2011 U.S. National Fly Fishing Championship

     Cherokee, NC— Team USA recently announced the location of this year's U.S. National Fly Fishing Championships. The event will be held in Cherokee, North Carolina. The dates for the championship event are May 19 to 22, 2011.

     The National Fly Fishing Championship event is hosted by the North Carolina Fly Fishing Team, in partnership with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indian Fish and Wildlife Management Department and the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce. This is the first time the event has been in the southeast and May brings some of the best fishing in the region. The championship is expected to draw approximately 60 competitors, more than 60 judges and hundreds of spectators for the competition from across the United States and around the world.

Competitors for the 2011 National Fly Fishing Championships are awarded an opportunity

for competition in this national event based upon their placement at regional competitions, which

are held at different locations around the country. This year, regional competitions are being held

in the following locations:

• SW Regional, Santa Fe, NM - November 7- 8, 2010
• SE Regional, Nantahala, NC - February 19-20, 2011
• NE Regional, State College, PA - March 12 -13, 2011
• NW Regional, Bend, OR - March 26 -27, 2011

     Paul Bourcq, Vice President of the N.C. Fly Fishing Team, is getting his team prepared

for the tournament and said, “I’m looking forward to what is going to be a great competition.

And late May brings the best fishing in the mountains.”

    For more information, please visit winesdownsouth.com/adventure and click on the Cherokee Icon!

HIGH MUSEUM ATLANTA WINE AUCTION

THE BEST OF THEM ALL

 It’s my annual entry into springtime when Atlanta is ablaze with color and natural beauty. The 19^th annual High Museum Atlanta Wine Auction, celebrating  “The Ultimate Collection: A Sumptuous Blend of Wine, Art, Food and Friends,” offers multiple public events leading up to the auction on March 26, 2011.

Dine Around Dinners

Wednesday, March 23, times and pricing vary by restaurant

The prix fixe dinners will pair Atlanta’s most prestigious restaurants with experts and winemaker friends from the High’s Wine Auction

 The 14 restaurants and participating wineries are:

·         Bocado Chef Todd Ginsberg, Fiddlehead, Hourglass

·         Canoe Chef Carvel Grant Gould, Capture Wines, Cliff Lede Vineyards

·         Dogwood Chef Shane Touhy, Hawkes Winery, Martinelli Winery

·         Holeman & Finch Public House Chef Linton Hopkins, Jarvis, Red Car

·         Iberian Pig Chef Chad Crete, Frogtown, Newton 404-371‐8800

·         La Grotta Ristorante Chef Antonio Abizanda, Robert Mondavi

·         La Tavola Chef Craig Richards, Cass Winery, Row Eleven

·         Paces 88 Chef Jonathan Jerusalmy, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars

·         Rosebud Chef Ron Eyester, DeLoach, Peju

·         Serpas True Food Chef Scott Serpas, Long Meadow Ranch Winery, Qupé

·         Sotto Sotto Chef Riccardo Ullio, Carpineto 404-523‐6678

·         Table 1280 Chef Gary Mennie, Arkenstone, R. Stuart & Co.

·         Terra Terroir Chef Cynthia Dieges, Hearst Ranch, LaZarre, Villa San Juliette

·         Valenza Chef Matt Swickerath, Kristine Ashe Vineyards, Skipstone

2011 COLLECTIVE SPIRITS WINE AND FOOD FESTIVAL

~ Springtime in beautiful Western North Carolina with world class art, amazing chefs, distinguished winemakers can only mean one thing - Collective Spirits 2011! ~

ATLANTA, GA - Each spring, The Bascom Visual Arts Center in Highlands, North Carolina presents its highly anticipated fundraiser Collective Spirits. This three-day celebration of food, wine and the arts kicks off on May 19 marking the opening of the Summer Season in the mountains while acknowledging the gracious support of its community and sponsors such as Platinum level Wilmington Trust. Bascom Benefactors will wine and dine throughout the weekend with some of the worlds most revered winemakers and the Southeast’s most renowned chefs, who will converge on the town of Highlands among art lovers, community leaders and special guests to raise critical operating funds for The Bascom, its programming and exhibitions.

“While everyone loves a good party, and we will undoubtedly have one of those, this event is truly about The Bascom, this community and its friends coming together to support the role that this Fine Arts Center plays in the lives of the children, artists and visitors that come through its doors,” explains co-chair Virginia (Ginger) Kennedy.

This year, Collective Spirits will welcome the talent of Chef John Besh from Restaurant August in New Orleans for one of its Thursday Opening Night Private Wine Dinners. Chef John Fleer (formerly Chef at Blackberry Farm) now at Canyon Kitchen in Cashiers, Chef Carvel Gould from Canoe in Atlanta, Chef Frank Lee from S.N.O.B. (Slightly North of Broad) in Charleston and Chef Denny Trantham from Grove Park Inn in Asheville will lend their prowess to complete the unparalleled line-up. To pair with the extraordinary culinary creativity these masters bring to the table, wineries like Tuck Beckstoffer Wines, Brochelle Vineyards, DuMol, Ehlers Estate, Lambert Bridge Winery, Miner Family Wines, Paul Hobbs Wines, Reynolds Family, Schug Carneros Estate, Silver Oak Cellars, Solena Estate and Twomey Cellars will have principals and winemakers in attendance to share their wines and speak about their craft. Collective Spirits also presents the opportunity for Highlands residents to ‘stock their wine cellars’ at the beginning of the summer season. Continuing that tradition, current and limited release wines will also be available for purchase at various events during the weekend, courtesy of the guest winemakers in attendance.

GEORGIA HISTORY REVEALED During 3rd Annual Antebellum Trail Pilgrimage April 27 - May 1, 2011 MADISON, GEORGIA (February 23, 2011) -- Georgia's Antebellum Trail, the state's first official tourism Trail, presents the third annual Antebellum Trail Pilgrimage on April 27-May 1, 2011.  The 100-mile heritage trail spans seven historically significant communities including Athens, Watkinsville, Madison, Eatonton, Milledgeville, Gray/Old Clinton and Macon.  During the Pilgrimage weekend, communities along the Trail will offer a wide array of museum tours and special events as well as entrance into private historic homes not generally open to the public. A flexible Antebellum Trail Pilgrimage Pass provides admission to all participating events and attractions in any or all of the communities. The Pilgrimage dates will allow tourists to combine the Pilgrimage with other premiere events, as many other spring festivals and annual events in the seven host communities will also occur during this timeframe.  "With entrance to these attractions and events at a remarkable value, the Trail Association makes it easy for participants to experience all seven historic communities," said Amy Clark of the Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau.