An absolutely killer event weekend as summer fades. Go get you some.
Yes, YOU.
ONGOING
The 6th Annual Laugh Your Asheville Off Comedy Festival
In only five years the Laugh Your Asheville Off festival has become one of the largest and most respected stand-up comedy events in the country. The event attracts top comedy producers and representatives that will be in attendance to scout the hottest new comedic talent.
In the past few months over four hundred stand-up comedians from around the country submitted their media clips in hopes of securing one of the six performer slots for this year’s event. “Asheville is in for a treat! The level of this year’s talent is the best we’ve ever seen”, said festival producer Laurel Gerencer.
The five-day Festival begins Tuesday, August 14th with the “Local Laughs for Brother Wolf” charity show at The Magnetic Field. All door proceeds from the show will be donated to Brother Wolf Animal Rescue.
Friday, August 17- The Diana Wortham Theatre hosts “The Famous Laugh Your Asheville Off Showcase” featuring national touring stand-up comedian and newly published author of “Dear Dad, It’s Over”, M. Dickson.
Saturday, August 18 – The festival takes over the Diana Wortham Theatre for two shows. Cerebral favorite, Tim Northern will close the 7:00pm show and the 9:30pm show will feature Comedy Central’s, Tom Simmons.
Tickets: $18
Restock Sale – Friday, Aug 17th, 10am-8pm
50% off Sale – Saturday, Aug 18th, 8am-3pm
This year they will also have She Trade….Women’s accessories, shoes, purses, Maternity Clothes, Teen.
WNC AG Center 1301 Fanning Bridge Road Fletcher, NC 28732
August 18, 2012 – August 19, 2012
Location: Various Location in Leicester
Address: 135 Potato Branch Road, Leicester, NC 28748
Times: 10am – 6pm
Admission: Free
Join us on this free, self-guided studio tour. Our artists offer painting, prints, jewelry, pottery, fiber, brooms and more.If you’ve never been to Leicester, this is the perfect opportunity to see this beautiful part of our region that’s located just north of Asheville. To begin the tour, head northwest on Leicester Highway (NC 63) from Patton Avenue and follow the bright yellow signs to the studios, the first of which is only 15 minutes from downtown.
Visitors can also take Newfound Road to Morgan Branch Rd. and follow the signs to the Wildberry Lodge, 135 Potato Branch Road in Leicester. Wildberry, the founding sponsor of the Leicester Artists organization, will have samples of each of the artists’ works to help tour participants plan out their visits. The tour also will feature food vendor stops, one located centrally on South Turkey Creek Road and the other at the intersection of Leicester Highway and North Turkey Creek.
RIDERS IN THE SKY AT TWEETSIE RAILROAD
August 18, 2012 – August 19, 2012
- Location: Tweetsie Railroad
- Address: 300 Tweetsie Railroad Lane, Blowing Rock, NC 28605
- Venue: Tweetsie Railroad
- Recurrence: Recurring daily
An annual event! Come hear Grammy award-winning music and comedy from America’s Favorite Cowboys. Shows daily at Noon & 3:00 pm. First-come, first-seated; reservations not required; shows are included with regular park admission.
THE DIRTY DANCING FESTIVAL AT LAKE LURE IS HAPPENING AUGUST 17TH AND 18TH. THIS FAMILY-FRIENDLY WEEKEND INCLUDES DANCING, GAMES, COMPETITIONS AND ENTERTAINERS.
8/17-18
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS
- August 17, 2012 – August 18, 2012
- Location: Orange Peel Social Aid and Pleasure Club
- Address: 101 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801
- Venue: Orange Peel Social Aid and Pleasure Club
- Recurrence: Recurring daily
Asheville Tourists home games all weekend
The Magnetic Field
The Dreaming: FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS (8/17 through 8/25), 10:30pm – Blue Skies Burlesque presents their debut of The Dreaming, featuring “drag, pole dancing and traditional striptease.” $15.
FRIDAY
River Whyless is a four piece band formed in Boone, North Carolina in 2006. After graduating from Appalachian State University they moved to Asheville where they began writing their sophomore album. Since then they’ve changed their name (formerly Do it to Julia), put out a demo, played some festivals, relentlessly toured the southeast, worked some odd jobs, built a home studio, lost a van, bought a new one, toured the southeast again, and then the north, and soon the west. The music has been called folk, nature-pop and baroque pop. But with two songwriters, one male and one female, and an organic approach to composition, the result is a sound they feel they can call their own.
