It’s the Art – And It’s US!
Even though small businesses in our fair city are open year-round – including a plethora of independent artists – with the change in the weather from Spring-ish to Summer-ish comes an increase in events throughout the Asheville area.
We’re like a big garden full of amazing flowers. April kicks it off with the re-emergence of downtown art walks, followed by May’s outdoor craft and music choices, and an Asheville Tourists game or two. And who doesn’t love a farmer’s market or ten? And then the warmer months bring June’s River Arts District Studio Stroll, followed by Bele Chere downtown at the end of July.
Each year I observe increased tourist flow, starting in mid-March with Spring Breakers, with a weekly up-tic in volume from there. By early May, we have non-stop visitors roaming around, all trolley tour-stickered, maps and bags in hand, marveling over their experiences.
I’m not kidding – people LOVE Asheville, and share stories every day about how much fun they’re having. Every year yields hundreds of stories about how cool Asheville is —and how nice the people are— as they eat, shop, dance, people-watch, hike, drive, stroll, and on and on. Our annual events, fun for locals and Second-Homers, of course, are also favorites with many of our tourist friends, who come to “ooohh” and “aaahh” at all the amazing arts and crafts and artists and people and brews and bands and street performers and… you name it, Asheville’s got it.
And you can tell the season has arrived by the increased amount of time it can take to find parking. It’s kinda like how we predict winter weather by analyzing (and, at times, extensively discussing in large groups) the width of the brown band on the Wooly Bear Caterpillar (which becomes the Isabella Tiger Moth, by the way): the earlier in the year that parking becomes an annoyance, the better our daily receipts. So on days when I’m searching for a space, and whining about “rush hour traffic”, I remind myself that I am truly fortunate.
Because so many of our events invite the greater populace to “Come On Down,” we need to keep in mind how we, as a loose collective of mini-communities, help each other out in our busy burg. While an occasional foot-stomper may come along now and then, most of Asheville’s entities do an admirable job of positioning their various events on the calendar in such a way as to not step on one anothers’ toes. Which is a nice way to go about it, as it’s really about sharing both opportunity and wealth.
In order to do that, we must not fracture the main resource, which is, of course, People. Attendees. Shoppers. Creators. A good example of how we achieve this is how “First Fridays” downtown, “Studio Strolls” and “Second Saturdays” on second weekends in the River Arts District and Downtown After Five on third Fridays occupy slots that leave room for everyone to attend everything.
Something else I have seen folks do that is helpful for everyone if we all keep doing it is to act like satellite Chambers of Commerce (Commerces? Commerci?), referring folks to wherever they may desire to go. If someone’s not finding that just-right item where I am, I hope they still shop in our region, as every dollar spent is helping the community at large, getting us all through another season, so that we can do it again next year.
Even though there’s always competition in commerce, we are community partners engaging in a respectful referral system. If each business is a flower, and we are all watering just enough through our actions and conversations, the whole garden thrives.
I want those who buy my art to feel a connection to yet another positive aspect about their time in the region, whether as residents or tourists. My home is filled with visual and functional art by locals and friends from my life and travels because I’ve viscerally connected with both the concept and the artist – and/or because the object reminds me of a wonderful time I had. Like at a friend’s studio, or from a trip to Italy, or at odd places, like the Time Travel Museum in Los Angeles (where, by the way, I felt like I’d been before…).
I get frequent feedback that Asheville is an awesome place to visit again and again because of the art as well as the artists. As one flower in the garden, and as a part of the greater community plot, I wish everyone a great season, fun events —and happy shopping!