Although I still consider myself an Asheville ‘local’ - envisioning myself there on a daily basis - I actually relocated to our Chapel Hill office about 2 months ago. Since Carolina Mornings has our home base in Asheville, those of us here in the center of the state get to regularly spend time up in the mountains. It’s a pretty nice arrangement (and it keeps me from leaving here and running away back to Asheville for good)!

I was lucky enough to be in town about a month ago, and stayed in one of our East Asheville hideaways, Deer Run. This time around I’ll be with Asheville friends from Monday evening - Thursday evening, and thought I would share my personal itinerary, all the favorite things I’m dying to do as a former local and some new things I haven’t gotten to try yet.

Included in this post: Temptations martini bar, Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company, Cinebarre, Tupelo Honey Cafe, Corner Kitchen, Green Tea Sushi, Kubo’s, French Broad Chocolate Lounge, Well-Bred Bakery.

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Check out the WNC Farmer’s Market, open daily from 8 am to 6 pm. It’s a good size, with lots of vendors and retail buildings.

Location:
570 Brevard Road Asheville, NC 28806
Tel: 828-253-1691

Other events happening this month:
Master Gardener Plant Clinic

The NCSU Master Gardeners Program offers plant clinics to assist the public in diagnosing and solving gardening questions. All clinics are free, and the public is encouraged to bring samples from problem plants or insects that need to be diagnosed and/or identified. The Master Gardener Program provides research-based information on home horticulture.

Saturday, July 12 & Saturday, July 26
11 am - 2 pm

The N.C. Arboretum (one of my favorite spots in town - the photos you see are ones I took 2 summers ago) is hosting a new monthly event called Twilight Tuesdays.

Twilight Tuesdays include free parking and admission to the arboretum as well as live music and access to the gardens, bonsai, and other exhibits. (Here’s the introductory Citizen-Times article regarding this event series.)

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Thanks to a recent BlogAsheville post about the new West Asheville ice cream shop for this blog idea!

One of my favorite things about Asheville in the summertime is all the local ice cream shops. Let’s face it: what the locals know is that there is no way any of the Cold Stones or TCBYs out there could compare with Ultimate or the Hop.

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July 4th in Western North Carolina. Several towns in WNC have fireworks and other festivities.

My personal favorite is downtown Weaverville, which, while still crowded, is more quaint and more easily manageable than fireworks in downtown Asheville.
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