2026 WNC AgOptions Information Session
2025-08-26 18:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Macon County Cooperative Extension Center, 193 Thomas Heights Rd., Franklin, NC, 28734, United States
AgOptions staff are holding informational meetings throughout August and September to discuss the 2026 WNC AgOptions grant program, application timeline, and answer questions. Dates and locations for all of the meetings are posted on the AgOptions website: https://wncagoptions.org
Although not required, attendance does provide helpful information and gives applicants the opportunity to ask questions and potentially prepare a stronger application.

2026 WNC AgOptions Information Session
2025-08-28 18:00 - 20:00 | Swain County Cooperative Extension Center, 60 Almond School Rd, Bryson City, NC, 28713, United States

2026 WNC AgOptions Information Session
2025-09-02 16:00 - 18:00 | Mountain Horticultural Crops Research Station, 455 Research Drive, Mills River, NC, 28759

2026 WNC AgOptions Information Session
2025-09-03 17:30 - 19:30 | Haywood County Co-operative Extension, 589 Raccoon Rd, Waynesville, NC, 28786, United States

2026 WNC AgOptions Information Session
2025-09-04 18:00 - 20:00 | Burke County Agricultural Center, 130 Ammons Drive, Morganton, NC, 28655, United States

Barn Yoga 2025
2025-09-07 10:00 - 2025-11-16 11:00 | Hickory Nut Gap Farm, 57 Sugar Hollow Road , Fairview , NC, 28730, United States
A Hickory Nut Gap tradition. Bring your mat and mindfulness to the Big Barn to get centered with Fairview-based yogi Mary Beth!
Mary Beth believes yoga should be potent, but playful. She strives to deliver fluid, well balanced vignettes that offer physical expansion and mental restoration. She teaches gentle and vinyasa flow, all levels welcome! Variations encouraged, feel free to bring blocks, blankets or straps.
Make a day of it! Come shop the Farm Store after class lets out for local meats and grocery goodies, grab a beer or beverage and wander the farm grounds to see the animals. Yogis get 5% off meat and eggs on class day- show the associate your receipt for a single class OR your season pass.
Time: 10am-11am
Per Class: $18
BUNDLE & SAVE:
Get a pass for the full Spring Arc, 10 classes: $90
Get a pass for the full Fall Arc, 9 classes: $81
Get a Full season pass, 19 classes: $152
CLASS SCHEDULE:
Spring Arc: April 6th – April 13th – April 27th – May 4th – May 11th – May 18th – June 1st – June 8th – June 15th – June 22nd
Fall Arc: September 7th – September 14th – September 21st – October 5th – October 12th – October 19th – November 2nd – November 9th – November 16th

Flowers Everywhere! A Garden Party Fundraiser
2025-09-07 16:00 - 19:00 | The Dr. John Wilson Community Garden, 99 White Pine Dr., Black Mountain, NC, 28801, United States
We are gathering in the garden on Sunday, September 7th from 4-7pm to celebrate renewal and relationships in the Dr. John Wilson Community Garden.
Our Garden Party will be held in our very own Dr. John Wilson Community Garden at 99 White Pine Dr, Black Mountain. The event will feature live music from Becki and the Farm to Jazz Trio, a locally sourced dinner, bouquet picking and making with Cindi Quay, medicinal tea tasting with Garden Intern Marisa Figueroa, and tours of the native pollinator garden with Emily Sampson!
Tickets
$40 in advance
$50 at the door
$25 student and needs-based tickets available
Tickets and more information at bmtcommunitygardens.org/flowers-everywhere-2025-garden-party-fundraiser/
Your ticket purchase goes directly to supporting integral garden systems like our internship program, community education programs, and garden infrastructure needs, so that we can continue to grow food to donate to our partner Bounty & Soul for free distribution to the community.
This year’s theme – Flowers Everywhere – is inspired by our response to Hurricane Helene. When half of the garden’s donation beds flooded, we moved forward with a renewed vision, transforming the washed out space into a blooming field of flowers.
Whether you have been a gardener here since its start, or you have never been and want to learn more, everyone is welcome!
Learn why the Dr. John Wilson Community Garden fills a vital, unique role in the Swannanoa Valley and how you can help sustain our mission of getting locally grown, nutritious food to our community through our partnership with Bounty & Soul. We are excited to share the bounty of the garden, celebrate successes, and take a look into the future. We look forward to seeing you there!

