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 The bus will depart the parking lot of the Lincoln Wal-Mart Super
Center at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, April 27th and will return to the
same location at the end of the trip on Sunday, May 1st.
The cost of the trip will include travel by Deluxe Motor Coach, all
hotel accommodations and taxes, entry to the 27th Annual Asheville
Herb Festival, Biltmore rooftop tour and estate luncheon, a group
photo, wine tour and tasting event, dinner at the famous Okie Dokie
Smokehouse, and will include all tips, taxes, and gratuities.
Optional items on the agenda, at an additional cost, include a Food
Crawl that will involve five to seven local restaurants showing off
their regional cuisine, and a glass blowing class where attendees
may make their own glass ornament or paperweight.
The historic and beautiful Biltmore will also be hosting a special
exhibit during this trip – Fashionable Romance; Wedding Gowns in
Film.
From the Biltmore website:
In celebration of
Biltmore’s long history as a location for weddings and romantic
getaways, the estate is hosting a new costume exhibition
highlighting love stories from iconic films. Fashionable Romance:
Wedding Gowns in Film, presented by Belk, showcases wedding dresses
and attire from major motion pictures spanning centuries of design.
More than 40 award-winning costumes from 19 classic films will be
displayed throughout the grand rooms of Biltmore House. Costumes
illustrate changing styles in wedding fashions from the 1700s
through the 1940s and the exquisite attention to detail that Cosprop
Ltd., London, brings to its film costume projects. Accenting the
costume displays will be elaborate floral arrangements complementing
each film’s era, created by Biltmore’s Floral design team.
The
exhibition will continue in Antler Hill Village & Winery with
stories and heirlooms from 60 years of Vanderbilt family weddings,
including a re-creation of Cornelia Vanderbilt Cecil's beautiful
wedding gown and veil, and the family veil worn by both Jacqueline
Kennedy and her cousin, Mary Lee Ryan Cecil, at their weddings.
Entry to this exhibition is included in Biltmore admission. Save $10
per admission ticket when you buy 7 or more days in advance.
About the Herb Festival
People, plants, and
products
Every spring, more than 35,000 residents and visitors come to the
Asheville Herb Festival to find the nation’s best variety and
selection of herbs, herb plants, and herb products, ranging from
herbal salves, balms, lotions, and ointments to herbal soaps,
shampoos, and medicines. You can buy how-to books on cooking with
herbs, herbal healing, and herb gardening, and even take a break to
enjoy a fresh-cooked lunch and herbal beverage. The 2016 festival
takes place Friday, April 29, Saturday, April 30, and Sunday, May 1,
2016.
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Learning to
love herbs
There’s no shortage of opportunities to get an herb education at
the festival. Most vendors have specific areas of expertise,
such as growing herbs from seed, turning herbs into medicines
and other products, or creative cooking with herbs. You can
learn about cultivating perennial plants and landscaping your
garden – even a container garden – with herbs. There’s also an
information booth operated by local Master Gardeners certified
by the Buncombe County Extension Service [http://buncombe.ces.ncsu.edu/],
who are always willing to answer questions about planting,
growing, and caring for herbs.
Western North Carolina is a
southeastern mecca for high-quality, often organically grown herbs, vegetables,
and other produce. Conservation easements help farmers preserve existing farms
and establish new ones, and many farms are dedicated to organic agriculture
practices such as producing heirloom vegetables and range-fed livestock. Among
the area’s many growers of herbs and other traditional plants, the Asheville
Herb Festival has become an annual opportunity for old and new friends to show
off their latest plants and products and share their knowledge. “The herb
festival is sort of like a family reunion,” remarked Rick Morgan, who founded
the festival 27 years ago. “When we get together in the spring, everyone has
news to share. It’s a very friendly atmosphere.”
Since its founding by a small group of dedicated herb farmers, the three-day
festival, sponsored by the WNC chapter of the NC Herb Association, has grown
into one of the region’s most important annual events for herb lovers of all
stripes. The festival is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday
and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday – with a closeout sale from 3-4 Sunday!
Ten seats remain available on bus. To learn more about the cost of the trip and
other details contact Amy Wertheim at (309) 830-4361.
[Nila Smith]
Related websites
27th Annual Asheville Herb Festival
http://www.ashevilleherbfestival.com/about.htm
The Biltmore Estate
https://www.biltmore.com/
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