Berea - Kentucky Arts and Crafts at their Best!

UPDATE: 3/8/06

I went down to Berea the other day to buy a quilt, thinking that they would have lots to choose from. I was in for a surprise. The few they had started at $800! They were totally beautiful pieces of hand sewn art, but WAY beyond my pocketbook. So I decided to have lunch and then go out to Churchill Weavers, a delightful shop with a weavers studio and a "Baby's Cottage" out back.

I had a lovely lunch at the Main Street Cafe on College Square. My young server was excellent; and the sandwich was so big, I ended up taking half of it home for lunch the next day.

The Churchill Baby Cottage caught my imagination immediately with whimsical baby quilts and accessories for the little ones. I was looking for a knitted baby blanket which they didn't have, since they specialize in weaving. But I did find a very nice, softly woven blanket in Churchill Weaver's clearance area for $14.00.

All in all, I had another great day of shopping in delightful Berea.

Berea, Ky is a fascinating, "must see" stop on your visit to the greater Lexington area. It is home to Berea College, listed in US News as one of America's top 100 colleges. One of the things that make Bearea College so unique is it's outreach to Appalachia and it's emphases on work and community service. "Berea graduates have received many prestigious awards such as Fulbright, Truman, Compton and Watson fellowships and scholarships. Recently Berea alumnus John Fenn received a Nobel Prize in Chemistry", according to their web page.

You can start your visit at the Kentucky Artisan Center just off Interstate 75 at exit 77, just 40 miles south of Lexington. The Center is a showcase for Kentucky arts, crafts and food. You'll find wonderful gifts and mementos to take home such as wooden hats, hand made brooms, unique jewelry, ceramics, beautiful hand made quilts, even musical instruments such as the dulcimer.

Then continue just 2.5 miles further down the road to Berea itself. The little shops and studios are wonderful. You can often see Berea College students making baskets and brooms as they work in the shops. For lunch, my favorite spot is the Boone Tavern Hotel Dining Room. "Owned by Berea College and operated with student workers, the facility is nearing its centennial year. Boone Tavern features 58 elegantly designed guest rooms furnished with reproduction Early American furniture made by Berea College woodcarver. In 2003, Boone Tavern Hotel & Restaurant was presented with the Duncan Hines Excellence in Hospitality Award by the Kentucky Tourism Council. The award is named for America's earliest restaurant critic and Kentucky native, the late Duncan Hines, whose name is still associated with excellence in fine dining", states the site.