Hands-On Holistic Management (HOHM) Course
2025-09-08 09:00 - 2025-09-16 17:00 | Warren Wilson College, 701 Warren Wilson Road, Swannanoa, NC, 28778, United States
Hands On Holistic Management (HOHM) exists to deliver the Savory Institute’s Holistic Management curriculum through real-world instruction on diversified working lands. Designed for active farmers and land managers, but applicable to everyone, this course will prepare you to regenerate land, businesses and networks by applying system level insight to your unique circumstances. We believe in learning by doing, and reinforce all classroom work with hands-on practice, building the confidence students need to take the next steps in their businesses and lives. Participants will leave with a working knowledge of Holistic Management, and an open door to the global Savory Network for ongoing support. This course satisfies the coursework requirements for Professional Accreditation through the Savory Institute.
HOHM will be hosted at Warren Wilson College and the Warren Wilson College Farm in Swannanoa, NC– Expect half of the course to be held inside a Warren Wilson College classroom and the other half to be in-field at the Warren Wilson College Farm. Upon competition of the Hands-on Holistic Management course, participants will qualify to have an exit interview with the Savory Institute, and upon successful completion of the exit interview, become an accredited professional through the Savory Institute.
Course Dates: September 8-16, 2025
Lodging: On-campus Lodging in WWC’s historic St. Clair Guesthouse available.
Food/Meals: Light breakfast provided by the Hickory Nut Gap Hub & on-campus lunch provided by the Warren Wilson College campus cafeteria.
Transportation: Shuttles to and from local Asheville (AVL) airport to campus lodging.
Additional: Complimentary guided farm tour of Warren Wilson College Farm in Swannanoa, NC & Hickory Nut Gap Farm in Fairview, NC.
Course Costs & Amenities:
Standard Course
$1200 Course Total
Includes:
Breakfast either in field or in classroom
Lunch in one of 2 WWC cafeterias
Holistic Management Textbooks (Provided by Savory Institute)
Swag bag provided by HNGF
Field trip to HNGF + Meal
Immersed Course
$2400 Course Total ($1200 + $150/day)
Includes:
All amenities from standard course
Lodging in WWC’s historic St. Clair Guesthouse
*Discount if booking a double room with another student*
3 Meals/day at one of WWC’s cafeterias – Breakfast, lunch, & dinner
About the educators:
Donna Kilpatrick specializes in pasture-based livestock production, ecosystem restoration and land stewardship. She leads the regenerative agriculture programs and enterprises at Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas where she serves as the Director of Regeneration and as the Heifer Ranch Savory Hub leader. The 1,200-acre ranch is a thriving, living ecosystem with stacked enterprises that include beef cattle, pigs, sheep and poultry, raised in an integrated, holistically managed system. Heifer Ranch contributes premium grass-finished and non-GMO meat to the Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative, which Heifer USA helped start in 2014 as a way to connect new farmers to reliable markets. Donna lives at Heifer Ranch with her wife Liz, and corgi Austin- who is phenomenal at catching frisbees despite his short legs.
Dylan Kennedy is a farmer, designer, educator and part-time artist based in Jabez Kentucky. Dylan’s career in farm management was born of a deep passion for agroecology and the role of humans within their ecosystems. His favorite projects are those that blur the lines between conservation and agriculture while engaging local communities in the stewardship of natural resources. Dylan has 15 years of experience in building and retooling regenerative farm systems across the USA in a variety of ecoregions. He is a Certified Permaculture Designer and an Accredited Professional through the Savory Institute. website – Ketelwood.com
Ken Smith is a native Texan, former naval officer, mechanical and nuclear engineer, business owner, and entrepreneur whose journey from corporate supplier to fossil fuel companies to sustainability to regeneration advocate to holistic management spans over 40 years. He is a Senior Certified Sustainability Professional, a Savory Institute Accredited Professional Educator, and hopefully a good steward of the earth. Ken resides in Plano, Texas, with his wife, Susan, and their new pit lab mix, Shiloh.
Mikey Hans-Barrientos is the Hickory Nut Gap Hub Manager in Fairview, North Carolina. Originally from Miami, Florida, he was introduced to agriculture while working on the Warren Wilson College Farm while getting his bachelor’s degree at Warren Wilson College. After graduating, Mikey went on to work in and around agriculture for several years before getting involved in the Hickory Nut Gap Hub. When he is not out monitoring farms all over the South-East, he is most likely at his home in West Asheville, just 30 minutes from the farm, with his partner, dog, and too many cats.

