Take a look at some of the more interesting tidbits of information on Beautiful Asheville, North Carolina below. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about current trends or certain neighborhoods. We are your local experts!
Music
Live music is a significant element in the tourism-based economy of Asheville and the surrounding area. Seasonal festivals and numerous nightclubs offer opportunities for visitors and locals to attend a wide variety of live entertainment events.
Asheville is host to numerous clubs and performance venues. Outdoor festivals, such as Downtown After 5 and Lexington Avenue Arts & Fun Festival that feature local music. One of the most popular events is "Shindig on the Green", in the heart of downtown Asheville at the new Pack Square Park's Roger McGuire Green. The stage shows will take place on the Bascom Lamar Lunsford stage, named for the founder of the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, the nation's longest running folk festival. By tradition, the Shindig starts "along about sundown" and features local bluegrass bands and dance teams on stage, and informal jam sessions under the trees surrounding the County Courthouse.
DJ music, as well as a small, but active, dance community are also components of the downtown musical landscape. The town is also home to the Asheville Symphony and the Asheville Lyric Opera and there are a number of bluegrass, country, and traditional mountain musicians in the Asheville area.
Sports
|
Club |
Sport |
Founded |
League |
Venue |
|
Asheville Tourists |
Baseball |
1897 |
South Atlantic |
McCormick Field |
|
Asheville Grizzlies |
Football |
1973 |
NFA |
Memorial Stadium |
Area colleges and universities, such as the University of North Carolina at Asheville compete in sports. UNCA's sports teams are known as the Bulldogs and play in the Big South Conference. The Fighting Owls of Warren Wilson College are respected for their mountain biking and ultimate teams. The College is also home of the Hooter Dome, where the Owls play their home basketball games.
Asheville boasts several club sports with generally open membership including Asheville Rugby, Asheville Rowing Club, Asheville Lacrosse Club, Asheville Track Club, and the Asheville Ultimate Community. The Asheville Lightning Junior Olympic Team is open to boys and girls from 6 to 18 can participate.
Due to its location among the tallest mountains of the eastern United States and receiving 80-100 inches of annual rainfall, Asheville is a major hub of whitewater recreation, particularly whitewater kayaking, in the eastern US. Many kayak manufacturers have their bases of operation in the Asheville area[ citation needed] and some of the most distinguished whitewater kayakers live in or around Asheville, including Shane Benedict, Woody Calloway, Robert Pearson, Al Gregory, Pat Keller, Buffy Bailey Burge, Andrew Holcombe, Tommy Hilleke, Andria Baldovin, Anna Levesque, Whitney Lonsdale, Maria Nokes, Katie Hilleke, Jennifer Cribbs and Molly Malone.[19] In its July/August 2006 journal, the group American Whitewater named Asheville one of the top five US whitewater cities along with Johnstown, Pennsylvania; Chico/Oroville, California; Boise, Idaho and Washington, DC.[20]
Film & TV
Although the area has had a long history with the entertainment industry, recent developments are cementing Asheville as a potential growth area for both film and TV. The Asheville Film Festival is now in its third year, and the city is an annual participant in the 48 Hour Film Project. Notable films made (at least partially) in the area include: Searching for Angela Shelton, Last of the Mohicans, Being There,My Fellow Americans, The Fugitive, All The Real Girls, Richie Rich, Conquest of Canaan, Hannibal,Songcatcher, Patch Adams, The Journey of August King, Nell, Forrest Gump, Mr. Destiny,Winter People, Dirty Dancing, Bull Durham, The Private Eyes, The Swan, The Clearing,28 Days and most recently, The Hunger Games. Locally produced films include: Vance, The Devil's Courthouse, Sinkhole, The Nudger, Ether, Brother Cellophane and For Catherine, as well as a number of forthcoming projects such as Moon Europa, Golden Blade III: Return of the Monkey's Uncle and Asheville, The Movie. Asheville is also home to several film festivals.
Climate
|
Weather averages for Asheville, North Carolina |
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|
Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
|
Avg high F (C) |
47 (8) |
50 (10) |
57 (13) |
68 (20) |
76 (24) |
82 (27) |
84 (28) |
83 (28) |
77 (25) |
68 (20) |
57 (13) |
48 (8) |
67 (19) |
|
Avg low F (C) |
28 (-2) |
30 (-1) |
35 (1) |
45 (7) |
53 (11) |
60 (15) |
63 (17) |
62 (16) |
56 (13) |
45 (7) |
35 (1) |
29 (-1) |
45 (7) |
|
Precipitation in (cm) |
2.6 (6) |
3.1 (7) |
4.0 (10) |
3.3 (8) |
2.9 (7) |
3.5 (8) |
3.4 (8) |
4.0 (10) |
3.1 (7) |
2.7 (6) |
2.6 (6) |
2.7 (6) |
38.1 (39) |
|
Source: Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Asheville, North Carolina, United States of America 2007 |
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Basic Statistics
Elevation: 2,200 feet with many surrounding mountains above 5,000 feet.
