Site Guide to a moving target…

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About / Site Guide -

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Many of you know that the plans for WNC Mountain Magic have been gestating for several years now…and perhaps for most of my life. It slowly started to crystalize after I moved to Asheville in the early 80s and unconsciously began to discover that Asheville was going to be the forever home of my heart. It really took off when I discovered Contra Dancing at the Old Farmer’s Ball in the early 90s and caught the bug. It wasn’t long before I became what we called a Dance Gypsy back then. Now it is perhaps better known as a Dance Traveler. Soon, I was traveling to 1 or 2 dance weekends a month and 1 or 2 week-long dance camps a year. I was hooked! I am sure many of you have similar stories to tell.

In 1996 I got married to another dancer and we moved for 5 years to the SF Bay Area. Then 2 years in North Vancouver, BC, and another 20 years in Louisville before finally making it back to Asheville [AVL], i.e. the aforementioned, home of my heart. Excuse me if I repeat myself. It seemed that everywhere we lived, dancers knew about Asheville and many of them had been here or wanted to come here.

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Most of the people we met and talked with about AVL asked questions that were some variation of “what is the big deal about AVL?” Over time I came up with a response for them. It was, there are some “big deals” about AVL and the greater Western North Carolina region; the Biltmore House, the Grove Park Inn,  the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Sierra Nevada Brewery, and the Appalachian Trail, for a few examples. You don’t have to look very far to find out about the big deals. However, what makes WNC and AVL truly special for me is all of the “little deals.” These are AVL’s hidden gems, our regular community dances, music jams, and small clubs with great music and sometimes dancing, etc. Did I mention the great outdoors!!!

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At least to start, there are going to be two main features to this site. They are Anchor Events and Gems.

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Anchor Events ~

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The first is what I call Anchor Event pages. Anchor events are events that bring travelers to, through, or near AVL. or close enough to swing by on your way for enhanced travel fun & adventures. Soon there will be Anchor Event pages for every month of the year. Eventually you will be able to access a year around Perpetual Planning Calendar of regional events. For example, if you look back at our May or June 2026 Anchor Event pages, you may discover some events which you regrettably missed this year. Note however that most of those events have a A  in their posting. That means this is an annual event and will likely happen around the same time and place next year. Start planning now!!!
SA events can be identified by this symbol.  Most of these are spring & fall.

You may not be interested in everything on those Anchor Event pages. One of our goals is to expose you to events that might just expand your horizons. No pressure…

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Attention local folks: You may also find some area surprises that you didn’t know you were missing. I did!.

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Gems … ~

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Once we get our Anchor Events pages out about six months or so, we will start to fill in the pull-down Menus across the top of our page with all of the secret and not-so-secret little gems WNC has to offer. Many of those things are not always listed in the current glossy tourist Guides you can pick up at the Asheville Visitors Center or where you ate dinner last night. Once we get those pull-down Menus fleshed out a bit, that’s where the fun for the curious really begins take off.

Remember this is an ever evolving dynamic site. Today it may not look like it did yesterday. Usually that will mean more fun options have been added. Dive in!! Let the fun begin.!

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