Shop Tax Free August 6-8

Tax Free Back-to-School Shopping

This coming weekend is your opportunity to shop tax free for clothes, school supplies, and computers at some of the best outlet shopping malls in the area! The 2010 Sales Tax Holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. on August 6 and ends at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, August 8.

Purchases don’t have to be for students; they just cannot be purchases made for business use. Now is the time to get your new home computer, get Grandma hooked up with laptop, and purchase clothing for the entire family! Here are detailed lists of items eligible for tax savings:

Tax Free Clothing Tax Free School Supplies Tax Free Computers

To help you make the most of this much anticipated holiday, we have a few suggestions for you.

1. Book your reservations with us and plan to arrive no later than Thursday.

2. Make your shopping list while relaxing by the swimming pool and then get a good night’s rest.

3. Rise early, eat a hearty breakfast, and put on your most comfortable shoes.

4. Review your bargain hunting game plan and Go Get Those Deals!

Don’t forget to use our $10 Off coupon for your stay!

August 6 - 10, 2010

Chongqing (pronounced Chung-Ching) is a major city in China, with its history dating back as far as 3,000 years. Beginning August 6, that history comes to life in Tennessee when some of China’s finest artists and performers will be in Sevierville at the Smoky Mountain Palace, current home of the Cirque de Chine. This extraordinary event will include free admission from 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. to view cultural displays in the lobby throughout the day, with an hour of demonstrations and live performances at 6:30 p.m. Plan to stay and purchase tickets for the evening show when all performers share the stage at 7:30 p.m.

This 5-day event will feature:

Wang Yi – a master of the Yang Qin (a hammered dulcimer), and Chief of the Chongqing Folk Arts Troupe

Wang Yali – a master of the Erhu, a centuries-old traditional two-stringed Chinese fiddle

Liu Yingying – a Sichuan Opera star internationally recognized for her skills in Face Changing, rapidly changing face masks technique.  Successors of World Intangible Heritage

Liu Guibing – an architect who creates highly detailed sugar sculptures

Zhou Mingchun – one of two inventors of the patented Leaf Veins Painting

Chen Zifu – a magician of fans who can create exquisite fans from any material

Wen Yuguang – a master of wood engraving depicting Chinese peasants’ daily lives

Liang Su – traditional art craft of Paper Cutting

Hu Wenfu – renowned for his unique calligraphy technique, using only ink, his fingers, palm and fist

Cast of Cirque de Chine – the theater’s own resident award-winning masters of dance, acrobatics, and contortion.

All the exhibitions in the lobby prior to the evening event are free to the public. Each evening at 6:30 p.m., there will be live performances in the lobby by acrobats, demonstrations of Chinese calligraphy by Hu Wenfu, and demonstrations by the master craftsmen showcasing traditional folk arts.

Book your stay at Crossroads Inn or Twin Islands during this special event running August 6-10, 2010 at the Smoky Mountain Palace on Collier Drive in Sevierville, straight across from Wal-Mart.

Annual Summer Craft Show at the Gatlinburg Convention Center

“A Southeast Tourism Society Top 20 Event!”

The 35^th Annual Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Summer Fair has been voted one of the South’s most popular summer events, and appropriately so! Over 180 of the finest artists and craftspeople from across the USA will gather at the Gatlinburg Convention Center July 16-24 to demonstrate and exhibit their crafts. The Gatlinburg Convention Center transforms into an enormous multi-level community of craftspeople performing their talents and offering their handicrafts for sale. Many exhibitors will be favorites seen from year to year, but new juried craftsmen always offer something interesting and exciting for guests to enjoy. The craftsman’s fair provides an ideal opportunity to purchase heirloom quality Smoky Mountain souvenirs for friends and family back home.

Plan to give yourself plenty of time to see all that the Gatlinburg craft show has to offer. You can even take a shopping break and relax with the country, blue grass and gospel music played throughout the day by Dennis Lee and Band, July 16-20, and Keith Longbotham, July21-24. They can be heard at noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. daily, and at noon and 2 p.m. on Sundays.

Fair hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Admission to the craft fair is only $6, or free for everyone ages 12 and under. Book your stay at Twin Islands or Crossroads Inn, and forget about paying for Convention Center parking. You can grab a ride from the trolley station next door and head straight to the summer fair!

June 24, 2010

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts is hosting a biannual “Art 4 Art’s Sake” Live and Silent Auction on June 24. If you are vacationing with us, stroll just across the Parkway and treat yourself to this opportunity to experience the talent and creativity of artists whose works are sold in fine galleries and displayed in museums worldwide.

If you would like, you may make advance reservations to attend the 5:30 p.m. pre-auction dinner for $17 per person. Otherwise, attendance at the auction is free. Preview and silent auction are from 6:30-7:30 p.m., with the live auction immediately following. All proceeds from donated artwork support Arrowmont’s scholarship and education assistance programs.

If you miss the art auction, be sure to stop in any Monday through Saturday between 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. now until July 4 to visit the Loggia Gallery and peruse Artists-in-Residence Collections featuring works of art by ceramics artists Martina Lantin and Thaddeus Erdahl, wood artist Kent Perdue, and metalsmith Victoria Altepeter.

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts is a nationally renowned center of contemporary arts and crafts education. Workshops are offered for weekend, one and two-week sessions from May through October each year. Check rates and availability to make reservations for a creative escape!

There is no reason to let a few rain showers dampen your Gatlinburg getaway! (Pun intended!) For vacationing adults, a rainy day in the Smokies = a romantic retreat!!

Rainy Day = Romantic Retreat

Here are a few suggestions of things to do in-room:

1. Pamper yourselves. Run a warm bath and soak in the tub. Give each other a pedicure, back scrub, or a soothing rub down.
2. Snuggle up and watch a movie. Ready the popcorn and curl up to a good movie showing on one of our satellite stations.
3. Enjoy an afternoon nap. When is the last time you had the time to do that?
4. Order dinner in. Several area restaurants deliver to our hotels. Pizza and a cold beer can be as romantic as your imagination allows it to be!
5. Play cards, tick-tack-toe, spin the bottle, truth or dare!
6. Dance! Get wild and funky or slow it down. Don’t let those lessons go to waste… practice those dance steps.
7. Pour the wine and read or write love letters to each other.
8. Reminisce… see if you both remember the same details of your first meeting, first date, and first kiss. What was each of you wearing, who were you with, where were you, etc.
9. Did you know that the fingers, upper lip, nose, forehead and palm have the most concentrated touch receptors? Interesting… when is the last time you paid attention to your spouse’s forehead? Elbows?
10. All of the above.

Prepare for your own impromptu romantic getaway by packing these things before you leave:
Tealight Candles, Lotion or Massage Oil, Popcorn, Deck of Cards, CD Player & Discs, Bottle of Wine, Pens & Paper

When you arrive, pray for rain!

Plan to be in Gatlinburg next week, and take the whole family to Mynatt Park on Tuesday, April 20 from 3-7 p.m.   It’s the Annual Earth Day Festival!

Not only will there be free crafts, games and other activities, there will be live music provided by Boogertown Gap (click to hear music samples), Taylor Brooks, Rex Gibson, Jeff Bowen and others.  You can bring a blanket and stretch out on the lawn for a relaxing afternoon in the city park.

Bring money for eats provided by local vendors and to shop for items provided by non-profits to fund their charities.   It will be a lot of fun for all… and even your pets are welcome.

Admission is free, crafts, activities and live music are free, and you can even get a free night stay at Crossroads Inn.  All of this makes for a really affordable mid-week getaway.  We sure hope you can make it!