Bele Chere

It wouldn’t be a true Asheville summer without the late July madness we call Bele Chere. Derived from an ancient Scottish dialect, Bele Chere means ”beautiful living”. Being the largest free street festival in the southeast, some locals may question this definition.

Every summer (always the last weekend in July) the downtown area of Asheville shuts it’s doors to vehicles and welcomes festivarians from around the world. The duration of the festival last for three days. Bele Chere began in 1979 in hopes of revitalizing the then depressed downtown scene. Over the last three decades both the city and the festival have made leaps and bounds to become the culturally superfluous entities that we see today. Recent estimates by the City of Asheville state that over 375,000 people attend the festival over the three day period. As one might assume with this many people, Bele Chere can get a bit crowded. The layout of the many stages works well to keep the crowd separated around the area. Over the last couple of years, Bele Chere has began to bring in some really “huge” acts that require one to purchase a ticket. This year’s ticketed events included reggae legends, The Wailers, and country music star, Travis Tritt.

As mentioned earlier, most of the locals head for the hills or go out of town on the weekend of Bele Chere. The idea of having this size crowd in the usually quaint downtown area can be a turnoff for many residents. I have personally found myself out of town the last few years during this time (it just so happens that this festival usually occurs at the same time as Rockygrass in Lions, CO). This year I attended two out of the three days and had a blast. Understand that I am well seasoned to festivals and big crowds typically do not bother me as long as the bathroom and beverage lines aren’t rediculous. I feel as if the City of Asheville did a great overall job in putting this on, keeping it under control, and bringing in a diversity of good music.

Our beautiful architecture presently commingling

For more info on Bele Chere, visit their website at www.belecherefestival.com

and when you’re done, check out my site for information on Asheville Real Estate

www.brianbeasley.net

Adios