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If you would like to learn more about the Springs Trail of the Virginias and what a visit to Creekside Resort and Spa is like, be sure to check out the new and wonderfully descriptive article by Julie Register on her website Discover Spas. It is a perceptive and helpful review of her experiences while staying at Creekside and touring our area.
 Creekside Resort Barn
 photo by Megan Dailey of unblinking i photography Wedding couples and their guests at Creekside Resort enjoy a bonfire prepared for them beside Indian Creek after their wedding rehearsal and dinner on the dining porch of the Farmhouse. Guests can toast marshmallows on old-fashioned roasting sticks and relax together by the fire. They can also make wishboats of natural materials and candles to be floated down the creek with good wishes for the wedding couple. Each boat is a hand-crafted gift from the guest to the wedding couple and carries their wishes for the couple with it. The beautiful lights wind their way in the darkness with reflections glimmering on the water, a lovely symbol of the love of family and friends following the couple through their new life together.
 The Farmer’s Day celebration in Union, West Virginia is always held the first weekend in June. When I was a child, it always felt like Farmer’s Day celebrated the beginning of summer vacation. This festival in fact celebrates our local agricultural way of life and includes many civic organizations. The festivities of Farmer’s Day usually begin on Friday evening with a street dance. Saturday morning there are breakfasts sponsored by local organizations and the main event is the parade that is held at 11:00 and includes local bands, horses, floats and other displays. In the afternoon there are a variety of activities, including tractor pulls and other contests at the WV Extension Farm on Willow Bend Road. Saturday evening closes with a fireworks display.
This year’s Farmer’s Day celebration will include a re-dedication of the 110 year old Confederate Monument in Union, as well as a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Civil War Trails, a ceremony to honor Colonel William Porcher Miles, and a Civil War Living History Camp. These events will begin at 2:00 PM with the re-dedication of the monument, followed by the ceremony for Colonel Miles at 3:00 PM, and the Civil War Trails Ribbon Cutting at 5:30 PM. The Civil War Living History Camps will be open to the public from 5:00- 7:30 PM on Saturday and 10:00 AM-12:00 Noon on Sunday.
 Farmer's Fancy Quilt Square The Monroe County Quilt Trail will have its grand opening on Saturday, April 30th in Union, West Virginia. This tour features twenty-one quilt designs on barns and buildings around the county and has been a collaborative effort among many individuals and organizations in Monroe County and the state of West Virginia. Local artists, quilters, school children, construction workers, and other interested individuals have contributed their time and talents to this project, as have local quilting guilds, the Arts Alliance, the Extension service and 4-H campers, and a group of dedicated individuals who took on the responsibility of overseeing the project.
Monroe County resident Fawn Valentine, author of West Virginia Quilts and Quiltmakers, was asked to select the first design. She chose “Farmer’s Fancy” based on an actual quilt made by Mae Long, also a Monroe County resident. Additional quilt blocks were chosen and sewed by the “Mountain Heritage Quilters Guild of Southern West Virginia.” Those blocks were displayed at Farmer’s Day in 2010 and six favorites selected through a public vote. Blocks based on the public design are: Basket, Dresden Plate, Honey Bee, Maple Leaf, Paddle Wheel, Turkey Tracks and Union. Soon additional blocks were requested by county residents. Now residents and visitors alike can enjoy a drive around Monroe County with the added attraction of these lovely quilts designs along the way. There are currently twenty-one to view, but that number is sure to grow.
So come ready to take a spring drive, and enjoy the redbud, dogwood and beautiful quilt designs! The official ribbon cutting celebration will be taking place at 10:00 am at the corner of Rtes 219 and 3 in Union, WV on April Saturday, April 30th. Information on the trail, door prizes and refreshments will be available at the celebration.
To see a map of the quilt trail and pictures of the quilts visit the website at www.monroewvquilttrail.com.
 There are many beautiful woodland wildflowers that bloom beside our woodland trails at Creekside in the spring. Among these, one of the easiest to spot are the white, waxy blooms of the bloodroot flower. Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) usually blooms in here in early to mid April. Each stalk bears a single white flower with a golden-orange center. The flowers open with the sun and close at night. It is a member of the Poppy Family (Papaveraceae) and gets both its botanical name and its common name from the red juice that is contained in its roots and stems. According to the National Audubon Society’s Field Guide to Wildflowers, this red juice was use by Native Americans as a dye for baskets, clothing and war paint, as well as for insect repellent. It grows in colonies in rich woodland soil and along streams. Be sure to look for it when you visit the Allegheny Mountains this spring.
