Find the perfect gift to express gratitude and love for the role models in your life. | Graphic by 6AM City
Shopping for a loved one? With Mother’s Day falling on Sunday, May 11, it’s a great time to give to parents, grandparents, neighbors, mentors, and life-long friends. Browse the gifts we think will do the trick:
Outdoor solar lantern | $29.99 | Embossed with a hummingbird design, this solar lantern’s LED battery charges naturally throughout the day. Bonus: Choose from dragonfly, mushroom, and butterfly designs.
Local pick: Tattoo | $100+ | Get them some fresh ink with custom or flash designs at Drawing Board Tattoo, a women-owned West Asheville studio. Gift certificates available.*
Weighted silk lavender eye pillow | $19.99 | A silk sleep mask and a cooling gel eye mask are included in this spa set named one of Oprah’s Favorite Things in 2023.
Local pick:NC Arboretum Membership | $60+ | With 10+ miles of hiking trails, a forest meadow, ever-changing garden displays, and tons of local events, this annual membership is the gift that keeps on giving year-round.
Golf practice net | $99.99 | Golfers can perfect their swing before stepping out on the course with this golf net great for backyards, basements, or even the living room.
Barefoot Dreams lounge top | $99 | There may be no better gift than something luxuriously soft, cuddly, and cozy.
Mom’s story book and Dad’s story book | $24.95 | Prompt them to write down memories, advice, and stories in these guided journals.
Neck + shoulders heating pad | $39.99 | This electric heat wrap helps with back pain, muscle aches, and de-stressing.
Local pick:A bouquet of locally-grown flowers | $45 | Brighten their day, and their home with a “cutie bouquet” from Carolina Flowers, grown and arranged right here in Asheville.
TF3’s Jukebox with Time for Three | 7-9 p.m. | The Orange Peel | $50 | See the Asheville Amadeus Festival headliners perform their invigorating blend of classical and Americana tunes.
Friday, May 2
WNC Farmers Market Spring Festival | Friday, May 2-Sunday, May 4 | Times vary | WNC Farmers Market | Free | Add delicious farm-fresh goodies to your tote bag and score everything you need for the spring growing season, like herb starts and landscaping plants.
Saturday, May 3
The French Broad River Garden Club Plant Sale | 9 a.m.-3 p.m. | French Broad River Garden Club Foundation, Inc. | Free | Take your pick of gorgeous, green, locally-grown trees, shrubs, herbs, and veggies while enjoying live music and vendors.
(Re)HAPPENING 13 | 3-10 p.m. | Camp Rockmont, Black Mountain | $15+ | The art and fundraising event keeps Black Mountain College’s storied legacy and influence on contemporary art alive with installations, media, and music performances.
Sunday, May 4
GRINDfest 2025 Art Exhibit | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | Asheville History Museum | Free | This year, GRINDfest is a month-long celebration — things kick off with a captivating show of craft and culture.
Monday, May 5
Cinco de Mayo Cerveza Celebration | 2-10 p.m. | Highland Brewing Company Taproom | Free | Sip on a Specialty Cerveza Flight, indulge in refreshing margaritas, and explore more drink options crafted for this special day.*
Sink your teeth into Battlecat’s new food options. BUD’s Kolaches and Texas Fare has taken over the former Tiger Bay kitchen, serving up the special sausage-filled pastries, breakfast tacos, chili, and frito pie. Scroll down to The Wrap to see the spread we got yesterday.
Seasonal
Brews and Bears returns to the WNC Nature Center on Friday, May 9. The monthly after-hours event is coming out of hibernation with food, drinks, and fun activities. This year, VIP tickets will get you a different signature item each month, celebrating the center’s centennial, from a magnet set to a ceramic mug. Get tickets.
Environment
Artist and woodworker Mike Ayers is making something beautiful out of Helene’s wreckage. A family on Beaverdam Road commissioned Ayers to make an intricate wildlife scene out of two massive white pine trees that fell during the storm. Check out his business, Mountain Mike’s Whetstone Woodworks, to see similar projects. (WLOS)
Edu
This weekend, a group of Asheville High School students is headed to Baltimore to compete in the National ProStart Invitational. The culinary competition requires students to chef up a three-course meal in one hour without running water or electricity, as well as pitch a restaurant concept. Good luck, chefs.
Number
1.8 million cubic yards. That’s how much debris the US Army Corps of Engineers has removed from Buncombe County. To help visualize that amount, it’s enough to stretch a line of dump trucks from Asheville to the Pacific Ocean.
Regional
Duke Energy’s Cherokee Area Resiliency and Environmental Safety project is one of seven projects chosen by the NC Department of Environmental Quality to receive a portion of the $20 million pot of funding. The project will reduce outage times and improve grid resilience in two Cherokee communities. (Mountain Xpress)
Show
Travel to Spain with International Ballet as they present “Don Quixote” at the Peace Center in Greenville, SC — just an hour from Asheville. On Saturday, May 31- Sunday, June 1, experience this comedic, three-act ballet featuring Ludwig Minkus’ score, performed live by the Greenville Symphony Orchestra. Snag tickets.*
Tired of smells that linger? This plug-in air purifier boasts a 99.99% deodorization rate that conquers unpleasant pet, toilet, and kitchen odors.*
Biz
Did you miss the chance to feature your business’s product or service in today’s feature of the 2025 Parents’ Gift Guide? Don’t worry — you can still secure your spot in time for Father’s Day. Bonus: Use code PGG2025 for 20% off at checkout.
Finance
Last chance to invest in the “Uber of mobile phones.”Mode Mobile grew 32,481% from 2019-2022, and just secured its Nasdaq ticker with plans for a potential IPO. The opportunity to invest at $0.26/share closes today.†*
Number
540,000+. That’s how many customers choose this hearing aid when it comes time to make that decision for their loved ones. See why.*
Stat
$5,000. That’s how much you may have to drop if your dog or cat tears their ACL — a surprisingly common knee injury in pets. To the rescue: pet insurance. With this plan, 90% of that cost could be reimbursed.*
Category
Trending
🍫 Your local guide to Dubai chocolate
We’re declaring Asheville Sweets the queen of Dubai chocolate. | Photo via Asheville Sweets
It’s been circulating the internet since last summer, and now the Dubai chocolate craze has reached AVL.
If you haven’t heard of this trendy treat, it’s a chocolate bar filled with creamy pistachio and knafeh — a pastry dough layered with cheese and soaked in a sugar-based syrup. Here’s where you can find it around the Land of the Sky — and some sweet spins on the trend:
Asheville Sweets | Crunch on the nutty chocolate bar or indulge in one of the showstopping Dubai strawberry cups with layered strawberries, crispy kataifi dough, pistachio cream, and melted chocolate — send a DM to the shop on Instagram to order.
Potential New Boyfriend | The hip dessert bar boats a “Summer in Dubai” sundae with vegan pistachio ice cream, roasted strawberries, and kataif crunch.
Baked Pie Company | The pie shop just debuted an absolutely luscious-looking Dubai Chocolate Strawberry pie painted with pistachio cream.
Swim trunks with pockets. These quick-drying swimsuit trunks have a hidden pocket built into an anti-chafe compression liner — perfect for keeping phones, keys, and cash safe on beach days.
Bethany and I hit up BUD’s inside Battlecat to get the sausage gravy and apricot and cream kolaches (because a lil sweet and savory action is always perfect) and some egg, cheese, and chorizo breakfast tacos. All paired with an iced strawberry matcha, of course.
