Americana/bluegrass act the Darren Nicholson Band will hit the stage for a special intimate performance at 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24, at the Cataloochee Ranch in Maggie Valley. 

The Haywood County Arts Council’s (HCAC) “Small Works” exhibit will run through Dec. 31 at the HCAC Gallery & Gifts showroom in downtown Waynesville. 

Like much of Haywood County, Waynesville wasn’t affected by Hurricane Helene as badly as many other Western North Carolina communities, but businesses, residents and the town still incurred millions in costly damages that will take time to fix. 

Solid numbers on damage from Hurricane Helene are finally coming into Haywood County, along with a state plan to repurpose federal funds that will help speed recovery. 

The Town of Canton’s temporary operations hub on Summer Street, home to town hall and the police department since shortly after deadly flooding in 2021, is about to get a little bigger. 

Holiday shoppers across the region, the state, the country and even the world can give the gift of Haywood by visiting gifthaywood.com — an innovative new program helping local small businesses recover from Hurricane Helene. 

In recognition of the exceptional public service provided by a trio of radio stations during Hurricane Helene — when nearly all other communication infrastructure had failed — the Town of Canton has named them grand marshals for the annual downtown Christmas parade.

The day after Helene moved through the region, Haywood Waterways Association (HWA) was on the phone calling partners or visiting sites as they could to assess how they fared and if HWA could do anything to assist. 

Two days after Haywood Chamber President and CEO David Francis announced the creation of a small business grant recovery program for businesses impacted by Hurricane Helene, the Haywood County Tourism Development authority jumped on board — in a big way — while tempering its own expectations of what the post-Helene landscape looks like.

It was nearing midnight last Saturday when I found myself in a circle of friends in the small, cozy sitting nook between the front door and the bar counter of The Scotsman in Waynesville.