Evergreen Family Medical Center in Canton is no longer making new appointments for patients as it prepares to shutter its doors March 31.

Canton has decided not to spend upwards of $60,000 to bring in a nationally known headlining music act for Labor Day, but town aldermen feel like they’ve reached an agreement that will make everyone happy.

Acclaimed bluegrass act Balsam Range will welcome the Snyder Family Band as part of their Winter Concert Series at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at the Colonial Theatre in Canton.

When he thinks of the Colonial Theatre, Zeb Smathers sees untapped potential.

“There are so many things it can used for — movies, concerts, plays, school productions,” he said. “It’s been a goal of mine from early on to use the Colonial for not just more things, but also in new ways.”

Canton will continue researching recommended changes to the town’s Labor Day celebration despite several aldermen expressing reservations about changing the venue and recruiting a national headlining band for a Sunday night concert.

After mulling over proposed changes presented at a recent workshop, the aldermen said they heard from several concerned constituents who weren’t in favor of the recommended changes.

Event organizers may have to go through a more thorough application process if the Canton Board of Aldermen adopts a new special events policy.

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.

Evergreen Packaging in Canton plans to close the Evergreen Family Medical Center and pharmacy on March 31, but county officials are working behind the scenes to entice one of the area hospitals to keep it open.

Evergreen employees and their families are now rallying around Dr. Tony Jones and his staff at the clinic and pharmacy with the hope that Haywood Regional Medical Center, recently purchased by Duke LifePoint, or Mission Health in Asheville will swoop in to save the day.

The town of Canton is moving forward with plans to upgrade its public swimming pool after interviewing several design consultants last week.

Town Manager Seth Hendler-Voss said the board of aldermen decided this spring to make renovations to the town pool and approved funding to hire consultants to walk them through the design process. 

With a focus on improving recreation options for residents with limited funding, the town of Canton is using crowdsourcing methods for the first time to raise money to make playground repairs. 

“Our playground is the only one in town,” said Canton Town Manager Seth Hendler-Voss. “It gets a lot of use, but unfortunately it is not efficient in many of the safety standards. We are making an effort to make specific improvements to bring it into national playground safety compliance.”