Spring Events & Festivals: Top 40

Kenilworth neighborhood, just five minutes from downtown Asheville, annual Open Studio Tour features 20+ jewelers, painters, glass-workers, fabric artists, potters, woodworkers, photographers, and more!

Go nuts at the White Squirrel Festival in downtown Brevard that features a parade, plenty of live music, food, arts and much on Memorial Day Weekend.

Exhibition at the North Carolina Arboretum features award-winning roses of every color and size. Experts on hand to answer questions and provide information about the selection, care and history of roses.

See works from 90 of the finest artisans from the Southeast on the Village Green in Cashiers, 10 AM- 5 PM. Find ironwork, woodcraft, textiles, cakes, jams, pottery and more. Free admission, but donations accepted.

Whether you’re a hardcore athlete or a newbie trying an event for the first time, the annual Mountain Sports Festival in Asheville offers something for you. Memorial Day Weekend

Find many events, festivals and our top things to do to kick off summer during the holiday weekend in Asheville and the NC mountains.  

One of the largest one day free music and arts festivals in Asheville, held on Montford and Soco near downtown, with over 100 vendors of art, crafts and food. Two stages of entertainment. 10 AM-7 PM.

Buy from 160 juried artists, including paintings, sculpture, clay, glass, fiber, wood, photography, jewelry and more. All work is original and handmade by artist in the show. Indoors at US Cellular Center downtown. Admission

Head to Grovewood Village for many festivities including an outdoor sculpture exhibition, artist demos, live music, studio tours, food, beer, wine and more. 2-6 PM. Free admission. Near downtown Asheville at 111 Grovewood Road

See a big variety of dahlia tubers and chrysanthemum rooted cuttings featuring cultivated varieties available for sale. Learn from Dahlia Society experts about how to produce plants with show quality blooms.

Lots of fun in Chimney Rock Village with a pancake breakfast, Cow Pie Bingo, recycled garden art contest, llamas strutting their stuff in a Main Street parade, a grilled dinner and a special outdoor performance by the Rutherford County Orchestra at the Gathering Place.

A weekend at LEAF is the equivalent of going on a year-long multicultural musical and dance odyssey - longtime favorite festival held in Black Mountain.

Live music & entertainment, crafts and food to showcase ramps, a naturally grown wild onion grown in the mountains. Held in Waynesville at the American Legion Post 47, 171 Legion Drive!

This grassroots festival in Hot Springs on the banks of the French Broad features some of the best music in the area, camping and outdoor events in celebration of this beautiful river.

Check out the season's hottest gear (with free test paddling) at the NOC's Outfitter's Store on the Nantahala River. Top it off with free live music and local brews.

Drive scenic country roads to visit 35 artists in their studios and galleries about 10 minutes north of Asheville. Buy direct from them - find some great deals. Free.

Presented by the American Rhododendron Society, SE Chapter, this judged event features hundreds of Rhododendron and Azalea blooms at The North Carolina Arboretum. Also see the National Native Azalea Repository.

This festival at Highland Brewing Company includes hands-on fun, grilled cheese cook-off, milking demonstrations, panel discussions, workshops, vendors and 19 cheesemakers from across the south. Advance tickets $14 for ages 12+. Tickets at the door $20. 12-4 PM. 

Join Chimney Rock State Park rangers, biologists and other environmental educators to learn about the great work being done to protect our beautiful landscape. Booths will be located in Chimney Rock Village behind the Old Rock Café. Free.

Celebrate Easter by watching the sun rise over Hickory Nut Gorge during the annual service atop Chimney Rock. Free admission.

Usher in spring with picnics, sundresses, elegant hats, tailgating and the sights & sounds of thoroughbreds thundering past in Tryon, at the longest running steeplechase in North Carolina. The National Steeplechase Association sanctions four of the races.

Nantahala Outdoor Center's (NOC) jamboree to celebrate the Appalachian Trail, with outdoor adventure-themed film screenings, a vendor village, gear repair and tournaments to support the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Also enjoy product giveaways, door prizes and live music.

Take a time warp at the Cradle of Forestry to the days of the Biltmore Forest School. Meet homesteaders David and Diane and their Percheron draft horses. Observe the horses plow the heritage garden and even take a turn at it yourself. Visit with living history volunteers as they bring traditional Blue Ridge culture to life. $5/person, children under 16 free