1000 x 90

Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation to Host The Denim Ball For Moses H. Cone Memorial Park

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation is delighted to host The Denim Ball at 7 p.m. Saturday August 6 at Chetola Resort of Blowing Rock. Guests are invited to enjoy a fun-filled gala while raising funds for much-needed restoration efforts at Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, milepost 294 on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Flat Top Manor Credit Vicki Dameron
A view of Flat Top Manor. Photo Courtesy of Vicki Dameron

The evening will include dinner, drinks and dancing to the music of The Lucky Strikes Orchestra plus a silent auction. Items up for bid include stays at Chetola Resort, Mountainaire Inn & Log Cabins, Primland golf resort, Aloft Asheville and Peaks of Otter Lodge. Attendees may also bid on excursions with High Gravity Adventures and Appalachian Ski Mountain, dining and beer experiences with Lost Province Brewing Company, Proper, and CoBo Sushi Bistro, cooking lessons at The Inn at Little Pond Farm, concert tickets for the Blue Ridge Music Center and more.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Moses H. Cone Memorial Park is a recreational and historical resource for visitors from across the globe and residents of the North Carolina High Country. Unfortunately the 3,500-acre estate faces critical maintenance issues due to shortfalls in funding from the federal government. The park requires private financial support to supplement the National Park Service’s budget. The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation is committed to ensuring the park remains a cultural treasure and tourist destination that stimulates the local economy.

The Denim Ball is sponsored by Chetola Resort of Blowing Rock, Cone Health, Mountainaire Inn & Cabins and WNCW 88.7.

Dressy denim attire is encouraged. Tickets are $100, and a portion of the price is tax-deductible. For tickets, visit www.brpfoundation.org/thedenimball or call (866) 308-2773, ext. 245.

For more information about the ongoing fund-raising efforts at Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, contact Development Director Willa Mays at wmays@brpfoundation.org or (704) 267-1598.

The Denim Ball
When: Saturday, August 6, 2016, 7 p.m.
Where: Chetola Resort, 185 Chetola Lake Drive, Blowing Rock, N.C.
Tickets: $100 per person
Contact: (866) 308-2773, ext. 245; www.brpfoundation.org/thedenimball

About Moses H. Cone Memorial Park
The park was owned and developed as a gentleman’s country estate by Moses H. Cone, an American captain of industry of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who with his brother Ceasar Cone, brought denim production to the South. Together they built a textile empire that still exists today.

Cone was not only a successful entrepreneur, he was an inquisitive gentleman farmer who experimented with agriculture and designed and built one of America’s most beautiful country estates. Beginning in 1897 he carefully created an impressive retreat featuring carriage trails, lakes, apple orchards, fields and forests. His vision was influenced by a great regard for the natural landscape.

Before his untimely death in 1908, he constructed Flat Top Manor as the centerpiece of this idyllic mountain retreat. After his passing, his wife, Bertha, operated the estate for nearly 39 years, adhering to his original concept. The 3,500-acre estate became part of the Blue Ridge Parkway in 1949.

Earlier this year, Flat Top Manor, the centerpiece of the estate, was named a Centennial Challenge project. The Centennial Challenge program, designed to address needs in all National Parks, will provide financial support to update the fire suppression system at the circa-1901 manor thanks to the guarantee of matching funds from the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. The nonprofit is raising $411,000 for the project with a match of nearly $300,000 from Congress.

About the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
The Foundation is the primary nonprofit fundraising organization, 501(c)3, of the Blue Ridge Parkway, helping ensure cultural and historical preservation, natural resource protection, educational outreach, and visitor enjoyment now and for future generations. www.brpfoundation.org