Happy one year anniversary, Asheville. We can’t believe that it’s been a full twelve months since we launched and celebrated with you all at Bhramari Brewing Company. Oh, the memories…

To celebrate our first birthday, we put together a some of our favorite stories and posts – and a snapshot of how far we’ve come – and where we’re going. Plus, a little reminder of who exactly we are.

🎉 Here’s a snapshot of a year ago today…

Subscribers: We started with 450+ last November (after we first announced we were coming to Asheville in October), then grew to 6,800+ in February. Today: 30K subscribers. We appreciate every single one of you.
Instagram followers: We started from scratch in Nov. ‘17, grew to 4,000 by this time last year. Today: 15,400 followers. Y’all make our community thrive with your tags and comments.
Facebook: Like Instagram, we started from scratch, grew to 4,600 by February. Today: 11K followers. An extra shoutout to the 25+ of you who have given us 5 star reviews.

🎉 Here’s some of our favorite conversations our staff has had with you this year…We’re not crying, you’re crying. ⬇️

Ali, Multimedia Journalist, is finishing her novel this year. She’s about to start teaching on creativity and the enneagram through the Enneagram School of Awakening, and you can also catch her leading hot power classes at Pure Yoga Asheville.

#Answered: Asheville’s version of the Hollywood sign
- This post was such a fun way to get people talking about Asheville’s most famous landmark. The Biltmore Estate won, but my favorite thing about it was that it inspired LaZoom to make a tribute video where they went to all of the spots – with a Santa and a Shake Weight.
Your guide to South Asheville
- South Asheville doesn’t have the historic buildings of downtown or the hipster vibe of West Asheville, but there are plenty of gems in the part of town where I grew up. We collected them all here to help you explore.
You know you’re from Asheville if…
- We ran a full feature about alll the ways people know they’re from Asheville – and why they’re proud to call it home – but we couldn’t have done it without your responses on social media. Y’all made this native proud.

Audra, Multimedia Journalist, is a yoga instructor and proud dog mom when she isn’t in the office. She is currently starting her own yoga biz teaching individuals + athletic teams yoga (including UNCA men’s basketball team).

20+ dinners under $10 in Asheville
- Having dinner out feels like a special treat – especially when you can use the savings for other fun things in town. This was our top post of January – and we’re sure you’re bookmarking it for future nights out.

7 tried + true first dates in Asheville
- Nobody enjoys going to the same places over and over again for a first date. So, I put together a list of the best first dates in town – from my own experiences – plus tips on where to go for Date #2 if the first one works out.

How should Asheville handle bear encounters?
- We loved your responses to this post on our Instagram. Your practical takeaways for coexisting with our furry neighbors include using a compost service (like Compost Now) to tote away your compostables, putting your trash out the morning of trash day (rather than the night before) + learning to co-eixst.

Mary, Regional Engagement Editor, loves trail running + reading. She's a recent grad of the Asheville Improv Collective program and has recently taken up masters swimming.

Your guide to the 2018 election in Buncombe County: Ready. Set. Vote.
- It felt like we really helped Asheville be more connected to local elections + provided accessible links for those who wanted to know more.
How to spend 48 hours in Asheville
- This is a great all-encompassing guide for locals who want to enjoy their city in new ways too. I use it all the time to just be inspired on days off.
72 hours in Denver (and other quick getaways from Asheville)
- It was really fun to write about my home state, and potentially inspire a few weekend getaway trips.

We couldn’t do what we do without our incredible year-one Strategic Partners. These local bizzes invest back in their community by supporting AVLtoday and help us provide this free newsletter every morning.

Want to learn about how you can be a part of the conversation? Check out our advertising opportunities here.

We’re so excited to step into year two with you, Asheville.

And we want to know – what’s been your favorite thing about AVLtoday, from features to social posts, in our first year? We love hearing from you (and we still answer every email you send our way), so hit reply – or head over to Facebook or Instagram.

Cheers to another great year of conversations ahead. 🥂

– The AVLtoday team