The following information was disseminated by the Travel Berkeley Springs office:

We LOVE celebrations in Berkeley Springs where there is so much splendor to celebrate. This weekend it is about wine, food, quilts and redbud -- and we call it Uniquely West Virginia!

For the 16th year, you are invited to sample, taste and buy edible and potable products of the great state of West Virginia -- hence the name. The free Uniquely West Virginia wine and food show occurs on Saturday from 10am to 5pm in the North Hall of the Old Factory Antique Mall where more than 75 antique vendors extend festival shopping further. Old Factory is easy to find on Mercer St. one street east of the main Washington St. It's a block from the Ice House or an easy turn onto Wiliams St. from the train depot. There is lots of free parking, good for loading cases of the fine West Virginia wines, many of which can only be bought at the winery or events like this.

Let's start with the event itself then move on to all the surrounding activities taking place throughout the weekend. There are three new wineries this year bringing the total to 10 offering more than 50 vintages ranging from true Italian concord to light white Riesling. On the food side, two favorite eateries in town -- Lot 12 and Tari's Cafe -- are cooking up a storm offering fresh morel sandwiches, trout cakes, ramp soup and ramp corn muffins, braided pepperoni rolls and lots more. There are condiments and honey to taste, beeswax hand cream to sample and even shiitake mushroom logs and supplies so you can grown your own.

Outside the wine and food show, we urge you to get a free dogwood seedling at Nature Niche, a fabulous backyard nature shop on the main street and where you can pick up a brochure outlining all the environmental activities connected with Redbud Weekend. Cruise through town checking out the colorful yard square quilts hung in businesses and available online for you to bid on. Stop by the Ice House for two incredible exhibits. One is the beautiful Pictures and Pages art show featuring handmade books and art paper; the other is the traveling Smithsonian exhibit about American roots music -- New Harmonies. Both are free and open to the public Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 5pm. You can also explore New Harmonies on Wednesday through Friday. We suggest you experience the redbud in bloom by driving back roads around the county. For those who want to carry their lunch while touring, Maria's Garden has a special deal -- buy one 12 inch sub and get the second for half off.

The big live music treat of the weekend is Saturday at 7:30pm at the Ice House when you can spend the evening with George Gershwin. Noted pianist Bill Messenger and tenor Alan Gephardt travel from Baltimore to sing and play Gershwin the way George would have -- and to tell stories of the famed American composer's life and music. No Gershwin fan should miss this evening.

And after the concert, head to Fairfax Coffee House to hear the high-energy, acoustic blues/rock of Jim Fredo and Jim Salman.
Local live music extends through the weekend beginning at Tari's Cafe on Thursday when Back Porch Remedy hosts the jam nite beginning at 8pm. On Friday, the music has an extra twist at the Fairfax Coffee House where the fun starts at 8pm with the viewing of "Wife Swap" on TV featuring old time musicians Steven Hickman and DeLaura Padovan. After the show, their friend, old time fiddle master Joe Herrmann, performs live at the Fairfax. Also on Friday, at 7:30pm, local favorites -- The Flashbacks -- play at Earth Dog Cafe, a popular eatery that serves exceptional barbecue and breakfast all day. A major change of pace is the Sleepy Creek Children's Choir performing "The Song That Nature Sings" at Union Chapel at 3pm on Sunday.

Back to food for the moment. Both ramps and morels can be foraged in nearby woods -- and the "eat local" movement is alive and thriving in Berkeley Springs eateries. The Country Inn is having a “Ramp Feast” all weekend with ramps at tapas, ramps in the West Virginia Room and ramps for breakfast. They also are featuring local organic lamb. Lot 12, the noted restaurant of Chef Damien Heath, the only West Virginian on the James Beard best chef regional finalist list, will also be serving specials with local morels and ramps all weekend. Panorama at the Peak has a dazzling list of local food specials for lunch and dinner on Friday and Saturday including Mock's watercress, pork and eggs from Rare Breed Farms and apples from Glascock Orchard plus five unbelievably delicious brunch items featuring eggs from A Rare Breed and Maggie Lees on Sunday from 11:30am to 4pm.

The rarest treat of all is at Highlawn Inn on Saturday evening at 7pm where there is a limited seating Meet the WV Winemaster five-course meal with matched wines. Also on Saturday, Tari's Cafe features a four-course West Virginia food tasting dinner from 5 to 9pm.

In addition to shopping at Uniquely West Virginia and Nature Niche, stop by Recycling Works where there are sales all weekend on West Virginia books and those by West Virginia authors as well as nature and ecology books.

Because this is Berkeley Springs, the usual odd events happen as well. All day Saturday, you can see George Washington's sheep get naked at Pocket Meadow Farm where folks will be shearing the herd of heritage breed Leicester Longwool sheep that were kept at Mount Vernon. You can also shop for fabulous wools while there. Public star parties happen at the Morgan County Observatory on Friday and Saturday nights where the giant Cassegrain telescope is available to search the dark skies or use the various smaller telescopes supporters bring.

More nature-related events are connected to Redbud Weekend. Friday through Sunday at Cacapon State Park's Nature Center, you can touch a black snake, feel a box turtle, listen to the frog, then hike up the mountain. Come early for lunch at Panorama on Saturday, and owner Patti Miller will tour you through the building, the herb gardens and two years of composting, informing you about a sustainable restaurant using locally grown foods. Later on Saturday, from 1 to 4pm, you can meet the farmers at Earth Cookie farm and learn about organic/bio-dynamic methods including a Geodisic Dome Green House and High Tunnel Hoop House. Sunday's environmental fun begins at 10:30am where you can meet up with Master Gardener, Dee Fournier, learn how to prepare the ground, plant and care for tree seedlings and earn a 10% off coupon for a great meal afterwards at Panorama at the Peak. Sunday afternoon from 1 to 4pm, visit Cabin by O'Brien and learn about ecologically balanced pond design and maintenance, swim safely and happily with fish, snails, frogs, dragonflies and turtles, identify and pick edible wild plants for your own spring salad.

For the best laugh in town this weekend, go to see Paul Rudd in "I Love You, Man" at the Star Theatre, Friday through Sunday at 8pm. And if not to see the movie, stop by the Star for what is everyone's favorite year 'round eating treat -- their great popcorn.

To indulge yourself in all this fun and not miss any of the tasting or the redbud, you need to stay the weekend. There are special deals there also. Maria's Garden offers 10% off all their rooms this weekend including those with in-room whirlpools. The Country Inn has a "Spring Fling" Package where you stay Saturday night and receive Friday or Sunday night FREE, along with breakfast one morning and a pedicure for one-to-two guests. For other lodging choices and special packages, check out scores of options on our lodging webpage.

From ramp soup to redbud trees, no place is more Uniquely West Virginia this weekend than Berkeley Springs -- and it's closer than anyplace. Come see us and join in the fun.