•  “The Merry Buccaneers Holiday Heist” stage production will be held at 6 p.m. Nov. 22-23 at the Swain Arts Center in Bryson City. All ages. Admission is $5. greatsmokies.com/events. 

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 annual “Stecoah Arts & Crafts Drive-About Tour” will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 29-30 at featured studios in Bryson City, Stecoah and Robbinsville. 

Rising singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alma Russ will hit the stage at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 27, at Frog Level Brewing Company in Waynesville. 

The following readings will occur at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

• Poets Cecilia Woloch and Louise Morgan Runyon will give readings of their poetry highlighting labor and social justice issues at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22. This reading celebrates the release of Woloch’s new chapbook, “Labor: The Testimony of Ted Gall.” 

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) in Waynesville has announced the launch of the HCAC Helene Support Grant.

Designed to provide financial assistance to HCAC artist members who have been significantly impacted by the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, the application process is currently underway.

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

The “Bachelor of Fine Art Portfolio Exhibition” will be displayed through Dec. 6 at the Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum in Cullowhee. 

Carolina Mountain Club (CMC) is gearing up for another significant trail restoration event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30, in Hot Springs. 

The 11th annual Winter Lights returned to The North Carolina Arboretum on Friday Nov. 15, with the show running nightly through Dec. 31. 

Beginning Nov. 11, the N.C. Forest Service is offering a 20% discount on tree seedling orders placed by active, honorably discharged or retired military personnel throughout November. The discount applies to the first $500 of all new orders, up to a $100 discount. 

The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council has classified the whole state as at least abnormally dry and a moderate drought has spread in the eastern part of the state, according to the latest advisory released Thursday.  

FIND Outdoors announced the success of the “Pickin’ for Pisgah” benefit concert, an inspiring evening of music, community, and love for our local public lands.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Flood Resiliency Blueprint is working with the North Carolina Land and Water Fund (NCLWF) to implement flood reduction and floodplain protection projects. DEQ is allocating over $9 million to 15 NCLWF projects that will provide an estimated 465 acre-feet of flood water retention, or 152 million gallons, during flood events.  

Helene tore through many people’s lives in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Some lost homes, as well as the very soil on which their homes were built. Even for those whose homes were spared, the effect of being near such devastation reverberates. 

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. 

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. 

The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services soil testing lab is about to hit its busy season and growers and homeowners are encouraged to submit soil samples by Nov. 26 to avoid peak-season fees and to get results and recommendations sooner.

Friends of Panthertown invites Panthertown volunteers, board members, partners, hike leaders, conservationists and friends to join us for an afternoon of appreciation and celebration. This event is happening from 2-5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, in downtown Sylva at 116 Central Street.

The recent “Rock for Relief: A WNC Flood Benefit Festival” was able to garner more than $32,000 in its one-day musical extravaganza. 

The 15th annual “Handmade Holiday Sale” will be held from noon to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, in the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. 

The deadline for North Carolinians in 39 counties to apply for FEMA Individual Assistance after Hurricane Helene has been extended to Jan. 7, 2025. 

The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council has classified most of the state, or parts of 89 counties, as abnormally dry (D0 conditions), while 11 northeastern counties are now in Moderate Drought (D1), according to the latest advisory released Thursday. 

It’s been just over a month since Hurricane Helene brought widespread devastation to Western North Carolina and the neighboring states.

A clearer path toward recovery for the region and the Mountains to Sea Trail is forming. 

The USDA Forest Service released its preliminary data on the ecological impacts and infrastructure damage caused by Tropical Storm Helene on the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests in North Carolina. 

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s (NCWRC) Armstrong State Fish Hatchery in McDowell County north of Marion sustained significant damage as a result of flooding and landslides during Hurricane Helene.

FIND Outdoors is presenting “Pickin’ for Pisgah,” a benefit concert featuring the Pisgah Pickers, on Sunday, Nov. 10, at the Cradle of Forestry. The concert will start at 5 p.m., bringing together music lovers for a night of bluegrass and community support, with all proceeds benefiting the FIND Outdoors Hurricane Helene Relief Fund. 

