Archive for Asheville dance

Fodor’s ranks Asheville in top 21 destinations

February 14, 2011 at 4:42 am · Filed under Asheville, Asheville activities, Asheville B&B, Asheville dance, Asheville Food, B&B alternative, beer, Lovers' Loop Retreat, vacation rental ·Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Asheville makes so many national and international best-of lists, it’s head-spinning. The area has garnered praise as a place to retire, a place for cycling and other outdoor recreation, a groovy food and microbrewery scene, a good spot for organic and vegetarian fare, a great place to start an independent business, a top location for visual arts and other accolades.

Fodor’s travel guide destinations include Asheville

This year, the travel guidebook publisher Fodor’s lists Asheville in the top 21 destinations in the world for 2011! Asheville beat Morocco and other exotic locales to be ranked equally with the coast of Italy, Hawaii, Mozambique, Tokyo, Toronto, New York City and other destinations. Lovers’ Loop Retreat, our affordable Asheville bed and breakfast alternative, is right here in the middle of the action.

Asheville, NC, attractions

We’ve hosted many guests over the years who are wowed by Asheville. Our guests come for music concerts, for visual arts, for the lively and diverse dance scene, for hiking and biking, for motorcycling, for the Biltmore estate and the Blue Ridge Parkway, for the Bele Chere street festival, for free bluegrass jams, for creative beers and a tantalizing diversity of restaurants, for workshops —the list of attractions in and around Asheville is long and delicious.

Asheville, NC, microbreweries

A Fodor spokeswoman told the local newspaper that Asheville and the other 20 destinations listed for 2011 always are great places to visit. We knew that. She said one reason Asheville came to Fodor’s attention is its recent designation as Beer City USA, a tribute to the hopping—yeah, we said it—microbrewery scene here. The city has about a dozen microbreweries.

Asheville, NC, vacation

Asheville has received other travel-related acclaim. The New York Times travel section featured Asheville in October 2010. And travel guidebook publisher Frommer’s listed Asheville in its top 12 destinations in 2007.

At Lovers’ Loop Retreat, we’re happy to host guests for whatever reasons they come to Asheville. Contact Lovers’ Loop Retreat, our affordable Asheville vacation rental, at 828-545-2950 or loversloop(at)gmail(dot)com.

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Lovers’ Loop Retreat February muse-letter

February 8, 2011 at 5:09 am · Filed under Asheville, Asheville activities, Asheville B&B, Asheville dance, Asheville seasons, free things in Asheville, Holidays, Lovers' Loop Retreat, nature, vacation rental ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mid-winter greetings! The beautiful mountain views in the Asheville, NC, area are stunning in winter, and we appreciate the crispness of the vistas in February. We’ve had fun this winter hiking on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway. We pick up the trail at the end of our road here at Lovers’ Loop Retreat, an affordable Asheville bed and breakfast alternative. It’s peaceful to walk through the scented pine forest, look up and see the evergreens against the blue sky. With Valentine’s Day and the President’s Day holiday weekend this month, February is a great time to celebrate in Asheville.

Free things to do in Asheville in February

Enjoy some free things to do in Asheville this month. Take your own tour of downtown’s chocolate shops, which include the French Broad Chocolate Lounge, the Chocolate Fetish and Kilwin’s, which offers chocolates and ice cream—how irresistible is that? Take a stroll around the Grove Park Inn, where even visitors who aren’t guests can sit by the huge fireplaces in the lobby and absorb the heat and history of the famous place with fabulous views. The inn’s latest boast is that it hosted President Obama and the First Lady on vacation last year. Window shop at some independently-owned stores at downtown’s Grove Arcade, a beautiful example of Asheville’s classy architectural mix. Browse the shelves at Malaprop’s bookstore, a signature business downtown and one of several independent booksellers in the city.

Make Lovers’ Loop Retreat, our affordable Asheville vacation rental, your place to stay when you explore Asheville, NC recreation, arts, restaurants and festivals. Events are posted and updated through the year on www.loversloopretreat.com. Visit the site to see what’s going on whenever you plan your trip. You can link to our blog, http://loversloopretreat.wordpress.com, on the home page, and we’re also on Twitter! Our website features a link where you can contact us for a list of many FREE things to do in Asheville.

Jake Shimabukuro ukulele in Asheville

The ukulele is back! Forget Tiny Tim. Check out Jake Shimabukuro at UNC-Asheville on Feb. 10. He was featured recently on National Public Radio, and he makes those four strings sing. Catch the fever at the Asheville Ukulele Society’s free biweekly jams, the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at Laurey’s Catering and Gourmet downtown. It’s music that makes you smile.

February theater in Asheville

Theater never sleeps in Asheville, and February is filled with a range of stage pickings offered by professional and community troupes. The Montford Park Players present “The “Patient” and “The Real Inspector Hound” Feb. 10-12 and Feb. 17-20 at the beautifully restored Masonic Temple downtown. Probably worth the admission just to be in the historic Masonic building. “Boeing! Boeing!” will open downtown Feb. 16 (through March 13), a production of the North Carolina Stage Company. Asheville Community Theatre presents the Broadway hit “Rent” Feb. 18-27.

