Downtown Asheville Blog

July 9th, 2010 Featuring BBQ ribs, chicken and pulled pork prepared by world class, award winning bbq rib vendors from around the country. A full line up of top name musical entertainment will perform each day. Enjoy the full carnival with adult and children’s rides and games as well as arts and crafts and commercial exhibits. Saturday has a Bike Show and Sunday has the Custom and Classic Car Show. Food & Fun for the whole family. The Carolina Ribfest is a featured event in Southern Living magazine’s “Big Book of Barbecue”.

July 9th, 2010  Dateline- Anytown,USA. Time-4:30 am. We find our heroes back at any random hotel in any random city -they all run together for a group of entertainers that average 200 shows and 60,000 miles a year on the road. Notquiteaxl [Chad Atkins] has disappeared -in true GNR fashion. Notquiteduff and Notquiteslash are nursing a bottle of Jager in preparation for the next day’s hangover. Notquiteizzy riffs out on the hotel room couch to Notquiteadler’s [Mike Ropelewski] drum patterns played on phonebooks and cityguides. Appetite For Destruction, the ultimate tribute to Guns N’ Roses, has lived this lifestyle since its inception in 2000. The current incarnation of the band (together since 2006) is still based around Chad Atkins’ amazing voice. AFD travels the country delivering the most authentic tribute to Guns N’ Roses, circa 1987-1993, most will ever see. Material is drawn from Appetite for Destruction through Use Your Illusion 1and 2, including Lies, and The Spaghetti Incident? with stage banter derived from a variety of live shows and videos. Appetite For Destruction plays all the favorites – Sweet Child o’ Mine, Paradise City, Patience and many, many more. In venues large and small, Appetite For Destruction has played to rave reviews for aural and visual authenticity. And they will continue until they have brought their rock and roll circus to every corner of the United States. Orange Peel

July 11th, 2010 Join us this summer for a Storytelling Retreat & Adventure – 7 days of practice and performance, day-trips and discovery. It is an in-depth storytelling and story-listening workshop, designed for all levels of expertise; from beginner to experienced teller. We will work on finding, developing, learning, and polishing stories in a supportive and encouraging atmosphere. Delving deeply into story, we will focus on integrating the voice with images, gestures and emotion. Also included are companion listening, Tai Chi, and individual feedback sessions; and all the while, paying attention to and nurturing our creativity. There will be free time to work on our stories, relax, or explore Asheville. During the week, we will journey to the Hicks home – the birthplace of Ray Hicks who was the patriarch of Southern Traditional Storytelling. Along the way we’ll see breathtaking views and waterfalls on the Blue Ridge Parkway and stop for lunch at a funky general store. We will spend the afternoon with Ray’s widow Rosa and their son Ted, who open their home and hearts to us. During our time there, we’ll hear traditional stories and ballads and enjoy Rosa’s field of dahlias in full bloom. We will also visit Ray’s final resting place and arrive back in Asheville as the sun is setting. This full week of story work and story adventure prepares us for a performance opportunity on Friday evening for invited guests, family and friends. Saturday will be an occasion for feedback and critiquing Friday evening’s performance and reviewing the week. And then a closing ritual on Saturday afternoon before we say our good-byes.

May 21, 2010 The North Carolina Arboretum’s Baker Exhibit Center will host Balance and Beauty: A Visual Celebration of Rural Life, an exhibit featuring work by Tennessee artist Margaret Scanlan, who has been painting color fields for more than 35 years. Scanlan’s focus on the quiet beauty of the pastoral rural landscape is just one reason why the Arboretum chose to host the exhibit. The North Carolina Arboretum is a natural treasure that cultivates connections between people and plants, and Scanlan’s work entices viewers to have a personal relationship to the rural scenes. Personal connections with nature resonate throughout the Arboretum’s exhibits, programs, and research. Visitors to the Baker Exhibit Center Greenhouse will have a chance to learn about color in a unique living exhibit planned in conjunction with Balance and Beauty. Living Color: A Color Study Illustrated with Plants will feature a color wheel created out of flowering plants and provide opportunities to study color theory through plant combination vignettes.

May 21, 2010 Downtown after 5 Now in it’s 22nd year, come on downtown for the best festival around. The event series kicks off in May with headliner StephaniesID and opener Jennie Arnau. The May wristband charity will be the YMCA’s Strong Kids Campaign. Food and beverages available for purchase onsite.

May 22, 2010 The 7th annual Montford Music and Arts festival will be a day of great music and crafts in a historic neighborhood setting. Dancing by world famous Ira Berstein accompanied by John Hermann and oldies music by West Sound are just a hint of the quality entertainment free to everyone. Also there will be tasty food and family activities.

May 23, 2010 Butch Walker may be remembered as the lead singer from the now broken-up Marvelous 3, who had a 1999 hit with “Freak Of The Week.” But he’s also been an in-demand producer in recent years. He was involved with Pink’s “I’m Not Dead” album as well as her rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Tell Me Something Good,” which will be on the upcoming Happy Feet soundtrack. Pink returned the favour by contributing vocals to Rise & Fall’s “Song Without A Chorus.” The list of acts that Walker has produced, mixed or written with also includes Avril Lavigne, Simple Plan, Bowling For Soup, Sevendust, American Hi-Fi, and The Donnas. He recently finished working with Pete Yorn and will be kept busy with Hot Hot Heat and The All-American Rejects this summer. Orange Peel

March 11th, 2010 Pomodoros invites you to join Jennifer Sage of Rodney Strong Vineyards at our South Asheville location as she presents their world class wines that capture the essence of Sonoma County. We will be featuring Rodney Strong’s finest wines artfully paired with a five-course dinner created by our chefs.

