Canton’s annual Labor Day Celebration has been a beloved community tradition for more than 100 years. 

As attendance and excitement have started to wane over the last few years, however, the town is looking at ideas to revamp the holiday weekend events, including bringing in a nationally known band for a Sunday night concert at Pisgah High School’s stadium.

Tracy O’Neil has a lot less weight on his shoulders these days.

“We never accepted that we could lose the camp,” he said. “If we had lost the camp, we would have lost a cornerstone of the history of our community.”

Sipping a cup of coffee at Panacea Coffeehouse in Waynesville one recent morning, O’Neil relaxes into his seat, only to lean forward enthusiastically each time he speaks of the past, present and future of Camp Hope — a longtime community gathering spot for Haywood County and beyond. 

With each throw, Scott Medlin is connecting to his ancestors.

“The Scottish Highland Games need to be preserved because most of the gatherings included athletic competitions, with each clan gathered around cheering on their representative of the clan,” the 58-year-old said. “It’s really about the competition and knowing that I too have done this and there’s not many people in the world that can do this.”

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

Families can partake in wagon rides, iceless skating, craft sales and art demonstrations, all the while enjoying authentic mountain music, clogging and parades throughout several downtowns. These are just some of the activities happening around the region, with each and every date, time and place found within this section.

Richard Miller can’t believe the Church Street Art & Craft Show is 30 years old.

“I don’t know how it got that old, and I didn’t get any older,” he chuckled. “I can’t figure that out.”

Alongside artist Teresa Pennington, Miller founded the festival in 1983. At that time, there were very few shows of its kind in the region, if any. Whereas today there’s seemingly a festival every weekend somewhere in Western North Carolina, Church Street started as a risky idea to get visitors and local residents alike to wander that part of downtown Waynesville. This year’s event will take place on Oct. 12.

The inaugural Waynesville Craft Beer Festival will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31, at the American Legion baseball field in Waynesville.

Nothing says summer more than the 4th of July, and in Western North Carolina, we celebrate Independence Day with gusto.

This year’s PlottFest will give hound enthusiasts from the region, across the country and around the globe a chance to celebrate their favorite breed of dog in its ancestral home.

Although the fledgling festival, only in its second year, will showcase a wide variety of mountain music, fishing and other events, this year, organizers have decided to place an emphasis on the pride of Haywood: the Plott hound, which has been deemed the state dog of North Carolina.

Amid the cherished traditions of Western North Carolina is the deep foundation of family and friends getting together to celebrate their heritage, whether it be through music, dance, food or craft. 

The 16th annual Greening Up the Mountains festival takes place Saturday, April 27, on Main and Mill streets in historic downtown Sylva.

This free festival celebrates spring in the mountains, when the greening leaves work their way up the Great Smoky Mountains. It also celebrates the greening of the environment, with info about sustainable living and presentations by environmental groups.

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