Asheville events in February

Get your laugh on with comedian Etta May at Diana Wortham Theatre downtown Feb. 11. The Asheville Civic Center downtown will present “Lord of the Dance” Feb. 16. The annual extravaganza Bluegrass First Class will be Feb. 18-20. And if you’re drawn to the arts and crafts style of architecture and antiques/collectibles, Asheville is the place to be Feb. 18-20 for the annual Arts & Crafts Antiques Show and Conference at the Grove Park Inn.

A storytelling open mic, the Synergy Story Slam, will be Feb. 21 at the new Magnetic Theater just outside downtown. Celtic vocalist Cathie Ryan will perform Feb. 25 at the Diana Wortham Theatre. And the innovative and bold Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre will stage its annual 48-Hour Dance Project Feb. 25-27, with dance presentations created in a 48-hour period.

All of these events and activities and more are listed on our website. Please pass along our muse-letter to your friends. And join us at Lovers’ Loop Retreat. See you in Asheville!

Reach us at loversloop(at)gmail(dot)com or (828) 545-2950.

Cheers!

Lovers’ Loop Retreat

 

 

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Explore the fine fringe arts in Asheville

January 22, 2011 at 6:37 am · Filed under Asheville, Asheville activities, Asheville art, Asheville B&B, Asheville comedy, Asheville dance, B&B alternative, Lovers' Loop Retreat, vacation rental ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Asheville’s annual Fringe Arts Festival offers a different spin on the arts. The festival this weekend features performances and classes that relate to dance, theater, puppetry and other performing arts.

Asheville arts events

The festival reflects the fresh creativity that abounds here in Asheville, where unique forms of expression are encouraged and appreciated. Various venues in and near downtown host the festival’s classes and performances, which include a spoof of reality TV by clothing designers.

Some events include audience participation. Multimedia, circus, comedy, sound artistry, visual images — all of the senses are engaged.

The arts scene in Asheville is thriving and lively year-round. Stay at our Lovers’ Loop Retreat, an affordable Asheville bed and breakfast alternative, to be close to all the fun.

Contact Lovers’ Loop Retreat, our affordable Asheville vacation rental, at 828-545-2950 or loversloop(at)gmail(dot)com.

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Lovers’ Loop Retreat January muse-letter

January 5, 2011 at 2:19 am · Filed under Asheville, Asheville activities, Asheville B&B, Asheville comedy, Asheville dance, beer, free things in Asheville, Lovers' Loop Retreat, music, nature, vacation rental ·Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Happy new year! After the recent snow, we had a blast cross-country skiing on the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway, which is at the end of our street here at Lovers’ Loop Retreat, an affordable Asheville bed and breakfast alternative. Cross-country skiing is one of our favorite activities, and there are other fun things for our guests to do outdoors in winter. Use our guest suite as a base if you want to downhill ski at any of the several skiing areas nearby. The North Carolina Arboretum, Beaver Lake and the UNC-Asheville arboretum, all in Asheville, and other areas are great for bird-watching at this time of year, too. Not to mention the property at Lovers’ Loop Retreat. On our peaceful acre, you can watch interesting wildlife dramas with our resident ravens, squirrels, chipmunks, chickadees and other characters.

January events in Asheville

Apart from the natural world, January offers fun and funky events in Asheville. Five-time Grammy-winning singer Lauryn Hill will perform Jan. 9 at The Orange Peel downtown. The annual Asheville FringeArts Festival will be Jan. 20-23. At the festival, expect some circus, some dance, some video, some music — keep your mind open, and be blown away. Enjoy contemporary dance with the Pilobolus dance troupe at the Diana Wortham Theatre downtown Jan. 21-22. If opera makes your heart sing, check out Asheville Lyric Opera’s “Brundibar” on Jan. 28-29 at Diana Wortham Theatre.

Make Lovers’ Loop Retreat, our affordable Asheville vacation rental, your place to stay when you explore Asheville, NC recreation, arts, restaurants and festivals. Events are posted and updated through the year on www.loversloopretreat.com. Visit the site to see what’s going on whenever you plan your trip. You can link to our blog, http://loversloopretreat.wordpress.com, on the home page, and we’re also on Twitter! Our website features a link where you can contact us for a list of many FREE things to do in Asheville.

Asheville dancing at the Grove Park Inn

The historic Grove Park Inn hosts several annual, ticketed dance events in the winter that are open to non-guests of the inn. The Big Band Swing Dance Weekend will be Jan. 20-22, and the All That Jazz Weekend will be Jan. 28-29. (The inn’s Celtic Adventure Weekend will be Feb. 4-5.) Get your groove on, and dance the cold away!

Asheville beer city

Here’s one for the many beer lovers who visit the many microbreweries in Asheville’s growing and renowned beer scene. The annual Winter Warmer Beer Festival will be Jan. 22. Fifteen to 20 breweries will be represented, and the event will feature live music, too. Some of the proceeds will benefit the Asheville nonprofit RiverLink, which works to keep area rivers clean.

Bill Cosby in Asheville

Yes, the funny man will perform in Asheville on Jan. 23 at the civic center. It won’t be Cosby’s first appearance in Asheville, but it might be his best! Get laughing already!

All of these events and activities and more are listed on our website. Please pass along our muse-letter to your friends. And join us at Lovers’ Loop Retreat. See you in Asheville!

Reach us at loversloop(at)gmail(dot)com or (828) 545-2950.

Cheers!

Lovers’ Loop Retreat

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