Adore & Explore All That AVL Has to Offer This Valentine's Day

This blog has been updated to reflect 2024 events. 

Asheville, how do we love thee? Let us count the ways. Known as a mecca for romance, adventure, creativity, and cuisine, stepping into Asheville is like stepping into your own Rom-Com: #maincharacterenergy. From calming yoga with baby goats to crafty classes to competitive 5Ks to partying in neon attire with your besties—Asheville has a little something for everyone to enjoy this Valentine’s Day. 

For the Foodies & Coffee Aficionados:

Ready to be whisked off your feet and engage in some libation appreciation? Below you’ll find everything from cooking classes to date night boxes to bar crawls and everything in between: 

• "We Go Together Like" Sugar Cookie Decorating Class- Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024, from 11:30 AM-1 PM- Sweet and Southern Bakery's Valentine's Day-themed cookie decorating class at My Fresh Pallet in Woodfin will cover the beginner-friendly basics to sugar cookies. Everything you'll need is provided at class along with TWO live in-person instructors – just bring a smile (and maybe an apron). By the end of the class, you will have created a set of gorgeous cookies ready to dry for 24 - 48 hours in a box, and you'll have the option to bring home a DIY kit to do at home with your kiddos.
  
  
• Asheville Truffle Experience- Friday, Feb. 2 through Sunday, Feb. 4. The Asheville Truffle Experience will rock the mountains with multiple mouth-watering sessions in beautiful downtown Asheville and its environs. Guests will plunge into the mystery of this ultra-prized ingredient, of which many species exist—traditionally hailing from the deep, dark woods of France, Italy, and Spain, but now also cultivated across the States, particularly in the northwest and southeast. Pricing for the entire weekend is available in several packages, and portions of the dinner proceeds will go to World Central Kitchen and truffle research.
• Galentine's Day Themed Charcuterie Workshop- Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024 at 6:30 PM. Ginger's Revenge has partnered with AVL Charcuterie Co. for a Charcuterie Board Making Class! Grab a beer and head to the private back room where you'll learn the process step by step on how to create a gorgeous charcuterie board that’s sure to impress friends and family. Eat your board after the class, or take it home to share! This experience is great for a true Galentine's date night or regular date night with your SO.  
• Greek Cooking Class at Asheville Mountain Kitchen- Friday, Feb. 10, 2024, 11:00 AM-2:00 PM. Come explore the unique flavors of Greek Cuisine. The class will explore pastries such as spanakopita, make stuffed grape leaves, tzatziki, and moussaka, and attempt to bring freshness into our winter. The class accommodates vegans, vegetarians, and kids upon notice.  At the end of the class, enjoy the delicious meal you’ve created together!
• Coffee Curious Group Latte Art Class- Friday, Feb. 9 and 11, 2024 at 2:30 PM. Lattes taste a little better when you make them beautiful, right? In that spirit, Coffee Curious Workshops in Asheville host several in-person classes led by a Specialty Coffee Association-certified brewer who will teach the basic mechanics of steaming milk, how to work with alternative milk, and how to pour the basic latte art designs. This class is very hands-on, so come prepared to get milky! In addition to learning, you'll get to enjoy all the lattes and cappuccinos you can drink. 
• 
  Asheville Detour’s Date Night at Home Box. This specially curated “Date Night at Home” box
  will allow you to have a romantic night in. For $40, you’ll get a make-your-own chocolate-dipped strawberries kit (with Freeze-dried strawberries and melting morsels from Asheville chocolate), a romantic scavenger hunt activity, massage oil from C&Co Naturals, “Be my Valentine” tea from Cornerstone Tea (tea bags also included), a Candle from Elder & Co, handmade decorative matches, and access to a “Night at Home” Spotify playlist featuring all local Asheville artists. This is perfect for the couple that loves staying in and being cozy. 

