Weekend for fine color -- and fine crafts -- in Asheville area

This may be a better weekend than you thought for heading up to the Asheville area.

The color report at www.exploreasheville.com says leaf coloration is moving down the mountains, and notes that foliage is getting prime at Biltmore Estate and in such nearby areas as  Cullasaja Gorge, the Blue Ridge Parkway and Cradle of Forestry.

Moreover, this weekend the Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands is going on at the U.S. Cellular Center, 87 Haywood St., in downtown Asheville.

The event is staged twice a year -- four days in July, four in mid-October. It is regarded as one of the best craft shows in the country.

You'll see the fine work of members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, a nonprofit formed during the Great Depression; the craft fairs started in 1948 as a way for members to show and sell their creations.

Work at the juried show includes jewelry, wood, leather, fiber, clay, metal and more.

The  Southern Highlands Craft Guild photo at the top of this page shows jewelry by metal smith Linda Azar, a guild member working in Asheville.

Any time of the year, you can see the work of guild members at the Allanstand Craft Shop at the Folk Art Center on the BRP, on Asheville's outskirts; at the Southern Highland Craft Gallery at Asheville's Biltmore Village; the Parkway Craft Center at Moses Cone Manor, on the Parkway near Blowing Rock.

The guild includes more than 900 members in the mountain regions of nine states in the Southeast. You can additionally see work by guild artisans at Cumberland Crafts, at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, near Middleboro, Ky.; and Arrowcraft, in Gatlinburg, Tenn.

What makes the Craft Fair of  the Southern Highlands go-worthy is this: You have the chance to see more than 200 artisans in a juried show that also features craft demonstrations and live regional music.

It's also in a large, indoor venue.

If  you have an affection for Appalachian folk art -- or are doing your holiday shopping early - this is a don't-miss event.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday (Oct. 16-18); 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 19).

Admission is $8; free for 11 and younger.

Details: www.southernhighlandguild.org. 

'Ten-SHUN! Free stays for vets at Asheville B&Bs on Veterans Day

Where are you spending the night of Tuesday, Nov. 11?

If you're a veteran, you could spend Veterans Day evening in a goodly  number of B&Bs in Asheville -- free of charge.

This is the second year the 17 inns of the Asheville Bed & Breakfast Association are participating in the national "B&Bs for Vets" campaign.  The Asheville total: 57 rooms with complete breakfast.

Visit the association's website to learn about these inns and where to call or email for reservations. 

The association expects all rooks to book; some are already full, but you can put your name on the waiting list.

Rooms are currently available at:

The Reynolds Mansion

Pinecrest Bed & Breakfast

Hawk and Ivy

Applewood Manor Inn

1899 Wright Inn & Carriage House

Beaufort House Inn

Dry Ridge Inn

The Lion and the Rose Bed and Breakfast

A Bed of Roses Bed and Breakfast

Crooked Oak Mountain Inn

Honey Hill Inn & Cabins

Chestnut Street Inn

1847 Blake House Inn Bed & Breakfast

Already booked (get on the waiting list):

1889 WhiteGate Inn & Cottage

Sweet Biscuit Inn

Carolina Bed & Breakfast

North Lodge on Oakland B&B

Shown above: Beaufort House Inn, owned by Jim and Christina Muth. He's a Marine veteran, and is offering the entire inn that evening.

Apple tourism? It's not too late for core events

2014 apple festivals? Well,  North Carolina's official fete in Hendersonville was Labor Day weekend. And South Carolina's, held in Westminster, was the weekend of Sept. 5-6.

But the season for apple-appeal lasts longer than that other fall benchmark, leaf-peeper season, and there are still fruit fests to come.

The Brushy Mountain Apple Festival is Oct. 4 in North Wilkesboro, and the Taylorsville Apple Festival is Oct. 18 -- the same day as Waynesville's Apple Harvest Festival.

And the fun doesn't end there. It just changes a little ‑- into cider .

