Cool, crisp nights are upon us and the maples are starting to show their fall colors in South East Minnesota. It looks like colors should peak around Oct 8-15 and we could get 3 good weeks of color in October. It is time for you to book a fall foliage tour to Lanesboro.
Fall colors in the Root River Valley
- During the week is a great time to visit. The Root River bike trail is quieter. All you can hear is the wind rustling in the trees and the crunch of new fallen leaves under your bike tires. MBBA member inns are ready to welcome you to our pretty corner of the state. Hillcrest Hide-Away B&B, Habberstad House, Anna Vs, Scandinavian Inn, and Berwood Hill Inn each offer unique lodging, bountiful breakfasts and welcoming innkeepers.
Lanesboro offers more that bike touring. You can visit the Amish community nearby. The Amish will soon be harvesting corn for winter storage. You can see the corn shocks drying in the fields. The Amish bakery is one of my favorite stops. Fresh, glazed donuts, cashew crunch, home made bread, and apple turnovers are just a sampling of what you will find.
Fillmore County Rolling Farmland
As you visit the Amish, tour many of the ridge roads that offer mile after mile of beautiful fall foliage throughout Fillmore county.
The Commonweal Theatre is performing two plays this month: “Little Shop of Horrors” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” Both plays have been lauded as outstanding performances. Plan your fall leaf color tour to Lanesboro: “a quirky combination of the outdoors and the arts.”
To Kill a Mockingbird
“To Kill a Mockingbird” is one of the plays running in repertory this fall at the Commonweal Theatre in Lanesboro, MN. This play is based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name by Harper Lee. There is little debate that Harper Lee based “To Kill a Mockingbird” on factual events during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Many believe the Tom Robinson trial in the novel was inspired by the infamous Scottsboro Boys trials – a case where nine black men were accused and convicted of raping two white women, despite overwhelming evidence to their innocence.
The novel is adapted for the theatre by Christopher Sergel and brought to the stage by the Commonweal Theatre Company. The play is presented on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays through October. The play runs in repertory with “Little Shop of Horrors”.
Plan a fall getaway to SouthEast Minnesota, enjoy the fall colors, breathe in the crisp fall air, and take in the theatre. Lanesboro’s innkeepers have the welcome mat ready for your visit. There are five MBBA member inns located in Lanesboro: Anna V’s, Hillcrest Hide-Away B&B, Berwood Hill Inn, Habberstad House, and Scandinavian Inn.
The hummingbirds are at their entertaining finest! They are here to entertain you while you are enjoying your breakfast on the deck. You will not disturb them and they will allow you to photograph them, however, they will not sit still and smile!
They are waiting for you at Embracing Pines Bed & Breakfast where you will find a place to relax in the woods…..on the river……across the road from the Paul Bunyan Bike Trail!
Many visitors come to Lanesboro, MN to ride the “Cadillac” of bike trails, the Root River State Trail. Others come for the quiet and the beauty of canoeing or kayaking the Root River. After a busy day outdoors many guests head downtown for an evening of quality, professional theatre. The Commonweal Theatre has been entertaining Lanesboro guests for more than 20 years. From May through October the theatre offers two plays in repertory from Thursday through Monday each week. The 2011 season offers three plays: “Sylvia” by A.R. Gurney, “Little Shop of Horrors” by Alan Menken, and “To Kill a Mockingbird”.
Lanesboro's Commonweal Theatre
Sylvia is an outrageous comedy that challenges everything we know about love, sex, relationships and the meaning of life. A financial trader facing career burn-out adopts a stray dog who turns his home, life and marriage upside-down. Commonweal’s Sylvia includes a woman playing a dog and a man playing two women. That makes the play sound merely silly, but it turns out to be a fresh, entertaining and ultimately rewarding production (read the full review). Sylvia runs through August 19.
Playing opposite Sylvia is Little Shop of Horrors. Seymour is a lonely flower shop clerk living on Skid Row when an unusual talking plant – with a very unusual appetite – promises him fortune and fame…at a price. Don’t miss this smash hit musical comedy! Little Shop of Horrors was a Broadway and Hollywood hit, and with good reason. The music is an irrisistible combination of girl group-pop and ’60s R&B, given a showtune polish. The comedy is twisted, but is not threatening (read the full review). Little Shop runs through October 28.
Starting August 26th is “To Kill a Mocking Bird” based on a novel by Harper Lee and adapted by Christopher Sergel. The warmth of childhood and the bitter loss of innocence surround one woman’s recollections of growing up in the South during the Depression and the summer her father risked everything to defend a black man falsely accused of a horrible crime. To Kill a Mockingbird plays through November 13th.
Make your visit to Lanesboro complete by staying in an MBBA member inn. Lanesboro’s innkeepers have their welcome mat ready and waiting for your arrival. When you stay at the Hillcrest Hide-Away Bed and Breakfast your stay includes a just-baked loaf of home-made bread delivered to your room each morning, plus a hearty breakfast. Hillcrest guests may redeem a voucher for a $5 discount to the Commonweal Theatre.
Stillwater-The Minnesota Bed and Breakfast Association annual conference was held this this year in Stillwater (April 27th). The venue was the historical Water Street Inn in downtown Stillwater. Bed and Breakfast owners throughout the state of Minnesota attended. One highlight of the conference was an Internet Marketing workshop taught by Jeff Logan of Avelient.
At this year’s annual conference the MBBA elected a new President, Shannon McKeeth of New Ulm (Bingham Hall Bed and Breakfast), Vice President David Vipond of Duluth (Ollcot House Bed & Breakfast), Secretary Carol Eggert of Lanesboro, (Hillcrest Hideaway Bed & Breakfast), and Treasurer Zig Gudrais of Red Wing (Candlelight Inn). Along with these new board positions, the MBBA hired a new Executive Director, Kim Janke of New Ulm.
According to McKeeth, “The overall message of the gathering was to continue to improve the B & B industry with new methods of social marketing (twitter, Face Book, blog, website updates, google analysis, etc.) These skills are necessary to keep ahead of the marketing curve. The trend is that in a sluggish economy vacationing close to home is popular, practical, and safe. This certainly points to B & B opportunities.
The Minnesota Bed and Breakfast Association is a non-profit organization whose aim is promoting the state’s Quality Assured member inns as well as offering support, networking and education for innkeepers. Organized in 1985 with 12 members, the Association now has 91 members The Assocaition sponsors a conference annually, Aspiring Innkeepers workshops and other Association programs to discuss member’s needs. A guidebook is available online to download or by mail from www.minnesotabb.org.
The Historic Afton House Inn has recently opened a New Restaurant:
CURRENT’s menu is fresh, lively, and healthy…along with a few items for splurging! We strive to support independent, locally owned farms and businesses. Our culinary team has a passion for scratch cooking using 100% natural or free range products and we believe that meals prepared with the highest quality fresh, local + organic ingredients are the building blocks for a healthy + happy life.
CURRENT cares about its community and footprint and gives back a portion of proceeds to others in need throughout our community and around the world.
For reservations call 651-436-8883. Enjoy the restaurant, and enjoy a nights stay at the Inn.
2011 May Tree Planting Weekends
