LAAFF Away on Lexington Ave

LAAFF (Lexington Avenue Arts and Fun Festival) is back and bigger than ever. From September 3^rd to the 4^th, downtown Asheville’s Lexington Avenue will be a bustle of activity and artsy fun for this independently-run event loved by the Asheville community. The whole of Asheville’s creative and eccentric side will be out on the streets! Find multiple stages with a range of musical performances, plenty of local art, food, drinks, and street performers, like magicians, contortionists, and break dancers. It’s the place and time to spice up your mountain vacation in Asheville, so enjoy the end of summer with this classic local favorite.

Did You Know? about Asheville accolades

Asheville makes it onto the list for several national rankings. Here are a few interesting ones (with some related Asheville links thrown in):

One of "The 50 Most Alive Places To Be" (Modern Maturity)

One of "America's Top 25 Arts Destinations" (AmericanStyle)

The "Happiest City for Women" (Self)

One of the "Best Places to Reinvent Your Life" (AARP Magazine)

The "New Freak Capital of the U.S." (Rolling Stone)

"A New Age Mecca" (CBS News' Eye On America)

The "most vegetarian-friendly" small city in America (PETA)


Plus, Asheville Magazine wrote an interesting story regarding the attraction of Asheville.

Weekly Weekend in Asheville

There are two big downtown events this weekend.

On Saturday, check out Organicfest from 10 am - 6 pm. From the press release:

Organicfest, one of the nation's largest regional organic festival ... is a special environmental project of the Imagine Center, a local non-profit dedicated to promoting organics through educational and fun events.... The finest organic foods and refreshments will be available. Environmental organizations will share information and provide help with organic living, organic gardening, organic farming and other earth care matters. Activities will include live music, dancing, organic food demos, drawings for organic goods and gift certificates and the festival will again feature the popular Organicfest Kids Parade at 1 PM.

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The other big event this weekend is LAAFF - Lexington Avenue Arts & Fun Festival (as our West Asheville Plurk friend mmphotos reminded me today).

Let's call it a mini-Bele Chere. From the Web site:

Three blocks of N. Lexington Ave will be lined with all local art, food, beer and street performers on Sunday, September 7th from 11am – 10pm between College Street and the I 240 overpass. The street will be brimming with a celebration Asheville's diverse and unique culture.

Three stages and two courtyards of music and performance include rock and roll, indie pop, funk, folk, ragtime, reggae, world beats, singer songwriters, bluegrass, old time, drummers, clowns, magicians, contortionists, belly dancers, modern dancers, vaudeville actors, fire dancers, break dancers, and hula hoopers. The complete lineup will be available within the next couple of weeks; stay tuned to our emails find out more details of the day's events.

See 'em on Myspace too.

For more events, see the Asheville Chamber's calendar.

If you would like to attend any of these events and need a place to stay, contact Carolina Mornings for your last-minute reservation needs. We have downtown condos, Biltmore Luxury Condos, Asheville cabins and vacation rentals. Reserve as late as 3pm the day of arrival (call by 2 pm to ensure time to complete the reservation process). Toll free 1-800-770-9055.