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Driving through North Asheville, it's easy to tell which homes have children in residence and which don't. Some yards are still pristine, snow covering the grass as perfectly as if they had been airbrushed. Others are pocked with footprints, mud and grass showing through, toppled snowmen looking longingly at their carrot noses tossed to the side by a naughty tyke.
Mine is one of the latter, and on Christmas Eve morning, while nearby houses sleep, mine is alive with noise and joy. Bob Dylan sings "Must be Santa" while little ones munch on toast with homemade pear butter, waiting on peppermint tea to be done. Small, sweet voices rise over Dylan's scratchy one, and even his namesake, eighteen this year, seems caught up in the excitement. Normally one to grunt in response to questions, the King of Aloof, he laughs with his siblings and teases them about what a long day this will be.
Plans for the holiday are simple: no fancy parties, no trudging from home to home to visit with people we'd just as soon not see. Today will be baking cookies, wrapping the last of the gifts, all-day holiday movie marathons and lots and lots of "Is it time for Santa yet?" There is no room in our holiday for religion, only a passing nod to the changing seasons and a smile, knowing that the days are getting longer and the sun will soon come back. Our faith is in each other, in knowing that we will be together in the morning, in the scent of Sebastian's wassail on the stove and the taste of chocolate chips melting on our tongues. Our faith is in knowing that Christmas is different for every heart, yet the same for every one: I will celebrate with my Baptist friends, my Pagan ones, the atheists, and none of those labels matter. We are, to each other, family, differences overshadowed by common bonds: love, humor, a sense of knowing we have been through this before and will survive it again.
Asheville is a family like mine, made up of people belonging simply because they don't belong anywhere else; people who are here because they want to be, not simply because they must be. Some have been here for generations, others wandered through just now and decided to stay. But regardless of how or why or how long, everyone is welcome, as long as you welcome someone else.
Whether you are just up the road or halfway across the world, I wish you a very Merry Christmas, and may every day hold for you the same sense of joy and of belonging that this day does.
Make it happy, loves...
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The holiday season in Asheville is a time for celebrations, a time for memories of the year about to pass, and a time to think about family and friends. Not everyone has a great time during this season. For some it is a more difficult time than the rest of the year put together. Holiday financial pressures can sometimes be overwhelming, especially in this economy. As a community, we try to keep the struggles of others in mind as well, and help where possible.
The is a culmination time for families who have went through the year together. For others, this time of the year is a reunion season for families and friends who are not physically or socially close. People travel all around the world to visit their loved ones and to celebrate during this time.
Asheville also respects people of all beliefs, meaning that it is not necessarily "Christmas" for everyone. For our Jewish community it is Chanukah. For Muslims in the community, it is not a holiday time... but they are taught to respect it as the holiday of their Christian neighbors and friends. Atheists sometimes celebrate the holiday season, but leave any religious annotations out of it. Then there are those families of interfaith which have several beliefs under one roof. People are different, but all seem to sort of "come together" during this time in Asheville and also around the World.
In Asheville North Carolina, we are doing several events to make the holidays leading up to Christmas day even more special. The Asheville Seasonal Sizzle at Seven is an event sponsored by the Grove Park Inn. At 7pm on the 5th, 12th, and 19th of December, the skies of Asheville will be lit up with fireworks exploding in celebration! People from all over Western North Carolina will be coming out to gather and enjoy the show.
On December 5th, 2009 we will be continuing the festivities at 8pm at Elaine's Piano Bar at the Grove Park Inn. This will be a great party with business networking that's consists of many folks from the social media and social networking realm in the Asheville and Western North Carolina area. The party has been announced over Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Blogger. Of course, you do not need to be on these platforms to attend, but this is where the celebration party was originally set. Everyone is invited! I believe several local Asheville publications, including the Mountain Xpress, Asheville Citizen Times, and WNC Magazine are also planning to assist with getting the word out about the fireworks and the December 5th party.
Elaine's Piano Bar: Many are wondering "what type of celebration is happening in a piano bar?" Well Elaine's in Asheville NC is a little different that other piano bars you may have been to. They have two dueling (like a battle) slamming (that get slammed) pianos that are rocking, bluesing, funking, and discoing hard until 1 am several nights a week. It is not surprising to see some of the Asheville musicians jumping on top of the pianos and screaming the crowd's participation on! It will get holiday wild in there for our Asheville Seasonal Sizzle party!
