The annual PlottFest celebration will take place from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 17, Maggie Valley Festival Grounds.

A weekend event celebrating the history and heritage of the Plott Hound, the official state dog of North Carolina — a breed originated by the Plott family that gained worldwide notoriety in the Great Smokies. 

Americana/bluegrass act the Darren Nicholson Band will hit the stage for an intimate performance at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, May 11, at the Cataloochee Ranch in Maggie Valley. 

As part of the “Cowee School Concert Series,” Americana/bluegrass ensemble Aubrey Eisenman & The Clydes will perform at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 10, at the Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center in Franklin. 

The world premiere of “Junie B. Jones Kids!,” a brand-new adaptation of the beloved children’s book series, will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. May 9, 16 and 2 p.m. May 10-11, 17-18 at Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville. 

The 23rd annual Strawberry Jam festival will be held May 17-18 at Darnell Farms in Bryson City.

The Darnell family celebrates their locally grown strawberry crop.

Melanie Sue Bowles will join Renea Winchester for a conversation about their books, publishing and Bowles’ work at the Proud Spirit Horse Sanctuary at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 10, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

The Haywood Community Band (HCB) will kick off its 2025 season with a special concert, a “Celebration of Song and Dance,” at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 18, at the Calvary Road Baptist Church in Maggie Valley. 

The “Mother’s Day Gemboree” will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 9-10 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 11 at the Macon County Community Building in Franklin.

Rough and cut gems, minerals, fine jewelry, supplies, beads, door prizes, dealers, exhibits, demonstrations and more. 

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) will present “Quilted Expressions: A Celebration of Block-Based Art,” an innovative exhibit that reimagines the traditional quilt, throughout the month of April. 

The Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center in Waynesville has recently announced its 2025 “Pigeon Community Conversations with Storytellers Series.” 

A community jam will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 1, on the front patio of the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer or anything unplugged is invited to join. Singers are also welcomed to join in or you can just stop by and listen. 

The 22nd annual Whole Bloomin’ Thing Festival will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 10, in the Historic Frog Level District of Waynesville.

Children’s activities, local growers and artisans/crafters, flowering baskets, herbs, outdoor decor, live music and more.

Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler is encouraging equine owners to have their animals vaccinated against Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis and West Nile Virus. 

Spring and summer mean more time outdoors, but they also mean tick season. Ticks can carry serious diseases like Lyme disease, so take these steps to protect yourself and your loved ones. Haywood County Environmental Health offers these simple tips: 

• Dress Smart:

Wear long sleeves, long pants and closed-toe shoes. Tuck pants into socks to keep ticks from crawling up your legs.

• Use Repellent:

Apply EPA-registered insect repellents that contain DEET, picaridin or permethrin (on clothing only).

• Stay on Trails:

Avoid tall grass, brush and wooded areas where ticks thrive. Stick to the center of hiking trails.

• Check Yourself and Pets:

After being outdoors, do a full-body tick check. Don’t forget behind the knees, underarms and scalp. Check pets, too.

• Shower Soon:

Showering within two hours of coming inside can help remove ticks and reduce your risk of infection.

• Remove Ticks Promptly:

Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick close to the skin and pull upward steadily. Clean the bite area with alcohol or soap and water.

• Stay safe, stay vigilant and enjoy the outdoors responsibly.

For more information, visit cdc.gov/ticks.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) State Energy Office has selected seven projects to receive more than $20 million to improve North Carolina’s electric grid.

Full-time residents of Haywood, Jackson and Buncombe counties can save money playing golf at Lake Junaluska Golf Course with a seasonal rate discount card. 

Do you have a gardening question? NC State Extension Master Gardener volunteers are available to answer your questions about lawns, vegetables, flowers, trees and ornamental plants; disease, insect, weed or wildlife problems; soils (including soil test results) and fertilizers; freeze and frost damage; and cultural and chemical solutions to pest problems. 

The Franklin Bird Club leads walks along the Greenway on Wednesday mornings at 8 a.m. through September. Walks start at alternating locations: Macon County Public Library, Big Bear Park and Salali Lane. 

Kids ages 10-14 in Jackson County will have the chance to learn the ins and out of archery.

The course will be held from 2-5 p.m. May 17 at the Cashiers/Glenville Recreation Center. 

