Archive for Asheville B&B
November 10, 2009 at 7:59 pm
· Filed under Asheville, Asheville B&B, Asheville activites, Asheville seasons, Lovers' Loop Retreat, vacation rental ·Tagged alternative B&B, Asheville activities, Asheville NC, Lovers' Loop Retreat
The Biltmore’s annual Christmas decoration extravaganza starts Nov. 6 and runs through Jan. 3, 2010. The nightly candlelight tours of the estate captivate visitors with decorations inside, lights on the front lawn and live music. A decorated Fraser fir is an eye-opener inside the mansion. Visitors to our Lovers’ Loop Retreat, an Asheville vacation rental, are about a 10-minute drive to the Biltmore, which is dubbed America’s largest house.
Four newly-opened rooms in the house will be decorated for the first time this year. Also new will be costumed ballroom dancers who will perform in vintage attire.
The Biltmore, with its beautiful grounds and gardens, amazing mountain views and trails, winery, restaurants and fascinating mansion, wows everyone who visits. Treat yourself when you stay at Lovers’ Loop Retreat, an Asheville bed and breakfast alternative.
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November 4, 2009 at 5:41 am
· Filed under Asheville, Asheville B&B, Asheville activites, B&B alternative, Lovers' Loop Retreat, vacation rental ·Tagged Asheville NC, Asheville, Asheville activities, Lovers' Loop Retreat, alternative B&B
The 7th annual Asheville Film Festival will be Nov. 12-15, and if you like the silver screen, you’ll enjoy the quirky, cutting-edge, kinky, comedic and otherwise entertaining movies in the lineup. The films are screened at various locations downtown, which is an easy 10-minute drive from our Asheville bed and breakfast alternative, Lovers’ Loop Retreat.
The films are in the following categories: features, animation, short films, documentaries and student films. The festival offers workshops and free educational sessions in addition to film screenings.
This has become a known and noticed event in the industry, so check it out and see what the buzz is about.
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October 29, 2009 at 8:18 pm
· Filed under Asheville, Asheville B&B, Asheville activites, B&B alternative, Lovers' Loop Retreat, vacation rental ·Tagged Asheville NC, Asheville, Asheville activities, Lovers' Loop Retreat, alternative B&B, vacation rental
One of the hippest ways to explore downtown Asheville is on a segway, a self-operated, two-wheel, battery-powered transportation device. Guided segway tours are available in Asheville at the North Carolina Arboretum, Biltmore estate and from the Asheville Visitor Center downtown. Each of these places is an easy drive from our Lovers’ Loop Retreat, an Asheville vacation rental.
We recently took a tour with Moving Sidewalk Tours, which operates downtown segway expeditions from the Asheville Visitor Center. It’s a great way to learn about Asheville. The tour goes to parts of the Montford Historic District and into the heart of downtown, with stops along the Asheville Urban Trail and by Pritchard Park, the Grove Arcade and other points of interest.
It’s almost too cool for words, and you’ll draw smiles and waves as you glide along the sidewalk past curious onlookers. Riding a segway may be the most fun you’ll ever have standing on two feet and two wheels and wearing a helmet!
The segways are easy to ride. No pedals to fool with, and they turn easily once you get the hang of it. There’s a training session before you start.
The tour, at a maximum speed of about six miles an hour, takes several hours, and Moving Sidewalk Tours operates from April through December. Try this treat when you stay at our Lovers’ Loop Retreat, an Asheville bed and breakfast alternative.
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October 24, 2009 at 5:57 am
· Filed under Asheville, Asheville B&B, Asheville activites, B&B, B&B alternative, B&Bs, Fall Foliage, Lovers' Loop Retreat, free things in Asheville, newsletters, vacation rental ·Tagged Asheville NC, Asheville, Asheville activities, Blue Ridge Parkway, Lovers' Loop Retreat, Asheville festivals, free stuff to do, alternative B&B, free things to do
Lovers’ Loop Retreat November muse-letter
The view from Lovers’ Loop Retreat here in Asheville, N.C., is looking like lollipops, with the trees doing the orange, yellow and red foliage dance, and our mountain views re-emerging as the leaves in the distance drop from their tethers. For the next few weeks, there should be nice color around our Asheville vacation rental and in the surrounding mountains, so it’s a great time to come and embrace Asheville’s autumn.
