Creativity as a unifying force: Folkmoot groups find ways to communicate, have fun
 

Creativity as a unifying force: Folkmoot groups find ways to communicate, have fun

For two weeks every summer, the Folkmoot Center is a popping nightspot. Well after midnight, little crowds cluster around the…
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Rare appearance by African group at this year’s Folkmoot
 

Rare appearance by African group at this year’s Folkmoot

Seventy kilos is a lot of weight to hold on your head. It’s about 150 pounds. That’s like carrying a…
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Charlie’s Bunion and early history of the park
 

Charlie’s Bunion and early history of the park

(Editor’s note: This column first appeared in The Smoky Mountain News in July 2005.) Are you by chance looking for…
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Extreme dog action comes to Cherokee
 

Extreme dog action comes to Cherokee

Dogs performing aerial tricks and other extreme stunts will come to Cherokee for the Carolina Dock Dogs exhibition Aug. 5…
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Hundreds of children await Talking Trees Trout Derby on Aug. 6
 

Hundreds of children await Talking Trees Trout Derby on Aug. 6

Kids ages 3 to 11 will swarm the river bank at Oconaluftee Island Park in Cherokee for the 10th annual…
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Learn angling tips from the pros
 

Learn angling tips from the pros

Owners of the region’s largest fly shops and fishing outfitters will share insight on local waters at the next meeting…
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Swain 4-H’ers learn outdoor basics
 

Swain 4-H’ers learn outdoor basics

Swain’s newest 4-H Club, the Outdoor Adventurers, hiked Clingmans Dome to the observation tower and participated in two Junior Ranger…
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Scenic byway lands to get protection
 

Scenic byway lands to get protection

North Carolina’s land trusts, including the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee and Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, have for a…
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Hop on board tour to learn about beer brewing
 

Hop on board tour to learn about beer brewing

Learn to put a little hop in your brew on a tour of Hop’n Blueberry Farm and Pisgah Brewing Company.…
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Heritage celebration held at Waterrock Knob
 

Heritage celebration held at Waterrock Knob

Appalachian crafters, old-timey demonstrations, Cherokee culture and mountain music will be celebrated during a special event at the Waterrock Knob…
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Hunting safety courses planned at HCC
 

Hunting safety courses planned at HCC

Learn how to be safe in the woods while hunting through a series of Hunter Safety courses at Haywood Community…
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Campers get lessons in water quality
 

Campers get lessons in water quality

Young campers from the Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center in Waynesville were given a hands-on lesson about water quality in…
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Map leads the way to Haywood farm spots
 

Map leads the way to Haywood farm spots

The new 2011 edition of the Haywood County farm map and brochure has been released. The new publication lists more…
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Tour the trees of downtown Sylva
 

Tour the trees of downtown Sylva

An opportunity to learn about the trees in downtown Sylva and surrounding areas takes place Thursday, Aug. 11, with a…
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Feeling dumb – go take a hike
 

Feeling dumb – go take a hike

A recently published study in Proceedings, an online medical journal of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that regular aerobic…
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Old growth’s last stand: Joyce Kilmer Forest marks 75th anniversary
 

Old growth’s last stand: Joyce Kilmer Forest marks 75th anniversary

That the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest in Graham County isn’t what it once was is true — the large hemlocks…
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Local author speaks on Haywood history
 

Local author speaks on Haywood history

Local author Louise K. Nelson will be at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday,…
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A sharp portrait of love, friendship and sisterhood
 

A sharp portrait of love, friendship and sisterhood

Danielle Ganek’s The Summer We Read Gatsby (ISBN 978-0-670-02178-9, $28.95) tells the story of two half-sisters, Cassie, a translator for…
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Local Confederate history comes alive
 

Local Confederate history comes alive

Historians Reed Henson and David and Debbie Patterson will hearken back to the Confederacy at 7 p.m. on July 28…
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‘Liars Bench’ returns to WCU
 

‘Liars Bench’ returns to WCU

Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center will host and sponsor a free performance of “The Liars Bench” Southern Appalachian variety…
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Library wraps up summer reading
 

Library wraps up summer reading

The Marianna Black Library in Bryson City has been celebrating “One World, Many Stories” during its annual summer reading program…
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Lakeside dinner to benefit The Bascom
 

Lakeside dinner to benefit The Bascom

Dine at Lakeside Restaurant on Wednesday, July 27, and help The Bascom Visual Arts Center. Lakeside will donate 15 percent…
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Learn to create abstract art
 

Learn to create abstract art

Local artist Silvia Cabrera Williams will lead a teaching session on from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug.…
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Exhibit celebrates downtown Waynesville
 

Exhibit celebrates downtown Waynesville

The Haywood County Arts Council will host an exhibition titled, “Main Street Moments in Time,” celebrating 25 years of the…
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JAM comes to Jackson County
 

JAM comes to Jackson County

In March, a group of interested local leaders met to discuss the formation of an affiliate program of the regional…
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Evening of acoustic music in Bryson City
 

