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Type-A Parent has some great learning, but at Type-A we know how to blog hard and play hard. Best of all, we like to make sure the parties are stress-free for everyone. You don’t need to RSVP. You don’t need a cab. Just bring your badge and go to the main lobby level at Asheville Renaissance. Just wander in this general vicinity and you will find the parties:

Type-A Parent Party Schedule

• Dodge Welcome Reception: Thursday, 8-10 p.m.
• MomTV Patio Party: Thursday, 10 p.m.-12 a.m.
• Bloganthropy Awards Reception Presented by Child’s Play PR: Friday, 8-10 p.m.
• Biltmore Patio Party: Friday, 10 p.m.-12 a.m.
• Ubisoft Closing Party: Saturday, 8-10 p.m.
• Patio Party Sponsored by Aiming Low and Wine Sisterhood: Saturday, 10 p.m.-12 a.m.

Photo of Bilmore Wine from 2010 conference by Robin Dance.

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Enjoy an indulgent evening sampling bloggers’ books and fine chocolates at the French Broad Chocolate Lounge. The pre-Type-A Parent Conference event, sponsored by Wiley, will begin with book readings by the authors attending and speaking at the conference, followed by the authors selling and signing their books. We will have mingling and networking, paired with some of the delectable hand-crafted truffles, brownies and cakes as well as local beer and French press coffee.

Space is limited, and registration is free but required. The event will be held at French Broad Chocolate Lounge, just a couple blocks and a short walk from the conference hotel, on Wednesday, June 22nd (the night before Type-A Business begins) from 8 to 11 p.m. You must already be registered for Type-A Parent Conference to sign up.

If you are a blogger who is an author and interested in reading, selling your books and signing at the event, indicate that where it asks on the registration. Space for authors is very limited.

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This year, Type-A Parent Conference attendees will get a chance to tour the Wilsonart plant right outside of Asheville. You must be a registered attendee of the conference to sign up, and space is very limited.

Wilsonart is a leading manufacturer of decorative surfacing products including Wilsonart® HD® High Definition® Laminate, Wilsonart® Laminate, Wilsonart® Solid Surface, and Wilsonart® Flooring. The company has been recognized by the Smithsonian Institution’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Interior Design magazine and Home Magazine for design excellence.

Wilsonart, HD, High Definition Laminate are registered trademarks of Wilsonart International.

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Ever been curious about what goes into the making of the Wilsonart laminate that is used in countertops? Join other Type-A bloggers on a behind-the-scenes guided tour of the Wilsonart manufacturing plant in Fletcher, North Carolina. The tour will be from 4 – 6 p.m. Thursday, September 23, the evening before the Type-A Mom Blogging Conference begins. The tour is free and transportation will be provided. The bus leaves at 4 p.m., and the only requirement is that closed-toed shoes must be worn. This is a great opportunity to learn about what makes Wilsonart laminate so stylish and durable!

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Biltmore is offering attendees (with limited space available) a chance to take a pre-conference private tour. Enjoy the views of Asheville’s Biltmore Estate with a private tour of the rooftop, where the photo opps are endless. Then, choose from a tour of the estate’s renowned gardens — another great photography stop ….. or a tour of Biltmore’s new Antler Hill Village, home to the estate’s winery, exhibition center and historic farm. All tours will end with wine at the winery.

Space is limited to 50 participants. Shuttle transportation available, departing the Asheville Renaissance hotel at 1:30p and leaving Biltmore winery at 5:30p.

Photo of Biltmore, copyright Robin Dance

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I am really enjoying reading the wonderful blog posts I have seen about coming to Type-A Mom Conference. If you have written a pre-conference post, please share it below! That way, we can all hit one another’s blogs and the networking (virtual style anyway) can begin now!

Photo by Kris Cain

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I am very excited to announce ticketing is now open for the Accents on Asheville Speaker Dinners at the Type-A Mom Conference.

Each of the dinners will provide a unique chance to experience the wonderful local dining scene (to learn more about that or a particular restaurant, be sure to see the local tourism office’s where to eat in Asheville page, or their Foodtopian Society site). If you aren’t already aware, Asheville has a killer local food scene with 60-plus independent restaurants and 45-plus farm to table restaurants.

Each dinner has extremely limited seating, so I would not delay booking or you might not get to eat with the speakers you choose (or attend a dinner at all). Your tickets will include shuttle provided by Accents on Asheville from Crowne Plaza to the restaurants to vibrant downtown Asheville. That night, there will be much to do around downtown, including the weekly drum circle (weather permitting).

To book, you must be an attendee of the conference (and attendees can bring a spouse or significant other). If you haven’t already done so, register now.

