Happy Thursday, Buncombe County!
💡 Buncombe Fact: Buncombe County was created by the legislature in 1791 from the westernmost parts of Burke and Rutherford counties, and it was nearly named Union County. It was named instead for Col. Edward Buncombe, a Revolutionary War veteran.
In today’s edition:
Two days of barbecue for a good cause at Wedge @ Foundation
A Veterans Day 5K in Mills River
A free, self-guided art tour in Weaverville
Stout Bout, a dark beer tasting competition at Hi-Wire
Chatham Rabbits at the Grey Eagle and a free Sunday brunch show
First Friday downtown, a new pool for West Asheville and a call for veteran-owned businesses
Let’s get to it.
— Sean Kolina
🥩 Knuckle-Deep BBQ Fest Returns to Wedge @ Foundation
The 17th Knuckle-Deep BBQ Fest takes over Wedge Brewing’s Foundation location this Saturday and Sunday. Admission is a donation of $25 for adults and $15 for kids, and the proceeds go to Holiday Wishes for Foster Care and to Helene recovery support.
Sunday is the big day, when BBQ Alley runs from noon to about 4:30pm and five competition categories are on the table. Check the festival’s site for Saturday’s schedule before you go.
📍 Where: Wedge @ Foundation, 5 Foundy St., Asheville
📅 When: Saturday, November 7th – Sunday, November 8th | BBQ Alley Sunday, noon – 4:30pm
💲 Price: $25 adults | $15 kids (donation)
🏃 A Veterans Day 5K in Mills River
The Veterans Day 5K runs Sunday morning at Mills River Park and raises money for the Veterans Healing Farm, a local nonprofit that supports veterans through agriculture, community and hands-on healing. The course is a family-friendly greenway, and the 5K includes chip timing, a finisher medal and a race shirt.
If a full 5K is not your speed, there is an untimed Fun Run Loop of about a half mile. Strollers are welcome, but dogs are not, apart from approved service animals.
📍 Where: Mills River Park, Town Center Dr., Mills River
📅 When: Sunday, November 8th | Fun Run 9:30am, 5K 10am
💲 Price: $60.83 (5K) | $12.69 (Fun Run Loop)
🎨 A Free, Self-Guided Art Tour in Weaverville
The Weaverville Art Safari returns Saturday and Sunday, and it costs nothing. The tour is self-guided, so you choose your own route and spend as long as you like at each stop.
It is a good way to meet working artists where they make their work, and a good excuse to see Weaverville if you have not been in a while. The organizers list the full set of stops on the Art Safari site.
📍 Where: Weaverville and surrounding area
📅 When: Saturday, November 7th – Sunday, November 8th | 10am – 5pm
💲 Price: Free
🍻 Stout Bout Returns to Hi-Wire
Hi-Wire Brewing’s Stout Bout is a dark beer festival and tasting competition, and this Saturday you get to be the judge. It runs in the RAD Beer Garden in the River Arts District, so bundle up for an afternoon of stouts outdoors.
Hi-Wire lists two ticket levels: a full tasting pass at $56 and a pacer tasting pass at $20. Check the tickets page for what each one includes before you buy.
📍 Where: Hi-Wire Brewing RAD Beer Garden, 284 Lyman St., Asheville
📅 When: Saturday, November 7th | 1pm – 6pm
💲 Price: $56 full tasting pass | $20 pacer tasting pass
🎶 Music This Weekend: Chatham Rabbits and a Free Sunday Brunch
Americana duo Chatham Rabbits play the Grey Eagle Music Hall on Saturday night with Alexa Rose opening the bill. It is an all-ages show, with doors at 7pm and music at 8pm.
If you want to start earlier, Aaron Lee Tasjan plays the Music Hall tonight with Madeleine Kelson, and on Sunday the Grey Eagle hosts a free Country Brunch with Elizabeth McCorvey at 11am.
