Community Calendar

Welcome to the Spring Craft Fair at Words of Life Tabernacle! Join us for a day filled with creativity, community, and fun. Browse through a variety of unique gifts and crafts. From jewelry to home decor, there's something for everyone to enjoy. Come support small businesses and find the perfect gift for yourself or a loved one. Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity to discover one-of-a-kind treasures. We can't wait to see you there! Easy to find location with free parking!

Join your Broad Riverkeeper in the South Mountain Foothills for a fun paddle on the cool shady waters of the First Broad River. Just downstream from the South Mountain Game Lands and one of our few Outstanding Resource Waters, this is some of the cleanest and life-filled water in the Broad River basin.

Meet up at the brand new NC Wildlife Resources Commission boat launch (NC 10 PFA, 4933 Casar Road) at 10:00 am sharp! We will unload boats and gear, then take all the vehicles to the take-out spot and shuttle back to begin paddling. This section is approximately 5 miles. We will be on the water for about 3.5 hours, including a stop for lunch.

7th Avenue Street Fest – is a community celebration marking the grand reopening of 7th Avenue following the completion of the highly anticipated streetscape project. The event will take place on Saturday, May 3, from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM, and will coincide with Opening Day of the Hendersonville Farmers Market.

The 7th Avenue Street Fest will feature live music from The Stipe Brothers, along with local vendors, craft beverages, family activities, the unveiling of the 2025 ArtScape Banners and more. Community members and visitors are invited to explore the beautifully redesigned street, enjoy an afternoon of entertainment, and support local businesses and makers. Remarks and a ribbon cutting will take place at 2pm on the street.

The streetscape project includes expanded sidewalks, new landscaping, lighting, and infrastructure improvements designed to enhance walkability, accessibility, and the overall experience of visiting the 7th Avenue District.

The Hendersonville Farmers Market will kick off the day from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM with dozens of regional vendors offering fresh produce, baked goods, crafts, and more at the Historic Train Depot.

Attendees are encouraged to make a day of it — start the morning at the Farmers Market and stick around for an afternoon of live music, delicious food, and family fun at the Street Fest.

Rare Bird Cultural Arts is thrilled to announce the Doggett Gap Tiny Music & Heritage Festival, a celebration of roots music, craft, and community at Rare Bird Farm in rural Spring Creek, NC, on Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3, 2025. This intimate, family-friendly gathering showcases a diverse lineup of artists spanning Americana, country, folk, and North Carolina mountain traditions, blending the old with the new in a setting designed to foster connection and creativity.

The 2025 festival lineup features an incredible mix of emerging and established artists, including:

Kassi Valazza
Chris Acker
Mike Gangloff & Kaily Schenker
Weirs
The Wilder Flower
Nicholas Edward Williams
Tyler Dodson
Shelton Powe
Attendees can also enjoy immersive folklife and craft experiences, with featured artists-at-large leading interactive sessions:

Shaped-Note Singing Workshop with Laura Boosinger
Be Art Experiential Art with Jane Sleeper
Appalachian Dance Lessons with Linda Block

50% of net proceeds from the Doggett Gap festival will be donated to the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and promoting the heritage of the Blue Ridge Mountains through music, craft, and storytelling initiatives.

With its intimate setting, world-class music, and hands-on folklife experiences, Doggett Gap Tiny Music & Heritage Festival promises a weekend of deep connection, creative exploration, and community celebration.

Pinnacle String Ensemble Presents An Encore Performance Mountain Life Concert May 3

CULLOWHEE – The Pinnacle String Ensemble, the School of Music newest ensemble at Western Carolina University will present an encore performance preparing at the Jackson County Library Community Room on Saturday, May 3 at 3 pm featuring the music of Aaron Copland, Frederick Delius, Mark O’Connor, Chris Thile and traditional fiddle tunes. Special guest performers include local musicians Lisa Gaetano and Bruce Buchanan.
The Pinnacle String Ensemble was organized this year to bring together students and community members who play string instruments in a more intimate chamber string orchestra setting. Kim Neidlinger is the conductor. Pinnacle refers to the area’s panoramic views and the ensemble’s goal to develop and achieve musical excellence. The ensemble offers community engaged learning experiences for the university students through a new program at Western Carolina University’s Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning.
Several ensemble members are non-music majors and local community members from Sylva, Franklin, Andrews and Maggie Valley, but desire a space to learn and perform music written for chamber and string orchestra. The theme of their first concert is based on the theme Mountain Life and is focused on music from or about Appalachia. Western Carolina University School of Music is proud to present this event for the first time. The concert is free and open to the public.

Life's stories are always prone to disruption and digression, thwarting the neat storybook narrative we love so much.

Join us in welcoming Boff Whalley, musician, author, and one of the founding members of the anarcho-punk band Chumbawamba and Commoners Choir, for a conversation about BUT: Life Isn't Like That, Is It?, his new collection of stuttering, wayward, disjointed, and ridiculous stories of real life. This hybrid event will be taking place both in-person at our bookshop and as a livestream!

Almost all of our stories follow the same basic pattern: beginning, middle, end: exposition, action, and climax. It’s a neat and tidy way of telling a story. But life’s not like that, is it? It doesn’t obey the rules. Life’s stories—like the stories told here in BUT, personal and impersonal, historical and contemporary—are punctuated by disruption, derailment, and digression. That's why this book is called BUT. Because the but is there to disrupt the easy normality of the way we tell our stories.
This event will be livestreamed on our YouTube channel. No registration to watch is required.

Boff Whalley is an English musician and writer. Formerly the lead guitarist for the anarcho-punk and folk band Chumbawamba, he is now a playwright and the founder of Commoners Choir. BUT is Boff's 5th book.

Don your best Derby attire and help us reach the finish line as we raise funds for our school's Hurricane Helene recovery costs. Join us for a festive evening at our North Campus on the banks of the French Broad River. Dinner provided by Los Gauchos Heroes with libations from Riverside Rhapsody Brewing and Troy and Sons Distillery. We'll have some Derby themed fun, live music, a silent and live auction, and a raffle for a trip for 2 to Costa Rica.

The Big Hungry from Hendersonville will be playing some funky jams at Mills River Brewery

While spying on their wives at a “girls’ night out” a group of unemployed steelworkers from Buffalo hatch a bold and unclothed plan to make some quick cash. As they conquer their fears, self-consciousness and prejudices, the lovable misfits come to discover that they’re stronger as a group, and the friendship they find in each other gives them the courage to “let it go.” Based on the hit film, this uplifting musical comedy is filled with great music, hilarious characters, and the most highly anticipated closing number of any musical ever!

Content Advisory: The Full Monty is rated R and features adult themes, sensitive subject matter, partial nudity, strong language, and plenty of BIG laughs!

Join the Greer Farmers Market for it's 10th Anniversary year in Greer, each Sunday from May-August, 11AM-2PM. 30+ Farmers, Makers, and Bakers are nestled in scenic Greer City Park along with live music, food trucks, and kids activities. Come shop and eat local with us. We are a SNAP retailer, Healthy Bucks site, and have more food assistance programs TBA. Learn more at GreerFarmersMarket.com.