LABOR DAY WEEKEND EVENTS

Going to be in the area this weekend? Several activities are happening in Western North Carolina over the Labor Day holiday. Here are a few:

August 29, 2008 -- Biltmore Flower Carpet. Starting on Friday and on display through September 14, is Biltmore Estate's newest extravanza: Over a ¼ of an acre will be devoted to more than 144,000 brightly colored flowers to form the live tapestry. Come see the vivid, living carpet on the South Terrace at Biltmore House. The Flower Carpet is a larger-than life combination of natural beauty blended with creative inspiration. The intricate pattern of colorful plants is drawn from architectural elements of Biltmore House, and interpreted in a grand size and style. For more information, visit www.biltmore.com/visit/calendar/flower_carpet.asp.

August 29, 2008-September 1, 2008 - North Carolina Apple Festival. Just south of Asheville is the town of Hendersonville, the official home of the North Carolina Apple Festival. The festival features a street fair on Historic Main Street including: entertainment, arts & crafts, apple products, children’s & youth activities, special exhibits, food and the King Apple Parade on Labor Day. More details are available at www.ncapplefestival.org.

August 30-September 1, 2008 - Biltmore Winery's Summer Holiday Weekend. Swing by the Winery and River Bend Farm for live entertainment and activities. Enjoy soloist performances in the wine bar, and cool off with complimentary wine seminars and wine tasting. For tips on how to incorporate fresh flavors into your summer cuisine, sit in on the fun-filled cooking demonstrations. Sample local flavors at the Winery: Biltmore chefs fire up the grills and showcase the best barbeque from North and South Carolina. Guest can enjoy a sampling of the best pulled-pork served with famous regional sauces—Western Carolina red, Eastern Carolina vinegar, and South Carolina mustard—or dig into a plate of Southern-fried fish and hushpuppies. Dinner is served 1:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. with live local music starting at 2:00 p.m.

September 1, 2008 - Labor Day Concert. Annual Concert at the Historic Marion Depot on the lawn featuring Terry McKinney and Jazz Man Eddie Graham in this special "end of the summer" concert. Bring chair or a blanket and enjoy this once in a life time concert by two great performers. In case of rain, the concert will be inside the depot. 6-8pm; free. For more information, call 828.652.2215.

September 1, 2008 - Annual Labor Day Barbecue and Picnic at The Orchard at Altapass. 11am-5pm. Live music, storytelling and hayrides through the orchard. The Orchard is located at Milepost 328.3 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Little Switzerland. For more information, call 888-765-9531 or visit www.altapassorchard.com.

A few ongoing exhibits:

The Carolina Mountains: Photography of Margaret Morley presented by the North Carolina Museum of History and the Mountain Gateway Museum & Heritage Center. Photographs feature an intimate look at everyday life in western North Carolina around the turn of the 20th century. Exhibited photographs displayed at Mountain Gateway Museum, Old Fort Train Station, Museum & Visitor's Center, the Marion Davis Branch of McDowell County Public Library and Catawba Vale Coffee Cafe all located in Old Fort. For more information, call the McDowell County Tourism Authority, 888-233-6111 or 828-668-4282.

Historic Carson House Quilt Exhibit - May through October visit Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. to learn about this unique quilt exhibit that includes several quilts made by African-American slaves before and during the Civil War. One such quilt is a "crazy" quilt made by Hannah Greenlee and completed by her daughter Emm after her death in 1896. This pattern is commonly seen in textiles in the Ghana region of Africa along the Ivory Coast. Hannah's use of color and textile scraps, formed in bar shapes, identifies it as a "crazy" pattern. Recently, the National Endowment for the Humanities included this quilt in their new, "Picturing America" program that teaches children American history through the arts. This nationwide program is distributed to schools and libraries including those in McDowell County. Learn about their lives and Carson family history at www.historiccarsonhouse.com or call 828-724-4948.

BUTTERFLIES

You may remember in the springtime, the butterflies were flocking to the creeping phlox at the Inn. Now they've moved on around the pool garden and are enjoying the tall white garden phlox (aptly named David) and purple coneflowers that we recently planted. Hopefully next year, the purple coneflower will spread and provide lots of butterfly entertainment. Here are a few pictures:

OLYMPIC COVERAGE

It's been a lot of fun watching the Olympics on the HD projection TV in the Great Room. Nothing like seeing the opening ceremonies on a screen that's 5 feet by 9 feet.

