You sure as heck can pack a lot into 365 days, especially when it comes to the immensely vibrant arts and culture scenes right here in our backyard of Western North Carolina. 

Below are excerpts from some of our most important stories that involved arts/culture in our area this year. In my honest opinion, the true litmus test of the beauty, strength and resiliency of a community resides in how well its arts/culture are supported.

Beyond this recap of 2024, I’d like to also encourage each and every single one of you in the impending New Year to perhaps finally take on that art project, hobby or skillset you’ve been putting off for way too long. Discover your creativity and explore its endless depths.

To that point, have you been thinking about picking up an instrument as your resolution for Jan. 1 onward? Do it. Do it now. I finally tried my hand at learning guitar during the 2020 shutdown and I haven’t been able to put it down ever since. In truth, I wish I had done so years (and years) ago. No matter, my smile remains.

With delving into any new passion in life, don’t feel overwhelmed. Trust me, just 10 minutes a day spent in the arts will do wonders for your heart and soul, not to mention that of society at-large. As they say (and it works), “Eat the elephant one bite at a time.”

Oh, if you needed a sign from somewhere in the cosmic universe to pursue and immerse yourself in these untapped talents within you, well, this is your sign. And yes, I’m specifically talking to you.

Support the arts. Support local artists. Support small business.

Mountain power: Artists come together for flood relief albums

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in September, there has been numerous initiatives put forth by local Western North Carolina musicians to raise funds and provide aid to those in need.

From benefit concerts to much-needed supply drives, backyard jam sessions and art functions, all with the same ethos in mind: “anything helps and everything counts.” Which is why these latest musical projects — “Caverns of Gold” and “Cardinals at the Window” — are so impressive in nature when it comes to collaboration, camaraderie and community.

A compilation album featuring melodies from 280 artists, “Caverns of Gold” involves innumerable WNC musicians and national acts, with R.E.M., Leftover Salmon, Steep Canyon Rangers, Milk Carton Kids, North Mississippi Allstars and moe. all offering up tracks.

Clocking in at 136 songs, “Cardinals at the Window” also showcases some of the biggest names in Americana, rock and indie-folk, including Phish, Jason Isbell, Watchhouse, The War on Drugs, Futurebirds, Drive-By Truckers, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats and Hiss Golden Messenger.

“My heart breaks to see the devastation,” said M.C. Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger. “And, at the same time, I’m truly inspired by the collective, community-based, boots-on-the-ground organizing that is happening around relief efforts.”

‘Rock for Relief’ raises over $34K

In an impressive feat, the “Rock for Relief: A WNC Flood Benefit Festival” was able to garner more than $34,000 in its one-day musical extravaganza.

Held on Saturday, Nov. 2, in Waynesville and surrounding communities, the gathering consisted of over 60 artists performing at 16 venues around Haywood County.

“It’s just incredible to see how our community came together for a great cause,” said Patrick Schneider, president of Adamas Entertainment, a Waynesville-based production company who helped organize the event. “This is what live music is all about.”

Schneider noted that plans are already in the works for another similar event this coming spring, with “Rock for Relief” expected to return for its second installment next fall.

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“There will always be a call for aid to help our family, friends and neighbors here in Western North Carolina,” Schneider said. “And we want to continue to be part of the process to assist those in need.”

Proceeds were distributed between Mountain Projects, a beloved longtime nonprofit organization helping those in need in Haywood and Jackson counties, and also be given directly into the hands of local artists heavily affected by the floods through the Rock for Relief Musicians Fund.

Saddle up: Cataloochee Ranch rides into next chapter

“The [Cataloochee Ranch] has an amazing history and it’s always had this unique identity,” said Annie Colquitt. “It’s this special place in Haywood County and has been a draw [for almost a century].”

Alongside her husband, David, the Colquitts recently reopened the beloved Cataloochee Ranch. Purchased by the couple in 2020, the extensive and expensive renovation project itself has taken the better part of the last two years to complete. The official grand reopening ribbon cutting celebration was held in March.

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Coming to fruition in 1933, the Cataloochee Ranch was created by the Alexander family as a place of divine respite and outdoor adventure in the heart of Western North Carolina.  

Whether it was horseback riding up to Hemphill Bald, hiking around the vast 700-acre property, evenings eating a hearty home-cooked meal with gusto or storytelling and music around a campfire under a canopy of stars, the Cataloochee Ranch remains an escape hatch from the organized chaos of daily life way down below.

“We want the ranch to be a place that locals love, but also a place that folks come from all over,” Annie said. “Adventure is not knowing how the story is going to end.”

I am one of you forever: Remembering WNC literary icon Fred Chappell

In a November 2022 interview with The Smoky Mountain News, storied writer Fred Chappell, a Haywood County native who was 86 at the time, was asked what the culmination of his life meant to him looking back. 

“It’s taught me that I didn’t deserve what happened to me — I was too lucky for my own good,” Chappell said in his signature matter-of-fact tone.

A longtime resident of Greensboro, Chappell passed away on Jan. 4. He was 87 years old.

Chappell as a child (below), and later in life (above). File photos

As one of the most beloved and acclaimed writers in North Carolina and greater Southern Appalachia, Chappell accumulated a vast catalog of work, dozens of books poetry and prose — covering the vast unknowns and intricate beauty of the world around us, many through the lens of the mountains of his youth.

And, in his straightforward — yet heartfelt, hardscrabble ways and means — Chappell took a moment to reflect on just what it was about poetry that’s captivated his mind and existence as far back as he could remember.

“It seems to me, [poetry is] the most natural kind of a speech there is,” Chappell said. “It’s the most natural, the most elevated, and the most fun — poetry is always attractive. Everybody is immersed in poetry, whether they know it or not.”