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Lovers’ Loop Retreat November muse-letter

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 , , , , , , , ,

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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Get organic for FREE in Asheville

September 9, 2009 at 7:05 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Asheville’s annual Organicfest is this coming Sunday, Sept. 13. This is a fun, FREE event downtown with many interesting vendors, music, arts and crafts and, of course, organic food.

Lovers’ Loop Retreat, our Asheville bed and breakfast alternative, is an easy 10-minute drive from downtown.

The festival offers organic beer and coffee and other organic goods, information on organic farming and gardening and cooking demonstrations. You’ll find booths on green and organic artists, home builders, skin care, alternative medicine, food and nutrition, clothing and much more.

There also will be a great lineup of live music.

Check it out! We plan to be there.

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Lovers’ Loop Retreat September Muse-letter

August 25, 2009 at 5:10 am · Filed under Asheville, Asheville B&B, Asheville activites, B&B alternative, Lovers' Loop Retreat, NC, free things in Asheville, newsletters, vacation rental ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September rocks in Asheville, N.C. Great stuff going on all month long. Concerts, craft festivals, bluegrass and beer, organic and apple fests, a fair that celebrates farming and gardening, sustainable energy and healthy living and more. And yes, with the start of autumn in September, you may feel that nip in the air here, too.

            At Lovers’ Loop Retreat, our Asheville bed and breakfast alternative, we’ve made some enhancements this summer. In addition to exploring all that the Asheville area offers, some of our guests enjoy hanging out at our vacation rental, playing pingpong or just relaxing in a private, peaceful place. In addition to Wireless, our guest suite has lots of information about attractions, restaurants and events to help visitors sort through all of the possibilities.

            Many of the activities in September are FREE. Visit our Web site at http://www.loversloopretreat.com/ to see a list of events we update regularly. We’ve posted events through December and into 2010, so you can see what’s going on whenever you plan your trip to Asheville and Lovers’ Loop Retreat. 

            One of our favorite annual events is LAAFF, the Lexington Avenue Arts and Fun Festival, on Sept. 6 in downtown Asheville. This is a free, funky street fair that really gives a flavor of Asheville’s brand of quirkiness. Many locals, including us, turn out for this fair. You’ll find a great diversity of live music, belly dancing and other dance performances, poetry, sketch comedy, drumming groups, bicycle jousting, unusual vendors. It’s a real circus.

            The annual North Carolina Apple Festival is Sept. 4-7. The Asheville area is the state’s largest apple-producing region, and this popular festival is just south of Asheville.

            Another fun, free fair is the annual Organicfest in downtown Asheville on Sept. 13. Live music, unusual vendors and crafts, good food. A great opportunity to expand your organic mind in a very organic-minded city.

            One of our favorite bands, the Indigo Girls, will play Sept. 17 at the Orange Peel in downtown Asheville. This area loves the Indigos, whom we’ve seen perform several times here in recent years. They always give Asheville a good show. The Orange Peel is a great, intimate venue for them.

            The Brewgrass Festival on Sept. 19 in Asheville mixes bluegrass with beers from the area’s many local microbreweries. Beer is big business in Asheville, and at the festival you’ll understand why.

            Heritage Weekend Sept. 19 and Sept. 20 is a big deal at the Folk Art Center on the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway. The parkway – and the center – are just around the corner from Lovers’ Loop Retreat, and we go to this free event every year. It’s sponsored by the Southern Highland Craft Guild with traditional mountain music, dance, storytelling and crafts. You’ll also see demonstrations about beekeeping, canning and preserving, whittling, toy-making and other things. The highlight is the World Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle Competition, (the whimmy diddle is an old-timey mountain toy) which you’ve got to see to understand.

            On Sept. 25 and Sept. 26, the very popular and entertaining Womansong, an Asheville choral group, will perform in the area. People come from out of town to see this group, which gives polished, high-energy concerts with humor mixed in.