Book your tickets now via secure form.

_{Photo of Asheville City Market cheese, © Kelby Carr}

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Type-A Mom Conference isn’t simply a chance to network and learn, but it’s also an opportunity to get away from the hectic pace of parenting and blogging. That’s why my friends in Asheville want to be sure you bloggers have a great time here. We are doing that with optional free blogger tours before and after the conference. Be sure you register below, and book one ticket for each person going on the tour (spouses and children as well). Seating is very limited. Also please only register for one or the other, but not both.

I am very excited to announce the tours will have an extensive itinerary at Biltmore both days, as well as stops at two of my favorite local attractions: North Carolina Arboretum on Thursday and The Health Adventure on Sunday.

The Biltmore part of the tours was designed especially for Type-A Mom Conference attendees. It will highlight the New Rooms that opened in Biltmore House this year. Perhaps the true heart of Biltmore, this suite of rooms, known as the Louis XV Suite, is where two generations of the Vanderbilt family were born.

The rooms are the most grand in Biltmore House, and were lovingly and authentically restored during an extensive three-year project by our Museum Services team. Your day with us begins with a short presentation by one of our Museum Services team members, followed by guided tours through the Louis XV Suite and the Grand Ground Floor of Biltmore House.

After a lunch break, your tour continues at River Bend Farm and Barnyard. Here you’ll discover what it was like to live and work on the estate in the 1890s. You’ll see craft demonstrations, farmyard animals, antique farm equipment, a kitchen garden, and more.

Here is the itinerary for the Thursday:

• 8 a.m. Depart Crowne Plaza
• 8:30 a.m. Arrive in front of Biltmore House for special “Type-A Moms” House Tour
• 8:40 a.m. Stable Café Loft – Overview of New Rooms with Museum Services staff member
• 9:15- 11 a.m. Louis XV and Grand Ground Floor Tour
• Break for shopping, restroom stops (Stable Shops) and front of house photos, etc.
• 11:45 a.m. Box Lunch at Deerpark
• 12:45 p.m. River Bend Farm and Barnyard
• 1:30 p.m. Depart for North Carolina Arboretum
• 2:45 p.m. Return to Crowne Plaza

Here is the itinerary for Sunday:

• 8 a.m. Depart Crowne Plaza
• 8:30 a.m. Arrive in front of Biltmore House for special “Type-A Moms” House Tour
• 8:40 a.m. Stable Café Loft – Overview of New Rooms with Museum Services staff member
• 9:15- 11 a.m. Louis XV and Grand Ground Floor Tour
• Break for shopping, restroom stops (Stable Shops) and front of house photos, etc.
• 11:45 a.m. Box Lunch at Deerpark
• 12:45 p.m. River Bend Farm and Barnyard
• 1:30 p.m. Depart for North Carolina Arboretum
• 2:45 p.m. Return to Crowne Plaza

If you’d like a little taste of what to expect, here is what Biltmore House looks like. It is America’s largest home:

Here is one of the new rooms. This is the Louis XV Room featuring Cornelia’s crib. Edith Vanderbilt chose this room in which to deliver Cornelia, in 1900. Years later, when Cornelia was a young wife, this is where she gave birth to her two sons, George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil and William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil.

Here are kids learning pottery at River Bend Farm at Biltmore.

Thursday we also visit North Carolina Arboretum. I have a Flickr set of pictures I have taken both in spring and fall at the Arboretum. This will give you an idea of how lovely it is there (and I am hoping some of the bonsais will begin showing off their fall foliage in miniature… it’s way cool):

Last but of course not least, on Sunday afternoon we will hit The Health Adventure. It is a wonderful local children’s museum, and the new Grossology exhibit is openings just a couple days before the tour.

Register for a tour

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At each conference, many times bloggers get great ideas and want to launch new sites (or they prioritize and decide it’s time to focus more on fewer sites). We’ll have a blogger’s silent auction for those of you who want to sell your domains, blogs or web sites.

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On Saturday morning during the Type-A Mom Conference, we will take a break from the conference madness to enjoy a Mom Market. Asheville, known for its 35-plus regional farmers markets, is a place where Saturday mornings are typically spent chatting with local producers, sampling great tastes and discovering unique crafts. We’ll do the same thing, but with a focus on combining local flavors and attendees’ mom-made products for sale.

The best part? Participation is completely free. In order to participate as an attendee, there are a limited number of slots, however. Be sure to register just as soon as it opens publicly (subscribe to the feed to the right to find out immediately). We will select the moms who get a Mom Market table in order of date/time of registration.

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