Asheville nc gay clubs
Asheville, North Carolina, is a vibrant metropolis that boasts a thriving LGBTQ collective. From historic same-sex attracted bars to inclusive craft breweries, the city offers something for everyone. In this guide, we’ll explore the finest LGBTQ bars and clubs in Asheville, from dance parties to drag shows and everything in between.
O. Henry’s and The Underground
O. Henry’s has been a staple in the Asheville LGBTQ group for over 55 years. When Smokey’s Tavern closed its doors in 2015, O. Henry’s became the oldest queer bar in the city. The lock is housed in a lodge-style stone and wood building with plenty of seating inside, a pool table, and a karaoke late hours every Wednesday. On weekends, you can catch drag shows featuring local talent.
Attached to O. Henry’s is The Underground, an industrial boogie bar that hosts a First Friday dance party and other themed twirl nights and entertainment.
Find O. Henry’s on Instagram at (@ohenrysasheville).
Scandals and the Grove House Entertainment Complex
Scandals, a three-floor nightclub, opened in 1982 and is located in the Grove House Entertainment Complex, which also includes Club Eleven on Grove and Boiler Room Ashe
Learn why I moved to Asheville and haven’t moved out. Asheville has been great – but see my thoughts on some common questions about what it’s like being part of the LGBTQ+ community here, and pros and cons of moving to and living in Asheville.
So why did I land on Asheville? I think a little background is important for context.
I grew up in a medium-sized college town in North Central Florida. We had community there, but the kind of community that you get in an area with urban-sprawl, no real vibrant downtown core, and a minor but growing emphasis on art, music, theater, and lack of diversity in the general population.
My hometown had culture, it just wasn’t the culture I was looking for. The gay collective felt small. Perhaps it wasn’t, but it felt that way.
A few years after graduating college, I had the opportunity to move to Boston. What a stark contrast to Florida. I finally had the culture that I wanted. Rainbow flags adorned residential and retail shop windows. There were gayborhoods. And pride. Wow.
After a while in Boston, it turns out that despite the deep feeling of acceptance and belonging, I really missed the friendlier, smaller
Downtown Asheville
Gay and dyke visitors to Asheville, North Carolina, uncover a very warm atmosphere, especially in the eclectic and artsy downtown. Dwelling to the renowned Biltmore Estate, Asheville is surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains with limitless outdoors activities. The Blue Ridge Parkway, which rides along the ridge tops, is one of most beautiful drives in the land. You will discover a diverse population, with a enormous gay and womxn loving womxn community that enjoys meeting visitors (since most of them were once visitors before they fell in love with the area and moved).
RomanticAsheville.com is a 500-page online tour guide (free) with 1,600+ photographs with plenty of “insider” tour tips, including a special gay and lesbian Asheville mentor. Find guides to accommodations, hiking, waterfalls, art, Biltmore Estate, Blue Ridge Parkway, shopping, restaurants, nightlife, events, and more. To help you plan a trip, here are ten favorite outings for gay and queer woman visitors to Asheville:
1. Romantic Dinner: The farm-to-table craze is full steam in Asheville with dozens of locally-owned restaurants that work closely with local farms.
2. Bed &
Legacy Bars of the Carolinas
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Fragmentary seems like the most appropriate word to illustrate the history and identity of oppressed people, and especially the LGBTQ+ people. Our heritage and tradition has often gone undocumented for fear of unintentionally providing information that could lead to unwanted trouble from our oppressors. Contact it a fail harmless, if you will, but the end result was/is a huge loss of LGBTQ+ history prior to the 1980s.
In other instances, our history was often deemed as insignificant or unworthy of being saved by those in a position of power to make decisions about historical preservation. As late as the mid 1990s I can still recall the shock I felt when I was informed by a periodical librarian at the Atlanta Fulton County Public Library that copies of locally produced queer and lesbian publications were thrown away when each new edition arrived, unlike the mainstream straight newspapers and magazines, which were typically archived.
When I inquired as to why, the librarian shot me an incredulous look and replied with a patronizing to