A beloved annual tradition, the “Christmas at Lake Junaluska” celebration will be held Dec. 12-14 at the Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center. 

As the temperature drops in Western North Carolina, the fun only heats up. The holiday season here is filled with events and activities aimed to celebrate the best way we know how — with friends, family and visitors alike. 

Normally, when I’m interviewing storied Haywood County musician Darren Nicholson, we’d be talking either about an upcoming gig of his or a new album coming down the pipeline. But, today, we’re talking all things Christmas trees. 

“Well, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” Nicholson tells me when I ask him about how to pick out the perfect tree for the holidays.

A packed slate of weekend events is on tap as Western Carolina University rolls out the welcome mat for alumni and friends to return to campus Nov. 7-8 for Homecoming 2025, including a parade and party in the university’s adopted hometown of Sylva. 

Seeking guidance, Jackson County Public Library board members met with County Manager Kevin King last week hoping to learn more about what, exactly, the lame-duck advisory board should do to prepare for operating an independent library over the next nine months. 

Haywood County will mark the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene this week with a series of commemorations beginning during the opening ceremonies of the annual Haywood County Fair.

In a move that will raise some eyebrows and just as many questions, the decades-long dance festival put on by Folkmoot USA in Waynesville has quietly been eliminated. 

The long and storied tradition that is the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games returns to MacRae Meadows on Thursday, July 10, continuing through Sunday, July 13. 

The following events will be held at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

• Elizabeth and Quintin Ellison will present “Land of Blue Shadows: Mountain Life in Verse & View” — a poetry and photography collaboration with the late George Ellison — at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 14.

From June 27 to 29, IDEA Haywood will present the second annual “Pride on Main” celebration in Waynesville under the banner, “y’all means all.”

Festivities begin Friday, June 27, at 9 p.m. with a kickoff event at the Water’n Hole Bar & Grill. On Saturday, Pride begins at 10 a.m. at the Haywood County Courthouse with opening remarks and performances by Grand Marshal Kat Williams, an Emmy-nominated singer.