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.

Read more…

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.
Read more…

One of this year’s Southern Living Idea Houses is located 17 miles northwest of Asheville in Whisper Mountain.

EcoBuilders, an Asheville green construction company, built the home with eco-friendly features such as solar thermal and photovoltaic panels, rain water catchment and grey-water systems, radiant floor heating, tankless water heating, recycled metal roofing, and Energy Star appliances. The home was also built with non-toxic, and mostly locally produced building materials.
Read more…

Read more…

Thanks to commenter Pete Kennedy for bringing this to my attention.
I love getting tips and insights from those of you commenting on blog entries, so please keep it coming!

The Marshall River Arts District just began French Broad Fridays (sorry I didn’t include it last week before the opening night but now you’ll know for future Fridays!), which will continue every Friday through October.

This will undoubtedly be an amazing and fun way to breathe new life into downtown Marshall, located among the beauty of Madison County, and about 30 minutes (easy driving) north of Asheville. French Broad Fridays has food, dancing, shopping, performances, river activities, and more - most shops will keep their doors open until 9 pm.

Places to check out:
Feather Your Nest
Penland’s
Redneck Rafter
Good Stuff
Zuma
The Taqueria
Marshall High Studios, and other open art studios

Here is a map guide to French Broad Fridays, which has festivities from 5pm - midnight.

Did anyone have a chance to check out ‘opening night’? What did you think?

See this on our NEW blog!