31st Annual Bele Chere
It was still about the music, fun, food, people and WEIRDNESS.


BELE CHERE 2009 * PLAYING ON PATTON * Photo: MediaBear / Byron Belzak

DOZENS OF STREET MUSICIANS PROVIDED NOTEWORTHY ENTERTAINMENT AT BELE CHERE 2009 to keep it weird for thousands of passerbys, such as this strumming duo on College Avenue across from the BB&T high-rise on Sat,, July 25.


BELE CHERE 2009: LOVIN' IT AT US CELLULAR STAGE * MediaBear / BB

DANCING IN THE STREETS was a favorite pasttime of festival-goers, such as this couple who enjoyed reggae in front of Laurey's on Biltmore. The city-sponsored, three-day event is Downtown Asheville's largest street party of the year. 


BELE CHERE 2009: BATTERY PARK STAGE * MediaBear / BB

BELE CHERE is billed as the largest, free, street party in the southeast. This year's Bele Chere focused on affordability, both for the city and the party-goer. Paid entertainment was eliminated. The number of stages was drastically reduced, going from the typical six stages to four in 2009. For report by wyff4.com, Click Here>


BELE CHERE 2009: ART PARK * MediaBear / BB

ART PARK, situated across the street from Kress and Stella Blue, provided free art demonstrations and featured dozens of artists and crafters. For details, Click Here>


BELE CHERE 2009: PASSING UP PRITCHARD PARK VENDORS * MediaBear / BB

SOME FOLKS BACK-PACKED FOOD AND DRINK -- not to mention the kids -- to keep costs down and participation high. In its pre-festival article, "Bele Chere on a shoestring," MountainXpress helped budget-minded revelers cope: Click Here>


BELE CHERE 2009: CRYSTAL AND CHRIS * MediaBear / BB

MOST PEOPLE WERE ALL SMILES at Bele Chere 2009, including Crystal and Chris, who served up great beverages and food for the hungry hoards in front of World Cafe on Battery Park Avenue.


BELE CHERE 2009: DAVID K IN FRONT OF THE WORLD CAFE * MediaBear / BB

LOCAL MORTGAGE BANKER DAVID KANIS took a second to say hello, too. He is one of the founding members of a new group of professionals, known as Asheville Strategic Alliance, who offer free weekly seminars to the public at the Financial Wellness Forum.


BELE CHERE 2009: THE ANGRY CHRISTIANS PLAY GOD * MediaBear / BB

RAINY-DAY PEOPLE again made it their mission to condemn fun and everyone who doesn't believe as they do. The Angry Christians stationed themselves conspicously at Vance Monument to be the festival's most obnoxious oxymorons.


BELE CHERE 2009: ANGRY CHRISTAIN WITH ANGRY ANSWERS * MediaBear / BB

UNLIKE THREE FRIENDLY CHRISTIANS WHO MANNED THE BILTMORE BAPTIST CHURCH TENT on Biltmore Avenue, this Angry Christain hurled accusations to all brave, or foolish, enough to inquire about their devilish interpretation of Christ, love, peace and the Golden Rule. 
 

BELE CHERE 2009: HAWKING REVOLUTION ON LEXINGTON * MediaBear / BB

THANK GOD more than one view of the world presented itself on the streets of Downtown Asheville, as this messager of a different sort hawked bumperstickers and magazines at the intersection of Lexington and College.


BELE CHERE 2009: REVOLUTION CLOSE UP ON LEXINGTON * MediaBear / BB

Ditto, already, for the other side of the coin.


BELE CHERE 2009: HANDING OUT GOOD INFORMATION * MediaBear / BB


BELE CHERE 2009: HANDING OUT BAD INFORMATION * MediaBear / BB

BUT WHAT IN GOD'S NAME were city officials thinking when they allowed the likes of Camel and Skoal to become a part of Asheville's greatest annual public party? Who was smoking what?


BELE CHERE 2009: SECURITY GUARD WHO TOLD DOWNTOWNASHEVILLE.COM IT WAS "ILLEGAL" TO PHOTOGRAPH THE CAMEL TENT  * MediaBear / BB

GOOD GAWD ALMIGHTY... might not some clear-headed Asheville city officials be wiser to look into banning the promotion of cancer-inducing products at all city-sponsored events, not to mention arresting overly aggressive security guards who intimidate unsuspecting snapshooters?  


BELE CHERE 2009: KICK-BALLERS IN PRITCHARD PARK * MediaBear / BB

BUT THANK GOD, AGAIN... most Bele Chere festival-goers were all about kicking back, having fun, and performing their god-given right to ignore yells of hell-fire damnation, death by tobacco, and the occasional butt. 


BELE CHERE 2009: SUNNY FOLKS IN THE RAIN * MediaBear / BB

DESPITE SHORT PERIODS OF BLESSED RAIN that cooled the heat of a summer's afternoon, thousands enjoyed coming together to create community in Downtown Asheville at Bele Chere 2009.

BELE CHERE 2009: KEEPING-IT-REAL PEACEKEEPERS * MediaBear / BB


BELE CHERE 2009: REAL PEACEKEEPERS * MediaBear / BB


BELE CHERE 2009: REAL THIRSTY AT THE THIRSTY MONK * MediaBear / BB


BELE CHERE 2009: NEW CNG-FUELED FORD FOCUS RECEIVES POSTIVE ATTENTION * MediaBear / BB


BELE CHERE 2009: SATISFIED SITTERS OUTSIDE THE GROVE ARCADE * MediaBear / BB



BELE CHERE 2009: DISSATISFIED CITIZENS WHO WANT TO SAVE THE BASILICA AND BUILD A NEW CITY PARK * MediaBear / BB


BELE CHERE 2009: SATISFIED PLAYING FOR DOLLARS * MediaBear / BB


BELE CHERE 2009: JUS' PLAYING PRETTY * MediaBear / BB


BELE CHERE 2009: GUEST PLAYING DRUMS WITH THE STATIONARY TIN LADY * MediaBear / BB



BELE CHERE 2009: JUS' AROUND THE CORNER IN FRONT OF KIM'S WIGS, YOUNG MIMES MIMICK THE TIN LADY * MediaBear / BB

BELE CHERE 2009: NOT PLAYING, PERIOD * MediaBear / BB

BUT LIFE WILL RETURN TO NORMAL, as it has for 31 consecutive years, the Monday after in Downtown Asheville.

OFFICIAL INFORMATION about the much-loved, much-maligned, still-weird, three-day Bele Chere remains available online at Belecherefestival.com or Click Here>

ASHEVILLE AREA BLOGGERS usually post something about Bele Chere, but few have done so yet. For an extensive list offered at ashvegas.squarespace.com (scroll down on the right side), Click Here>

---

MORE PHOTOS OF BELE CHERE 2009:

* Anoldent photostream: Click Here>
* Dplunkett58's photostream: Click Here>
* Edgy Grrrl photostream: Click Here>
* Mogmismo photostream: Click Here>
* MyGothLaundry photostream: Click Here>

BELE CHERE 2009: GRAB YOUR GUITAR AND A POSTER * MediaBear / BB

SO UNTIL THE 32ND BELE CHERE IN 2010... rock on, Asheville. And keep keeping it weird! 

--DowntownAsheville.com ... INVOLVED... because DOWNTOWN is worth it.