Woman-owned businesses are the norm in Weaverville’s downtown district, a bustling hamlet that puts the lie to the notion of small towns as sleepy places where nothing much ever happens.
BCTDA shares tourism growth plans at annual meeting
Roughly 1,600 new hotel rooms have opened in Buncombe County since late 2015 — an increase of approximately 15 percent over that period — with 1,900 still planned. “Since the start of this construction cycle, we’ve been able to fully absorb a pretty enormous supply,” said Explore Asheville President and CEO Stephanie Pace Brown. “We just need to do that over again in the next three or four years.”
Homestay short-term renters push for looser kitchen definition
On Aug. 13, the Planning & Economic Development Committee recommended that staff throw out the kitchen sink from the current definition. Council members Gwen Wisler, Vijay Kapoor and Julie Mayfield moved to adopt a new “maximum flexibility” definition for kitchen spaces.
Tryon saddles up for World Equestrian Games
Outside of the Olympics, the World Equestrian Games (which, like the Olympics, take place every four years) are the biggest competition in the world of horse-related sports. And this year, those games will take place in horse-crazy Tryon. Ironically, the only local resident competing will ride for his native Ecuador.
Asheville Art Museum builds for the past, present and future
As the city gets ready to meet the latest incarnation of the Asheville Art Museum on Pack Square, Xpress looks at the museum’s history and its plans for the future, along with cost of the building project and its effects on other Pack Place institutions to feel out what the new space will mean to Asheville and the region.
Happy 242: Independence Day events around WNC
Western North Carolina towns exude charm throughout the year, but on Independence Day they take that appeal to another level. That tradition continues in 2018 with streets and parks across the mountains playing host to parades, live music, festivals and other family-friendly celebrations while the sun is out, followed by fireworks and shows to cap off the night. […]
A tussle in your hedgerow
ASHEVILLE, NC
Growing Asheville’s tourism industry
Qualitative findings, paired with broader, quantitative surveys, support Explore Asheville’s ongoing quest to better understand its expanding roster of target markets. Because while Asheville’s total visitation numbers continue to rise, so do those of other destinations that are competing for the same tourist dollars.
WNC experts discuss sustainability of outdoor recreation
As people flock to Western North Carolina to take advantage of the region’s abundant outdoor recreational opportunities, they also bring a human impact to wild places.
Power to the people: Best of WNC 2018 voting begins
With a far out feeling, voting has begun for the beloved annual Best of WNC awards. Only you can decide who’ll be feelin’ it in the new summer of love, when winners are announced this August. You have until 11:59 p.m. on the night of Saturday, April 28 to complete your ballot and make sure your voice is heard. […]
Summer camps help kids come into their own
Summer camps offer children and teens opportunities to learn new skills and discover new aspects of themselves. While many area camps say they hew to traditional camp activities like campfires, archery, swimming and horseback riding, other programs are re-envisioning their offerings to appeal to a new digital generation of campers.
Groups dynamic: WNC cooking schools turn up the heat with culinary team-building experiences
Many area cooking schools now offer programming that caters to meeting planners and organizations looking for an outside-the-box option for team building.
Future transit efforts, concerns mirror Asheville’s past
Asheville as we know it today was built upon the back of its electric streetcar system, one of the largest networks of its time. As the city finds itself in a growth spurt once again, could its defunct trolley system provide some clues to Asheville’s transit future?
No vacant see
Asheville, N.C.
Neighborhood battles against business intrusion
Homeowners on Vermont Avenue in West Asheville see their neighborhood as a quiet, special residential pocket of the city — and they intend to keep it that way. Residents implored the Planning and Zoning Commission to stop a property owner from opening an art gallery in a house on the street. That issued tied into a discussion of short-term rentals and whether Asheville wants tourists “in every nook and cranny.”
The season of the hitch
Asheville, N.C.
Purveyors of horror create haunting experiences
Estimates place the number of haunted house attractions in the United States in the thousands. Xpress caught up with some of the local haunts to get a behind the scenes look at the industry.
WNC residents, officials gather to discuss railroads’ future
Community and business representatives from across the rail industry gathered in Asheville on Sept. 22 for the Railroads & Regional Economic Development Conference. Organized by the WNC Rail Committee, the conference revealed some hints of how railroads may adapt to changing times.
Traffic pattern
Asheville, N.C.
How to not die in the Smokies
When you think about the Great Smoky Mountains, your thoughts might not immediately jump to death and destruction. But that is exactly what adventure travel writer David Brill of Morgan County, Tenn., dives into with his new book, “Into the Mist: Tales of Death and Disaster, Mishaps and Misdeeds, Misfortune and Mayhem in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.”
Cycle through seasonal splendor in WNC
Autumn cycling events in the region feature options for all experience levels and highlight the gorgeous landscape while raising money for nonprofits.