The 42nd annual “Lights & Luminaries” will return from 5-9 p.m. Dec. 5-6 and 12-13 in the streets of downtown Dillsboro.

Experience the magic as the entire town is transformed into a winter wonderland of lights, candles, laughter and song. Over 2,500 luminaries light your way to shops and studios. 

Students in the Professional Crafts Program at Haywood Community College will host a holiday craft sale from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4 on campus in Clyde. The sale will feature student work in four mediums: fiber, metals, ceramics and wood. Held in the Mary L. Cornwell Gallery in the Sycamore Building, the sale is open to the public. 

The Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center will host its annual “Farm 2 Table” Fundraiser from 5 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20. The event promises an evening of dining, dancing, local art, live music and community spirit.

Kayden is doing her very best not to tell me about the preparations she and mom and Jack have made for Father’s Day, but she is six years old, and at this age especially, secrets are like little, wet bars of soap.

It’s hard to believe Christmas is less than a week away. With more gifts to buy, a Christmas puzzle partially finished and cards yet to be mailed, I still have plenty to do, but I’m not letting the stress get to me.

You have been together a month, maybe two. It was whirlwind and all, that electric “getting to know you” phase when every single thing is new and fascinating and terrifying because this just might be it.

You’re down to the wire. It’s only a few days until Christmas, and you have yet to get that book lover in your life a gift. Maybe it’s your husband who nightly reads military history. Maybe your 9-year-old can’t get enough of the Hardy Boys. Maybe your teenage niece is reading anything she can get her hands on.

Dr. Seuss’s Oh, The Places You’ll Go! has become as much a fixture of graduations as a bride’s white dress at a wedding. Commencement speakers quote from it; relatives give the book as a gift; parents read the book aloud to their high school and college graduates.

Through careers as students, teachers and administrators, David and Susan Belcher have marked the milestones of their lives in college campuses, but their 2011 arrival to Western Carolina University was the day they discovered their home. 

“It was kind of instant. It was kind of love at first sight,” Susan said. “It’s not the (natural) beauty. It’s the people. And it’s the community also. This region takes care of each other, through and through.” 

You’re stuck. 

It’s your boss’ birthday, your nephew’s graduation from high school, your cousin’s promotion at work, and you need to buy a gift. You enjoy reading and books, and want to give them a present in line with your own interests.