For the Ones Who Love to Party:  

• Valentine's Day "Fake as Hell" Mass Wedding-Wednesday, Feb. 14 from 8-11 PM. Head to Fleetwood's in West Asheville on Valentine's Day to join in a hilarious "Mass Wedding." You can "fake" marry your sweetie, your leather jacket, your boyfriend's dog, or whoever and whatever you want! No true commitment, but the feels are real! The $25 ticket price includes the ceremony for 2, a Fleetwood's "Fake as Hell" marriage certificate, and a champagne toast. Stay afterward for “the reception” including sweet treats and a dance party beginning directly after the ceremony! Polaroid wedding photos will be available for purchase for $5, and your wedding guests are free to join us at the reception! 
• Barbiecore at Bold Rock. Friday, Feb. 16 from 7-10 PM. Get ready to dance the night away! Bold Rock on Lexington Ave downtown is hosting a glittering Barbie bash. You can expect songs from the Barbie soundtrack, a Barbie & Ken Look-Alike Contest, tons of pink décor, pink cocktails, & much more! 
• Venus Dance Party- Friday, Feb. 9 from 10 PM-2 AM at Asheville Beauty Academy. The party's on with Meseret & Zati every Friday night. Enjoy drink specials and DJ spinning into the early hours of the morning with your favorite group of rowdy friends. Keep the fun going all weekend by attending Asheville Beauty Academy's Life's a Drag Brunch on Sunday, Feb. 11 or 18  from 12-2:30 PM.

For the Art Lovers & Creative Types: 

• Love You Bowl Much: Paint & Movie Night- Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024, from 6:00-8:00 PM. Hosted by the Cold Mountain Art Collective in Canton, share a paint and movie night with the ones you love. There will be a selection of bowls in various shapes and sizes to choose from, and they will be food-safe after firing. Wine, NA Punch, and charcuterie spread will be provided, and bowls will be fired and ready for pick up on Feb. 13th!
  
  
• Mono-printing Gel Plates Valentine's Workshop- Sat. Feb. 3, 10 AM-1 PM. Hosted by the Black Mountain Center for the Arts, participants will become familiar with basic mono-printing techniques using gel plates. This workshop will cover the entire process, which includes choosing imagery and colors, exploring various ways to prepare the gel plate, and printing unique works of art on paper or cloth. Students will be able to take their prints home!
• Valentine's Day Make & Take Workshop- Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. Hosted by Board & Brush Creative Studio in Asheville, this unique wood project workshop is perfect for you and your Valentine or Galentine(s). Select one of 20+ Valentine-themed wood projects, and they will provide all the materials and instruct you step-by-step to create a beautiful piece for your home. Pre-registration is required!
• Wine & Design Date Night Paint Kit- Grab your significant other and enjoy a unique date night while getting your art on with Wine & Design! No artistic talent is needed, just the desire to have fun. Sign Up, PICK-UP, and paint at home with their Take-Home Paint Kits where you pick the painting. The kit includes 2 Pre-Sketched Canvases (16x20 or 10x20 depending on the painting), a Color Print of the Painting, Required Paints, Paper Towels, and a Mixing Plate. They also have Adult Paint kits for solo artists and Paint your Pet kits if you want more than 1 experience!
• Ready, Set, Throw: Special Valentine's Day Edition- Wednesday, Feb. 14 from 7-9 PM. Hosted by Odyssey Clayworks, this Valentine’s Day edition of Ready, Set, Throw will allow you to sip a glass of wine and nibble on chocolates while you explore the sensual aspects of clay. You can dig your hands in the clay, or work on a piece together. They’ll even help you re-enact the scene from Ghost! They will glaze and fire the work for you, so you can have a permanent reminder of your passion. It's a great date idea for people who don’t mind getting a little dirty. Singles, couples, and throuples are welcome!
• Glass Fusing at Fired Up Creative Lounge-  Available at both the Asheville and Hendersonville locations, this fun and unique craft workshop is the perfect date night or girls' night out activity. Starting with a glass base, you add different shapes and colors of glass that are then melted together in a kiln. The piece can be left flat, like jewelry or tiles, or heated in the kiln a second time (called slumping) to shape into plates and bowls. No experience is necessary, and the results are amazing! All materials, glass, and firing are included in the price. No appointment is necessary, so drop in to play anytime! 
• 
  Candle-Making Experience at Hummingbird Candle Co. Friday, Feb. 9, Saturday, Feb. 17 & Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024.  Are you ready to get lit this Valentine's Day? Indulge your curiosity and senses as you explore over 30 scents in Hummingbird Candle's library. You can opt for their regular class and leave with your own custom 80-hour burning candle, or you can opt for their special Galentine's Candle Making and Lip Gloss Bar on Friday, Feb. 9 at 7 PM with your bestie. The Valentine's experience includes a custom lip gloss, a 10 oz candle, a glamour shot Polaroid, and a free Valentine's Day gift bag. Whichever experience you choose, you're sure to leave with memories to last a lifetime! 