Duke Energy Foundation has awarded United Way of Haywood County a $25,000 grant to expand its post-Helene efforts in western North Carolina. The funding is part of $500,000 in new grants from Duke Energy Foundation awarded to 20 nonprofits supporting long-term recovery efforts in western North Carolina. 

Gov. Josh Stein announced that the Dogwood Health Trust, the Duke Endowment and the State of North Carolina have distributed $55 million to 2,812 small businesses through the Western North Carolina Small Business Initiative. These grants are supporting Western North Carolina businesses impacted by Hurricane Helene and bolstering regional economic recovery. More than 7,300 businesses applied.  

David Moore and Darren Whatley place a lot of value on public education, having both attended public universities. Moore is an alumnus of the University of South Alabama and began his graduate studies at the University of Tübingen, Germany, while Whatley attended Louisiana State University and the University of Texas.

But Western Carolina University holds a special place in their hearts, as the Highlands residents have pledged an estate legacy gift in excess of $10 million to the university. It’s the largest planned gift in WCU’s history.

“We’re excited about the potential at Western,” Moore said. “We’re excited for the students who are attracted to Western and graduate from Western, the productive lives they will lead, and the impact that they will have in their communities.”

Whatley and Moore’s generous gift will be allocated to several programs and departments that the two have an interest in.  

Forty percent of the gift will be designated for the David Moore Office of Global Engagement, which supports WCU’s academic activities abroad, including the hosting of international students, faculty-led travel and study abroad programs and other resources.

Another 40% will be devoted to the Darren Whatley School of Art and Design. The school offers undergraduate degree programs in interior design, studio arts, graphic design and art education, as well as a Master of Fine Arts program.

The last 20% will be issued to the Moore Whatley Honors College Program Endowment, which will support programs within the Brinson Honors College.

Moore and Whatley are very interested in all three of these programs, as Moore is an advocate for international learning, Whatley, an interior designer, has a rapport with the interior design program at WCU, and they have both supported the Brinson Honors College for several years.

“The generosity of David Moore and Darren Whatley to WCU over the years is unmatched,” said WCU Chancellor Kelli R. Brown. “Their ten-million-dollar legacy gift, the largest planned gift in Western Carolina University’s history, will transform the lives of our students for generations to come. I am profoundly grateful that David and Darren have chosen WCU to receive this gift, which is a tangible expression of their passion and commitment to the future of western North Carolina.”

WCU has played a part in their lives, and they know that WCU is of great importance to this part of the state.  Whatley said that “WCU is the economic engine of the western part of the state.”

The fact that nearly 40% of the students at WCU are first generation college students and that tuition is only $500 per semester for North Carolina residents, are additional reasons that Moore and Whatley support the university.

While both grew up near the Gulf Coast, the couple has called Western North Carolina home for more than 25 years, and they’ve certainly made it home with their community involvement.

Moore, a retired corporate banker, is chairman of the Community Care Clinic of Highlands-Cashiers and serves on several Highlands-Cashiers boards, as well as the Brinson Honors College advisory board and the WCU Foundation.

Whatley, who leads a local interior design firm, is chairman of the Town of Highlands Planning Board and serves on the Highlands Performing Arts Center Board of Directors.

“This has been home,” Whatley said. “Western Carolina is a special place and WCU is a primary focus for us.”

The 22nd annual Whole Bloomin’ Thing Festival will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 10, in the Historic Frog Level District of Waynesville.

Children’s activities, local growers and artisans/crafters, flowering baskets, herbs, outdoor decor, live music and more.

Musical duo Brian Ashley Jones and Melanie Jean will perform from 5-8 p.m. Friday, May 2, at the Cataloochee Ranch in Maggie Valley.

Jones is a soulful singer, acclaimed guitarist and versatile touring songwriter, one whose guitar-driven blues and country tunes have been featured in film, television and radio.

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) will present “Quilted Expressions: A Celebration of Block-Based Art,” an innovative exhibit that reimagines the traditional quilt, throughout the month of April. 

Shortly after a wildfire broke out in the Lower Alarka region of Swain County, Southwestern Community College’s Megan Nicholson made arrangements to help firefighters and emergency management teams set up their temporary command center at SCC’s Swain Center. 

