Playing the didgeridoo. If the didgeridoo seems a peculiar presence in bluegrass country, consider that in Asheville rebel flags fly just a few miles from gay pride rainbow banners, and Bible bookstores operate just blocks from pagan gift shops.
Vendors hawk hot dogs and veggie dogs.
Asheville is both greasy spoons and espresso bars, neckties and nose rings, Baptists and Buddhists. And besides, the didgeridoo, though foreign, is about as traditional as instruments come, with a history that some say dates back 40,000 years. Aboriginals, or indigenous Australians, typically make didgeridoos from eucalyptus trees hollowed out by termites and use the instruments to induce a meditative state. A didgeridoo festival near Joshua Tree National Park in California is set to bring in players from all across the country, and Australia, this month. The World Wide Web is crawling with sites dedicated to the didge.