The foliage, of course, is FREE to view, and Lovers’ Loop Retreat is within a minute of one of the very best viewing routes, the Blue Ridge Parkway. Treat yourself with a stay at our guest suite, and experience the splendor! We have events posted through December and into 2010 on our Web site, www.loversloopretreat.com. Use the Web site to check out what’s going on whenever you plan your trip to Asheville and Lovers’ Loop Retreat, an Asheville bed and breakfast alternative. You can link to our blog, http://loversloopretreat.wordpress.com, on the home page.
In addition to the foliage and the Halloween happenings listed on our home page’s events calendar, November brings a cool mix of music to downtown Asheville. The Asheville Civic Center (and its Thomas Wolfe Auditorium) and the Diana Wortham Theatre host troubadours Leonard Cohen on Nov. 1, Jackson Browne on Nov. 12, Nanci Griffith on Nov. 14 and George Winston on Nov. 21.
If film is your fancy, the Asheville Film Festival will be Nov. 5-8 with its diversity of films political and dramatic, quirky and comedic, weird and wonderful. This festival is growing and gaining acclaim, so come and enjoy the range of entertainment.
Catch the holiday spirit at the “Christmas at Biltmore Estate” extravaganza, which runs Nov. 6- Jan. 3, 2010. This annual transformation of what claims to be America’s largest home draws lots of people who find magic in the setting and the decorations.
For art lovers, the River Arts District Studio Stroll just outside downtown Asheville on Nov. 14-15 is a must-see, and it’s FREE. Dozens of artists open their studio doors to visitors, who can watch art being created and get some good deals sometimes, too.
If you’re ready for more Christmas events, the Asheville Lyric Opera’s annual Christmas concert will be Nov. 20 downtown. Asheville’s Montford Park Players perform “A Christmas Carol” Dec. 3-6 and Dec. 10-13, and there’s a Christmas festival Dec. 4-6 in the historic Biltmore Village outside downtown Asheville.
All of these events and activities and more are listed on our Web site. Please pass along our muse-letter to your friends. And join us at Lovers’ Loop Retreat. See you in Asheville!
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October 13, 2009 at 5:20 am
· Filed under Asheville, Asheville B&B, B&B alternative, Lovers' Loop Retreat, music, vacation rental ·Tagged alternative B&B, Asheville, chorus, concerts, Lovers' Loop Retreat, symphony
One way to be spellbound on your visit to Asheville, N.C., is to attend a concert by the Asheville Symphony Orchestra at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium downtown. When you visit our Lovers’ Loop Retreat, an Asheville vacation rental, you’re just 10 minutes away from this treat.
We recently went to the first concert of the symphony’s 49th season, which featured “Don Quixote” and “Carmen” suites with a guest cellist and violist. The symphony presents an ocean of sound and a mountain of music, and we were caught up in the tidal wave of horns, reeds, strings and percussion. With all the instruments, there’s so much for the eyes as well as the ears, and it’s always interesting to watch the conductor’s movements, sometimes energetic, sometimes graceful. The musicians’ warming up their instruments before the concert starts is titillating, too.
The symphony’s season continues through May, 2010 with music by composers from around the world and includes guest musicians, a guest vocalist, the Asheville Symphony Chorus and Brevard College Chorus. The Holiday Pops concert Dec. 19 will feature the Asheville Symphony Chorus, Asheville Symphony Children’s Chorus and a soloist. The Asheville Symphony Chorus also will perform May 1, 2010.
There’s a link to the Asheville Symphony Orchestra’s Web site on the Lovers’ Loop Retreat home page. When you stay at Lovers’ Loop Retreat, an Asheville bed and breakfast alternative, you may have the opportunity to hear nature’s symphony — squirrels, birds, crickets, rain — a different kind of music.
