Posted by: Asheville Live in West Asheville, Twitter, South Asheville, Outdoor Fun, North Asheville, Local News, Local Music, Local Food, Holiday Fun, Family Fun, East Asheville, Downtown, Dinner, Date Night, Bele Chere on
May 22, 2009
July 24th will mark the start of Asheville's 31st annual
'Bele Chere' Music and Art Festival and the influx of 350,000 estimated festival-goers. According to their website, "The festival features four stages of free- live music and an impressive array of arts and crafts; as well as entertainment and activities for children. Surrounded by the natural beauty of the mountains of Western North Carolina- come join us for one of the Southeast's largest free outdoor street festivals."
Though still a couple of months away, here at
AshevilleLive we are keeping this festival on our radar and plan on bringing you a series of reports ranging from exciting events to see and participate in, to some of the changes being made for 2009. One of the additions to this year's festival will be a "battle of the bands-style contest" conducted in conjunction with WNC Magazine and the Asheville Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Department called "
Last Band Standing: Road to Bele Chere 2009".
Other events we'll be keeping an eye on include the
30th Annual Bele Chere 5k, the Lexington Avenue Drumming Tent, and Rashad McCant's "
Shoot for the Cure", in which one lucky festival-goer will have a chance to win $10,000 with proceeds benefiting breast cancer research.
So stay tuned to AshevilleLive for upcoming reports with more information on how to maximize your fun at the largest street festival in the southeastern United States.
Local fans of the California-based
TED conference (technology, entertainment, design) have begun planning Asheville's own
TEDx event for late summer in hopes of highlighting our own group of inspiring thinkers with fascinating ideas.
TED (technology, entertainment, design) is an annual conference that defines its mission as "ideas worth spreading".
TEDxAsheville executive director Jennifer Saylor is currently seeking recommendations for local speakers and elaborates in a note via
Ashvegas:
Dear friends and colleagues, TED, the California-based organization offering free talks from the world's most interesting and inspiring speakers (Bill Gates, Al Gore, Brian Greene, Gladwell, Dawkins, etc.) is helping Asheville produce an INDEPENDENTLY ORGANIZED, homegrown TEDx event in Asheville in late summer. I'm serving as the 2009 executive director for TEDxAsheville and am looking for speakers. If you're familiar with TED and have a recommendation or would like to speak yourself, skip the rest of this note and send me an email. If you're not familiar with TED, it's a free event where people with varying backgrounds do a 20-minute "speech of a lifetime." It's billed as "Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world." TED stands for technology, entertainment and design. Technology is NOT the primary focus, and singers, poets, comedians, actors and teachers share the TED stage with scientists, physicians, inventors and aid workers. TED is for anyone with a powerful message and a strong ability to impart it.
When asked "Why?" by
Mountain Xpress reporter Jason Sandford, Saylor responds: "Because Asheville is such a creative place with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, a spirit of community, of helping, of learning. It’s about being inspired." The free event, she says, “is for anyone who wants to be inspired, who wants to learn, who is turned on by education and turned on by new ways of seeing the world.”
You can keep up with the development of this conference by following the
TEDxAsheville website, joining the
Facebook group, or by following
@TEDxAVL on Twitter.
Phish Comes to Asheville~ and is bringing a following of nearly 15,000 fans. The City of Asheville is planning ahead for a Tuesday, June 9 concert (with a ticketed attendance of 7,200) by the band Phish that is expected to cause traffic delays and result in limited parking. Officials have released a
memo via Citizen Times warning downtown drivers to "avoid parking in lots marked with signage as towing zones, even if the lot is empty." and advising that concert goers "carpool to the concert and to arrive early."
The memo goes on to say: "In order to ensure the most efficient traffic flow and pedestrian safety during the event, streets surrounding the Civic Center will be closed June 9, 9:30 a.m. –midnight. These streets include Flint Street from Haywood Street to Cherry Street and Hiawassee Street from Rankin Avenue to Flint Street."
Another option for getting around downtown on June 9th is always the Asheville Transit System. Though the street closures may affect their service by re-routing lines, chances are pretty good that you'll still get to where you need to go. For a bus maps and schedules, just click
here or call (828) 253-5691.
Several nights before and after the actual Phish show local bands will be performing all over town. Its sure to be a crazy weekend! Get out there and enjoy yourself, and be safe!
Full Story from the
Asheville Citizen Times :
Asheville will be home to a new federal research center that will look to satellites to study the Earth's changing climate.
The National Climate Data Center in downtown Asheville will house the new Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites that will bring $32 million to the area over the next five years and at least 20 scientific jobs.
The institute pools resources between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, North Carolina State University and the University of Maryland. The institute will have two primary centers, one located in Asheville and one located in the Washington, D.C. area to work with NOAA’s weather and climate prediction centers.
“We have spent many years developing community collaboration to build Asheville as a leading national center for climate change information and related business development,” said George Briggs, president of the Asheville-based Centers for Environmental and Climatic Interaction and executive director of the North Carolina Arboretum.