2026 WNC AgOptions Information Session
2025-09-08 18:00 - 20:00 | Watauga County Agricultural Conference Center, 252 Poplar Grove Road, Boone, NC, 28607, United States

Asheville Local Lab: Broad Stakeholder Conversation
2025-09-10 12:00 - 13:00 | Online/Virtual
Part of the Asheville Local Labs series, the Urban Manufacturing Alliance (soon to be Mechanism), is hosting a Broad Stakeholder Group meeting in September!
This event will be part discussion and part working session: Through a series of prompts, participants will help map the capital landscape as it relates to Food and Bev manufacturing businesses in the greater Asheville area. Participants will define capital broadly to include things beyond business financing such as shared infrastructure, land use, access to suppliers and customers.
This active discussion is an opportunity for capital providers and future recipients share and connect about what is needed, what is or isn’t available in Western North Carolina. We welcome capital providers (lenders, philanthropy, private investors) as well as food and beverage producers, policy makers, supply chain partners (including but not limited to distributors, growers, and retailers) to be part of the session.
Please share this invitation with others who may be interested and we hope to see you soon!
Find the Eventbrite registration link here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/broad-stakeholder-discussion-asheville-local-lab-tickets-1536980262339?aff=oddtdtcreator
See other events in the Asheville Local Lab Series: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/asheville-local-lab-series-4469493

Asheville Local Lab: Broad Stakeholder Conversation
2025-09-10 12:00 - 13:00 | Online/Virtual
Part of the Asheville Local Labs series, the Urban Manufacturing Alliance (soon to be Mechanism), is hosting a Broad Stakeholder Group meeting in September!
This event will be part discussion and part working session: Through a series of prompts, participants will help map the capital landscape as it relates to Food and Bev manufacturing businesses in the greater Asheville area. Participants will define capital broadly to include things beyond business financing such as shared infrastructure, land use, access to suppliers and customers.
This active discussion is an opportunity for capital providers and future recipients share and connect about what is needed, what is or isn’t available in Western North Carolina. We welcome capital providers (lenders, philanthropy, private investors) as well as food and beverage producers, policy makers, supply chain partners (including but not limited to distributors, growers, and retailers) to be part of the session.
Please share this invitation with others who may be interested, and find the Eventbrite registration link here:

2026 WNC AgOptions Information Session
2025-09-11 18:00 - 20:00 | Avery Community Center at Heritage Park, 661 Vale Rd., Newland, NC, 28657, United States

Free Seed Collection Workshop
2025-09-13 10:00 - 11:00 | Winding Stair Farm, 57 Saunders Rd., Franklin, NC, 28734, United States
The native wildflower diversity of the Southern Appalachians is nearly unmatched. From early spring bloomers in hot, humid bottomlands to autumn asters on dry, rocky summits, there’s a beautiful flower for every habitat and season! Inviting these wild creatures to live in our gardens, wildflower meadows, or even pots on our porches benefits humans, wildlife, and the environment, but how do we collect seeds mindfully without impacting the plants and their habitat?
This workshop will cover the basics of ethical and sustainable wild seed collection, focusing on methods that backyard gardeners can use to collect and process seeds by hand in small, home-garden quantities without any special tools. We will also discuss the benefits of growing wild, native plants, and introduce participants to our WNC Wildseed Library program.

Regional Ginseng Update
2025-09-19 09:00 - 15:00 | Madison County Cooperative Extension, 258 Carolina Lane, Marshall , NC, 28753, United States
Lunch from High Ridge BBQ and one ounce of high quality stratified seed are included in the price of registration!
There have been some interesting changes in the world of ginseng production! In this workshop we’ll review production, marketing, security and a variety of other topics around the production and sales of ginseng in Western North Carolina.
We are excited to have Dr. Jeanine Davis and Dr. Jim Hamilton of NC State Cooperative Extension joining us.

