Happy Monday, Buncombe County!
🗳️ Last week you told us: we asked for your go-to Halloween move in Buncombe County, and 11 of you answered. “I mostly skip it” led with 36%, while a costume party or night out and handing out candy on the porch tied at 27% each. Nobody picked trick-or-treating or pumpkin carving, so the porch crowd may be in for a quiet night. If you are on the skip-it side, this week is for you: no costumes required, just a bonsai tour, a folk night and a hike.
This week:
A bonsai curator leads an after-hours garden tour at the Arboretum on Tuesday
Six surprise artists play Golden Folk Sessions at the Grey Eagle on Wednesday
A free fall hike to Rumbling Bald leaves from Black Mountain on Thursday
The rest of the week, day by day, plus what to book before the weekend
Early voting hours, a Pack Library ghost-story night and Día de Muertos
Our full weekend picks land Thursday morning. Let’s get to it.
— Sean Kolina
🌿 A Bonsai Curator Leads an After-Hours Tour
Arthur Joura, the Arboretum’s bonsai curator since 1992, leads an after-hours tour of the Bonsai Exhibition Garden on Tuesday evening, with the trees in their fall color. The garden shows up to 50 specimens at a time, and Joura has built the collection around Southern Appalachian species like American hornbeam and eastern white pine alongside traditional picks such as Japanese maple. The tour is outdoors on easy trails and paved walkways, so dress for the weather. It is open to ages 18 and up, registration is required, and the ticket page showed few tickets left.
📍 Where: The North Carolina Arboretum, 20 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville
📅 When: Tuesday, October 20th | 5:30pm – 7pm
💲 Price: From $27.52 | 10% off for members | Ages 18 and up
🎶 Six Surprise Artists at Golden Folk Sessions
Golden Folk Sessions, formerly Open Folk AVL, now has a home at the Grey Eagle. Each night six handpicked artists play three-song sets in a quiet, seated room, and the lineup is only revealed once the show begins. It runs from 7 to 9pm, so you are home at a reasonable hour. Presale tickets are $14.30, and on the day of the show it is pay what you can, from $0 to $25.
📍 Where: The Grey Eagle, 185 Clingman Ave., Asheville
📅 When: Wednesday, October 21st | Doors 6pm, show 7pm – 9pm
💲 Price: $14.30 in advance | Day of show, pay what you can ($0 – $25) | All ages
🌳 A Free Fall Hike to Rumbling Bald
Black Mountain Recreation and Parks heads to Rumbling Bald, near the Hickory Nut Gorge, on this week’s stop in its Fall Peaks series, which follows the leaf color from the high peaks down to the lower elevations as the season moves along. The hike is about 1.5 miles and rated moderate. Everyone checks in at the Lake Tomahawk tennis courts at 9am, then you can ride in the town van or drive separately to the trailhead. Registration is required and spots may be limited, so call the recreation office if the form shows full.
📍 Where: Check-in at the Lake Tomahawk tennis courts, 401 Laurel Cir. Dr., Black Mountain
📅 When: Thursday, October 22nd | 9am
💲 Price: Free | Registration required | 828-419-9300 ext. 393
Also This Week
The short list, day by day.
MON OCT 19 | Patio Show: Juca Camera Grey Eagle patio, Asheville · Doors 4:30pm, show 5:30pm · $12.05 · All ages |
TUE OCT 20 | Patio Show: Emily Woodhull with Laney Barnett Grey Eagle patio, Asheville · Doors 4:30pm, show 5:30pm · $12.05 · All ages |
WED OCT 21 | A Small Town Murder Mystery Harvest House Center, Asheville · 3pm – 6pm · $5 · Ages 18 and up · Play a quirky character in a murder mystery party |
THU OCT 22 | Succulent Pumpkin Workshop Peri Social House, Black Mountain · 6pm – 8pm · $60, materials included · Fill a real pumpkin with real succulents. Reserve by messaging Sprout + Bloom on Facebook |
FRI OCT 23 | AJ Lee & Blue Summit with The Cody Sisters Grey Eagle, Asheville · Doors 7pm, show 8pm · $27.86 · All ages |
FRI – SUN OCT 23 – 25 | An Old Fashioned Family Murder Black Mountain Center for the Arts · 2pm each day · Pay what you want · A mystery-comedy readers theatre from the Encore Players |
Around the County
Buncombe is a lot bigger than downtown, so this is where the rest of it lives.
🌳 Early voting is open through Oct. 31. Buncombe County has 13 early voting sites, including libraries in Black Mountain, West Asheville and Fairview and the Weaverville Community Center. Weekday hours are 8am to 7:30pm, with weekend hours on Oct. 24 and 25 from 10am to 3pm. Read more
🌳 A ghost-story night is coming to Pack Library. Storyteller Liz Z. Pardue presents Tar Heel Terrors, a program of North Carolina haunted legends and folklore, on Tuesday, Oct. 27 from 5:30 to 6:30pm in the library auditorium. It is meant for ages 10 and up. Read more
🌳 Día de Muertos comes to the Stephens-Lee Center on Saturday, Oct. 24. Asheville Parks and Recreation hosts free crafts, food, music, face painting and an ofrenda from 2 to 4pm. Read more
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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