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October 8, 2009 at 9:26 pm
· Filed under Asheville, Asheville B&B, Asheville activites, Asheville art, B&B alternative, Lovers' Loop Retreat, NC, vacation rental ·Tagged alternative B&B, Asheville, Asheville activities, Asheville art, Asheville NC, Blue Ridge Parkway, Lovers' Loop Retreat
One of the biggest craft events of the year in the Asheville, N.C., area runs Thursday, Oct. 15 through Sunday, Oct. 18, all day each day. It’s the Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands, held twice a year (also in July) in downtown Asheville at the civic center. Guests at our Lovers’ Loop Retreat, an Asheville vacation rental, are 10 minutes from this popular happening.
More than 200 craftspeople display their work at the fair, and they’re all members of the guild, so it’s basically a juried show. You’ll see works of glass, metal, mixed media, paper, jewelry, wood, fiber, clay and more. The fair also features craft demonstrations: corn shuck dolls, calligraphy, drum-making, fiber art, blacksmithing, dyeing and spinning.
There’s also live music: bluegrass, old-time mountain music, vocalists. Enjoy the washtub bass, kazoos, fiddles, slide whistles and more with a lot of festive sounds.
This is the fair’s 62nd season. The craft guild is one of the oldest in the United States and represents craftspeople in about 10 states. The guild is based at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The center, only minutes from Lovers’ Loop Retreat, an Asheville bed and breakfast alternative, has a gift shop with lots of handcrafted items for sale.
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September 28, 2009 at 1:41 am
· Filed under Asheville, Asheville B&B, Asheville Weather, Asheville activites, Asheville seasons, B&B alternative, Fall Foliage, Lovers' Loop Retreat, nature, the weather, vacation rental ·Tagged Asheville NC, Asheville, Lovers' Loop Retreat, alternative B&B
With the shift into autumn last week and the weather changes it will bring, it’s a good time to note that our Lovers’ Loop Retreat Web site has a weather link on the home page that you can click to get a five-day forecast.
Whatever time of year you visit Lovers’ Loop Retreat, our Asheville vacation rental, you can get a glimpse of what to expect in terms of weather during your stay.
Some of our guests enjoy relaxing on the porch that’s available only to guests. Autumn is a great time to sit outside with the squirrels and birds and the insects that fill the night sky with their own symphony.
Lovers’ Loop Retreat is now on Twitter and Facebook , so look for us there.
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September 23, 2009 at 5:24 am
· Filed under Asheville, Asheville B&B, Asheville activites, Asheville art, Asheville seasons, B&B alternative, Fall Foliage, Lovers' Loop Retreat, free things in Asheville, nature, vacation rental ·Tagged alternative B&B, Asheville, Asheville activities, Asheville festivals, Asheville NC, Blue Ridge Parkway, Fall Foliage, free stuff to do, free things to do, Lovers' Loop Retreat
Lovers’ Loop Retreat October Muse-letter
October is one of the peak months for activities in Asheville, N.C., each year. And one of the peak activities is leaf-peeking. Our Lovers’ Loop Retreat, an Asheville bed and breakfast alternative, offers easy access to the multi-hued trees that await your eyes. With the Blue Ridge Parkway within two minutes of Lovers’ Loop Retreat, you can be on that non-commercial, scenic road in no time and head north or south to catch some color. The parkway is popular for hiking, biking and cruising by car, and in the fall you’ll find many beautiful photo opportunities for miles and miles. You can be a leaf-peeper for FREE! There’s no charge to use the parkway, so come and treat yourself to some eye candy.
It’s not just the trees that explode here in autumn. The Asheville area explodes with activities in October, including two of the year’s biggest events, both Oct. 15-18: the Lake Eden Arts Festival, or LEAF, and the Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands. You can find information about these and other happy happenings in October, through December and in 2010 on our Web site, http://www.loversloopretreat.com/. Use the Web site to check out what’s going on whenever you plan your trip to Asheville and Lovers’ Loop Retreat, an Asheville vacation rentals. You can link to our blog, http://loversloopretreat.wordpress.com/, on the home page.
Some of the events in October are FREE. There’s bonsai (miniature trees), Bonnie Raitt and locally-made beer. You’ll find art fairs, apples and an animal fiber fair. There’s a nontraditional circus, nationally-known comedians and the annual LGBTQ festival. The fun goes on: a chili cook-off, lyric opera, Marianne Faithfull and a chrysanthemum show. Take your pick, or mix and match, but don’t miss out.
The Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands is a premier arts event that’s held twice a year in downtown Asheville. The fair offers an amazing variety of arts and crafts by members of the Asheville-based Southern Highland Craft Guild, which represents craft artists from multiple states. You’ll be dazzled.
The LEAF event in Black Mountain, an easy 15-minute drive from Lovers’ Loop Retreat, also is offered twice a year. LEAF features an array of performing and healing arts from around the world. In addition to live music, dance, poetry and visual art, LEAF has meditation, massage, yoga, tai chi, even hula hooping. Go whoop it up!
Check our Web site for a peek into November, which brings Leonard Cohen in concert Nov. 1 in Asheville, the Asheville Film Festival Nov. 5-8, Christmas at Biltmore Estate starting Nov. 6, Jackson Browne on Nov. 12, Nanci Griffith on Nov. 14 and George Winston on Nov. 21. Dig it!
All of these events and activities and more are listed on our Web site. Please pass along our muse-letter to your friends. And join us at Lovers’ Loop Retreat. See you in Asheville!
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September 18, 2009 at 11:23 pm
· Filed under Asheville, Asheville B&B, Asheville activites, Asheville seasons, B&B alternative, Lovers' Loop Retreat, free things in Asheville, nature, vacation rental ·Tagged alternative B&B, Asheville, Asheville activities, Asheville NC, Blue Ridge Parkway, free stuff to do, free things to do
Once you get to Asheville, you don’t have to pay anything for the mountain views and leaf-peeping you can enjoy in the autumn season. Our Lovers’ Loop Retreat, one of the Asheville vacation rentals, is a great base for your road tripping, hiking, biking, kayaking and photography excursions in the fall.
Fall at Lovers' Loop Retreat
There’s a reason people flock to Asheville in autumn: it’s beautiful. From late September into November, you can find pretty foliage somewhere in the area, depending on elevation and weather. There’s no guarantee about how the colors will play out this fall because it depends on rainfall and temperatures, but you’re sure to find some lovely red, yellow and orange leaves somewhere in the area.
Lovers’ Loop Retreat is a stone’s throw from the Blue Ridge Parkway, one of the best places to enjoy leaf season in Western North Carolina. You can take the scenic parkway south and north to find inspiring vistas that will take your breath.
We usually have some pretty coloration here at Lovers’ Loop Retreat every fall, too, with the dogwoods, oaks, serviceberries, sourwoods, tulip poplars and other trees changing color whenever their time comes. And guests who visit Lovers’ Loop Retreat after about mid-November have mountain views to enjoy once the leaves have fallen.
Stay at our Asheville bed and breakfast alternative this fall to color your world!
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September 13, 2009 at 10:45 pm
· Filed under Asheville, Asheville B&B, Asheville activites, B&B alternative, Lovers' Loop Retreat, free things in Asheville, vacation rental ·Tagged alternative B&B, Asheville, Asheville activities, Asheville NC, Blue Ridge Parkway, folk dancing, free events, free music, free stuff to do, free things to do, gee-haw-whimmy-diddle, Lovers' Loop Retreat
To get a flavor of the wonderful mountain culture in the Asheville area, there’s no better event than the annual Heritage Weekend Sept. 19-20 at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The center is just a few minutes from our Lovers’ Loop Retreat, an Asheville bed and breakfast alternative, which is a stone’s throw from the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway.
Music group at the Heritage Fest
Heritage Weekend is FREE, and it’s sponsored by the Southern Highland Craft Guild, one of the oldest craft guilds in the country. The event features live, traditional mountain music and dance and exhibits on beekeeping, canning and preserving, toy-making, spinning, quilting, basket weaving, pottery, whittling, blacksmithing and other traditions worthy of preserving.
You’ll also see carving, chair-making and broom-making, natural dyeing, an apple cider press at work and, one of our favorite things, sheep shearing. We love to watch the shearing each year!
waiting to be sheared
Among the most popular events at Heritage Weekend is a competition with the whimmy diddle, an Appalachian wooden toy.
Don’t miss this fun weekend that’s so close to our Asheville vacation rental!
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