Youth Tennis Lessons at Mark Watson Park in Sylva will begin on May 4. 

Agriculture Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack declared a natural disaster in North Carolina based on losses caused by drought that occurred beginning Nov. 1, 2023, and continuing. 

Although it has been four years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the effects are still being felt around the world, especially in rural communities that do not have adequate access to health resources. 

The Smoky Mountain Academic Robotics Team (SMART) brought home the Impact Award at the Mecklenburg District FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition event in Charlotte last month and will advance to the FIRST North Carolina District Championship. 

A National Day of Prayer service will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 2, at the outdoor amphitheater below the Cross at Lake Junaluska. 

UPDATED April 29: NCORR has received over the program budget in interested applicants for the Homeowners Assistance Program. NCORR is pausing the application to ensure current applicants were eligible and submitted all required documentation.

The N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) is supporting Haywood County in the April 22 launch of its Homeownership Assistance Program (HAP) to assist homebuyers displaced by Tropical Storm Fred or first-time homebuyers that are income qualified. 

An intoxicated Jackson County man who drove at a high rate of speed and careened into two other cars, killing the second vehicle’s driver and seriously injuring a passenger, will serve more than 14 years in prison, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said. 

The Haywood County Tax Assessors Office is currently conducting a comprehensive reappraisal of all properties within the county for the 2025 tax year.

The production “Trailblazing Women of Country: A Tribute to Patsy, Loretta, and Dolly” will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18, at the Bardo Fine & Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. 

In conjunction with Haywood County’s “Carolina Heritage Weekend,” Folkmoot USA will present The Well Drinkers at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 18, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville. 

Author Sarah Dean will host a special reading and signing from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, April 13, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville. 

Legendary rockers Cracker and Kevn Kinney (of Drivin’ N’ Cryin’) will perform on Saturday, April 13, at the Murphy Music & Brews festival in downtown Murphy. 

The Ubuntu Choir of the Great Smoky Mountains will perform a program of uplifting music from around the world at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 14, at the First Presbyterian Chapel in Franklin.

The North Carolina Symphony will host a special concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18, at the Chief Joyce Dugan Cultural Arts Center at the Cherokee Central School. 

Wildcat Ridge Farm is welcoming visitors throughout May to enjoy the peonies in bloom. 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s “Signs of Spring” event celebrating National American Sign Language Day will be back for the second year in Cades Cove on Saturday, April 13 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

The nonprofit Green Built Alliance will host the second-annual Earth Day 5K, presented by Pine Gate Renewables on April 20. 

In the first year since Great Smoky Mountains National Park launched the Park it Forward program, the fee has generated over $10 million in revenue, which includes parking tag sales and camping fees.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with funding from the Great American Outdoors Act Legacy Restoration Fund, will finish the approximate $15.7 million repair and rehabilitation of Lakeview Drive that started last year.

Join Jackson County Parks and Recreation for the department’s bike rodeo. 

The Smoky Mountain Beekeepers are welcoming N.C. Extension Agent Minda Daughtry to talk about how to support bees and other pollinators in personal gardens. 

The senior games are coming to Haywood County beginning April 17, and adults 50 and older are invited to participate in a whole series of events, from swimming to pickleball to poker. 

A Swain County man is facing a federal charge for allegedly killing his wife in 2013, announced Dena J. King U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. 

Throughout Western North Carolina, there is a critical need for pediatric psychologists to conduct testing and provide other resources needed for children to be successful in and out of the classroom. 

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey is calling on motorists to focus solely on the road and do all they can to help prevent accidents during Distracted Driving Awareness Month, which runs throughout April across the United States. 

Jazz artist John Brown will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 5, at the Peacock Performing Arts Center in Hayesville. 

A rock-n-roll power trio tribute to the sound, music and vibe of Jimi Hendrix, Imij of Soul will hit the stage at 9 p.m. Saturday, April 6, at The Gem downstairs taproom at Boojum Brewing in Waynesville. 

The Riley Howell Foundation Fund’s (RHFF) yearly fundraiser race, the Mighty Four Miler, will take place at 8 a.m. on Saturday, April 6, in downtown Waynesville. 

Haywood County Recreation will host a series of spring hikes throughout April. Here’s a look at what’s coming up. 

Presented by The Smoky Mountain News, the fourth annual Gateway to the Smokies half-marathon and four-miler will be held at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 6, at 285 North Main St. in Waynesville. 

The U.S. Forest Service and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) are temporarily restricting activities on or near several cliff and rock face areas in the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests to protect nesting peregrine falcons and their fledgling.  

Waynesville Parks & Recreation is currently hiring for summer camp counselors for Base Camp 2024. 

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will open approximately 1,000 miles of Hatchery Supported Trout Waters at 7 a.m. April 6. The season will run through Feb. 28, 2025. 

Experts are using the spring weather to remind people to test their soil if that has not been done in the last two to three years.

Award winning author Mark Warren will discuss his book, “Survival Tricks of the Trail,” at 6 p.m. on April 11 at the Macon County Public Library on Siler Farm Road in Franklin. 

The Nantahala Outdoor Center unveiled its newest lodging, The Hemlocks by NOC. 

Friends of Panthertown is hiring a part-time trails and stewardship assistant. 

Every year, the National Council for Black Studies, the preeminent professional Black studies organization, recognizes one academic program for outstanding achievement with the Sankore Institute Award. 

Two people in unrelated cases pleaded guilty to trafficking charges in Cherokee County, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said. 

Lake Junaluska Outfitters summer activity passes are now available. The passes provide admission to the lakeside pool all summer long, as well as discounts on recreation, shopping and dining at Lake Junaluska.

Artwork by Ralph Verano will be on display through the month of April at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. 

Asheville-based singer-songwriter Christina Chandler will perform at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 28, at The Scotsman in Waynesville. 

A special stage production of “Constellations” will be held at 7:30 p.m. April 12-13 and 2 p.m. April 14 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville. 

Popular Florida-based indie/soul singer-songwriter Shane Meade will perform at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 30, at Mountain Layers Brewing Company in Bryson City. 

There will be a contra dance class offered from 6:30-9 p.m. Saturday, April 6, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. 

The Western North Carolina Orchid Society (WNCOS) and The North Carolina Arboretum will host the 23rd Asheville Orchid Festival entitled “House of Orchids.” 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials have announced group size limits for the popular wildflower season at Whiteoak Sink. 

The open burning of trash, metal, plastic and all other man-made materials not only harms the environment and poses a public health risk, it’s against state law. 

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality is reminding North Carolinians that “If it doesn’t grow, don’t burn it.” 

Open burning is only allowed in limited circumstances and only for vegetative materials like leaves, limbs and yard debris. 

In addition, DEQ is reminding people that careless debris burning is the leading cause of wildfires in North Carolina. The N.C. Forest Service may require an open burning permit before certain fires are lit, including fires in protected areas.

Haywood Waterways will host the county’s first fishing tournament. 

With spring arriving and wildlife encounters set to increase as the weather gets warmer, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) has helpful guidance for what to do when encountering various wildlife.