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BERKELEY SPRINGS -- More than 100 waters from around the world are competing in the award-winning 20th annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting on Saturday, Feb. 27 at the Country Inn. Among that number are several former first place municipal waters, including Atlantic City, Los Angeles and Montpelier, Ohio, each of which claims two or more gold medals.

“It’s truly a battle of the titans,” says Jill Klein Rone, longtime producer of the event. “Especially when you consider that at least a half dozen more entered municipals have won gold medals also.” Over the years, Klein Rone has visited many of the winning cities to present the award. “They take the bragging rights that come with being the best tasting tap water in the world very seriously,” she says.

Rone announced there are two new awards this year. The Bottled Water Web is presenting an award to the bottled water that has accumulated the most medals while the American Water Works Association is doing the same for municipals.

Held in the historic spa town in West Virginia, The Berkeley Springs International is the largest and longest running water tasting competition in the world. “We consider it the Olympics of Water,” says Rone.

Tasting of municipal waters, followed by purified drinking water, begins at 2:30 p.m. Bottled waters, both still and sparkling, are tasted at 6:30 p.m. Winners in all categories are announced at a public awards reception at 8 p.m.

Entries come from all over the United States and this year from as far away as Japan, New Zealand and Brazil. For the first time, there is a bottled water from China. "The impact of winning this event is extraordinary for a bottler," said Jeanne Mozier, an event founder. After winning the 2008 gold medal for best tasting bottled non-carbonated water, Martinsburg, W.Va.’s Tumai water company saw sales grow exponentially overnight.

A distinguished panel of media judges determine the official winners, but there is a role for the public. All day Saturday, they taste water along with the judges. Most importantly, the public votes for the People's Choice award for best packaging. "How the product looks has become ever more important as the bottled water industry continues to grow," said Mozier. "There are now more than 600 brands of bottled water."

Mozier admits the event is a little tame. "The real excitement for the audience comes at the conclusion," she explains. "Once the awards are presented, we stage the now world-famous 'water rush' where folks scramble to take home some of the hundreds of bottles of water that have been used for display." The "water rush" was highlighted by cable television's Games Across America.

Watermaster Arthur von Wiesenberger, noted expert and author from Santa Barbara, Calif., trains the media judges and directs the challenge of evaluating a product where tastelessness is the most sought after quality. The unique event, dubbed the "granddaddy of water tastings," by von Wiesenberger, is produced by Travel Berkeley Springs. Open to the public, tickets are available from local lodging places or at the visitors center.

Handcrafted fused-glass slump bowls created by Amingo Glass of Hedgesville, W.Va., are presented as awards in the municipal, bottled and still water categories as well as for purified drinking water and best packaging design. "These gorgeous bowls are our version of the Academy Awards Oscar," said Mozier. "We could call them 'Arthurs' after our watermaster."

Judges for the 2010 Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting include freelance journalists and representatives from USA WEEKEND Magazine, the Washington Times, BottledWaterWeb.com, Travel Virginia and Destination Travel magazines, NBC-TV and the Clarksburg Exponent-Telegraph.

To address various issues related to water, the event includes a public seminar on Friday afternoon from 1 – 5 p.m. with five national experts. The 2010 seminar, "Water: Our Legacy," features cutting edge topics ranging from aging pipes and protecting water supplies in municipal systems to “green” bottling issues.

The water tasting weekend begins on Thursday, Feb. 25, with preliminary tastings at The Country Inn that are free and open to the public. Special events and activities continue everywhere in Morgan County through Sunday, Feb. 28. For event tickets and more information, call 800-447-8797 or check the award-winning Website -- www.berkeleysprings.com.

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