📍 Where: The Grey Eagle Music Hall, 185 Clingman Ave., Asheville
📅 When: Tonight, Thursday, November 5th (Tasjan) | Saturday, November 7th (Chatham Rabbits) | Sunday, November 8th, 11am (Country Brunch)
💲 Price: $31.25 (Tasjan) | $28.17 – $35.90 (Chatham Rabbits) | Free (Country Brunch)
Around the County
Buncombe is a lot bigger than downtown, so this is where the rest of it lives.
🌳 First Friday is back downtown. The Downtown Arts District’s monthly art walk runs 5pm to 8pm tomorrow, with new exhibitions, artist meet-and-greets and refreshments at galleries and studios including Blue Spiral 1, Lexington Glassworks and Center for Craft. Start anywhere in the district and go at your own pace. Details
🌳 Coming in 2028: a new Malvern Hills pool. Asheville City Council approved a $4.4 million construction contract on October 27th to rebuild the pool in West Asheville, which has been closed since the summer of 2023. It is scheduled to reopen for the 2028 swim season. Read more
🌳 Circle November 18th: a groundbreaking for new housing at Transformation Village. Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry will break ground on Empowerment House at 3pm on Wednesday, November 18th, at 30 Olin Haven Way, and the public is invited. The building is planned as 35 apartments, 26 one-bedrooms and nine two-bedrooms, for women and children moving out of transitional housing. Read more
Veterans Day
Know a veteran-owned business in Buncombe County?
Next Monday we are featuring local businesses owned by veterans, and we would love to include yours or one you love. Send us the business name, the town and a line about what they do.
One to Know
A quick one every Thursday. Our full small business features run on Tuesdays, so think of this as the short version, and it is never paid and never sponsored.
🌱 Papaw's Place, Swannanoa
Papaw's Place is a feed, seed and produce store on US 70 in Swannanoa, owned by two couples who have been friends for years: Rhonda and Richard Duncan and Corey and Hailey Hudgins. The name comes from the grandfathers the families share, both known as papaw to their grandchildren, and Corey has wanted to run a store like this since he was a kid, when his own papaw had a little one.
The building was gutted when they started, and it used to be the showroom for Hipps Stone next door. Today the shelves hold seed, feed, pine needles, produce, flowers, honey, bread, coffee and candy, and the owners say their goal is to serve the Valley first.
The store is at 2632 US 70 and is open 8am to 5:30pm Monday through Friday and 9am to 3:30pm Saturday, closed Sunday. The number is (828) 702-5840 if you want to check before you drive over.
📣 Know a business that belongs here? Hit reply with a name and we'll check them out!
Other fun notes…
😋 Weekly Appalachian inspired recipe: Smoky Mountain Persimmon Bread — a dense, spiced loaf from the blog Blind Pig and the Acorn, made with persimmon pulp, nuts, dried fruit and bourbon, and a good use for ripe persimmons this time of year. It bakes in a pair of loaf pans.
🎵 Who we are listening to: Chatham Rabbits - Collateral Damage — and they play the Grey Eagle on Saturday.
💛 Local Nonprofits. Veterans Healing Farm — a Mills River nonprofit that supports veterans through agriculture, community and hands-on healing. Its Veterans Day 5K is Sunday at Mills River Park.
🙏 Positive News Around the Globe: An Australian man with ultra-rare blood donated 545 times while visiting all 85 of the country’s blood banks. Read Article
✨ Barbecue for foster kids, a 5K for veterans and a free art tour in Weaverville. The best plans this weekend do some good along the way.
🗳️ One quick question, and it genuinely shapes what goes in here:
Where do you usually find out what's happening in Buncombe County?
As always, we read every reply and truly appreciate hearing from you. If there’s something you’d like to see more of locally, let us know. Thanks for being part of the Buncombe County Digest community.
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Have an event you want to feature or want to advertise your business to our readers in Buncombe County? Drop us a line here → [email protected]
