Rich Cooke

If you are in the Hendersonville area this weekend, there will be some wonderful events going on that you may want to take your family to enjoy. Mountain Lore Books & More will be hosting an Easter Party from 1-4pm on Saturday, April 11th, at their Main Street store in Hendersonville. This is part of their ongoing Second Saturday Kids progam. For more info, please call 693-5096.

Downtown Hendersonville will be the scene for the Easter Bonnet Contest and Promenade from 11am-12pm on Saturday, April 11th. Put on your best Easter Bonnet and take a nice little stroll starting from the gazebo located on the 400 block of Main Street for about five blocks, then go north to the 600 block and head on back to the gazebo to complete your promenade. Narnia Studios will award the winner of the Easter Bonnet Contest with a fun basket of "goodies". For more info, please call 697-6393. I hope to see you there in all your Easter Bonnet glory!

There will be several Easter Egg Hunts around the area on Saturday as well. Henderson County Parks and Recreation have invited the Easter Bunny to visit with the kids at Jackson Park starting at 12pm. There will be food, fun, music and prizes as well as inflatables for the kids. The Easter Egg Hunt begins at 1:30pm.

The Easter Bunny will be busy this Saturday. He will also be making an appearance with the Laurels of Hendersonville on Saturday at 1:30pm to participate in an Easter Egg Hunt, pictures, refreshments and prizes. For more info, please call 692-6000.

Etowah will be holding its own community Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday from 3-4:30pm at the Etowah United Methodist Church. You can register for the hunt at the church's fellowship hall at 2:30pm. Enjoy crafts, fun for the kids, an Easter Egg Hunt and a moving telling of the Easter story.

On March 25th, I was "locked up" at our local Hendersonville Outback Steakhouse to help raise money for the Muscular Distrophy Association. This was a fun event where about 120 local business-people were thrown in a makeshift jail, complete with striped uniform, shackles and even a mug shot (you can see mine here). Before I was picked up and taken to the association's Maximum Appreciation Facility, I had raised $1500 for my "bail money". However, after making some phone calls from my "jail cell", I helped raise even more. This was a fun event that helped raise $45,000 for a great cause, which, even in these tough economic times, was $5000 more than last year.

Rich Cooke, Western North Carolina Real Estate

The Arts Council of Henderson County will be presenting "The Artists of Tomorrow" and "Elementary Art" exhibits through April 18th in its "The Art of Our Children" series in Hendersonville, North Carolina. "The Art of Our Children" series is dedicated to all art teachers as well as the students they inspire and mentor along the way. "The Artists of Tomorrow" exhibit features art by local secondary schoolchildren and will be ending this Saturday, March 28th. The "Elementary Art" exhibit will start on April 3rd and continue through April 18th. This is the 14th year that the Arts Council has featured children's artwork from local area schools. This series is free and open to the public. So, take advantage of this marvelous program while it lasts.

The Blue Ridge Community College will play host to the Parrini Piano Quartet at the college's Patton Auditorium at 3pm on Sunday, March 29th. This is part of the ongoing Hendersonville Chamber Music Series in Flat Rock. For more information, please call (828) 890-4411. This concert only costs $17 per ticket.

With performances on March 27th-29th and April 3rd-5th, the Flat Rock Playhouse YouTheatre will be presenting "Princess Reform School", a wonderful play about what a princess needs to know to unlock her inner princess power, written by Flat Rock's very own Lisa K. Bryant. Evening shows are held at 8:15pm and you can catch a matinee performance on Saturdays and Sundays at 2:15pm. For more information, please call (828) 693-0731.

Are you ready to say "goodbye" to Winter blahs and "hello" to Spring? Here are some quick, inexpensive ways to spruce up the interior of your home to welcome in the renewal Spring has to offer:

1. Rearrange: This means furniture, accessories, artwork, etc. Try moving the furniture around in a room to create new and interesting conversation areas. Maybe take some books off the shelves and put them on the fireplace mantle. Even moving artwork from one wall or room to another can create a whole new look and feel for your room.

2. Fragrances: This doesn't just mean candles or diffusers. You can bring fragrances in through fresh cut flowers or fragrant branches from your outside foliage. If you must have fresh cut flowers and don't have anything outside you can use, pick up a bouquet from the supermarket, separate the bouquet into different groups of flowers and spread them around the house in a variety of smaller vases.

3. Bedding: New bedding can brighten a room in no time. Get rid of the heavy winter comforter and bring in a lighter coverlet for the warmer evenings ahead. Bring in more color with accent pillows in fun, springtime colors.

4. Good Day, Sunshine: Open up the windows. Pull those heavy drapes back and add a shade or even sheer fabric that will allow the sunlight to come in. And, for goodness sakes, clean the windows!

5. Accessorize: Simply changing the little things can create a whole new atmosphere for a room. Buy throw pillows in bright fabrics. Get a festive colored vase to hold those lovely tulips or daisies. Use brightly colored candles to relay a feeling of Spring renewal.

These are all quick, easy and inexpensive ways to spruce up your home for Spring.

On Saturday, March 14th, come to historic downtown Hendersonville from 10am-9pm to watch the March of the Leprechauns St. Patrick's Day Festival. There will be a parade at 10am, a fun costume contest at 1pm and there will be entertainment going on throughout the day. I hope to see you there.