Oktoberfest in Asheville

Asheville's first Oktoberfest will be held on Saturday, October 10 from 1-5pm on Wall Street in downtown Asheville.

“Our Oktoberfest will mix Bavarian traditions with Asheville’s eclectic vibe,” says Adrian Vassallo, event organizer and ADA treasurer. He adds, “With Asheville’s recent recognition as ‘Beer City USA,’ the timing couldn’t be more perfect to celebrate our local beer scene. Plus, Wall Street is an ideal venue for this event with its old world feel and original cobblestones.”

The event will feature beer tastings from local breweries including Highland Brewing, Asheville Brewing Company, Pisgah Brewing, Green Man Brewery, and French Broad Brewing Company. Many brewers are featuring seasonal ales for Oktoberfest, and will be on hand to discuss their beers.

Also, Wall Street restaurants Cucina 24, Jack of the Wood, and The Market Place will be preparing authentic German food fare served with local mustard from the Lusty Monk.

Entertainment will cross the Bavarian-Asheville divide as well with the traditional from The Stratton Mountain Boys and the eclectic from Asheville’s own The Goodies. The Stratton Mountain Boys have brought the haunting sounds of four alphorns, happy yodeling songs, shoe slapping dances, and lively spirited Polka music to audiences across the U.S for more than 30 years. The Goodies are the epitome of Asheville’s funky and diverse music scene playing a gypsy-style eclectic hard rock and funk. Their live performances are known for being theatric and vaudevillian.

The entertainment doesn’t stop there. Festival-goers can participate in one or more of the many fun contests including yodeling, a costume contest, a stein race, and more. Prizes will be awarded.

Tickets are $25 and include beer samples and a commemorative Oktoberfest glass. Tickets are available now at www.ashevilledowntown.org. Space is limited, so purchase early. If you are traveling to Asheville and need a hotel please check out one of these great places to stay.

LAAFF festival in Asheville celebrates it's 8th year

The Lexington Avenue Arts & Fun Festival (LAAFF) will celebrate it's 8th year this Sunday, September 6th from 11:00AM to 9:00PM. Known for it's eccentric costumes (and personalities for that matter) the LAAFF festival provides entertainment for the entire family.

Musical performances are planned throughout the day. You can get your groove on to the always popular music of the Blue Rags, the wide ranging sounds of the Hillbillionair$ and a local favorite, and winner of the 2009 Battle of the Bands competition, Now You Seem Them. Here is the complete list of performers.

There will also be special events planned such as special priced LaZoom tours, an adults only comedy show presented by the Feral Chihuahuas and the ever popular bicycle jousting.


The LAAFF festival was created by the store owners on Lexington to help support and promote local creative entrepreneurship; to support and protect alternative culture and the culture of Asheville and Lexington Ave in particular; to promote right and responsible relationship with the environment and each other. This year's festival is presented by Arts 2 People, a non-profit social service organization devoted to promoting the role of the arts as an integral part of our culture by serving the entire community through arts outreach, bringing the arts to those in need of the healing power of art, supporting the careers of artists, and through community cultural development.

Visiting Asheille and need a place to stay? Try one of these great hotels.

Sneak Peek of the new Hilton Asheville - opening soon!

The new Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park Hotel is scheduled to open within the month and once completed will be the greenest hotel in Western North Carolina. Located in the Biltmore Park neighborhood of south Asheville, the Hilton is working towards becoming a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Design) certified property.

This 165 room hotel is one of the first in the nation to utilize a large scale solar water heating system. This system will eliminate twenty five tons of carbon dioxide per year, which is the equivalent of planting 7,377 trees. Other sustainable elements included in the development of the Hilton are the use of CFL light bulbs, a linen reuse program, an airport shuttle that relies on alternative fuel, special parking for Hybrid vehicles and the use of only environmentally friendly cleaning products. Also, during the construction of the hotel they used building material consisting of low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) which will result in lower emissions of toxins from the building.

The hotel will offer guest rooms that are decorated with a modern utopian appeal designed to match the exciting surroundings of Biltmore Park. Each guest room offers a 37 inch TV, refrigerator, and various other creature comforts you would expect from a Hilton property. The bathrooms are appointed with floor-to-ceiling marble and an inviting glass enclosed shower. The executive suites are spacious and inviting. They boast luxurious bathrooms some feature Whirlpool tubs.

The entire hotel is 100% non smoking and will feature complimentary high-speed wired and wireless Internet. The hotel's ultra-modern fitness center contains Precor® cardio-theater equipment, an indoor lap pool and whirlpool. The Hilton Asheville will also be home to Sparrow Spa, a luxurious destination spa featuring natural, organic products and a full menu of relaxing and rejuvenating services.

