The Festival of Gnarnia

AUGUST 9 - 11, 2012

As we journey around the sun, a brief window in time draws near. A unique moment for creative human expression comes to light. Far beyond the dirty sneakers forgotten in the depths of your closet, amongst the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, exists the festival of Gnarnia. For four days this refuge satisfies a special yet sophisticated taste with a legendary mélange of musical acts, performance arts, and artistic craftsmanship. You are cordially invited to the festival of Gnarnia, August 9-11th 2012.


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WOW! I'm in! This is the most unique "ski resort" you'll ever visit. Come for the music and spend a week here visiting Beech Mtn's Land of Oz extravaganze, Festival of Gnarnia. When it's over, head to Valle Crucis for a visit to the Mast General Store. Stop at one of the local spots in Blowing Rock for lunch that seats you outside to enjoy the view.

Asheville Mardi Gras Parade

(Photos taken from http://www.ashevillemardigras.org)

Sunday, February 19, 2012 | 2:00pm until 10:00pm

Come one and all to the most fabulous funky glittery parade to hit the streets of Asheville!

Asheville Mardi Gras is an all volunteer community based organization made up of New Orleans ex-pats, aficionados of that culture, and — okay, some folks who just LOVE a good party!

Feel free to put together your own Krewe if you would like to participate.

See the Krewes Page for details!


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Occupy Wall Street Asheville

Lots of action around town. I've been busy and out of town and checking out a few events so here's a rushed version of what I've found so far. Feel free to add to the list in the comments, dear friends.

Here's a list of links to check out a few of the nationally links and in Asheville:

https://www.facebook.com/occupyashevillemediagroup
http://www.imageasheville.com/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-asheville-day-one
http://www.mountainx.com/article/35903/Occupy-Wall-Street-moves-to-camp-out-in-Pack-Square-Park
http://occupyasheville.org

Why I'm in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street - http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/10/05

Bloody Hell, Jeff Mangrum at Occupy Wall Street yesterday!

Global Revolution's Live Stream is covering the New York Wall Street peaceful event around the clock. Go take a look. http://www.livestream.com/globalrevolution

BLUE RIDGE PRIDE Today!

Blue Ridge Pride festival is happening with lots of entertainment noon-6 p.m. at Pack Square Park. Performers include children’s entertainer 23 Skidoo, Stephanies id, Cantaria, Natalie Smalls Productions and and the Idgies. After the festival, singer CeCe Peniston performs at the Grove House, 11 Grove St.

We'll be taking over Pack Square Park from 12-6 pm on Saturday Oct 1 to celebrate and raise awareness of the diversity of our community. We've got great entertainment, vendors, and community groups all coming in to make this a day you can't miss! Don't forget to check the events page for pre and post festival parties!

On the Net: www.blueridgepride.com

Gay Games 2011

GAY GAMES - In The Park

Plus - The Gay 5K
A fundraiser for Blue Ridge Pride

June 18, 2011

Carrier Park - West Asheville

Volunteers needed and sponsorships welcome. For more information or to learn more about the event and how you can get involved contact: gaygames2011@gmail.com / Amy Sawyer 823.490.1864

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Asheville Bliss

Asheville is not just ONE kind of bliss... it's layer upon layer of bliss... bliss which is often subtle, often hidden, with many aspects taking time and networking to discover.

The goal of AshevilleBliss.com is to reveal to visitor, newcomer, and long time resident alike, what makes Asheville so blissful, including aspects of Asheville's BLISS which aren't so readily apparent... to make these many wonderful islands and rivers of little-known bliss accessible ... in a way which has never before been done.

Whether you're into whitewater rafting or sitting sangha, Asheville Bliss will have the links for you. And plenty more.

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Asheville Mardi Gras Parade and Ball

This year's theme-"Homegrown, Fancy, and Free"
Sunday, March 6 · 3:00pm - 10:00pm
Downtown Asheville, and Pack's Tavern's Century Room

Everyone is invited to participate in, or simply spectate this family friendly spectacle. Asheville's Mardi Gras celebration is rapidly growing as more and more sparkles, feathers, and beads show up each year to march in our annual parade. The parade, led by this year's King and Queen, will be full of dancers, roller skaters, drummers and krewe's of colorful characters. The parade will line up in Pack's Square, NOT Walnut Street at 2:00 pm and will step off at 3:00 pm sharp, RAIN OR SHINE. We will then dance and march our way towards Walnut St, then to Lexington Ave, making a left on to Lexington, and then a right on to College St. Next, the parade will loop around Pritchard Park and up Patton Avenue to Pack Square. This is where the parade ends and the Mardi Gras Ball begins.

Interested in being a part of the parade? Gather your krewe of friends, family, classmates or co-workers or just yourself and come be a part of this great event. Feel free to get creative! Art cars and homemade floats are always welcome. Please register them on the Asheville Mardi Gras Facebook groups page. Remember that Asheville's Mardi Gras is a family friendly event and is “Homegrown, Fancy and Free”. Another great way to enjoy this event is to gather your friends and family, pull up a chair, sit back and watch the show! Bring a camera and be ready to catch beads.

After the parade is over around 4:00 pm, continue the fun and revelry at the Mardi Gras Ball in Pack's Tavern's elegant Century Room. Costumes are not required to enter the ball. This is a free event for the entire community to enjoy. There will be festive libations and extraordinary live music performed by Sirius B to keep us dancing all night long. For more information on the Parade or Ball, and for Mardi Gras events leading up to the parade day, check in with the groups page on Facebook under Asheville Mardi Gras.

