Asheville food, beverage festivals to put on your calendar as summer ends and fall begins

ASHEVILLE - The summer is winding down and making way for fall, but the fun doesn’t end with the solstice. In Asheville, the celebration of culture, entertainment and community continue year-round with food and beverages often aiding to bring people together.

The culinary arts and craft makers in the city are giving plenty to taste and talk about – and why not experience it all in an open-air environment in the heart of the city or with the backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains and French Broad River?

Keep the revelry going as the season changes at these upcoming festivals:

Goombay Festival

Sept. 2-4

Goombay Festival runs from Sept. 2-4, over the Labor Day weekend, at Pack Square Park in downtown Asheville. The hours are 5-10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday.

The African-Caribbean festival, presented by the YMI Cultural Center, will showcase Black and Caribbean music, food, dances and local Black-owned businesses.

“Our goal is to unite the community and bring together people of all backgrounds,” program manager Angela Clemmons said. “We’re the oldest running Black festival in Asheville. This is our 41st annual Goombay Festival for the Labor Day weekend and it takes place in the heart of Asheville. We’ve got all of these adventurous tourists who come to the event each year, and it brings together all parts of the region to celebrate global Black culture.”

The food court and beer alley will be stocked with meals, snacks and beverages from vendors across the country. Dishes will include fish, pound cake, Jamaican and Cajun cuisine, oxtail, jerk and curry chicken, steamed cabbage and more.

In the Vendor Village, more than 70 local, African and Caribbean vendors will sell art, crafts and merchandise, such as Bohemian-style and Afro-centric clothing, jewelry, skateboards, beauty supplies and more.

The celebrity music lineup features Public Announcement, Chubb Rock, Surface with a performance by the Shaka Zulu dancers.

The family-friendly event is free to attend and open to the public. Kids activities will be offered.

YMI Cultural Center is a local organization with a mission to “promote cultural preservation and elevate Black Excellence through community engagement, advocacy, leadership development and economic justice.”

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to see Black people in our element and in our culture how we’re fun, we’re relatable and we like to enjoy togetherness,” board member Justice Rogers said. “It is our roots and families, and everyone can relate to that. It’s the thing that brings us all together — it’s art, music, dance — it doesn’t matter what color you are, it’s just the fact we all love to move our bodies to experience great music and different foods. We love to get together and be in harmony.”

For details, visit ymiculturalcenter.org and facebook.com/YMICulturalCenter. 

Chow Chow

Sept. 8-11

The Summer of Chow Chow will end with the third event weekend of the festival season.

“We’ve had two weekends of events in June and August which were wonderful opportunities to gather folks around the table to build community around delicious food from an extraordinary talented community of chefs here in Asheville, Western North Carolina and the Southeast … and craft beverages both alcoholic and zero-proof,” executive director Rebecca Lynch said.

From Sept. 8-11, Chow Chow will host several food and beverage-centric tastings, dinners and workshops intended to uplift, connect and educate the community.

The intimate festival settings encourage conversations among guests with special guests contributing their insight and expertise on the subjects. Local, regional and national chefs, food and beverage producers, literary artists and other community members are part of the discussions and the upscale menus presented.

“What has been wonderful has been the really meaningful and impactful conversations we’ve had around that table about issues that not only affects our community here but communities across the Southern Appalachian and the region – reasons that resonate with all of us around lifting up our small business and entrepreneurs of colors, hearing important wisdom from our Cherokee elders … to housing and the unhoused,” Lynch said.

Tickets are available for the September events, including:

• Food Stories. Sept. 8. A seated five-course dinner with community leaders and chefs sharing stories about the memories, traditions and ancestries connected to the dishes.

• The Mystery of Malinda Russell. Sept. 9. A cocktail hour and multicourse seated dinner led by local “Top Chef” contestant Ashleigh Shanti and inspired by the historic recipes penned by Malinda Russell – the first known Black cookbook author who published “A Domestic Cookbook: Containing a Careful Selection of Useful Receipts” in 1866. The award-winning, acclaimed culinary leaders on the panel are Shanti, Ronni Lundy, Toni Tipton-Martin, Dr. Leni Sorensen and Dr. Cynthia Greenlee who will discuss how the cookbook still resonates today.

• Zero Proof $ 100% Delicious Seminar. Sept. 10. Learn how to make craft nonalcoholic “cocktails” with local ingredients and regional flavors.

• From Our Hearth to Yours. Sept. 10. A family-friendly tasting of small dishes and craft beverages. Plus, a conversation with a panel of entrepreneurial chefs, makers and beverage producers about their origins and business models that take their creations from their homes to consumers’.

• Taking Care. Sept. 11. Mocktail hour and a four-course seated brunch featuring drag performers, four chefs and several nonalcoholic craft beverage makers – open to ages 16 and older. The conversation will focus on mental health awareness in the culinary and LGBTQ+ communities.

Admission costs vary. For details, menus and tickets, visit chowchowasheville.com.

