Coven Oldenwilde

Asheville's 11th Annual Public Witch Ritual will be celebrated Monday, Oct. 31, 2005, from 8-10 p.m., at French Broad River Park in West Asheville. Circle with Southeast Pagans, Witches, and our local Hispanic community at Coven Oldenwilde's popular, powerful, family-friendly religious rite! Link

Asheville Fall Color

Asheville's tourist season is in full swing. People from all over the world come to view the changing leaves each fall. Best viewing time is primarily between October 15 - 25, I've decided, after living here all my life. It's still very nice a week before and a week after. Here are a few websites to help with chosing your fall leaves touring route.

The Explore Asheville website is the handbook on Leaf Reports for our area. And you can see more of the beautiful fall report when viewing these
Blue Ridge Parkway photos.

It's actually beautiful everywhere you look; especially during the fall and anytime on the Parkway.

Any Way You Like It

Asheville's old marketing slogan was "Land of Sky," a motto that touted its mountain beauty.

As of Tuesday, the new slogan is "any way you like it," a motto that touts the city's acceptance of the unconventional.

Beginning next winter, TV spots will air in Atlanta, Charlotte and Orlando, showing skinny-dipping seniors in mountain streams and mountain bikers careening down the grand staircase at Biltmore House.

Travel magazines will show traffic signs that urge pedestrians to skip rather than walk or "Stop and Smell the Cappuccino."

The Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority spent two years and $200,000 researching Asheville's image before unveiling a new logo and TV spots Tuesday.

"For many years, Asheville positioned itself as a hub destination in the mountains where you go to all these attractions. But as the market became more cluttered and consumers more sophisticated, that message didn't resonate," said Herman Turk, general manager of the Asheville Renaissance Hotel and chairman of the TDA.

Marla Tambellini, director of marketing for the Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the city needed to go behind its superficial identity.

"We need to go beyond the physical attractions and find the emotional connection," she said. "What do visitors experience when they visit here?"

The TDA will spend $1.7 million for an ad campaign starting next February to promote Asheville as a unique destination where anyone can find a personal adventure.

"We did think outside the box," said Leslie MacInnis of Cramer-Krasselt, the TDA's new ad agency based in Orlando, Fla. "This campaign will stand out for the community, but hey, this is a standout community, what can I say. This town can deliver on the promise. When you come on an Asheville vacation, anything can happen."

Information from: The Asheville Citizen-Times, http://www.citizen-times.com

Katuah Sudbury School

Katuah Sudbury School will be opening Wednesday, October 5th at the Unity Center in Fletcher. Sudbury schools are completely democratic and believe in the individual's innate wisdom to choose. For children 5 - 17.

To get more info on Asheville's new school go to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AshevilleSudbury or visit their website at http://www.katuahsudbury.org/

Located in South Asheville, looks like another great educational option added to the progressive mix.

Asheville Pagan Pride Day

There IS a Pagan Pride celebration here this weekend and it's being held at the university, UNC-Asheville. I had previsouly read the date wrong. Diotima Mantineia, associate editor of The Witches’ Voice (www.witchvox.com), will speak on “Confessions of a Dirt Worshipper: At the Interface of Science and Magic,” about how she reconciled her training as a scientist with her belief in magic.

Participants will also be talking about the 11th annual observation of Samhain, the pagan new year celebration Oct. 31, at the French Broad River Park.

Asheville’s 2005 Pagan Pride Day is being sponsored by CERES (Cosmic Connections and Ancient Journeys).

Link

OrganicFest

OrganicFest 2005 on September 10, is a celebration of everything organic! A FUNtastic day of live music, dancing, drawings for baskets of fabulous organic goodies and gift certificates, free organic samples and giveaways, an Organicfest Market on the Square featuring the finest organic: food and refreshments, clothing, herbs, flowers and natural arts and crafts. Informative conversation and help with organic living, organic gardening, and more. Fun activities for kids including the Organicfest Garden Parade at 1pm. Join the celebration on Saturday, September 10th from 10am to 6pm in Pack Square, downtown Asheville!

