Featured
Asheville's Eccentric Personality Is Unlike Any Other City
Asheville has a way of surprising even the most well-traveled folks. Maybe it’s the quirky guy juggling bowling pins on the street downtown next to a band of musical hippies who spontaneously gather for an impromptu drumming session. Or maybe you’re strolling down Patton Avenue (a hub for Asheville’s many street performers) and find yourself doing a double-take as a stilt walker passes you on the sidewalk. The truth is, Asheville’s culture is so refreshingly unusual, you... Read More »
Orange Peel Named One of Best Live Venues in U.S.
Whether it’s a sold-out Bob Dylan show, a rock opera or an up-and-coming local band, The Orange Peel Social Aid... Read More »
Asheville's River Arts District is Cresting With Success
Throughout its history, Asheville’s riverfront has seen an economic ebb and flow of abundance and hardship along the waters of the city’s French Broad River.
Today, abundance is flowing again, as a riverfront renaissance is riding a crest in Asheville’s flourishing and eclectic River Arts District (RAD).
Setting the Stage
It started in 1985 with Brian and Gail McCarthy’s Highwater Clays, the first arts-based business, followed by Porge and Lewis Buck, who in 1987... Read More »
Orange Peel, Moogfest and The Grey Eagle Highlight Asheville's Music Scene
Music rocks the city of Asheville with the coming of Moogfest, the three-day, multivenue event where artists, audiences and energy coexist in harmony. But the music remains long after the curtains close on Moogfest's final act. Creatively Contagious Thanks in part to an art-conscious culture, Asheville has grown a music scene to rival cities twice its size, and its creativity is proving contagious. “Asheville attracts an active, arts-going crowd which has been extremely receptive... Read More »
Unique Festivals Give Asheville Flair
Asheville's creativity and offbeat spirit doesn't stop with its dining, shopping and music scene. The city also offers any number of festivals and events – some of which are so unique they defy categorization.ActionFest New in spring 2010 was the inaugural edition of ActionFest, the world’s first film festival for action films and those who make action cinema possible, from filmmakers to stuntmen and fight choreographers.ActionFest, held at at The Carolina Asheville theater,... Read More »
Discover Asheville's Biltmore, America's Largest Home
Asheville's famous Biltmore is many things: a National Historic Landmark, America's largest home, a renowned winery, a world-class luxury inn and even more.
Completed in 1895, George Vanderbilt's 250-room French château is a real life wonder. Biltmore House took six years and 1,000 men to build. It has more than 11 million bricks, 250 rooms, 65 fireplaces, 43 bathrooms, 34 bedrooms, and three kitchens stretching over four acres of floor space. A stone spiral staircase that rises four floors... Read More »
Music Pioneer Bob Moog's Legacy Lives On in Asheville
Sound pioneer Bob Moog revolutionized popular music in 1964 when he invented the Moog synthesizer. A slate of rock's most influential bands — including the The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Beach Boys Stevie Wonder, Pink Floyd and Parliament & Funkadelic — used Moog's invention to create new sounds and push rock music in new directions. Today, the Moog (rhymes with "vogue") influence lives on as a new wave of innovative artists like Daft Punk, MGMT,... Read More »
Asheville's Earned a Reputation for the Arts
Asheville's status as a heavyweight in the arts scene is certainly well-deserved. Its cultural prowess extends to all areas of the art spectrum, whether it be galleries, museums or public displays. Case in point: the Asheville drum circle. Every Friday night the city puts on a drum circle in downtown’s Pritchard Park. Lots of people come – some drum, some dance. It’s been going on since 2001, and has become iconic in celebrating the city's eclectic art scene. More traditional... Read More »
Asheville's Festival of Flowers
Witness spring in full bloom at the Biltmore's annual Festival of Flowers. The festival spans 13 days each summer and showcases the best of what the Biltmore has to offer, from its sprawling gardens to the newly opened Antler Hill Village, where visitors can shop, dine or tour the winery. Activities around the house and garden include classical music performances, an “Ask a Gardner” presentation and daily seminars at A Gardener's Place. Guests are also invited to visit... Read More »
Street Performers Add a Vibrancy to Downtown Asheville
There is something always happening in downtown Asheville – including street performers.
Artists and street musicians blend with tourists and locals on a regular basis to bring an interesting vibe to the city’s streets. One of the main intersections to see all of the action is at Biltmore and Patton Avenue, in the vicinity of the Zebulon Vance Monument.
And you never know what you might see – could be a juggler, fiddler or stilt walker. Read More »
Asheville's Expansive Musical Menu has Something for Everyone
Asheville‚ with its busy local nightclub scene‚ could be mistaken for Music City.
The expanding musical menu not only embraces traditional bluegrass‚ but also jazz‚ Celtic melodies‚ Indie rock and international ryhthms.
At Jack of the Wood‚ a cozy Celtic pub downtown‚ locals and visitors gather around the black walnut bar or at long tavern tables to sip pints of ale and listen to local musicians play Irish reels. Although the Celtic influence is strong here‚ listeners can hear music from a... Read More »
Asheville's Independent Bookstores Promote Lively Literary Scene
A nexus of creativity of all types, Asheville’s environs have inspired literary works that are read the world over. Famous authors past and present have called Asheville home, from O. Henry and Thomas Wolfe to Wilma Dykeman and Gail Godwin. And bookish types find the city a haven of literary riches that include independent bookstores, a thriving library system, book clubs and events such as poetry readings, writers’ workshops and author appearances.
Malaprops Bookstore/Café has been... Read More »