This year's Olympics are really amazing for a number of reasons, one of which being that while our own innpug Csaba (pronounced "chubba") didn't qualify for the Olympics in canoeing,



several other Csabas are competing in Beijing. Csaba has been torn between rooting for the United States, China (his heritage is Chinese after all), and Hungary with all the Csabas on the team:

Csaba Bordan (Gymnastics)
Csaba Csernoviczki (Judo)
Csaba Danko (Wrestling)
Csaba Andras Dr Dezsi (Wrestling)
Csaba Gercsak (Swimming)
Csaba Enro Gyorik (Shooting)
Csaba Hegedus (Wrestling)
Csaba Hegedus, Jr. (Wrestling)
Csaba Kiss (Judo)
Csaba Istvan Konkoly (Handball)
Csaba Elek Matefalvy (Water Polo)
Csaba Peter Mezey (Handball)

No, we are not making this up.

Being quick on his own four little feet, Bugsy is rooting for all the talented sprinters.

GALAXY ZOO AND THE PERSEIDS

Brigette has found a new addiction: http://www.galaxyzoo.com/.

An entry on one of our favorite websites -- the Astronomy Picture of the day -- and a related article about a Dutch schoolteacher who found a mysterious object while participating as an amateur astronomer in the Galaxy Zoo project led us to Galaxy Zoo's website.

Galaxy Zoo gives all us geeky armchair astronomers the opportunity to help classify galaxies. To participate, a person registers as a volunteer with the site and takes a tutorial and brief test to make sure he or she can pick out different types of galaxies (spiral, elliptical, merging), as well as distinguish between galaxies and stars/unknown objects. Once the person gets through that part, the galaxy analysis begins. An image of one of millions of galaxies (digitally photographed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey at the Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico) pops up on the screen, the volunteer makes a choice between different options of galaxies, and then that person's answer is compared with the other volunteers to come to a consensus based on human observation. The fascinating night sky gets much more fascinating when you go through photos of hundreds of galaxies, knowing there are millions and millions more out there.

Speaking of the night sky, we're hoping for clear starry skies for the Perseid Meteor Shower. The best day for viewing will be August 12. Check last year's blog entry on the 2007 Perseid Meteor Shower for more details about the meteor shower.

31st ANNUAL SOURWOOD FESTIVAL

This weekend, the town of Black Mountain will be buzzing with activity during the Sourwood Festival. Honeybees love the summer-blooming sourwood tree, and their hard work makes the region's fantastic sourwood honey possible. What better way to honor our sweet bees than with a festival that celebrates the sweet stuff they produce! Over 200 vendor booths will line the streets of downtown Black Mountain on August 9 and 10, for this entertaining and family-friendly event. Don't miss honey-making and bee demonstrations, and be sure to pick up a jar of sourwood honey to take home.

And if you're in town on Friday, August 8, keep in mind that the shops in Black Mountain stay open until 8pm as part of this summer's weekly Friday Alive after Five event. Music will also be happening on Friday with the Sourwood Idol Contest, where singers compete for cash prizes.

Additionally, Saturday, August 9, is your day to take home not only sourwood honey, but local garden produce, flowers, homemade jams, jellies, herbal products, and crafts, during Black Mountain's Tailgate Market (9am to noon at 500 Montreat Road).

For more information about upcoming events in Black Mountain, contact the Black Mountain Chamber of Commerce at 828.669.2300.

BEST WISHES TO LORI AND TOM

A heartfelt congratulations to two of our guests, Lori and Tom, who tied the knot at the Inn on Mill Creek last Saturday! Don't they look wonderful? They had a really fun group of family and friends who joined them for their special day. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting this beautiful couple and their loved ones, and sharing our little piece of heaven with them.

Lori has quite the creative eye and we got a few ideas from her decorating...don't be surprised if you see little white lights adorning the arbor deck or the trees by the pool garden sometime in the future.

Our best wishes to Lori and Tom for many happy years!