It’s time to resurrect your festival fits, Asheville. We rounded up 14 regional festivals that will be returning (or debuting) in the Asheville area this spring.
Have a festival you’d like to add to the list? Email us. And stay tuned for our next installment of this series, where we’ll share summer festivals.
Music
Bear Shadow | Friday, April 28-Sunday, April 30 | Winfield Farm, 250 Winfield Farm Rd., Highlands | $150-$775 | Headliners for this music festival include Spoon, The Head And The Heart, & Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.
Asheville Amadeus Festival | Thursday, May 11-Saturday, May 20 | Prices, locations, and times vary | This annual music festival is taking an Americana and Bluegrass theme this year, with headliners Béla Fleck and Kishi Bashi.
LEAF Retreat | Thursday, May 11-Sunday, May 14 | 377 Lake Eden Rd., Black Mountain | $164-$239 | Embrace the “old school magic” of this iconic camping festival with a smaller, more intimate gathering. The lineup includes musicians such as The Headhunters and Arise Roots — plus workshops, panel discussions + other culture-focused activities.
A star loaf of bread from the Asheville Bread Festival.
Photo via @ashevillebreadfest
Food
Asheville Bread Festival | Saturday, April 22-Sunday, April 23 | Prices, locations, and times vary | The 16th edition of this annual event includes workshops, tastings, demos, and other bread-centric events.
Cider, Wine & Dine Weekend | Friday, April 21-Sunday, April 23 | Various times, locations, and prices | Several local wineries and cideries will partner for this weekend of cider, wine, and food.
AVL Honey Fest | Sunday, June 4 | 12-6 p.m. | Salvage Station, 468 Riverside Dr. | $15 | Celebrate all things honey at this pollinator-themed fest.
Arts and culture
369 Short Play and Monologue Festival | Thursday, April 6-Saturday, April 22 | Tina McGuire Theatre, 18 Biltmore Ave. | Various times and prices | See nine heartwarming, dramatic, funny, and provocative original works from emerging Black Playwrights over the course of three weekends.
FiberFest | Saturday, April 22-Sunday, April 23 | 8 a.m.-5 p.m. | WNC Farmers Market, 570 Brevard Rd. | Free | Celebrate regional growers and fibers like wool, mohair, and yarn at this crafty gathering.
The Resilience Festival | Saturday, April 29 | 2-9 p.m | The Outpost, 521 Amboy Rd. | $40 | This wellness festival includes hip-hop, stand-up yoga, breath work, Tai Chi, zumba, and other on-site wellness practitioners.
GrindFest | Friday, May 26-Sunday, May 28 | Various times | Depot Street | Free | Expect music, games, live performances, food, local vendors, and employment + partnership opportunities, all in the name of celebrating Black entrepreneurs and business.
Asheville Ideas Fest | Tuesday, June 13-Saturday, June 17 | Various locations | $1,350+ | Check out discussions and lectures by global thought leaders such as Sanjay Gupta, Juju Chang, and Tom Friedman.
Plants and nature
Asheville Orchid Festival | Saturday, April 1-Sunday, April 2 | 9 a.m.-5 p.m. | The North Carolina Arboretum, 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Wy.| $5 | This annual fest features world-class orchid growers and breeders, with hundreds of orchids on display, plus other programs + learning opportunities.
Asheville Herb Festival | Friday, May 5-Sunday, May 7 | Various times | WNC Ag Center | Free | Known as the largest herb festival in the Southeast, this event showcases plants, books, soaps, herbal crafts, medicinal herbs, dried flowers + baked goods.
White Squirrel Weekend | Friday, May 26-Sunday, May 28 | Various times | Downtown Brevard | Free | Dedicated to WNC’s iconic white squirrels, this fest boasts free concerts as well as plenty of locally made food, art, and crafts.