CiderFest NC returns for its second year Nov. 2, at Asheville's Western North Carolina Farmers Market. Cider makers, mostly from the Carolinas and Virginia -- more than 13 in all -- will be featured. Also at the 1 to 5 p.m. event: cider and cheese tastings, apple press demos, cheese making demos, live bluegrass-flavored music  (the Jon Stickley Trio) and activities for the kids.

Hard cider and non-alcoholic organic cider pressed by organic apple growers in the area, will be served. There will be apple cider pretzels, too.

 Items will also be available for purchase.

There is an admission fee for adults, though -- $30 -- and attendance is limited to 700 tickets. Proceeds will benefit the Green Building Council, which promotes "green" building practices in the Asheville area.

Order tickets at http://ciderfest.wncgbc.org/

Biltmore plans fall wine events

Too early to think about autumn?

 For leaf-peeping, certainly. People start thinking about drives in the N.C. mountains around Labor Day and are ready to head to the hills in mid-September. Truth be told, leaf coloration most years isn't even peak in Quebec and northern New England until the end of that month.

But planning has its advantages -- especially when it comes to selecting any post-Labor Day weekend to head out of town. Our lives in the metro area are simply that busy.

Up in Asheville, Biltmore is also busy in the months ahead, and their schedule of special events is already out. 

September is N.C. Wine Month at the estate, with a full lineup of wine tastings, Live After 5 concerts (they continue through Oct. 25) and Friday wine-paired dinners at the Market Gardener’s Cottage or the winery. There are winery tours and Grand Tasting events. Ongoing wine-related activities include a daily "Red Wine & Chocolate" seminar.

Wine events are held at Antler Hill Village & Winery, Biltmore House and Gardens and other estate locations.  Details: http://bit.ly/1AUwuOz. 

Special over-weekend deals at the Inn on Biltmore Estate include a Labor Day package (Aug. 30-Sept. 1), a Fall Celebration package timed for Halloween events (Oct. 24-26) and the Our State Package (Oct. 31-Nov. 2), which highlights Biltmore's agricultural history.

Another reason for planning a Biltmore trip in advance? Starting Sept. 2, you can save $12 on daytime admission when your ticket is purchased online seven or more days in advance. Book six days ahead of your visit and you can save $7.

For details on programs and admission: www.biltmore.com.

Itching for vacation? We hope not

Rankings don't always bring bragging rights. Consider annual Orkin's Top Bed Bug City list, released this winter. Chicago won for the second year in a row.

Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville took top honors in the Carolinas -- moving up three places to the No. 12 position.

While Charlotte barely made it into the top 25, our competitive burg may have its eyes on besting Raleigh even in this -- rising a whopping 18 places in just one year!

If you're itching to know, the Greenville, S.C., /Spartanburg/Asheville area rose an impressive (?) 11 places, coming in at No. 36.

Here's the top 25:

Chicago

Los Angeles (+1)

Columbus, Ohio (+3)

Detroit (-2)

Cincinnati

Cleveland/Akron/Canton (+2)

Dayton, Ohio (+4)

Washington D.C. (-1)

Denver (-5)

Indianapolis (+6)

Richmond/Petersburg, Va. (+1)

Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville, N.C. (+3)

Dallas/Ft. Worth (-4)

Syracuse, N.Y. (+7)

Atlanta (+14)

Houston (+2)

New York (-7)

Seattle/Tacoma (-5)

San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose (-5)

Boston (+2)

Milwaukee (-2)

Miami/Fort. Lauderdale (+3)

Nashville, Tenn.  (+17)

Pittsburgh (+12)

Charlotte (+18)

The Orkin list ranks the cities by the number of bed bug treatments Orkin performed from January to December 2013, along with any shift in ranking compared to January-December 2012.

With a nod toward tourist season, the  National Pest Management Association's pestworld.org site published bed bug data this month. 

