The middle of August is upon us, and as the summer heat continues to encroach on our mountain town. It is hard to believe that fall is just around the corner, and with fall comes changing leaves, hot

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Carolina Ceili is a four piece band right here in Asheville. Comprised of guitarist Darlyne Cain, fiddler Laurie Fisher, drummer Maggie Anderson, and Marcos Harkness on mandolin this eclectic group of talented professional musicians brings Irish jigs and Scottish ballads to life.

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Wicked Weed has shot up like, well, a weed. This almost three year old business has opened as many facilities in just as many years. Starting out with the flagship location on Biltmore Avenue, expanding to the Funkatorium located on Asheville's South Slope, the team now is brewing at their new production facility in Candler. Wicked Weed first introduced their new 40,000 square facility earlier this year with a groundbreaking ceremony, where they outline their plans to brew, bottle, and sell their beloved beer to the Asheville masses. The new facility will not only bottle and brew, but in late 2016 the tasting room should be available for the general public to come and imbibe in one of the many Wicked brews.

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Winter is coming, Asheville. In October, the first ever Strength Summit will make its debut in Asheville and the creators of the summit are kicking things off in style. What exactly is Strength Summit? This strongman summit offers you the opportunity to work out and train with three celebrity coaches over the course of two days. Learn technique during a private workout, and gain valuable knowledge at the hands on workshop and seminar. Learn how to lift heavy objects without breaking your back - or in this case, your bank as well. 

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Lisa Klepzig was a family practice nurse for twenty years, but has been known for years as the chocolate expert by her friends, showing up to holiday parties and feasts with loads of chocolates to share with her friends. Five years ago, she started The Chocolate Lab, but this year, she and her husband Kier decided to take it to the next level. She worked on her recipes and began to incorporate local beers into her truffles. She was invited to display her wares at the Asheville Wine and Food Festival, where she crossed my path, and this month has opened up her very own chocolate shop in north Asheville: The Chocolate Lab.

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Braiiiinnnnssssss! And by that we mean rivers, beer, food and one giant fundraiser! Last year, following Portland, Oregon in the quest for the most interlinked tubers on the river, hundreds of people participated in the first ever Asheville Zombie Tube-Ocalypse! After a wildly successful first year turnout, the Tube-Ocalypse Zombie Float and World Record Attempt is back for a second year! This time it is a shorter float, in hotter weather and with colder beer! This year, the float will start at French Broad River Park and take out at The Salvage Station, located at 468 Riverside Dr. in Asheville, NC.

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In late 2014, we had the pleasure of meeting New York based band All Boy/All Girl before their performance at Toy Boy Community Theatre. Compromised of seven young adults, this dynamic band showed us a hint of their talent while playing an acoustic set behind Pack Place in downtown Asheville. Led by Danielle Lovier, who sings and plays ukulele; All/Boy All Girl formed in 2010 in Philadelphia. Double Bassist Nicholas Rahn approached Danielle about accompanying her performance after hearing her first set at Rittenhouse Square Park. The duo spent the next 18 months playing together as buskers in Philadelphia as well as touring through 35 states and Canada.

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Recently I had the pleasure of being invited to eat at newly opened Blue Dream Curry House, located in downtown Asheville, to sample their international sampling of curries. Curry and I go way back, though perhaps not as far as those to whom the highly spiced dish is native. As a child, I attended many Thanksgiving dinners at a home belonging to friends of my parents, a nice Indian couple whose children were close in age to my brother, sister and me. We swapped a few Thanksgiving dinners, eating one year at our house with traditional American fare, and the next at their house, with their Indian twists on traditional dishes, plus some family favorites tossed in. I learned to eat Indian curry at a young age, but until I was an adult, I did not realize there was more than one type of curry.

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Essence, the second installment in the Asheville Wine & Food Festival, delved a bit deeper into the circus theme and offered up eight different competitors in the cocktails category and five more in the hors d'oevres arena. We got a chance to see a lot of new faces and taste their incredible ideas, all of which needed to incorporate a circus-theme.

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Asheville City Council candidate Jonathon Wainscott was arrested today for felony assault with a deadly weapon. He was taken by gun point in front of 18 Reynolds road earlier today after Asheville Police Department was called to the scene. Multiple neighbors witnessed Wainscott barge into the residence, where he then drew a knife. Wainscott encountered Drew Baas, a veteran who was renting rooms within the home, catching him by surprise. Wainscott then jumped off of the home’s 13 foot balcony, and taunted the the residents and neighbors. Wainscott attempted to approach two time combat veteran Patrick Cahel, who is also renting rooms at 18 Reynolds road.  Wainscott’s companion Debra Murray was also placed into custody. Detective Hickman of Asheville Police Department is investigating. This incident follows nearly 22 days of an almost constant siege on the tenants who have been renting the home owned by Wainscott. The residents rent is paid up through July 27th, although Wainscott had been claiming the tenants owed rent and were squatting at the residence unlawfully. Documents obtained from the SSFF program show a lawful lease and rent paid.  Charges include assault with a deadly weapon, breaking and entering, and violating a no contact order.

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