A festive February in Wilmington with a 3-day jazz weekend

You can hear winter's swan song in Wilmington in February: It's been like that since 1980, when the Port City launched its inaugural N.C. Jazz Festival.

The popular event will be the weekend of Feb. 5-7 at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside, downtown on North Water Street.

What's featured this time around?

Fifteen traditional and swing jazz musicians, playing on the stage of the hotel's ballroom; enjoy the cabaret-style seating.

The weekend kicks off  Feb. 5 (a Thursday) with a three-hour "Styles of Jazz” concert featuring The Benny Hill Quartet (jazz standards), Molly Ryan with the Dan Levinson Quartet (swing), Rossano Sportiello (tribute to George Shearing) and Ed Polcer’s All-Star Jam.

Friday and Saturday evening features an all-star musician lineup in a traditional presentation of seven sets, each with different leaders. The leaders this year include Adrian Cunningham and Dan Levinson (reeds), Ed Polcer (cornet), Nate Najar (guitar), Nicki Parrott (bass, vocals), Vincent Gardner (trombone), Rossano Sportiello and Mark Shane (piano), Kevin Dorn and Chuck Redd (drums), Herman Burney (bass), Bria Skonberg (trumpet/vocals -- that's a photo of her at the top of this post), Molly Ryan (vocals), Benny Hill (sax) and Jonathan Russell (violin).

Also at the festival: workshops, master classes.

For tickets and details: 910-793-1111 or www.ncjazzfestival.com.

Area info: www.GoWilmingtonAndBeaches.com.

Brookgreen Garden's harvest festival is Oct. 4-5

Brookgreen Gardens will stage its annual Harvest Home Weekend Festival Oct. 4-5, with family-friendly activities from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. both days.

There will be live music, special boat excursions on the creeks ($8, $4 for kids), wagon hayrides, a craft tent for kids, scarecrow building (you bring its clothes) and performances from costumed characters from Brookgreen’s Enchanted Storybook Forest.

Festival admission is free with regular admission ($14, $7 for ages 4-12). Details: www.brookgreen.org.

Hot list for fall? How about chili festivals

The Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds is pairing car parks and fall chili events on its website.

Their way-hot list of suggestions:

Happy Trails Regional Chili Cook-Off, Apple Valley, Calif., Oct. 18

Local businesses, clubs and individuals are encouraged to enter the community division, while professionals have a shot to qualify for the 2014 ICS World Championships by entering into the International Chili Society division.

Other offerings include food vendors and a beer garden, live music and a car show.

Chillinois Regional, Taylorville, Ill., Oct. 4-5.

The event, also known as the Taylorville Chillifest, has a chili cook-off and traditional chili tasting, plus Miss and Mister Chilli Pepper pageants, a 5K run, beard and apron contest and parade.

The Fifth Annual Moosehaven Heart of the Community Chili Cook-Off , Orange Park, Fla., Nov. 8.

The day’s festivities include a community breakfast, craft show, car show and, of course, chili tasting. Special guest:  Bobby Brantley of TruTV’s “Lizard Lick Towing.”

Capon Bridge Founders Day Homestyle Chili Cook-Off, Capon Bridge, W.Va., Sept. 28.

This festival offers free admission and parking for a day that includes a chili cook-off and tasting, food and craft vendors, live music, craft demonstrations, a lumberjack competition and a kid zone. All chili is cooked from scratch on-site.

St. Nick’s Chili Fix Chili Cook-Off, Anderson, S.C., Dec. 6

The $5 admission and dish-entry fees benefit the local Meals on Wheels. Professional and amateur chili cooks face off for the honor of first prize. Also making an appearance: Santa Claus.

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/

A toast to May 3 in Mount Airy

How's this for a a spring road trip? Just add warm temperatures and a sunny sky and you're ready to relax. ...

May 3 -- a Saturday -- the Budbreak Wine Festival will be staged on Main Street in downtown Mount Airy. It's an easy reach: 90 minutes straight up I-77 from Charlotte.

Awaiting you are 17 area wineries: Childress Vineyards, Duplin Winery, Fiddlers Vineyard, Ginger Creek Vineyards, Herrara Vineyards, Lake James Cellars, Morgan Ridge Vineyard  & Brewing Co., Native Vines, Old North State, Olde Mill, Round Peak, Slightly Askew, Southern Charm, Stony Knoll, Surry Cellars, Thistle Meadow and Waldensian Heritage Vineyards.

New this year -- this will be the fifth annual Budbreak -- is a beer garden with ales from four N.C. craft brewers, including Mount Airy's Skull Camp Brewing.

Hours are noon to 6 p.m. Tickets for the event are $15/advance; $20 at the gate. (You can also get $5 tickets that don't include tastings.)

Live music? You can listen to the Mediocre Bad Guys, followed by Eric and the Chill Tones.

Here's the thing: The Mediocre Bad Guys band features famed rock 'n' roll sax player Bobby Keys,  who started out long ago as a Texas teen playing with Buddy Holly and went on to be a sideman with the Rolling Stones.

That's him doing the wailing sax solo on "Brown Sugar."

Keys' tenure with the Stones included cuts on  "Let It Bleed," "Sticky Fingers," Exile on Main St., "Goats Head Soup," "Emotional Rescue," Stripped" and "Shine a Light."

You've probably him play live on various artists' live albums, notably Joe Cocker's famous  "Mad Dogs & Englishmen"

May 3, you can hear him live. Outdoors. As you kick back with a glass of wine or beer. Not far from home.

Maybe we can fix the weather forecast with Mount Airy native Eric Chilton.

He will be playing there that day with the Chill Tones. Chilton is also the  weatherman for  WFMY-TV in Greensboro.

Tickets/details: www.budbreakfestival.com.