On Wednesday, May 17th, Asheville’s downtown outdoor concert venue and event space, Rabbit Rabbit, will dedicate its new permanent stage with a ribbon-cutting and ceremony. The stage is the first of its kind with a living roof.
The Julian Price Stage, as it will be called, was designed by local architect Robert Todd and constructed by Heritage Restoration and Construction. The green roof was designed and installed by Asheville company Living Roofs, Inc. Rabbit Rabbit will host a full concert season in 2023, beginning May 27th with Hippo Campus, and further concerts throughout the summer and fall from acts like Sylvan Esso, Pixies, Goo Goo Dolls and more.
Community members are invited to Rabbit Rabbit for the ribbon-cutting on May 17th at 5:15pm, followed by a dedication from City leaders and others. Rabbit Rabbit will also unveil a new mural featuring Julian Price, painted by local muralist Gus Cutty.
After the ceremony, at 6pm, Rabbit Rabbit will host a free community screening of the documentary film by local filmmaker Erin Derham, “Julian Price: Envisioning Community, Investing in People”. The film tells the life story of Asheville philanthropist and downtown advocate, Julian Price. Price, who lived in Asheville for much of his adult life until his death in 2001, was largely responsible for many landmark downtown Asheville businesses of today. Price founded Public Interest Projects in 1991, which later went on to build Rabbit Rabbit and the new stage. His business investment successes also include Zambra, the Fine Arts Theatre, Malaprops, and the Orange Peel. Through his investment work in small businesses and the downtown community in Asheville, Price’s legacy endures as a trailblazing figure who helped spur the transformation of our city from a small mountain retreat to a booming arts and culture hub.
“We look forward to an amazing 2023 season at Rabbit Rabbit, and are honored to have this beautiful new stage dedicated to Julian Price and his wonderful legacy,” said Rabbit Rabbit and Asheville Brewing Co. co-owner, Mike Rangel. “Not only is it a fitting place for our roster of extremely talented musicians to play for years into the future, but as the first and only fully green-roofed concert stage in existence, locally designed and built, we see it as an appropriate embodiment of both Julian’s environmental focus and his efforts to bring people back downtown.”