Link

POWWOW

The T.o.u.c.h. Samadhi
2nd Annual Arts and Music Festival

One Who Has Visions
Autumn Equinox - Sept. 23 - 25, 2005
Deerfields - Asheville, NC

www.touchsamadhi.com

Link

Mellow Mushroom

There is a popular restaurant in the middle of downtown Asheville, called the
Mellow Mushroom.

It's main attraction besides their delicious pizza is their sidewalk cafe. A prime spot for people watching and meeting friends for a leisurely lunch or a few tasty beers. Here is a picture of the restaurant. Longtime residents will know this as the old Stone Soup.

This wall surrounds the courtyard and was found at Zen's Flickr website, who's always got good local photos.

Ceremony for Pack Square Park

Everyone is invited to the festive groundbreaking ceremony for Pack Square Park on Thursday, August 18 from 4 to 6 p.m. We’ll be set up in Park Square and City-County Plaza in the heart of downtown Asheville.

The groundbreaking will be a wonderful day to celebrate the beginning of construction on a park that will become a beautiful gathering space for generations to come. Join us for live music, refreshments, games, door prizes, actors in historic costume and a special bulldozer ballet. The park site will be decorated with hot-air balloons, weather permitting, and volunteers will be on hand to discuss park plans and special features such as original art, fountains, the park pavilion and the main stage.

It's such a magical spot now, I hope the 4.5 million renovation is able to keep some of the character is currently maintains.

[More...]

Hookah Joe's

ASHEVILLE - The scent of flowers and fruit floats in the air along Coxe Avenue. Where is this wave of blended aromas coming from?

Not from the dancing drummers at Pritchard Park or the patchouli-laden hippies padding the street. It's coming from around the corner at Hookah Joe's, a downtown nightspot Hookah Joe's is now located at 38 N French Broad Ave, Asheville NC 28801, (under Club Hairspray), the first Asheville club devoted to the hookah.

A hookah is a water pipe that originated in Turkey hundreds of years ago. It's not for traditional tobacco; instead, customers smoke a mixture of tobacco and molasses or shisha, that is available in various flavors.

[More...]

**UPDATE: address updated November 7, 2007 - thanks, Seanna!**

Chinese Acupuncture Clinic

The Chinese Acupuncture and Herbology Clinic has the largest and most comprehensive herbal apothecary in the South Eastern US.

Our practitioners provide formulas & teas specifically prepared for each patient.

Link

keep asheville weird bumper sticker

keep asheville weird bumper sticker
Originally uploaded by zen���.

seen @ flickr

The Artwork of John Lennon

In between transatlantic trips last week, Yoko Ono talked to Xpress about When I'm Sixty-Four: The Artwork of John Lennon will make a three-day stop at the Haywood Park Hotel in Asheville, NC.

His drawings are about peace, love and family. But the late singer's works – though not executed on gessoed canvases – are far from uninformed. In fact, before the former Beatle was a musician, he was an art student.

Link

Capricorn Full Moon Gathering

Capricorn Full Moon Gathering
This event will take place at Pumpkin Hollow in Tennessee.

The full moon will be the final evening of a week-long celebration of the longest day and shortest night, of the summer solstice and the full moon, of balancing the male and female and the in-between...

The festival, "Higher Fire", will be from Friday afternoon June 17 through Wednesday June 22, 2005. The Full Moon Gathering will take place Tuesday, June 21st - Wednesday, June 22nd.

Music, ritual, food, games, films, song, storytelling, mudpeople, lake swims, and more...more information coming soon.

Link

Out In Asheville

Out In Asheville
is a popular monthly newspaper is now online. It's a warm and comprehensive resource for the GLBT community and serves WNC, upstate SC, and the Southeast.

Some of the area nitelife is featured. Listen to jazz by the fireplace in a large comfy chair at or try out the Oxyben bar at Tressa's; visit all three dance floors at Scandals, sing karaoke at Club Hairspray; or visit the oldest gay bar in NC, O'Henry's, where they'll crown Miss Gay Asheville 2006 next month. Lots going on in this town.

Link