Grand Opening of Forest City Pets

For all the pet lovers out there - a new pet store opens tomorrow in Forest City! The shop is located at 141 Thomas Street -at the end of Thomas Street near Trade Street, and they will carry birds, fish, reptiles, and small animals. Dogs and cats won't be left out, as the shop will stock food and items for them as well as the animals previously mentioned.

The shop's grand opening will be Friday, Oct. 30 and Saturday, Oct. 31, with hours from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm.

Just in time for Halloween, a Pet Costume Contest will be held between 4:00 & 9:00 pm both days. Jimmy Gibson, mayor of Forest City, will be the official judge with the First prize winner receiving a year's supply of pet food and 2nd & 3rd place receiving a $50 and $25 in-store gift certificate, respectively.

The Community Pet Center will be in attendance with rescue doggies & kitties available for adoption!

If you can't make it this weekend, stop in during the week and browse the large selection of items and food for your pet. Normal operating hours are Monday-Saturday 10:00 am -6:00 pm, with the shop closing at 5:00 pm on Wednesdays.

A big WELCOME to you with wishes for lots of success!

In addition to Forest City Pets, there are two other shops now located on Thomas Street - Time After Time (antiques, collectibles and clothing consignment) and Good Earth Pottery, which offers pottery classes as well as the sale of handmade pottery by local potters!

(for those of you who aren't familiar with Thomas Street, it's the street that runs beside Stallings Jewelers and connects Main Street & Trade Street; or it is one street west of Horn's Garden Center on the left if you're traveling on Trade Street- almost across the street from Off the Beaded Path!)

Timothy Will: 2009 Purpose Prize Winner

Congratulations Tim Will and Foothills Connect!

It's a gloomy Wednesday with a chance that the sun will peek out this afternoon! It's one of those days that you just want to curl up with a cup of hot tea and a good book.

If you like history books, especially local history, stop by Spindale Drug today between 11 :00 and 2:00 and purchase Robin Lattimore's latestbook on the history of Spindale and the textile industry. The book would make a great holiday gift for someone on your list and it retails for $30 with proceeds going to benefit the Spindale Library. Robin, who was just named North Carolina Historian of the Year, will be on hand to autograph the book for you.

With the dampness in the air, why not enjoy a bowl of homemade vegetable soup and coffee from the lunch counter at Spindale Drug - it's their special of the day!

Since we've touched on holiday gift-giving ideas, I must tell you about the new Switch Flop ballet flats being sold at It's All in the Bag, located on Main Street in Forest City. Made of soft leather, they are so very versatile in that you can change the look of the flat by switching the medallions on the toe. The flats come in black, pewter and copper and with the wide range of medallions to choose from, you can have a different look every day with just one pair of flats! Cost of the flats, which include one pair of medallions, is $59.95 and additional medallions are $14.95/pr. The store is now offering lay-away as well as gift certificates! Stop by and see their latest arrivals. Your feet will thank you!

Now that the discussion has turned to the holiday season, you may want to stop by Postively Paper, also located on Main Street in Forest City, and check out the class schedule for November. Several items of interest are Advent Calendar wall hanging, as well as Christmas Card classes. Handmade cards always mean so much to that special someone during the holidays!

Last, but not least, Black Friday is only about 4 weeks away! That's right - the Friday after Thanksgiving is right around the corner and is traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year. For those of you who spend Thanksgiving Day pouring over the sale ads, there is now a way to start putting your Black Friday itinerary together sooner -http://www.iblackfriday.com/, www.blackfriday.info or http://www.blackfriday.com/ . These websites already have postings of sale ads from stores such as Sears, Wal-Mart and Best Buy.

With the holidays fast approaching, please be sure to send any information about local merchant sales, restaurant specials or holiday events to the Savvy Shopper, and she'll post it in the blog!

Happy Shopping!

It looks like the start of another rainy weekend! Hope the weather reports are correct in that Sunday the sun will come out.

