AVL Biz Weekly — Aug 19–25: New Orleans Takes Over Pack Square, a Film Festival Fills the Masonic Temple, and a Roller Derby Songwriter Showcase Closes the Week

Welcome to AVL BIZ Weekly—your local cheat sheet for what’s happening in Asheville’s small business + creative scenes.

Each week: hand-picked events, marketing ideas that actually work, and a little local flavor to keep things fun.

My name's Jason and I'm writing this (connect with me here).

Hey friends,

Business-wise, Wednesday opens with a free culture workshop in Flat Rock, and at the same hour I'm hosting Founder's Lunch at Post 25 in Arden, no pitches, no business card exchange, just honest talk about what's working and what isn't. Thursday's Aging Resources of WNC Expo pulls local vendors and services into Blue Ridge Mall. Next Tuesday closes the window with three options landing the same day: the side hustle class mentioned above, a full-day digital navigator training in Asheville, and the opening day of a three-day regional summit at Biltmore.

Friday's the busiest single day on the calendar. A volunteer morning at the Edible Park kicks off before 9am (bring gloves, and coffee, mostly coffee), and by evening you'll need to pick a lane between festivals. Shindig on the Green closes out Saturday with its usual free bluegrass and clogging, same as it's done for decades.

Marketing Quickies this week is about the missed call that quietly cost you a job.

Let's get into it.

📋 On Deck

• 🗓️ Our own Founder's Lunch, Aging Resources Expo, and a homestead-to-side-hustle class headline Business Events

• 🎉 New Orleans Night at Pack Square, Hazy Hideaway's Phantogram/Toro y Moi bill, and the Asheville Film Festival anchor Fun Stuff

• 💡 Marketing Quickies tackles the missed call that quietly cost you a job

• 🎧 Bands on the Horizon runs from Golden Folk Sessions to a literal roller derby songwriter showcase

🙋 Want your biz featured in front of a few really smart AVL business owners? Email me for details

❓ Question of the Week

If you could turn one thing you already grow, make, or fix into a side hustle, what would it be? Reply and tell me.

🗓️ Business Events

• 🗓️ Founder's Lunch: Not Your Average Business Owners Group — Wed, Aug 19 · 12–1:30pm (Post 25 Kitchen & Lounge, Arden)
  Jason De Los Santos (the guy writing this) hosts a no-pitch lunch built around honest talk on what's working and what isn't. Buy your own lunch, RSVP so we know how much table to reserve.

• 🗓️ Lunch & Learn: Culture – Your Competitive Advantage — Wed, Aug 19 · 11:30am–1pm (BRCC Flat Rock TEDC, Flat Rock)
  Free 90-minute working session on building company culture on purpose, before it turns into whatever happens by accident.

• 🗓️ Aging Resources of WNC Expo — Thu, Aug 20 · 10am–2pm (Blue Ridge Mall, Hendersonville)
  Free community and vendor expo connecting local businesses and services with the region's senior population.

• 🗓️ Homestead to Side Hustle — Tue, Aug 25 · 12–1:30pm (N.C. Cooperative Extension – Madison County Center, Marshall)
  Practical class on turning what you already grow, raise, or make into real income — pricing, local buyers, basic regulations, lunch included.

• 🗓️ Digital Navigator Training — Tue, Aug 25 · 9am–4:30pm (Land-Of-Sky Regional Council, Asheville)
  Full-day training on teaching basic digital literacy in your community. Free, lunch provided, no tech background required.

• 🗓️ Blue Ridge Rising Two-State Summit III — starts Tue, Aug 25 (Biltmore, Asheville)
  Multi-day regional summit connecting entrepreneurs, investors, and economic development leaders across NC and SC. Opening day falls in this window, the rest runs into the following week.

Hosting something cool?

📬 Hit reply and tell me what you think. Or share an event!

💡 Marketing Quickies

This week's theme: the missed call that quietly cost you a job.

The math on a missed call
67% of customers go to a competitor after a call goes unanswered with no follow-up. If a customer calls Kimi at Allied Home Inspection and it rings out, they've probably already found the next inspector on Google before Kimi even sees the missed call notification. This is exactly what the Show Up and Follow Up System's Auto Call Text Back feature is built to catch.

Respond inside the hour
Leads contacted within an hour are 7x more likely to actually book. A roofer who texts back "Sorry I missed you, what's going on with the roof?" within ten minutes looks like a different level of professional than one who calls back next Tuesday. The system texts back the second the call drops, whether you're up a ladder or not.