ASAP's 2025 Farm Tour
2025-09-20 12:00 - 17:00, 2025-09-21 12:00 - 17:00 | NC, 28604
ASAP’s 2025 Farm Tour will take place Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 20-21, noon to 5 p.m. Participating farms will be announced in late June or early July. All farms will be within one hour of Asheville. One pass is good for all passengers in a single vehicle at all farms, both days. Passes are $35 before Sept. 20 and $45 on Sept 20-21.

ASAP’s annual Farm Tour is a chance to experience how food is grown and raised through guided tours, demonstrations, and tastings. The Farm Tour showcases the diversity of working farms in Western North Carolina, including vegetables, livestock, vineyards, orchards, flowers, fiber, and more! This is a family-friendly event and a great outing for visitors of all ages, abilities, and interests. All are welcome.

ASAP’s 2025 Farm Tour is a critical prices of hurricane recovery as it helps the local food economy rebound, strengthens the relationships between farmers and consumers, and encourages tourism from outside of Asheville. Join ASAP in sustaining our farming community.

OGS Forest Farming Tour: Growing Pawpaws in WNC
2025-09-21 14:00 - 17:00 | Petrichor Pawpaws
The native pawpaw tree is being “rediscovered” by growing enthusiasts across the southeast. An understory tree with a delightful fruit described as “creamy blend of banana, mango, and a subtle hint of vanilla custard,” it is a wonderful addition to an actively stewarded property or a forest farm. Join Seren Petrichor as we explore his pawpaw nursery and delve into the details of seed care, grafting, pollination, record keeping, and maintenance to ensure you can successfully cultivate pawpaws for yourself or others. Planting stock may be available for purchase after the tour.
Due to Helene, we will be meeting just before this tour at a nearby carpool location, TBD depending on road closures (Fairview or Bat Cave).

Organic Crop Management Series - Planning Your Season
2025-09-22 18:30 - 20:30 | Online/Virtual
Organic Crop Management is a FREE webinar series led by local farmers and agricultural resource specialists. Growers will gain the tools to manage soil health, weeds, pests, and diseases for the whole farm. Each session also addresses standards and record-keeping requirements for applying for and maintaining Organic Certification.
Schedule:
All sessions are Monday evenings, September 22 to October 20, from 6:30-8:30 pm EST, with an “in person” finale optional session on October 26:
September 22 – Planning Your Season – De’Anthony Price (Southeast Organic Consultant – Rodale Institute)
September 29 – Organic Weed Management – Chris Peterson (Organic Growers School)
October 6 – Organic Pest Management – Tom Elmore (Thatchmore Farm)
October 13 – Managing & Preventing Plant Diseases – Steven Beltram (Tendwell Farm)
October 20 – Building Healthy Soils – Mary Carroll Dodd (Red Scout Farm)
October 26 – In-person finale/CRAFT Tour @ Red Scout Farm (registration link coming soon)

WNC Seed & Plant Swap
2025-09-25 15:00 - 18:00 | Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver, Asheville, NC, 28801, United States
Join us for the WNC Seed & Plant Swap on Thursday, September 25 from 3–6 PM at the Stephens-Lee Community Center in Asheville! This free, community-building event is the perfect place to connect with fellow gardeners, farmers, and plant lovers. Find seeds, plants, and related products for swap or purchase, and enjoy demonstrations and workshops, inspiring story shares, and plenty of opportunities to learn. Take a tour of the beautiful George Washington Carver Edible Park with Bountiful Cities at 4:30pm, and see a live seed cleaning demonstration from the Utopian Seed Project. Register to attend.
If you are interested in hosting a table for the swap please contact cathy@bountifulcities.org with questions and fill out the GOOGLE FORM on the registration page. Stay tuned for more info on speakers and workshops.
This event is hosted by Bountiful Cities, The City of Asheville, Utopian Seed Project, Appalachian Growers Seed Collective, and sponsored by Southern SARE.