Several items of interest to share with you -

A new group is forming in Rutherford County that focuses on entrepreneurial women. With the present state of our economy more men and women are starting their own businesses and the

Appalachian Women Entrepreneurs is a program that connects rural Western NC women with one another, as well as resources (including training and technical assistance), and with markets - for the purpose of creating new and expanded businesses. The Rutherford County group meets the first Thursday of each month at Foothills Connect Business & Technology Center on Main St, Rutherfordton. The November meeting will take place on Thursday, November 5 at 6:00pm. Members benefit from group support, access to one-on-one business assistance and resources, practical trainings for strengthening business and marketing skills, news updates, and online visibility (member businesses are featured on AWE's website). For details, please contact Anna Levitsky at anna@foothillsconnect.com or 828-288-1650. You may also visit AWE's website at http://www.appalachianwomenentrepreneurs.org/.

There is another program in the works that will be like Cash for Clunkers was for cars, but this time it will be for household appliances. The details aren't final yet but, in North Carolina, the program would cover the purchase of several types of energy-efficient appliances, including clothes washers, dishwashers, water heaters, stoves, freezers and refrigerators. It may also cover heating and cooling systems, as well.

Using federal stimulus dollars, the state would provide rebates on purchases of qualified items during a certain period - most likely March or April of next year, according to Seth Effron of the N.C. State Energy Office. Consumers wouldn't have to apply for rebates, they would simply pay the reduced price (retail price less rebate amount)at the cash register and retailers would deal with the state to obtain the rebate. These items can be sale or reduced items as long as they meet the energy requirements.

Effron said the rebates will be at least equivalent to the sales tax - 7.75 percent, and will not coincide with the tax-free weekend for certain appliance purchases which is scheduled for Nov. 6-8.

More details about the program will be available shortly. The state is submitting its plan to Washington presently. Meanwhile, you can start considering if and what you should purchase and please don't forget - TriLocal. We have several appliance businesses in Ruthford County such as Hendrick's, Ferguson Plumbing, Henson Lumber, Lowe's, etc.

Have a great weekend and be sure to visit the local pumpkin patches, as well as nurseries & fruit stands, for a pumpkin for Halloween - it's only a week away!

If you didn't get a chance to visit the Farm Fresh Market over the summer, don't despair - you now have the chance to order in-season fresh fruits and veggies on-line. Yes, that's right - order on-line from the convenience of your home or office. You have two options to choose from - either the Urban Boxes which are available for pick-up on Tuesdays or custom orders which are available for pick-up on Fridays.

The Urban Boxes are either "full urban boxes" or "half urban boxes" ($30 and $17.50, repectively) and come packed with different fruits and vegetables of the week. Example: Boxes ready for Oct. 20 will feature 1- 12 Oz. Fig Walnut Rye bread, 1- 8 Oz. Arugula, 1 pt.- Heirloom Yellow Pear tomatoes, 3 Lbs- Sweet Potato Medley, 3 lbs- Mountain Fresh Tomatoes, 5 Lbs- Apple Medley, 3 Lbs- Butternut Squash, 1- Dozen Farm Fresh Eggs ($30 box). The Half Urban Box will contain basically the same items, only half as much!

Custom ordering allows you to choose any quantity you wish from numerous selections. Prices are listed per item or pound. Minimum order is $30 and payment may be electronic or C.O.D. with check when you pick up order.

Now to the fun part - ORDERING! Simply go to http://www.farmersfreshmarket.org/. You must first register with a user name and password. When you are asked your company name, simply enter"Metropolitan Buying Club". After you have registered and are signed in - start shopping and adding items to your shopping cart! Categories are listed in the left hand side bar and "The Urban Box" is located in the "Other" category.

