16 Ways To See A Mountain View

Hotel Indigo Adding 16 New Rooms With Amazing Views.

Looking for a room with a mountain view? The Hotel Indigo, a stylish boutique located in downtown Asheville, is adding 16 beautifully appointed rooms to their top two floors. 

Originally built for use as condos (which housed stars of the recent film, The Hunger Games), the space has now been retrofitted for luxury suites. Construction is still wrapping up, and according to an Indigo representative, the new rooms will be available in October (just in time for Asheville's beautiful fall leaf season). Fabulous!

Here are some of the exciting details about these new rooms.

 Panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows with expansive long range views of both the mountains and the city. 

 Corner units have large outdoor terraces, fireplaces and soaking tubs.

 Local artwork will be featured in each suite.

 Hard surface floors. 

 Some adjoining units. 

 Mini fridge/wet bars. 

 Flat screen TV's. 

 Complimentary private parking and wi-fi.

• Reservations for the new section begin Sept. 15! Book a Room!
• See other hotels available in Asheville.

New Belgium Unveils Plans

Brews News: Plans Underway For New Belgium's East Coast Brewery. 

Here's a first peek of New Belgium's brewery.

New Belgium Brewing recently unveiled their plans for their new east coast brewery. Slated to open in 2015, their facility will be located in Asheville's River Arts District and will produce up to 700,000 barrels of beer annually. 

Construction of this new production facility comes with the addition of bike lanes, a beer garden and a greenway that follows alongside the French Broad River. Although the tasting room doors won't be open for a few years, New Belgium has already become very active in Asheville's community. They have a dedicated social media presence for their new location and have partnered with RiverLink on a new outdoor summer festival called RiverMUSIC.

Learn more about Asheville breweries.

Have You Seen The Rain?

The Mysterious Disappearing Rain

The A-B Tech Institute for Climate Education, located here in Asheville, loves sharing  these interesting weather factoids. Here's the latest from Pamela McCown, a coordinator with the institute.

The scattered thunderstorms of this week created several opportunities to witness a weather phenomenon that you may have seen a number of times, but didn’t quite know what to call it.

In the image above, the setting sun brought a beautiful glow to the clouds and helped to illuminate what appears to be rain falling from the cloud – but where did the rain go? It seems to disappear before it reaches the ground. You can see a similar situation with the rain that is falling out of the bottom of the remnants of the thunderstorm in the image below. 

Just 15 minutes earlier, this was a vigorous storm, but as the storm weakened, it eroded from the bottom up  leaving a still menacing looking anvil top, and shafts of virga. Virga (Latin for “rod”) is precipitation that falls from a cloud, but that changes into water vapor before it reaches the ground. This occurs when the precipitation, which can be liquid as rain, or frozen as snow or ice particles, passes through a layer of dry air. 
 
Virga is a fairly common occurrence in Western North Carolina, and is very common in the Western U.S. where the climate is much more arid. So, the next time you see it, you’ll know what to call it, impressing your friends and family with your geekiness.

Learn more about climate fun facts here.

Don't Forget: Biltmore Summer Concerts

Biltmore Summer Concert Series Starting Soon! 

Be sure to secure your tickets for the Biltmore Summer Concert Series before they sell out completely. The 2012 season is kicking off on Aug. 9 with the Steve Miller Band (yeah!). Watch a mix of Grammy-winning and contemporary Christian artists with views of Biltmore House and the Blue Ridge Mountains as an unforgettable backdrop. Performances will be staged on the South Terrace of Biltmore House and Diana at Biltmore. All concerts start at 8 p.m.

Check here for the complete lineup.

[VOTE] Best Lake In America

Cast Your Vote For Lake Lure!

USA Today needs your help in naming the best lake in America. Making their short list is Lake Lure, a beautiful mountain lake with picturesque views and a cinematic past. Fans of Dirty Dancing may recall the iconic scene between Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey as they practiced their dance routine in the blue waters of Lake Lure. Why not show some love for this picturesque lake with a quick online vote?

Vote Here!

For the die hard Dirty Dancing fans, be sure to make your travel plans now for the third annual Dirty Dancing Festival taking place in August. Also be sure to check out our list of other movies filmed in and around Asheville.

Asheville Beer Buzz

Asheville's Thriving Beer Scene Receives National Attention. 

Hop-heads in Asheville have something new to celebrate. Both Lonely Planet and The Travel Channel featured Asheville on their list of top beer destinations. Here's what they had to say... 

