Hosted at The Orange Peel in downtown Asheville, the Connect Beyond Festival is a 3-day weekend event featuring groundbreaking music, film, art, panels, and engaging conversations to promote community connection and positive social change.
2026 Schedule:
Friday, May 29, 2026
- 4 pm - Doors Open, The Community Garden opens
- 4:30 pm - Youth Envision Asheville (YEAVL) Art Introduction
- 5-6 pm - The Community Garden Creators Conversation
- 6 pm - Dinner Break
- 7 pm - Shared Roots: Songs & Stories in the Round, featuring Mary Gauthier, Marisa Blake, and Shana Tucker, with music journalist Marcus K. Dowling
Saturday, May 30, 2026
- 10 am - Doors, The Community Garden opens
- 11 am-12 pm - Fireside Chat with organizer, strategist, and 22nd Century Initiative co-founder Scot Nakagawa
- 1-2:30 pm - Modern Biology - music with plants and mushrooms bringing together art and ecology
- 3 pm - SPEAK. - award-winning documentary screening
- 4:45 pm - SPEAK. Q&A with filmmakers Guy Mossman and cast member Sam Schaefer
- 5:30-6:30 pm - Dinner Break - VENUE CLOSED FOR SOUND CHECK
- 7 pm - Oakland Rising - performances by August Lee Stephens, B. DeVeaux, and NAIMA
Sunday, May 31, 2026
- 1 pm - Doors open, The Community Garden opens
- 1:30 pm - From Concept to Creation: The Game Design Process. This interactive workshop explores how creative ideas evolve into fully realized games.
- 3 pm - Spring in Altamont: See a vignette from Rebecca Hecht’s new play, Welcome to Altamont, in collaboration with Street Creature Puppet Collective
- 3:30 pm - StoryLab: Build the World You Want. What if you could write the headlines of the future? StoryLab is an immersive creative space where ideas turn into stories—and stories shape the future.
- 5:30 pm - Festival Wind Down