It noted that 59 percent of all U.S. adults take some kind of precaution against bed bug infestations:

34 percent inspect sheets, mattress pads and mattresses for signs of bed bugs upon checking into a hotel.

33 percent wash all clothes in hot water after returning home from a vacation.

29 percent avoid visiting homes or locations that have had a bed bug infestation.

28 percent remain vigilant of where they place their belongings when in public places.

12 percent vacuum suitcases after returning home from vacation.

8 percent keep their suitcases in a plastic trash bag or protective cover for the duration of their hotel stays.

These tips -- and others at www.pestworld.org/all-things-bed-bugs -- may help you avoid encountering the little biters on your vacation, as well as bringing them home as accidental souvenirs.

Oh, yes. The NPMA press release noted that April 20-26 is national Bed Bug Awareness Week. And that's their photo of one of the dinky critters at the top of this page.

Asheville's Grove Park, Poinsette in Greenville, S.C., named to historic hotels list

                                                  Grove Park Inn (N.C. Tourism photo)

Historic Hotels of America -- an official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation -- has added 21 more  hotels and resorts to its list. The list includes two noteworthy places in the Carolinas: Asheville's Grove Park Inn and The Poinsett, in Greenville, S.C. 

The program "Identifies quality hotels that have faithfully maintained their historic integrity, architecture and ambiance." Properties also must be at least 50 years old.


The full 2013 inductee list (and the date those properties opened):

American Empress, floating boutique hotels on the Pacific Northwest's Columbia and Snake rivers (19th century)

American Queen, a floating boutique hotel on the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee rivers (19th century)

Benbow Inn, Garberville, Calif.  (1926)

Hotel Lana’i, Lana’i City, Hawaii (1923)

Inn at Price Tower, Bartlesville, Okla. (1956)

Inn at Saratoga, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (1843)

Lake McDonald Lodge, Glacier National Park  (1913)

Ledges Hotel, Hawley, Pa. (1890)

Many Glacier Hotel, Glacier National Park (1915)

Mizpah Hotel, Tonopah, Nev. (1907)

 Moana Surfrider Westin Resort & Spa, Honolulu (1901)

Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, Carlsbad, Calif. (1963)

The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn Resort & Spa, Sonoma, Calif. (1928)

The Jefferson, Washington, D.C., Washington, D.C. (1923)

The Omni Grove Park Inn, Asheville (1913)

The Omni Homestead Resort, Hot Springs, Va. (1766)

The Sayre Mansion, Bethlehem, Pa. (1858)

The Talbott Hotel, Chicago, Ill. (1927)

The Westin Poinsett, Greenville, S.C., (1925)

Timberline Lodge, Timberline, Ore. (1937)

Tubac Golf Resort & Spa, Tubac, Ariz. (1789)


Places located in the Carolinas already on the full list::

The Dunhill Hotel, Charlotte
Pinehurst Resort, Pinehurst
The Carolina Inn, Chapel Hill
Green Park Inn, Blowing Rock
Mast Farm Inn, Banner Elk
Haywood Park, Asheville
Old Edwards Inn & Spa, Highlands
Francis Marion Hotel, Charleston
Wentworth Mansion, Charleston
Kings Courtyard Inn, Charleston
John Rutledge House, Charleston

If you're familiar with any of these places, you'll get the drift: time-honored elegance.

While the aim of the National Trust for Historic Preservation is to save important buildings, having your property designated by Historic Hotels of America is also good for business: You can find links to all the hotels/inns/resorts 
at http://www.historichotels.org/ and use the "Destinations" link to open up a map showing where these places are located. Zoom in and you'll be able to find links to the individual properties, which are located from Honolulu (The Royal Hawaiian) to the New England coast  (Newagen Seaside Inn, in Southport, Maine); from on Michigan's Mackinac Island (Grand Hotel) to U.S.V.I. (The Buccaneer).

The list includes are more than 240 hotels in all.

If where you stay is an important aspect of where you go, you'll want to check the full lineup.