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 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!
 Autumn foliage along Indian Creek The Autumn Harvest Festival held each fall in Monroe County is an authentic local country festival. It occurs annually on the last weekend of September— which is this coming weekend! The best of locally grown produce and field crops will be on display and competing for prizes, as will hand-made quilts and home-canned goods. Art work and local crafts will be on display and available for purchase at the fair. Local bands including the Hans Creek String Band and The Turtle Creek Band will be playing music and there will be fun activities for all ages, including adult and kiddie pedal pulls, horseshoe pitching contest and an Oreo stacking contest. A flea market will be set up in a nearby field for those who love to browse for unexpected treasures. The festival is held at the WVU Extension Farm on Willow Bend Road, right outside Union. This year’s Autumn Harvest Festival will be Saturday, September 25 from 9:00-4:00 and Sunday, September 26th from 12:30-4:00. Details are posted in this week’s Monroe Watchman. Admission is free. See you there!
 Kerri and Caleb at Creekside Resort “Our wedding at Creekside was like a fairytale—beautiful surroundings and lovely people make this a place of joy we will always remember. Thank you to everyone who made this weekend amazing! West Virginia will always be our home and Creekside will always be in our hearts. “
Caleb & Kerri Taylor
What a beautiful May weekend for a wedding celebration — and what a beautiful couple!
Caleb and Kerri heard about Creekside from a friend and fellow chef at The Greenbrier Hotel, where Caleb is a chef in the intern program and Kerri works in event hospitality. The couple wanted a unique rural setting for their wedding — and of course excellent food and service were important to them! Because of their creative talents in the field, they also wanted to be involved in the creation of certain details of their wedding. Caleb carved a beautiful ice sculpture, as a surprise for Kerri, which was displayed in the Sky Room during the reception. Kerri was able to be involved in doing her own flowers with her mother and friends, as well as having some friends from The Greenbrier help with her cake and music, which was part of her wedding day dream.
Their Friday evening rehearsal on the wedding island was followed by dinner on the front porch of the Farmhouse overlooking Indian Creek. Guests enjoyed roasted pork loin with sautéed apples and onions, scalloped potatoes and local asparagus, followed by strawberry rhubarb crisp and ice cream. After a candlelight dinner, guests gathered down by Indian Creek as more friends joined the wedding party to watch the bonfire, roast marshmallows and share stories.
Kerri and Caleb’s wedding day was beautiful in a way only a May day can be. After breakfast, guests staying at the resort enjoyed walks along the creek and through the gardens or just relaxed at the Farmhouse. At the appointed time, everyone made their way to the wedding island to be seated under the island’s canopy of trees. The footbridge and wedding arch were simply adorned with white tulle and pots of white flowers. Rebecca Campbell played traditional country folk tunes on the violin as guests were seated and the wedding procession began. Kerri wanted all the magic of a storybook wedding so she and her father rode from Creekhouse to the wedding island in a white horse-drawn carriage. Kerri and Caleb had one attendant each and a lovely, traditional ceremony presided over by the Reverend Hugh Wilson. The music of Indian Creek, with sunlight glinting on the rippling water, was the backdrop for the ceremony.
After the ceremony, guests proceeded to the Mountain Lodge for appetizers and drinks on the lower decks, while wedding party pictures were taken. Bob Brown of Brown’s Photography kept the wedding party entertained with his dry humor as he led them around the farm with the horse and carriage for shots by the pond, in the fields and by the creek.
As the bride and groom stepped down from the horse and carriage at the Mountain Lodge, the real party began. After guests were seated for dinner and the new couple was introduced, it was time for a sparkling wine toast. Music was provided during dinner by David Hill on keyboard, as guests enjoyed chicken breast with tarragon cream sauce, local vegetables and garlic whipped potatoes. Dinner made way for dancing as the stars came out with twinkle lights and torches lighting the decks of the Mountain Lodge. The wedding cake, made by Caleb and Kerri’s friend, Greenbrier pastry chef Thierry Delournex was a beautiful work of art.
The evening wound down slowly as guests enjoyed lingering with a glass of wine and happy conversation on the decks watching fireflies twinkling over the meadows and tree-lined cliffs. After an evening of reconnecting with friends and family, everyone joined in to sing the last song — always a favorite with those who love this place—“Take Me Home Country Roads.”
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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.