What a great way to get local produce. When you go to pick up your purchases at Foothills Connect, which is located in the Woodrow Jones Bldg. in downtown Rutherfordton (corner of Main & Court Sts). - be sure to say "thank you" to Kirk Wilson for coming up with such a great program. Kudos to Tim, Kirk, Pat and Anna at Foothills Connect!!

Several "arts" related items to report-

• A new dance studio is opening in Forest City. Toes-2-Toes, located at 152 E Main Street, will offer classes in Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Hip Hop, Broadway and Clogging for children and adults. A monthly fee will be charged based on the number of classes you take - for example, tap & clogging is $40 per month or you can take a 2 hour workshop with a one-time set fee. Registration of classes is currently under way, so call 828.748.6263
  
• Pops on Main in Rutherfordton is now offering private music lessons which include vocal, piano and guitar, as well as dance lessons. For more information, call 704.948.9179 or stop by 187 Main Street in downtown Rutherfordton.
  
• Off the Beaded Path will be hosting a glass bead making class, as well as a Hand-Made Glass Bead Trunk Show at the shop located at 120B Trade Street on Saturday, October 17th. For more info. contact Kelly Dale at 828.245-0306.
  
• Anne Barnhill will be visiting Fireside Books & Gifts this Saturday, October 10th, for a reading and Writer's Workshop that focuses on promoting your work and getting published! As always, this event is free and open to the public, so plan to attend and show support for our local bookstore!
• If you have plans to be outside this weekend, be sure to stop by the local nurseries in Rutherford County. Most are clearancing their inventory and this is a great time to plant those trees and bushes, as well as reviving those planters with winter pansies! Some nurseries that come to mind are Piney Ridge Nursery (currently running their annual 1/2 off sale), Horns Nursery (lots of autumn decor), The Country Gardner (50% all inventory), and Plants-a-Plenty Farm (annual fall sale starts 10/15/09).

Have a great weekend!

Busy weekend ahead with lots going on in Rutherford County!

• Beginning today and running thru Saturday, Oct. 3rd, Freeman Gas, which is located at the corner of Railroad Avenue and Hwy 64 in Rutherfordton, is having an Open House Celebration with numerous specials including 18" oak gas logs for $97 (regularly a $399.95 item) as well as refills for 20# grill tanks for $7!! Stop by and enjoy free hotdogs and cokes while you register for over $1,000 in free prizes. Hours are Thursday & Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm; Saturday 8:00 am - 1:00 pm.
• Tonight is the last of the Ruff'ton Live summer concert series. The event begins at 5:30 pm on the lawn of the Rutherford County Courthouse with the honkabilly trio, Hard Times, performing American music, Southern style! A play area, sponsored by Kidz Play is available for the children. Remember to bring your lawn chair, so that you can sit back and enjoy the beautiful weather and great entertainment.
• Simply Silver, previously located in the old Hanes Outlet in Spindale, has moved to a new location in the Food Lion Shopping Center on Railroad Avenue in Rutherfordton. Fall hours are Mon-Sat 10 am - 6:30 pm. Be sure to stop in and check out their great items for gift giving!
• The newly opened Seams to Be Fabrics Sewing Center is taking registrations for upcoming quilting classes. Located at 526 US Hwy 74 Business in Bostic, the classes will be Beginners Quilt and Beginners Scrappy Bag. For more information, call 828.245.5400 or visit them on the web at http://www.seamstobefabrics.com/.
• A dance class featuring tap, jazz and ballet will begin Tuesday, Oct. 7th at POP's on Main Street in Rutherfordton. The 9 week session will an 1 1/2 hours from 7:30 - 9:00 pm. Cost is $104 for the entire session, plus shoes. For more information, call 704.948.9179 or visit http://www.popperformingarts.com/.
• Last, but certainly not least, remember to visit the Hilltop Fall Festival this Saturday in downtown Rutherfordton. Activities begin at 8:30 and include arts/crafts, 5K race, Truman's Playland, Canine Costume Contest and Guiter Hero Tourney as well as good food and live entertainment throughout the day!