The 21st annual Whole Bloomin’ Thing Festival will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 11, in the Historic Frog Level District of Waynesville. 

The 22nd annual Strawberry Jam festival will be held May 18-19 at Darnell Farms in Bryson City. 

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

The Haywood Arts Regional Theatre will open its 40th season with the enchanting Tony Award-winning musical “The Secret Garden,” which will be held at 7:30 p.m. May 30-31, June 1 and 2 p.m. June 2 on the Steve Lloyd Stage in Waynesville. 

Singer-songwriter Andrew Wakefield will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 11, at Innovation Brewing in Sylva.

The “May Gemboree” will be held May 17-19 at the Robert C. Carpenter Community Building in Franklin. 

Author Anne Jobe will be hosting a special reading at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 15, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. 

The Western Carolina University School of Nursing in Cullowhee is the recipient of a $2 million contribution from the Bedford Falls Foundation-DAF (“Bedford Falls”) that will provide scholarship support to undergraduate nursing students and enable the hiring of additional faculty to guide them in their clinical experiences. 

Haywood Community College Construction Technology students recently helped the Waynesville Housing Authority add much-needed storage behind several homes in the Ninevah housing community. 

Martin Medina, 32, an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison and three years of supervised release for a firearms offense, assaulting federal officers and assault with intent to commit murder. 

The U.S. Attorney for Western North Carolina’s office announced that a Canton man, Michael Worley, 51, has been sentenced to over three decades in prison for traveling to Fort Mill, South Carolina, to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor while being a registered sex offender. 

Efforts are continuing to bring high-speed internet access to communities across North Carolina. 

Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler is encouraging equine owners to have their animals vaccinated against Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis and West Nile Virus. 

The Carolina Mountain Club Remote Overnight Crew (ROC) convened near the Walnut Mountain shelter on the Appalachian Trail for a trail enhancement event. The outing drew 19 volunteers, who enjoyed splendid weather while working on various trail improvements.

Haywood Waterways Association and the Haywood County Environmental Health Department are hosting a workshop about septic systems. 

The U.S. Forest Service is proposing to change fees at several recreation areas on the Nantahala and Uwharrie National Forests and the public is invited to provide input to proposed fee changes for 60 days beginning on May 3 through July 2, 2024. 

Come clean up the Pigeon River in Haywood County.

On Saturday, May 18, volunteers will gather at Pigeon River Outfitters in Canton from 9-10 a.m. The cleanup is expected to finish by noon. 

NC State Extension Master Gardener volunteers staff a booth on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month (May through August) at Haywood’s Historic Farmers Market in Waynesville.

Larry Edward Wood, 62, of Mount Airy, Georgia, was sentenced to 188 months in prison late last week for trafficking methamphetamine, including in Western North Carolina. 

Gallery 164 in Waynesville welcomes esteemed woodturner Mike McKinney to its roster of talented artists. In celebration of this exciting addition, Gallery 164 will host a reception for McKinney during Art After Dark from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, May 3, in downtown Waynesville. 

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) will present the Haywood County Jazz Festival at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at Tuscola High School in Waynesville. 

Americana/bluegrass artist Darren Nicholson will hit the stage at 6 p.m. Friday, May 3, at Happ’s Place in Glenville. 

As part of the “Pigeon Community Conversations with Storytellers Series,” author Ann Miller Woodford will interpret the legacy and culture of Western North Carolina’s African Americans at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 9, at the Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center, located at 450 Pigeon Street in Waynesville. 

The 21st annual “Thunder in the Smokies” spring rally will be held May 3-5 at the Maggie Valley Fairgrounds. 

Dr. Kevin Young will present his new book, “The Violent World of Broadus Miller: A Story of Murder, Lynch Mobs, and Judicial Punishment in the Carolinas” at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 5, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. 

The Friends of the Greenway (FROG) will host an arts and crafts fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at the FROG Quarters, located at 573 East Main St. in Franklin. 

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Executive Director, Cameron Ingram, signed a  proclamation outlining the state’s Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) primary and secondary surveillance areas as well as the 2024-25 deer season dates in which mandatory sample submission is required.  

On May 18, Haywood Waterways Association and Haywood Community College will lead a moderate 6-mile hike in the Sunburst area of Haywood County. 

Lake Junaluska’s Artists in Residence invite the public to visit “Art in the Gardens,” now through Wednesday, May 15.

The Department of Environmental Quality’s State Energy Office is accepting proposals for weatherization training and technical assistance projects, with $14.68 million in federal funding available.

TU-Cataloochee’s next trout stocking event is coming up Monday, May 6, along the delayed harvest section of the West Fork of the Pigeon River. 

On Sunday, May 5, in cooperation with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the North Shore Cemetery Association will decorate the Woody and Hoyle Cemeteries on Forney Creek.  

The annual Memorial Day Trout Tournament is again coming to Cherokee.

The tournament is open to all ages and will be held on the beautiful Freestone Streams. 

U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced John Allen Wise, 45, of Cashiers, to 121 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for distribution of methamphetamine and illegal possession of firearms, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. 

Folkmoot USA will present Maritzaida & Raíces Emma-Erwin Latin America Dancers at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 2, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville. 

The Appalachian Women’s Museum “Airing of the Quilts” will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at the museum in Dillsboro. 

Directed by Don Kirkindoll, the Haywood Choral Society will perform its spring concert, “Cry Out for Peace,” at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 28, at First United Methodist Church of Waynesville. 

Regional rock/jam group Arnold Hill will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 27, at The Scotsman Public House in Waynesville. 

Local author Pamela Volpert will read from her book, “The Tribes of the Littles,” at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 27, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. 

Americana/folk singer-songwriter Woolybooger will perform at 5 p.m. Sunday, April 28, at Mountain Layers Brewing in Bryson City. 

The National Park Service (NPS), in partnership with Catalyst Sports, Knox County, Kampgrounds of America Foundation and Friends of the Smokies, announced the expansion of adaptive ranger-led programs in 2024. 

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) is confirming 13 new cases of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) from deer samples submitted since July 1, 2023.

Western North Carolina is a hiker’s paradise.

With so much land protected by national and state forests and parks, those who live in the Western North Carolina area have endless hiking opportunities.

University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans this week appointed Drake Fowler as the new executive director of The North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville. 

Six new recipients in Western North Carolina have been awarded grants to participate in the MADE X MTNS Partnership’s Building Outdoor Communities Program. 

Balsam Mountain Trust announced its seventh-annual Bird Festival celebrating World Migratory Bird Day. 

The Henderson County Beekeepers association is reminding people that if they see a bee swarm, they shouldn’t disturb it. 

The Primary Election season isn’t quite over in North Carolina, as several races didn’t meet the 30% vote threshold to deliver outright wins to top finishers. In The Smoky Mountain News coverage area across Western North Carolina, voters have two Republican runoffs to watch — Hal Weatherman and Jim O’Neill for the lieutenant governor position currently held by Republican Mark Robinson, and Jack Clark and Dave Boliek for the state auditor position currently held by Democrat Jessica Holmes, who was appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper after fellow Democrat Beth Wood resigned in 2023. 

Women of Waynesville, a nonprofit organization that supports the needs of women and children in Haywood County, is inviting all interested women to attend an open house and membership drive event.