ICYMI: Your weekend reading list.

Hey, Asheville.👋 Not to freak you out or anything, but June is over tomorrow. How did that happen? We don’t know either.

What we can say for sure is that we loved every minute of it, especially those moments when we were interacting with you–our engaged, informed + creative audience.

Your feedback, questions + insights are what drive our daily newsletter. So we literally couldn’t do this without you.

That’s why we’re rounding up our top 5 stories from June for you to read (or reread). They’re our most popular stories from the month, but we’re sure a few of you might have missed these highlights (and we totally get that your summer beach vacation may have pulled you away from reading us on the daily).

So next time you hit the lake, you can bring us with you to catch up–and impress all of your friends with your local knowledge.

#TBT: Asheville in photos, then + now – Curious about what Asheville used to look like? This #Voices piece, written by Asheville native + AVLtoday fan Samantha Keenan Brock and with pictures from her mother, Gwen Gentry Keenan, is a blast from Asheville’s past. Images from the 1920s, 30s + 60s will have you doing double-takes as you try to figure out where these spots are today. Our favorite: The image of Vance Memorial in the foreground as a fire burns in the Emporium Department store in the background.
10 Asheville staycation Airbnbs – Just because you already live in the 828 doesn’t mean you can’t dream about staying in a treehouse, a fully decked-out bus, or a sweet loft overlooking downtown. Because we should all be tourists in our own city sometimes.
What’s the best iced chai in Asheville? We tried your 8 favorite spots for chai and then asked you which one should win the title of Best Chai in Asheville. Who won? You’ll have to click through to find out.🥤
Stu Helm’s Top Tens: Fat life Which local spots have the best not-so-good-for-you food? Because we all love to pig out sometimes. Find out where Stu Helm, food critic + AVL personality, goes to eat all of the fried, dipped, sauced, cheesed + iced goodness in town. Bonus: Stu lets us in on his “workout’ routine, which keeps him skinny despite the fact that he eats a massive amount of calories every day. 🍔
CBD + Hemp oil: Big business in Asheville – We unpack CBD, Asheville’s latest wellness trend. DYK: CBD is not psychoactive, and may have benefits for a wide range of issues from anxiety to chronic pain? Find out how it activates your body’s cannabinoid system, then check out the local businesses that are using it in everything from soda to chocolate.🍫

Here at AVLtoday, we’re always looking ahead to the next story (and the next day’s newsletter), and we can’t wait for what we have up our sleeve for July.

But right now, it’s nice to take a deep breath and look back on the month of June (Does that count as meditation practice for the day? 🧘).

Here’s to hoping you use this list as a way to remember some of your favorite moments of the month.

Can’t wait to spend the rest of the summer with you, Asheville. Happy Friday. 👏

– Ali