Population: Asheville: 69,908
Buncombe County: 217,531
Largest Employers:
Mission Hospitals
Buncombe County Board of Education
State of North Carolina
Ingles Markets
County of Buncombe
Veterans Administration Hospital
|
People QuickFacts |
Asheville |
North Carolina |
|
Population, 2011 estimate |
84,458 |
9,656,401 |
|
Population, 2010 (April 1) estimates base |
83,393 |
9,535,475 |
|
Population, percent change, April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2011 |
1.3% |
1.3% |
|
Population, 2010 |
83,393 |
9,535,483 |
|
Persons under 5 years, percent, 2010 |
5.7% |
6.6% |
|
Persons under 18 years, percent, 2010 |
18.5% |
23.9% |
|
Persons 65 years and over, percent, 2010 |
16.3% |
12.9% |
|
Female persons, percent, 2010 |
52.8% |
51.3% |
|
White persons, percent, 2010 (a) |
79.3% |
68.5% |
|
Black persons, percent, 2010 (a) |
13.4% |
21.5% |
|
American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2010 (a) |
0.3% |
1.3% |
|
Asian persons, percent, 2010 (a) |
1.4% |
2.2% |
|
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, percent, 2010 (a) |
0.2% |
0.1% |
|
Persons reporting two or more races, percent, 2010 |
2.6% |
2.2% |
|
Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, percent, 2010 (b) |
6.5% |
8.4% |
|
White persons not Hispanic, percent, 2010 |
76.2% |
65.3% |
|
Living in same house 1 year & over, 2006-2010 |
76.3% |
83.4% |
|
Foreign born persons, percent, 2006-2010 |
7.2% |
7.4% |
|
Language other than English spoken at home, pct age 5+, 2006-2010 |
9.3% |
10.4% |
|
High school graduates, percent of persons age 25+, 2006-2010 |
88.6% |
83.6% |
|
Bachelor's degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2006-2010 |
38.4% |
26.1% |
|
Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+, 2006-2010 |
18.3 |
23.4 |
|
Homeownership rate, 2006-2010 |
53.1% |
68.1% |
|
Housing units in multi-unit structures, percent, 2006-2010 |
33.9% |
16.9% |
|
Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2006-2010 |
$192,500 |
$149,100 |
|
Households, 2006-2010 |
36,859 |
3,626,179 |
|
Persons per household, 2006-2010 |
2.13 |
2.49 |
|
Per capita money income in past 12 months (2010 dollars) 2006-2010 |
$25,888 |
$24,745 |
|
Median household income 2006-2010 |
$39,408 |
$45,570 |
|
Persons below poverty level, percent, 2006-2010 |
20.5% |
15.5% |
|
Business QuickFacts |
Asheville |
North Carolina |
|
Total number of firms, 2007 |
12,773 |
798,791 |
|
Black-owned firms, percent, 2007 |
2.8% |
10.5% |
|
American Indian- and Alaska Native-owned firms, percent, 2007 |
0.2% |
1.0% |
|
Asian-owned firms, percent, 2007 |
S |
2.5% |
|
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms, percent, 2007 |
F |
0.1% |
|
Hispanic-owned firms, percent, 2007 |
1.3% |
2.7% |
|
Women-owned firms, percent, 2007 |
29.3% |
28.2% |
|
Manufacturers shipments, 2007 ($1000) |
D |
205,867,299 |
|
Merchant wholesaler sales, 2007 ($1000) |
785,261 |
88,795,885 |
|
Retail sales, 2007 ($1000) |
2,616,941 |
114,578,173 |
|
Retail sales per capita, 2007 |
$34,768 |
$12,641 |
|
Accommodation and food services sales, 2007 ($1000) |
560,077 |
16,126,939 |
|
Geography QuickFacts |
Asheville |
North Carolina |
|
Land area in square miles, 2010 |
44.93 |
48,617.91 |
|
Persons per square mile, 2010 |
1,855.9 |
196.1 |
|
FIPS Code |
2140 |
37 |
|
Counties |
Buncombe County |
|
|
(a) Includes persons reporting only one race. |
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|
(b) Hispanics may be of any race, so also are included in applicable race categories. |
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|
FN: Footnote on this item for this area in place of data |
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|
NA: Not available |
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D: Suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential information |
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|
X: Not applicable |
||
|
S: Suppressed; does not meet publication standards |
||
|
Z: Value greater than zero but less than half unit of measure shown |
||
|
F: Fewer than 100 firms |
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Source: US Census Bureau State & County QuickFacts |
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