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!!

City landscapes across the country are changing. Urban renewal projects have brought a new era and…read morevibe to most major metropolitans. Asheville is no exception! While much of the Street Art is concentrated in the River Arts District, it is not difficult to find sculptures and murals throughout the entire city. Being an artist myself, I am thrilled with the trend of public displays and only wish I were an art student growing up in this era of opportunity. Asheville has long been one of my favorite little cities because it, more than any other small city I've every visited, is an artist haven. Maybe that has something to do with the Black Mountain College art program that was widely successful in the mid 1950's and produced a laundry list of artists that would go on the become highly influential. THE EXPERIENCE My search for street art began at the viaduct on Merrimon Avenue below I-240. Here you can bear witness to just how paint, a brush and an idea can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary! This could have been like every other dreary inner city interstate underpass, but instead it feels like a hug and a "Hello, glad you could come!" You can keep south to see a few more displays around the downtown area or turn right on Patton Avenue and left on Clingman Avenue to find your way over to the River Arts District. The art here is currently and mostly graffiti style (which isn't exactly my favorite). However, more and more illustrative artist are making their mark and if you look carefully, you will find some amazingly detailed pieces of work amongst all the graffiti-like scribble. I hear there are also great pieces on the west side of town, but I will have to explore that on another visit as I was running out of daylight and allotted time to see all I could. FINAL THOUGHTS Asheville is rich in this Bohemian vibe, a vibe that seems full of life, creativity, acceptance and optimism. A place to experience a wide range of different tastes in music, fashion, art, and literature. I can't wait to see how the Street Art catches fire here in the future. I suspect of all the cities in America, Asheville may become one of the greatest places to view dazzling public displays! Since it is fairly close to Atlanta, I will continue to visit an update more in the future. Maybe soon they will attract internationally renowned commissioned street artists such as Natalia Rak, Etam Cru, INTI, Eduardo KOBRA, Bordallo II and Fin DAC with the most unique of these artists being Bordallo II (Google his work). Fingers crossed! 2018/70

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.

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.

Our group spent the morning with Christian (guide) and Steve (assistant). We found violet,…read moredandelion, various mushrooms, plantain, jewelweed, mugwort, smartweed which we used in our dinner that night. The tour was informative and fun. Steve cooked up the mushrooms that we gathered and we got to taste how yummy nature can be. Definitely recommend it! It was a lot of fun and we learned a bit. Oh, they even took pictures for us. How cool is that?

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!

The mountains around Asheville NC are pretty to see when you visit. However the keyword is visit…read more If you plan to move here I recommend not. The roads are not wide enough to support the population here. Due to the width of the roads, you need to leave your location an hour and half just for a 20 min drive. There is no free parking anywhere to include Hendersonville NC. Uber is expensive here just an FYI. moving on, Renting an apartment w/ 1 bed 1 bath is like paying for mortgage on a house. groceries isnt cheat either. this place turn mid-income folk into low-income and low income folk almost homeless. Honesty reconsider moving here

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!