An artist hid a painting of the viral 'Jimothy' raccoon in Asheville woods to encourage locals to visit the area.

/PRNewswire/ -- Photographs captured by Michael Freas for Asheville nonprofit ArtsvilleUSA have been selected by the Chief Scientist of the National Weather...

Africa, Mexico and Hawaii. While they are each very far apart, some summer campers experienced all three in one day, without leaving Asheville.

After two years of AVLFests, the expansive multi-venue event will be reborn August 6th–9th as AVL Sounds Fest, featuring 240+ artists.

A local art gallery and market, hit with several feet of catastrophic rainfall during Helene, is now celebrating a major recovery milestone.Village Artist Marke

Artistic interpretations of a tiny green amphibian could be an unlikely driver of economic recovery in Western North Carolina after Tropical Storm Helene devastated the region in late 2024.

Hellbender by the Orange Peel is officially open to the public. Before seeing a show at the new outdoor venue, read about what to expect from the shuttles, the sound and more.

Museums are the cultural hubs of Asheville. Whether you’re looking to learn something new about the Land of the Sky or plotting a way to spend your Saturday afternoon, here are 15+ museums to visit in our city.

Applications are now open for the ArtsAVL Artist Support Grant cycle. The grants, open to artists from six different Western North Carolina counties, will be awarded this November.

Four days of fun at the 79th annual Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands wrapped up Sunday night at Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville.According to a news relea

Local kids ages 9-17 are invited to participate in Found It!, a youth photography contest organized by ReMix It, a West Asheville art supply store.

The Wortham Center for the Performing Arts has announced all the dance, theater and stand-up comedy coming to the downtown performance venue in the 2026-27 season.

Today Governor Josh Stein and First Lady Anna Stein joined the Center for Craft and e-commerce platform Etsy to celebrate the launch of the Craft Catalyst…

As Asheville's River Arts District continues recovering from Helene, some artists say rising studio rents are creating a new obstacle.

More than just a retailer, Harvest Records has earned its reputation as an incubator for the arts.

With the event’s anniversary season launching July 11 “along about sundown” (i.e., 7-10 p.m.) and running each Saturday through Aug. 28 (except for Aug. 1), Bannerman went down memory lane with Xpress and shared why he’s optimistic about the future of this beloved happening.

The Big Crafty returns to Asheville on Saturday, July 11, and Sunday, July 12.

A new River Arts District workforce initiative is turning creative talent into economic opportunities.

This week's Campfire Classroom ditches the bug spray, canoe paddles and swimsuits, in favor of studios, rock music and performing.

On the occasion of “Rauschenberg 100,” a celebration of the pathbreaking artist’s centennial year, ARTnews surveys his accomplishments

Sometimes art and music merely coexist. In special cases, they can complement each other.

The RAD Creative Campus, a new initiative by the nonprofit RADA Foundation Inc., received a grant from the Biltmore Estate to support the campus’s mission to provide permanent creative infrastructure

The WMF recently included Black Mountain College in a list of 10 "irreplaceable" American historic sites, announced for the USA's semiquincentennial

If you haven’t experienced live chamber music, broaden your horizons with the Chamber Music Society of the Carolinas summer series.

Asheville-based multidisciplinary artist and writer Nicole Leth is painting a 2,000-square-foot mural on the Aura Arts building in the River Arts District. Commissioned by building owner Sam Hellman, the mural project began on June 10 and has an expected completion date of Sunday, July 12.

The building has been named to Irreplaceable America, the World Monuments Fund list of sites that have influenced the country’s unique history.

Evan Goetz has been named the new executive director of the Black Mountain Center for the Arts.

The annual Groovin’ on Grovemont summer concert series returns on Tuesday, July 14, with a performance by Datrian and the Family.

Asheville Musical Theatre is working to expand to year-round programming, creating more paid opportunities for performers.

AVL Stonewall Festival brings three days of music, drag performances and dance parties to downtown Asheville.

18 months after Helene, Asheville's music scene is recovering through resilient musicians, venues and community efforts despite challenges.

Each month, veteran educator Christopher Arbor highlights some of the most profound teaching happening here in Western North Carolina. Visit avl.mx/flw to read last month’s story about flow state and archery instructor Bob Park.

The new indoor pickleball club will anchor the redevelopment of former Balcrank building in Weaverville.

The Black Mountain Blues Society will host an event at the White Horse in September.

Givens Communities has become the first title sponsor of Asheville Symphony's Masterworks series as part of a partnership that includes collaborative programming for its senior residents.

Gallery Mélange officially closed its downtown Asheville location on June 5, concluding a three-year chapter as a collaborative gallery representing the work of four Western North Carolina artists: Victoria Pinney,

The Asheville Area Arts Council, Arts AVL, is now accepting applications for the Arts Build Community grant.

HomeTrust Park, the longtime (and newly rechristened) home of the Asheville Tourists, underwent a major renovation prior to the start of the 2026 season. Among the new additions are 19 murals positioned along the entranceways and emblazoned upon the brick walls of the ballpark's exterior.