From Helene to Here - to benefit Root Cause Farm
2025-09-25 17:00 - 20:00 | Cultivated Cocktails Distillery and Tavern, 161 Charlotte Hwy, Asheville, NC, 28803, United States
Join us for a community celebration honoring the growth, grit, and generosity that took root after Hurricane Helene.
Root Cause Farm has more than doubled its food distribution, while Patton Allen Real Estate pivoted to serve as a supply hub when the community needed it most. Today, both continue to support a region where recovery, housing, and food access remain deeply interconnected.
Join us for live music by The Saylor Brothers, storytelling, and handcrafted spirits at Cultivated Cocktails. Let’s commemorate where we’ve been—and help sustain the community we’re growing together.

Eliada's 17th Annual Fall Festival & Corn Maze
2025-09-26 15:00 - 2025-11-01 19:00 | Eliada Homes for Children, 2 Compton Dr, Asheville, NC, 28806, United States
Eliada’s biggest annual event of the year! Ring in the Fall season with an Asheville tradition – Eliada’s 8-acre Corn Maze. Enjoy our fall- themed activities from our tractor ride to a fun experience on the jumping pillow, maze, games and more! We collaborate with schools and businesses to offer special opportunities for educational field trips and corporate parties.

Open from Friday, September 26th, through Saturday, November 1st in West Asheville.

Hours are Fridays (3PM – 7PM EST), Saturdays (10AM – 7PM EST), and Sundays (10AM – 6PM EST).

Location: 49 Compton Drive, Asheville, North Carolina 28806

General Tickets: Eliada Fall Festival Ticket

For all things Corn Maze: Fall Festival and Corn Maze – Eliada Homes

Eliada’s Mission & History: https://www.eliada.org/mission-and-history/

Email Inquiries: cornmaze@ELIADA.org
P: (828) 653-1926

Utopian Seed Project - Trial to Table
2025-09-27 16:00 - 19:00 | Addison Farms Vineyard, 4005 New Leicester Hwy, Leicester, NC, 28748, United States
Our September event will be hosted at Addison Vineyard in Leicester, NC, on September 27th, an auspicious day for those in the local region. This is our first time hosting a Trial to Table at this beautiful location, but Chris (Executive Director) and Terri (Culinary Director) know it well. In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Addison Vineyard served as an informal meeting ground, offering a respite amidst the chaos.
An incredible group of chef teams and food creators will join us. Each will offer you delicious and creative dishes.
Chefs Camille Cogswell & Casey Ruiz (Walnut Family Bakery)
Chefs Keia Mastriani & Jamie Swafford (Milk Glass Pie & Old North Farm)
Chefs Erica Beneke & Matt Farr (Red Fiddle Vittles)
Chefs Erin O’Keefe & David Toporek (Friends & Neighbors)
Chef Tiffany Schultz (Sorghum Demo Table)
Farmers Leeza Chen & Luanna Nesbitt (Southern Pea Crop Trial Table)
At each event, we strive to offer a variety of vegetable-forward options.
The events are casual and relaxed with a strong focus on food that supports regional sustainability and resilience. Your ticket is an admission ticket that allows you to sample all the fantastic dishes. We generally have a short presentation partway through to highlight our work and enable the chefs to share their passions!

Mushroom Sterile Lab Techniques
2025-09-28 10:00 - 16:00 | The Forest Farmacy, 24 Davis Lane, Marshall, NC, 28753, United States
From Spore to Spawn
Imagine being able to find a wild mushroom then use its spores to create your own spawn. Learning sterile lab techniques allows you to select genetics that are optimized to your bioregion and never have to buy spawn again. You can grow whatever mushrooms you want.

What You Receive

Access to Chris’s 35 years of experience growing and working with mushrooms
Tour of our mushroom cultivation lab, spawn and grow rooms
Understand which equipment you need to set up your own lab
Hands-on experience with sterile lab techniques
Create your own spawn to take home
Learn everything you need to select optimized fungi genetics from your local forest, turn it into a culture and make your own spawn
Decades of Experience

Chris Parker has been growing various kinds of mushrooms for 30 years. He created the Southeast’s premier resource for mushroom cultivation supplies. Chris is also deeply experienced in permaculture, organic gardening, regenerative agriculture and herbal medicine. He has gained all this knowledge from his ancestors, local teachers and through his own study. During this one-day masterclass Chris combines practical demonstrations, hands-on experiential learning, presentations and is available to answer questions about your specific growing situation.

