AshevilleBliss.com™
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Photo:Blue Ridge Parkway, Grandfather Mountain, NC. |
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| Discover Asheville's Unique Charms "...Asheville is rich with layer upon layer of the most exquisite quality of life just waiting to be discovered ..." Home CONNECT WITH ASHEVILLEBLISS.COM Mission Be An Editor Write a Review Link to Us Advertise with Us FIND OUT WHAT'S HAPPENING LOCALLY AND GET INVOLVED Media Buzz Directories & Portals Events Calendar Social Networking Free Advertising Asheville Blogs Local News Local Weather Local Media Free Wi-Fi Spots Web Cams Volunteer HISTORIC ASHEVILLE Historic Asheville Timeline & Historic Photos Historic Health Retreat Historic Architecture Douglas Ellington Thomas Wolfe Memorial Edwin Wiley Grove Black Mountain College History of Railway Legends & Mysteries ARTS & CRAFTS Art Galleries Bakersville Artists Burnsille Artists Celo Artists Penland Artists Spruce Pine Artists Recycled Art River Arts District Art & Craft Malls Art Supplies Art Lessons Art to Wear Studio Tours Art Contests Art Residencies WHERE TO STAY Lodging ENTERTAINMENT & ATTRACTIONS Entertainment Museums Free Entertainment Movies & Film Dinner & a Movie Asheville Tourists Trains & Locomotives FESTIVALS Festivals Bele Chere L.E.A.F. GATHERING PLACES Brew Pubs Wine Bars & Shops Coffee & Tea Houses Social Hours THEATER & SPOKEN WORD Theater Open Mic Nights Poetry Slams Storytelling MUSIC & DANCE Music Venues Blue Grass Modern Roots Jazz Classical Music Live Bands Music Festivals Drumming Street Performers Dance Contra Dance Latin Dance Swing Dance Belly Dancing SPORTS & OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES Rocks & Gems Rock Climbing Bouldering Rafting Kayaking Hiking Fishing Camping Mountain Biking Waterfalls Mountains Picnicking Wildlife Watching Golfing Tours Day Trips National Parks & Forests State Parks Blue Ridge Parkway Toe River Valley Boone NC Blowing Rock NC Hot Springs NC Flat Rock NC Gatlinburg TN Jonesborough TN FOOD & DINING Dining Local Produce Natural Food Tailgate Markets CSA Farms CO-OP VILLAGES, CO-HOUSING, ECO-DEVELOPMENT Housing Low Cost Housing Alternative Building Co-op Villages Green Building Retirement Communities ECO-GARDENING, PERMACULTURE, NATIVE PLANTS, WILD-CRAFTED HERBS Garden Centers Permaculture Gardening Information Wild Herbs Wildflowers Growing &Harvesting Ginseng ECO-CONSCIOUSNESS Green Consciousness Green Volunteerism Conservacy Sustainable Energy Green Products Recycling Green Services BODY/MIND/SPIRIT Body/Mind/Spirit Day Spas Salons Yoga & Pilates Practitioners Holistic Dentistry Spiritual Community EMPLOYMENT, BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY Fun Jobs Business Startup Help Grass Roots Funding Movie Industry EVENTS, WEDDINGS &PARTIES Event Spaces Event Planners Weddings Music for Hire Catering Bakeries Florists Photographers KIDS ACTIVITIES Kids Activities Birthday Parties Summer Camp EDUCATION & CLASSES Cooking Classes Art Lessons Herbal Medicine Schools Music Lessons Internships Educational Resources Retirement Education FUN SHOPPING Free Stuff Low Cost Groceries Thrift & Flea Bookstores Music Stores Antiques Auctions Shopping Clothing Mailorder Shopping |
Discover the Bliss of
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"...You’re welcome to explore our beautiful campus during daylight hours in a free and self-directed tour. On most weekdays and several weekends year-round, people like you are learning craft, art, music, dance, cooking, gardening, nature studies, photography, and writing in small classes scattered across campus. Class times are typically 9am-Noon and 1:30-4:30pm. You will likely be able to peek into studios at the classes being held there.... Free concerts are held most Friday nights and feature some of the finest regional and national acts performing old-time, bluegrass, folk, gospel and Celtic music.... The Folk School offers numerous nature trails open to the public during daylight hours. You'll find many interesting points on the scenic paths: the Rainbow Bridge, the Herb Garden and the Corn Maiden just to name a few.... If you’re visiting our fine campus and decide to join us for a meal in the Olive Dame Campbell Dining Hall, you may see our students experience a Pavlovian-type response to the traditional ringing of the red, handforged bell tower that signals the serving of each meal. When it rings, they know they’re in for a savory and nutritious meal amid good camaraderie. Join in our non-denominational blessing at the beginning of each meal, then, in our family-style way, pass around heaping bowls and platters of delicious food. Chef Steve Cipriano and his staff craft nutritious and tasty menus that are varied and well regarded. Our organic garden provides much of the content of our wonderful salads and fresh vegetable dishes. Vegetarian meal options are always available...." Driving Directions |
Handmade in America's Craft Heritage Trails Guidebook
lets you find hand-made crafts, artist's studios, galleries, bed & breakfasts, inns, historical sites, special attractions and notable restaurants in the mountains of Western North Carolina... and plan your own itinery.
