Let’s breathe a little easier at festivals

We attended our third and last French Broad River Festival recently. It's a fun venue with great music and friendly people. But we were shocked by the number of smokers this spring. We could not get away from the secondhand smoke, and they even smoked in the Porta Potties.

Smoking was linked to cancer back in the late 1950s and early ‘60s. Wake up! It's time for festivals to get with it and ban smoking in the stage areas, please. Many are already doing that.

— Nelson Copp
Asheville

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Webmaster
Mountain Xpress Webmaster Follow me @MXWebTeam

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

3 thoughts on “Let’s breathe a little easier at festivals

  1. boatrocker

    Wahhhhhh.

    Let’s ban smoking, but heaven forbid we do something about moonshine, alcohol, pot, LSD, PCP, mushrooms, DMT, crank, crystal meth, nitrous tanks, cough syrup and all the other drugs you see there when hippie festival-goers let their pre-teen kids run free there without parental supervision?

    By the way, they smoke in the porta potties so as not to have to hear the ivory tower complaints from… oh never mind. The same nasty smokers probably secretly eat meat in their tents too!

    Campfires, incense, sage and patchouli should be banned there too for their nasty carcinogens- but wait…Namaste.

    Did you happen to notice that the French Broad River smelled like 8 million gallons of raw sewage from a recent “accident”? Or did the smell of one cig cover that up?

    Copp, please email the webmasters of the Mtn X. to gain my email address as to how to volunteer your time to clean up the French Broad River if you are truly worried about festival goers’ health.

  2. cwaster

    I have asthma. I can’t go to these things because the secondhand smoke literally makes me sick. Is that fair? Probably not.

  3. boatrocker

    Fair is the weather, not the world.

    Does a wood-powered campfire, incense, patchouli, marijuana bong hits or a sage smudge make you cough too?

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.