Twenty years of
Art in Bloom
2006-2026
June 18-21, 2026
Gallery Exhibits, Live Floral Arrangements, Local Garden Tour, Plein Air Artists, and more!
Art in Bloom 2026 is the Black Mountain Center for the Arts' most anticipated annual event, celebrating the union of art and nature for the past twenty years. This year, immerse yourself in a vibrant experience with two gallery exhibits, live floral arrangements, and a local garden tour featuring working artists. By participating in Art in Bloom 2026, you are not only celebrating creativity but also supporting community art programs. Don't miss this opportunity to be a part of our biggest fundraiser of the year, making a difference through art and nature.
generously sponsored by
AN Artful Journey
Exploring the Best Art Exhibitions of 2026
led by Julianna Caro
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Fridays, 10:30am-12pm
Tuition: $25 per lecture
(refreshments included)
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Join us for an artful journey to the world’s most exciting art centers: Boston, Denver, London, New York and Charlotte to virtually tour this year’s best museum exhibitions. Each artful journey will begin with a delightful morning drink and snack followed by an inspiring lecture and discussion with art historian and curator Julianna Caro. Together we will enjoy time to visit, connect and learn about current shows featuring artists such as Allan Crite, Camille Passaro, Raphael, Carvaggio, Turner and Constable.
January 30th: Allan Rohan Crite: Urban Glory at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
March 27th: The Honest Eye: Camille Pissarro’s Impressionism at the Denver Art Museum
April 24th: Raphael: Sublime Poetry and Caravaggio: Revolution
May 22nd: Turner and Constable at Tate Britain, London
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Julianna Caro is an art historian, curator, museum educator, and a passionate advocate for wellness and transformative life experiences. Formally an art history professor and Chair of the Art Department at Warren Wilson College, she is the Head of Learning and Engagement at the Asheville Art Museum. Caro has curated exhibitions at the Black Mountain College Museum, the Center for Craft, and the North Carolina Museum of Art. Her popular Friday morning lecture series, An Artful Journey, pairs engaging art history lectures with gourmet refreshments and time to socialize. With her company, The Artisan Tour by Julianna, she leads week-long excursions to Italy and local art and food tours. For more about Julianna, visit www.theartisantour.com.
Save Me the Waltz
An Evening of Zelda Fitzgerald With Storyteller Melody Sufia and Cafe String Quartet
Saturday, June 6th • 7:30pm
Tickets $25 in advance, $28 at the door
Join us for Save Me the Waltz at BMCA on June 6 at 7:30 to immerse yourself in the dazzling world of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald. Experience the feminine energies of a woman who painted, danced, and wrote. This performance honors Zelda’s brilliance and resilience, tracing her rise as the original socialite of the Roaring Twenties and her struggles with misdiagnosis and confinement. Celebrate the woman who inspired a generation as she fought to be heard—stylish, impulsive, and unforgettable. Rediscover the wild, beautiful spirit who was both lover and legend. Listen to Zelda and Scott’s story, interwoven with classical and period compositions performed by the renown Cafe’ String Quartet, weaving together art and history—love ablaze, art untamed, echoing Jazz Age dreams. Don’t miss this magical event!
Mosaic Mushrooms
led by Michelle Bettencourt
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Saturday, June 13th • 1-5pm
and
Sunday, June 14th • 1-4pm
Tuition $100 (supplies included)
$5 off for BMCA Members
Ages 12+
Whether you have dabbled in mosaics before or are completely new, this class will support you in the creation of 2 unique concrete mosaic mushrooms with a hand cut wooden stake. In the first session, you will learn the basics of mosaic design, select and cut/break your ceramic pieces and adhere them to both of your concrete mushrooms. In the second session, you will learn how to grout your pieces and will have a number of colors of grout to choose from. After just two sessions you will leave with two whimsical mosaic mushrooms for outdoor use and the knowledge to make mosaics on a number of substrates. See my general guidelines and links for mosaics here.
Reasonably Prices Babies Present
A Little Summertime Show
Saturday, June 13th • 7:30pm
Tickets $20
On Saturday, June 13 at 7:30, the Reasonably Priced Babies will storm the Black Mountain Center for the Arts to prove that while babies are expensive, high-quality improv is a total steal. This award-winning troupe—featuring local legends Tom Chalmers, Mondy Carter, Karen Stobbe, Josh Batenhorst and Kim Richardson—specializes in transforming your wildest audience suggestions into technicolor scenes and spontaneous comic situations before your very eyes. Don’t miss your chance to witness WNC’s masters of comedy improv; just remember that while the Babies are reasonably priced, the laughs they provide are entirely priceless.
An Artful Journey:
The Garden Edition
led by Julianna Caro
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Friday, June 26th • 10:30am-12pm
Tuition $25 (refreshments included)
Since antiquity, the garden has been more than a collection of plants; it is a mirror of our philosophy, power, and longing for paradise. Join Julianna Caro for an illustrated journey across centuries of landscape design. We begin in the architectural villas of Rome, where order reigned supreme, and move through the Renaissance and Baroque eras, where gardens became grand theaters of geometry and prestige. We will then explore the "Green Revolution" of the British Landscape Movement, which traded straight lines for rolling hills and romantic vistas. Finally, we’ll look at how these European traditions crossed the Atlantic to shape the American identity—from rural cemeteries to the democratic vision of Central Park and the sprawling majesty of the Biltmore Estate.
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Our garden journey will be accompanied by coffee, tea, and pastries.
The Rhythm Twisters
in Concert
Thursday, July 2nd • 7:30pm
Tickets $25
The Rhythm Twisters, featuring talented musicians Don Stiernberg, Evan Price, Greg Ruby and Kevin Kehrberg, return to BMCA! Performing on Thursday, July 2 at 7:30, the Rhythm Twisters weave together Hot Club Jazz , mando-bop and old school swing – all on an acoustic guitar, mandolin, violin and upright bass. These four talented musicians have collaborated every summer while in residency as teaching staff at the Swannanoa Gathering’s Fiddle and Mandolin week. In 2025 they brought their improvisational collectivity to BMCA for a magic night of music. Last year’s concert was a sell out, so get your tickets for this dynamic jazz quartet before it’s too late!
Tony McManus
in Concert
Thursday, July 16th • 7:30pm
Tickets $25
Join us for an amazing evening of guitar wizardry as BMCA welcomes the legendary Tony McManus on Thursday, July 16, at 7:30 pm. Hailed as the "best Celtic guitarist in the world", McManus is renowned for his uncanny ability to transpose the intricate ornamentation of fiddles and bagpipes onto the acoustic guitar. Audience members will experience a masterclass in fingerstyle performance that seamlessly bridges the gap between traditional Scottish roots, classical elegance, and contemporary jazz. This intimate performance in our Gale Jackson Theatre offers a rare opportunity to see one of Guitar Player Magazine's "50 Transcendent Guitarists" in the heart of Black Mountain. Tickets are available now for just $25, so be sure to reserve your seat for a night of world-class musicianship. Says famed guitarist Tommy Emmanuel, “Tony’s music is beyond beautiful, it's perfect."