            On Sept. 26 and Sept. 27, there’s another opportunity to see cool crafts at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville. Also on Sept. 26 and Sept. 27, the True Nature Country Fair a bit north of Asheville focuses on health and healing, social issues and politics, sustainable energy, gardening and farming.            

            All of these events 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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Lovers’ Loop Retreat August Muse-letter

July 30, 2009 at 4:39 am · Filed under Asheville, Asheville B&B, Asheville activites, B&B alternative, B&Bs, Lovers' Loop Retreat, newsletters, vacation rental ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

            August in Asheville, N.C., is a month of quilts, crafts, comedy, outdoor music events and street performers of all stripes downtown—plus the outdoor recreation that draws hikers, cyclists, rock climbers, kayakers, photographers and other visitors to our two rivers, national forests and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Guests at our Lovers’ Loop Retreat Asheville vacation rental are within 10 minutes or less of all of this fun.

            The best part is that most of this entertainment is FREE! One of the August headliner events in Asheville each year is Goombay, the free street festival of African-American and Caribbean cultures that features live music, dance, food and a great diversity of people. This year, Goombay will be Aug. 28-30.

            Our Asheville bed and breakfast alternative is stocked with information about restaurants and what to do when you’re here, and guests comment on how helpful our resources are. We also have wireless, so you can search the Internet and do e-mail while you’re here.

            Visit our Web site at www.loversloopretreat.com to see a list of events we update regularly. We’ve posted events through December, so you can see what’s going on whenever you plan your trip to Asheville and Lovers’ Loop Retreat. You can link to our blog, http://loversloopretreat.wordpress.com, on the home page.

            The Asheville Antiques Fair, one of the region’s largest and oldest, will be July 31-Aug. 2. The fair draws dealers from many states with a wealth of wares to sell. The fair, at the Asheville Civic Center downtown, has been offered for 60-some years.     

            The annual Village Art and Craft Fair, Aug. 1-2 in Asheville, is an upscale, longtime event that draws vendors from a wide area.

            Asheville’s bimonthly art gallery walk will be Aug. 7, and it’s fun to stroll among the many diverse galleries downtown and enjoy free refreshments. On the other end of town, the Asheville Quilt Guild will host its annual show Aug. 7-9 at the North Carolina Arboretum. We’ve been to this show, and it’s worth checking out, with a great array of quilts from multiple states exhibited.

            The popular and free Shindig on the Green, an outdoor music series in Asheville, continues every Saturday night in August—bluegrass and folk music and cloggers. It might be hard not to do some dancing yourself.

            Downtown After Five, another outdoor music series, continues in Asheville on Aug. 21. This is a free street festival that offers a range of music: rock, blues, jazz, world.

            And on Aug. 22, Asheville’s own Blue Ridge Roller Girls, a roller derby team, will shake things up at the civic center downtown. This is always an eye-opening event.

            If you need to get your laugh on, a late-night comedy series continues through Aug. 29 at Asheville Community Theatre downtown, and for more laughs, the Feral Chihuahuas perform in Asheville on Aug. 1, Aug. 14 and Aug. 15.

            The Asheville Tourists, a minor league baseball team, play through Sept. 3. And an interactive butterfly exhibit with hundreds of the winged creatures is at the WNC Nature Center, just around the corner from Lovers’ Loop Retreat, through Sept. 7.

              One more note: for Indigo Girls fans, the talented duo will play at the Orange Peel in downtown Asheville on Sept. 17. We’ve attended concerts at the Peel, and it’s a great venue for the Indigos.  

            All of these events 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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Don’t miss the Bele Chere festival in Asheville

July 8, 2009 at 6:23 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The belle of the ball in Asheville in July is undoubtably Bele Chere, the annual street festival downtown that’s one of the largest such events in the Southeast. Join us July 24-26 this year for this rocking party, and for the first time, every musical event is FREE this year. When you visit our Lovers’ Loop Retreat vacation rental, we’re an easy five-minute drive to a shuttle stop, where a bus will take you downtown, so you can walk around without having to bother with parking and streets that are closed for Bele Chere.

Bele Chere is people and crafts and food and lots of energy. Locals mix with visitors. There’s a pulse in the streets and comraderie in the air. For refreshment, locally-made beers and many restaurants sell their selections at booths. Oh, there’s fresh lemonade, too. And lots of local crafters have an amazing range of goods for sale.

The live music varies, so you’re bound to hear something you like while you’re there, from bluegrass, Americana and rock to reggae, world and blues— local, regional and national bands. Come check it out and enjoy one of the best festivals in the region.

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Lovers’ Loop Retreat June Muse-Letter

May 26, 2009 at 5:34 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 Wow - hard to believe we’re so close to summer. The summer solstice arrives on June 21, according to our calendar here at Lovers’ Loop Retreat in Asheville, N.C. There’s no better place to be on the solstice, the longest day of the year, than fabulous Asheville, where you can watch the sun set slowly over the mountains; dance, sway and be mesmerized at the weekly Friday night drum circle downtown (bring your own drum, and pound away); look for wildflowers on trails along the Blue Ridge Parkway; devour the assortment of eye candy at the many art galleries; sample homegrown beers at breweries; and many other activities, many that are free.

Whatever you choose to do, our Lovers’ Loop Retreat, an Asheville vacation rental, is a roomy, comfortable place to hang your hat while you hang out. Visit our Web site at www.loversloopretreat.com to see a list of events we update regularly. We’ve posted events all the way to December, so you can see what’s going on whenever you plan your trip to Asheville and Lovers’ Loop Retreat. 

One of our favorite seasonal happenings will start soon, and you can watch the free show right here at our Asheville bed and breakfast alternative. It’s the return of the fireflies, which light up our large lot with their silent fireworks. It goes on most evenings for a month or more. Watch and be enchanted.

Warmer weather in Asheville also brings street musicians, who entertain passersby downtown. Guitars, banjos, accordions, violins, saxophones. And there are random, wordless performers, mimes of a sort, who stand like statues in costumes and come alive only when someone throws them a coin. They always draw intrigued crowds.

Nature lovers will appreciate that access to Mount Mitchell, about 30 miles north of Lovers’ Loop Retreat on the Blue Ridge Parkway (which is just around the corner from our guest suite) is back to normal. A road construction project – which has just ended –  had closed part of the parkway, which meant a lengthy detour to Mount Mitchell State Park. Now, you can zip up the parkway easily from Lovers’ Loop Retreat again. It’s worth a trip. Mount Mitchell is the highest point in the U.S. east of the Mississippi River.

We’re looking forward to attending a performance at the Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre downtown in early June. The theater is known for its experimental, funky productions, and their works emphasize diversity. Their Physics of Happy Hour event runs June 4-7, with a reduced rate for a choice of performances.

On June 5, there’s the Asheville art walk, a stroll through downtown galleries, which stay open longer and offer refreshments. Sometimes artists are on hand to talk.

The Montford Park Players, North Carolina’s oldest Shakespeare company, starts its season June 5. All performances are free at the park’s amphitheater just outside downtown Asheville. This makes for a relaxing evening under the stars.

June 13-14 brings the River Arts District Studio Stroll, a self-guided tour of artists’ studios just outside downtown.

And June 19 is Downtown After Five, a hopping block party with live music and food.

And, of course, the mother of block parties is Bele Chere, the biggest street festival in the Southeast, July 24-26 in downtown Asheville. Live music, great food and art for sale. It’s quite a scene.

Another July note: the annual Shindig on the Green, a free outdoor concert series, kicks off near downtown on July 4. Bluegrass and folk music with clogging. Pretty cool. All of these events 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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Hail to the Asheville Stage

May 21, 2009 at 5:36 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , ,

If all the world really is a stage, the Asheville area has its share of drama, comedy and everything in between. No need for stage fright here!