The really convenient aspect of the Hilton's location is that guests can enjoy walking the shops and dining at the various restaurants of Biltmore Park. Local businesses include REI, Barnes & Noble, Sensibilities Day Spa, Reuters YMCA, PF Changs, Brixx Pizza, 131 Main, Roux, and more. There is also a stadium seating movie theater, the Regal Biltmore Grande 15, which is just a few steps away from the Hilton's front door.

For more information or to reserve a room you can visit here.

Bele Chere 2009 in Asheville

It's that time again. Bele Chere 2009 begins Friday of this week in downtown Asheville. The event promises to be a little smaller this year, which is good in the sense that there are no ticketed events. All entertainment is 100% free to the public. There is also stronger emphasis on the local artists, musicians and businesses of Asheville. This is a welcomed effort on the the part of local organizers and citizens of Asheville. This lively street festival began 31 years ago as part of an effort to revitalize the downtown area and bring locals together. Today the vision of the festival has been realized as downtown is a vibrant city center with unique shops and restaurants.

Local and national vendors will be on hand with beautiful artwork and crafts. Metalwork, fabric, paint, ceramics, woodwork and a variety of other mediums will be featured throughout the festival.

There will be plenty of food and beverage vendors on hand. Two food court stations have been established. One area is for the 'Taste of Asheville' where local restaurants will be serving their favorite dishes. The other is for all of your favorite street festival foods such as corn dogs, cotton candy, candied apples, funnel cakes, etc. Alcohol is sold on Friday and Saturday, however Sunday is alcohol free.

There are four stages this year and the musical lineup includes some local favorites such as Stephanie's Id, Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band, Laura Blackley, Sons of Ralph, GFE and the young and very impressive band Skinny Legs and All. For a complete list you can visit the official site of the festival.

The event begins Friday, July 24th and goes until Sunday July 26th. Hotel rooms are still available for this weekend, but they are booking fast. You can make your reservation here.

Jazz in Asheville featuring Joey Calderazzo

This Sunday, July 19 at 7:00PM the Western North Carolina Jazz Society presents the sounds of the Joey Calderazzo Quartet.

Pianist and composer Joey Calderazzo has carved a reputation as one of the most fearless and commanding of the new jazz generation. In addition to building an impressive recording and performing career as a leader, Joey has held the piano chair of one of the leading groups in jazz, the Branford Marsalis Quartet, for ten years. Previously he contributed similarly to the Quartet of the late, great, Michael Brecker for ten years.

The Society's pre-concert reception from 6:15-7:00 has a delicious new twist this year. Audience members are invited to enjoy a sampling of Frankie Bones Restaurant's American-Italian cuisine as they offer complimentary tastes of signature items from their lunch and dinner menu as well as specialties from the Chef. While there is no charge for these items, donations of cash or food for MANNA FOOD BANK will be appreciated. 100% of proceeds will go to MANNA. Beverages will also be available at a cash bar operated by Frankie Bones.

If you are traveling to Asheville you can take advantage of special packaging offers with Biltmore Farms Hotels. See you at the show!

Day In The Life Of Asheville

From now until August 14th the Day In The Life Of Asheville (DITLOA) photography exhibit will be on display at the Pack Place library. This community photo project took place in May and over 200 photographers took part in documenting Asheville over a 36 hour period.

The exhibit contains 100 photos selected by three judges as well as a photographers choice photo that every participant could submit. The judges of the event were Marti Saltzman, Heff Wignall and George Schaub, all leading experts in the field of photography. There were a total of 890 photographs submitted for judging. You can view these images here.

During this same weekend the Citizen Camera project was also put into place by DITLOA volunteers. Disposable cameras were placed at various stations around Asheville asking whoever stumbled across it to take a picture. These were later collected and the images have been recorded here.

This is an annual event open to photographers of all skill levels.

Biltmore Summer Concert Series is almost here

Summer is here and with it comes the Biltmore Summer Evening Concert Series in Asheville. This is the 13th year of this popular concert series. Many musical celebrities have graced the stage at Biltmore including Travis Tritt, KC & The Sunshine Band, Clay Aiken, Loretta Lynn, The Four Seasons, The 5th Dimension and many more. Each show takes place next to the Biltmore House on the South Terrace with the Blue Ridge mountains as a backdrop. There is no denying that Biltmore is one of the best outdoor venues for a concert in Western North Carolina.

This year's line up includes:

July 23 - Mercy Me

July 24 - ABBA The Music - A Tribute

July 25 - Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers

July 30 - An evening with Tom Jones

July 31 - Rick Springfield with special guests, Loverboy

Aug. 1 - The Oak Ridge Boys and Doc Watson & David Holt


All concerts begin at 8PM. For ticket information please call 866-336-1255 or book online. If you need a hotel reservation please visit here.