Make sure an join the Waynesville chapter of the Kiwanis Club next Friday, October the 1st for their 46th annual fundraiser at the Waynesville Recreation Center. Designed to benefit the children of Haywood County, the fundraiser will be held from 11:30am until 6pm. Plenty of time to come on down and enjoy the food.

Tickets are $10.00 Available from Kiwanis member Ann Kline 734-4310, from Kiwanis contact 246-3504, or at the BBQ itself.

For More information about the event, including the menu, see the flier below.

Hard to believe fall is just around the corner, but if you take a drive through Maggie Valley this week, fall has come alive. One of the most unique locations in the country during the fall season, Maggie Valley goes out of its way to decorate the entire town. From corn stalks and scarecrows on all the telephone poles to hay bails and pumpkins, the town comes alive with fall colors.

We got into the spirit today and set up our display for all to see. We invite all visitors to take a “fall picture” around our display.

There is no better time to take a trip to the mountains of Western North Carolina. The sights of changing colors, the smell of apple cider, and bright sunny days, and cool crisp nights. There is no better place to enjoy natures color show.

Our daily “leaf picture” will be modified this year to a daily “leaf video”. Check back in a day or two and you will be able to see the color show from afar or time your visit to the mountains.

Happy Fall Y’all!

Hard to believe? A local Haywood County shop going to be featured in the gift bags for the stars in NYC? Well believe it! Hazelwood Soap Co was approached recently to provide samples to be included in the gift bags for this year’s 31st Annual News Emmys held on September 27th in New York. Despite this year’s budget constraints they are headed up to NYC to help out with the bags, who would want to miss this oppourtunity? In response to this high honor Hazelwood Soap will be having a “Going to the Emmy’s Sale” soon so keep your eyes peeled.

For more about their trip and hear what they had to say CLICK HERE

Life At Balsam Mountain Preserve September, 2010 Find out more at www.balsammountainpreserve.com A Fall to Remember at Balsam Mountain Preserve September, 2010 Save the Weekend! Balsam Mountain Preserve’s Fall Festival of Colors!

Weekend highlights include:

Green Building At Balsam Mountain Preserve: An Interview with Homeowners Dave and Jean Walters

It is hard to open up the magazines or newspapers today without reading about green technology, recycling, reusing and saving our planet.  It seems that we are all learning and trying to do our part to make this world healthier. And now, this has moved into the psyche of home design.  Here at Balsam Mountain, property owners Dave and Jean Walters have built a “green” home that is making news as one of the first homes in western North Carolina to achieve LEED-H Gold status from the U.S. Green Building Council.  It also received the highest award ever given for green building by the N.C. Healthy Built Homes Association.  Dave sat down with us to talk about his environmental stewardship and passion for his beautiful new home.

BMP: What does it mean to build a certified green home?
Walters: All green homebuilding programs are in essence Rating Systems.  Each system [Energy Star Qualified Homes, NC HealthyBuilt Homes, LEED-H] has its respective organization to administer program requirements and performance criteria.  I like to use the following analogy in explaining program differences:  Energy Star is akin to earning a high school diploma (takes time and certainly effort), NC HealthyBuilt requires more time, rigorous study, and additional budget (undergraduate degree), and LEED-H, well, anyone with a graduate degree realizes what this achievement entails! Each certification program has a particular framework designed to implement practical and measurable building elements to enhance performance in areas such as site stewardship, energy savings, water efficiency, and indoor air quality- i.e.  LEED-H, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

BMP: What’s your inspiration behind bringing environmentalism and architecture together?
Walters: Having spent 35 years in the residential interior design and home furnishings fields I grew an appreciation for healthy and sustainable structures.  Throughout my career, I researched not only the pragmatic long term price/value/length of life benefits instilled with green building practices but the joy and extraordinary beauty of working with reclaimed and recycled materials.  In my mind, there is nothing more dynamic in home décor than walking into a finely designed timber frame crafted residence and experiencing the ‘wow’ factor, of this unique art form, for the first time.

BMP: Why did you choose Balsam Mountain Preserve over other communities to build your green home?
Walters: At first it was the place.  A conservation minded community located in one of the most beautiful places on the east coast.  But now, it’s definitely the people. Oh yeah, did I mention Arnold Palmer’s masterpiece?

To read more of this interview in our new bi-monthly publication RidgeLines, click here.

Attention Wine Lovers, here’s an event you don’t want to miss!

Balsam Mountain Preserve Welcomes Siduri Vineyards Owner - Adam Lee - Friday, September 24th The Boarding House Social Hour Wine Tasting from 6:00pm-7:00pm Followed by five course meal paired with fine Siduri Wine. “To taste Siduri is to taste some of the best Pinot Noir made in America today.” - Wine Spectator Attendance will be limited to 60 people. Please call 866.452.3456 or email bfine@balsammountain.com to inquire about participating in this special event.

Labor Day at Balsam Mountain Preserve

Balsam Mountain Preserve celebrated Labor Day with a five-star farewell to summertime.  It was a last-blast of summer fun for all ages, and the last week of freedom before “Back to School” for Balsam’s kids and grandchildren. Kids enjoyed a day at Camp Balsam, where they competed in the 2010 Raft Race, horseshoes, cornhole, and ladderball games.  Throughout the weekend, pony rides and nature crafts for the kids, as well as Birds of Prey, Horse Basics and Fly Fishing programs were offered.  Our Labor Day Cookout was attended by over 90 people.  Family and friends gathered on the mountain for a low country boil, London broil steak, Southern fried chicken and apple pie.  A Labor day cookout Balsam Style! Lisa Guerriero, Melony Osterhout, Claire Parker & Louise Sparks catch up after the Town Hall meeting at the pavilion. Grace Nichols, Davis Nichols, Grant Nichols, and McKinley Libby enjoy Kids’ Club at the stables. The Zimlich family poses for a photo during the 2010 Labor Day Road Rally.

