Help shape a strategic action plan for the Blue Ridge Parkway corridor during the Blue Ridge Rising Two-State Summit Dec. 5-6 at Meadowbrook Inn in Blowing Rock.

Learn about the historic threats facing the French Broad River and an ongoing effort to secure the designation of Wild and Scenic River for the North Fork during the next meeting of the WNC Sierra Club at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 1, at the University of North Carolina Asheville’s Reuter Center.

Support Franklin’s Friends of the Greenway at the nonprofit’s fall fundraising arts and crafts event FROG Fair, slated for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, at FROG Quarters located at 573 E. Main St. in Franklin.

Members of the Macon County Art Association’s Uptown Gallery are exhibiting artwork through Oct. 31 at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin.

Members of the Western Carolina University family will come together to recognize three prominent alumni for their career accomplishments and to honor a longtime proponent of economic development across Western North Carolina as part of the university’s celebration of Homecoming 2023.

Join Haywood Regional Medical Center for a Lunch and Learn this Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

A contractor for the N.C. Department of Transportation began a project to repair the left lane of I-40 West between the I-26/I-240 interchange and Smoky Park Highway (Exit 44) with a full-time lane closure now in effect.

The Board of Directors of the Great Smokies Health Foundation has awarded $539,235 to 24 organizations for a variety of health, wellness and prevention initiatives across Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties.

Bat Week is coming up Oct. 24-30 — and there’s an opportunity to celebrate with “Bats and Brews,” an event slated for 5:30-8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Mills River.

“Writing the Appalachians,” a public forum featuring renowned authors who will speak about their experiences writing about the region’s beauty, culture and challenges, will take place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, at the Clayton Center of Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee.

The first snow of the season has fallen in the Southern Appalachians.

Spend a night at the movies with the Safe Passage Fund Coalition 5-9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, at Pleb Urban Winery in Asheville as Safe Passage screens short films that highlight road ecology in Southern Appalachia and beyond.

The annual Enchanted Forest Halloween bash will take over the Highlands Nature Center and Highlands Botanical Garden 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24.

About 185 people attended a Sept. 26 public input session to chart the future of Pisgah View State Park, and an online survey remains open through Oct. 20.

Drought is strengthening in southwestern North Carolina, with 14 counties now in moderate drought and an additional 58 labeled abnormally dry.

The seventh annual North Carolina Native Plants Week is underway, running Oct. 16-22, and Audubon North Carolina is encouraging people to celebrate by planting native species in their own yards or gardens. Plants require less water this time of year, but they also still have enough time to establish before colder winter weather.  

Friends of Panthertown will celebrate the grand opening of its first ever official headquarters and office space during a drop-in event noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, at 116 Central St. in Sylva.

Funding is available to help homeowners fix failing septic systems, preventing both financial and environmental hardship.

Run the trails of Chestnut Mountain Nature Park in Canton during the Chestnut Chase, a 10K race slated for 9 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 12.

An empowering festival for female mountain bikers will come to the Nantahala Outdoor Center Nov. 10-12.

Macon County residents will not have to travel far to attend Pisgah Legal Services’ 13th Annual Justice Forum. A special Watch Party for the Oct. 17 event will be held at Macon County Public Library.

The Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina has named Waynesville resident Kathleen “Merritt” Tongen of L.N. Davis Insurance Agency in Waynesville as its 2023 Young Agent of the Year for the state of North Carolina.

More than half a million low-income, uninured North Carolinians will gain access to comprehensive health coverage when Medicaid expansion launches on Dec. 1, 2023.

A new invasive species has been found in North Carolina.

Drought has re-entered the western region, with the most recent drought conditions map labeling Transylvania and Henderson counties as experiencing moderate drought.

Check in on the hemlock trees of the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville with an easy, 2.5-mile hike Saturday, Oct. 21.

A free youth fishing clinic will coincide with an Old Time Music Jam 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee.

Learn the art of Southern Appalachian fly tying with an eight-week course taught by local expert Tommy Thomas.

Celebrate the Year of the Trail with an easy 5-mile hike on the Buck Springs Trail near the Pisgah Inn Saturday, Oct. 14.

Tickets are now on sale for Winter Lights, an open-air walk-through light show of more than 1 million lights running Nov. 17-Dec. 31 at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville.

Celebrate the inaugural Great Trails State Day in North Carolina by giving Panthertown some love Saturday, Oct. 21.

Help restore the trail to the beloved Craggy Pinnacle overlook during a workday Saturday, Oct. 14.

Hike Pinnacle Park in Sylva during an excursion starting 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, offered through the Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department.

In the largest Carolina Mountain Club outing ever, 95 people converged on Max Patch to celebrate National Public Lands Day with a blitz of trail work Saturday, Sept. 23.

Learn how to stay safe in the woods with a course 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, at Standing Rock Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Learn about the work being done to conserve Haywood County’s pristine waterways 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, at the Maggie Valley Town Hall Pavilion, as part of Trout Unlimited Cataloochee’s regular monthly meeting.

A gathering of women who love the outdoors will take place Saturday, Nov. 4, at Vogel State Park in Georgia.

Middle school students are invited to try some hiking and fly fishing, with events planned Oct. 10, 19 and 24.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Jim Avett will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, at The Blue Stage in Andrews.

For anyone looking to get into the field of nursing, Southwestern Community College will offer a Practical Nursing program starting in the spring semester.

Missing in action for more than 54 years, Air Force Capt. Frederick Mervyn Hall of Waynesville will return home for a memorial service and burial next week.

A moderate to strenuous 3.5-mile hike exploring the Waynesville Watershed will embark at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17.

Learn about the upcoming partial solar eclipse during a session at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva with Matt Cass, a physics instructor at Southwestern Community College.

A feature documentary exploring the release of the Pisgah-Nantahala Forest Plan, “The River Runs On,” is now available digitally.

Celebrate the forest heritage of Western North Carolina during the annual Forest Festival Day and John G. Palmer Intercollegiate Woodmen’s Meet, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, at the Cradle of Forestry in America.

During the N.C. Mountain State Fair Sept. 8-17, The Smoky Mountain News’ coverage area of Haywood, Jackson, Swain and Macon counties was well represented in the list of winners.

The recently adopted 2023-2025 state budget includes $2.5 million for trail construction in the Pisgah National Forest surrounding Old Fort. The allocation represents a portion of the $24.9 million total set aside for specific trail and greenway projects statewide.

The Jackson County Coon Hunters Association will hold a day full of events aimed at youth 15 and under 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, at 44 Oak Hill Drive in Sylva.

Dry conditions have returned to the mountain region, with parts of Macon, Jackson, Buncombe, Transylvania and Henderson counties labeled as abnormally dry in the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor map.