If you notice even more artists than usual sketching on location in downtown Asheville and the River Arts District this June, there’s a very good reason: Asheville was chosen as the host city for the 2026 Carolinas Sketch Crawl organized by Urban Sketchers affiliate chapters in Asheville and Charlotte, NC, as well as Greenville, SC, and supported by an Urban Sketchers International Regional Events Grant… and they invite everyone to join in the fun!
“Bringing the Sketch Crawl to Asheville is a great opportunity for us to celebrate the remarkable resilience and recovery in the River Arts District and across Asheville as a whole since Hurricane Helene in 2024,” says Kim Hundertmark, executive director of the RADA Foundation. “When people post sketches of Asheville and the RAD and tag #carolinas_sketch_crawl and #riverartsdistrictasheville on social media, people around the world will be able to see the phenomenal clean-up and renaissance that is going on here.”
Organizers report ticketed workshops and presentations for the three-day event sold out in less than 48 hours (with 10% of 2026 Carolinas Sketch Crawl participant fees donated to the RADA Foundation) but sketchers of all ages and skill levels can still participate in a host of related free public events that weekend (June 5-7).
“We are expecting sketchers from all over North and South Carolina and as far away as Chicago, Orlando, and Portland (Oregon) to come participate in the Carolinas Sketch Crawl this year,” says Lynn Pettipaw, an admin for Urban Sketchers Asheville. “And we are also looking forward to attracting and engaging lots of newcomers - of all ages and skill levels - with the fun concept of urban sketching.”
The list of public Sketch Crawl events* can be found on the ‘Non Ticket Holder Events Schedule’ page of the carolinassketchcrawl.org website. Highlights include:
• Urban Sketchers Takeover Exhibit at RAD Rendezvous. An exhibit of sketches from the Asheville, Charlotte, and Greenville Urban Sketcher Chapters will be on view at RAD Rendevous (87 Roberts Street) from May 30th through June 14th.
• Sketching without Fear Workshop (Friday, 1:00 pm) a free workshop for beginner sketchers at Trackside Studios (375 Depot Street).
• Drink & Draw at Wedge Brewery at Foundation (Friday, 6:30-8:30pm at 5 Foundy Street). Sketchers are invited to gather here to sketch, hang out and pass around their sketchbooks to share their art with others.
• Urban Sketching at Pack Square Park (Saturday, 9:15 am - 12:15 pm). Casual sketching encouraged at Pack Square Park and the Jackson building in downtown Asheville.
• Urban Sketching in Downtown Asheville (Saturday, 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm) Casual sketching encouraged at Wall Street and the Grove Arcade in downtown Asheville.
• Drink & Draw at Hi-Wire Brewing (Saturday, 6:30-8:30 pm at 284 Lyman Street) - Sketchers will again gather to sketch, hang out and pass around their sketchbooks to share their art with others.
There are also plans for two additional free Community Outreach Workshops* including a drawing workshop for youth hosted by Trackside Studios and a sketching workshop hosted by the Asheville Sketchbook Club. Check the Community Events menu on the Carolinas Sketch Crawl website for details. Carolinas Sketch Crawl Community Outreach Workshops are funded by a grant from the RADA Foundation.
*NOTE: Carolinas Sketch Crawl public events are subject to change and more may be added closer to the crawl date, so organizers encourage interested sketchers to keep checking carolinassketchcrawl.org for updated information.
About Urban Sketchers
Urban Sketchers is a global community encouraging people to draw from direct observation - not from photos or memory - on location (indoors or outdoors) where they live or visit and then share those drawings online to help people “See the World, One Drawing at a Time.” For more information, visit www.urbansketchers.org