A community jam will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 3, on the front patio of the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer or anything unplugged is invited to join. Singers are also welcomed to join in or you can just stop by and listen. 

Can my patriotism be politically neutral, separated from my country’s actions if I disagree with those actions? Can it be separated from those who call themselves patriots but who don’t embrace the ideals I think this country stands for? Yes, it can, and I can call myself patriotic while still yelling the loudest when I think this country has gone off track. 

Across Western North Carolina this fall, local governments will hold their first municipal elections since Hurricane Helene ravaged the region and saddled many small, rural towns across the mountain west with damages that in most cases approach or exceed millions. 

Nothing says summer more than the Fourth of July with friends and family.

And in Western North Carolina, we celebrate Independence Day with gusto. Between majestic fireworks, sizzling hot dogs and hamburgers, cotton candy, games, live music and craft demonstrations, there’s a little bit of everything for any and all. 

The annual “Stecoah Arts & Crafts Drive-About Tour” will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 27-28 at featured studios in Bryson City, Stecoah and Robbinsville.

With their studios open to the public, the self-guided driving tour highlights artisans who have built a livelihood with their creative talents.

I’m sitting alone in the cockpit of the boat anchored at Cape Lookout National Seashore off the coast of North Carolina in the early morning, and I’m about to write a column about tourism. Sipping my coffee, though, I’m distracted as a cool May breeze rattles the halyards. 

Prior to its appropriation by communist regimes, International Workers Day — May Day — was first commemorated in honor of Chicago workers killed while striking for an eight-hour workday.

You might think people don’t care about local government, but sometimes you’re reminded that they absolutely do.

Bryson City’s town government was served a stark reminder of that concept this year when the town proposed significantly raising the water rates. 

Haywood County rock/country act Outlaw Whiskey will perform as part of the “New Year’s Eve Party” at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31, at Unplugged Pub in Bryson City. 

“The Polar Express” train ride will roll down the tracks on select dates from the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad depot in downtown Bryson City.

Climb aboard one of the powerful locomotives and historic train cars as it departs the Bryson City Depot for the North Pole to pick up Santa Claus himself.