The ‘Anxious Generation’ – Part 1
A month ago I called my brother-in-law, known to all the family as Uncle Jim, to ask a favor. He readily…
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Carry this together: Zoe and Cloyd
With their latest album, “Songs of Our Grandfathers,” rising Asheville Americana/folk duo Zoe & Cloyd decided to take a different…
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Cowee School welcomes Buncombe Turnpike
Americana/bluegrass ensemble Buncombe Turnpike will perform at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 27, at the Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center…
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Cashiers to host JarrettFest
A nationally recognized touring and recording artist of children’s music, Timmy Abell will perform at 4 p.m. Saturday, July 27,…
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‘An Appalachian Evening’
The “An Appalachian Evening” series will continue with a performance by Mac Arnold & Plate Full O’Blues at 7:30 p.m.…
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‘Concerts on the Creek’
The Town of Sylva, Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department and Jackson County Chamber of Commerce are proud to present…
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Folkmoot kicks off annual Summer Fest with soirée
Folkmoot kicked off its 41st Summer Fest celebration last Thursday with its Summer Soirée. Guests gathered at the Folkmoot Friendship…
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A bird’s eye view of feathered friends
In a remarkable book that combines eco-poetry, poetic prose and personal and scientific information by award-winning African-American ornithologist and professor…
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Haywood Community Band venue change
The Haywood Community Band (HCB) has announced a change of venue for the three remaining 2024 season Maggie Valley concerts…
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Experience ‘Textures’ at Haywood Arts
The Haywood County Arts Council’s (HCAC) latest exhibit, “Textures,” will run through Sept. 1 at the HCAC gallery on Main…
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HART to present 'Footloose'
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…
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Chamber music returns to Waynesville
The popular Chamber Music Society of the Carolinas (CMSC) will perform at 4 p.m. July 21 and 28 at First…
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Bryson City community jam
A community jam will be held from 6 -7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 18, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson…
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Ready for the Gemboree?
The 57th annual Macon County Gemboree will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 26-27 and 10 a.m.…
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Blurring the Lines: A conversation with Liam Purcell
Straddling the line between neo-traditional and progressive bluegrass, Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road are a fiercely ambitious and purposely…
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Dealing with loss, grief, and the balm of love
On the first Saturday of June, my friend John and I were just leaving McKay Used Books in Manassas, Virginia,…
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Ready for Folkmoot’s ‘Summer Soirée’?
The Folkmoot “Summer Fundraising Soirée” will take place from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, July 11, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in…
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Mural celebrates past, present and future of Pigeon Center
A visually stunning amalgamation of images — both historic and aspirational — now adorns Waynesville’s Pigeon Community Multicultural Development center, breathing new…
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Southern stories for summer reading
Perhaps like many people, summer is a time for me to finally read those books I’ve been wanting to get…
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Time to stop the bashing, says Nina Power
When I heard British writer and philosopher Nina Power interviewed recently, I ordered her book. I was interested in her…
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Reflections on lessons learned at Bonnaroo
Wednesday morning, June 12, I left my sister’s house in Sapphire for my very first music festival. I’d been to…
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Scarred but smarter: A conversation with Drivin N Cryin
In the annals of American rock music, few storied bands have withstood the test of time and endured with such…
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Sebastian Junger on death, visits and physics
Every once in a while, I find myself engrossed in a book that suddenly delivers my ignorance to me on…
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Haywood Community Band Grows into Regional Ensemble
A delighted crowd of more than 350 people responded with a standing ovation at the season’s opening concert of the…
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Coming together: Bryson City Brewing to join WNC craft beer scene
It’s a sunny afternoon in downtown Bryson City. The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad is pulling into town with numerous locals…
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Books, parrots, love and regrets
If Monica Wood’s “How to Read a Book” were a painting rather than a novel, it would be a triptych,…
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Will you ‘Bee the Change’?
Author John Kotab will present his latest book, “Bee the Change: If We Protect, Nature Will Provide,” at 1 p.m.…
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Country coffee: Blue Ridge Roastery opens in Sylva
Situated in the heart of downtown Sylva, Blue Ridge Bootleg Roastery is the newest home for coffee drinkers, country music…
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A remedy for the spring-time blues
There are always seasons in life when you feel the need to get away from your day-to-day, and I have…
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‘Darwin and the Art of Botany’
Local author Jim Costa will present his new book, “Darwin and the Art of Botany: Observations on the Curious World…
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Cherokee Bonfire & Storytelling
The Cherokee Bonfire & Storytelling will be held from 7-9 p.m. Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays through Oct. 31 at…
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Fall apart together: A conversation with Tommy Stinson
Leaning back into his chair, Tommy Stinson tilts his head and gazes towards the sunset falling behind the Blue Ridge…
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Two fine novels for spring reading
Two novels, one a classic Western set in 1885 Nevada, the other centered on Barcelona and the aftermath of the…
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Want to learn contra dancing?
There will be a contra dance class offered from 6:30-9 p.m. Saturday, June 1, at the Macon County Public Library…
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Bright sunny south: A conversation with Barry Bales
Barry Bales has 15 Grammy Awards and 23 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) honors, including four IBMA “Bass Player of…
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Building a world beyond
Having just recently written a review for these pages of an anthology made up of multiple writers published in 2023…
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Saddle up: Cataloochee Ranch rides into next chapter
Meandering up Fie Top Road in Maggie Valley, just as your vehicle’s engine is pushed to the limit and it…
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Molon Labe: A review of ‘Gates of Fire’
A little over three years ago, a stranger in a coffee shop with whom I’d struck up a conversation excused himself…
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Sure feels good anyway: A conversation with Amy Ray
A true mark of an artist is how well they age. Not simply by the passing years on the calendar,…
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Good medicine and Mother’s Day — a book, a poem
All of us, to one extent or another, make our way through a world of unexamined phenomena. It’s a complex…
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Validation within the process: Sawdust + Me opens in Waynesville
At the corner of Depot and Haywood streets in downtown Waynesville sits an old building. Originally a gas station, it…
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Renowned woodturner joins Gallery 164
Gallery 164 in Waynesville welcomes esteemed woodturner Mike McKinney to its roster of talented artists. In celebration of this exciting…
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Two faces of war: America 1861, Spain 1812
Anyone interested in the history of our country will benefit by reading “The Dogs of War: 1861” (Oxford University Press,…
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Carry the music: One World Brewing welcomes Annie in the Water
Within the greater Upstate New York live music scene, there’s a vast landscape of ebbs and flows — peaks and valleys…
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The path toward a brighter future
Ervin Laszlo (Nobel Peace Prize nominee, science philosopher and founder of the Laszlo Institute of New Paradigm Research) and David…
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30 years strong: Celebrate Record Store Day with In Your Ear Emporium
This summer will be 30 years since Lauren Calvert opened the doors to In Your Ear Emporium, downtown Sylva’s record…
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Record renaissance: Gar Ragland of Citizen Vinyl
Since its opening in October 2020, Citizen Vinyl has become a melodic hub for artists, music lovers and the curious…
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The books I didn’t read
As often as not, I check out books from the library I never read. They sit on my dining room…
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Gold light: Mallett Brothers Band rolls into WNC
It was about 15 years ago when Will Mallett cruised into Portland, Maine, and ended up crashing on the couch…
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Staring up at the branches on ‘Berry Lane’
A month ago, on a day that was officially in winter but which felt like spring, I was walking in the…
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