For the Ones Who Are Always Active:

• 24th Annual Valentine 5K & Kids Fun Run- Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024 2:00 PM. The annual Valentine Run 5K will begin at the Recreation Offices and go to Veterans Park via The Oaks Trail. You can enter as a two-person team or go solo. All participants, whether entered as an individual or on a team, are included in the Overall and Age Group awards. While the 5K is a great way to kick off Valentine’s Day week with your sweetheart, a family member, or a close friend, the best part is that 50% of all registration fees will be donated back to the Black Mountain Greenways & Trails Committee.
• Valentine's Baby Goat Yoga. Saturday, Feb. 10 & Sunday, Feb. 11 2024 at 10:30 AM. Whether you’re an experienced yogi, new to yoga, or just need some baby goats in your life, this playful experience is just as ridiculous and amazing as it sounds. You can expect to grin, giggle, move, and flow alongside the sweetest little socialites. Comfortable clothing and shoes are a must, and sleeved shirts are recommended. Namaaaaste! 

For the Pet Lovers: 

• 2024 Dates TBA Wagbar Singles Night. Saturday, Feb. 11 from 5:00-7:00 PM. Want to meet some new people in Asheville who also love dogs? Wagbar’s Singles Mixer is just the ticket. While no dogs are necessary to attend, it's certainly more fun with them. If you choose to bring your pup, please keep in mind that dogs 6 mo. + must have proof of vaccinations (bordetella, rabies, distemper) & must be spayed/neutered. There will be icebreaker games, great music, food and drink specials, and at the end of the night, you can jot down the names of people you’d like to see again. If you match, they’ll send you an email within 24 hours with each other’s contact info! On Valentine's Day, there will be a party with Valentine-themed trivia and wine specials, while later in the month on Saturday, Feb. 25 there
  
   will be a Dog Fashion Show where you can dress up your pup for a red-carpet photo booth. 
• You Had Me at MEOW: Speed-Dating for Cat Lovers. Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, from 6:00-7:00 PM. Hosted by the House of Black Cat Magic, this inclusive speed-dating event will take place in the cat lounge where you can mix & mingle with single cat lovers from all walks of life along with twelve adoptable housepanthers! The event will consist of multiple 3-minute mini-dates in which you'll be given a card with cat-related ice-breakers and topics for conversation. Even if you don't find a romantic spark, you're sure to meet other cat-loving people (and cats)! All proceeds from this event will be donated to Binx's Home for Black Cats.
• Blue Ridge Artisan's Valentine's Market- Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024, from 12:00-5:00 PM at Trailside Brewing Company in Hendersonville. Bring your pup along to this dog-friendly curated artisan market! There will be 15+ local artisans in the event space with everything from jewelry to baked goods to stained glass and more. Trailside Brewing sits alongside the Ecusta Trail Greenway, and their outdoor beer garden (complete with trail access, tables, chairs, and fire pits), is the perfect spot to hang out with your pup.

