The annual “Youth Arts Festival” will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro. 

The 25th Annual Sorghum Festival will allow visitors to have the opportunity to observe sorghum cane being processed into molasses using a mule-powered mill on Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site in Johnson City from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

Haywood Waterways is calling for volunteers to take part in a county-wide cleanup event that removes tons of trash from local waterways and roadways. 

Haywood Community College will hold the second annual Dahlia Ridge Trail Run on Saturday, Sept. 14. This 5K is a timed, family-friendly walk/run event open to all levels of runners, walkers and hikers.

A team of Great Smoky Mountains National Park employees was recently awarded the 2023 Excellence in Education Award at a National Park Service awards ceremony in Washington D.C. Many of the agency’s top awards were presented at the 2023 National Service Awards ceremony. 

The Franklin Bird Club leads walks along the greenway on Wednesday mornings at 8 a.m. Walks start at alternating locations: Macon County Public Library, Big Bear Park and Salali Lane. 

A new National Park Service report shows that 13,297,647 visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2023 spent $2.2 billion in communities near the park. That spending supported 33,748 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $3.4 billion.

Celebrate the change of seasons with your friends and neighbors at a farm-to-table dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center in Waynesville. 

Last week brought a moderate drought back to parts of Western North Carolina, and the latest state drought monitor report confirmed that the drought has expanded.

A cherished gathering of locals and visitors alike, “Art After Dark” will continue its 2024 season from 6-9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, in downtown Waynesville. 

Classic rock icons ZZ Top will perform at 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort.

Formed in 1969 in Houston, ZZ Top is a legendary rock band known for its distinctive blend of blues, rock, and boogie.

Appalachian/indie act Jackson Grimm & The Bull Moose Party will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, at The Scotsman in Waynesville. 

Haywood County rock/country act Outlaw Whiskey will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at Unplugged Pub in Bryson City. 

As the summer season comes to an end, Haywood County Health and Human Services is urging residents to take immediate action to reduce the risk of mosquito and tick-borne illnesses, including encephalitis and Lyme disease.

The U.S. Forest Service announced that its pause on issuing permits to harvest American ginseng on the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests will remain in place for the 2024 season.  

Smokies Life, a nonprofit partner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is now accepting applications for its fifth Steve Kemp Writer’s Residency. The annual residency is designed to help writers of any medium connect in meaningful ways with the Great Smoky Mountains while focusing on their craft in an inspiring, retreat-like setting. 

The Lake Junaluska Fall Plant Sale will be held from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Nanci Weldon Memorial Gym at Lake Junaluska. 

The Smoky Mountain Beekeeping Association is hosting an Introduction to Beekeeping class from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21 at the Swain County Business Education Training Center, located at 45 E. Ridge Dr., Bryson City. 

Western Carolina University is set to host the 14th Annual Rooted in the Mountains Symposium, a two-day event aimed at exposing attendees to the interwoven relationships between climate, health, traditional knowledge and the indigenous worldview.

Less than a year after starting their studies, the very first Dental Assisting students in Southwestern Community College history earned their diplomas and are addressing the labor shortage in their chosen career field. 

The Jackson County Tourism Development Authority (JCTDA) has announced a new quarterly cycle for the Tourism Capital Project Fund (TCPF), beginning in 2024-25. This change aims to streamline the application process and enhance responsiveness to community projects while maintaining a structured program. 

Noted expert on southern politics and North Carolina politics Chris Cooper’s newest book will ship later this fall, and with the General Election right around the corner, “Anatomy of a purple state” couldn’t come at a better time.

A free event for all emergency responders and veterans will be held in Bryson City on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 3 p.m. at Riverfront Park, in remembrance of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

A contractor for the N.C. Department of Transportation will finish paving a section of White Oak Road in two weeks instead of months during a full road closure slated to begin the night of Sept. 3. 

After a month reprieve following an early-summer drought, parts of six North Carolina Counties — Haywood, Transylvania, Jackson, Swain, Macon and Graham — are now facing a moderate drought.

Classic rock legends The Marshall Tucker Band and Haywood County bluegrass sensation Balsam Range will headline the 116th Canton Labor Day gathering, which will take place Sept. 1-2 at Sorrells Street Park in downtown. 

