Omni Grove Park Gingerbread Houses
A visit to the National Gingerbread House Competition has become a holiday tradition for both locals and visitors alike. What began as a small group of gingerbread houses built by community members in 1992, has become one of the nation’s most celebrated and competitive holiday events. Judges consider 195 entries, with designs that range from amazing to out of this world. You’ll have to see it for yourself! The 27th Annual National Gingerbread House Competition™ winning creations will be on display until January 4, 2020.
Downtown Asheville Lights
A walk through Downtown Asheville at dusk is sure to get you feeling all the feels and into the holiday spirit! Be mesmerized in Prichard Park by the thousands of lights, dripping icicles and giant snowflake centerpiece.
Winter Lights at the NC Arboretum
All of the lights! Asheville brightest holiday tradition just keep getting brighter! Walk through the Arboretum’s gardens Winter Lights and enjoy unique displays and landscapes deck out in over half-a-million holiday lights. Perfect for the entire family!
Christmas at Biltmore
From the stunning 35-foot Frasier Fir Christmas Tree to the garland, spectacular light displays, candlelight evenings, and glowing fireplaces a trip to Christmas at Biltmore is the ultimate way to immerse yourself in holiday cheer. The Biltmore Estate offers both daytime and evening packages designed to make your holidays shimmer.
Dickens Christmas Biltmore Village
Go back in time with Dickens in the Village in Biltmore Village! First celebrated in the late ’80s’ as a way to bring both locals and visitors together for the holiday season, the holiday affair has grown into a favorite weekend long and time honored tradition in Asheville. The event brings magic to the Village with over 25 performing acts, festive treats and strolling carolers dressed in Dickensian period costumes.
Take them out to the ball game! The Asheville Tourists are a minor league baseball team based in Asheville, North Carolina. They play in the Class A South Atlantic League and have been a farm team of the Colorado Rockies since 1994.
Asheville is cooking up some amazing events to ring in the New Year. From masquerade balls to orchestras there is something for everyone this New Year’s Eve in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The Montford Rooftop Bar is located on the top floor of the Hyatt Place Hotel in downtown Asheville. Ring in the New Year at this contemporary rustic speakeasy featuring breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Tickets are $125 per person and includes 3 drinks of your choice, 2 small plates, and a champagne toast at midnight!
This New Year’s Eve Isis Music Hall is hosting Yarn, an Americana band originally hailing from New York City that describes themselves as “roots music from the shadows of skyscrapers.” Yarn invites listeners to find pieces of their own stories woven between the notes and lyrics of each song. It is a fitting choice to have a band so skilled at the art of storytelling, lead the audience into the new year through melodic, evocative vignettes. This show has all the ingredients to create a remarkable performance to kick off 2019. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Guests interested in pre-show dining are invited to make reservations at Isis’s onsite restaurant Kitchen 743. They will be serving a four course New Year’s Eve prix fixe menu, available for $60.
Burntshirt Vineyards invites you to join them for a true wine-lovers New Year’s Eve celebration. Located at The Summit, the winery’s event center, DJ Sound Extreme will be bringing the party. Tickets are $60 per person ($55 for club members) and includes hours d’oeuvres, a midnight champagne toast, and party favors! Burntshirt Vineyards has also partnered with Hampton Inn on Sugarloaf Road for discounted room rates.
Toast to the new year at a Venetian Carnival with spectacular views of Asheville. Capella on 9’s located in the AC hotel is hosting a Midnight Masquerade. The first 100 tickets are $55 and will then increase to $75. The tickets include two dueling DJs, appetizers a welcome cocktail featuring Chemist Gin, and a midnight champagne toast. Guests are encouraged to wear their most fabulous disguises and doors open at 9PM.
What’s classier than celebrating the new year at the orchestra? Asheville Symphony Orchestra is collaborating with Cirque Musica to present Crescendo, an evening of acrobatics and music. Doors to the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium at the US Cellular Center open at 8PM and tickets range from $32 – $85 depending on the seat.
One of Asheville’s favorite Holiday tradition is the Annual National Gingerbread House Competition™ at the famous Grove Park Inn Nov. 25 – Jan. 4. Those not staying at the hotel are invited to visit Monday-Thursday anytime and Sunday after 3 PM (except Dec 23-Jan 1). This year’s winning entries range from a gingerbread owl to a detailed depiction of Santa Clause gearing up for his big night out.
Visit Hendersonville for a little small-town holiday magic. This town hosts back-to-back events all holiday season. Check out the Christmas Parade down Main Street on Dec. 1, The Holiday Tour of Historic Inns and Cookie Caper on Dec. 9, or grab a free hayride Dec. 21-23. Looking for some traditional wintertime fun? Visit the seasonal skating rink, made from synthetic ice to accommodate any unforeseen warm weather, from Dec. 18 – Jan. 1.
It’s the world’s only vintage aluminum Christmas tree museum. Located at the Transylvania Heritage Museum, the pop-up museum features trees from the 1950s through the 1970s decorated with vintage ornaments. This fun display of whimsical, Christmas history is perfect for the whole family from grandma to grandbaby.
April showers might bring May flowers, but in Asheville, April means one thing – NC Beer Month – an entire month dedicated to our locally brewed frothy favorites.
One of the largest sporting events on the globe is coming to the Tryon International Equestrian Center!
The luxurious travels and fashionable style of one of the greatest love stories in history are currently on display at the stunning Biltmore Estate with a new exhibition, Glamour on Board: Fashion from Titanic the Movie. The exhibit takes you to the romance and passion of the era with more than 45 film dazzling costumes from the iconic film—representing the extensive wardrobes required by transatlantic travelers like George and Edith Vanderbilt in the early 1900s. This is the first large-scale exhibition of fashions from Titanic, which won a record 11 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Costume Design.