If we don’t watch out, other places will me more Asheville than Asheville itself. More from the Raleigh paper:
RALEIGH – Raleigh’s lack of a bohemian element lends the city a humdrum reputation. But this weekend, in the heart of downtown, area artists declared the birth of the cool.
The city’s creative class asserted itself in a three-day festival that wraps up today with music, meditation, a peace vigil, craft vendors and an outdoor screening by local filmmakers. Sparkcon is based in Moore Square but radiates throughout downtown.
Organizers are seeking “to establish and sustain a creative ecosystem here in the Triangle,” spokesman Greg Ettenson said. The Triangle has a thriving creative community, Ettenson said, but it’s not visible because it’s not concentrated in an artsy district like Miami’s South Beach, Atlanta’s Little Five Points or Washington’s Adams Morgan.
It was an atypical scene for Raleigh: a dozen youngsters hula-hooping on the lawn to the rhythm of an African drum ensemble. Down the way, a maniacal-looking vocalist fronted a trio of rock ‘n’ rollers on stage. Vendors displayed handcrafted wares, while about 400 young artists were street-painting with luminescent chalk.
“What makes this so interesting is it’s so non-commercial,” said Charley Bratton, an automotive marketing director taking in the sights. “It gives me good vibes.”
This is the third year for the festival, loosely corresponding to the slow rebirth of the city’s downtown. The artists and organizers will tell you that it’s going to take more than new offices, new condos and new parking decks to make downtown come alive.
The sense of coolness that seems to come naturally to towns like Asheville, has long eluded Raleigh and is a touchy subject here. The Triangle is consistently rated as one of the nation’s best places to live and work — for quality public schools, world-class universities and Research Triangle Park — but Raleigh’s core has been more of a downer than a downtown.