Quilt Trails of Western North Carolina
"...Five Western North Carolina arts councils have collaborated with HandMade in America to create vibrant quilt patterns painted on wooden squares and installed on barns, public buildings and shops, forming a series of self-guided driving trails... to view these icons of tradition, in their new and significant roles as public art....each block represents a meaningful story, and as you experience the Quilt Trail, you will be viewing chronicles of local lore and history embedded in these quilt squares spread across our region. And, through your travels along the Quilt Trail, we know you will gain an even greater understanding of why the quilt is an enduring symbol of family, heritage, and community – all of the values upheld by HandMade..." Some of the Quilts
Penland School of Crafts tour
(about an hour north of Asheville) ... On Tuesdays and Thursdays mid-April through early December, you can join a tour of the campus (reservations required) which leaves from the Penland Gallery. If you happen to be at Penland during a time when Penland's coffee house is open, you could stop by for a drink and a snack.
Free Entertainment at Altapass
The Orchard at Altapass
About an hour and a half north of Asheville on the Blue Ridge Parkway. "Sundays The Orchard hosts a variety of local music, including gospel, blues, 50's rock, folk, show tunes, classical, and, again, country and bluegrass... the blending of traditional mountain bands and the music of musicians who have recently found these hazy blue mountain tops to be the perfect place to hone and display their genuine talents. All of this exceptional entertainment is given free..."
Explore the Bliss of Asheville ... |
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The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World: ".... Asheville, North Carolina, with its idyllic mountain setting and proliferation of good restaurants and New Age healing spas, is enjoying a vogue as a happy place to live. As one newly arrived resident puts it, "A lot of people spin the globe and their finger stops on Asheville." "....the author is correct, nice weather, affordable housing, lovely scenery, and a slower pace of life, yet an active cultural scene..." |
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From Rolf Potts' Vagabonding blog:
I've never been one of those uptight literary types who thinks that you have to have actually read a book in order to recommend it to others. So I feel no trepidation in suggesting Eric Weiner's new travelogue-slash-memoir The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World
Part foreign affairs discourse, part humor, and part twisted self-help guide, The Geography of Bliss takes the reader from America to Iceland to India in search of happiness, or, in the crabby author's case, moments of "un-unhappiness." The book uses a beguiling mixture of travel, psychology, science and humor to investigate not what happiness is, but where it is. Are people in Switzerland happier because it is the most democratic country in the world? Do citizens of Singapore benefit psychologically by having their options limited by the government? Is the King of Bhutan a visionary for his initiative to calculate Gross National Happiness? Why is Asheville, North Carolina so damn happy? With engaging wit and surprising insights, Eric Weiner answers those questions and many others, offering travelers of all moods some interesting new ideas for sunnier destinations and dispositions.
In the imaginary Netflix queue of books-that-I'm-planning-to-read, this one has just jumped to the top. By the way, why has no one started a Netflix for books? This question, and many more, I'll leave for another day.
Vineyards and Wine Tasting Rooms
Biltmore Winery
Biltmore Wine Tasting Events
Owl's Eye Vineyard
"...Located only 2.5 miles from the Historic Shelby Courtsquare, Owl’s Eye Vineyard and Winery offers a picturesque view of the South Mountains. We grow, harvest and produce a wide variety of Vinifera wines...."