When families walk out of the Asheville Museum of Science (AMOS) looking for their next stop, museum staff often sends them to nearby indoor entertainment options and other kid-friendly attractions around town.

People gathered in downtown Asheville on June 18 to honor the legacy of Civil Rights advocate John R. Hayes.

One of the most surreal images from the flooding caused by Tropical Storm Helene in September 2024 was the sight of a half-submerged Cotton Mill Studios. A staple of the River Arts District, the historic building was visible from numerous safe locations in the wake of the storm and served as a vivid indicator of just how high the French Broad River had reached.

Jennifer Pickering and Leigh Maher will bring a new event to Lake Eden this October.

For a community of its size, Asheville is home to a remarkable density of recording studios — about a dozen can be found in and around the city. Together, these businesses help sustain a thriving local music scene while also attracting artists from hubs like Nashville and Los Angeles.

There’s been plenty of chatter in the pickleball community about a 12-court facility coming to Weaverville.

On Saturday, June 20, the day before Father’s Day, Asheville artist Randy Shull will host the official unveiling of a 22-foot-tall statue outside his studio on London Road near Biltmore Village.

AVL Sounds Fest will return Aug. 6-9, 2026. Here's the complete list of artists performing at the citywide music festival in Asheville.

Dayna Walton, a Canton-based printmaker and muralist, is in the process of reimagining the Wall Street Steps, a staircase connecting Wall Street to Battery Park Lane in downtown Asheville. In our interview, Walton explained the steps behind painting the stairs.

This Juneteenth, The Block, the historic Black business sector of downtown Asheville, will receive a new, custom-designed bench from Echoes of the Forest, a nonprofit creating functional artwork from trees felled by Tropical Storm Helene.

RAWtools, an Asheville gun disposal nonprofit, will hold an event later this month for residents who wish to anonymously recycle firearms.

The Lake Lure Music Festival hosted a concert on Saturday, June 13, featuring Grammy-nominated Bluegrass band the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys.

Asheville-area philanthropist Diana Wortham died June 7, 2026, at the age of 82. She is remembered as a supporter of the arts with a charitable heart.

More than a year after Helene devastated parts of Madison County, local aspiring printmaker and poet Trish Marshall is back creating art.

This fall, the Black Mountain Blues Society will collaborate with newly-remodeled music venue White Horse Black Mountain to bring three days of blues music to downtown Black Mountain, N.C.

Black Wall Street AVL, a Black business incubator, is preparing to host GRINDfest on Saturday, June 13.

From glass ‘telescopes' to metal wildflowers, explore the region’s outdoor art scene with this companion guide to our summer exhibition, ‘Open // Air.’

The art is the latest addition to the Asheville Black Cultural and Heritage Trail.

After operating in its namesake Citizen-Times Building at 14 O. Henry Ave. since October 2020, Citizen Vinyl has relocated to 179 Merrimon Ave. in Weaverville.

Asheville Regional Airport invites western North Carolina artists to take their work to new heights.

The proposed budget covering the upcoming fiscal year from July 1, 2026-June 30, 2027 was developed based on council priorities, community input, and staff guidance. When it is presented to Councilors for a vote on June 9, it will stand apart from previous budget documents, featuring artwork by young Asheville artists on the front and back covers.

ArtsAVL has released a draft recovery framework aimed at helping rebuild and strengthen the arts and culture sector in western North Carolina after Helene.

ArtsAVL has released a draft framework designed to better align arts organizations and support Buncombe County's creative economy.

'Papertown' explores the economic and emotional toll of the Canton paper mill closure through the eyes of residents. It features a new song by Dave Matthews.

“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."

LEAF Global Arts has announced the cancellation of its fall Lake Eden Arts festival, otherwise known as the LEAF Festival.

More than $14 million in grant funding will soon be available to small businesses across Asheville as part of a new effort to support their Helene recovery.

The Asheville chorus group Womansong is hosting a songwriting contest.

ReString Appalachia was founded to give out instruments after Tropical Storm Helene. It has since expanded to assist in Texas, Los Angeles and Jamaica.

Property owners on Foundy Street have partnered with the Ohio-based GBX Group LLC to revitalize historic buildings in the River Arts District.

Growing up, kids are often scolded for coloring on walls. But on May 19, community members were encouraged to splatter paint across the interior walls of Pack Memorial Public Library in downtown Asheville during a community paint day that tackled one of three new murals.

Citizen Vinyl announced it had moved to Weaverville on May 19. The company's founder and CEO described it as a difficult decision.

No, Andrew Bird’s song “MX Missiles” isn’t an ode to extremely popular Mountain Xpress articles. But the track has been around long enough that that interpretation is at least in the realm of possibility.

Asheville artists reflect on rebuilding their studios and creative community in the River Arts District after Tropical Storm Helene displaced them.

Editor’s note: The following conversation is part of Xpress’ annual Spring Nonprofit Issue.