People can get their Lake Junaluska Summer Activity Passes now. Enjoy admission to the lakeside pool all summer long as well as discounts on recreation, shopping and dining at Lake Junaluska. Passes are valid from May 24 through Sept. 1, 2025, and are now available online at bit.ly/LJSummerPasses. 

The National Park Service (NPS), in partnership with Friends of the Smokies, is beginning a multi-year rehabilitation of the iconic Bullhead Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

On Sunday, May 4 with the cooperation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the North Shore Cemetery Association will host decorations at Woody and Hoyle Cemeteries. 

The National Park Service has selected LeConte Lodge L.P. as the concessioner for the new contract to provide services at LeConte Lodge in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This contract will be effective for 10 years from 2025 to 2035. 

Join Jackson County Recreation from 2-5 p.m. Sunday, May 4, at Cullowhee Valley School for a bike rodeo.

This is a bicycle safety event where when you register you get a free helmet (while supplies last). All children will also be entered in a raffle to win a bike. 

Haywood Regional Medical Center is offering free sports physicals for local student athletes on Tuesday, May 13, at the Haywood Regional Health and Fitness Center in Clyde.

Master gardener volunteers will be on hand at a booth on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month, May through August, at Haywood’s Historic Farmers Market in Waynesville in the HART Theater parking lot. 

Visitors should prepare for planned routine road maintenance in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 

Park maintenance crews will implement temporary, single-lane closures along the north and southbound Spur between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge through May 1 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and then from May 5-8 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

The Franklin farmers market will open up for the season beginning May. 

Tuscola High School senior Hunter Sollie has received a prestigious appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, one of the nation’s most selective and esteemed military institutions.

In celebration of National Travel and Tourism Week, the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority invites the public to an open house event on Thursday, May 8, from 3 to 6 p.m., at the Haywood County Visitor Center, located at 91 North Lakeshore Drive in Lake Junaluska. 

Lake Junaluska’s Spring Plant Sale will be 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at the Nanci Weldon Memorial Gym.  

For sale will be a few thousand plants, including an assortment of annuals, perennials, herbs and vegetables, hanging baskets and several varieties of native plants from the Corneille Bryan Native Garden, said Melissa Marshall, Lake Junaluska director of grounds. 

The West Swain Fire Department — an all-volunteer department — is hosting its 31st annual bass tournament and BBQ dinner.

The event will be held from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 3 at the Almond Boat Park at Fontana Lake. 

The Jackson County ‘Headwaters District’ Conservation Plan seeks to apply an objective, fact-based approach to assessing the conservation and development priorities of communities within the southern half of Jackson County.

The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council has classified most of the state as at least abnormally dry with only a few counties entirely normal. Over half of the state’s counties are abnormally while 42 counties — all east of The Smoky Mountain News coverage area — are in a moderate drought. Onslow County is in a severe drought. 

Registration for youth flag Football clinics and youth flag football league is now open. Registration will remain so until April 28 for the clinic and May 15 for the league.

The Franklin Bird Club leads walks along the Greenway on Wednesday mornings at 8 a.m. through September. Walks start at alternating locations: Macon County Public Library, Big Bear Park and Salali Lane. 

A new business focused on printing giclees officially opened in Waynesville last week. 

Smoky Mountain Studios, a sister business of neighboring Twigs & Leaves Gallery, is operated by Anna Melton, who has worked in that industry for a decade. 

A rising Americana/bluegrass act, the Asheville Mountain Boys, will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 19, at The Scotsman Public House in Waynesville. 

Western Carolina University will welcome eight-time Emmy-nominated showrunner Dan Tapster to talk about the making of our planet. 

On Sunday, April 27, with the cooperation with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the North Shore Cemetery Association will begin a year of decorations at Branton and Lower Noland Creek Cemeteries.

Spring is here, and it’s time for that childhood tradition of fishing at the local fishing hole. To honor and promote that tradition, the USDA Forest Service and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency will host two “Kids Fishing Day” events during April in the Cherokee National Forest’s Ocoee/Hiwassee Ranger District.

Haywood County has partnered with Consolidated Waste Services and EcoFlo to hold its spring Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 26, at the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) located at 278 Recycle Rd. in Clyde. 

The N.C. Department of Transportation’s Spring Litter Sweep kicked off April 12 and runs through April 26. This biannual cleanup event invites residents across the state to bag litter and beautify roadsides, all while helping protect North Carolina’s natural charm.