Mentone Rhododendron Festival 2012

The third week of May brings the annual Rhododendron Festival in Mentone, Alabama. A tiny town on Lookout Mountain, Mentone is a quiet place filled with one-of-a-kind arts and crafts stores and unique restaurants.  I love to go and browse the shops anytime, but the Rhododendron Festival brings even more fun! Why spend a Saturday afternoon at home cleaning house when you can look at arts and crafts and hear some great music only a short drive away?
We started off with lunch at the Wildflower Cafe, my all-time favorite place to eat in Mentone. (http://www.mentonewildflower.com/index.html )  If you don't visit any other place in Mentone, you HAVE to eat at the Wildflower! Filled with quirky artwork, herbs, handmade jewelry and gifts, the atmosphere alone is a memorable experience. We like to sit outside in the garden when we can. Saturday we sat inside at a booth on seats from an old school bus. (How cool is that?)

 If you don't try anything else on the menu, you've got to try the tomato pie!  I don't care how it sounds, it is delicious! My daughter loves the fresh fruit.  If you go for dinner, be sure to make reservations.

 Below is the bench where we sat outside, while we waited to be seated for lunch.  I love this place, because it is full of little surprises and works of art tucked away everywhere.

Then, on to the Festival....

 Wouldn't this be a peaceful place to live? Love the fence!

 At any arts and crafts festival, I always check out the bottle art. I love bottle art! 

 I'd love to have these hanging all around my porch.

It's a bird feeder!

This is the view from the Park on the Brow where the festival takes place. You can sit here and listen to live music and just chill.

If you need a weekend getaway, you've got to give Mentone a try.

See you at next year's festival!