Topics Covered
Facilities Tour
Chris’s brand new mushroom cultivation facilities at the farm show you what’s needed to create a mushroom production facility on any scale. You will receive a tour of the lab, spawn room and grow room and detailed explanations of why it was built and arranged this way.
Equipment
Chris will take you through the major pieces of equipment you need and you’ll get hands on experience using some of it. We can help you with where to source much of it if you are planning on setting up a lab at home.
Lab Techniques
For beginners we will cover the basics, both in theory and practice. For more advanced students Chris will share essential tips and tricks gained from 35 years of cultivation experience.
Spore Prints
Learn how to capture spores from wild mushrooms that you can turn into cultures and spawn to grow more. You are welcome to bring a favorite wild harvested mushroom if you would like to culture it.
Agar Recipes
Learn to make nutrient dense medium for optimal mycelium growth.
Selecting Genetics
Learn how to select strong genetics for optimal growth or other traits.
Spore & Tissue Cultures
Understand the pros and cons of using spores and tissue from wild harvested mushrooms in your mushroom cultivation process.
Petri Plates & Liquid Culture
Learn how to handle petri plates effectively for low contamination rates. Use petri plates to grow out mycelium from spores and tissue and preserve your cultures for continuous production.
Grain & Sawdust Spawn
Using your cultures to inoculate grain and sawdust then how to use that to inoculate bulk substrate and grow mushrooms.

Carolina Mountain Cheese Festival 2025
2025-09-28 11:00 - 17:00 | Oak and Grist Distilling Company, 1556 Grovestone Rd., Black Mountain, NC, 28711, United States
The Carolina Mountain Cheesefest will be returning this September 28th 2025! Tickets for the 2025 Cheesefest will be on sale starting July 21, 2025! Come and enjoy all things cheese related and meet cheese makers and cheese lovers. We hope to see you at Oak and Grist Distilling Company and look forward to re-uniting with our fantastic Cheese Fans as Western North Carolina continues it’s recovery from Hurricane Helene. 2024 tickets will be honored.

OGS Forest Farming Tours: Woodland Botanicals with Eagle Feather Organic Farm
2025-09-28 14:00 - 17:00 | Eagle Feather Organic Farm, 300 Indigo Bunting Lane, Marshall, NC, 28753, United States
Join longtime forest farmer Robert Eidus for a look at how to cultivate and sell woodland botanicals, including wild-simulated ginseng and goldenseal, as well as other popular and abundant understory botanicals. Robert will showcase his woodland botanical plantings and share insights on site selection, propagation, harvesting, and sustainability.

Organic Crop Management Series - Organic Weed Management
2025-09-29 18:30 - 20:30 | NC, 28604

Farm Dreams online workshop
2025-09-30 19:00 - 21:00 | Online/Virtual
Are you dreaming of starting your own farm?
Farm Dreams is an entry-level workshop designed for individuals seeking practical, common-sense information on sustainable farming and how to progress. This workshop is ideal for those in the exploratory stages of starting a farm. You will learn about sustainable farming careers in Western North Carolina; discover and assess your resources, skills, and farming intentions; begin to develop an educational plan for farming; connect with regional training opportunities and support networks; prioritize your next steps toward your farming goals; and hear from experienced farmers running successful farms in Southern Appalachia.

A Guide to Groundcover & Privacy Screens
2025-10-03 10:00 - 11:00 | Winding Stair Farm, 57 Saunders Rd., Franklin, NC, 28734, United States
Join Nursery Manager Greg Mason for a free class on groundcovers and privacy screens for Western North Carolina and North Georgia. Learn about plants that stabilize slopes, prevent erosion, and create natural privacy barriers to solve your landscape’s problem areas. FREE!

Identify, Catch & Release: Butterfly Workshop
2025-10-04 10:00 - 11:30 | Winding Stair Farm, 57 Saunders Rd., Franklin, NC, 28734, United States
Jason Love of Highlands Biological Station leads an interactive butterfly workshop for kids and adults alike Participants will explore Winding Stair’s gardens with professional nets, learn identification skills, and may tag Monarchs for national research. Choose-your-price admission ($30-$5).

Organic Crop Management Series - Organic Pest Management
2025-10-06 18:30 - 20:30 | NC, 28604
