Happy Monday, Buncombe County!
🗳️ Last week you told us: we asked for your favorite way to spend a fall Saturday in Buncombe County, and 20 of you had answered by Sunday. A hike or a drive with the leaves won with 40%, a festival or street party took 30%, and live music at night got zero votes. So this week leans on daylight: a guided leaf walk on the Parkway, a toddler craft hour, and one symphony on a brewery lawn for the holdouts.
This week:
A guided leaf walk up Craggy Pinnacle on Wednesday
The symphony plays a brewery lawn in Black Mountain
The city’s Festival of Frights starts with toddler crafts
The rest of the week, day by day, plus what to book before the weekend
A restaurant back from Helene, a pickleball club, and a state park’s timeline
Our full weekend picks land Thursday morning. Let’s get to it.
— Sean Kolina
🍂 A Guided Leaf Walk on the Parkway
Buncombe County Parks and Recreation leads a Fall Colors Stroll up Craggy Pinnacle on Wednesday afternoon, an easy-to-moderate way to take in the color from the Parkway. The trail is one mile round trip with about 250 feet of climbing, and the guided walk runs an hour to an hour and a half. It is free and open to all skill levels, but you register online first. Bring layers, water and real shoes; binoculars and a camera are welcome.
📍 Where: Craggy Pinnacle Trail, 3641 Blue Ridge Pkwy., Barnardsville
📅 When: Wednesday, October 7th | 4:30pm – 6pm
💲 Price: Free | Registration required
🎺 The Symphony Plays a Brewery Lawn
The Asheville Symphony opens its ALT ASO series on Tuesday outdoors at Pisgah Brewing, which is about as far from a concert hall as the orchestra gets. The program runs Balkan brass into a New Orleans second line, with “Bourbon St. Parade” and “When the Saints Go Marching In” among the pieces. Bring a chair or a blanket: the field is grassy and mostly flat with no paved paths, and accessible parking sits near the entrance. Pisgah lists two food trucks, Purple People Feeder and Grush’s Dino Grill, and the taproom’s free bluegrass jam starts at six.
📍 Where: Pisgah Brewing Outdoor Stage, 2948 US Hwy. 70, Black Mountain
📅 When: Tuesday, October 6th | Doors 6pm, show 7pm
🎃 Festival of Frights Starts Small
Asheville Parks and Recreation spends all of October on its Festival of Frights, and most of it costs little or nothing. It starts this week with Toddler Spooky Crafting at the Tempie Avery Montford Center, a Halloween craft hour for ages two to five that repeats every Wednesday this month. Circle the rest now: a Creepy Climb at the same center on the 29th for ages six to twelve, horror movie trivia for grown-ups on the 28th, and a free Trunk or Treat at the Linwood Crump Shiloh Center on Halloween night.
📍 Where: Tempie Avery Montford Center, 34 Pearson Dr., Asheville
📅 When: Wednesday, October 7th | 5:30pm – 6:15pm
💲 Price: $5 | Ages 2–5 with an adult
Also This Week
The short list, day by day.
MON OCT 5 | Lochlann Kilburn Grey Eagle patio, Asheville · 5:30pm · $12.05 · An early outdoor set on a Monday Local Live with Jay Brown White Horse Black Mountain · 7pm · Pay what you can, $15 suggested |
TUE OCT 6 | Fall Peaks Hike: Mount Craig Meets at Lake Tomahawk, Black Mountain · 9am · Free · 2.5 miles, strenuous, ages 12 to 80, 13 spots. Registration closes today Bluegrass Open Jam Pisgah Brewing taproom, Black Mountain · 6pm · Free · All ages and skill levels |
WED OCT 7 | Weaverville Tailgate Market Weaverville Community Center · 3pm – 6pm · Every Wednesday Shinyribs Grey Eagle, Asheville · Doors 7pm, show 8pm · $31.25 · With Seth Walker |
THU OCT 8 | Sunnyside String Band Pisgah Brewing taproom, Black Mountain · 6pm · Free · Asheville pickers playing originals and covers Fruition Grey Eagle, Asheville · Doors 7pm, show 8pm · $27.86 · Roots harmony from a five-piece band |
FRI OCT 9 | Grove Street Fall Festival Grove Street Center, Asheville · 12:30pm – 3pm · Free, ages 18+ · Online registration through the city |
SAT OCT 10 | Eliada Corn Maze 49 Compton Dr., Asheville · Weekends through November 1st · $15 · Evening hours vary by date, so check before you drive |
Around the County
Buncombe is a lot bigger than downtown, so this is where the rest of it lives.
🌳 Ichiban is coming back, in a new spot. The Japanese hibachi and sushi restaurant was flooded out of Biltmore Village by Helene and has been closed since. It reopens at 130 Hospitality Way on Tunnel Road, the former Cracker Barrel site, with a limited-menu soft opening Wednesday through Sunday (dinner, 4:30pm to 9:30pm, reservations only at (828) 252-7885) and a grand opening on Monday, October 12th. Read more
🌳 Weaverville’s indoor pickleball club is almost here. Ballcrank Pickleball Club lists an early October opening at 115 Reems Creek Road, the old Balcrank Corporation headquarters, with 12 indoor courts. Its own site still said coming soon over the weekend, with founding memberships on sale. Take a look
🌳 Buncombe’s newest state park has a timeline. Pisgah View State Park, about 18 miles southwest of downtown Asheville, is expected to open in 2027, starting with a trailhead and parking area. The state says it expects the design finished by the end of this year, with funding in place for construction. Read more
🌳 The Mighty Bears got their bears. Kindergartners at Johnston Elementary each received a stuffed bear and a small T-shirt to decorate at the school’s annual Bear Breakfast, and the Asheville Tourists’ mascot, Ted E. Tourist, showed up as a surprise. The bears stay at school all year as reading and comfort companions. 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.
Follow us on Facebook & IG @buncombecountydigest
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]