Then again on December 19th at 8pm, (after the 7pm grand finale fireworks downtown, and the dust has settled), many of us are heading over to Elaine's Piano Bar for another Asheville Holiday celebration night with lots of fun planned. Expect some seasonal cheer, good times, sing-a-longs and karaoke with songs for the season at hand. Wear your Santa hat for a special bonus that evening!
During the first 3 weeks of December we expect the streets of Downtown Asheville to be packed out with thousands of people shopping after work, and enjoying the local restaurant scene in such places as Nine Mile, Chorizo, Rosetta's Kitchen, Mela, and so many more. Also on our list, we will be heading over to Pomodoros Cafe in East Asheville for some great Italian food, and also to the buffet at the Blue Ridge Dining Room at GPI for the holidays. Shopping will be a wonderful maze of gift options in the downtown Asheville area. There are so many stores and little shops to choose from. You also have the Grove Arcade, which is the old Asheville Federal Building, now packed out with dozens of retail shops and a few great restaurants. Oh, and Haywood Street, Wall Street and Battery Park Ave are just a hop, skip, and a jump away; and packed out with plenty of things to do. Then we head all the way down Lexington, Broadway, and Biltmore Ave for the cutest little shopping excursion so many have grown to love whether we live here or are just visiting for a few days.
The holidays season in Asheville is going to be just wonderful. We invite you into our City to celebrate with us. The food, fun, shopping and fireworks are going to be amazing. Of course if you live in Western North Carolina, we expect you to come join us during this great time of celebration in Downtown Asheville. You are all Welcome!
I Stopped by the Grove Park Inn in Asheville NC on Christmas Eve with the family and had a great time. Santa Claus for the kids, live band, food, drinks, great people, such a nice place... need I say more? Everything we needed for a quick Christmas celebration. Thank you GPI! Here is some video that we took. For more videos of the Grove Park Inn, please visit www.YouTube.com/AskAsheville. Thank you.
Downtown Asheville is having fireworks every Saturday until Christmas, meaning you have one more Saturday (Dec 20, 2008) to check out the Grand Finale in Downtown Asheville. The weekend before Christmas at around 7pm to check out the fireworks and to see so many other things going on everywhere. Asheville is in the Christmas & Season Spirit. Go Downtown and check it out.
The winter holidays and celebrations are soon upon us in this beautiful city of Asheville, NC! As I was driving home today, I couldn't help but notice the plethora of colors on the mountainside. Dreaming of those "Thomas Kinkade cottages" sitting like a beacon of enchantment through the forest, I anticipate the warming comforts of family and friends.
The winter holidays once held anticipation out of selfishness for the materialistic things I would be getting. As I grew up and people passed through my life and out of it, I began to realize the importance of connection. The threads that bind family, friends and community are so much more important and fulfilling than any item that would otherwise become forgotten. Then, of course, said item will always collect dust by the end of the year.
There was a time in history when a community would come together at midwinter and exchange items to help each other get through the rough spots. Symbolism was and has remained an important part of the season. Mistletoe associates with peace and goodwill, the yule log is lit to banish evil spirits, defeat darkness and bring good luck for the coming year, and the yule holly and ivy are both evergreen plants, symbolizing the eternal nature of the sun. Every culture or belief is different and I use that more as an example.
With these things in mind, this year let's come together as a community and remember those close to home that could use our help during these cold months of festive celebrations. From Thanksgiving to Midwinter, there are wonderful places for people out there that can use our support. Loving Food Resources, Western North Carolina AIDS Project, MANNA, ABCCM, and Helpmate (Buncombe County's primary provider of crisis services to victims of domestic violence and their children) are to name a few that you can contact. Let's also not forget the service men and women from Asheville who are so far from home this time of year.
This year let's start early and give the gift of some comfort, joy and connection to those who would otherwise feel heartache, desperation and detachment. Asheville is a great city. Let's come together and be a beacon of enchantment into the hearts and lives of those in and from Asheville!
Brightest blessings,
-PhoeNix cHiLd
This is the first year Biltmore House has done this! It is a must see and oh so beautiful. It is 55' with 55,000 small lights. It was raised with a crane and placed in the ground securely with a cement like hole. It is tied down with cables. And has other smaller trees that are lit and unlit around it.
I am so proud to work where I do. This is going to be a spectacular Christmas Season. I can feel it in my heart! Praise God for placing me in a most amazing place!