“Experience Balsam” This Fall With Our Very Special Offer

Your “Discover Balsam” Accommodations Await!! Balsam Mountain Preserve is truly like no other private community you will ever experience.  In just a few short years, 235 of the 354 homesites that will be offered here have been purchased, and 70 homes are already completed, under construction, or in design reivew. This very special place, just 40 minutes from Asheville, is resonating with families craving an authentic, low density mountain retreat with completed ammenities and an existing sense of community. The only way to truly know if Balsam Mountain Preserve is the right place for your family is to experience it for yourself. We invite your family to enjoy the wonders of Balsam this fall with our special “Experience Balsam” package. For $199 per night, you will enjoy accommodations in a private mountaintop cabin with the opportunity to explore Balsam and the surrounding area. The beautifully decorated cabins are part of our Private Residence Club fractional ownership offering, and feature antique wood walls and floors, luxury bedding, and indoor and outdoor fireplaces. Beautifully Decorated Cabin Interior Discovering the real estate opportunities here is just one part of the agenda. You will also have the opportunity to golf the award winning Balsam Mountain course, named best new course in the state in 2009 by the N.C. Golf Writers Panel, experience a guided horseback ride on one of our private trails, meet with a staff naturalist to explore one of the most ecologically diverse mountains in the Blue Ridge, enjoy the company of our residents at the Boarding House restaurant, explore the nearby “main street” mountain towns of Waynesville and Sylva, or just kick back in front of a roaring fire on the porch of your cabin, and feel the stresses of the outside world melt away. This offer is based on availability with a two night maximum stay.  CLICK HERE to request more information, or call us at 828-926-5200. Learn More About Balsam Mountain Preserve The 6th Fairway of the Palmer Signature Course The Private Residence Club The Nature Center Local Area Information Photo Gallery Interactive Site Map The Balsam Mountain Trust Real Estate Club Amenities Contact Us By Phone: (800) 627-1072 or (828) 926-5200 By Fax: (828) 926-1985 By Email: wncinfo@realtyworldheritage.com By Mail: 1986 Soco Road (Hwy 19) Maggie Valley, NC 28751

This coming Sunday, September 12, over 65 men and women from around the globe will visit the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley, NC as part of the first ever Motorcycle Cannonball Run. Beginning in Kitty Hawk, NC, riders will compete on motorcycles built prior to 1916 in a coast-to-coast endurance race ending in Santa Monica, CA on September 26th.

The Motorcycle Cannonball Run, named after Erwin “Cannonball” Baker — a once-famous motorcycle and automobile racer who set over 140 endurance records from 1910 through the late-1930s — will depart the birthplace of aviation in North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Friday, September 10th, making its way across the great United States on a sixteen-day, 3,300-mile trek to the Pacific Ocean’s west coast in Southern California. Nearly 70 riders have signed Text Box: Motorcycle Cannonball will depart Kitty Hawk, NC on September 10th, and will arrive in Santa Monica, CA sixteen days later on September 26, 2010.up for the first-year event, in hopes of proving the durability and reliability of their nearly century-old equipment.

The run will cover approximately 200-230 miles per day, travelling mostly back roads and two-lane highways, as many of the machines on the run are over 100 years old and are unable to sustain speeds in excess of 35 or 40 miles per hour. Riders are scheduled to stop in Greenville, NC and Concord, NC for overnight stops on their way towards Maggie Valley.

Machines will begin descending into Maggie Valley around 3:00 p.m. on Sunday for a special tour of the Wheels Through Time Museum. Motorcycles competing in the event will be on display for visitors through the early evening, as well as dozens over other antique motorcycles that are accompanying the riders.

Wheels Through Time Museum curator and founder, Dale Walksler, will also be competing in the run aboard his 1915 Harley-Davidson, with teammate Wayne Stanfield of Tustin, CA. “We’ve done all we can to prepare each machine for the cross-country trek, but realize that its going to be an enormous challenge, regardless of how much effort has gone into getting these machines ready for the road,” said Walksler.

While over 65 riders are competing in the event, it is expected that far fewer will finish. Riders must be aboard machines 95 years and older, which imposes serious threats and limitations, including primitive engine design, lack of spare parts, and out-dated brakes.

“There are very few that have ridden motorcycles for such a long distance,” said Walksler. “And there are even fewer who’ve done it on a 95 year old machine. Completing this run will be a true test of endurance, stamina, and grit, but it will also take an experienced hand when it comes to the mechanics of a motorcycle this old. Wheels Through Time Museum Curator, Dale Walksler, will compete in the Motorcycle Cannonball aboard this original 1915 Harley-Davidson Twin.

Wheels Through Time is open Thursday-Monday, from 9a.m.-5p.m. and will be holding demonstrations of many almost century-old motorcycles and automobiles throughout the weekend. The welcome ceremony for Cannonball Riders will be held at approximately 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, with museum hours extended until 7:00 p.m.

For more information on Sunday’s Motorcycle Cannonball Run arrival, visit the museum’s website, located at www.WheelsThroughTime.com or call (828) 926-6266.