What a great event! Pizza, beer and video games! How can you go wrong?…read more I had a blast checking out the vintage games and trying my hand at them. Many thanks to Hi-Wire for the beer, Standard Pizza for the food and Retrocade for having us out. It was a fantastic time.

I would give this event 5 stars just for the fact that I got to play DDR with friends and there are…read morefew things that make me THAT happy! Really though, I had a great time at the event. It was super fun and interactive. The Retrocade is very entertaining and before going there, honestly, I was cynical but now I already can't wait to go back. This would be a great place to take visiting friends. The upstairs is bright and airy and has a variety of games from pinball, pacman, DDR and downstairs is dark and feels more like a bar. Thank goodness they even have skeeball down there! The pizza from Standard was really yummy as usual and the staff working was friendly and accommodating. Hi-Wire beer was available and it's always nice to support a local brewery. A+ event!

Get Woke! This Wake sculpture was commissioned as part of…read morethe Mel Chin: All Over the Place exhibition that led to this artwork being displayed in Times Square. It's supposed to be animatronic and move or something, but I didn't see it doing any moving. Maybe Wake was sleeping? It kinda looks like the person at the helm of a ship, with the parts of the helm behind them. When we came, during Pandemic, the Wake person was wearing a mask, which was most appreciated. This giant work of public art is nestled in a triangular lot right next to Burial Brewery on the South Slope of Asheville's brewing district. It fits right in with all the cool, unique weird stuff going on in this neighborhood!

This amazing sculpture was engineered and sculpted by a team of UNC Asheville students and staff…read moreand community artists. It was displayed in Times Square and has since been brought home and is on display in Asheville's South Slope. It's a beautiful piece designed to make a statement about climate change. It's 40 feet tall and the coolest part? It's animatronic! I highly recommend stopping by, visiting her and then hitting one (or three) of the brewers that are in the area. Have fun!!

Asheville is on fleek when it comes to the public arts! They have things down around here. This is…read moresuch an artists' town! This town can't just have a blank wall or an empty street corner here. Instead, they fill their empty spaces with wonderful murals and sculptures! It's really cool! I enjoyed the fact that so many of the arts are in the downtown area. All within a few blocks of each other you can tour a few dozen different large scale works of art. Be sure to check out the large iron on the street corner. Some of the old paintings are really, really old- like old advertisements. There's a lot of history in this town, much of which is connected to today through the art. Be sure to check out the stuff dealing with O Henry, the San Antonio short story author. If you're an arts tourist, there's a map you can find online that has a walking route planned out for you where you can get the most efficient route, and a bit of history on each piece of work.

River Art District is a nice block to stroll but weather in summer could damper your mood so best…read moreto enjoy early evening hours. Lots of independent artists studios, many walks painted with "stories", and some local eatery -- seems like oven fresh pizza is a hit here! The road leading to the Art District is beautiful and yet to walk across the bridge.

We went foraging with Kat on our family vacation in North Carolina. She was AWESOME!!! Truly…read moreknowledgeable and kind taking into account group members who ranged in age from 59 to 86. We had such a blast learning about the forest and plants, and the BEST part was the simple meal she made for us at the end. I can highly recommend this tour and gal. Gina

Great morning exploring some native plants and mushrooms in Asheville. Loved our group and Kat was…read morea knowledgeable guide. Just the right amount of time and got to taste some things afterwards. We got a haul to bring to Rhubarb tonight so TBD how that dinner goes. Highly recommend for visitors or locals.

After a hike, we stumbled upon this gem, and it felt like discovering a romantic, grown-up version…read moreof Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The aroma of chocolate wraps around you the second you walk through the door -- rich, warm, and completely unforgettable. There's an entire area where you can watch the actual machines they use to craft their chocolate, which adds so much charm and character. But our favorite part was the cozy coffee section. A simple caramel latte ended up being the highlight -- balanced, smooth, and exactly what we didn't know we needed. A little moment of serendipity we're glad we found.

This chocolate café handcrafts its chocolate from imported cacao beans. Visitors can even see the…read morechocolate making process. Tours are offered daily with reservations, and the café is also open for walk-ins. I ordered a hot chocolate, not realizing it was made with dark chocolate. It turned out to be very rich and strong. A bit too intense for my personal taste. I honestly wish they offered milk on the side so I could dilute it, as I wasn't able to finish it. Afterward, I definitely needed water because of how rich it was. However, I also ordered the mocha stout cake, and that was absolutely delicious and very enjoyable. Overall, it's a great spot for serious dark chocolate lovers and anyone interested in high quality, handcrafted chocolate.

Great Main Street. All quaint town outside of Asheville. Worth a visit. They are making it good…read more Cool place is Blue Mountain pizza, the bakery, Jack of Hearts. A lot of bluegrass/Americana music to be found here...and a few galleries.

