Ardenwoods

Celebrating Mother’s Day in WNC

Mother and daughter - open house
Celebrating mom.

Whether you were raised by a casual brunch mom, a picnic lunch mom, or a fine dining-enthusiast mom, here’s your excuse to celebrate Mother’s Day in style. Below, you’ll find a list packed full of options for a full day of family festivities.

Dine Out

Mother’s Day Brunch at Bold Rock: Head down to Bold Rock’s downtown Asheville taproom for a special holiday brunch, featuring “mom”-mosas and the cidery’s featured brunch menu. Carnations will also be available for all mothers partaking in the fun. Begins at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 8 at Bold Rock Hard Cider, 39 N. Lexington Ave., downtown Asheville.

Mother’s Day Brunch at Writers Bistro: Make Mother’s Day classy with brunch at the Writers Bistro, in the Renaissance Asheville Downtown Hotel. Offering a special holiday brunch menu with a variety of small and large plate options — everything from charcuterie to roasted prime rib to a dessert of lemon shortcake. Reservations are available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, May 8 at the Renaissance Asheville Downtown Hotel, 31 Woodfin St., Asheville. Call 828-252-8211 ext. 205 or visit Resy.com for reservations.

Mother’s Day Brunch at Posana: Celebrate the mother or mother figure in your life with Posana’s magnificent Mother’s Day brunch: a four-course, family-style prix fixe menu that begins with banana doughnut holes, and continues with the main course spread of strawberry-lemon french toast, pork belly huevos rancheros and a fried chicken biscuit with sausage gravy, and ends with pink lemonade cake for dessert. $55 per adult and $35 per child. Reservations are recommended and are available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, May 8 at 1 Biltmore Ave., downtown Asheville. For parties of 5 or more, call 828-505-3969 to reserve a table — or book a reservation online at OpenTable.com.

Events

Outdoor Craft Fair at Historic Johnson Farm: This Saturday Mother’s Day Market in Hendersonville gives you a head-start on celebrating the weekend with mom, featuring more than 20 crafters selling pottery, plants, jewelry, home decor, art and more. The Historic Johnson Farm and farmhouse will be open for self-guided tours during the craft fair, which takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 7, at 3346 Haywood Road in Hendersonville.

Build a Bouquet at The West End: The West End is celebrating Mother’s Day with a one-of-a-kind event, inviting you and your mom to create your own growing bouquets. Mix and match cuttings from a selection of common and not-so-common houseplants — from philodendrons to pothos, tradescantia to begonias — and don’t forget to water! In a few weeks, your growing bouquet will be ready to transplant. The West End will also offer a special brunch menu featuring breakfast tacos, mimosas, and other Mother’s Day specials. Begins 11 a.m. Sunday, May 8 at The West End, 757 Haywood Road, West Asheville.

Bluegrass and Bites at Blue Ghost Brewing Company: Fletcher’s Blue Ghost Brewing is hosting a bluegrass, brews and bites event on Mother’s Day for moms with Appalachian flare. Southern fare food truck Kinfolk will be on site serving cast iron cornbread, housemade pimento cheese dip, smoked chicken sandwiches, and burgers from 1:30-6:30 p.m., and music from bluegrass band Knob Creek Incident will begin at 4 p.m. Don’t miss the fun happening Sunday afternoon at 125 Underwood Road, Fletcher.

Excursions

Picnic on the Parkway: We all have our favorite Blue Ridge Parkway picnic spots — but, this Mother’s Day, pack a basket and head north on the parkway to Craggy Gardens, at milepost 365, to enjoy a scenic afternoon among the pink and purple rhododendron blooms. Whether mom is up for a hike or ready to relax, this spot is excellent for either hiking to the peak or enjoying the view from the parking lot-adjacent picnic area.

Biltmore Blooms: This annual festival of flowers happens each spring, with two months of blooms that include 75,000-plus tulips, orchids, azaleas, and elaborate floral displays inside the Biltmore House. Take mom for an afternoon of vibrant color — and plan a picnic on the grounds (or make reservations at one of many fantastic Biltmore dining options).

Stroll the Grounds at the N.C. Arboretum: With beautiful gardens and peaceful woodland trails, the North Carolina Arboretum never disappoints for any outing. Take mom on an adventure through all the natural wonders of the Southern Appalachians — and pencil in some daily exercise together on one of the campus’ many walking, hiking or biking trails.

Put on Your Dancing Shoes

In March 2016, Judyanne Campbell began teaching line dance at Ardenwoods. Not only does dancing improve balance and strength, but it also stimulates the mind as dancers work to remember combinations. There’s also the bonus social aspect of dance class.

Ladies line dancing
Dancing is great fun, and healthy.

