It happens all the time. Something is happening downtown, word gets out and AshevilleLiveCam.com gets flooded with viewers attempting to get the low-down and see it for themselves. Inevitably, when that has happened, the video feeds would slow to a crawl as all the streams jockeyed for position, with some being left out in the cold without any video at all.
Rest assured, we have heard your laments and we have taken action! Streaming multiple live feeds to the internet is no easy task, and it is not inexpensive. Over the years, we've done everything we could to make the site more enjoyable and more reliable. I'm working on a post describing the long history of this site, in all its incarnations. Interesting reading for sure, but not very relevant here. What is relevant is the latest step we have taken to make sure every person who wants to see the live views can do so.
The real problem was lack of bandwidth. Even though we have a pretty good connection to the internet by Asheville standards, during high-traffic periods, it would simply be overwhelmed. A while back, we moved the website itself off of our own servers onto the internet "cloud" to make it more reliable, but we were still serving the internet streams from our own data center located on the top floor of the BB&T building. We resisted offloading the video streams to an external host for many reasons, price being the biggest factor.
However, a new day has dawned for AshevilleLiveCam.com as we have finally set up a streaming server on an external host, in the hopes that we can provide a better viewing experience for all our visitors, be they locals or out-of-towners. Just in time for the next batch of snow! So to all our loyal AshevilleLiveCam viewers, ENJOY!
P.S. - That's not the only change afoot. We're also working on an all new site design (the header image above is a little preview for you) and on bigger, better video streams including the return of everyone's favorite SkyCam! Keep an eye out in the next few weeks for big changes.
The cams are still a bit blurry this morning with all the fog, but that should clear up later this morning. Even with the fog, though, we are being treated to some wonderful scenery as the first of an expected 2 days of snow falls over Asheville.
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. So if you're trying to see the cams and can't get them to come up, just keep trying (refresh the page). Eventually you'll get through, and it will be well worth it.
While you're here, it wouldn't hurt to have a look at some of our sponsors and help us pay for the bandwidth, so be sure to have a look around the site and click some links.
HAPPY SNOW DAY!
Posted by: Asheville Live in Events, Downtown on
Dec 6, 2009
If you're looking for something to do on a Tuesday Evening, look no further than the Bobo Gallery on Lexington Avenue. On Tuesday, December 8, the Bobo Gallery will be hosting 2 Cellos! 2 Fellows! 2 Guitars! 2 Gals! at 8:00 PM.
This Tuesday evening at Bobo Gallery, a super-fancy, cello-heavy double bill: soulful R&B sexmachine Jim Seem with cellist Melissa Hyman, AND magnificent poetess-songstress Chelsea Lynn Labate with cellist Tommy Hunt. Whoa.
Come join us for an evening of music that's sure to melt your heart (and if you'll pardon my saying so, possibly your panties). Bring all your cello-lovin' friends, too!
Posted by: Asheville Live in Events, Downtown on
Dec 6, 2009
Strap on your funny bones for the Warren Haynes Xmas Comedy Jam on December 10 at Funny Business.
Vertgio Jazz Project will be providing the music for Warren Haynes' Xmas Comedy Jam at Funny Business Comedy club this thursday, 12/10/09. This will be the opening event for the Warren Haynes' Xmas Jam weekend and will feature Guitar Comedy Virtuoso PAT GODWIN as headliner.
All proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity and the cost for tix is only $20!
Gather your extra stuff and sell it off at the huge Parking Lot Flea Market, scheduled for Sunday, September 27, 2009 in the parking lot of Ecycle Me at 101 South Lexington Avenue in Downtown Asheville, NC.
Sell! Sell! Sell! Buy! Buy! Buy!
10% of the proceeds will go to Asheville GreenWorks. The sale starts at a leisurely 10:30 on a Sunday in downtown Asheville. Very much a social event if you ask me!
If you are serious about being a seller of stuff contact me. The only requirements to sell are a commitment to donating 10% of your profit to Asheville Greenworks and a commitment to carrying your own bank. And of course, you have to tag and bring your stuff.
Well, another year of the Bele Chere Festival has come and gone. Tomorrow the cams will all be reset to their previous positions and Asheville can go about its business. It was a fun year for the festival, even if sales were a bit down. We're looking forward to next year!
On an administrative note, the site had some pretty good numbers over the weekend, but it seems the streaming server was struggling a bit with the load. We apologize for anyone that got the dreaded "failed to load" message, and we will strive to do better next year.
Bele Chere is by far the busiest time if year for the site, with thousands of people from all over the world checking in to see the festival live.
Pritchard Park is having a birthday party on Friday, July 31. The party/fundraiser will run from 6:30 to 9:30PM at the S&W located at 56 Patton Avenue. The event is being held by The Friends of Pritchard Park, which is comprised of Asheville GreenWorks and the Downtown Asheville Residents Association (DARN).
A free birthday party will celebrate the park the following day. Proceeds from the events will benefit Pritchard Park. The fund-raiser will feature silent and live auctions. Live auction begins at 7:30 p.m.
Hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be served. Cost of the event is $75 single ticket, $125 for a couple. ($30 and $45 dollars are tax-deductible, respectively.) Tickets are available (and donations can be made) via PayPal at the GreenWorks Web site: www.ashevillegreenworks.org.
Checks can be made payable to Asheville GreenWorks and mailed to PO Box 22, Asheville 28801.
For more information contact Trina Mullen at 254-0273 or 919/949-3900, Jacqueline Edwards at 582-8439.
Purchase Tickets Online Here:
http://www.ashevillegreenworks.org/2009/07/help-conserve-a-place-in-ashevilles-history/
It's official,
Bele Chere 2009 has officially arrived! As usual, on this very special occasion, we have changed all our camera views to give you live shots of the action. Our robotic
West Cam (affectionately known as RoboCam) is still giving all us Asheville natives a good view of traffic conditions around the Westgate Bridge, but it now gives you some nice zoom shots of the craft tents set up along Patton.
We moved the North Cam over to the West side and it is currently giving us a view of College Street and a bit of North Lexington. The South Cam is pointed a bit more down towards the Pack Square end of Biltmore Ave. Finally, the East Cam (another robotic camera which we call RoboCam II) is showing some close zoom shots of Pack Square.
If a camera doesn't load for you, try refreshing your page.
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.
Posted by: Asheville Live in West Asheville, Sunny Point, South Asheville, North Asheville, Nine Mile, Lunch, Local News, Local Food, Family Fun, East Asheville, Early Girl Eatery, Downtown, Dinner, Date Night on
Apr 30, 2009
Dining Out for Life in Asheville NC is a fabulous fundraiser. Take a moment to plan your meals out and you’ll see this is an “easy way to make a meaningful contribution without spending more than you normally would each meal. Have breakfast, lunch or dinner at participating restaurants today, April 30th and help in the fight against HIV and AIDS.”
Dining Out For Life:
Dining Out For Life® is an annual fund raising event involving the generous participation of volunteers, corporate sponsors and restaurants. In exchange for their financial support, restaurants are listed in a city wide marketing campaign in an effort to increase customer traffic.
More than 3,500 restaurants donate a portion of their proceeds from this one special night of dining to the licensed agency in their city. Nearly $4 million dollars a year is raised to support the missions of agencies throughout North America. With the exception of the annual licensing fee of $600, all money raised in these cities stays there.
Please help us continue our Education and Prevention services throughout WNC and insure that no one faces HIV alone by dining out for breakfast, lunch or dinner at over 85 fine restaurants. It is the most satisfying meal you will ever eat!
Check their site for a full
List of Participating Asheville Restaurants
