Gay bars asheville north carolina

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Discover a very diverse community in gay Asheville! It's been a well-liked resort and relocation area for the lesbian, gay, pansexual, and transgender communities for many years. The large LGBTQ community enjoys welcoming visitors since most of them were once visitors before they fell in love with the area and relocated. Find many places to go and things to complete. With a very vibrant arts collective, creativity abounds! For an extra festive weekend, come to the Blue Ridge Pride Celebration each fall.

Also see Azure Ridge Pride's community-driven, searchable database for LGBTQ safe businesses, churches, events, groups, programs, and more. Proceed to Blue Ridge Pride's virtual LGBTQ Community Welcome Center.

Gay Friendly Asheville Places to Stay & Things to Do

Cedar Crest Inn, Asheville

The magnificent Queen Anne mansion provides guests with a glimpse back in period. Lavish interior woodwork, period antiques and Victorian décor are found throughout. Just a few blocks from Biltmore… browse more

The magnificent Queen Anne mansion provides guests with a glimpse back in time. Lavish interior

Legacy Bars of the Carolinas

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Fragmentary seems like the most appropriate synonyms to describe the history and culture of oppressed people, and especially the LGBTQ+ community. Our heritage and culture has often gone undocumented for fear of unintentionally providing information that could lead to unwanted trouble from our oppressors. Call it a fail safe, if you will, but the end result was/is a huge loss of Homosexual 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 Widespread Library that copies of locally produced gay 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

Esquire magazine names another Asheville bar on new list of 'bests'

ASHEVILLE - National recognition has been bestowed on an Asheville business with a long history of entertaining and advocating.

O. Henry’s, a downtown nightclub, made Esquire magazine’s list of “The 32 Best Gay Bars in America.”

The list was curated by the publication’s editors and contributors across the country who searched for “the most fun and inclusive LGBTQ+-friendly bars across the U.S.”

“It’s exciting,” owner Derick Boyd said. “Of the whole region, being named is a pretty prestigious honor, and we’re proud of our staff and everyone else here.”

Esquire described O. Henry’s as a “clandestine” gyrate party and harmony venue that “draws in every category and demographic.” A special mention was given to its dance club area, The Underground.

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The Asheville bar is in company with establishments in cities including Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Nashville, New York, San Francisco and Washington.

Previously: Inside one of Esquire's 'Best Bars in America' found in downtown Asheville

To Boyd’s information, it’s the first time O. Henry’s has received national

LGBT Asheville

Asheville is a gay-friendly small city. Period.

According to the latest United States census, the Asheville area has 83% more womxn loving womxn, gay bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) identified people than the typical American city or town. Another study, also based on census results, found that Bun-combe County (with 15.5 same sex couples per 1,000) and Asheville (19.7 per 1,000) are the most gay-friendly county and city in the mention of North Carolina, on a per-capita basis adv ahead of places love Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. In 2010, the gay-oriented publication, The Advocate, ranked Asheville as the “12th gayest urban area in America.” Atlanta was ranked #1.

LGBTQ+ visitors increasingly are discovering Asheville, with its great natural beau-ty, innovative dining and drinking spots, heavy-duty gallery, arts and crafts scene, absorbing shops and numerous gay-owned or gay-welcoming B&Bs and inns and businesses.

You are likely to see a number of openly queer woman and gay couples around town, es-pecially Downtown and in West Asheville.

Downtown Asheville has several LGBTQ+ bars, including O. Henry’s (the oldest