The Hill and Wood
http://thehillandwood.bandcamp.com/
Colorfeels
http://www.colorfeels.com/
9pm. $8 advance / $10 day of show.
Advance tickets available online and at our local outlets.
Standing room only.
Biltmore Estate: Fridays After Five
Now Extended through August 31
Join us at Antler Hill Village and Winery for the perfect start to your weekend! We’ll feature live music, wine and beer, and fun for the kids throughout Antler Hill Village. Enjoy a delicious picnic or choose from the dinner menus at The Bistro and Cedric’s Tavern. Enjoy a free wine tasting at the Winery. The whole family can join in the fun with a grape stomp at the Village Green followed by a tasty snow cone or popcorn as you watch the sunset over the Blue Ridge Mountains.
*Not occurring August 24.
Access to Antler Hill Village & Winery is included in your Biltmore admission. Passholders can bring friends to Antler Hill Village for free after 5:00 p.m.
League of Women Voters Fall Kickoff Event
The League of Women Voters of Asheville-Buncombe County, a nonpartisan political organization encouraging informed & active participation in government, will host a fall kickoff event at Asheville Pizza & Brewing Company’s downtown location at 77 Coxe Avenue on Friday, August 17th from 5:30-7:30pm. Come learn about the League’s voter education and advocacy efforts, and how you can get involved! This event is free and open to the public. Visit ablwv.org or email president@ablwv.org for more information.
Pierce Edens & the Dirty Work at the Emerald Lounge
9 p.m.
$5
Somewhere between the front porch and the garage, with a voice as strong as the lyrical content it is known to bellow, is Pierce Edens. With enough credentials to prove his status as both a leading songwriter and as a leading performer in the Southeast, the accolades still pile up from regional, national, and international reviews, critics, and fans. Receiving such praise as “a frenetic mix of rock-inspired carnival barker, part troubadour/part guitar-slinging vagrant” and “gritty, visceral and about as subtle as a flamethrower duel at a gas station, Pierce Edens and the Dirty Work are handily one of the defining bands in the current Asheville music scene” seemed a decent enough response. Then, after the release of their CD, constant rotation on several regional stations, and packed road-houses and dives, Edens and crew were voted one of the best Alt-Country bands of the area by Mountain Xpress readers…and then again by WNCW a few weeks later.
Growing up in rural western North Carolina – Madison County, to be more precise – Pierce was instantly inundated with the feral story-telling and musical ramblings of the area. The red clay ramblings soaked into his blood and became him. Since the early days of learning to play guitar (with a hand me down electric with the head stock leaned up against the window to create a poor man’s amplifier), Pierce began weaving his own stories into the sounds of the mountains. Then 1990 happened, and the effects of the Seattle Sound would infiltrate and poison the purity of his songs, mixing to create some illegitimate child born of both worlds.
Food truck event: August Dining Mob at the Lot
C’mon Everyone, it’s that time of the month, to support Asheville’s Gourmet Food Trucks and have some fun doing it!
The August Lot Dining Mob is on the same day as Downtown After 5, so come have lunch, play some cornhole, and then bop on over to the music at the end of Lexington Ave.
Bring Rugs, tables and chairs, pillows, potted plants, patio furniture/umbrellas, outdoor games like “corn hole,” and anything else you can think of to transform the barren parking lot into a fantastic hang out and dining area!
*** This is a pack-it-in, pack-it-out ephemeral event, so bring what you can and take it back with you…then bring it again the next month. ***
Now that we have a bustling gourmet food truck scene at 51 Coxe Ave. (affectionately known as The Lot), O.P.E.N. Asheville is sponsoring a Lot Mob every month throughout the summer.
Check out www.openAsheville.org for dates and times.
Are you a musician or know musicians who would like to do an impromptu performance or jam session?
Are you a street performer with a need for an audience?
C’mon…the more the merrier!
Even if you bring just yourself and an appetite, c’mon down to The Lot and join the party!
Let’s Lot Mob it up this Summer y’all!
