Get your fill of free hugs at Blue Ridge Pride. | Photo via Blue Ridge Pride
September is absolutely packed with festivals, concerts, and seasonal fun. Luckily, you have AVLtoday’s monthly Plan Ahead to set your calendar straight without missing any of the fun.
Festivals, fairs + markets
Goombay Festival | Thursday, Sept. 4-Sunday, Sept. 7 | Times vary | Pack Square Park | Free | The fest returns to celebrate the richness and diversity of the African diaspora with wellness events, music, food, and ticketed activities.
ASAP’s 2025 Farm Tour | Saturday, Sept. 20-Sunday, Sept. 21 | 12-5 p.m. | Various Locations | $35+ | See the diversity of working farms across WNC and experience how food is grown through guided tours, demonstrations, and tastings.
Explore Flying Cloud Farm on ASAP’s Farm Tour.
Photo via ASAP
Black Mountain Blues | Friday, Sept. 26-Sunday, Sept. 28 | Times vary | Downtown Black Mountain | $50+ | Get on your feet to groove to artists like Nik West, Robert Randolph, and Eric Gales.
Blue Ridge Pride Festival | Saturday, Sept. 27 | 11 a.m.-7 p.m. | Pack Square Park | Free | The fest draws thousands of LGBTQ+ people and allies to the streets of Asheville to celebrate, support, and speak out while enjoying vendors, live performances, and community.
An Evening with Passengers Unknown | 9 p.m. | Third Room | $10+ | See the rock group bring the house down at the art-filled, immersive music venue.
Friday, Aug. 29
See Jane Crush: A Tasting Series with Amy Bess Cook | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | Botanist & Barrel Asheville | Free+ | Imbibe Magazine’s “Wine Person of the Year” is leading this tasting of wines, ciders, and NA pours, supplying plenty of knowledge along the way.
80’s Night: Carolina Tumbleweed Band & DJ Payne | 7:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. | Fitz and the Wolfe | $5 | Dance the week’s worries away and sing your heart out to the chart-topping hits of the ‘80s.
Saturday, Aug. 30
North Asheville Tailgate Market | 8 a.m.-12 p.m. | North Asheville Tailgate Market | Free+ | Relish those farm-fresh, juicy summer heirloom tomatoes before fall rolls around.
Garden Party Turns 7 | 11 a.m.-6 p.m. | Garden Party | Free+ | Celebrate with a storewide sale, pottery, flash tattoos, tarot readings, silver paper portraits, and a taste of what’s to come next door at Finest Deli.
Vino y Sol | 2-6 p.m. | Addison Farms Vineyard, Leicester | Free+ | Bask in the sun and the soulful sounds of jazz guitarist Ethan Winograd.
Sunday, Aug. 31
2025 Blue Ridge Pride Pageant | 6:30-8:30 p.m. | Eulogy | $22 | Contestants will compete through performance, costume, and questions for the coveted crown.
Symphony in the Park | 7 p.m. | Pack Square Park | Free | The annual concert will round out Boomtown FestAVL, with the first half earning a family-friendly hip-hop twist, courtesy of Secret Agent 23 Skidoo.
Dr. Ali McGhee presenting on the Enneagram at PechaKucha Night Asheville. | Photo by Jake Frankel
Heard of the Enneagram? This dynamic tool can unlock leadership potential and permanently improve team communication. (Our own AVLtoday team can vouch for it.)
Join NC-based speaker, author, and coach Dr. Ali McGhee for a free Enneagram webinar tailored to team leaders, people managers, and anyone looking to improve their relationships, communication, and leadership at work.
Clear your calendars for lunch on Friday, Sept. 12 — Zella’s Deli announced its grand reopening. After Helene, the shop is moving to Tunnel Road, right next to the Play It Again Sports. “Join us as we celebrate a fresh start with the same great flavors you love, now better than ever,” Zella’s wrote on Instagram.
Announced
Asheville will host the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in 2026 and 2027. The May event, hosted at UNC Asheville’s recently renovated Karl Straus Track, is expected to bring 1,300 athletes and generate upward of $1.3 million in direct spending.
Civic
At its Tuesday meeting, Asheville City Council approved amending a city ordinance regulating panhandling. The approval expanded the bounds of a “high traffic zone” in the central business district and added zones around Haywood Road and Patton Avenue, noting where new rules are in place — read the guidelines.
Transit
Also at this week’s city council meeting, rules regarding “micromobility” devices were loosened. Previously, e-scooters were banned on public streets, and skateboards and roller skates were banned from streets + sidewalks in the business district. Now, they can be used in bike lanes and on some other streets.
Number
$5.8 million. That’s how much direct spending comedian Leanne Morgan generated in Asheville last weekend, bringing out 20,000 fans to four sold-out shows at Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville. The shows also generated $1.55 million in ticket sales and $252,556 in local tax revenue, according to Explore Asheville.
Environment
The City of Asheville will contract Sasaki Associates, Inc. to rebuild the French Broad Riverfront park system, spanning from the western side of city limits downstream from Hominy Creek to below the Jeff Bowen Bridge. Now, the firm will develop design plans and begin community engagement opportunities.
Biz
Ready to launch ads in your pajamas? Our Self-Service Ad Portal gives you instant access to thousands of engaged readers — click, create, conquer. Got a real estate listing or a local event? Get it seen, stress-free.
Finance
The institutional firms that backed Uber and Venmo also invested in Pacaso, whose co-ownership tech revolutionizes the $1.3 trillion vacation home market. Pacaso has earned $110 million+ in gross profit to date. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO. Invest for $2.90/share before the opportunity ends Sept. 18.†‡*
The fun doesn’t have to end here. After reading the newsletter, head over to our games page. Games refresh with new challenges every day at 6 a.m. from crossword puzzle to Sudoku to themed word search.
If you’re looking for some help putting together a Labor Day weekend party spread, R&D Barbecue at The Hound has you covered. Preorder smoked meats and sides by the pound before this Friday, Aug. 29 at noon to pick up your order on Sunday, Aug. 31 at 3 p.m.
‡‡Finance “investment method” disclaimer: This is a paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the Nasdaq is subject to approvals. Comparisons to other companies are for informational purposes only and should not imply similar success. Under Regulation A+, a company has the ability to change its share price by up to 20%, without requalifying the offering with the SEC.
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