I never thought I was "really into magic," but recently I started noticing that I was way, way more…read moreinto magic than anyone else I knew. Some people are repulsed by magicians, the same way some people are repulsed by clowns. My reaction is the opposite. My reaction is "Hell yes, by all means, amaze me!" So we should probably get that bit out of the way up front. If you hate magic, you won't much enjoy a festival full of dozens of professional and amateur magicians. In my own case, I was thrilled. These are not a bunch of Vegas headliners here. There are no Copperfields, no Blaines, no Penns, no Tellers. There were big names, but not necessarily big names you've heard of. Asheville's own Ricky Boone, performed. Ricky is generally considered to be one of the nation's great close-up magicians, in addition to having a very compelling personal story (he has a very noticeable physical disability, which only seems to add to the level of amazement he can stir up in his audiences). The other big name was Kendrick McDonald (Ice), a flamboyant chest-thumper of a showman in a purple denim steampunk duster. Ice made news last year when he was elected the first African American president of Society of American Magicians, one of the oldest and most prestigious magical societies in the world. Kendrick pulled an army of doves, seemingly out of nowhere (I think they came out of his sleeves), and they flew around the auditorium and acted....dovelike. Arianne Black, a woman magician from Las Vegas, had an audience member handcuff her and seal her up in a giant canvas mail pouch, while panting "I love my job..." into the microphone. She looked a bit like a blonder version of Sarah Palin, in cheaper clothes. She escaped from the mail pouch pretty quickly, it should be noted. My favorite act of the day, personally, was a Charlotte former street magician named Christopher Hannibal. Hannibal (he goes by his last name) is an imposing figure. Giant, scruffy, pale, neck-bearded, in a threadbare dark suit and a bowler hat 1/2 size too small. He sweated under the stage lights and made off-color jokes. And yet...His patter and flourishes were the smoothest and most elegant I've seen, live. I noticed on his website he claims to perform "inspirational magic". I guess I'd have to agree. Not in a touchy feely Tony Robbins motivational way. But in the way that it's always truly awe inspiring to see someone so simultaneously in control of what complicated things he's doing with his hands and saying with his mouth, always aware of whom he's tricking, and how. I honestly have no clue how he performed any of his tricks. He was 6 steps ahead the whole time. Amazing act. I would pay real American money to see it again. Then there were the young kids performing magic. They held their own remarkably well. Got laughs from the audience, and won over a few skeptics along the way. It is interesting to think of magicianship as kind of a lifecycle skill where young people are so amazed by a particular trick that the next year you see them they're standing on stage with their own deck of marked cards, amazing the audience. Look at the kids in the audience, mouths agape. Then look at people like Hannibal and Ricky, subtle and unflappable closeup masters. You realize that these world-class magicians must have, themselves, sat in an audience at 8 years of age, been amazed, and then practiced in the garage until their fingers went numb for the next 20-40 years. Ricky did it to make his wheelchair "vanish." Hannibal did it to make enough money to put his kids through college. No small feat for a street performer. I guess what I'm getting at here is, wow, that was really a diverse group. The magicians were diverse. The audience was diverse. The acts were diverse. The only unifying thing was really cool magic. Everything else was up to creative interpretation. When I was growing up as a kid, I used to think of magic as something that able-bodied white adult men did with rabbits, while wearing tuxedos and top hats. Asheville Magic Festival kind of turned that silly notion on its ear, and I think the world of magic is better for it. Leave Penn and Teller in Vegas. Gimme Ricky Boone any day!

This was so much fun. Most Ashvillians know about the large…read moremusic festival LEAF puts on in Black Mountain, but I bet you don't know about this little place a street off of Downtown. Over the summer, as I toured downtown with my out of town family, we wandered into LEAF on a Saturday. Saturdays are open to the public so make a point to head over there. They had so much fun banging on the African drums, playing in the touch-an-instrument room and creating art at the craft table - I instantly thought this would be perfect for a homeschool co-op. 7 families headed to LEAF for a 2 hour cultural arts morning. We split into 2 groups and we went downstairs and learned a beat on the drums - he was so patient with us haha. Then we switched and we got to learn a Bollywood dance and man I loved that. We also got a little snack, which was a nice surprise! Co-ops welcome - book your time at LEAF. If not, head there on a Saturday after walking Downtown and have a great time!

I had a issue with the Kid Vendors Section…read more this is a thing setup so your kids can sell home made stuff like a regular vendor. It cost $8 to set up a table. This is kinda steep if you ask me. all the money goes to Leaf Education or something like that. My Kid setup a table with 2 other friends and each had to pay $8. that is getting insane. well, sunday rolls around and they made the kids pay again. Well i ask for a refund for the sunday due from the main Volunteer Kids Coordinator named Morgan i believe. We he gave me the money back. Still high, but they wanted to make the people happy. so a very positive customer service experience.

