Historic Boone Tavern Hotel & Restaurant at Berea College -Southern Hospitality At It Finest

**Barb about to enter the vintage as well as newly remodeled Historic Boone Tavern Hotel & restaurant at Berea College in Berea, KY.**

**Tim Glotzbach, Director of the Student Crafts Program showing a student made turned giant bowl.**

WWW.AMERICANPRESSTRAVELNEWS.COM – Jan 25th, Berea College, KY.-Bob & Barb “On the Road Again” and “Stopping to Smell the Roses, We dined at the Historic Boone Tavern Restaurant, a place to to enjoy traditional and modern offerings of excellent cuisine, libations and a feeling that you’ve come home to family. Don’t remember when I felt this way before on any writing assignment, needing to researching the essences of a “place in time and space.” Berea founded in 1885 started and has grown to be a college of highly respected by it’s Alumni, professors, college staff, especially students and their families and friends. We spent two nights at Historic Boone Tavern Hotel and Restaurant. We visited all their crafts departments, ate dinner at their restaurant, met and interviewed students, instructors, the 500-acre farm Director, ate and purchased the makings of what has become a century old tradition of “Spoon Bread” with all or almost all ingredients produced on their working student operated farm. I guess what really shone through throughout our stay and experiences was the deep respect for the work ethic and cooperative nature of the peoples that made up the “Berea Experience.” Today Berea is know as the “Crafts Capital of Kentucky” and for very good reason, crafts in woodworking, pottery, broom making, farm-craft among others, are taught, created and sold in the many crafts shop both in Berea, state and nationwide.

chicken flakes in a Bird Nest closeup — **Chicken Flakes in a Birds Nest**

birds nest being served by Maitre De — **Maitre de brought us some of our dishes!!**

We settled in comfortably in a great King bed, bath and beyond, and were spoiled rotten at the Tavern. Our waiter (student) brought us our Fried Green Tomato Salad, out of their farm gardens, a traditional dish offered here for many decades-” Chicken Flakes in a Birds Nest”and Barb’s opted for glazed salmon. We had a Bourbon, local wine, and a real Mint Julep, all KY. style. The special Souffle’ like Spoon Bread was fantastic and has been served here for more than 70-years, an Appalachian traditional recipe.
We finished, or they finished us off with a Pecan Pie with crust steeped in chocolate and a Caramel swirl and a nice big square of bread pudding. We slowly walked out for a longer walk around the block before heading up to our room for some hot showers. Go to Berea, visit the school and all its craft programs, stay at the Historic Boone Tavern, get spoiled at lunch or dinner, talk to some of the students, stop by at the nearby Kentucky Artisan Center to make a hand-made craft of a lifetime. I promise you will come away wishing as we did, to have gone to school there yourself. www.berea.com

Weavers ply their crafts at Berea's new Incubator strip! — Weavers ply their crafts at Berea’s new Incubator strip!

Pecan pie at the Tavern! — **Pecan pie at the Tavern**!

barb and salmon dinner — **Salmon en glace’ Barb loved it, I did too!**

Arts Incubator Program Acquired by Berea College, Relocates to Berea, Kentucky

**Tim Glotzbach Director, Director of the Students Crafts Programs. displays one of the students crafted bowl for sale to the public!!**

AmericanPressTravelNews.com–August 23rd, Bob and Barb, “Stopping to Smell the Roses”–In July, Berea College acquired the intellectual property of the Arts Incubator of the Rockies, AIR. The programs, now known as the AIR Institute of Berea College has relocated from Colorado and become part of the College Crafts Program at Berea. Tim Glotzbach, Director of the Students Crafts Program said: “When I started working with Berea in 2007 I came from a University system as a professor and Administrator and as an Academic Dean in the system. Now I see the fruits of giving so many students a craft opportunity that can carry them through for their entire life in so many ways.” Barb and I felt his strong enthusiasm for giving his all to the students of Berea.

The AIR Institute programs serve communities with creativity-focused community and economic development workshops and programs. Using cross-sector collaboration, AIR serves artists, business people, educators, and the community together. AIR Institute programs teach design thinking, business planning, and entrepreneurial initiative with the latest business development strategies and tactics, such as fast prototyping and lean startup principles. Hundreds of people from a dozen states have used the programs to succeed.

