Free Sledding Hill at Beech Mountain

Sledding conditions are great at Beech Mountain (elevation 5,506 feet) in the N.C. High Country. The best news: Kids 12  and under can sled FREE daily at the Beech sledding hill, located next to the Chamber of Commerce. Parents may ride with smaller children.

Plastic sleds are required. Folks are encouraged to bring their own sleds, or they may be purchased at stores on the mountain.

The sledding hill is operated by the Beech Mountain Parks and Recreation Department. It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (weather permitting) with safety
personnel on duty. A loud speaker plays music and hot chocolate is available at nearby restaurants.

Parking and restrooms are provided by the chamber. People are encouraged to call the chamber at (800) 468-5506 to receive live updates on sledding conditions.

Additional info on the Beech Mountain sledding hill is available at: www.beechmtn.com.

Biltmore Estate Discounts

Big savings are available to those visiting Biltmore Estate from January 4 to March 18, 2010. Adult admission is only $35 IF you purchase the tickets online. But the savings don’t stop there. Kids ages 16 and younger are admitted FREE with a paying adult!

Buy online tickets HERE

60th Anniversary Party at Asheville Art Museum

Kids Get in FREE at Southern Highland Handicraft Guild Fair

This is a personal favorite - the Southern Highland Handicraft Guild Fair. The 62nd season of this bi-annual fair takes place at the Asheville Civic Center on  July 16 - 19 and October 15 - 18.

I promise you will NOT be disappointed as you wind your way among a myriad of booths offering quality hand crafted goods. It’s also a great way to see some of the artisans doing demos and to actually talk with them about their craft. Here’s a list of July exhibitors.

Price of admission is $7, and it’s FREE for kids under the age of 12!

Also, to keep up with fair information follow @folkartcenter on Twitter!

FREE day at the WNC Nature Center

Asheville City residents will be admitted FREE of charge (with ID) to the WNC Nature Center on Saturday, July 25, 2009. For directions and other info, check the Nature Center’s website.

Gem Mining at Emerald Village

This morning my kids and I headed off on a rock hunting adventure. We had heard that the Crabtree Emerald Mine in Little Switzerland is open (for a fee) to anyone who wants to come in and dig around to see what they can find.

We headed to Emerald Village where I signed waiver forms for the three of us and paid the fee. It is $20 a day per person, BUT it’s FREE for kids 12 and under. Since my kids are 9 and 11, I was able to get a bargain! Of course, I didn’t think to bring tools, so I wound up renting a set for another $20. The set included a bucket, goggles, shovel, pick axe, hammer, two trowels, a hand rake and a pick.

The women at the counter cautioned about copperheads in the area and also advised me that the mine site, while only about 4 miles away, was truly out in nature — no bathroom facilites or food services out there.

We spent about 2 hours digging around the pit to no avail. A seasoned rock hound who was digging at the site showed us some emeralds he had found in order for us to see what we were looking for. The kids got hot and tired before we found any. I think their enthusiasm waned the longer we went without finding anything.

So, we headed back to Emerald Village and bought salted buckets of gemstones to sift and wash in the flume. Now, this was really fun! My kids found a wide range of gemstones in their bucket: amethyst, sodalite, rose quartz, smoky quartz, garnets, rubies, emeralds, tourmaline, adventurine, rainbow moonstone, jasper, sunstone, and others that I can’t recall at the moment.

My 9-year-old daughter wanted to find a tiger’s eye stone. And she did. It’s small, but it’s her prized possession of the trip.

I found the act of sifting through the stones truly relaxing and it put me into the “now.” I became focused on the act of searching for stones and any other thought (or worry about deadlines, etc.) simply dissolved.

The sky was an amazing lapis lazuli color. The weather can only be described as the ultimate summer day — not too hot, not cold, not humid, not buggy. Just bliss. Simply bliss.

I rank the day as one of our most fun ever, and it gave me a top ranking from my kids who said: “You’re the best mom in the world for bringing us here.”

More Summer Savings at Biltmore Estate

Asheville’s Biltmore Estate is rolling out the savings this summer. We’ve already told you kids 16 and under are admitted FREE through September 7, but there’s also a deal for adults that runs through June 30.

If you buy your tickets online, you receive a $10 savings.

Kids Visit Biltmore Estate FREE all summer

Through September 7, all kids ages 16 and under are admitted FREE to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C.  when accompanied by a paying adult. In addition, kids 9 and under are FREE year round, and kids 9 and under also eat FREE at Biltmore’s Deerpark Restaurant.

Dads Visit Biltmore Estate FREE on June 21

Biltmore Estate has a special Father’s Day treat. When dads visit on Sunday, June 21, they get in free if they are accompanied by one other paying adult. Pick up dad’s free ticket at Biltmore’s Welcome Center.

FREEBIES for June 3, 2009

**The first Wednesday of each month, you can visit The Health Adventure, Asheville Art Museum and Colburn Earth Science Museum FREE of charge from 3 to 5 p.m. All three are located in Pack Place in downtown Asheville.

**Don’t forget to stop into a Sonic Restaurant tonight from 8 p.m. to midnight for a FREE 10 oz. root beer float. Details here.