From Staff Reports

Despite heavy rainfall and other challenges, organizers of last weekendís Bele Chere festival are calling the street party a success.

An estimated 300,000 people attended the annual Asheville festival ó lower than the 375,000 attendees that organizers had projected.

Bele Chere, which is billed as the Southeastís largest outdoor street festival, marked its 29th year last weekend.

It got off on a soggy note last Friday afternoon, as a severe thunderstorm, accompanied by much lightning, forced the festival stages to shut down temporarily about 5 p.m.

The storms subsided and the festival resumed an hour later, but heavy rains returned Saturday morning.

Another setback for the festival came when one of the main bands scheduled for the Bele Chere Jam was delayed in Montana, forcing the lineup to get pushed back.

When saxophonist Karl Denson and his trio were held up and unable to play at the festival, sets from Perpetual Groove and J.J. Grey & Mofro were pushed back, while Col. Bruce Hampton and the Quark Alliance came over from the Biltmore Stage to start off the Bele Chere Jam.

The Jam was one of the paid events at Bele Chere, with attendees paying $18 in advance and $23 at the festival.

Meanwhile, Strut and Yo Mamaís Big Fat Booty Band played extended sets at the Biltmore stage to make up for the absence of Hampton and the Quark Alliance.

Organizers also had a scare early during the festival, when word spread that a Sara Lee bakery in Mississippi had recalled loaves of bread in some areas of the South, because of metal contamination. The company was distributing bread at the festival.

However, the bread at Bele Chere was not part of the recall and was determined to be safe to eat, according to officials with Asheville Parks and Recreation.

This yearís Bele Chere had a larger focus on local musicians than in years past. After a public forum sponsored by the city last January, organizers made efforts to incorporate more local talent, including more than 30 local artists.

Local breweries were also included this year, with six companies offering their wares alongside the Budweiser and Red Hook products that are always included at Bele Chere.

The local breweries included Highland Brewing Co., Asheville Brewing Co., Green Man Brewing Co., French Broad Brewing Co., Pisgah Brewing Co. and Catawba Valley Brewing Co.

They were positioned in Pack Square as part of the Taste of Asheville food court, which gave local restaurants an opportunity to vend their wares.

Another highlight of the festival was the Arts Park at the parking lot at the intersection of Patton and Lexington avenues.

Dozens of vendors displayed their creations, which ranged from stained glass, pottery and wood furniture to unique photography and painting collages.

The Childrenís Area featured dozens of rides and other activities for kids, including storytelling, a bungee trampoline and a Ferris wheel.

Other festivities included a custard-eating contest, the KISS Country Be An Asheville Star Contest, and an appearance by two of the Budweiser Clydesdale horses.

The entire team of horses had been scheduled to make an appearance, but could not do so because of the rains Saturday.

Rains also derailed the Army Challenge, which was part of the Urban Challenge.

The Urban Challenge, however, continued with events such as the wet-sandbag race.

Meanwhile, the Drumming Tent on Lexington Avenue drew large crowds, including many who usually attend the Friday-night drum circles at Pritchard Park.

This year also featured a new event, the Bele Chere scavenger hunt, which gave people the opportunity to learn some history about downtown Asheville.

Information booths throughout downtown featured neon-colored scavenger-hunt forms that listed various items and answered questions about downtown businesses.

The first 150 participants to bring their completed forms each day to Volunteer Headquarters at Pack Place got a free T-shirt.

In spite of the weather and other problems, organizers considered the event to be† an overall success.

While attendance was lower than expected, organizers said that it was unclear that there would be any significant economic impact from the weather.