 Chocolate lovers—attention! You will not want to miss the Lewisburg Chocolate Festival coming up on April 8th and 9th. This southern West Virginia festival, held in “America’s coolest small town” seems to get better each year and this year’s event promises to be the best yet. The downtown festival includes music, cooking demonstrations by local chefs and opportunities to try lots of delicious chocolate foods. Those interested in attending should buy tasting tickets ahead of time in order to sample wares at local businesses. You can do this at the Lewisburg Chocolate Festival website. This year chef Roland Mesnier, the longest tenured White House Chef, will be a special guest at the event on Friday, April 8th. Many local restaurants will be featuring special chocolate menus during the weekend. Creekside Resort and Spa will be offering some special chocolate spa treatments, including manicures and pedicures with a mocha scrub, followed by a creme de cocoa moisturizing treatment, as well as chocolate facials. Complimentary boxes of chocolate will be given to guests staying at the resort during the chocolate festival weekend and there will be a special chocolate menu on Saturday night. This total chocolate extravaganza only happens once a year—so don’t miss it!
 A relaxing and rejuvenating spa treatment at the Creekside Spa is just the way to get ready for spring! We are having a “Green Spa Special” in honor of St. Patrick’s Day and the coming of spring. This special package offers a combination of a green clay facial and a peppermint foot soak with relaxing foot and facial massage that will leave your skin feeling wonderful and your whole self refreshed. Green clay is a wonderful natural facial tonic that absorbs toxic substances, and impurities from your skin while toning and revitalizing the complexion, and tightening pores. A moisturizing facial massage following the masque will leave your skin glowing. This is a group experience for two to four friends to enjoy together. So call your friends, your mother, daughter or sister and enjoy a wonderful springtime spa escape!
 Winter Aconite Yesterday morning, February 16th, the first winter aconite showed their cheerful blooms along my front walk. Not only are they the earliest blooms in my garden, but they come up with their flowers already to open and such a bright sunshine yellow! Very welcome in February.
 Some of the best creative wedding ideas are those that solve a practical need in an unusual and beautiful way. One recent Creekside wedding couple, Lindsay Nakaishi and Alex Rowe, found a lovely way to welcome their guests to their reception and help them find their seats. Lindsay spent months collecting antique postcards, rummaging through antique shops until she found a card for each guest from that guest’s home city, state and country. Because their guests came from a wide variety of places—locations ranged from Colorado and Minnesota to Japan and various sites in West Virginia—this made for a very interesting assortment of cards. The age of the cards also added an interesting note, blending well with old photos of family weddings displayed in the reception area. The visually beautiful antique cards were hung on a rope with clothespins outside the reception area. Each card was accompanied by a handwritten letter from either the Lindsay or Alex thanking each guest personally for being at their wedding and for their presence in their lives. The outside of the letters indicated the table where each guest would be seated for dinner. Guests read the notes while they waited for the bride and groom to arrive. Considering that there were about a hundred guests, this was a lot of individual letters and certainly took some time and thought on the part of the wedding couple—but since many of these guest traveled a very long distance to come to the wedding, it made for a very thoughtful and personal way for the bride and groom to express their appreciation to their guests. There were more than a few smiles, laughs and tears as these letters were read. What a lovely way to begin a reception!
 You might think that planning your wedding while finishing medical school, flying around the country interviewing for internships, buying a new house and moving all within six months would be a recipe for a nervous breakdown, but Ashley Rawson not only managed to do it, she was a relaxed and gracious bride throughout. Ashley and her mother and sister decided they could use a quiet day to relax before the wedding, so they wisely came to the resort a day early to enjoy massages and facials at the spa and a special dinner together. As the rest of the family began to arrive for the weekend the family’s enthusiasm for being together was evident. Ashley’s family was especially grateful that her grandfather, who had been in the hospital for the past year, was able to travel to the wedding. Even a violent thunderstorm right before the rehearsal dinner that caused a temporary power outage did not dampen the spirits of the group a bit. They didn’t miss a beat in their celebrating as the staff lit more candles and finished cooking the rehearsal dinner on the grill. The clouds blew away and a beautiful moon came out to light their evening bonfire time. The bride and groom with their families and friends enjoyed singing and talking with each other by the warm flames of the bonfire and twinkling lights of the fireflies, until the moon set, the night sky darkened and the morning mists began to rise.
The wedding day was a beautiful one with a blue sky and plenty of sunshine. Ashley and Jeremy seemed to never stop smiling. The wedding ceremony on the island was lovely and simple with the cherry arch and walk bridge decorated with flowers and the bride carrying an attractive bouquet of simple blue hydrangeas. As their guests enjoyed appetizers and drinks on the lower decks of the Mountain Lodge, Ashley and Jeremy had a few quiet moments together on the wedding island. After the bride and groom arrived at the reception, their guests were seated for dinner, the wedding party was announced and then dinner followed with toasts, laughter and dancing well into the night.
The bride and groom had planned to stay a day after their wedding. Several family members were having so much fun they decided to stay longer too. Sunday afternoon the bride and groom and remaining family members relaxed by the pool, took walks and savored their time together. This family definitely knew how to celebrate and enjoy a good time together. May Ashley and Jeremy continue to do so for many years!
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