Asheville News

Ashvegas: Back to work and back to blogging

Jason Sandford April 27, 2009

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

Blogging was a little light toward the end of last week and non-existent over the weekend. Sorry ’bout that. That damn swine flu kicked my ass. Remember – if the swine flu don’t get ya, the monkey pox will.

So as we all freak out about the swine flu, let me throw out a few tidbits and get moving:

-I’ll be interested in watching the music festival scene. Attendance was off at MerleFest, to my eye, though event organizers say they had some of the best attendance figures ever for Thursday and Friday, with Saturday on par with last year. Looked to me like attendance was down about 10 percent.

-The group that wants to build a new performing arts center in Asheville has been meeting quietly and continues to work on its proposal. A couple of weeks ago, the group interviewed a second architect. The group plans to hire an architect soon and get to drawing up plans. The proposal has a lot of people scratching their heads. The center’s estimated to cost something like $80 million. Why do we need it if we have Diana Wortham Theatre and Thomas Wolfe and the Civic Center scattered around downtown? And where, exactly, would it be built? The last location I heard was just south of City Hall.

-What else is going on in Ashvegas? What’s everybody up to?

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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6 Comments

Ash April 29, 2009

xingxang, thank you!

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xingxang April 29, 2009

Thanks, Ash. I just found the group’s newsletter, available here:

http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/view_newsletter.php?newsletter_id=1409877495

And their website here:

http://www.theperformancecenter.org/home.htm

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Ash April 29, 2009

Thanks firelady!

tara and xingxang, i followed up here: http://ashvegas.squarespace.com/journal/2009/4/29/the-wednesday-open-thread-no-real-specifics.html

but to answer your basic questions: the group is called The Asheville Area Performing Arts Center Inc. the group has not announced which architects they’ve been interviewing. the plan is to build it just south of City Hall. expected cost is $80 million. it won’t happen soon – the group hasn’t begun raising money for the project.

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xingxang April 29, 2009

I’d like to know more also- which "group", which architects, where it is planned to go, and when it could happen?

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tara April 28, 2009

havent heard anything about a new civic center… can you post the name of the "group" thats putting together the proposal for the new performing arts center?

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firelady April 27, 2009

Hope you are feeling better, but must admit there has been a big whole in my day without regular Ashvegas posts.

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