Following the deluge brought on by Hurricane Helene, parts of Western North Carolina are now considered abnormally dry, while some of the state’s easternmost counties are now in a moderate drought. 

The growing season is winding down, but NC State Extension Master Gardener volunteers are still available to answer questions about lawns, vegetables, flowers, trees, and ornamental plants; disease, insect, weed, or wildlife problems; soils (including soil test results) and fertilizers; freeze and frost damage; and cultural and chemical solutions to pest problems. 

Americana/folk singer-songwriter Woolybooger will perform at 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10, at Mountain Layers Brewing in Bryson City.

The Haywood Community Band will present “Songs of America” honoring our veterans at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10, at Haywood Community College’s Hemlock Auditorium in Clyde.

The Western Carolina University Mountain Heritage Center will present “Echoes Across the Smokies: A Night of Bluegrass, Ballads, and Tall Tales” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, at WCU’s Bardo Arts Center in Cullowhee. 

Renowned blues act Mac Arnold & Plate Full O’Blues appears at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Peacock Performing Arts Center in Hayesville. 

Nontraditional students working to earn a degree in an art-related major at Western Carolina University soon will have financial assistance to help them pursue their passion, thanks to a memorial scholarship fund established by the family of a recent WCU graduate who earned his degree after the age of 30. 

Traffic may be flowing in both directions on Interstate 40 through the Pigeon River Gorge — albeit slower than normal — by New Year’s Day.

Presented by Axe & Awl Leatherworks and powered by the Historic Frog Level Merchants Association, the “Haywood Heroes” flood benefit concert will be held from 3-8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, onstage in front of Axe & Awl on Depot Street in Waynesville. 

The “Cold Mountain Community Cookout & Concert” featuring blues-rockers Fancy & The Gentlemen will take place on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Lake Logan Retreat Center. 

There will be a contra dance class offered from 6:30-9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. 

Award-winning poet Cecilia Woloch will offer a workshop for local writers, “Our Lives Which Can Never Run Dry: Workshop for Writers in Short-Form Prose & Poetry,” which will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, at St. David's Episcopal Church, Cullowhee. 

The annual corn maze and pumpkin patch will continue through Oct. 31 at Darnell Farms in Bryson City. 

Lisa Briggs, director of Western Carolina University’s Human Remains Detection K-9 training program and Emergency Disaster Management program, and Edwin Grant, HRD K-9 program instructor and long-time law enforcement officer, have been deployed with their HRD K-9s since the start of the recovery process for missing persons in Western North Carolina following the devastation left by Hurricane Helene.  

In-person early voting ends Saturday, Nov. 2 at 3 p.m., but voters will still have one last opportunity to cast their ballots on Election Day — Tuesday, Nov. 5. 

North Carolinians who lost access to water through a private well or damaged septic system as a result of Hurricane Helene may be eligible for FEMA assistance. 

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited Asheville to hear firsthand from local, state and Tribal officials, emergency managers, food bank staff and volunteers, and impacted producers on the region’s relief and recovery efforts and highlighted resources from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help producers, families and communities in the Tarheel State recover from the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene. 

The Red Wolf Center in Columbia, North Carolina, is set to welcome its first-ever breeding pair of Red Wolves. This historic event, a collaboration between North Carolina Wildlife Federation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Red Wolf SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) Program marks a significant milestone in efforts to conserve and protect the critically endangered Red Wolf. 

On Wednesday morning, Oct. 30, 2024, the National Park Service restored access to nearly 55 miles the Blue Ridge Parkway from: 

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) named George Ivey, North Carolina Development Director for the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, to participate in the 2024-2025 class of the Appalachian Leadership Institute, a leadership training opportunity that equips Appalachian community leaders to use economic development as a tool to drive positive change. 

“First the huffin’, then the stuffin’.” 

That’s the motto for the Waynesville-Sunrise Rotary Club’s fourth annual 5K turkey trot, held 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 28, at Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center.