Turn the missed call into a text conversation
A missed call doesn't have to stay missed. An automatic text that says "Hey, we just missed your call, what can we help with?" turns a dead end into an open conversation. For a bookkeeper like Sara at Ledger & Light, that's the difference between a lead who ghosts and one who texts back their situation right there.

🎉 Fun Stuff Around AVL

• 🗓️ Downtown After 5: New Orleans Night — Fri, Aug 21 · 5–10pm (Pack Square Park, Asheville)
  Free outdoor concert brings Mardi Gras energy downtown, headlined by J & The Causeways with Bayou Diesel and Asheville Second Line.

• 🗓️ Dr. George Washington Carver Edible Park Workday — Fri, Aug 21 · 9–11:30am (Edible Park, Asheville)
  Volunteer morning with Bountiful Cities pulling weeds and harvesting from the park's 40-plus species of fruit and nut trees. Free, all skill levels welcome. (link needs confirming — see Editor Notes)

• 🗓️ The Hazy Hideaway Music + Arts Festival — Fri–Sat, Aug 21–22 (Sierra Nevada, Mills River)
  Two-day music and arts festival on Sierra Nevada's lawn, headlined by Phantogram and Toro y Moi. Beer garden, art vendors, the whole outdoor-festival package. 21+.

• 🗓️ Asheville Film Festival — Fri–Sun, Aug 21–23 (Masonic Temple, Asheville)
  Three-day independent film festival with features, shorts, and filmmaker Q&As, capped by Saturday's Awards Night Gala.

• 🗓️ Shindig on the Green — Sat, Aug 22 · Evening (Pack Square Park, Asheville)
  Free outdoor bluegrass, old-time music, and clogging in the heart of downtown. Bring a blanket and claim your patch of grass early.

🎧 Bands on the Horizon

• Matt Smith's Well-Crafted Music Series w/ Michael Libramento — Wed, Aug 19 · 6pm @ Highland Brewing (Meadow)

• Golden Folk Sessions — Wed, Aug 19 · 7pm @ Grey Eagle

• GoodGoat — Wed, Aug 19 · 10pm @ The One Stop

• Wrealist w/ The Up and Up — Thu, Aug 20 · 9pm @ The One Stop

• Buckcherry w/ Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown — Thu, Aug 20 @ The Orange Peel

• For the Love of Levon & Lowell: Music of The Band & Little Feat — Fri, Aug 21 · 7pm @ Highland Brewing (Meadow)

• Carson Peters and Iron Mountain — Fri, Aug 21 · 8pm @ Grey Eagle

• The Wood Brothers w/ Ric Robertson — Fri, Aug 21 @ The Orange Peel

• Brain Emoji — Fri, Aug 21 · 10pm @ The One Stop

• Kyle Tuttle: Brew Ridge Jam After — Fri, Aug 21 · 10:30pm @ Asheville Music Hall

• Pleasure Chest — Sat, Aug 22 · 7pm @ Highland Brewing (Meadow)

• The Wood Brothers w/ Ric Robertson — Sat, Aug 22 @ The Orange Peel

• 54 Bicycles: A Widespread Panic Preservation — Sat, Aug 22 · 8pm @ Grey Eagle

• DEBÍ TIRAR MÁS FIESTAS — Sat, Aug 22 · 9pm @ Asheville Music Hall

• Meschiya Lake and the Moodswingers — Sun, Aug 23 · 2pm @ Highland Brewing (Meadow)

• Jazz Sunday w/ Jason DeCristofaro — Sun, Aug 23 · 2:30pm @ Ginger's Revenge

• PATIO SHOW: Oliver Sayani — Sun, Aug 23 · 5:30pm @ Grey Eagle Patio Stage

• Writers Round — Sun, Aug 23 · 7pm @ Grey Eagle

• PATIO SHOW: Woody Wood & Abe Reid of The Blue Rags — Mon, Aug 24 · 6pm @ Grey Eagle Patio Stage

• Songwriters Roller Derby Showcase — Tue, Aug 25 · 7pm @ Grey Eagle

Want your biz in front of a few really smart AVL business owners? Reply with what you're up to and we'll see if it's a fit.

Until next week,

Jason De Los Santos
Pixelated Stories Digital Marketing
(828) 585-4293