Evening of acoustic music in Bryson City

As part of a Summer Music Series, the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City will host acoustic country musicians Ron…
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Groove on the Green all summer in Cashiers
 

Groove on the Green all summer in Cashiers

Groovin’ on the Green, Cashiers’ summer concert series, continues at 6:30 p.m. on Friday evenings through September at the Cashiers…
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Library hosts origami workshop
 

Library hosts origami workshop

Emiko Suzuki will conduct a workshop in origami at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 4, at the Jackson County Public…
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Artists holds beading workshop
 

Artists holds beading workshop

Nan Smith, a local beading artist, will lead a program on jewelry beading at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 28,…
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Rummage for treasures at Creative Thought Center July 30
 

Rummage for treasures at Creative Thought Center July 30

The Creative Thought Center in Waynesville invites the public to its Colossal Rummage Sale from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.…
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Junaluska women model fashions
 

Junaluska women model fashions

The annual Junaluska Woman’s Club Fashion Show Scholarship Luncheon will be held at 12 p.m. on Aug. 2 at the…
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Country stars visit Franklin
 

Country stars visit Franklin

The Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts will host an evening of American music with superstars Lee Greenwood and…
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Heeding the call of the drumbeat
 

Heeding the call of the drumbeat

In the tradition of good old American music, it’s not usually women you’ll find manning the drums. Dozens of bands…
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A few notes on habits and change
 

A few notes on habits and change

In her teachings, Buddhist nun Pema Chodron often relates a story about a great spiritual teacher, Atisha, who planned a…
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A chink in the good ol’ boys’ armor
 

A chink in the good ol’ boys’ armor

I remember both my grandfathers very well.  Both served in the military during WWI, and their grandfathers fought in the…
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Liberals will take this country down
 

Liberals will take this country down

To The Editor: Before Shirley Ches graced us with her commentary on the state of the universe in her recent…
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Is Duke a for-profit business or a utility?
 

Is Duke a for-profit business or a utility?

To the Editor: Bob Scott, alderman, town of Franklin, wrote a pointed letter to the editor titled, “Rate increase should…
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Heat wave makes for a long, slow bake at the beach
 

Heat wave makes for a long, slow bake at the beach

EDISTO, S.C. — If you’re going to roast in a record-breaking heat wave anyway, you might as well do it…
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Vineival provides fun, food and school supplies
 

Vineival provides fun, food and school supplies

Needed school supplies for students attending Central Elementary School is the focus of the fifth-annual “Vineival,” on Saturday, July 30,…
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Help kids get school supplies
 

Help kids get school supplies

Buying school supplies for children is becoming increasingly expensive, and some local groups want to help cash-strapped families. Altrusa International…
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Waynesville to put South Main on the drawing board
 

Waynesville to put South Main on the drawing board

The town of Waynesville is dusting off the drafting table, ready to launch a community planning initiative to shape the…
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PETA targets Cherokee bear treatment with new billboard
 

PETA targets Cherokee bear treatment with new billboard

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is continuing to target bear pits on the Cherokee Indian Reservation, this…
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Maggie invests in festivals as form of economic development
 

Maggie invests in festivals as form of economic development

Maggie Valley took a leap of faith this year with its inaugural Red, White and Boom festival. It was a…
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Diagonal parking in Sylva: an exercise in blind faith
 

Diagonal parking in Sylva: an exercise in blind faith

It’s a typical late afternoon weekday in Hollifield Jewelers on Main Street in Sylva, with four or five customers in…
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Red Cross to close only office west of Asheville
 

Red Cross to close only office west of Asheville

Since 1917, the Red Cross has flown its archetypal white flag in Haywood County. In the 94 years that have…
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Touching down in 48 states: Six days in the cockpit with peanut butter sandwiches
 

Touching down in 48 states: Six days in the cockpit with peanut butter sandwiches

When Mike Schoonover was 10 years old, he had a transformative experience. It wasn’t a religious conversion per se. There…
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The historical perspective: who’s dry, who’s wet
 

The historical perspective: who’s dry, who’s wet

Alcohol has historically been slow to come to the mountains — much slower than the rest of the state. Only…
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Poll results bode well for supporters of countywide alcohol sales in Jackson
 

Poll results bode well for supporters of countywide alcohol sales in Jackson

Whether you’re a college student in Cullowhee or a socialite in Cashiers, stocking up on beer, wine and spirits requires…
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Bottoms up? Alcohol vote on next year’s ballot in Jackson County
 

Bottoms up? Alcohol vote on next year’s ballot in Jackson County

Voters in Jackson County will get to decide next year whether to allow alcohol sales countywide. Four of the county’s…
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Number-crunching kinks in Raleigh puts Swain behind on crafting budget
 

Number-crunching kinks in Raleigh puts Swain behind on crafting budget

Swain County should finally have a budget by early August, nearly six weeks after the start of the new fiscal…
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