December 1, 2021
• Unearthing Our Forgotten Past: Fort San Juan Exhibit at Smith-McDowell House Museum, through December 18, 2021

Grand Opening: Continuum Art

Saturday, August 7, 12 p.m.
Continuum Art Gallery - Hendersonville

Visit the opening of a new gallery space in Hendersonville, located south of Asheville. This event is free to attend and will feature an art market and live music all day. Stop by and meet some local artists and makers, enjoy dance performances from two local troupes, and take in the sounds of local acoustic, rock and blues musicians.

Go for a hike

Experience incredible layered mountain vistas, thundering waterfalls and lush green 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.

Appalachian Trail Vista Hikes

Saturday - Sunday, August 7-8, various times
Appalachian Trail

The A.T. Vista Hikes is an annual event celebrating the Appalachian Trail. This multi-day event features hikes guided hikes conducted along the Appalachian Trail across 14 states. Here are the events happening near Asheville.

Discover summer fun

Summer in Asheville offers lush green forests, refreshing waterfalls and a wealth of outdoor adventure. Explore our new Asheville summer itinerary to help kick start your planning. Check out budget-friendly ways to cool down on warm summer days in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Discover water adventures (including a 60-foot natural waterslide!). We have more trip ideas on our guide to summer fun in Asheville.