Asheville Citizen-Times from Asheville, North Carolina • Page 8

BELE CHERE AS SUNDAY, JULY 28, 2009 ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES FEST: Rain did not dampen crowd's spirit unoTHUM SlMf IlfflMMSTIfn, mat 5 ON IM Ml jH BELE CHERE TODAY er "footprint" of Bele Chere, with a reduction in the number of performance stages, the elimination of ticketed performances, an hour-earlier closing time and a condensed geographic area that no longer includes the area east of Pack Square. "The last few years, it had gotten kind of rowdy and sprawling," said artisan Cliff Garren, owner of Wildwood Originals sculptured furniture and home accessories in Greeneville, who has a booth on Patton Avenue adjacent to the Arts Park. "I think it's good to make it more compact." And closing earlier? "Shoot, yeah," he said. "Get us out of here. It's a long, long day." Kathleen Davis, executive director of the Col-burn Earth Science Museum in Pack Place, gave two thumbs up to the tweaked format.

"I really like the feel of it," she said from the Col-burn's booth on Pack Square. "I'm so glad- they got rid of the ticketed events, so people don't feel like they're left out of anything. It just has a more intimate feel now, and I think that might bring more locals to the festival." Over at the Food Lion Children's Area in the Asheville Civic Center, parents continued to applaud the switch from College Street to the air-conditioned arena. "We love having it here," said Jill Sparks, who brought her 3-year-old daughter, Frida Vassallo, to check out the new venue. "It's cool and more contained, and doesn't feel as crowded.

Everyone I've heard talking around here has said the same thing," she said. "We've stayed here' a lot longer than we did last year when it was outdoors." The outdoors apparently still appeals to adults, who cheerfully braved the heat with hand-squeezed lemonades or cold craft beers, sales of which remained strong. 1 Music everywhere Not all the music was on the festival's main stages. Singer R.J. Adams and guitarist James.

Eudy had applied to play at Bele Chere, but didn't make the cut, so they performed as street musicians instead. They were doing well on tips, but "we do this for the love of it," said Adams, who is based in Charlotte. "It's so beautiful. And the people are so friendly." At Magnolia's on Market Street, boogie-woogie pianist and comic Rev. Billy C.

Wirtz was back in action Saturday for his 21st annual performance during Bele Chere. Wirtz, who will return to Magnolia's on Sunday, is doing some of his classic material, as well as a new tune on the travails of S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford and' the scandal surrounding his Argentine mistress. Not far from the Buncombe County Jail, another sort of lockup was doing a steady business.

Dogs are not permitted at the festival, and yet many owners either forgot that rule or didn't get the word, and their pooches were sent, for a fee, to a temporary canine confinement site in front of Asheville City Hall. By midday Saturday, the "Doggie was already maxed out with inmates, who had a pretty easy time of it, with plenty of "shade, lots of treats and walking, and lots of love," said Peggy Irwin, head of ChainFree Asheville. The group works to build fences for dog owners, so their pets won't be chained up. Hours: Bele Chere opens at noon today. Music begins at 1235 p.m.

and runs through 5:45 p.m. Weather forecast A 40 percent chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms. High near 83. Where: Free stages, are on Battery Park Avenue, Coxe Avenue, Haywood Street and Biltmore Avenue. The children's area and seniors'' oasis are in the Civic Center.

The drum circle is Lexington Avenue. 1 HIGHLIGHTS Headlines: Webb Wilder the Beatnecks, 4 p.m., Biltmore stage; Orleans, 435 p.m., Coxe Avenue stage. No alcohol: No beer or mUt SIM! ERIN BRETHAUER Kristin Holcombe sits as Jordy Williams paints something on her body Saturday. other alcoholic beverages will be sold on the street today; alcoholic drinks sold by downtown restau .00 mew -I Complete Oak Continued from Al on Coxe Avenue, not far from one of the festival's main stages, said company president Mike Rangel. "Sales-wise, business was a little less than I expected," he said.