I LOVE music festivals! Lets start with that fact first…read more.. This was my first time at this festival and all I can say is that is was a GREAT day of drinking local beet, music listening and booth shopping with my family! I loved going from booth to booth looking a the great items and art that people made. There was so many things that I wanted to buy but did not want to carry stuff around with me all day! I did buy this amazing leather bracelet that is so unique. I wear it all the time and always get complements are it. I love telling people where I got it from! Now on to the music.....there was so many talented bands that played at the festival. I fell in love with this band called The Birchtree Band. They are so good that I bought one of their cd's and have listened to it over and over. Found a new local beer "Rocket Girl" and kept them coming all afternoon. I wish I could get this beer in Memphis but have not been able to find it anywhere.....sad. I will absolutely go back to this festival next year! I saw so many crazy people...some scary and some hilarious. I loved the diversity! Can't wait till next year!!

Having attended numerous festival throughout the country. I worked as a Policeman for many years in…read moreSan Francisco. I was entertained, but not overly impressed by this event.

Good trail by the river cool mornings light foot traffic here. Plenty of free parkingread more

The River Arts District, aka RAD, is full of creativity and local charm. It feels like paint spills…read morethrough the streets, bringing every corner to life especially to old industrial buildings. You can watch artists creating beautiful pieces right in their studios -- so look for the yellow signs in front of various studios.The mix of murals, galleries, and old warehouses gives RAD a unique character. It's nice to stroll to watch, shop, and support local artists.

Kipper is the best. Thank you so much for the sunglasses. :) so happy to have red shades on this…read morebeautiful day

Very disappointed in how the organizers handled this event. I ordered 2 VIP tickets and one of the…read moreperks was to be admitted an hour before general admission tickets. For whatever reason, this didn't happen and GA were admitted immediately after VIP. There was also supposed to be swag from vendors and a branded lawn chair. No swag and the chair was an every day lawn chair. We paid double the GA admission price and this was SO not worth it. Beer was good, vendors were great, but don't waste your $$$ on anything more than GA.

Yessss!!! This Food and Wine festival is not to be missed. Three floors of incredible samples of…read morefood and wine from the Asheville area. I spent about 2.5 hours at the fest and was completely, happily stuffed to capacity yet hadn't even hit up every food vendor. Oh wine and spirits too, there is so much to try! I was really blown away by the beautiful dishes that were being served, carefully plated, good sized. Also the people who were working at the booths were very friendly and helpful! My favorites of the day were the curried Gazpacho at Table and the Smoked Gouda Pimento at East Village Grill! Yum. I'm already looking forward to next year.

Well this was a disappointment. For the 70 pp we spent not a good deal. Of the 14 places there 7…read morewere food 7 alcohol. If you are going to have an alcohol event you have to have food. I have been to wine and food events at the Civic center and the venue both great. Two of the food venues ran out of food -- pretty much leaving Tin Can Pizzeria to carry the weight-- the one plus of the event. Of course the drink people did their part. If you're going to do this event again- do better please !

The Asheville Belly Dance Festival was held April 19 through 21. The first event was a hafla,…read morewhich is a belly dance party. It was held at The Grove House. A hafla typically consists of featured performers and then allows open dancing by everyone. It began at 7:30, but, because of travel, my friend and I arrived after 8:00 and saw the remainder of the performers. After they finished, we had anticipated the open dancing, but this did not happen. We wonder if the open dancing occurred first. Space would have been an issue because only a small stage was present. The rest of the area was occupied by chairs. The next day, we took a veil class taught by Sara Beaman. This was held at Loretta's Cafe. The space was a little small for a good number of participants with veils. However, Ms. Beamon did an excellent job of teaching. She displayed a down to earth, humorous personality, even laughing at herself when she made an error. Ms. Beamon's teaching style was well organized, with something for all levels of experience. I will return next year and sign up for more classes.

This parade is just so heartwarming and fun. I mean, yeah, we all have had a heck of a year, but…read moreeven so, the days are getting shorter and chillier--this parade is a terrific way to begin the holiday season on silly, happy foot. Way to go, Asheville! You're amazing.

My wife and I have an annual tradition of heading downtown on the Saturday before Thanksgiving to…read moreenjoy and cheer on the Asheville Holiday Parade. We invite our friends, and bring hot cider in thermoses, and truly it's one of my favorite traditions. The Asheville Holiday parade marks the beginning of the Holiday season for me. If you plan on attending, I highly recommend dressing with layers. It can be quite cold and chilly, and worst of all, windy. A scarf is a must, and some chapstick will help keep your lips from drying out terribly. The parade itself lasts about an hour and a half, to two hours. Enjoy performances from the regional high school marching bands and drill teams, floats from organizations, and puppies! Also, you'll be treated to a variety of coupons from local chain restaurants like Waffle House and Bojangles. I've always wanted to have a float in the parade, but I would be saddened to not have the ability to cheer on all of the people who take part in the parade. Maybe next year I'll build a stationary float, so I can have the fun of cheering everyone all, while still chasing my dream.