It’s Old-Fashioned Fun in the Ozarks at Arkansas Folk Fest

The Ozark Mountains town of Mountain View (population 2,867) will hold the 39th annual Arkansas Folk Festival from April 19 to 21. The festival promises old-fashioned fun: a parade down Main Street, buggy and pony rides and Ozark crafts. Local musicians will gather at the town square to play, and anyone with an instrument can join them.

For more information, contact the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 133, Mountain View, AR 72560; (870) 269-8068, www.mountainviewcc.org.

Colorado

The 12th annual Taste of Vail, April 4 to 6, will bring together 50 vintners and local restaurateurs. Highlights will include wine, cigar and dessert seminars, apres-ski tastings, winemaker dinners and a double-blind wine tasting.

For information, contact Taste of Vail, P.O. Box 5663, Vail, CO 81658; (888) 311-5665, www.tasteofvail.com.

Hawaii

The town of Lahaina, on Maui, will pay tribute to a magnificent banyan tree at the annual Banyan Tree Birthday Party from April 20 to 21. The tree, which dominates the center of town and shades two-thirds of an acre, was planted in 1873 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first missionaries to Maui. The party includes birthday cake, an art show and exhibits on the tree.

For information, contact the Lahaina Town Action Committee, 648 Wharf St., Lahaina, HI 96761; (808) 667-9193, www.visitmaui.com.

North Carolina

The Biltmore Estate, the 250-room Vanderbilt country retreat in Asheville, will celebrate spring with the Festival of Flowers from April 6 to May 12. Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of landscape architecture, designed the estate’s 8,000-acre garden. Events include guided garden walks, an art show, storytelling, magic shows and costumed live entertainment and music.

For information, contact the Biltmore Estate, 1 N. Pack Square, Asheville, NC 28801; (800) 624-1575, www.biltmore.com.

Virginia

George Washington’s gristmill, near his Mount Vernon home, was reconstructed in the 1930s but was never made operable. Researchers and restoration experts now have it working. At a celebration April 13 and 14, a professional miller will grind wheat using the water-operated wheel, while historic interpreters talk about the process, the slaves and those who worked at the mill in Washington’s time, and the mill’s role in Washington’s vision of America as the “granary to the world.” Other activities include Colonial cooking and crafts demonstrations, and tours of the archeological site at the adjacent distillery. The gristmill is three miles west of Mount Vernon on Virginia Route 235.

For information, contact George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, Mount Vernon, VA 22121; (703) 780-2000, www.mountvernon.org.

Netherlands

Every spring the Netherlands goes tulip crazy, but this year is extra special with the Floriade, held only every 10 years. The theme this year is “Feel the Art of Nature,” and the show runs April 6 to Oct. 20. At the 160-acre park, on reclaimed land just south of Amsterdam, exhibitors from around the world show off prized flowers, fruit and vegetable plants and shrubbery.

For information, contact the Netherlands Board of Tourism, 355 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10017; (888) 464-6552, www.floriade.nl.

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