Rittler Ridge Vineyards
Candler
Rockhouse Vineyards
Tryon
Waldensian Heritage Winery
"... The tradition of Waldensian wine making began centuries ago in the Cottian Alps, west of Torino, Italy and the Western Piedmont of Italy. This was comparable to Valdese, North Carolina, the Western Piedmont of North Carolina. The wine-making skills of these Waldensian people are now preserved by Waldensian Heritage Wines and reflect a combined 250 years experience in the making of wine....The winery has available a presentation vineyard and an outside covered "boccia" (lawn bowling) court with an adjacent covered seating area. Visitors are welcome to join a conducted tour along with tasting various wines and an opportunity for purchasing. The winery is available for parties, meetings, reunions, wedding events, or any scheduled gathering of friends. The winery is open year-round on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for tours from 1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. and at other times by appointment...."
Free and Low Cost Museum Admission
Black Mountain College Museum + Art Center
Past faculty included Josef Albers, Buckminster Fuller, John Cage, Willem de Kooning and others.
North Carolina Arboretum
"...The Arboretum focuses on the education, economic development, research, conservation, and garden demonstration with respect to landscape, architecture, and plant sciences. The 434-acre site is nestled in one of the most beautiful natural settings in the United States. Mountain peaks bound the property's visual perimeters and 1.8 miles of the Bent Creek stream run through the center of the Arboretum. A wide variety of classes and workshops are taught by the staff and other plant experts. Educational programs target all ages and range from bonsai demonstrations to nature walks...."
Charming Towns to Visit
Blowing Rock
"... Just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in the North Carolina mountains, Blowing Rock is a storybook village filled with upscale shops, unique attractions, outdoor adventure that ranges from whitewater rafting to skiing, performing and visual arts, fine dining and family restaurants, and a range of accommodations from cabins to bed and breakfasts and hotels to resorts...."
Valdese
"... Valdese is a town of about forty-five hundred citizens nestled in the foothills of western North Carolina. Settled on May 29, 1893 by immigrants from the Cottian Alps of northern Italy, the town retains much of its heritage. Valdese exhibits the charm of a small town, despite the growth of local industries and of larger nearby cities... ." Wednesday and Friday Farmers Market... Friday Night concerts in Summer... a Winery...Myra's a '50's Style Diner with " Happy Days" atmosphere, right down to the jukebox ... The Old Rock School (home to two art galleries)... and more. See their website for details. Vadese is about 65 miles East on I-40 from Asheville.
Discover the Bliss of Asheville ... |
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| Finding Your Way in Asheville is ".... a different kind of guide book. Instead of offering glossy photos and paid insertions from big bucks advertisers, it gives you the kind of information you'd get from a best friend who moved to Western North Carolina twenty years ago. "I've discovered the greatest place for a romantic dinner," she'd say. "Just around the corner from Pritchard Park. Here, let me draw you a map." It's a selective guide in that the authors share the places they've come to love while living, working, dining out, partying, biking, hiking, canoeing and raising children in the "Paris of the South." | |
| America's Castles: The Biltmore Estate "...the grandest of all American homes... Biltmore dwarfs all the mansions built by his illustrious forefathers... . a remarkable top-to-bottom tour of the largest home ever built in America. With its 255 rooms, the Biltmore is a monument to the extravagance and eccentricity of its owner. See footage of its construction, and go behind the scenes with the men and women who work there to learn the secrets of this incredible mansion. Get a privileged tour of rooms that are off-limits to the public, and marvel at the magnificent treasures that Vanderbilt collected....." | |
| Biltmore Estate: The Most Distinguished Private Place "... Few people realize what effort it took to design and construct the largest private residence in the United States, but this book details it all from the breaking of the ground to the designing of the curtain rods. This book is one of the best written and most appealing architectural history books ever. The photographs and drawings in it are also to be commended. Many of the pictures offer breathtaking views of the mansion and its grounds as well as showing many vintage photographs taken at various times throughout its construction and times of residence...." | |
There are many blissful activities in Asheville! To locate them, go to Google.com and search on "Asheville activities".
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