Bele Chere
For three days each year, always the last full weekend in July, the central downtown area is barricaded against vehicular traffic and the largest free street festival in the Southeast holds court in Asheville, NC. Festivalgoers from cross the country come to celebrate our mountains, our bustling downtown area, our diverse cultures, and the festival that brings it all together once a year. Bele Chere is always the last FULL weekend in July. July 25 through July 7, 2008.
Biltmore House
Biltmore house is a French Renaissance-inspired chateau near Asheville,
NC, built by George Washington Vanderbuilt II between 1888 and 1895. It
is the largest privately owned home in the United States at 175,000 square
feet. Still owned by Vanderbilt's descendants, it stands as one of the most
prominent remaining examples of the Gilded Age.
Blue Ridge BBQ Festival
The Blue Ridge Barbecue Festival in Tryon, North Carolina, has grown to
be the biggest annual event in Polk County, one of the most popular festivals
in Western North Carolina, and one of the premier barbecue events in the
nation. Around Polk County, the festival is known simply as "The Barbecue,"
as in, "Are y'all going to the Barbecue this year?" The barbecue brings
together thousands of Polk County residents who join in to throw an annual
party for their regional neighbors. June 13-14, 2008
Blue Ridge Parkway
At each Parkway entrance a directional sign indicates 'north' or 'south'. North, toward the north end of the Parkway, leads to Shenandoah National Park. South, toward the south end of the Parkway, leads to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
One of the most popular units of the National Park System. "America's Favorite Drive" winds its way 469 miles through mountain meadows and past seemingly endless vistas. Building the Parkway through mountainous terrain was a monumental labor. Authorized in the 1930s as a Depression-era public works project, the Parkway was more than a half-century in the making. It was the nation's first, and ultimately longest, rural parkway, connecting Shenandoah National Park in Virginia with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Northarolina.
Carl Sandburg Home
Sandburg's home of 22 years in Flat Rock, Henderson County, North Carolina is preserved by the National Park Service as the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site.
Chimney Rock Park
imb to the top of this towering 315-foot monolith located on the very edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains high above beautiful Hickory Nut Gorge. At a soaring elevation of 2,280 feet with its 75-mile views, this mountain top experience will take your breath away.
Flat Rock Playhouse
In 1961, by an act of the North Carolina General Assembly, Flat Rock Playhouse was officially designated The State Theatre of North Carolina. What began as a few weeks of summer performances in 1940 is now an eight month season of plays including Broadway musicals, comedy, drama, and theatre for young audiences. The Playhouse's dual mission of producing the performing arts an providing education in the performing arts includes a ten-show professional series; a summer and fall college apprentice an intern program; performances and cabaret series by the YouTheatre; year-round classes and workshops for students from kindergarten through adults. Flat Rock Playhouse now hosts over 80,000 patrons annually.
Green Creek Winery
Green Creek Winery opened in 2005 and promises to become a new destination for wine lovers.
The Green River Plantation
The Green River Plantation is a mansion located in Rutherfordton, North Carolina and was built sometime between 1804-1807. It has been lovingly restored and is open for weddings, receptions and tours.
North Carolina Arboretum
he North Carolina Arboretum is a 434-acre public garden located within the Bent Creek Experimental Forest of the Pisgah National Forest.
North Carolina Apple Festival
The Apple Festivle will be held on Main Street in downtown Hendersonville, NC over the weekend of August 29– September 1, 2008. The festival not only features a street fair with arts & crafts vendors but it includes continuous live musical entertainment, apple growers and their apples, children's & youth activities, special exhibits & open houses, food, and, to top it all off, on Labor Day, the King Apple Parade. The festival is held annually, during the Labor Day weekend. The 2008 North Carolina Apple Festival marks the sixty second consecutive year the event has been held to recognize the importance of the apple and the apple industry to Henderson County and North Carolina. North Carolina is the 7th largest apple-producing state in the nation and Henderson County is the largest apple-producing county in North Carolina.
Southern Highland Craft Guild
Nestled amongst the pines and dogwoods of the Blue Ridge Parkway, however only a few miles from I-40 and downtown Asheville, NC, the Folk Art Center is the Guild's flagship facility. The center showcases the most excellent in traditional and contemporary craft of the Southern Appalachians.
The Foundation
Performing Arts & Conference Center. Hosts a variety of shows, plays, musicals, and other events. In addition, The Foundation offers a total of 7500 sq. ft. of meeting space suitable for business functions, trade shows, rallies, banquets, receptions, and proms.
Thomas Wolf Memorial
Learn about Thomas Wolfe, the popular American novelist who wrote four novels, two being Look Homeward, Angel and You Can't Go Home Again. Wolfe wrote two additional novels and many short stories which you can learn more about during your tour at the modern visitor center, which opened in late 1996, and is located at 52 North Market Street in Asheville, NC directly behind the historic Old Kentucky Home boarding house. The facility houses an exhibit hall featuring personal effects from the Wolfe family home, Wolfe's New York City apartment, and his father's stonecutting shop.
