A PRETTY COOL SOUVENIR

A couple of our favorite returning guests, Don and Debbie, headed out to Highland Grill & Oyster Bar during their most recent visit. [For you non-seafood folks, Highland Grill also has excellent burgers and salads, not to mention steak.]

Well, wouldn't you know, Don and Debbie returned from Highland Grill with a little memento of their time in Black Mountain...a pearl from one of the oysters they ordered! How cool is that? So, if you head our way, stop in to Highland Grill and you are extremely likely to have a great meal, and maybe you'll have a bit of a chance at getting a pearl yourselves.

We've been to Highland Grill -- with another two of our favorite guests, Ashley and Mary -- and not only can we vouch for the fact that Highland has great food, but we also have heard excellent live piano music, which they have on a regular basis.

Highland Grill & Oyster Bar is situated just south of downtown Black Mountain, on Route 9, which is a perfect location for those of you returning to the Inn from a day at Chimney Rock.

"PAINTING IN THE PARK" WORKSHOP

Our friends at The Appalachian Artisan Society Gallery (TAAS) Gallery shared news of the following event with us recently:

As part of its Second Anniversary celebration, The Appalachian Artisan Society Gallery will be doing a month-long Feature Artist show for internationally recognized wildlife artist Bob Travers.

Bob is well known as "A Master of Detail", and is also a popular art instructor with a passion for teaching. A key element of many of his original oil paintings is the inclusion of birds and small animals partially hidden inthe environment. You can see some examples of Travers' masterful painting in his online gallery inventory and read his artist statement at http://www.taasg.com/shop/?view=artisans&sid=75.

Saturday, June 28, Bob will be presenting a special outdoor workshop near TAAS Gallery on the grounds of the Mountain Gateway Museum. Attendees will paint a scene of their choice, which may include the historic cabins or the creek. There will be a Red Tailed Hawk in the morning, along with the many native birds which frequent the site.

Additionally, as part of its summer activities, the Museum will be holding a "Sheep to Sweater" event, with a woodcarver, a broom maker, and some local quilters demonstrating their crafts.

The painting workshop is scheduled to run from 10AM until 5PM with a break for lunch; the cost for the day is $100. Participants will bring their own supplies and easel. In order to provide quality one-on-one instruction for each student, workshop attendance will be limited.

TAAS Gallery and the Catawba Vale Cafe are located at 48 East Main Street in downtown Old Fort, just off I-40 and Hwy. 70 near the Blue RidgeParkway. To reserve your space for this event, email Jennifer@taasg.com,or call TAAS Gallery at 828-668-1070.

OUR NEXT KIVA LOAN GOES TO...

Nilton, an agricultural entrepreneur in Peru

As some of you know, we participate in a microlending program through Kiva, an organization that helps set up microloans between ordinary folks like us and small business owners in developing nations, lifting those business owners out of poverty, helping their economy, and generally making the world a better place.

Our loan to Vladimir Tanasenko in Ukraine was just repaid (congrats, Mr. Tanasenko!). We now have the option of doing several things with our money, including withdrawing our cash, donating it to Kiva for operating expenses, or re-loaning it to another business owner.

We're re-loaning the money, this time to Nilton, a farmer in Peru. [We have a special connection with Peru since it's where Brigette's sister-in-law is from.] According to Kiva, Nilton is a young entrepreneur who, day after day, works on an agricultural project near his home. After three years of academic preparation, he now applies his knowledge to the agricultural project as well as to his own cultivated land. He wishes to support his communal land with an agricultural consultant's office where he can work daily to achieve success. He yearns to improve their harvests with his technical knowledge.

Good luck with your business, Nilton!

FREE CONCERTS: BLUE RIDGE TRADITIONS

Balsam Range

The Mountain Gateway Museum and Heritage Center in Old Fort (about 15 minutes east of the Inn), will be presenting Blue Ridge Traditions, a free summer concert series, on Saturdays beginning June 14. All peformances start at 7:00pm and take place at the Museum's outdoor ampitheater, so bring your lawn chair, a picnic and your family and friends to hear some fantastic traditional North Carolina music.

The lineup includes:

June 14: David Holt and the Lightning Bolts

June 21: Sheila Kay Adams and Balsam Range

June 28: Cherokee Heritage with Freeman Owle, the Welch Family and fiddler Bobby Hicks

July 12: George Shuffler and Family, Denise O'Sullivan, the New North Carolina Ramblers

July 19: The Griggs, Paul Brown and the Toast String Stretchers. (At 4pm, join a mountain dance workshop with Phil Jamison and Loretta and Lynsey Freeman.)

July 26: Clarence Green with Wayne Martin, and the Kruger Brothers

To get to the Museum at 102 Water Street in Old Form, take exit 73 off I-40, and go north 4 blocks.

For more information about each performer and the concert series, visit www.ncarts.org/freeconcerts or call 828.668.9259.

The Mountain Gateway Museum and Heritage Center exhibits many of the photographs, collections, videos and historical items that illustrate the area's history as the westernmost outpost of immigration civilization in North Carolina prior to the Revolutionary War.

WE'RE ON THE NC BIRDING TRAIL

Great news to share -- The Inn on Mill Creek was nominated for and accepted as a site on the North Carolina Birding Trail! The NC Birding Trail is a driving trail that links hundreds of birding sites across North Carolina. Six agencies are working together to establish the trail: NC Wildlife Commission, NC State Parks, Audubon NC, US Fish and Wildlife Service, NC Sea Grant and NC Cooperative Extension.

The NC Birding Trail has three major sections: coastal, piedmont and mountains. We'll be included in the mountains section. As you can imagine, being two miles into Pisgah National Forest allows for a lot of bird watching, as our birder guests can tell you. We're just thrilled to be a part of this unique program.

You can learn more about the NC Birding Trail at www.ncbirdingtrail.org.