HCC fiber graduate awarded Penland fellowship
Haywood Community College 2019 professional crafts fiber graduate Hannah Mitsu Shimabukuro was recently named a Penland School of Craft Core…
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This must be the place: Sunlight wakes me just to say let’s go to sleep now
The moment the song came onto my stereo, I was immediately transported to a time and a place somewhat foggy…
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Gathering of the souls: Beloved Sylva restaurant closes doors
Last Thursday evening, three days of celebration commenced within the walls of Soul Infusion Tea House & Bistro on the…
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In search of the sound: The best albums of 2019
Picking your favorite albums of any given year is a wholeheartedly subjective endeavor. You’re drawn to what immediately captures your…
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This must be the place: Life being what it is
Stepping out of my truck, I stretched my legs and proceeded to throw on my running clothes. It was nearing…
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Only slightly mad: A conversation with David Bromberg
David Bromberg doesn’t have time to wax poetic about life. But, more so he doesn’t have time to talk about…
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Sylva festival gets regional recognition
Southeast Tourism Society has named the Hook, Line and Drinker Festival in Sylva one of the STS Top 20 Events…
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Soul Infusion’s ‘Last Stand’
After some 18 years in business, there will be a special closing celebration for Soul Infusion Tea House & Bistro…
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This must be the place: Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road
It was around midnight when I crossed the Mason-Dixon Line. With Maryland now in the rearview mirror, I pushed into…
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Haywood Arts calendar now available
The Haywood County Arts Council has announced the eight local photographers who have been selected for publication in the 2020…
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Nocturnal Brewing offers fine ales in Hayesville
For a place that was dry just a decade ago, Clay County is now home to one of the finest…
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This must be the place: There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars
Give or take, it’s about 1,010 miles from Waynesville, North Carolina (my current home) to Plattsburgh, New York (my hometown).…
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Viva Arts Studio becomes creative hot spot in Sylva
Standing in a two-bay garage in downtown Sylva last Friday afternoon, Victoria Shufelt was putting the final touches on a…
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This must be the place: Roads that we abandon and others that we take
As the decade comes to a close, I sip this cup o’joe in a quiet coffee shop in a small…
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Arnold Hill album release shows
Americana/rock act Arnold Hill will be hitting the stage at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13, at the Lazy Hiker Brewing…
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Arnold Hill releases new album, offers holiday shows
Amid the plethora of talented bluegrass, Americana and string acts in Western North Carolina, the idea of a rock trio…
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Waynesville coffee shop gets national recognition
Orchard Coffee in downtown Waynesville was recently recognized as one of “The Best Coffee Shops in America: 2019” by Food…
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This must be the place: Can’t I live while I’m young?
It was about halfway into the quirky tune “My Sweet One” when the memories started to flood my field of…
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Orchard Coffee welcomes popular songwriters
Last Saturday evening at Orchard Coffee in Waynesville, two nationally acclaimed singer-songwriters stepped in front of microphones and projected their…
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This must be the place: And what it all comes down to, is that everything’s gonna be fine
My eyelids fluttered open and it took me a couple moments to realize that I was in my apartment and…
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Since I laid my burden down
In just seven years together, the members of Sister Sadie have risen into the upper echelon of the modern bluegrass…
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This must be the place: Often I have thoughts and dreams, lying silent on my tongue
With the recent “10-year challenge” on Facebook — where folks compare photos of themselves from 2009, as a way to…
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Finding the beauty within: Green Orchid Soap
Tucked in the depths of Wall Street in Waynesville, the Green Orchid Soap Co. is meant to be found by…
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This must be the place: No fear or shame in the dignity of your experience, language and knowledge
When I was a kid, my parents would talk to anybody. Literally anybody. Though my little sister was somewhat embarrassed…
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Folkmoot ‘Mountain Memories’ series
Folkmoot is proud to partner with the Mountain Memories organization and Waynesville’s own Bob Plott to launch the Mountain Memories…
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This must be the place: Don’t ever let life pass you by
With over 2,000 folks piling into the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in downtown Asheville for Incubus on Thursday evening, those in…