VeganFest

Oct. 2

A plant-based food party is coming to downtown Asheville.

The seventh annual Asheville VeganFest will be from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Oct. 2 at Pack Square Park, 80 Court Plaza.

The event is free and open to all – whether a vegan or interested in trying plant-based cuisine from local restaurants, bakeries, food trucks, spice makers and other artisan food and beverage producers.

Live music and deejay performances will play throughout the day. And educational speakers will host discussions about plant-based eating, health and wellness, environmental and other topics.

The Kids Fun Zone will feature free face painting, a magician, art activities, games and more.

For details and a full vendors list, visit ashevilleveganfest.com.

NC CiderFest

Oct. 8

Usher in the fall harvest season with a cup of hard cider, mead and apple wine.

CiderFest NC will host local, regional and national cider and mead maker at the tasting event from 1-4 p.m. Oct. 8 at the Olivette Riverside Community and Farm at 1069 Olivette Road, off the French Broad River.

The family-friendly event will feature live music, a kids' activity zone, workshops and regional food trucks and vendors who will have small bites to sample and meals to purchase. Artisanal food on the lineup includes local cheeses, baked goods, caramels and ice cream.

Cider and mead makers will offer small and large pours at the event and bottles and cans for to-go purchases. This year's vendors are Noble Cider, Blake’s Hard Cider, James Creek Cider House, Stargazer Cider, Barn Door Ciderworks and Flat Rock Cider Company.

Specialty small-batch and limited-release products will be available for VIT – Very Important Taster – ticketholders. The VIT access includes early admittance to the vendors one-hour before the general admission crowd.

CiderFest NC returns after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the eighth year of the fundraiser benefitting Green Bult Alliance, a member-based nonprofit that’s worked to advance “sustainable living, green building and climate justice through inspired action, community education and collaborative partnerships” locally and regionally. This year, the organization is partnering with the NC Cider Association.

“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to celebrate Asheville’s amazing craft beverage scene and support local businesses, while also continuing our fundraiser for our nonprofit’s work of advancing sustainability in the built environment,” Cari Barcas, associate director of Green Built Alliance said in a news release. “It is more important than ever to support local small businesses and craft makers, and to maintain our nonprofit’s work of making the places we all live and work healthier for us and for the environment.”

VIT tickets are $59, general admission tickets are $39, tickets for ages 6-20 are $10 and designated driver tickets for ages 21 and up are $19. Purchase tickets on Eventbrite or via https://www.ciderfestnc.com/.

For details about Green Built Alliance, visit greenbuilt.org.

USA TODAY Wine + Food Experience

Oct. 8

An eight-city national tour highlighting local and regional culinary arts and beverage connoisseurs are making its debut in Asheville.

USA TODAY Network will present the Asheville Wine + Food Experience will be 1-4 p.m. Oct. 8 at Salvage Station, 468 Riverside Drive.

The event will feature tastings of local and regional cuisine, wine and beer and other craft beverages, plus chef and sommelier demonstrations and seminars.

The growing list of chefs and vendors include Clarence Robinson of Cooking with Comedy, Ryan Kline of Jargon, Hector Diaz of Modesto Trattoria, Hunter Berry of Taco Billy, Ian Griffin of Griff’s Kitchen and Bar in Candler and Chris Looez of Fine Folk in Raleigh.

Plus, the national special guest is Okan Kizilbayir, executive chef at Salt at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island.

Grand Tasting tickets are $65 and VIP is $100, which includes early admission and access to the VIP lounge and exclusive samplings.

For details and to purchase tickets, visit wineandfood.usatoday.com/events/asheville/.

Burnpile

Oct. 15

Join Burial Beer Co. for its annual music and beer featuring live performers and craft breweries from across the U.S. and Canada.

Burnpile will be from 1-6 p.m. Oct. 15 at Burial’s Forestry Camp, 10 Shady Oak Drive, Asheville, near Biltmore Village.

In addition to Burial’s supply, brews will be flowing from more than 50 guest breweries including Bellwoods Brewery (Toronto), Blackberry Farm Brewery (Maryville, Tennessee), Cinderlands Beer Co. (Pittsburgh), Fremont Brewery (Seattle) and Hudson Valley Brewery (Beacon, New York).

Asheville breweries joining the party include Cellarest Beer Project, Dssolvr, Hi-Wire Brewing and Zillicoah Beer Company.

Craft cider and wine will be available for sampling, too.

Nation of Language, Small Black and Secret Shame are slated to take over the stage with music performances all day.

In between sipping and dancing, sit in on sessions of “Curated Off-Topic Conversations” with industry professionals from Burial and guest breweries. Discussion topics on the table are beer collaboration, label designs, inspirations, as well as community and small business and brewery support.

The VIP experience costs $125, the Tasting Experience is $75 and general admission is $40. For details and tickets, visit burnpileavl.com.

Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter/Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times. 

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville is site of festivals for food, craft beer, wine and fun