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Smoky Mountain Cinema storefront with blue metal awning and promotional banners outside the entrance, under a blue sky.
Arts & Culture
2 months ago
Mountain movie palaces: Smoky Mountain Cinema, Waynesville, NC

Smoky Mountain Cinema is an independent, three-screen movie theater tucked in the corner of a Waynesville shopping center. Despite its modest size, the theater is run with a colossal amount of experience.

Pool deck with warning signs near the water edge, including 'No diving' and 'Too shallow' messages.
On The Town
2 months ago
6 public pools splash back to Asheville for Memorial Day weekend

Six public pools in Buncombe County will open for the season next weekend, just in time for the Memorial Day holiday.

Close-up of a book cover showing a woman's face with a vibrant flower crown, outdoors among pink blooms; title reads 'HAPPY LAND'.
Community
2 months ago
750+ readers participate in blockbuster One Book, One Buncombe program

One Book, One Buncombe is a community reading program aimed at creating unity through literature across Buncombe County. Hundreds of copies of “Happy Land” by Dolen Perkins-Valdez were made freely available to readers as part of the initiative.

Wooden sign reading 'The Haunted Farm — Enter Here' hanging over rope netting against a cloudy sky.
Arts & Culture
2 months ago
Hundreds hop to horror haven Haunted Farm for ‘Halfway to Halloween’

Summertime can be scary, too. Just ask Jason Voorhees… or visitors at The Haunted Farm. The scare attraction attracted dozens of guests last weekend for a two day only “Halfway to Halloween” event.

Open rural landscape with rolling brown hills, leafless trees, a wooden fence in the foreground, and a bright blue sky with scattered clouds.
Outdoors
2 months ago
Hikes of WNC: Flat Top Mountain Trail

Flat Top Mountain Trail is a rewarding trek with diverse terrain near Moses Cone Manor on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Read more in our hiking guide below.

Colorful performers on a wooden outdoor stage under a banner reading 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' in front of a crowd.
Arts & Culture
2 months ago
Montford Park Players put on a wonderful, wonderful, ‘Wonderful Wizard of Oz’

“The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is not the musical, but it is not the L. Frank Baum book, either. The Montford Park Players show is another wonderful thing entirely. Read our review for more.

Outdoor poster for Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, held by a hand against a leafy background.
Arts & Culture
2 months ago
Flat Rock Playhouse should be proud of ‘Pride and Prejudice’

You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love Kate Hamill’s stage adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice,” now playing at the Flat Rock Playhouse. Read our review now.

Smiling man with glasses stands in front of a bright mural of oversized orange-yellow sunflowers with green leaves.
Community
2 months ago
New Asheville Pride festival marks 1st June fest in nearly 30 years

June may be Pride Month, but Asheville Pride festivals have been traditionally held in the fall. That is, until this summer. June 26-28, 2026 marks the debut of AVL Stonewall Fest, a new Pride Month festival.

Outdoor festival with a crowd seated on grass under colorful bunting, trees providing shade and a bright blue sky.
Music
2 months ago
Dr. Dog, Grace Bowers, more in ‘wave one’ of AVL Sounds Fest lineup

AVL Sounds Fest, a successor to Asheville music festival AVLFest, will be held across the city this August. Before tickets go on sale to the public today, the festival has announced “wave one” of its artist lineup.

Tri-panel collage showing: a male singer performing on stage, a gold-clad woman wearing an ornate crown, and a shirtless man outdoors.
Entertainment
2 months ago
From ‘Michael’ to ‘Mother Mary’: New movies to see or skip in May 2026

A Michael Jackson biopic, two Anne Hathaway vehicles and an Australian serial killer thriller are our movies to see, stream or skip this May. Find out which is which in our reviews.