I have to say that I really enjoy traveling and when you travel it is difficult to avoid the question of your origin, "where you from?", "are you from around here?", "is this your first time to ______?". Having had to face these questions a myriad of times I have learned to look forward to the reaction I get when I say Asheville. When it comes to Asheville, North Carolina there is no middle-ground, either you know it, love it, and plan to move or retire here, or you have never heard of it. This creates a phenomenon that allows all of us who are "in the know" a small satisfaction, as if we were members of some secret club.
Over the last few days I have been one of the many fortunate festival goers to grace the streets of downtown Asheville during the annual three day street festival, Bele Chere, which means "beautiful living". If Asheville is the headquarters of Western North Carolina's secret club, Bele Chere is the time of year when that fact is celebrated.
When Bele Chere started in 1979 it encompassed a modest three blocks of Asheville's downtown. Well the club has been growing in the last 28 years, with Belle Chere now bringing in an estimated 370,000 people each year. People now come from all over the globe to explore Asheville and listen to the dozens of performers and see the regional artists that this area is so loved for.
Bele Chere is definitely one of the many reasons that I am happy to call these mountains home.
flying dog photo courtesy of John Narrin
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