With Spring just a week away, we’re daydreaming of warm breezes, verdant mountain vistas, wildflowers galore, spring songbirds and…well, we thought we’d go ahead and make a list of ten reasons to visit the mountains of Western North Carolina in springtime. What is there to see and do in Spring in the NC mountains?
The 11th annual Dine To Be Kind event, where participating local restaurants donate a portion of their sales (including take-out and bar tab) to the Asheville Humane Society and its Animal Compassion Network Department, will take place Tuesday, March 4, 2014. Just another reason to support our local restaurants, coffee shops and taverns – they are awesome supporters of lifesaving programs for pets-in-need. Have we mentioned how much we love living in an area that loves animals?
| Carmel’s, one of several local restaurants open for Thanksgiving 2013 [Photo Credit: Carmel’s of Asheville] |
Coming to the Asheville/Black Mountain area for Thanksgiving this year? If you want a great meal without having to cook, leave the hard part to fantastic chefs and support a local business in the process: Check out this list of restaurants that are confirmed open on Thanksgiving, November 28, 2013, and let us know if we can help with making a reservation. We’ll update if we receive word that more Thanksgiving dining options are available and will add to the list.
| Mathilda Tanner, one of several local artists featured during BLUE to BLACK Art Weekend [Photo Credit: BLUE to BLACK Art Weekend] |
We’re really excited to share that one of our favorite Black Mountain art events is just around the corner: the Fall 2013 BLUE to BLACK Art Weekend (formerly known as the East of Asheville Studio to Tour – E.A.S.T.) is November 15-17. It’s an art stroll and studio tour, celebrating our local artists from east of the Blue Ridge Parkway to Black Mountain, hence Blue to Black. We are a proud sponsor of this event.
| Locally-made flatbread crackers at the Black Mountain Tailgate Market |
From spring through fall (and even sometimes in the winter), a trip to the western North Carolina mountains is not complete without a stop at a local tailgate or farmers market, or a roadside produce stand. If you’ll be in our neck of the woods this fall season, here is a list of tailgate and farmers markets in western NC that are not far from the Inn on Mill Creek B&B:
| People enjoying the rocking chairs in front of Black Mountain shops [Photo Credit: Ray Mata of Blue Ridge Pictures] |
Black Mountain, a ridiculously adorable small town just east of Asheville that’s chock full of locally-owned shops and restaurants, is currently raising funds for renovations to its Town Square. The Black Mountain Town Square is located right in the heart of downtown Black Mountain and plans are to transform it into a gathering place for the community and visitors, with an open lawn for outdoor concerts and other outdoor events, extra parking (always nice in a small town that welcomes a lot of visitors each year), and space for farmers’ markets and special events.
The 36th annual Sourwood Festival is right around the corner! This fun street festival, presented by the Black Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce, is the quintessential awesome small town event, featuring hundreds of arts and crafts vendors, food that ranges from vegetarian to BBQ, as well as ice cream and festival fare, kids’ activities and rides, live music, and the part we like best — honey and bee demonstrations.
