If you want a night out on the town

• Get an elegant espresso martini at the cozy Times Bar & Coffee Shop, then catch an indie film at Fine Arts Theatre. Pro tip: If RAD is more your speed, opt instead for cocktails at Crucible and a film at Grail Moviehouse.
• Asheville’s theater scene is thriving, so it won’t be hard to spend your night at a show. Check out the seasons for stages like Asheville Community Theatre, NC Stage Company, and BeBe Theatre (to name just a few).

If the way to their heart is through their stomach

• Mark your calendar for one of the city’s many prix fixe dining experiences, like Gemelli’s Wine By the Vines series or Cultura’s weekly Cease & Desist.

If you love the great outdoors

• Take a walk on the wild side and try one of these beautiful local hikes.
• Let’s say you’re looking for some fresh air and sophistication at the same time — drinks with a view may be more your style. Enjoy the beauty of Asheville’s outdoors from a rooftop spot like Soprana, VISUALS, The Observatory, or The Roof at The Radical.

If you want to get artsy

• Spend a day exploring the latest exhibit at the Asheville Art Museum. Bonus points if you stop by Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff ahead of time and draw your own masterpiece at the museum’s rooftop Perspective Cafe.
• Take a glassblowing, pottery, or other craft-centric class in the River Arts District.

• Pickle Party | Tuesday, Aug. 20 | 6-8 p.m. | Leicester Library | Free, RSVP | Solve your preservation pickles with an interactive workshop on lacto-fermented foods, led by chef and manager of the library’s Giving Garden Tiffany Schultz.
• Dark City Poets Society Open Mic Night | Tuesday, Aug. 20 | 6-8 p.m. | Oak & Grist Distilling Company, Black Mountain | Free | Share your poems or enjoy from the audience at the three-year anniversary of the poetry night.

• Grove Street Card Sharks | Wednesday, Aug. 21 | 2-5 p.m. | Grove Street Community Center | Free | Raise the stakes and hit the jackpot during a weekly meetup to play card games like bid whist and spades.
• “Jackie Robinson: A Game Apart” | Wednesday, Aug. 21-Sunday, Sept. 1 | Times vary | North Carolina Stage Company | $10-$48 | Witness the courage, perseverance, and leadership of a star player who lived in a world of segregation and discrimination.

• Doc Robinson | Thursday, Aug. 22 | 5:30 p.m. | The Grey Eagle | $12-$15 | Take a seat on the patio for tunes from this captivating, genre-defying Midwestern band that makes “backyard BBQ breakup” music.
• Buffoonery | Thursday, Aug. 22 | 8:30 p.m. | LaZoom Room | $15 | Settle in for the absurd antics of comedian Aaron Naylor, alongside the buffoonery of other crazy comics.

• Architectural Drawings | Friday, Aug. 23 | 12-1 p.m. | Asheville Art Museum | Free with admission | Build your knowledge of architecture with a gallery talk from Project Registrar of Architectural Drawings Kain Brauneis.
• StarTribe Dance | Friday, Aug. 23 | 5:45-10:15 p.m. | Pack Square Park | $35 | Dance away the evening to the electronic music of An-Ten-Nae and experience the communal magic.

• Get your pup working like a dog. K9 Workout, the mobile dog gym, is now rolling around Asheville. The climate-controlled van lets your dog run on slatmills as fast or as slow as they like so that they can have dedicated exercise time and build good habits. Bonus: The van comes directly to you.

• The City of Asheville is looking for volunteers for its annual Bike and Pedestrian Count, which provides data for analyzing trends and implementing the GAP Plan. Starting on Tuesday, Sept. 10, volunteers can count non-motorized users in certain locations or conduct surveys at local greenways. Get involved.

• From FY 2023 to FY 2024, permits for residential construction projects in Asheville increased by about 14%, Director of Development Services Mark Matheny told the city’s Planning and Economic Development Committee. In the same time period, project cost has increased by about 35%. (Asheville Citizen-Times)

• The inaugural Eblen Charities-Ingles Charity Golf Tournament flew the green — and we don’t mean the golf course. The tournament raised $15,000 for the Eblen Charities Water Assistance Program, which aids folks in the community who are unable to pay their water bills. You can still play the long game and learn how to support.

• The Hendersonville Welcome Center will reopen on Tuesday, Aug. 27 after a $1.9 million renovation. The interactive space, which includes a video wall, exhibits, and a touch-screen trip planner, will showcase activities in the county. Bonus: The center will be the official trailhead when the highly anticipated Ecusta Trail opens in December.

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