             Several theaters in downtown Asheville operate year-round. Others in the area are seasonal with productions in spring, summer and fall. The offerings range from high-brow and renowned imported shows from around the country and Shakespeare with a twist to cleverly conceived local groups and provocative experimental and community theater.

            When you stay with us at Lovers’ Loop Retreat, our Asheville vacation rental, you can choose your stage.

            The Diana Wortham Theatre downtown has a variety of professional theater, shows that travel around the United States. Asheville Playback Theatre is an innovative, improvisational troupe that focuses on audience participation. Audience members typically bring a story from their lives to share, and the actors transform it into instant theater.

            The North Carolina Stage Company downtown offers professional theater served up in comedies, dramas, classics and family fare. The Asheville Community Theatre, also downtown, is known for funky and provocative shows. A component of Asheville Community Theatre is 35below, an intimate stage company that supports work by local playwrights and offers experimental theater sometimes and some late-night comedy.

            The Montford Park Players is North Carolina’s oldest Shakespeare festival, and its shows are under the stars from spring through fall. The free productions are shown at a park just outside downtown Asheville.

            Find yourself a stage when you stay at Lovers’ Loop Retreat, our Asheville bed and breakfast alternative.

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Bele Chere is coming to Asheville soon!

July 14, 2008 at 2:56 am · Filed under Uncategorized

You’ve been thinking about getting away for at least a few days this summer, but the whole gas-thing and the economy have you thinking twice. Hey, we understand. We’re just glad we already live here in Asheville. We don’t have to go too far to have vacation – like just walk to the end of the street!

Anyway, Bele Chere is reported to be the largest free street festival in the South and it’s in Asheville very soon — July 25-27! You don’t want to miss it! You can stay in our economical guest suite and just drive to the nearby mall, where you can get a shuttle to the event downtown for $3 round trip – no parking hassles or expenses.

Then you have all day to play in downtown Asheville! Lots of booths to see, all kinds of food, entertainment , people-watching – it’s a great way to spend a weekend and satisfy your need to get away.

This is Bele Chere’s 30th birthday! Wow, they must be doing something right. Every year it just gets bigger and better. Downtown Asheville will be blocked off for pedestrian use only. All kinds of exhibitors and vendors will line the streets, which will be filled with people from all over. There will be all kinds of events to watch and participate in like the 3-day scavenger hunt. You could win something special!

They have cool ”misting tents” at Bele Chere where you can get misted with some nice, cool water. A great way to cool off on a  hot day. What will they think of next!

So don’t wait another minute. Call Lovers’ Loop Retreat right now to reserve a place to stay for Bele Chere. 828-296-0660. Or email us at sunrisescribes@bellsouth.net .

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Bele Chere Festival 2008 | Asheville, NC

June 11, 2008 at 7:43 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , ,

Bele Chere is Asheville’s street festival of the year! The 30th annual Bele Chere. It’s the biggest free street festival in the South. From Lover’s Loop Retreat you can drive to a nearby parking lot where you can get a special shuttle that will take you there and back for just $3. No problems parking downtown!

Three days of fun! July 25, 26 and 27th! Days and nights, that is. There will be six stages for a constant flow of live entertainment of all kinds. The schedule is not complete, yet, but you can see the line-up of who’ll be there on the website: Bele Chere Festival 2008 | Asheville, NC. In the evenings, there is a fee to see some of the major performers, but there’s lots to see and do that you don’t have to pay for.

Do you know what “dock diving” is? Come to Bele Chere to see it yourself. The local grocery chain, Ingles, is sponsoring this event. There’s a special pool set up with regular demonstrations of dogs that compete in “splashes” to get “ultimate air” as they run and jump into the water to see who can get the furthest distance. The dogs are all shapes and sizes. And they seem to really enjoy it – and who wouldn’t love getting wet on a July day!

There will be booths of all kinds, some with free samples and demonstrations. There’s a special childrens’ area. Of course, not festival in Asheville is complete without some incredible arts and crafts on display with some fine work for sale.