Stayed in an Air BnB here while visiting Asheville. What a cute town! We felt very safe and the…read morepeople were so friendly! I would return any time and much preferred Weaverville over Asheville.

Cue the Hallmark Channel film crew... I swear I was on the set of a Hallmark movie. I was in…read moreAsheville for a family wedding, and the entire trip was five stars from start to finish. We were having breakfast outside at Tupelo Honey when we started noticing a lot of commotion, people gathering, and everyone trying to grab seats. All of a sudden, we were completely enveloped by the town's Holiday Parade. It was absolutely magical. After we finished eating, we walked over to the town square to watch the rest of the parade, and it made for the perfect day with family and friends. The whole experience felt warm, festive, and full of small-town charm. This is an amazing community, and I am so glad I got to be there to enjoy it. I hope to visit Asheville again soon!

Beware Veterans, Disabled Veterans, and anyone who relies on a medical Service Dog: The way I have…read morebeen mistreated by the City of Asheville and its public infrastructure is beyond words. I am a permanently disabled Veteran and a 34-year Veteran Advocate whose work has been featured in the Huffington Post and Stars and Stripes (a simple search for "Lisa Groves Veterans" will show my life's dedication). Yet, Asheville has treated me with utter cruelty and zero empathy. I flew in on Delta from Atlanta on June 15th with my two service dogs (one I've had for 7 years, and one in training, after recently losing my dedicated dog Koko of 10 years). Both dogs were fully cleared by the TSA. Because I am in a mobility wheelchair with a complete loss of my lower extremities, I cannot drive and rely entirely on accessible transit. Before arriving, I reached out to Loyalty Transportation via emails and voicemails to arrange rides to this day, they have completely ignored me. But my experience with Asheville Rides Transit (ART) has been a living nightmare that has now left me broke and facing homelessness. An ART supervisor left me hanging at a bus stop, demanding that I put my service dog in a crate and requiring paperwork. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), both of these demands are completely illegal. When I explained that I was having a severe panic attack, the supervisor did not care. My 7-year PTSD Service Dog did exactly what he is medically trained to do: he barked to alert and signal that I was in medical distress, continuing to bark until I received assistance. The ART supervisor used his life-saving medical alert behavior to penalize him, claiming he "isn't a real service dog." I would love to know what federal training this local transit supervisor has to override the TSA and the federal government. When I tried to tell her that I regularly access MARTA buses, trains, and Paratransit in Atlanta with this exact mobility wheelchair and service dog profile, she completely snubbed and ignored me. To make matters worse, ART employees complained about my three bags. I am paralyzed; I carry life-essential medical equipment when I travel. I cannot "travel light," especially when a city's infrastructure leaves me stranded. What makes this discrimination so blatant is that my dogs and I had already ridden four ART buses for over an hour and waited at the Transit Center twice before this with absolutely no issues. Suddenly, I was targeted, wrongly judged, and punished. Because of ART's refusal to provide legal accommodation, I have been forced to burn through my limited disability money just to pay for a hotel room. Tomorrow, I will be completely out of funds and facing homelessness in the grass of a city in a country I honorably served, all because I cannot get transportation back to Georgia. What this supervisor and bus driver do not know is that two separate federal government entities overheard their entire unprofessional, illegal exchange. I was on the phone with a VA Nurse who was calling to give me medical results, as well as a US Department of Transportation (DOT) Supervisor. The DOT Supervisor heard everything, confirmed the violations, and explicitly instructed me to file a formal complaint against them. Additionally he will add to my complaint what he overheard unprofessionally saying. I will absolutely be filing an official ADA complaint with the Federal Transit Administration, the US Department of Transportation, and the Department of Justice. Furthermore, I will be filing a lawsuit soon against the City of Asheville and ART. To Mayor Esther Manheimer and the leadership of Asheville Rides Transit / RATP Dev Management: Your total lack of professionalism, empathy, and basic adherence to federal ADA laws is disgusting. You have discriminated against and stranded a disabled veteran.

I totally forgot that I forgot to review this event…read more Can we do it again? Seriously this was so fun and relaxed. This new bar/restaurant has breathtaking views and the cocktails were to die for! Can't wait to go back and I always look forward to SJs events!

Loved it! Throughly impressed! All the bites and all the drinks. It's special when a venue let's…read moreyou try their full drink menu. I definitely got to try my fair share. I loved the small but well chosen wine selection. Grancha blend yum! Their take on a moscow mule was refreshing, unique and classic all in one go. I ended the night with "go ask Alice" a beautiful carrot juice, absinthe, gin, and maple concoction that I complimented with stolen ginger candy. All the drinks and all the bites were wonderful. I loved the dates wrapped in bacon with a touch of chorizo. Then there were the pork pate toast nibbles. My favorites wrre the meatballs. But I must give a shout out for tatertots with best ketchup for the win! Our new for 2016 ambassador out did herself this time. Bravo!