“As a nation, the United States faces some important decisions about how it will provide trusted climate information to government agencies, business interests and citizens,” said Greg Wilson, director of SRC’s Asheville operations. “It is important to ensure that the investments that the public has made in climate research and global earth observations over the past 20 years comes full circle and that the climate information from satellites is used to better our understanding of what is happening to the Earth.”
For the first time EVER on planet earth, the 23 Skidoo DVD will be available, with award winning videos and uncut, vivid footage of the one-year anniversary show........WERE YOU THERE??? Maybe you are on it!! So come on out May 16th to the Grey Eagle from 12:30-3pm. Tickets are only $7 and children under 3 are free. Puppet Master Hobey Ford (our wonderful Evergreen music teacher Sue Ford's hubby) is the opening act with a puppet ballet called "ANIMALIA" Come and get ready to sing and dance with the whole family!
If you don’t know about this Local Kid-Hop Sensation check out this previous post introducing
Secret Agent 23 Skidoo. You are sure to love songs like
The Last Dragon Left on Earth and
Luck. 23 Skidoo sends out a positive message with songs like I Gotta Be Me and It’s a New Day. My all time favorite song though is Family Tree in which his daughter Saki raps along with him.
Just around the corner and its time for the Montford Music & Arts Festival. Come out and witness Montford come to life. Bring the kids, comfy shoes and be ready to enjoy some great music and good times. There are going to be some
great performers at this year’s event, including; Snake Oil Medicine Show, Pure Fiyah Reggae Band, the Good Ole Boys, Westsound and more, so do not miss it!
You will also find incredible local pottery, jewelry, fabric arts, hand carved wood, and amazing paintings. Have some fun and help paint the community mural, get a massage, and buy some fresh plants for your garden. Do not forget to bring your appetite, you’ll discover Jamaican Pasta, Greek Cuisine, and a sampling of Thai Foods as well.
Visit the
Montford Festival website for more details:
This street festival, including musical acts and a juried art show, highlight the artistic strength of one of Asheville’s oldest neighborhoods. Celebrating its sixth anniversary, this festival is free to the public, and sponsored by the Montford Neighborhood Association. For more information, call or email Sharon Fahrer at 828-777-1014 or Ben Scales at 828-225-4840 for directions or more info.
Montford Music & Arts Festival Schedule:
10:00 Tater Diggers
11:00 Kon Tiki12:00 Ira Bernstein & John Herrmann
1:00 Vollie McKenzie & the Lead-Foot Vipers
2:00 WestSound
3:15 Good Old Boyz
4:45 Snake Oil Medicine Show
6:15 Pure Fiyah Reggae Band
Plus, the Mountain Dragon Lion Dance Troupe will perform complete with gongs, drums, and a spectacular display of martial arts; Hoop dancing; and Morris Dance by Asheville Morris Men and Ash Grove Garland, featuring a Maypole celebration at around 1:00p.m.
The
2009 Fins and Gills Classic is a fishing tournament to raise money for RiverLink and to promote the fun of Western North Carolina’s most under used asset, the French Broad River. Come on out Saturday May 9th for a fun time fishing in this tournament fundraiser.
This tournament will take place from 8am – 2pm. All participants must launch by 9am and return to the Asheville Outdoor center by 2pm for the final weigh in and tournament awards ceremony. It’s going to be a blast, bring the kids and have a few laughs. Prizes will be awarded for the biggest stringer, biggest fish and other categories. Lunch meal including hot dog, chips and drink will be available for just $2 which all goes to support RiverLink.
Kids Activities at the Asheville Outdoor Center from 11am – 3pm include kayak & raft rides, a casting contest, awesome play ground, horse shoes, volleyball, a gem mine, and some beginners fishing classes. I will see you there, and just wait till you see the fishzilla that I’m going to catch!
If you are wanting to fish this tournament, it is highly recommended that you reserve a boat before Sat May 9th. *After May 7th boat rental $15/person or $30/canoe.
Fishing Derby Entry Fees - All proceeds will go to RiverLink
Early Registration ends Thursday May 7th
Adults $10 (13 and older) Kids $5 (12 and under)
*Boat Rental $10 per person or $20 for canoe
Please contact
Asheville Outdoor Center for boat rentals 828-232-1970.
Here’s a great way to act locally and have a global impact. One of our local ABYSA families is planning a trip to Uganda. Supporting Community Development through Sports, they will be distributing soccer equipment in many rural villages. WOW - Just like that your used soccer equipment will be sent around the world to other children & adults who will appreciate them. Here’s your chance to get involved.
Bring any gently used and new soccer gear from your collection to donate for this exciting trip to Africa. Join this exciting adventure; Stop by Saturday, May 2nd from 9am to 5pm at the Buncombe County Sports Park or John B Lewis Soccer Complex.
So, clean out your closet! They'll take gently worn or new: Cleats, Shin Guards, Uniforms, Socks, Balls, Pennies, Ball bags, Small cones, etc. All sizes. Questions? Contact Bob Wagner 828-296-0149.