March 12th, 2010 John Boy and Billy are back as the hosts of our 22nd Annual Comedy Classic Weekend! This weekend for comedy lovers gets better every year! Comedian Sinbad headlines this year’s laugh-out-loud weekend. Grove Park

March 12th, 2010 Béla Fleck is often considered the premier banjo player in the world. A New York City native, he picked up the banjo at age 15 after being awed by the bluegrass music of Flatt & Scruggs. While still in high school he began experimenting with playing bebop jazz on his banjo, mentored by fellow banjo renegade Tony Trischka. In 1980, he released his first solo album, Crossing the Tracks, with material that ranged from straight ahead bluegrass to Chick Corea’s “Spain.” In 1982, Fleck joined the progressive bluegrass band New Grass Revival, making a name for himself on countless solo and ensemble projects ever since as a virtuoso instrumentalist. In 1989 he formed the genre-busting Flecktones, with members equally talented and adventurous as himself. Throw Down Your Heart, the third volume in Béla’s renowned Tales From the Acoustic Planet series, is his most ambitious project to date. In on-location collaborations with musicians from Uganda, Tanzania, Senegal, Mali, South Africa and Madagascar, Béla Fleck explores the African origins of the banjo, the prototype of which was brought to American shores by African slaves. Throw Down Your Heart is a companion to the award-winning film of the same name, which Béla and director Sascha Paladino are currently premiering at festivals nationwide. Transcending barriers of language and culture, Fleck finds common ground with musicians ranging from local villagers to international superstars such as the Malian diva Oumou Sangare to create some of the most meaningful music of his career. Orange Peel

March 13th, 2010 Come watch Asheville’s all-female roller derby team, The Blue Ridge Rollergirls in their fourth season Home Opener! Doors open at 6 PM and the bout begins at 7 PM as they take on the Rollergirls of Central Kentucky. Unifire performs at half-time and a portion of the night’s proceeds will be donated to the Buncombe County Rescue Squad.

March 14th, 2010 The Original Harlem Globetrotters are playing at the Asheville Civic Center on Sunday, March 14 at 3pm as part of their 2010 World Tour.

February 5, 2008. While taking advantage of the beautiful weather this last weekend, my wife and I were reminded how many environmentally friendly boutiques our city now has. From paint to clothes to kitchenware, this breed of stores has an eco equivalent to just about anything.

Build It Naturally, on Biltmore Avenue, is a new décor store that offers supplies such as locally made paints with no volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which have been linked to health problems and pollution.

Several of the stores are located on Lexington Avenue, one of the most popular shopping areas Downtown. The Natural Home has hypoallergenic beds and sheets made from organic cotton. Terra Diva and Spiritex both offer clothes made from organic cotton and other environmentally friendly fabrics. Nest Organics has children’s clothes, kitchenware and bed materials, as well as some interesting books.

Some of the toys at Enviro Depot, on College Street, are made from green materials, but the larger theme of the store fosters educational toys.

What’s nice about all of these stores is their close proximity to one another. You’ll get in enough exercise to feel good about the day, but you can leave your car in one place.

By Mark Vanderhoff, who is an Asheville Realtor. He may be contacted at Mark.Vanderhoff@ColdwellBanker.com.

February 1, 2008. For many years, folks headed downtown if they wanted to see a bluegrass show. With the opening of two new venues in 2007, however, fans are finding new places to enjoy some good ol’ pickin’.

One of those new venues, the Fletcher Feed and Seed, kicks off its February bluegrass series this weekend. Located at 3715 Hendersonville Road, the community center that occupies the former Fletcher Supply Store. Local pickers the Red Eye Ramblers will play Saturday. Future shows, in order, include Preacher and Pole Cats, Dehlia Low, and Lo-Fi Breakdown. Admission is free, but tips are encouraged.

The Fiddlin’ Pig, a barbecue restaurant, opened on Tunnel Road, just south of the tunnel near Chunns Cove Road. This is no ordinary barbecue joint, however. It also serves up bluegrass music Monday through Sunday night, and occasionally has Sunday bluegrass gospel. Bluegrass fans will find every type of style, from traditionalists to newgrass players. The barbecue and corn bread are pretty good, too.

By Mark Vanderhoff, who is an Asheville Realtor. He may be contacted at Mark.Vanderhoff@ColdwellBanker.com.

January 31, 2009. In recent years, Asheville has become known for its vibrant microbrewery scene and the fine vintages of the Biltmore Estate winery. Last week, a new bar opened in Downtown Asheville that specializes in Belgian ales, a brewing style that marries the subtleties of wine with ingredients of beer.
Called the Thirsty Monk, the pub occupies the lower level of the Purple Building on the corner of Coxe and Patton avenues. The natural stone walls of the historic building give it a European flavor deserving of its theme.

The name refers to the Trappist monks who pioneered and popularized Belgian beer styles to help support their monasteries. Belgian ales have rich, complex profiles that span a variety of flavors, from strong barley wines to fruity lambics. The bottles they come in also evoke wines rather than beers, and corks typically replace caps. They are served in wide-mouthed glasses similar to brandy snifters.

Be prepared for higher-than-usual prices – draught pints begin at $5, with prices surpassing $20. These beers were meant to be savored, however, so don’t be surprised to find yourself nursing a single bottle over a long conversation with friends.

By Mark Vanderhoff, who is an Asheville Realtor. He may be contacted at Mark.Vanderhoff@ColdwellBanker.com.