**Berea Senior Student Zach smith (lft) stands behind one of the dozens of benches he has made for businesses and private property owners in and around the City of Berea.**

“Berea College believes that the AIR programs provide a sustainable future for the American Craft movement, the work of creatives, and vibrant, creative communities nationwide,” said Lyle Roelofs, president of Berea College.

Berea College will be offering AIR programs throughout the United States, with an initial focus on Appalachia and the Intermountain West regions. “The AIR programs build on the Berea College tradition of serving artists, expanding financial opportunities for Appalachia, and promoting arts, crafts, and creative business practices,” said Tim Glotzbach, Director of Berea College Crafts. “The programs are a natural extension of the original Fireside Industries programs instituted by Berea’s third president, William Goodell Frost in the late 1800s. Students and others in our region will now be able to access innovative programs that will help them make a financially sustainable living as artists, creatives, and social entrepreneurs,” said Glotzbach.

**Student Zach Smith shows off some of his and other craft students handiwork to be sold at the College Crafts Center Store.**

Beth Flowers, the former Executive Director of the Arts Incubator of the Rockies, will serve as the Director of the AIR Institute of Berea College.

The AIR Institute of Berea College includes the AIR:Shift Workshop, AIR:Evolve Program, AIR:Internship Program and the AIRffiliate train-the-trainer community development programs, and associated website, marketing materials and community development methods.

Berea College is known internationally as a center for and leader of the American Arts and Crafts movement and Appalachian Craft Revival. The College Crafts Program at Berea has been training, making, and selling hand-crafted furniture, brooms, textiles, and ceramics since 1893. The program was established as a way to preserve traditional Appalachian crafts and to provide parents a currency with which they could help pay for their children’s education. Every year, more than 100 of Berea’s 1,600 students choose to work in the Crafts studios, shops, and outreach programs as part of the Berea College Labor Program.

Since the Arts Incubator of the Rockies, AIR began in 2012, more than 500 artists, creatives, business owners, educators, and community leaders from more than a dozen states have participated in AIR Institute workshops and programs resulting in participants gaining diversified networks, increased productivity, higher morale and increased revenues. Funding for the development of the AIR Institute was provided in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, and Americans for the Arts.

For more information about the AIR Institute of Berea College visit: www.AIRinstitute.org

Berea College, the first interracial and coeducational college in the South, focuses on learning, labor and service. The College admits only academically promising students with limited financial resources, primarily from Kentucky and Appalachia, although students come from 40 states and 60 countries. Every Berea student receives a Tuition Promise Scholarship, which means no Berea student pays for tuition. Berea is one of seven federally recognized Work Colleges, so students work 10 hours or more weekly, earning money for books, housing, and meals. The College’s motto, “God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth,” speaks to its inclusive Christian character.

For more information about Berea College, visit: www.berea.edu

Spring Festivals in Greater Wilmington & the Brandywine Valley

Barbs first freshwater striped bass! — **Striped bass swim the waters of Chesapeake Bay! Barb found one for dinner!**

APtravelnews–Wilmington, Del (February 2, 2016)…The arrival of spring signals the beginning of the festival season in Greater Wilmington & the Brandywine Valley. There’s a lot to enjoy including a brand new OperaDelaware festival and three special events on Mother’s Day Weekend. Here’s a list of several festivals that warrant serious attention:

WilmFilm Festival (March 10-13)
The city’s annual film festival showcases “movies that matter” with more than 30 screenings of independent, foreign and documentary films as well as “Delaware shorts” over four days at Penn Cinema IMAX Riverfront. www.wilmfilm.com

Celebrity Chefs’ Brunch (April 17)
World renowned and award-winning chefs alongside local favorites demonstrate their culinary talents during the annual Celebrity Chefs’ Brunch. This popular event is held in the prestigious Hercules Plaza, a 12-story high-rise building in Downtown Wilmington overlooking beautiful Brandywine Park. From 11 AM until 2 PM on Sunday, enjoy exquisite cuisine complimented by fine wines and brunch cocktails and an exciting silent auction. Proceeds from this event benefit Meals on Wheels Delaware. www.mealsonwheelsde.org/celebrity-chefs-brunch/

