Summer Festivals in Downtown Asheville are Getting Warmed Up By Christie Kafka

With summer right around the corner, the weather isn’t the only thing heating up in Asheville: festival season is about to kick into high gear. Downtown Asheville boasts a range of festivals to fit just about every interest – and Mosaic Community Lifestyle Realty, an ardent supporter of cultural events that create community, is sponsoring three of the biggest.

Xpand Fest

The inaugural outdoor event for Asheville-based arts non-profit Xpand Your Vision, Xpand Fest comes to the South Slope June 10. The free street festival, stretching along Banks and Buxton Ave., will feature a variety of vendors, artist booths, live music and other performances. Musical guests include The Broadcast, The Secret B Sides, and Supatight; the local food vendors and special festival brew provided by Bhramari Brewhouse will keep attendees sated. Xpand Fest highlights music and arts as an innovative tool toward inclusive development and believes the arts are a powerful platform for social change. Xpand Fest will include information on the Sustainable Development Goals created at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit and will highlight local organizations that are making conscious business decisions to better our community. http://xyvision.org/xpand-fest

Shindig on the Green

Celebrating the toe-tapping music and dance traditions of Southern Appalachia, Shindig on the Green kicks off its 51st season July 1 on Roger McGuire Green at Pack Square in downtown Asheville. Drawing scores of locals and visitors alike, the free event, which will run most Saturdays until Sept. 2, features a stage show and informal jam sessions around the park from 7-10 p.m. With concessions available from Okie Dokies Smokehouse and The Hop Ice Cream Café, you can bring your blanket or lawn chair and make an evening of it, listening to long-standing house band The Stoney Creek Boys and other bluegrass and old-time string bands, and watching cloggers from around Western North Carolina.

LEAF Downtown AVL

photo credit: K2 Media

Celebrating local community, this popular family-friendly festival brings Downtown Asheville’s Pack Square alive on Aug. 4 and 5 with three stages featuring a dynamic range of national, regional and local talent. LEAF Downtown, a free event in its third year, starts early afternoon Friday, and on Saturday kicks off at 9 a.m with an all-ages LEAF Art Dash 5K. Festival-goers can enjoy eats from local food trucks while engaging with family and friends and tuning into a rich range of music including old-time, folk, hip hop, Americana, blues, and deep Appalachian. Rounding out the fun are Easel Rider (Asheville’s Mobile Art Lab), costume tents, roaming kids’ artists, puppets, jugglers,face-painting, parades and circus arts. Enrichment activities, cultural exchanges, and civic engagement will also take place at the Voices of Asheville Tent through a series of collaborative community alliances. Festivities wind down when the park closes at 10 p.m.

For more information about our area, or about real estate in Asheville, contact Mike Figura at (828) 337-8190, or email him at Mike@MyMosaicRealty.com

Asheville Elevates the Art of Downtown Living By Christie Kafka

First Up, Downtown Asheville is Foodtopia

There’s no shortage of dining options in downtown Asheville – everything from brunch hotspots Over Easy Café, Early Girl Eatery, Tupelo Honey  to bustling brew pubs Wicked Weed Brewery , LAB , Bhramari Brewing Co. to dessert destinations French Broad Chocolates , Karen Donatelli , just to name a few. Feeling like a home-cooked meal? Pop into the locally owned artisan and discount food shop Hopey & Co.’s  downtown location, or make a quick stop at French Broad Food Co-op to pick up all your meal-making necessities. And every Saturday morning, you can visit the Asheville City Market for farm-fresh produce, meat, dairy and local artisan products.

Asheville: Enriching – and Entertaining

Look for culturally rich programs and entertainment in downtown Asheville, and you won’t be disappointed. Think dance and music performances at the Diana Wortham Theatre; a range of concerts and sporting events at the U.S. Cellular Center/Thomas Wolfe Auditorium ; and all manner of outdoor music and arts fests in Pack Square. Pack Memorial Library also features performances and a range of organized activities for all ages. Itching for an enriching museum experience? Hit the Asheville Art Museum, the Thomas Wolfe Memorial, the Asheville Museum of Science, or the Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center, or mix in a little play at the Asheville Pinball Museum.

Catch a Movie, See a Play

Getting to the movies to see first-run, art and independent films is easy in downtown Asheville, thanks to the Fine Arts Theatre and the recently opened Grail Moviehouse. When you’re ready to see top-notch plays – or if you’d like to be in one yourself – visit Asheville Community Theatre or the N.C. Stage Company.

Get Fit Right in Downtown

Walking the streets of downtown can be a workout in itself, but if you’re looking for something a little more challenging, the district boasts a YMCA (which sports two pools, basketball and racquetball courts, along with the traditional wellness center) as well as a Climbmax Climbing gym, with indoor and outdoor facilities.

Places to Park It

Partaking of all Asheville has to offer can be exhausting; luckily, the downtown area is replete with parks for relaxing, meeting up with friends, or simply people-watching. Pack Square, surrounded by the art deco treasures Asheville is famed for, presents the perfect spot for spreading a blanket and soaking in the atmosphere. A bonus for kids is Splashville water park, at the east end of the square. For some fun people-watching (and a little Friday evening drum circle action), head to Pritchard Park. Once you’re recharged – and ready for a rush – grab your wheels and head to Food Lion Skatepark.

For a personally guided tour of downtown Asheville, or for more information on real estate here or anywhere in Asheville, please contact Mike Figura at Mike@MyMosaicRealty.com or call him anytime at (828) 337-8190.