Pritchard Park Arts and Culture Series

organized by the Asheville Downtown Association

Drop in to trace and watercolor paint pigeons! In this self guided activity, we will practice working in light layers to create a lifelike portrait and appreciate urban nature.

Join Dayna Walton of Solstice Handmade for a drawing workshop to dive into drawing fungi with pen and ink. We will cover some foundational techniques using both a brush pen and fine tipped pen, learning from practice exercises first. We will focus on accurately drawing the forms of different fungi families, as well as mark making techniques to capture lifelike values and textures. Then we will look to the work of Natural Science Illustrators for inspiration and apply our new skills to create a finished drawing, working from collected mushroom specimens! This class is open to any skill level, beginners are welcome All the supplies you’ll need are included. You’ll even get to take home 2 pens to continue drawing with!

Pritchard Park Arts and Culture Series

organized by the Asheville Downtown Association

Drop in to trace and watercolor paint pigeons! In this self guided activity, we will practice working in light layers to create a lifelike portrait and appreciate urban nature.

JOIN the Fun! Contest Information Here!

A shared love for one of Appalachia’s most iconic crops — tomatoes, and a desire to bring a new, fun and family-friendly event to Downtown Canton, led to a collaboration between the Canton Merchant Partnership and Mill Town Farmers Market and the result is Haywood Grows Farm Fest and ‘Mater Mayhem 2026!

We hope you’ll join us Saturday August 1st, 2026 beginning at 10 am at Sorrells Park, Downtown Canton NC, for day sure to be filled with lots of big smiles, great music, games and contests, and ‘mater sandwiches! Check out our schedule here.

And if you think you make the best tomato pie, or you’ve got a talent for eating spaghetti that makes your grandma proud, you might want to consider entering one of our many fun contests. You can check them out here!

The kids will love the games, bouncy houses, petting zoo, and Cool Cucumber sensory tent! We’ll have a Little Miss Tomato and Little Mister Tomato contest with winners riding in the Labor Day Parade. And Professor Whiz Pop will be joining us with his amazing balloon twisting talent!

All this plus live music featuring Jon Shain with FJ Ventre and Angela Easterling and her band, a “Tomato” art show, local vendor village, and so much more. We can’t wait!

Celebrate my new mural with me! I will also be teaching a free workshop, and my work will be for sale at the Ginkgo Market

save the date

Join Dayna Walton of Solstice Handmade to learn watercolor methods to capture the many colors and forms of spring petals. We will start with a brief technique warmup, practicing value, stroke, and blending. Then we will dive into color mixing, practicing creating vivid shades found in spring blooms from just 3 primary colors. For the last half of class, students will paint provided wildflowers from life, practicing sketching flower forms, color matching hues, and lifelike values. While we paint, we will learn how to identify common spring wildflowers currently blooming at the arboretum. This workshop is suitable for painters of all experience levels, all supplies will be provided for use during class.

Calling all garden lovers! Join us on Friday and Saturday, May 29 and 30 for our Spring Plant Sale and Market! The Market features unique plants grown in The North Carolina Arboretum’s Production Greenhouse and includes over 30 local growers and businesses.

Shop an outstanding collection of annuals, perennials and crafts to the sounds of live music!

The Arboretum’s standard $20 parking fee applies for all non-members.

Calling all garden lovers! Join us on Friday and Saturday, May 29 and 30 for our Spring Plant Sale and Market! The Market features unique plants grown in The North Carolina Arboretum’s Production Greenhouse and includes over 30 local growers and businesses.

Shop an outstanding collection of annuals, perennials and crafts to the sounds of live music!

The Arboretum’s standard $20 parking fee applies for all non-members.

Kick off the spring season with us May 9th – The Whole Bloomin’ Thing Spring Festival! Enjoy local growers and artisans, featuring a large selection of plants, handmade goods, and garden-inspired products. 

Dance down the block to live music and entertainment, explore Frog Level shops, sip on fresh brewed coffee, cheers a friend with a craft beer and dine on delicious food all at The Whole Bloomin’ Thing Spring Festival!

Join Dayna Walton of Solstice Handmade for a workshop exploring sketching nature from life using colored ballpoint pens. Portable and vivid, pen sketching is great for those interested in drawing on the trail. We will cover foundational techniques such as color theory, mark making, creating textures, and planning compositions, then head outdoors to practice our new skills.

This class is open to any experience level, and all the supplies you’ll need are included.

This program will take place outside and will follow easy trails and paved walkways. Dress for the weather and prepare to be outside for the entire program time.