Christmas Season in Asheville North Carolina 2009

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!

Night Shot of the Grove Arcade

Picture of the Grove Arcade in Asheville North Carolina. See the outside lighting and the Wall Street parking garage down behind it. This used to be the Asheville Federal Building, but was renovated and remodeled to create a combination of retail space, restaurants, office space, and apartments. Average 1 bedroom apartment here is about $1500 per month.

Moving Sidewalk Tours Asheville North Carolina

In downtown Asheville, NC there is a company called the Moving Sidewalk Tours. These things are awesome they are like glider you stand on that moves on wheels like a dolley. These are called Segway i2. They offer tours of downtown from 10am till 2pm everyday. The cost is $55 a person. I think this is a great way to experience downtown with an interactive tour that you will remember forever. Check out their site at http://www.movingsidewalktours.com/

Here you can see them leaving the Grove Arcade area.

Grove Park Inn National Gingerbread House Competition

If you live in Asheville you are familiar with the Gingerbread House Competition at the Grove Park Inn every year. My family loves to explore the rooms of the Inn to look at these handmade masterpieces. We all love to pick our favorites and enjoy the Christmas decorations and trees this always puts my family in the holiday spirit. This year the houses will be on display from November 17, 2008 to January 11, 2009. People from all over the United States submit their houses to The Grove Park Inn. The top houses are sent to New York in the middle of December to be featured on ABC's "Good Morning America". This year they are also featuring 35 houses at the Grove Arcade in downtown Asheville. I can't wait to see the winners this year. I almosr forgot to mention this is absolutly free. You may have to pay a couple dollars for parking but that is it. Locals may view the houses Monday through Thursday and weekends are reserved for the guests of the Inn.

Asheville - Kamm's Frozen Custard

Just walking through the Grove Arcade in Asheville North Carolina and saw that Kamm's was packed out today. Premium ice cream is not hard to come by in downtown Asheville, and we do enjoy Kamm's. Yeah, i have cheated a little and went for a quickie with the "Dairy Queen", but this is definitely one of the better choices in the area.

Sweet Heaven was all excited about the new Chamber on Montford opening (more exposure and clientel), and then closed. Luckily Kamm's is only a few blocks away in the Grove Arcade. From the outside, they are right across from the Asheville Citizen Times. You can visit their site: www.kammscustard.com