Visit the Facebook page for The Lot, to find out which of the great food vendors will be there that day:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-lot/260506370693230
Also visit the Facebook page for O.P.E.N. Asheville for more community placemaking projects and events:
https://www.facebook.com/openavl
Asheville Scene launch party
Join us as we kick off our new publication, Asheville Scene. We’ll be celebrating with great music from Woody Wood and Underhill Rose. Admission is completely free, and there will be food and drinks for sale from great local restaurants including Strada, Curate, True Confections and Sante Wine Bar. Come on down!
5 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Grove Arcade
DOWNTOWN AFTER 5
THE ASHEVILLE DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION PRESENTS “THE 2012 DOWNTOWN AFTER 5” CONCERT SERIES. ALL OF THIS YEAR’S CONCERTS WILL BE AT NORTH LEXINGTON AVENUE NEAR I-240. THE AUGUST 17TH CONCERT FEATURES “SIMPLIFIED” WITH OPENER “THE SHANE PRUITT BAND.” THE CONCERT RUNS FROM 5:00 TO 9:00.
simplifiedmusic.com
shanepruittband.com
facebook.com/AshevilleDowntownAssociation
SATURDAY
DOG DAY AFTERNOON FESTIVAL
August 18, 2012
- Location: Carrier Park – East Green
- Address: Amboy Road, Asheville, NC 28806
Attendees will also get to enjoy the beautiful walking trails and picnic areas surrounding the park. The festival will feature a large cooling tent as well as doggie pools to keep both dogs and humans beat the heat. The event will kick off at 10:30am with a dog-friendly fun run sponsored by Dr. Kani Nicolls, around Carrier Park and will continue until 4pm with two bands, dog contests including a Weiner Dog race, “Best Heinz 57”, “Most Ear- resistible” and the Fastest Dog.
Custard Pie reunion show at the Grey Eagle
Not your average wax museum tribute, Custard Pie is all about the music. The band formed in the summer of 2005 and put on a string of shows over the next 5 years. Although they quit playing regular shows in the summer of 2010, on rare occasions, when conditions in the universe are just right, the band comes together & magic fills the air. It’s High Gravity Rock N Roll. Catch them if you can!
The Ends
https://www.facebook.com/theendsmusic
8:30pm. $10 advance / $12 day of show.
Advance tickets available online and at our local outlets.
Standing room only.
SHINDIG ON THE GREEN
SHINDIG ON THE GREEN IS HAPPENING ON SELECT SATURDAYS THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER, IN DOWNTOWN ASHEVILLE, AT PACK SQUARE PARK ON ROGER MCGUIRE GREEN. SHINDIGS WILL BE HELD ON AUGUST 18TH, 25TH; AND SEPTEMBER 1ST, WITH ALL STAGE PERFORMANCES ON THE BASCOM LAMAR LUNSFORD STAGE.
828.258.6101
THE “YUENGLING BARSTOOL CUP 2012” TO SUPPORT “OUR VOICE”
IS COMING TO DOWNTOWN ASHEVILLE ON AUGUST 18TH. COSTUME CLAD SUPPORTERS OF OUR VOICE WILL BE BARHOPPING LOCAL ESTABLISHMENTS DRESSED TO THE NINES – AS IN NINE HOLES. NINE LOCAL BARS AND RESTAURANTS IN DOWNTOWN ASHEVILLE ARE BUILDING THEIR VERY OWN DESIGNER MINI GOLF HOLES THAT WILL MAKE UP A UNIQUE BAR CRAWL WITH A TWIST.
http://www.lushlifetoday.com
KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND AND VILLAGE PEOPLE
- August 18, 2012
- Location: Biltmore
- Address: One Lodge Street, Asheville, NC 28803
- Venue: Biltmore
ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY THEATRE COSTUME SALE
ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY THEATRE IS HOLDING THEIR COSTUME SALE ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 18TH FROM 9:00 TO 12:00.
ashevilletheatre.org
ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 18TH, ASHEVILLE WILL CELEBRATE “BEE CITY USA” ON “NATIONAL HONEY BEE DAY” AT THE ASHEVILLE CITY FARMERS MARKET ON CHARLOTTE STREET, FROM 8:00 UNTIL 1:00. CHILDREN ARE INVITED TO MAKE BEE WINGS AND ANTENNAE THROUGHOUT THE MARKET MORNING. AT 10:00, ASHEVILLE WILL BE PROCLAIMED THE INAUGURAL BEE CITY USA. THERE WILL BE LOCAL HONEY, INFORMATION ON MAKING YOUR YARD MORE POLLINATOR-FRIENDLY AND MORE.
www.beecityusa.org
WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY: VALLEY BALLYHOO
THE OUTDOOR FESTIVAL “VALLEY BALLYHOO” AT WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY WILL FEATURE LIVE MUSIC, AN OUTDOOR MOVIE AND MORE ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 18TH. PERFORMERS INCLUDE “KOVACS AND THE POLAR BEAR” AND “FLOATING ACTION.” AT 9:00 PM THERE WILL BE A SCREENING OF THE HORROR FILM “CABIN IN THE WOODS.”
