By Marian Larson • Contributing Writer

So you’ve been to several of the performances, shopped for souvenirs, even hung out with some of the dancers? Here are a few things you still may not know about the behind-the-scenes side to Folkmoot USA.

A proposed big box development featuring a Home Depot and Super Wal-Mart as anchor stores would bring a $45 million investment to the town of Waynesville, according to Haywood County Economic Development Director Mark Clasby.

Cedarwood Development is no stranger to big box developments like the one the company is proposing in Waynesville. The company is not new to demands for better looking big box stores either, according to a review of similar projects built by Cedarwood in other cities around the country.

Developers of a proposed big box complex in Waynesville are seeking several exemptions from the town’s land-use plan. Waynesville has won several state and national awards for its progressive land-use plan, aimed at preserving the unique small town character.

Developers of a strip shopping complex at the site of the old Dayco factory in Waynesville are asking for several exemptions to the town’s land-use plan, including the height of signs, building appearance and parking lot design.

Preliminary results of a zip code market analysis being conducted in Waynesville shows signs of a strong and healthy retail economy.

By Michael Beadle

As a Broadway hit, “My Fair Lady” made Julie Andrews a star. As a film, it made Audrey Hepburn a Hollywood icon.

By Michael Beadle

Waynesville art gallery owners don’t just want to sell art. They want people to ask lots of questions about art, see how it is actually made and how all ages can create art.

It’s all about the experience of discovering art.

By Michael Beadle

Luke Allsbrook has a voice as soothing as his paintings.

He explains his craft with the calm of someone who has spent hours in solitary reflection, emerging from nature with gifted insights. Whether it’s a vast stretch of beach, a mountain pasture or glowing houselights in a suburban home, there’s an invisible breeze hushing peripheral noise as you enter his world of oil paintings.

As artist Ann Vasilik was nearing the home stretch in Quick Draw — an annual event in Waynesville where artists race against the clock to complete a piece of artwork in one hour — the blow-dryer aimed at her watercolor rendition of a Frog Level street scene suddenly quit working.