SHELBY Nearly 60 string musicians played a rousing bluegrass tune before Gov. Pat McCrory spoke at Saturday’s dedication of the Earl Scruggs Center: Music Stories from the American South.

Rain forced part of the grand opening celebration inside the sanctuary of Central United Methodist Church across from the new $6.5 million center that honors the late Cleveland County native and master of the five-string banjo.

As a standing-room audience clapped, a lineup of musicians that included noted bluegrass mandolin player Sam Bush and members of the Steep Canyon Rangers, a band that tours with actor/banjo player Steve Martin, played the instrumental “Reuben.” It’s the same number a young Scruggs picked when he learned to play the five-string banjo with three fingers.

McCrory told the audience that on the way to Shelby he had cranked up Earl Scruggs music full-blast in the car and that as he stood in the church sanctuary, “I feel like I’m in the Grand Ole Opry.”

Although he prepared a speech, McCrory said, “Earl didn’t like to listen to speeches. I can listen to music – how about you?”

He asked for an encore from the musicians. As they regrouped, McCrory said

Article source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/01/11/4604204/rain-doesnt-dampen-spirits-of.html If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

North of Asheville From Milepost 376 to Milepost 355

(Asheville, NC) – After several weather and contract related delays, work has now begun on a section of Blue Ridge Parkway closed from Milepost 376 at Ox Creek Road to Milepost 355, near the entrance to Mt. Mitchell State Park. This project will stabilize a failed slope just north of Tanbark Ridge Tunnel, at Milepost 374.

While alternate routes are available, the detour route marked with road signs directs traffic from Asheville, NC, along Interstate 40 to U.S. Route 221, back to the Parkway at Spruce Pine, NC, and alternately from Spruce Pine south to Asheville via U.S. Route 221 and Interstate 40. Mt. Mitchell State Park will remain open and accessible from the northern approach along the Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost 330, near Spruce Pine, NC, or from state Route 80.

Due to the dangerous nature of this slope stabilization project, complete closure of the Parkway to motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists is necessary. Contractors doing the work plan to be on site 24-hours a day, utilizing night lighting when possible. Parkway managers ask for the public’s cooperation with this closure, asking motorists to stay alert, be aware of barrier

Article source: http://www.mountainx.com/article/55482/Updated-information-regarding-Parkway-closure-north-of-Asheville If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

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Updated: Friday, January 10 2014, 09:45 PM EST

Asheville’s tasty reputation reaches a whole news audience. Forbes Travel Guide calls Asheville one of the Five Secret Foodie Cities in America. Along with highlighting some restaurants, Forbes gives Looking Glass Farms of Fairview a shout out. Now the secret is out to potential visitors about their locally made cheeses.

“Great, anytime our community can get recognition for all the hard work that many farmers and producers do day in and day out to bring a sustainable product to the market,” said Andy Perkins of Looking Glass Creamery.

The write-up mentions hotspots like Curate and French Broad Chocolate Lounge.

If you’d like to see Forbes’ list of Five Secret Foodie Cities, click here.

Asheville Named Secret Foodie City

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After several weather and contract related delays, work has now begun on a section of Blue Ridge Parkway closed from Milepost 376 at Ox Creek Road just north of Asheville, to Milepost 355, near the entrance to Mount Mitchell State Park.

This project will stabilize a failed slope just north of Tanbark Ridge Tunnel, at Milepost 374, which caused a giant crack to open in the roadway this summer.

Visitors examine the “Parkway crack” near Tanbark Tunnerl this summer.

While alternate routes are available, the detour route marked with road signs directs traffic from Asheville, along Interstate 40 to U.S. 221, back to the Parkway at Spruce Pine, and alternately from Spruce Pine south to Asheville via U.S. 221 and Interstate 40.

Mount Mitchell State Park will remain open and accessible, weather permitting, from the northern approach along the Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost 330, near Spruce Pine, or from N.C. 80. 

Due to the dangerous nature of this slope stabilization project, complete closure of the Parkway to motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists is necessary. 

Contractors doing the work plan to be on site 24-hours a day, using night

Article source: http://blogs2.citizen-times.com/outdoors/2014/01/10/blue-ridge-parkway-road-stabilization-work-now-underway-near-asheville/ If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

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Updated: Thursday, January 9 2014, 09:10 PM EST

The fight is on to get women to keep their tops on in Asheville. Asheville City Council has said they can’t enforce a topless ordiance because of a state law. Now the Chamber of Commerce says they called state law makers to help fix it.

Topless women aren’t good for business. At least that’s concern raised to the Asheville Chamber of Commerce. The annual topless rally brings a flood of flesh downtown. But chamber president Kit Cramer says toplessness is considered a nuisance by both business people and visitors. It’s currently allowed under state law.

“If the city has said they need assistance from the state in order to enforce an ordinance, fine, we will ask the state for that assistance and see if we can go ahead and end this drama,” said Cramer.

Carson called Senator Tom Apodaca to help. Chair of the Rules Committee, Apodaca wants Asheville to join other cities around the state who have ordinances that prevent toplessness.

Topless rallies have been organized in downtown Asheville for the past three years. The Chamber of Commerce says the hope this prevents another from happening this year.

The General Assembly will take a

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Joined by former parkway Superintendent Phil Francis and other park advocates, the Environment North Carolina Research Policy Center held a news conference Thursday at the Parkway’s Visitor Center to release its new report, “Death by a Thousand Cuts.”

The report details how the parkway and 400 other NPS units have been affected by $350 million in cuts to the National Park Services’ operating budget since 2010. They include $784,000 lost by the parkway and $62,000 lost by the Carl Sandburg Home last March due to across-the-board cuts known as sequestration.

Budget cuts have forced parkway administrators to cancel ranger-led education programs, reduce staff and close some campgrounds, visitor centers and picnic areas along the 469-mile linear park, the most heavily used NPS unit in the country with 17 million visitors annually.

Representatives from Environment North Carolina, the Carolina Mountain Club and Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway said they hope the report will help act as a catalyst for citizens to write their congressmen in support of full funding for national parks in ongoing 2014 budget negotiations.

“Two of the things that are most open to the public, regardless of income, are our (public) schools and our parks,” said Hugh Stephens, past chairman

Article source: http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20140109/ARTICLES/140109892 If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com