ASHEVILLE – The Asheville Orchid Festival will return in all its showy glory for 24th time March 27-29.

The festival, hosted by the Western North Carolina Orchid Society and the North Carolina Arboretum, will have an “Orchid Kingdom” theme this year, and will be an American Orchid Society sanctioned judging event.

Festivalgoers can expect to experience world-class orchid growers and breeders, regional orchid societies displays and hundreds of orchids presented in displays.

Orchids will be for sale from across the United States and Ecuador and will include rare species and cutting-edge hybrids.

“The Asheville Orchid Festival has been recognized as one of the best orchid shows in the country today,” Mike Mims, past president of the WNC Orchid Society said. “A huge orchid festival that is unlike any other orchid event in the region and lures the best of the best in the orchid industry to come to Asheville for a few days to engage and show off.”

WNC Orchid Society President Graham Ramsey, and his wife, artist Leslie Keller, each year create a theme for the festival.

Last year the two created the “House of Orchids” theme to transport visitors to another time, with a Victorian-inspired model greenhouse. 

“Usually we arrive at a theme, believe it or not, when we’re out hiking. We try to think of a theme that we can also come up with a neat display to match,” Ramsey previously told the Citizen Times.

In 2023, for the “Orchid Express” theme, Ramsey and Keller created a 24-foot-train that functioned as an eye-catching display for many orchids featured by the festival.

Elina Aarnisalo had 21 points, Lanie Grant scored 20, and North Carolina used a strong fourth quarter to beat Maryland 74-66 on Sunday and reach the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row.

Nyla Harris had 14 points and eight rebounds and Indya Nivar added 11 points to help the fourth-seeded Tar Heels (28-7) advance in the Fort Worth 1 Regional later in the week. They will play the winner of No. 1 UConn vs. No. 9 Syracuse.

“We just had to stay aggressive,” North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart said. “But you don’t go this long into the season and not trust your (players). These are close games. We know they’re going to be. We’re prepared for it. I trust them.”

Oluchi Okananwa, who helped eliminate North Carolina last March in the Sweet 16 when she played for Duke, scored 21 points for No. 5 seed Maryland (24-9). Addi Mack had 13 points and Mir McLean had 12 points and 14 rebounds. The Terrapins couldn’t overcome 3-for-23 shooting on 3-pointers.

“I felt like it was there for the taking for us,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. “We didn’t manage enough plays to take it.”

After briefly falling behind, the Tar Heels used a 13-4 run, sparked by six points from Nivar, early in the fourth quarter for a 63-56 lead.

“They gave us a good run, and we kind of just did a good job of absorbing that and not panicking, not trying to do too much, not getting away from the game plan,” Grant said.

Maryland pulled within three in the final two minutes, but freshman Nyla Brooks drained a 3-pointer from in front of the North Carolina bench.

“Nyla Brooks has been shooting those 3s all season,” Aarnisalo said. “She’s not afraid to take any shots.”

The Terrapins failed to convert as part of 30.6% shooting in the second half.

“We had a lot of uncharacteristic missed shots in this game,” Frese said.

North Carolina took a 42-33 halftime lead, shooting 56.7% in the half.

Nivar picked up her fourth foul with 7:06 left in the third quarter. Maryland was even at 50-50 by the final minute of the quarter.

North Carolina has reached the Sweet 16 in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2014 and 2015.

Board work

Maryland was relentless on the boards, tracking down 21 offensive rebounds. Eventually, Banghart was hoping some of those shots would just go in.

“I got to the point where I was praying Oluchi would make her free throws because I didn’t want to have to rebound it,” Banghart said.

The Terrapins scored 21 second-chance points.

Needing more assists

Maryland’s three assists were its fewest this season and lowest total in an NCAA Tournament game.

The 66 points marked the third-lowest total of the season for Maryland, which entered averaging 82.8.

Up next

The Tar Heels advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 20th time.

March Madness continues today with the second round of the women’s NCAA tournament. Up next: No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 5 Maryland. The game tips off at 12 p.m. ET today, airing on ESPN. For a complete breakdown of key dates and how to watch every March Madness game, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a look at how to watch the entire tournament from today’s second round to the Championship Final.

How to watch North Carolina vs. Maryland at the women’s March Madness tournament:

Date: Sunday, March 22, 2026

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Time: 12 p.m. ET

TV channel: ESPN

Streaming: ESPN Unlimited, Fubo, DirecTV and more

North Carolina vs. Maryland game time:

The North Carolina vs. Maryland second-round basketball game is on Sunday, March 22. Tipoff is at 12 p.m. ET.

Where to watch the North Carolina vs. Maryland game:

The North Carolina vs. Maryland March Madness game will air on ESPN.

Where to stream March Madness games without cable:

Every game of the 2026 women’s March Madness Tournament will stream on ESPN Unlimited. You’ll also be able to access every game on live TV services like Sling, Fubo, and DirecTV.

ESPN’s streaming platform offers thousands of exclusive live events, original studio shows and acclaimed series that air across ESPN’s suite of seven linear channels, as well as exclusive content on ESPN+, ABC on ESPN, SEC+, ACCNX and more. The new tier costs $29.99/month or $299.99/year. 

ESPN Select allows subscribers to access exclusive content only available on the app, and an extensive archive of on-demand content (including the entire 30 For 30 library, select ESPN Films, game replays and more). Whether you purchase a standalone plan, add-on or Disney bundle plan, the service provides access to thousands of sports events for $12.99/month or $129.99/year.

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Sling TV’s Day Pass gives consumers the freedom to watch what they want, when they want, without committing to a monthly streaming subscription. Sign up for a single day ($4.99), a weekend ($9.99), or a full week ($14.99) and watch every channel available through Sling Orange, which includes ESPN and ESPN2, and over 30 more channels. No strings attached.

Want to catch a specific sporting event like the women’s March Madness tournament that’s spread across additional channels that Sling Orange doesn’t typically carry? You can customize your channel lineup with a Sports Extra add-on to get additional coverage of ESPNU and more for just a dollar more.

2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament game schedule

All times Eastern.

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Second round:

Sunday, March 22
No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 5 Maryland: 12 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 7 NC State: 1 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 4 Minnesota vs. No. 5 Ole Miss: 2 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 2 LSU vs. No. 7 Texas Tech: 3 p.m. (ABC)
No. 3 Duke vs. No. 6 Baylor: 4 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 1 Texas vs. No. 8 Oregon: 6 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 5 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Oklahoma: 8 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 3 TCU vs. No. 6 Washington: 10 p.m. (ESPN)

2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament schedule:

The schedule and locations for the women’s tournament:

• Selection Sunday: 8 p.m. ET Sunday, March 15 on ESPN

• Second round: March 22-23

• Sweet 16: March 27-28 in Fort Worth, TX and Sacramento, CA

• Elite Eight: March 29-30 in Fort Worth, TX and Sacramento, CA

• Final Four: Friday, April 3, Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, AZ

• NCAA championship game: Sunday, April 5, Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, AZ