A cherished gathering of locals and visitors alike, “Art After Dark” will launch its 2025 season from 6-9 p.m. Friday, May 2, in downtown Waynesville. 

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) will present “Quilted Expressions: A Celebration of Block-Based Art,” an innovative exhibit that reimagines the traditional quilt, throughout the month of April. 

REACH, the Haywood County nonprofit that provides aid to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, has a new director. 

In an interview with The Smoky Mountain News, Sara Vogel affirmed her commitment not only to REACH’s vital mission, but also to the community she now calls home. 

In a town where history lives not just in the pages of books but on every brick-lined sidewalk, beneath every gabled rooftop and deep within every stately mansion, Waynesville’s Historic Preservation Commission is stepping boldly into the future by leaning into a past that, for many locals, hasn’t yet passed. 

A new business focused on printing giclees officially opened in Waynesville last week. 

Smoky Mountain Studios, a sister business of neighboring Twigs & Leaves Gallery, is operated by Anna Melton, who has worked in that industry for a decade. 

You’re about to start hearing a lot about the number 250, if you haven’t already. Over the next 15 months, two important historic anniversaries will take place, one statewide and the other nationwide. 

Last Thursday afternoon, dark storm clouds overtook downtown Canton. Sitting on a couch in the Cold Mountain Art Collective on Adams Street, Hannah Burnisky gazes out at the raindrops sliding down the large front windows of the business. 

A rising Americana/bluegrass act, the Asheville Mountain Boys, will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 19, at The Scotsman Public House in Waynesville. 

Haywood County has partnered with Consolidated Waste Services and EcoFlo to hold its spring Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 26, at the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) located at 278 Recycle Rd. in Clyde. 

Local elected leaders and farmers, along with state and federal officials, gathered April 14 over bacon and eggs to tackle twin challenges facing Western North Carolina’s agricultural sector — ongoing recovery from Hurricane Helene and the accelerating loss of prime farmland.