Roll On: Mobile tours weather decline in summer tourism
Volume
30
/ Issue 6
Cover Design Credit:
Scott SouthwickCover Photography Credit:
Courtesy of Gray Line Trolley Tours of Asheville
This year’s tourism numbers are down. Yet, local mobile tour companies say they’ve seen only a slight decline in ticket sales. Nevertheless, these enterprises continue to adjust their approaches to continue to attract riders.
arts
Classically trained musicians carve out varied careers
Franklin Keel, Amanda Durst and Tori Parrish discuss their multifaceted professional lives.Local artist Nick Raynolds embraces the surreal
Nick Raynolds' new exhibit, Externalities, marks a shift in his artistic approach. After decades creating works of realism, he's now embracing elements of the surreal and abstract.The Actor’s Center of Asheville turns 10
Kevin Patrick Murphy reflects on the school's first decade.Around town: A weeklong celebration of women musicians
The second annual Women to the Front Festival expands to a weeklong celebration. Plus, "The Village Witch" releases her new book; A-B Tech's student and faculty literature and arts publication…food
What’s new in food: Chefs take action for Food Connection
Chefs In Action create gourmet dishes from rescued food; Chow Chow returns for four-day celebration of local cuisine; The Democratic Socialists Of America host a Carolina Abortion Fund fundraiser; and…living
Asheville High School senior heads to Nevada for Onewheel competition
When you spend as much time on a Onewheel as Finn Holcomb does, you crash a lot. “I crashed last night,” says Holcomb, an Asheville High School senior and a…news
Buncombe Schools superintendent touts improving grades
For the first time since 2015, students at 20 Buncombe Schools exceeded growth expectations during the 2022-23 school year, eight more than last year.Questions persist about county property appraisals
Tax Assessor Keith Miller says he is “very confident” that the changes he’s implemented will improve the process used in the next reappraisal in 2025. However, consultant Joe Minicozzi of…Asheville’s mobile tours adapt to tourism trends
Representatives from LaZoom and Gray Line discuss their experiences with summer's tourism decline.How do recent retirees find sense of community in WNC?
A few weeks after Paul Heaton retired to West Asheville in May, he saw a sign at Banks Ave. Bar that grabbed his attention. “It was for an event they…TDA discusses concerns over the decline in tourism
Historically, July is the second busiest month for tourism in Buncombe County, superseded only by October. Yet, this year’s downward trend in overall lodging revenue and occupancy continued into the…opinion
Letter: Spend public money on public schools
"Any public money to any religious school is completely and wholly unconstitutional."Letter: North Asheville’s parking lot
"Congratulations! To the City of Asheville and all the others involved in deciding and implementing the changes that have turned Merrimon Avenue into a parking lot!"My Story: An elder’s brave bike venture
"But alas, that old saying 'It’s just like riding a bike' doesn’t hold up anymore. Not because riding a bike is any different, as much as I am. Different."Letter: City should provide public toilets and more in West Asheville
"The public toilets and drinking water access points are exactly what our tax dollars should support. No excuses, Mayor Esther Manheimer!"Word salad
Letter: How about a new auditorium on the South Slope?
"Why not buy the finished ghost garage on the South Slope from troubled developers for pennies on the dollar and use the balance of the land for a new Thomas…Slim pickings