One of the newest and most exciting acts emerging from Asheville, Las Montañitas will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 22, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.

Las Montañitas brings the Andes to the Appalachians.

The Friends of the Haywood County Public Library will host acclaimed novelist Jill McCorkle at their Annual Author event at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 15, at the Wells Event Center in Waynesville.

There’s a quote that’s stuck with me since I first heard it recently. It’s actually in the story I wrote last week about the newly-opened Astro Record Store in Waynesville: “There’s enjoyment and there’s convenience. As things become more and more convenient, I think people look for ways to invest their time and find enjoyment.” 

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 16 and 2 p.m. May 17-18 at Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville. 

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

One recent afternoon, while wandering the Historic Frog Level District in Waynesville, the sounds of hard rock act AC/DC drifted out the front door of 24 Commerce St. The retro sign on the window states Astro Record Store. The friendly face behind the counter is Kevin “Lippy” Mawby. 

I’m sitting alone in the cockpit of the boat anchored at Cape Lookout National Seashore off the coast of North Carolina in the early morning, and I’m about to write a column about tourism. Sipping my coffee, though, I’m distracted as a cool May breeze rattles the halyards. 

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.

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. 

In a town where history lives not just in the pages of books but on every brick-lined sidewalk, beneath every gabled rooftop and deep within every stately mansion, Waynesville’s Historic Preservation Commission is stepping boldly into the future by leaning into a past that, for many locals, hasn’t yet passed.