• RAD Pups- On February 11 from 1-4:00 PM at Wedge Brewing. They say you can’t buy love, but you can adopt it! Join Mountain Pet Rescue for a special Valentine's Dog Adoption Event at The Wedge Brewery (Foundation) to find your fur-ever valentine. These pups are sassy, single, and ready to mingle, and they’ve been saving their best sloppy wet kisses just for you!
• Tails & Ales at Hi-Wire (South Slope)- Sunday, Feb. 18 from 1-4 PM. It’s time to wag your tails and raise your ales! This paws-itively amazing event will have a pack of adorable, adoptable dogs ready to find their forever homes. And what goes better with furry friends than a cold, refreshing ale? 10% of daily proceeds will be generously donated back to Mountain Pet Rescue, so bring your furry friends, your best buds, and your thirst for a good time! 

For the Angsty Ones: 

• Super Emo Valentine's Weekend at Dissolvr- Saturday, Feb. 10-11, 2024. This epic emo weekend will feature DJ XZANEINSANEX, the Release of Emo Nightmare GF Sour, Swoopy Hair Photo Booth, one-time-only Emo long sleeve shirts, the return of L.G. FUAD Jello Shots, VIP Tour Badges, and more! Then the party continues, on Sunday with the BIG GAME playing in the taproom on their 65" TVs and 150" projector.
  
• My Bloody Valentine's Day Emo Prom- Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024, from 7:00-11:00 PM. Hosted at Hi-Wire Brewing's Event Space, it's an EMO PROM BABY! Bring Yourself, A Date, and Your Top 8! Line your eyes, find your studded belt, and dress up for a dance night of your favorite punk-pop songs from the early 2000s. DJ Don Magic will be spinning rock and pop-punk hits from the golden days of the late 90s and early 2000s. They'll have a free digital photo booth, beer and liquor specials, and food at the Rebel Burger Food Truck.
• 5th Annual Cupid is Stupid Car Smashing- Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, from 1:00-4:00 PM. Hosted by Hi-Wire Brewing in their Biltmore Village taproom parking lot, this adrenaline-pumping anti-Valentine's Day activity will have an aggressive, psychedelic, emo rock live soundtrack being played in the background. There will be an arsenal of bludgeoning devices available for you to choose from, and you can get 5 hits for $5 or 15 hits for $10.⁣⁣ Plus, this year "Hex Your Ex" by tossing your hex (or hexes perhaps?) into the flames during the event! No advance reservations. You must sign up in person the day of starting at noon at the check-in table outside the taproom. Time slots will be first come first served. Protective gear will be provided and sanitized between uses. 
• Axe Throwing at Axeville- Saturday and Sunday. Feb. 17 & 18, 2024. Ditch the fancy dinner for two, and instead, bring yourself and a group of friends to let off a little bit of steam towards those exes by throwing axes! Axeville locations are cool, inviting spaces where anyone can safely take part in the sport of axe throwing while enjoying some of the amazing local craft beers, ciders, and wine that Beer City, USA has to offer!
• Love, Romance, and Roaches- Appalachian Wildlife Refuge is bringing back their "Un-Valentine's Day" favorite: name a roach after your ex and watch it be eaten on 2/14. Make at least a $10 donation, and include the name of your ex (or anything you need to let go of or want to see gone). Then, they will name a roach in honor of your un-valentine, feed it to their hungry patients, and share the video with you! What a great way for a little #selfcare this Valentine’s Day. 

