Ok So Asheville Did Not Make The List, BUT......

FlipKey Announces the Best Vacation Spots to Take the Family This Fall

Ok, I am not surprised Asheville did not make the list of the most Family Friendly Vacation Spot. We do not have the bells and whistles geared for kids. We cannot swim with the dolphins or become one with the mice residents of Disney World, or go to an overpriced doll store where folks pay real money to get the doll's hair styled and buy outfits to match their doll's.

However we do have many kid and family friendly attractions that other towns do not, nor could they replicate, even if they wanted to.
Asheville boasts many cool attractions only to mention a few:
Gorgeous Smoky Mountain ranges to explore
Family white water rafting
The Biltmore Estate
Kid and dog friendly restaurants
Lake Lure boat cruises
Unto These Hills- the outdoor drama that chronicles the history of the Cherokee Indians
AND, this year marks the 75 th Birthday of one of America's greatest achievements: The Blue Ridge Parkway! The 469-mile scenic byway connecting Shenandoah National Park in Virginia with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.

This is only a handful of amazing things to do in Asheville with or without kids. Being in the Hospitality business for the last 13 years, here in Asheville, there is definitely a void in families coming to town in tow with their kids. I am not sure why, but I am hoping others will start noticing the jewels we can share with our fellow youngins. Perhaps FlipKey will take a look at the not so flashy yet family friendly town of Asheville and consider it one of the top contenders for a kid friendly destination.

Weekly Weekend in Asheville

Thursday, Friday & Saturday
96th Annual Cherokee Indian Fair

Each year the fair offers an opening parade, midway, fireworks, traditional Cherokee food and competitions that bring out the best of the Eastern Bands basket makers, carvers, quilters, gardeners and more. The fair also attracts high-quality entertainment to perform each evening in the amphitheater. The fair began as a way for members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to showcase their arts and crafts and invite neighboring communities to the Qualla Boundary, the tribes traditional homeland. The fair has grown since its early days, but its original focus remains. This is a hugely popular event among Eastern Band members and a great opportunity for visitors to experience the fun, welcoming qualities of the Cherokee culture. Gates open 10 a.m. daily with Nightly shows.

Saturday, Oct 11

Doc Watson & David Holt: Hills of Home

Two priceless performances by superstars of traditional American folk music, legendary performer Doc Watson and Grammy-winning musician and folklorist David Holt.

12 p.m., Diana Wortham Theatre
Tickets: $45. Get them by calling 828-257-4530 or visiting above Web site

Found Footage Festival

The acclaimed touring showcase of odd and hilarious found videos, will make a one-night-only appearance in Asheville next month as part of its 2008 North American tour. Hosts Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher, whose credits include The Onion and the Late Show with David Letterman, are excited to present their unique blend of video clips and live comedy in two big shows. The shows are being sponsored locally by the Media Arts Project (The MAP) and OrbitDVD. This one-of-a-kind event compiles more than an hour’s worth of footage from videos that were found at garage sales and thrift stores and in warehouses and dumpsters throughout the country. Curators Pickett and Prueher host each screening in-person and provide their unique observations and commentary on these found video obscurities. From the curiously-produced industrial training video to the forsaken home movie donated to Goodwill, the Found Footage Festival resurrects these forgotten treasures and serves them up in a lively celebration of all things found.

8:00 p.m. & 10 p.m., Asheville Arts Center
Tickets to the Found Footage Festival are $10 and are available online at www.brownpapertickets.org or around Asheville at Static Age Records, Harvest Records, TV Eye, Orbit DVD or at the door.

Sunday, Oct 12

ACS benefit concert

The Asheville Choral Society (Lenora Thomas, Music Director), one of Western N.C.'s premiere performing arts organizations, will perform Sir Paul McCartney's oratorio Ecce cor Meum (Behold my Heart) -- the first performance in the Southeast and only the second performance in the U.S. since its Carnegie Hall debut.

4 p.m. Diana Wortham Theater

Ticket prices recently dropped from $75 to just $40.

See many more events on ExploreAsheville.

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Interested in making a last minute trip to Asheville? Give Carolina Mornings a call at 800.770.9055 or visit our Web site to view all of our Asheville vacation rentals, log cabins, condos, chalets and more!

Cherokee Reservation a hotspot for international tourists

The Asheville Citizen-Times recently published an article about the popularity of Cherokee, NC among foreign travelers. According to the article, there were about 358,000 international travelers visiting North Carolina in 2007, many to visit and learn more about the Cherokee culture.

The article largely discusses the fact that many Germans in particular are drawn to the Southeast, wanting to know more about authentic American Indian culture. The Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians is aware of this, and now offers a German language Web site.

There is also the added bonus of lively surroundings - including the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains, and attractions such as the Blue Ridge Parkway and Asheville - that makes Cherokee a good place to visit.

Long vacations (6 weeks of vacation time) and a favorable exchange rate make traveling to the United States a feasible option for many Europeans, and along with the Cherokee reservation in particular, the entire Southeast is growing in popularity among foreign travelers. This should give the tourism a little boost as the national economy makes Americans more reticent to travel.

Cherokee, Asheville and the rest of Western North Carolina are also good places to vacation for those in the Southeast who would like to take a vacation but don't want to travel far from home, with rises gas prices and talk of recession.

Cherokee is about an hour from Asheville, and has many cultural attractions to enjoy, including:

• Unto These Hills - annual summer outdoor performance about the history of the Cherokee. Dates and ticket information.
• Museum of the Cherokee Indian
• Oconaluftee Indian Village - with demonstrations, and hands-on learning classes in a variety of traditional art forms
• Qualla Arts & Crafts Mutual, Inc. - the oldest and leading Native American Arts cooperative in the United States

Plus much more - visit the Web site to see all Cherokee has to offer.


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