Folkmoot USA will present an electrifying evening of music and cultural celebration with the Black Sea Beat Society at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville. 

Danita Dodson will read from her latest book, “Between Gone and Everlasting,” at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. 

The annual Maggie Valley Arts & Crafts Show will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 31-Sept. 1 at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds. 

The Town of Sylva, Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department and Jackson County Chamber of Commerce are proud to present the 15th season of the annual “Concerts on the Creek” music series. 

The “An Appalachian Evening” series will continue with a performance by Balsam Range at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31, in Lynn L. Shields Auditorium at the Stecoah Valley Center in Robbinsville. 

The annual “Thunder in the Smokies” rally will be held Sept. 6-8 at the Maggie Valley Fairgrounds. 

There will be a contra dance class offered from 6:30-9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin.

Contra dance is considered the most accessible and sociable of all dances, with participants moving in two long facing lines or in groups, and with frequent partner changes. With its roots in the British Isles and France, contra dance has become a traditional American dance form. 

Scout Troop 318 of Waynesville, a troop with over 60 years of history, will be making a fresh start after being shut down by COVID. In addition to two former Waynesville mayors among its alumni, it produced hundreds of Eagle Scouts over its more than 60 years history. 

Organizers with the Mountain State Fair sponsored by Ingles Markets are busy preparing to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the fair with the new entertainment and an expanded Got to Be NC Pavilion featuring 22 new outdoor vendors. 

Mainspring Conservation Trust seeks volunteers to participate in the annual Little Tennessee River Cleanup starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 14. 

Long Man, Ganvhida Asgaga, is a revered figure among the Cherokee, whose head lays in the mountains and feet in the sea. The river is Long Man, called upon for strength, for cleansing, and for numerous cultural rituals tied to medicine and washing away bad thoughts and sadness.

 In 1996, the Volunteer Water Information Network (VWIN) program was established as a water quality monitoring program for many Western North Carolina counties. In Haywood County, Haywood Waterways Association manages 25 sites on 19 streams. The program’s purpose is to provide long term water quality monitoring information to help leverage grant funding for water quality improvement projects. 

Highlands Biological Station is excited to announce the 2024 Native Plant Symposium, scheduled for Sept. 13-14. This two-day event will be packed with engaging presentations, tours, auctions and more, all centered around the beauty and importance of native plants. 

Clingmans Dome Road will be closed the mornings of Sept. 10, 12 and 16 to facilitate special educational programs for students at schools in Cherokee.

The road will be closed at midnight the night before each event and will re-open at 1 p.m. 

The tennis courts located at Recreation Park at 285 Vance St. in Waynesville will be closed from Aug. 27 through Sept. 10 to allow for resurfacing (weather pending). 

Join Sarge’s Animal Rescue at 10 a.m. Sept. 7, for a fun-filled annual event at the Haywood County Courthouse in Waynesville. 

John Edward Bradley, 50, of Cherokee, was sentenced to seven years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for trafficking fentanyl, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. 

The Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 980 holds its regular meetings on the third Tuesday of each month at 5 p.m. in the Sara Brown Town Hall in Clyde. 

 “An Appalachian Evening” series will continue with a performance by Samantha Snyder at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24, in Lynn L. Shields Auditorium at the Stecoah Valley Center in Robbinsville. 

Asheville rock group The Andrew Thelston Band will hit the stage at 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23, at The Gem downstairs taproom at Boojum Brewing in Waynesville. 

The Town of Sylva, Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department and Jackson County Chamber of Commerce are proud to present the 15th season of the annual “Concerts on the Creek” music series. 

Learn about the challenges and success of mining resources related to our transition to clean energy at the WNC Sierra Club.

Randy Francisco of the United Steelworkers Union will discuss ways that “environmentalists and labor can work together to ensure that workers and their communities are protected from harm from this mining.

The Tsali Ultra Trail Race, in its 15th year of operation, will host the NC USATF 50-Kilometer Trail Championships on Jan. 18, 2025, in Almond. 

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality is reminding North Carolinians: If it doesn’t grow, don’t burn it. Open burning is only allowed in limited circumstances and only for vegetative materials like leaves, limbs and yard debris.