Wildflower Celebration at Mt. Cuba Center (April 24)
Mt. Cuba Center is one of the country’s premier native plant gardens and the annual Wildflower Celebration is an opportunity to experience the Mt. Cuba Center at its seasonal peak. Spectacular vistas, formal gardens, woodland paths, meadows and tranquil ponds grace this 600-acre property. On Sunday, April 24th, admission is free and visitors are treated to live music, family-friendly programming and a variety of informative gardening demonstrations from 10 AM to 4 PM. www.mtcubacenter.org

Wilmington Flower Market in Rockford Park (May 5-7)
Highlights of this three-day event in Rockford Park include expansive plant sales, many of which are donations from local gardens, colorful hanging flower baskets, crafts, vendors, games, carnival rides, mouth-watering foods and plenty of live entertainment. Proceeds from the Flower Market have been supporting Delaware’s children for over 95 years. www.wilmingtonflowermarket.org

Wilmington Garden Day (May 7)
Held rain or shine, Wilmington Garden Day is a one day, self-guided tour of some of the Brandywine Valley’s most distinctive homes and gardens. It’s the perfect way to get new decorating ideas—both inside and outside. www.wilmingtongardenday.org

Point-to-Point Steeplechase Races at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library(May 8)
This annual event features exciting horse races, an antique carriage parade, lavish tailgate picnics, special demonstrations, pony rides and a variety of children’s games all in the setting of an American country estate. www.winterthur.org

2016 OperaDelaware Festival (May 14-May 22)
OperaDelaware’s 72nd season culminates in a festival on consecutive weekends in May when OperaDelaware brings two full-scale productions to the stage at The Grand Opera House in Downtown Wilmington. The East Coast premiere of Franco Faccio’s lost opera Amleto (“Hamlet”), painstakingly reconstructed by Anthony Barrese after 145 years anddirected by E. Loren Meeker, is scheduled on May 14, May 20 and May 22. Verdi’s timeless Falstaff, conducted by Maestro Giovanni Reggioli and featuring baritone Steven Condy and internationally acclaimed sopranos Victoria Cannizzo and Sharin Apostolou, is scheduled on May 15 and May 21. www.operadelaware.org

Gran Fondo (May 17)
Cycling enthusiasts return to Wilmington for the annual Gran Fondo. Both amateurs and professionals participate in Sunday’s Gran Fondo, Medio Fondo or Governor’s Ride over spectacular 62-, 30- or 15-mile courses mapped through the Brandywine Valley’s glorious chateau country. The Gran Fondo starts and finishes at the Delaware Art Museum where the after-party is held. www.wilmgrandprix.com

A Day in Old New Castle (May 21)
This is the nation’s oldest, continuously running house and garden tour. Residents in the charming 350+-year-old town along the Delaware River open their homes and carefully tended gardens to the public. There’s also a full complement of historical re-enactments, military maneuvers and encampments, craft demonstrations, storytelling, period games, colonial dancing, music and even a beer garden. www.dayinoldnewcastle.org/

The Greater Wilmington Convention & Visitors Bureau is a non-profit organization founded in 1978, chartered by the Governor of Delaware, the New Castle County Executive and the Mayor of Wilmington. Its mission is to serve as the community’s customer-focused destination marketing organization, generating economic growth through leisure travel and meetings development by aggressively marketing attractions, facilities, amenities and services for visitors. Lyn Lewis
LynLewis@VisitWilmingtonDE.com
100 West 10th Street, Suite 20
Wilmington, DE 19801
P: 302-295-2212
F: 302-652-4726
VisitWilmingtonDE.com

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The Shelton House-Museum of N.C. Handicrafts Founded in 1977

Edison phono was a major entertainment system in years of yore!

APtravelnews-September 18th-The Shelton House in Waynesville, N.C.–A feast for the eyes is how I best describe the Shelton House Museum and traditional crafts created by some of N.C. most talented craftsmen. This great place makes history come alive. It is also one of the over 40-plus stops on the Haywood County Quilt Trail. From the home and barn there is a wonderful window into how it all used to be in N.C. and today, there are many North Carolina folks who are working in and towards the traditional ways of their fathers and mothers by going back to the land and crafts of the past! Check out the website: www.sheltonhouse.org Also give a call to Malinda Messer, Operations Manager–1 828-452-1551

Note** there are a vast number of Navajo Indian relics and antiques that were collected by Mr. Shelton housed in his home, now turned in the Shelton Museum!