AVL Biz Weekly — Sept 23–29: Pride Goes Two Days, 40 Years of Baklava & Gov't Mule Comes to Town

Welcome to AVL BIZ Weekly—your local cheat sheet for what’s happening in Asheville’s small business + creative scenes.

Each week: hand-picked events, marketing ideas that actually work, and a little local flavor to keep things fun.

My name's Jason and I'm writing this (connect with me here).

Hey friends,

Asheville's food truck scene sets up camp at Tanger Outlets this weekend for the inaugural FoodeesFest — three days of vendors sharing the lot with the usual South Slope crowd. If you'd rather eat standing under a tent than sitting at a table, Friday through Sunday is yours.

Over at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, Montford Park Players close out their vampire-twist take on Romeo and Juliet this weekend. Free, as always, lawn chairs encouraged, and it's the last chance to watch the Capulets play vampire slayers before the run wraps.

Let's get into it.

📋 On Deck

• Business: NC TECH's Summit for Women in Tech brings 350+ attendees downtown Monday and Tuesday, and AdventHealth throws open its new Turtle Creek doors Tuesday evening.

• Fun: Blue Ridge Pride doubles up to two days for the first time, the Greek Festival turns 40, and Highland Brewing pours its 18th Clawhammer at Clawtoberfest.

• Music: Gov't Mule and Ziggy Marley headline Hellbender, with Houndmouth, The Devil Makes Three, and Damien Jurado close behind.

🙋 Want your biz featured in front of a few really smart AVL business owners? Email me for details

❓ Question of the Week

Greek pastry or food truck taco: which line are you standing in this weekend?

🗓️ Business Events

• 🗓️ Coders League Low-Pressure Social Get-Together — Thu, Sept 24 · 6:30–8:30 PM (Zillicoah Beer Co., Woodfin) — Casual meetup for developers, tech pros, and hobbyists of all experience levels.

• 🗓️ Summit for Women in Tech (Asheville) — Mon–Tue, Sept 28–29 (Renaissance Asheville Downtown) — NC TECH's seventh annual women-only summit brings 350+ attendees from across the state for keynotes, panels, and networking dinners. Registration runs $350–$615.

• 🗓️ AdventHealth Turtle Creek Open House — Tue, Sept 29 · 5:30–7 PM (15 Turtle Creek Dr, Asheville) — Free open house with refreshments and tours marking the new facility's opening.

• 🗓️ Entrepreneur GrowthCLUB and 90 Day Planning Session — Tue, Sept 29 · 8:30 AM–4 PM (21 Restaurant Ct, Asheville) — ActionCOACH's day-long workshop on your unique selling proposition and building a 90-day action plan.

Hosting something cool?

📬 Hit reply and tell me what you think. Or share an event!

💡 Marketing Quickies

This week's theme is the Website Chat Widget, the piece of S.U.F.U. that catches the visitor who's already on your site and about to leave without calling.

Answer before they bounce. A contractor's site gets a visitor at 9pm who's comparing three quotes and won't remember to call in the morning. A two-way text widget lets them type "how much for a bathroom remodel" right there and get a real answer, or a scheduled follow-up, before they close the tab. An accountant's site works the same way at tax season: someone lands on your pricing page with a question about an LLC filing, and the widget catches them before they click over to the next name on their list.

Route it to a phone, not a inbox. The widget only works if someone's actually watching it. Set it to text your cell the same way a missed call would, so a lead on your website gets the same urgency as a ringing phone. That's the whole point: your website should work for you while you're on a job or with a client, not sit there hoping someone emails.

Save the canned answers you already give. Every contractor and professional service business has the same five questions they answer on repeat: pricing ranges, service areas, turnaround time. Load those as quick replies in the widget so the first response goes out in seconds, not whenever you get back to your truck. It's the same Show Up and Follow Up thinking behind the rest of the system: catch it fast, follow up, don't let it go cold.

