Quality produce and flowers at good prices. This is a business model I am fully behind!read more

First Step Farm is an incredible organization. A significant benefit to the entire community…read more Providing an opportunity and community for those with working to overcome addictions and producing garden, food and decorative plants for the region. Our family has purchased our Christmas Trees, wreaths and poinsettias from First Step for many years. We have also benefited from their vegetables. They support the local community in many ways. As we have in years past, we purchased our Fraser Fir cut tree and wreaths. We also purchased a marble poinsettia. The staff will trim your tree for you; wrap it up with care and help you load it on or in your car. We get a six foot tree but they have BIG trees too.

The whole vibe at Animal Haven is peaceful and uplifting. You can tell the animals are thriving and…read moregenuinely cared for. They each have a name and a story, and the dedicated people who run this place treat them like family. From potbelly pigs and goats to sheep, geese, ducks, and cows, there are over 100 animals and spending time with them is just really good for the soul. It's free to visit which is amazing, but definitely make a donation to support their endless work or grab something from the thrift store on the way out. This is such a special place and a real gem for the community. I highly recommend a visit.

For nearly 26 years, AH has been home for rescued animals of all types.. sheep, goats, turkeys,…read morecows,chickens pigs, geese, dogs cats. The self-guided tours are wonderful and the property is gorgeous. The volunteers and founder Trina (her partner and co-founder passed away-- rest in power, Barb!) are such great stewards of the property and such great caretakers of the residents. Once you cross the foot bridge over the beautiful stream, you can visit with all of the residents & you can scan the qr code posted along the way, you will learn the stories of the individuals who live at AH. There is a wonderful thrift store as well! So much gratitude that this beautiful labor of love sanctuary is in the area!

Stumbled upon this cute little park area as we were driving around exploring side roads from Old…read moreFort to Asheville. What a gem! This little community center seems to have a lot to offer: - The playground is a lot of fun- both our kids, ages 4 & 7, loved it! A well-kept wooden playground with swings (3 regular & 1 baby swing), a seesaw, a tire swing, and a big plastic sea monster for climbing. - Short paved walking loop with some benches, picnic tables and grill, and 1 of those little exercise stops and a creek flowing by (great for kids to splash around in!) - Large grassy field - Basketball court (half court) - Community garden - Large picnic table area with covered pavilion - Leashed dogs allowed (please pick up after them - there are poop bags along the sidewalk) The community center appears to be closed right now and I haven't checked out the website yet but there's a board with some info by the playground. It seems like they offer yoga classes (Free maybe? Says "donations accepted"), there's an ad for reiki healing, and a whole calendar of events for children and adults. This center definitely seems to run on donations and volunteers. We were happy to contribute to the painted metal donation post by the playground. Peaceful, safe, beautiful park areas like this are hard to find these days. We're passing through, as we're just frequent vacationers to the area, but I hope the community keeps up this little local gem!

This bridge, like many, apparently outlived its usefulness as a conveyance, but was turned into a…read moresort of park. The greenery covering the area is quite robust and a lot of effort clearly went into designing and maintaining it. At one end, a spot for people to hang collars up to memorialize their dogs demonstrates that apparently visitors here like tiny yippy dogs a lot more than I do, but it is still a nice touch. When I visited, they were working on building a visitor center and parking was limited (one end is a separate business whose parking lot is devoted solely to that business as designated by numerous angry signs). However, a water fountain and portapotties were still available. This isn't a place where you'd spend an enormous amount of time, but it is well done and certainly worth a look, and there is no charge to cross.

This is a beautiful stop if in the area. There are multiple varieties of flowers and plants with…read moreplaces to sit and enjoy the beauty. The rainbow bridge in memory of all the lost pets is breathtaking and so sweet to see. There is Free parking at both ends of the bridge

These people do amazing work. It feels good to know that things I no longer need can benefit others…read morewhile not adding to our landfills.

Great nonprofit helping our locals afford a home of their own. Sometimes there are great finds, but…read moreI find a lot is overpriced for quality. Everyone is polite and helpful. I don't go out of my way to stop in unless looking for something specific in the furniture department.

My family makes a small monthly contribution to this organization. We are especially grateful to…read moreManna as the government shutdown is cutting into SNAP access to food.

Blue Jean Ball Benefit tonight! 80's Theme tonight...plenty of kinked hair, leg warmers, neon…read morecolors, high side pony tails...Michael Jackson music. Restaurants include Biscuit Head, which opened last week, as will as Chestnut, Posana, Lexington Avenue Brewery, Cucina 24, the Biltmore Estate, French Broad Chocolate Lounge, Tupelo Honey, Dough and others. Musical entertainment for the evening includes the soulful rockers The Broadcast, plus Flashback Sally. Very fun event for the Manna Food Bank. The food bank, founded in 1982, collaborates with 221 other agencies in 16 Western North Carolina counties and distributed more than 11 million pounds of food last year.

Located in the River Arts District, you have to stop by and check out the retail space for this non…read moreprofit that support fiber arts and artists in a 100-mile radius of Asheville. They also offer workshops and studio space. The employees were so friendly and welcoming. They were celebrating International Women's Day when I visited and invited customers to each sew a button on a dress. They were also dyeing yarn in the back. It's really great to see such community!!

Walk inside this large space for the fiber arts in the River Arts District and you may walk out a…read moreconvert. Local arts sell their fiber arts good from purses to clothes to other goods. The staff are artists themselves and will gladly share their passion. Even if you aren't into fiver arts, walk into this non-profit.

This place is amazing! Texture Gallery and Art Bar is such a…read morecool place to stop by and look around or to take an art workshop. They are located in an old house (I believe) that has been transformed into an art gallery/ framing studio/ Art bar/ Studio space. The upstairs level is the art gallery. It is absolutely gorgeous with each room with different colored painted walls to make the art on display really pop. They have dragon head sculptures, calligraphy art, burlesque photography, unique jewelry and so much more. My favorite part of this gallery is actually one of the walls-one of the owners has been (over time) gold leafing one of the walls and it is absolutely stunning. I am dreaming of doing this in my future home one day myself now. The bottom level of the space is where the magic happens. There is an "art bar" which is full of all the art supplies that you could imagine. You can take art workshops here with a group of friends, do an art project by yourself, or do a boxed art project with all of the instructions and materials provided. I recently did a group Mixed Media art workshop. A group of six of us did a three hour workshop led by Patrice. She is a great teacher, the class was super affordable, and it was super fun! For $35-$60 (depending on canvas size), we each created our own unique textured, colorful artwork. We were instructed on how to use the different materials (paint, stamps, modeling paste, mod podge, h20 colors, pitt pens, oil pastels, napkins, tissue paper, etc) and given inspiration. Within the three hour time period, each of us was able to start and complete a piece of art. I truly love this place and recommend it for anyone who loves looking at art (walk through the gallery), anyone who is intimidated by the idea of making art (take a no-pressure workshop with Patrice), or active artists (always good to try new things). Bring your friends, your family, your coworkers. Super fun!

Great space with very unique art! I love it! The top…read morefloor is the gallery and custom framing shop, while the lower floor is a super fun art/craft class space. She has many interesting and fun ideas for making something--from challenging to kid friendly everyone can take a cool thing home.