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Grand Krewe at the Parade
Sunday at 12:00pm
Pack Square, Vance Monument/fountain area

Bike Love Party

Asheville on Bikes is proud to announce the 5th Annual Bike Love Party and Fundraiser, happening Saturday February 26th at the new downtown Arcade Asheville. It will be another memorable night of bike lovin’ featuring three bands: headliner Uncle Mountain, AoB’s own Red Dirt Floor, and the world premier performance from C Scott with The Multimodalers.

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Asheville Zombiewalk 10/10/10!

Asheville Zombiewalk - Come out this SUNDAY! Check links for more details.

Location:Downtown Asheville Pizza and Brewing and the streets of Downtown Asheville
Time:6:00PM Sunday, October 10th

Link | Facebook | YouTube

Asheville Octoberfest

October 9, 2010

On the 200th anniversary of the first Oktoberfest, the Asheville Downtown Association is proud to bring you Asheville's own Oktoberfest! One of the highlights of the event will be the Brewery Team Contests! Asheville Brewing Co., Craggie, French Broad, Green Man, Highland and Pisgah will each field a four person team for team contests held throughout the day!

Contests will include:

* Keg-Rolling
* Stein Races
* Dizzy Gnome
* Bratwurst Eating Contest
* Alphorn Blowing Contest

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DAY OF ACTION - Saturday

Evolver Asheville, Transition Asheville and Ashevillage Institute are hosting a DAY OF ACTION!!!!

10am-5pm GETTING OUR HANDS DIRTY
At the Ashevillage Institute (directions below)
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Bring a bag lunch and tools (wheel barrows, shovels, hard rakes, garden trowels, gloves, sneakers, weed whacker, buckets, tarps)

7-9pm FORMING ACTION ALLIANCES
Firestorm Cafe, 48 Commerce Street, Asheville, 28801

Creative Collaboration on future projects by individuals and organizations from Urban crop-mobbing to co-sponsored film screenings to anything we can dream up together... Bring your ideas and enthusiasm!!!

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Local Buskers and Street Performers

Some local street performers Around Asheville this weekend were captured by some of our area photo bloggers. Lots of talented folks around here and super surroundings just waiting to be captured and shared.

Derek Olson Photography

Through The Lens

Found via Mountain Xpress

Firefly Gathering

July 22-25, 2010

The Firefly Gathering is for people seeking to deepen and expand their connection with the natural world.

There will be over 100 classes available focusing on self-sufficiency and wilderness skills taught by over 40 masterful teachers from around the region and country.

It offers learning for adults and children, evening entertainment, and on-site camping.

Firefly will be held at Camp Pinnacle, a little over a half an hour from Asheville, NC. Rustic Camp Pinnacle has a beautiful 18 acre lake, many covered areas, plenty of camping, cabins, and showers. If it is hot we have a lake to swim and canoe in, if it is rainy we have plenty of shelter.

Register Now!

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Asheville Community Hoop Jam in Pritchard Park

TUESDAYS

The Asheville Community Hoop Jam is held in Pritchard Park every Tuesday from 5:30-7:30 p.m. through the end of September. The events offer opportunities to hoop it up for fun and exercise as George Pond (Snake Oil Medicine Show) DJs. In this video, we talk to organizer Melanie MacNeil and capture some participants’ sweet moves. (Video by Jake Frankel.)

Link | More Hoop Jam

Pack Square Park, Downtown Asheville

If you've not been in downtown Asheville the past year or so, you are in for a surprise. Pleasant or not, depending on your point of view.

They had to bulldoze over some lovely trees to put in lots of concrete but they did leave lots of grass and sculpture in their wake. I was so against the tearing down on one specific tree. But there is more room for live outdoor concerts, plays, picnics, and more.

And I haven't mentioned the best part yet. Smack dab in front of the old City-County Plaza is dancing water fountains. From afar it looks like a large, flat brick courtyard. But keep watching and water will begin spraying up the many spouts. Day or night will find young children and adults playing in the dancing water, which has been nicknamed, "Splashville". At night, you'll notice that the water shooting up is different colors.

The Vance Monument is still there. Behind it where the large pool of water once stood is now a beautiful 20' wide water fountain.

Pack Square Park provides a wonderful venue for events, both old and new. George Pack, who left the land to the city in 1901 specified that it only be used as a park for the people.

So, who's been? Do you like the changes downtown? Or does it suck royally? Go see for yourself in person and in the mean time, take a look at this link here and this one here.

The Spring Idiotarod: The Legendary Shopping Cart 5k returns on May 23

That's Idiot-irod! Sign your team up at raceforawesomeness.com

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Asheville Earth Day

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Wolf Ridge Ski Resort

Wolf Ridge Ski Resort in Mars Hill, NC, wants to share the scenery of our mountain with you. We now have three web cams that show incredible views of the slopes and the surrounding mountains.

For singles, couples, families, in the height of ski season their inclusive accommodations are definitely worth looking into.



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Snow Day!

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This link is from Asheville Live Cam website. Snow days are always huge days for AshevilleLiveCam.com's web traffic, as native Ashevillians, expatriots and fans check in from all over the world to see the mountains and the downtown area blanketed in white.

Santa in Pritchard Park

We've got Saturdays with Santa again this year! Saturdays will be special at Pritchard Park because Santa will be stopping by from 10 - 11 am every Saturday right up until Christmas. Bring the kids and grandma and grandpa, too! Everyone loves Santa.

Stay in downtown after visiting Santa and enjoy lunch at one of our great restaurants, do some holiday shopping and then enjoy the Saturday Sizzle at Seven fireworks, presented by the Grove Park Inn and the Asheville Downtown Association.