🎉 Fun Stuff Around AVL

• 🎉 Blue Ridge Pride Festival — Fri, Sept 25 · 6–10 PM (18+) & Sat, Sept 26 · 12–6 PM (all ages) (Pack Square Park) — The 15th annual festival goes two days for the first time: an adults-only evening kickoff, then a full family day with two stages of music and vendors.

• 🎉 Asheville Greek Festival — Fri–Sat, Sept 25–26 · 11 AM–9 PM (Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Montford) — 40 years of Grecian chicken, pastichio, dancing, and church tours in Historic Montford.

• 🎉 Clawtoberfest at Highland Brewing — Sat, Sept 26 · 12–6 PM (Highland Brewing Co.) — Free, family-friendly release party for Highland's 18th year of Clawhammer Oktoberfest, with games, food trucks, and live music in the Meadow.

• 🎉 FoodeesFest — Fri–Sun, Sept 25–27 (Tanger Outlets Asheville) — A traveling food truck festival with 40-plus vendors and free community admission, rain or shine.

• 🎉 Montford Park Players: Romeo and Juliet (final weekend) — Fri–Sat, Sept 25–26 · 7:30 PM (Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre) — Free outdoor Shakespeare closes its run with the Capulets as vampire slayers and the Montagues as vampires.

• 🎉 The Hop Ice Cream: Community Scoops Day — Sun, Sept 27 (all 4 Hop locations) — Free kiddie scoop with any purchase, with 100% of donations going to Bridge Meals.

• 🎉 Courage For Jean: Asheville Blue Ridge Mystery — Self-guided, any day (starts Pack Square Park) — A digital scavenger hunt through downtown with clues, trivia, and photo challenges, at your own pace.

🎧 Bands on the Horizon

• The Home Team w/ Heart Attack Man, UnityTX — Wed, Sept 23 · 7:30 PM @ The Orange Peel

• Rainbow Girls — Wed, Sept 23 · 8 PM @ Grey Eagle Music Hall

• Patio Show: Flora Fauna — Wed, Sept 23 · 5:30 PM @ Grey Eagle Patio

• Let Her Fly... Honoring the Life of Dolly Parton — Thu, Sept 24 · 7:30 PM @ Grey Eagle Music Hall

• Gov't Mule and Ziggy Marley — Fri, Sept 25 · 5:30 PM @ Hellbender

• Lily Rose w/ Logan Crosby — Fri, Sept 25 · 8 PM @ The Orange Peel

• Damien Jurado w/ St. Yuma — Fri, Sept 25 · 8 PM @ Grey Eagle Music Hall

• Patio Show: Starseer — Fri, Sept 25 · 5:30 PM @ Grey Eagle Patio

• Houndmouth / Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country / Molly Tuttle — Sat, Sept 26 · 5:30 PM @ Hellbender

• The Devil Makes Three w/ Tim Barry — Sat, Sept 26 · 9 PM @ The Orange Peel

• Patio Show: Kyley Byrd w/ The High Mountain Flyers — Sat, Sept 26 · 4:30 PM @ Grey Eagle Patio

• Patio Show: Ross Hollow with Full Band — Sun, Sept 27 · 5:30 PM @ Grey Eagle Patio

• LP — Mon, Sept 28 · 8 PM @ The Orange Peel

• Patio Show: Dr Funky Squirrel — Mon, Sept 28 · 5:30 PM @ Grey Eagle Patio

• Teso Ellis & Friends w/ Ovadya — Mon, Sept 28 · 8 PM @ Grey Eagle Music Hall

• Bayside w/ Driveways, Grave Secrets — Tue, Sept 29 · 7:30 PM @ The Orange Peel

• Patio Show: Becks! Beacon, and Abbie McAllister — Tue, Sept 29 · 5 PM @ Grey Eagle Patio

Want your biz in front of a few really smart AVL business owners? Reply with what you're up to and we'll see if it's a fit.

Until next week,

Jason De Los Santos
Pixelated Stories Digital Marketing
(828) 585-4293