The Travel Channel: Top 7 Beer Destinations 

They don't call Asheville Beer City USA for the heck of it. The Southern city has 11 breweries -- and counting! Asheville's brewing community is diverse, with operations that range from the nanobrewery at the Thirsty Monk pub to the heavyweight Highland Brewing Company, the third largest brewery in the Southeast. What may be a testament to the growing beer scene here is that Sierra Nevada and New Belgium breweries will expand their East Coast expansions in Asheville later in 2012. The Best Firkin Beer Festival (named after the traditional beer cask, of course) made its debut in April 2012, and plenty other beer-centric events happen year-round. 

Lonely Planet: Brewed in the USA: Top 5 Beer Cities in America 

Situated among the lush, rolling peaks of the Appalachian Mountains, Asheville is a laid-back town where outdoor lovers and beer aficionados soak up the offerings. The city’s first brewery, Highland Brewing Company, opened in 1994, which inspired nearly a dozen followers. Today, some of the town’s best breweries include Pisgah Brewing, Wedge Brewing Co. and Green Man Brewery. Don’t miss the downtown location of the Thirsty Monk, with Belgian beers on tap downstairs and American beers on tap upstairs.

Learn more about Asheville's Craft Beer Scene.

Battlestar Asheville

New Celebrity Sighting in Asheville: Tricia Helfer

image source

Former Battlestar Gallactica star, Tricia Helfer, made an appearance in Asheville this week. She is best known for her starring role as sexy cylon number 6 on the hit Sci-Fi show. During her visit she toured the Biltmore Estate and their winery, plus she rode her motorcycle along the Tail of the Dragon, a popular route for bike enthusiasts in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

According to the Ashvegas blog, Helfer is participating in the Kieh's Liferide 2012.

Check out other celebrity sightings in Asheville.

Purple Mountains Majesty

Photo of the Day: You can always find a stunning view from the grassy bald of Max Patch, but on this particular evening, photographer, Ken Parish, enjoyed a special treat... purple mountains! 

If you have a photo you would like considered for photo of the day, send a high-res version to dholston@exploreasheville.com.

Find Your Rhythm

[WATCH] Friday Night's in Asheville Belong to the Drum Circle.

A local videographer, Erik Olsen, captured this lively scene from the Asheville drum circle. This Friday night tradition occurs during the warmer months downtown in Pritchard Park. Everyone is encouraged to participate. You can drum, dance or just stand around and gawk at the crowd. It's always quite the scene.

Other things to discover in downtown Asheville.

Tupelo Honey Recipe

Tupelo Honey Cafe How To: Root Beer Molasses-Glazed Pork Tenderloin.

The recipe is a house favorite and is also available in the Tupelo Honey Cafe Cookbook. It's a perfect example of New South flavors and scratch-made fun! Tupelo Honey Cafe, located in downtown Asheville, is a mecca for locals and tourists alike. 

Check out more recipes from Asheville chefs.

Bele Chere Means "Beautiful Living"

Asheville Gears Up For the 34th Annual Bele Chere Festival.

It's almost time to slather up with sunscreen, don the dancing shoes and hit the streets of downtown Asheville for Bele Chere, the southeast's largest street festival. Taking place July 27-29, 2012, the festival has an incredible lineup of musicians, artists, local food and of course, craft beer. This is your chance to see what this "beautiful living" festival is all about. 

Catch some tunes. 

Be sure to catch performances by David Holt, Balsam Range, Larry Keel, Kovacs and the Polar Bear, Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band, The Critters, stephaniesid, The Swayback Sisters, Brandi Carlile and so many more. Here is the complete Bele Chere lineup. 

Bring the family, leave the dog.

There are plenty of family friendly activities to be found at Bele Chere. Enjoy Asheville's Mobile Art Lab, the children's area, karaoke and the always popular Purina Air Dogs Competition. The Air Dogs are the only pets allowed into the festival. Offending Fidos will find themselves in doggy jail.

Get a room! 

Bele Chere is one of Asheville's most popular events so it is recommended that you make your accommodation plans early. Find an Asheville area hotel, motel or bed and breakfast.

What else you got?

Are you unable to make Bele Chere this year? No worries, there are plenty of other options for you. Why not check out The Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, Goombay or Folkmoot. Here's a list of other live music festivals taking place in Asheville this year.