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Don’t ever let life pass you by: Incubus roars through Asheville
With over 2,000 folks piling into the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in downtown Asheville for Incubus on Thursday evening, those in…
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This must be the place: Roads that we abandon and others that we take
When I lace up my running shoes lately, I’ve found that I usually need to add a windbreaker on top…
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Don’t sweat the small stuff – just play: A conversation with Jimmy Herring
Longtime guitarist for legendary rock act Widespread Panic, Jimmy Herring’s sole focus as a musician is — and has always…
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WCU professor in Appalachian music, migration film
Musicians, not actors, propel a recently-released movie about hard times in Depression-era Appalachia that is gaining recognition and awards on…
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HCAC Studio Tour, logo winner
The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) is pleased to announce the winner of the Haywood County Open Studio Tour logo…
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This must be the place: Drifting back down to earth at the peak of beauty
It was right around 3 p.m. when I knew I had to escape. Sitting in the Panacea Coffeehouse in the…
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The poetry of freedom
One of the most alluring and enduring qualities of the art of poetry is the vast spectrum of forms it…
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Mountain of pain: Beloved Missouri blues-rock act to play Water’n Hole
Cutting through the onslaught of monotonous bar bands and diluted midnight hour showcases like a buzz saw gone haywire, The…
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This must be the place: What came first, the anger or the words?
In my 12 years as a professional journalist, I’ve seen and heard the good, the bad, and the ugly of…
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Fingers like lightning: Remembering Raymond Fairchild (1939-2019)
Raymond Fairchild — a bluegrass legend in Western North Carolina — passed away unexpectedly Sunday afternoon at the age of…
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This must be the place: That’s the way it goes, first your money then your clothes
For a moment, I had thought I’d gone crazy. Standing in the laundromat just a block away from my apartment…
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This must be the place: Seen so many places, still don’t know where I’m bound
My 2019 festival season is over as of this past Sunday night at the “Blue Ridge Jam” at Pisgah Brewing…
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Running jumping standing still: A conversation with Charlie Parr
In the matter of a song, Charlie Parr can make you laugh and cry, all while finding simple meanings and…
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This must be the place: Breakin’ ties that you’d grown, catchin’ dreams from the clouds
The crisp air now wafts into the open windows of my quiet apartment in downtown Waynesville. The ushering in of…
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In search of that ‘high, lonesome sound’: IBMA awards showcase celebrates 30 years
Just before he entered the main auditorium of the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh this past…
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Free from society’s handpicked hypocrisy: A conversation with G. Love
For the better part of the last three decades, G. Love (aka: Garrett Dutton) and his band Special Sauce have…
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Where I’m going I’ll be seeing you: A conversation with Marcus King
At 23, guitarist Marcus King has quickly transitioned from a prodigy into a bonafide legend on the electric six-string. Crisscrossing…
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This must be the place: Their music being born of love, children danced night and day
This past weekend at Kickin’ It On The Creek marked my 20th music festival in the last 27 weeks.
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Will the circle be unbroken: Ken Burns on new country music documentary, a life in filmmaking
Clocking in at over 16 hours, the new Ken Burns documentary “Country Music” is an extremely detailed and intricate look…
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This must be the place: Hear that lonesome whippoorwill, he sounds too blue to fly
I’ve been feeling some overwhelming gratitude this week during the premiere and continued rollout of Ken Burns’ 16.5-hour PBS documentary…
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This must be the place: When I pass by all the people say, just another guy on the lost highway
Last Sunday morning, at the intersection of U.S. 1 and Route 27 in Wiscasset, Maine, I decided to turn right…
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Sylva’s White Moon serves up more than just coffee
It’s a serendipitous sort of happenstance when you stumble across the White Moon coffee shop. Tucked in the depths of…
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This must be the place: Where will you take me? What will we do?
Pulling off Interstate 87 onto Route 9, the fading sun lowered itself behind the cornfields and open meadows of the…
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In their own words: Smoky Mountain Folk Festival
The 50th annual Smoky Mountain Folk Festival will be held on Aug. 30-31 at the Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat…
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