With the spring semester soon underway at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, so, too, comes the rich, diverse and vibrant cultural programming to the Bardo Arts Center. 

Folkmoot USA will present an electrifying evening of music and cultural celebration with the Black Sea Beat Society at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville. 

A regional Americana/bluegrass act, Granny’s Mason Jar will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 11, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. 

A special production of “Footloose” will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. July 18-19, 25-27 and 2 p.m. July 20-21 and 28 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville. 

The popular Chamber Music Society of the Carolinas (CMSC) will perform at 4 p.m. July 21 and 28 at First United Methodist Church in Waynesville. 

The Summer Music Series will continue with an evening of old-time and traditional music by Susan Pepper & Sarah Songbird Burkey at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 27, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. 

A delighted crowd of more than 350 people responded with a standing ovation at the season’s opening concert of the Haywood Community Band (HCB).

Leonidas Lagrimas will present “Musical Storytellers: A Piano Recital” at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 12, at the First Presbyterian Church in Franklin.

Last week, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction released performance and growth data for the 2022-23 school year, and none of the four school districts in the Smoky Mountain News coverage area received a low-performing state designation.