Organizers with the Mountain State Fair sponsored by Ingles Markets are busy preparing to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the fair with the new entertainment and an expanded Got to Be NC Pavilion featuring 22 new outdoor vendors. 

As part of the “Pigeon Community Conversations with Storytellers Series,” social entrepreneur, veteran and visual and performing artist DeWayne Barton will speak at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 13, at the Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center, located at 450 Pigeon St. in Waynesville. 

The annual QuickDraw art fundraiser will once again be held in-person from 4:30-9 p.m. Saturday, June 15, at Laurel Ridge Country Club in Waynesville. 

Tickets are now on sale for Winter Lights, an open-air walk-through light show of more than 1 million lights running Nov. 17-Dec. 31 at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville.

Advance tickets are now on sale for the N.C. Mountain State Fair, slated for Sept. 8-17 at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center in Fletcher.