About a year into teaching at Ardenwoods, Campbell decided that her dancers needed a goal — rather, a performance — to work toward while exercising their memories. Her dancers agreed, especially Shirley Morrow, who leads the Ardenwoods Singers for two performances every year. Morrow had the idea for the dancers to perform alongside the singers in a show, and thus, the Salt-n-Pepper Shakers was born.

Campbell first began dancing at 6 years old, and though she enjoyed a long career as a radiologic technologist, dance was always part of her life. She is now a certified ballroom dance instructor and has been teaching ballroom and country-western dancing since 2007. Though she doesn’t compete as a professional, she has competed with students — and she even introduced resident Janet Mitchell to local ballroom competitions.

But the Salt-n-Pepper Shakers isn’t the only way dance has come to Ardenwoods. Occasionally, Campbell will work with Community Life Services Director Kari Schrader to bring some of her students to the community for live music events. The dancers pair with our residents and help bring a little extra cheer to the party!

In the seven years that Campbell has taught at Ardenwoods, she has formed close friendships with the Salt-n-Pepper ladies. Campbell notes that the dancers’ spirit and sense of fun and humor is what makes dance class fun every single week. She has expressed that she loves being part of the Ardenwoods family, and, likewise, we love having her around to jazz the place up!

Five Favorite Things to do in Western North Carolina

Year after year, Asheville is consistently listed among the top places to retire in America. It’s no surprise with so much to do and see in the area. Our location here at Ardenwoods, set between Asheville and Hendersonville, gives us a unique advantage to enjoy all that each city has to offer. After all, staying active and connected to the community is hugely beneficial to our health. Here are our top five favorite things about living in Western North Carolina:

Laughing couple hiking in WNC
Hiking is a favorite activity for WNC seniors
  1. The food scene. While dining at Ardenwoods is just like eating out at a restaurant every single day, we love to stop by local eateries every so often for a change in scenery. Multiple times a month, we go out to restaurants in Asheville, Hendersonville, Black Mountain, and beyond. Some of our favorites are Milton’s, Vinnie’s Neighborhood Italian, Chestnut and Rendezvous.
  2. The baseball diamond. Asheville is home to the Tourists, a High-A minor league baseball team, and the games are chock full of a good time — food, beer and friends gathering to enjoy America’s pastime. Affiliated with the Houston Astros, the Tourists play all summer long just on the outskirts of downtown Asheville.
  3. The cool waters. Lake Julian is a manmade lake just around the corner in Arden, and Buncombe County arranges for us to hop on a boat and take afternoon jaunts each summer. Lake Julian isn’t the only lake we frequent, though, as Lake Lure is not too far — and we love coasting on those waters as well.
  4. The great outdoors. Ardenwoods just a few miles away from the North Carolina Arboretum, and every week, we send a group to stroll the grounds. Not only do we love the Arboretum, but we walk around many local parks and often stop to enjoy beautiful scenery and waterfalls. Did you know that Romantic Asheville compiles and publishes guides to easily accessible hikes and waterfalls in WNC? Find them here:

romanticasheville.com/accessible-trails

romanticasheville.com/roadside-waterfalls

  1. The music scene. There is nothing we love more than live music. We show up big-time when musicians come by to perform, and we are home to many talented musicians who each love to share their talents with neighbors. But, in addition to music onsite, the Asheville area has a great music scene with Wortham Center for the Performing Arts, the Asheville Symphony, Brevard Music Center, Flat Rock Playhouse and more.

Making Friends as Seniors

There are few lives that aren’t touched by friendship in some way or another. Some people have lifelong friends, others pick up friends along the way, and some are brought together by the tragedies of life that turn into sweet serendipity. The latter is true for two of our residents here at Ardenwoods; Lynn Black and Cathy Ford.

These two ladies’ lives began to intermingle in 2017 shortly after they had arrived at Ardenwoods. Lynn had lost her husband, Tom, 3 years ago to Alzheimer’s, and Cathy lost her husband Jim, last year, to the same fate. Lynn and her husband met in high school and they were high school sweethearts, and her husband went into the Air Force after he graduated, and Cathy and her husband met while in college at Penn State where he ultimately became a music teacher.

Cathy was a teacher but spent a lot of years building up a health coaching business and went to Penn State majoring in music. Lynn went to business school and worked in secretarial work for many years. Her passion is arts and crafts and Cathy’s passion is music, similar interests but different enough to keep things interesting! Lynn is from Charlotte, NC, and Cathy hails from the cold north in Rochester, NY.

By a twist in fate these two came together and connected right away. In fact, when I arrived to interview them for this piece, I noticed they were both wearing red shirts!

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