Can we talk chocolate for a moment, because not only is Asheville known as Foodtopia, but it’s also Chocolatopia as far as we’re concerned. Early this month, we perused three chocolatier shops in Asheville: French Broad Chocolate Lounge, Chocolate Gems and Chocolate Fetish. Nom nom nom.
| Photo Credit: RomanticAsheville.com |
Grove Park Inn in Asheville is hosting the 2012 National Gingerbread House Competition display from now through January 2, 2013. This is the 20th year that Grove Park Inn has held the competition and the entries seem to have gotten grander and grander over the years.
| Art in the Park [Photo Credit: Asheville Art in the Park] |
American Craft Week, a celebration of handmade craft work, takes place October 5-14 this year. Here are some ways you check out items handcrafted by our local artisans and craftspeople:
We’ve decided to do a 12 Months of Birding at the Inn series on the blog, where we’ll talk about the kinds of birds you can expect to see at the Inn on Mill Creek (a site on the North Carolina Birding Trail) and in the surrounding areas of the North Carolina mountains. We’ve also taken lots of pictures over the years of the birds in our neck of the woods, and unless photo credit is attributed to someone else, all photos on the blog are ones that we’ve taken of our winged neighbors.
The East of Asheville Studio Tour (EAST) is an event where artists based in East Asheville, Fairview, Swannanoa and Black Mountain invite you to their studios to see where they create their art, and where you can browse and buy several different types of art and craft, ranging from painting to sculpture, woodworking to jewelry, glass to pottery and everything in between.
If you’re into unique and interesting plants, here’s a rather unique and interesting exhibit to see while you’re in our neck of the woods — Wicked Plants — based on Amy Stewart’s best-selling book, Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Abraham Lincoln’s Mother and other Botanical Atrocities. The exhibit is showing at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville through September 3.
Asheville and western North Carolina are often on top ten lists (top ten cities for art, top ten places to retire, top ten cities for beer lovers, and the list of lists goes on, and on, and on…). Now, Asheville has been recognized as one of ten affordable summer driving destinations by weather.com. Specifically, they give a shout out to the Atlanta-to-Asheville road trip, which is just under four hours.
Happy weekend! Thinking about a trip to our neck of the woods but you’re still undecided? Maybe this video of our gorgeous North Carolina mountains will help. We hope you can come see all this beauty in person. Check our availability and make reservations at www.innonmillcreek.com.
