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Folkmoot USA will present Maritzaida & Raíces Emma-Erwin Latin America Dancers at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 2, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.
The Appalachian Women’s Museum “Airing of the Quilts” will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at the museum in Dillsboro.
Directed by Don Kirkindoll, the Haywood Choral Society will perform its spring concert, “Cry Out for Peace,” at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 28, at First United Methodist Church of Waynesville.
A cherished gathering of locals and visitors alike, “Art After Dark” will launch its 2024 season from 6-9 p.m. Friday, May 3, in downtown Waynesville.
Regional rock/jam group Arnold Hill will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 27, at The Scotsman Public House in Waynesville.
Local author Pamela Volpert will read from her book, “The Tribes of the Littles,” at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 27, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.
Americana/folk singer-songwriter Woolybooger will perform at 5 p.m. Sunday, April 28, at Mountain Layers Brewing in Bryson City.
The National Park Service (NPS), in partnership with Catalyst Sports, Knox County, Kampgrounds of America Foundation and Friends of the Smokies, announced the expansion of adaptive ranger-led programs in 2024.
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) is confirming 13 new cases of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) from deer samples submitted since July 1, 2023.
Western North Carolina is a hiker’s paradise.
With so much land protected by national and state forests and parks, those who live in the Western North Carolina area have endless hiking opportunities.
University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans this week appointed Drake Fowler as the new executive director of The North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville.
Six new recipients in Western North Carolina have been awarded grants to participate in the MADE X MTNS Partnership’s Building Outdoor Communities Program.
Balsam Mountain Trust announced its seventh-annual Bird Festival celebrating World Migratory Bird Day.
The Henderson County Beekeepers association is reminding people that if they see a bee swarm, they shouldn’t disturb it.
The Primary Election season isn’t quite over in North Carolina, as several races didn’t meet the 30% vote threshold to deliver outright wins to top finishers. In The Smoky Mountain News coverage area across Western North Carolina, voters have two Republican runoffs to watch — Hal Weatherman and Jim O’Neill for the lieutenant governor position currently held by Republican Mark Robinson, and Jack Clark and Dave Boliek for the state auditor position currently held by Democrat Jessica Holmes, who was appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper after fellow Democrat Beth Wood resigned in 2023.
Question: If there is a long list of ingredients that sound like chemicals on a food package, should I avoid buying it?
Women of Waynesville, a nonprofit organization that supports the needs of women and children in Haywood County, is inviting all interested women to attend an open house and membership drive event. The event will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. on Thursday, April 25, at the Folkmoot Auditorium, 112 Virginia Ave., Waynesville, and will give prospective members an opportunity to learn more about WOW and its mission, before making the decision to join.
WOW is an all-women, all-volunteer organization. The group currently has about 30 members and is operated by a six-member board of directors and working committees. Members meet twice monthly at Folkmoot, with the mission of coming up with new and fun ways to raise money for women and children. Since forming in 2012, WOW has helped raise more than $250,000 for other nonprofits and individuals in need, including Haywood Habitat for Humanity, Haywood Pathways Center, Mountain Projects, Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters, KARE, REACH, Haywood County Schools Foundation, Meals on Wheels, Feeding the Multitude and so many others.
While WOW works hard to meet its goals, members also know how to have fun with regularly planned socials like whitewater rafting, cookouts, concerts and other team-building activities, to give everyone a chance to get to know each other. New members will be paired with a mentor in the group to show you the ropes and support you through your WOW journey.
"We work hard toward our mission, but we also take time to support each other as women, which is not something you'll find with other nonprofits," said WOW President Becca Swanger. "Our tight-knit group is strong, and we want to continue that momentum by bringing in new members who share our passion for being a positive force in the community.
The Open House is a free event and open to all women who live or work in Haywood County. WOW will provide food and drinks.
The Haywood County Chamber of Commerce announced the appointment of David Francis as its new president.
A multi-day event celebrating Appalachian heritage, Carolina Heritage Weekend will take place April 18-20 around Haywood County.
Presented by the Town of Sylva, the 26th annual Greening Up the Mountains festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 27, in downtown Sylva.
A production of “I’ll Eat You Last” will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. April 19-20, 26-27 and 2 p.m. April 21 and 28 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.
Rising singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alma Russ will hit the stage at 5 p.m. Sunday, April 21, at Mountain Layers Brewing Company in Bryson City.
Author Tiffany Hall will present her new book, “Bigger,” at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville.
For four decades, Western Carolina University has participated in a daylong effort of cleaning up a portion of Jackson County’s Tuckasegee River.
The North Carolina Arboretum is heralding spring’s arrival with the return of “Bloom with a View,” May 4-19.
The National Park Service (NPS) will close Ramsey Cascades Trail on weekdays while trail crews finish the full-scale rehabilitation work started in 2022.
The Haywood County Extension Office is presenting a free class on “square-foot gardening,” a simple, versatile system that takes up less space and requires less work and water to cultivate.
Lake Junaluska’s yearly plant sale is May 4.
For sale will be a few thousand plants, including an assortment of annuals, perennials, herbs and vegetables, and several varieties of native plants from the Corneille Bryan Native Garden, said Melissa Tinsley, Lake Junaluska director of grounds.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park received approximately $11 million in funding from the Great American Outdoors Act Legacy Restoration Fund to rehabilitate a two-mile section of Newfound Gap Road near Gatlinburg. The rehabilitation project will include single-lane closures.
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.
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.
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Question: If there is a long list of ingredients that sound like chemicals on a food package, should I avoid buying it?
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Did you know that ingredients are listed from most to least? What that means is that when you see the list of ingredients on a food package, the ingredients appear in the order in which the product has the most to which ingredients are in the smallest amount in the package.
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When you’re busy it’s easy to grab something like a candy bar or soda to give you a quick hit of energy, but the reality is that those types of snacks are high in sugar which won’t keep you full, satisfied or fueled for long. Some better snack ideas:
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