828-227-3622
http://news.wcu.edu
Cartoonist and Illustrators Shop Talk:
SA (8/18), 10am-4pm – Marvel and DC Comics artist Andy Smith will present “Getting Into and Making Comics” at Zapow! Gallery, 21 Battery Park, Suite 101. Bring sample artwork for review during the noon break. Free. Info: www.zapow.net.[comment / share]
SUNDAY
PHISH live from San Francisco SIMULCAST – FREE
Sunday, August 19th
Location: Asheville Music Hall
Cover: FREE
Doors: 9pm
Showtime: 10pm
Genre: Jam
Visit Their Website
On August 17, 18 and 19, Phish will play three sold out shows at the legendary Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, CA.
Enjoy a sold out Phish show in San Francisco w/out leaving Asheville, right here in High Def and played on our amazing sound system!
The Festivities will begin early – the simulcast begins at 10PM(7PM in San Fran), and Phish will hit the stage probably around 11PM. If you’ve been to a Phish show you know the band doesn’t exactly start “on time.”
We will have great drink and food specials for you, come down and enjoy the show!
Todd Barry with Neil Hamburger at the Grey Eagle
http://www.toddbarry.com/
New York City-based comedian and actor Todd Barry is widely recognized for his roles as the bongo-playing “Third Conchord” on HBO’s Flight of the Conchords and Mickey Rourke’s deli boss in 2009 Oscar winner The Wrestler, and renowned throughout the entertainment industry for his nuanced, measured, and thoroughly original approach to stand-up. Drawing audience members in with his deadpan self-deprecation and ability to pile punchline upon punchline, his decidedly low-key stage persona belies a deeply intelligent, often biting, occasionally absurdist worldview, one lauded by discerning fans who seek a fresh yet honest update to traditional observation and social commentary.
Boasting multiple stand-up appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and two Comedy Central Presents specials, Todd’s resume also includes such hit TV shows as Louie, Delocated, Bored to Death, Tim and Eric, Chappelle’s Show, Sex and the City, and even Sesame Street. Among his additional feature-film highlights are Todd Phillips’s Road Trip, Louis CK’s Pootie Tang, and Mitch Hedberg’s Los Enchiladas. You can see him now as Paul Rudd’s co-worker in David Wain’s Wanderlust and soon as Sigourney Weaver’s right hand man in Amy Heckerling’s Vamps. Internationally he has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Montreal’s Just For Laughs Festival, the Vancouver International Comedy Festival, and Kilkenny, Ireland’s Cat Laughs Festival.
Todd has been heard on both The Howard Stern Show and The Bob & Tom Show, and his albums Medium Energy, Falling Off the Bone, and From Heaven are available from Comedy Central Records, Amazon and iTunes. He has earned the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival’s Jury Award, praise from Ricky Gervais as one of the best comedians of 2009, and accolades from The Onion’s A.V. Club, which declared Medium Energy one of the best comedy albums of the decade.
Neil Hamburger
http://www.americasfunnyman.com/
America’s Funnyman Neil Hamburger is the hardest working comedian in existence, performing up to 399 shows a year internationally to critical acclaim and audience bewilderment. He’s toured as the hand-picked opener for Tenacious D, Tim & Eric, and Faith No More, and his TV credits include Fox News’ Red Eye, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Tom Green Live, and Jimmy Kimmel Live. On his 2011 UK tour Neil played to
packed houses at the Edinburgh Fringe and completed a 10-show stint at London’s Soho Theatre. His most recent album “Live At Third Man” was produced by Jack White in Nashville; an earlier Hamburger album was among SPIN’s “40 Greatest Comedy Albums Of All Time.”
Waltz Night at the Orange Peel
Lesson || 6:00 – 6:45
Dance || 7:00 – 9:30
$5-$10