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The 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony takes place tonight, Feb. 6 in Northern Italy (you can watch the fanfare unfold live at 2 p.m. on NBC and Peacock). If the excitement has you wanting to transform from spectator to snow sports athlete, there are plenty of slopes within ~2 hours of Asheville. Hatley Pointe, Mars Hill | ~40 minutes from AVL
Now under new ownership, the former Wolf Ridge Ski Resort has reopened as Hatley Pointe, a boutique mountain resort with upgraded snowmaking, a full-service restaurant, grab-and-go options, and a pizza truck.
Ski Sapphire Valley, Sapphire | ~1.5 hours from AVL
This smaller mountain has three lifts, but it’s better known for its Great Outhouse Races during Presidents Day weekend. Watch folks strapped inside outhouse costumes compete to see who can ski the furthest.
Sugar Mountain Resort, Sugar Mountain | ~1.5 hours from AVL
If slopes aren’t your thing, lace up your skates and hit the ice rink or rent gear for a guided snowshoeing excursion.
Make your childhood dreams come true at The Hop’s Ice Cream for Breakfast tomorrow, Feb. 7. Visit the Merrimon location from 8 a.m. to noon for Chill Cereal Bar sundaes, a West End Bakery cinnamon roll ice cream collab, Bridge & Tunnel affogatos, and limited Hole Doughnuts ice cream sandwiches.
Development
While the Costco hearing was delayed, Asheville’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved two apartment complexes: an 89-unit affordable housing project off North Lousiana Avenue in Emma and a 180-unit project on Sardis Road. Both projects will go before city council for a final OK on Tuesday, Feb. 24. (Asheville Citizen-Times)
Arts
The Southern Highland Craft Guild presents “We Still Make Things: 100 Years of Craft and Culture,” celebrating the John C. Campbell Folk School’s centennial. On view at the Folk Art Center through late April, the exhibition features 50 works honoring a century of Appalachian craft, education, and community-based learning.
Fun Fact
Starting today, you’ll be hearing the brass fanfare of the Olympic theme song pretty frequently. Interestingly enough, the French composer behind the tune is buried in a rural Yadkinville cemetery. How did he end up spending the last 14 years of his life in NC? A very successful blind date. (NC Rabbit Hole)
Learn
More local Olympic lore courtesy of NC Rabbit Hole. In 1996, Andrew Carter cycled the Olympic flame from Greensboro to Winston-Salem and kept the torch as a memento after the ride. Cut to 2012. Carter moved to Asheville and found that his beloved souvenir had been stolen. Find out the whodunit ending.
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Category
Culture
What $8 million gets you in Asheville
You could quite literally have tacos for days. | Photo via White Duck Taco
For Super Bowl 60 this Sunday, the cost of 30-second ad slots has reached an all-time high, starting at $8 million. Based on some rough estimates, here are a couple of other off-the-wall ways you could spend that money locally:
Buy a luxury estate. For a little more dough, you could get the keys to this French chateau-inspired Biltmore Forest mansion.
Stockpile craft beer. That’s roughly 1.3 million cans from Burial or Highland Brewing, enough to supply local bars for months.
Treat the city to tacos. Buy 1.6 million tacos from White Duck Taco — enough to feed every Asheville City and Buncombe County Schools student two tacos a day for nearly the whole school year.
Supply cafes with mugs. Purchase 181,818 East Fork mugs and dish them out across Asheville’s coffee shops. And probably start a few cafes yourself to find a home for each mug.
See our historic sites. You could buy 100,000 tickets to the Biltmore Estate, letting every resident (and then some) take a tour.
Asked
Asked
How would you spend $8 million in Asheville?
Now it’s your turn. Pick something practical or let your imagination run wild and tell us what you’d spend $8 million on locally.
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