So…final Bele Chere is coming up. Does anyone care? I don’t. Being an Asheville native, I remember when the festival was small and it had a very local feel to it. My youth orchestra group played on Church Street a couple summers in a row. My friends’ bands played on several stages. The crafters were from western NC. It was an intimate little summer celebration, a fun time to enjoy friends and food and music.
The festival grew over time into a giant beer swilling, funnel cake gorging behemoth as the years went by, attracting crowds of tourists from far away who wanted to party in Asheville. Local bands were replaced with big headliners. Local crafts were replaced with artisans from all over the place with high price tags. There was puke in the streets and people were pushing and shoving each other by 3 PM on the first day of the festival every year, drunk and overcrowded and angry. The festival grew into a sprawl that annoyed the local business owners who couldn’t function with the crowds and the shoplifters and the noise.
I don’t like it. I don’t go. I work downtown and make an effort to take the Friday that Bele Chere starts as a vacation day, and I stay away from downtown Asheville the whole weekend. I won’t regret missing out on the overpriced beer or the smell of urine in the summer heat.
Bye, Bele Chere. I remember when we could see the Urban Spelunkers or The Merle and walk around without worrying about getting mugged or trampled. That was long ago, but thanks for the memories.
Tag: farewell
A Fabulous Farewell for The Bean
One of my favorite coworkers is moving away; The Bean has been offered a job that she couldn’t pass up, and so she’s outta here! Can’t blame her, but I hate it. It’s such a treat to have coworkers you actually like to see, office buddies that make the whole thing a little more tolerable. The Bean has an optimistic outlook and good sense of humor, and our office could use heaps of that–we’ll all miss her so much!
Friday night we had a little farewell gathering for The Bean over karaoke. As many songs as we sang alone or as “The Wild Girls,” as we were dubbed by the DJ, it might as well have been our own private party. Our posse paid tribute to Billy Idol, Pat Benatar, Wham!, Frank Sinatra, The Clash and everyone in between as we raised our glasses and raised hell.
I have my own repertoire of songs I will sing in public, drunk or completely sober–liquid courage is not required for me to do karaoke, as I’m ready to make an ass of myself 24/7. I have my karaoke standards that are easy and fun, like “Love Shack” and “Tainted Love.” Since it was a special evening, I decided to broaden the horizons and select something I would normally never sing outside my car. I opted for the Violent Femmes’ “Add It Up,” the little ditty that asks “Why can’t I get just one kiss…” and ponders “Why can’t I get just one screw?” and goes on to explore “Why can’t I get just one fuck?” It was a true crowd pleaser, but whether I’d do it again depends entirely on the crowd, really–I wouldn’t want to roll that one out at an office social or anything (though I have writhed on the floor singing “Like A Virgin” for an office event!).
I hope The Bean enjoyed her shindig. I know I did, and her beau was a freakin’ hoot and a half! The Bean’s got some packing to do and some loose ends to wrap up, but before you know it, she’ll have left Western NC for a bigger city and new adventures. I’ll miss The Bean and her silliness, as well as the wisdom she’s shared with me along the way. She is one cool chickie, and I wish her a blessing for every time she laughs in a day. I’ll miss you—-good luck, good things, keep smiling and sharing your spirit everywhere you go, girl!