- Tonight it’s Queer Prom at Fleetwoods at 9pm. Fleetwood’s Queer Prom will include a dance contest (first fifty entries will get a number beginning at 8pm). Contest will be judged at 11pm (by local queer royalty) and the “Best Dressed” will win the title of Reigning Prom Qwang! Prom polaroids, snacks and drink specials and dancing to tunes from each decade from the 60’s to the 00’s! all door proceeds to benefit The Campaign for Southern Equality.
- Karaoke every Thursday with Terraoke at the Getaway River Bar from 9pm to 1am.
- Line Dancing, Country Music and Beginning Two-Step lessons every Thursday at Banks Ave. Bar, with their night called Butts N Boots starting at 6pm.
- This and every Friday it’s Drag Queen karaoke at O Henry’s 8pm to midnight
- This Friday, January 19th at 6 PM at the West Asheville Library, Melanie Brooks, author of A Hard Silence, discuss her recently published memoir about her father’s battle with AIDS. Hard Silence explores the impact of her father’s illness and subsequent death when the author was 13. The memoir will be available for sale at the event with a portion of the proceeds supporting Western North Carolina Aids Project (WNCAP). The west Asheville Library is located at 942 Haywood Rd in Asheville.
- This Saturday Jan. 20 and every 3rd Saturday is Trash Talk at Shakeys! A Queer Dance Party w/ DJ Abu Disarray 10pm-2am and Drag Shows hosted by Priscilla Chambers & Calcutta 11:30pm.
- This weekend Friday – Sunday Princess Anne Hotel is teaming up with the Golden Gays for the 2nd annual Golden Girls weekend, that includes Special Events: Lazoom Comedy Tour: Golden Gays Performance and Games: Sunday brunch and dancing. More info on EventBrite.
- This Saturday, as part of the inaugural Asian Culture Festival, Kris Moon will present Kimchi Making: A communal ritual and storytelling workshop centered around kimjang at 10 am at Moon Mountain in Marshall. Kris is a queer, gender non-conforming, trans-racial, trans-National Korean Polish American adoptee who returned to Korea after 26 years of separation, reuniting with maternal family and immersing themselves in community care rituals. More info about the festival and entire lineup at www.wncaapi.org
- This and every Saturday, drag shows starting at 11pm and midnight at O.Henrys. at
- Every Sunday, Gentle Yoga for Queer & GNC Folks at West Asheville Yoga Studio from 1:30 to 2:30. Learn more at “westashevilleyoga.com”.
- Saturday, Jan 20th it’s Served By Sev Drag Brunch at Different Wrld. BRUNCH STARTING AT 11AM // SHOW AT 1PM
- This Sunday, January 21st at 4pm It’s TRIVIAL with DIVINE! End your weekend with a bang and still be in bed on time for Monday morning to hit! Fun and fierce competition with Trivia and Games featuring the one and only drag queen sensation, Divine!
- “Life’s a Drag” Brunch Every Sunday at Asheville Beauty Academy. Doors @12, show @ 1pm.
- Following the “Life’s a Drag” Brunch is Drag Appreciation Day every Sunday at the Asheville Beauty Academy from 3pm to 6pm.
- Also this and every Sunday it’s Social Sundays at Banks Avenue Bar from 4-7pm. Music, Dancing and Drinks with the queer community.
- Monday and every Monday, Karaoke hosted by Ganymede at the 27 Club at 10pm.
- Every Tuesday it’s Trivia with a drag queen at Avl Beauty academy at 8pm, followed by karaoke at 10pm.
Looking Ahead:
- Next Saturday, Jan 27th, 5:00pm – 6:30pm at Firestorm Books presents Badass Bitches Deserve to Have Their Stories Told – a reading by author Lisa Lee Curtis from the pages of her recently published Brief Biographies of Badass Bitches Volumes I & II, a short look at many women throughout history and how their stories have either been underplayed or disregarded altogether.
- Also next Saturday, January 27th Blue Ridge Pride is hosting a Winter Gathering at New Belgium Brewery from 5-8pm to celebrate their Generation Plus program. This is an all ages event to support and showcase this vital program. This ticketed event Features music by Whitney Monge and Honey Collective, Mingling, Dancing, GenPlus Speakers, Food and Beer and Wine for sale by New Belgium. Tickets and more information at blueridgepride.kindful.com
- Next Sunday January 28th it’s Queerly Beloved Youth Day at Trinity Lutheran Church in Greenville, SC. This event celebrates and supports the upstate’s queer youth community. Author Colby Martin will speak, he’s the author of UNclobber: Rethinking our Misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality.
- Also next Sunday January 28th the Beer City Bears hosts their monthly social – A kiki for bears, cubs, chubs, and their admirers from 4:00 PM -5:00PM.
Looking further ahead:
- Wednesday January 31st it’s Faster and Looser at Different Wrld from 8-10pm. This is a comedy writing workshop for queer and femme folks. let by Erin Terry of Eyes Up Here Comedy. Workshop starts after the Everybody But You Bro Open Mic.Bring your notebooks and be ready with 3-5mins of material to share and work on with the group! Open to all femme, queer, POC and non-binary identifying people and all comedy levels
- Sunday, Feb. 11th is Asheville’s Mardi Gras Parade and Queens Ball starting at 3:00 in the South Slope. The annual tradition isn’t a queer event, but it’s pretty darn queer. Queens Ball follows the parade at the Funkatorium.
- Hendersonville Theatre is presenting Sordid Lives starting Thursday March 21st. In this beloved cult classic, chaos erupts in small-town Texas when the elderly family matriarch, an upstanding member of the community, accidentally dies during a clandestine meeting in a seedy motel room with her married lover. The woman’s family must deal with more skeletons coming out of the closet while preparing for what could be an embarrassing funeral. In this ‘coming out’ story, the hilarious, sad, trashy truth about their lives runs amuck. Tickets at hendersonvilletheatre.org
- On Thursday, April 25th, the Western North Carolina AIDS Project (WNCAP) will host our annual Dining Out For Life event. Partnering again with the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association (AIR), Dining Out For Life 2024 will encourage residents of Asheville and Western North Carolina to eat out at Participating Restaurants. This celebration supports both the local restaurants that host the events and raises money for WNCAP’s life-saving services. Now in its 22nd year, Dining Out for Life has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The money raised by WNCAP’s annual Dining Out for Life is more critical than ever. Your donations provide care, rental assistance, and education in our fight against HIV/AIDS. Dine Out. End HIV.