Here’s my recap of the weird and wonderful happenings in the High Point bedding arena:

* Strangest press release: The bedding producer who described his mattress offerings as being “of reasonable quality.” Well, in a way that’s refreshing, given the steady diet of phrases like “premium materials” and “luxurious materials” and “the highest-quality materials” that I usually see in press releases, but “reasonable quality” is unreasonable in our marketing-savvy arena. Who was the guilty party? I’m reasonably sure I don’t want to embarrass the company.

* Best media event: Sealy. The producer got a lot accomplished in two hours, feeding several harried reporters a quick lunch, giving us an overview of its fire-resistant bedding program, letting us witness a mattress burn test, showing us new models in both the Sealy and Stearns & Foster line, unveiling an exciting new Web site, www.SleepSoundly.com, and showing us new commercials and marketing materials. It was an impressive overview.

* Best party: Kingsdown. The producer recreated the glory, pomp and beauty of ancient Egypt with its awesome Jewel of the Night event. The staging was epic, the mood was festive and Cleopatra and her court looked like something right out of Hollywood. Oh, yeah, there were some great new beds on display, too.

*Best Chinese cooking: Primo International. Value-priced Chinese beds filled a couple of corners of its showroom, and company officials used the “M” word — margin — to describe the line. That’s not a word I hear a lot in bedding showrooms these days.

* Best Italian cooking: Magniflex. The compressed and shrink-wrapped mattresses are not a new product in bedding, but this line had some nice feels and constructions.

* Tastiest Turkish treats: Istikbal. That major Turkish bedding producer is targeting the United States with foam and innerspring models, looking for its slice of the American bedding pie.

* Best romance copy: Gold Bond. One of its market ads included this message: “Sensual, voluptuous … opulent. Words you’ve never heard to describe a futon mattress. Until now.” Nice job.

* Best new sleep accessory merchandising program: Boyd Specialty Sleep. Its interactive retail kiosks are compelling, and should fluff up pillow sales nicely.

* Best new showroom location: Therapedic. It benefited greatly by displaying some of its Kathy Ireland beds in the Standard showroom. Sometimes there really is synergy.

* Most pitiful bedding scene: The bedding producer occupying a small space and showing a single mattress. I had mercy on the poor company and stopped in for a visit.

My overall grade for this High Point bedding market:

B plus. There is more bedding in High Point than you might think. Just try visiting all the bedding showrooms and you’ll see what I mean.