You’ll see people walking around with various kinds of yummy looking foods. That’s one reason you’ll want to stay for all three days! You can’t try it all in one day. Plus, as long as you’re over 21, you can get a wrist band that will allow you to purchase beer and carry it with you until 10:30 pm.

We hope you’ll call or email us soon to reserve a place to stay at Lovers’ Loop Retreat!

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Free Stuff to do in Asheville!

June 9, 2008 at 1:12 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Every day in the newspaper we read about prices going up-up-up on all kinds of things. That’s one reason why it’s great to visit a place like Asheville. There are so many things to do here and many of them are FREE! For more info, please see the schedule of events on our Web site www.loversloopretreat.com.

I’m going to give you a list of free events here, but I’m sure there are things I’m missing. The first thing that comes to mind is the Montford Park Players. This is North Carolina’s oldest Shakespeare troupe and they perform free on summer weekend evenings at a park in Asheville. Our friend Gina was selected to play the queen in “Henry VIII,” which will run July 11-20 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 7:30 pm. Come see it with us!

Other entertainment that’s free in Asheville this summer includes Concerts on the Quad, outdoor concerts from June 9 through July 14 at the University of NC campus here. Shindig on the Green is mountain music and dancing at its best near downtown June through August. Downtown After Five is a free concert series located on Lexington Avenue in downtown Asheville.

Asheville is known for the arts of all kinds. Art gallery walks are free and held regularly in and around Asheville. You can do a self-guided tour of galleries and studios. To learn more about some of these, look at the list of events on our Web site at www.loversloopretreat.com. I love to visit the Blue Spiral Gallery in downtown Asheville. It’s huge and full of incredible artwork.

Just walking around downtown Asheville is a free fun thing to do. On Friday nights, listen for the drums – there’s drumming at Pritchard Park in the middle of downtown. It’s a great place to go people-watching. There are occasionally other free events here, too. I once saw an incredible troupe of fire-dancers perform there. Another time there were break dancers. Walking around downtown just about any time you’ll see street performers of all kinds. There are all kinds of interesting shops, galleries and restaurants. You can just buy something to drink and sit at a sidewalk cafe to watch the people walk by or catch up on Asheville news reading a free local paper such as the Mt Xpress or New Life Journal.

Of course in July there’s Bele Chere, the South’s largest free street festival. People come from all around to enjoy the varous vendors, musical entertainment, exhibitions, food and people! This takes place all over downtown. You’ll want to check the Web site to learn more about it before you come, so you can figure out where to park. 

The Lexington Avenue Arts and Fun Festival (LAAFF) is not nearly as big as Bele Chere, but it’s so much fun. It’s a very funky, artsy festival.

Ready to head out to nature? You can visit the Botanical Gardens at UNC Asheville just north of downtown for free. There’s ten acres of nature to stroll on. The N.C Arboretum is located just south of Asheville, right off the Blue Ridge Parkway and it has free admission, but it costs $6 to park – except on Tuesdays, when it is totally FREE! There are exhibits as well as walking trails to enjoy. 

Speaking of the Blue Ridge Parkway… People ride bikes on it all the time. For hiking, there’s the Mountains to Sea Trail. There are also other places to hike along the parkway. The Destination Center is the parkway’s official visitors’ center and it recently opened just a couple miles from our Lovers’ Loop Retreat guest suite. Just a couple miles farther is the Folk Arts Center, which is also free. There are always special exhibits upstairs and a  shop of local artwork and crafts downstairs. A wonderful place to browse. Very often there are free special events such as craft demonstrations and gee-haw-whimmy-diddle competitions. Ha! You’ll have to Google that one if you want to learn more.

There are more fun, free things you can do around Asheville, but that should get you started. Don’t forget to check our Web site for a more complete list of upcoming events in the Asheville area: www.loversloopretreat.com . And plan to stay with us when you come!

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