Bele Chere

I LOVE music festivals! Lets start with that fact first…
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 San Francisco. I was entertained, but not overly impressed by this event.

DON’T GET YOUR TURKEY LEGS FROM FRENCH FRY FACTORY ON PRITCHARD PARK! Every year I look forward to Bele Chere for one primary reason, giant Turkey legs. This year was nothing short of disappointing. The legs were $ 1 more ($ 9) and these particular examples were dry, tough and sinewey. I’m sure they’ve got to be better elsewhere.

This is one of my favorite festivals. The festival encompasses the entire downtown of Asheville. Streets are blocked off and filled with artists selling everything from paintings, ceramics, metal sculptures, pottery, glass, wood and everything in between.
At the end of each street is usually a stage with some sort of entertainment. Sometimes there are big names worth checking out and sometimes it’s just nice to check out one of the local bands.
And then there’s all sorts of festival food and if you are not into that, Asheville has plenty of wonderful restaurants.
As for parking, I’ve found it’s usually best to take one of the shuttles in than to drive around Asheville trying to find a parking space.
Definitely a festival worth checking out.

I remember Bele Chere’s when you’d go downtown to listen to great music, local and Indy bands mind you, you’d bump into old friends that you hadn’t seen since last Bele Chere, the prices for food and water were reasonable and most of the business buildings were unoccupied. Nowadays the music is fair and not all free. The crowds are so packed in the streets that there is barely enough room to see your feet, never mind an old pal strolling around. Perhaps if they enlarge the festivals footprint the old feeling might return. They seem to be more concerned with the numbers of people they draw than the quality of the experience. It seems to fall on rainy weekends too, these past years! There is probably quite a pressure to always do it better and bigger every proceeding year, but I think they have lost the focus of it all.