For the Music Lovers: 

• Zoe & Cloyd Valentine's Concert- Friday, Feb. 17, 2024 at 7:00 PM. Hosted by the Black Mountain Center for the Arts, Zoe & Cloyd's
  
  annual Valentine's Concert has been a tradition for over 10 years. The innovative “klezgrass” music of Zoe & Cloyd springs from the rich traditions and complementary styles of fiddler/vocalist Natalya Zoe Weinstein and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist John Cloyd Miller. This concert always sells out so make sure you get your tickets ahead of time!
• 90’s Prom (feat. Smashing Mouths & Borderline Band)-Friday, Feb. 16, 2024 at 8. Hosted by The Grey Eagle, this all-ages show encourages you to don your best/worst 90’s attire! Come relive (y)our glory days (or in some cases your parents’ glory days) with a 90’s THROWBACK PROM style dance party. Your favorite classics will be played by two live bands, Smashing Mouths & The Borderline Band!
• Asheville Symphony's Masterworks 4: Classical Romance-Saturday, Feb.17, 2024, at 8:00 P.M + Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024, at 3:00 P.M. Hosted at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts, this program will feature Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 which transcended the Classical era and inspired some of the great Romantics to come. It will be accompanied by a trumpet concerto from Hummel, one of Mozart’s contemporaries and pupils. With Haydn’s St. Nicholas Mass, the Asheville Symphony Chorus returns for another collaboration with the Asheville Symphony to round out this all-Classical program.

For the Ones Who Deserve to Relax:

• Galentine's Glam + Glow- Sunday, Feb. 22, 2024, from 6:00 PM–9 PM at The Restoration Asheville. Put on your PJs and get ready for your best Galentines yet! Think pink drinks, connection with friends, and complimentary spa stations galore. Come solo or with your BFF (making new friends is highly encouraged!) Expect face masks, massage, oracle readings, BFF photo booth pop-up, braid bar + fairy hair, and loads more! 
• Shoji Spa & Retreat- Asheville's Premier Japanese-inspired spa & Retreat offers massage pods, spa packages, and Salt Hydrotherapy
  
   Tubs for luxury. 
• Wake Foot Sanctuary- Specializing in thoughtfully formulated herbal soaks and rejuvenating foot massages to de-stress and re-energize, this relaxation sanctuary offers an expansive menu of customizable options to maximize your experience.
• Spa Theology- Located in the heart of downtown Asheville, this urban oasis is dedicated to creating the ultimate spa experience. With
   locally-inspired treatment offerings and talented local therapists, this all-in-one spa offers massage & body services, facials, waxes, nails, wellness soaks, and plenty of enhancements and add-ons to push your experience over the edge of relaxation.  
• Asheville Salt Cave- Boasting the title of Asheville's only salt cave, it is comprised of 20+ tons of pure pink salt from all corners of the earth and is anti-bacterial, uncontaminated by dirt, and free of toxins and pollutants. During your visit, enjoy a couple’s massage in the salt cave, relax in a zero gravity chair while ambient music plays to help you drift off into your meditation, or try out the in-house Hammam to steam, exfoliate, and detoxify. Inspired by ancient Turkish & Moroccan bathing traditions, the inside of their newly built steam room is adorned with vibrant colors, copper basins, and handcrafted tile mosaics! 
• Sauna House-Committed to enhancing bathing culture & social wellness, this unique bathhouse brings the ancient practice of communal bathing into the modern world to inspire connection and healing. Discover the mental and physical benefits of Hot/Cold/Relax Therapy and be a part of a collective community of humans looking to take care of themselves, their community, and the planet. 

Whether you’re planning to embrace the Valentine’s Day holiday with hearts-in-your-eyes over a romantic dinner for two, enjoy bottomless mimosas with your girls, or sweat it out with a 5K or yoga, Asheville has it all, and Greybeard offers plenty of themed getaway packages and add-ons through our Guest Services to make the trip extra special. Don’t delay in booking your dreamy romantic getaway for 2, a luxurious vacay with friends, or a serene solo trip with your pup today!

Roses are Red, 

Violets are Blue,

Valentine's Day is Better in Asheville

'Cause You Get A Mountain View. 

❤️