"But for customer service, it was the perfect number of people. I would rather have 200 happy people than 250 and be crowded." The festival picked up Saturday where it left "off Friday night, with thousands of people arriving downtown for a day of food and family fun. Even before the first show at noon, the city-run Wall Street parking deck was full. Despite the crowds, the festival moved smoothly, said Diane Ruggiero, Ashe-ville's superintendent of cultural arts, who oversees Bele Chere. As any Asheville resident knows, it just wouldn't be Bele Chere without a little rain.

Or sometimes a lot of it. And so just before 5 p.m., the festival was greeted by a light shower, which put the temporary kibosh on music. It was just enough rain to wet the pavement, but not enough to really cool things off I Most festivalgoers took it in stride. Some found shelter under awnings; others just toughed it out and waited for the shower to pass and the music to resume. Grammy-winning folk star David Holt, who has played many times at Bele Chere, was unable to perform Saturday night, following the death of his father.

But his band the Lightning Bolts went ahead with the date at the Haywood Street stage. Smaller Is better? A sampling of vendors and visitors indicated there is overwhelming support for the new small Yb Mama's Big Fat Booty Band at the Coxe Avenue stage. 100 Of Our Inventory Is Available For Same Day Delivery That's Over 80,000 Sq. Ft Of Furniture! 4v rants must be consumed on the premises. Purina Ultimate Air Dogs: Noon, 3 and 4 p.m.

in the lot at College Street and Patton Avenue. Getting there: Downtown parking lots and garages are open, but have limited space and prices up to $10 and higher. Bele Chere shuttle runs from Kmart on Patton Avenue and from the Asheville Mall back parking lot to downtown; $2 round trip. WEB EXTRAS Visit belechere for the latest festival information and to download entertainment schedules, plus find photo galleries, live blog and live video highlights. QUEEN BED DRESSER MIRROR TALL CHEST NIGHT STAND Reg.

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Donned in a pink dress and white sunglasses, lead singer Christa DeCicco included some Bob Wiljs tunes in her set. "It's very happy music," said Kim Hocking, 29, of Asheville. She and her two friends, Carol Landford and Monica Scovell, came out early to Bele Chere be-, cause they had to camp in the evening. i Lunch central at Bele Chere Local businesses, including Three Brothers, the Chocolate Lounge, Barley's Taproom and Pizzeria, Mamacitas, The Lobster Trap and ED Bou- dreaux's, offered myriad options fortasty treats at A Taste of Asheville on Pack Square. Originally from New York, Dianne and Tom Ma-roney have lived in Asheville for 12 years and were impressed by the food, which they said has improved from previous Bele Cheres.

The two were making their way around the square trying different vendors. "These lobster rolls are outstanding," Dianne said. Granola Funk Express: healthy hip-hop All ages could be seen bobbing and dancing to the funky hip-hop group from Western North Carolina. The band rapped, sang and played a variety of instruments from horns to keyboard. Bradley of Greenville, S.C, came to Bele Chere specifically to see GFE, Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band and Afro-motive.

He and six others, who are camping during the festival, were excited to see GFE perform again later in the evening at the Emerald Lounge. "My girl's driving seven hours from Virginia to be here later (this evening)," McElreth said. Keeping the rhythm "You've got your heartbeat, and you've been playing that a long time," said Larry McDowell of Roots of Rhythm. He loves sharing rhythm with people and traditionally holds drum circles every Friday night in Prichard Park. The circle is going on all weekend long at the corner of Lexington Avenue and Walnut Street.

Saturday afternoon, the group switched things up. Rather than using drums like they had been all day, people clapped then-hands, clapped shoes together, whistled, tapped balloons, beat boxed, sang and one man even tapped a cap to a beer bottle. Another woman kept the rhythm by' jangling her bracelets. "Come with whatever sound you've got," McDowell said. Shoot for the cure The extreme he'at didn't seem stop, basketball fans from coming out and supporting a good cause.

In the mid-afternoon people could take shots for $5 or no from a court set up next to Avenue at Patton Avenue. The money goes to raise money for breast cancer research. Rashad McCants plays in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings, and he was at the fundraiser along with his sisterc Rashanda McCants, who plays in the WNBA for the Minnesota Lynx. Their mother, Bren-da McCants, is a breast cancer survivor who lives in Asheville. She planned on being at Bele Chere all weekend, hoping to raise at least $5,000.

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