Stories of Mountain Folk for the week of 11-9-13

Stories of Mountain Folk is a weekly podcast produced by Catch the Spirit of Appalachia and archived in the Hunter Library Digital Collection at Western Carolina University.
 
November 9, 2013 -

Storytelling: In her story “The Second Floor Attic,” Amy shares a story about her family when they lived at the old Hooper House on Chastine Road in Tuckasegee in the ‘50s. Background music: “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” by Chet Atkins

Creative Corner: Doreyl’s guest is Tim Muth from the Green Energy Park in Dillsboro who tells about what they do at the park, and about exercising the creative spirit.  Music: “Little Dew Drop” by the Butterpats.

Stories of Mountain Folk: Once more Amy welcomes Marcella Huguelet of Sylva, who in this interview tells some humorous stories about her legendary uncle—Doctor John Painter (Doc Painter) of Sylva.  Music: "Angels Unaware" by The Cockman Family.

Stories of the Cherokee: Robert’s guest is Brandon Stephens (who now lives in Nashville, Tennessee) who talks about his experiences as a Cherokee Indian growing up in Jackson County.  Music: “Ant Dance” by Bo Taylor.

Closing Song: "The Whup of Love” by the Andy Statman Band.

To Listen to this week's Stories of Mountain Folk, CLICK HERE

Stories of Mountain Folk for 4/20/13

Stories of Mountain Folk is produced by Catch the Spirit of Appalachia and archived at Western Carolina University.

April 20, 2013:
Storytelling: Amy tells the story of "Boney’s Retreat”--a hunting tale from the 1860’s.

Creative Corner: Doreyl continues her series at Western Carolina University as she interviews Pavel Wlosok, the jazz band director who shares his musical history.  Music: “The Jazz Band.

Stories of Mountain Folk: Amy talks with Terry Edwards, who grew up in Tuckasegee and was a member of the band called “Cullowhee.” Here we hear samples of his story songs.  Music: Uncle Ben’s Converted Blues I and II; There is a Star; & White Owl--written and sung by Terry Edwards.

Down Another Road: Judy spends time with Hope Swicegood Byrd, from Buncombe County;
Hope is the daughter of Joe Swicegood, owner of Little Pigs Barbecue Restaurant in Biltmore.  Music: "Twilight is Stealing" by Spirit-Filled Trio.

Closing Song: A new song called "Down South."

To listen to this week's Stories of Mountain Folk CLICK HERE 

(scroll down to the green  box and click the radio button beneath it)

Celebrate Mountain Heritage in Waynesville

June 9   Appalachian Lifestlye Celebration   A full day celebration of mountain heritage, music, dance, craft, and Appalachian life skills. Educational and entertaining, the event features craft demonstrations such as basketry, wood carving, quilting, along with storytelling, traditional mountain music, clogging, and old time food vendors. Downtown Waynesville NC.

Music in the Mountains this Weekend

Date: June 8
NC City: SYLVA
Event: Concerts on the Creek Rafe Hollister (www.rafehollister.com) will be playing. Concerts on the Creek are held at the Bridge Park Pavilion in downtown Sylva from 7:30 - 9:30 PM on Friday nights beginning ...read more   

Date: June 8
NC City: HENDERSONVILLE
Event: Music on Main Street The 14th annual Music On Main Street concert series will be held every Friday evening from June 8 through August 17, 2012. Music On Main Street showcases a diverse lineup of musical talents, from jazz, pop, oldies, rock, to contemporary music. Bring a chair and  ...read more   

Date: June 8-9
NC City: LENOIR
Event: Pop Fergeson Blues Festival IV A two day Blues Festival featuring Pop Ferguson and Blues Legends Mac Arnold, Drink Small, Boo Hanks and Beverly "Guitar" Watkins. The Festival starts on Friday at 7:00 PM with workshops for Slide Guitar, Country Style Pickin' Guitar and Blues Harmonica followed by a jam session at 8:30 PM on the outdoor Hogwaller Stage. The Festival continues Saturday with ...read more   

Date: June 8-9
NC City: TRYON
Event: 19th Annual Blue Ridge Barbeque and Music Festival The Blue Ridge Barbecue Festival is one of the area's biggest annual events with fantastic Barbecue, phenomenal music and incredible arts and crafts. Bring the kids, friends, family and more.  ...read more   

Date: June 8-10
NC City: ASHEVILLE
Event: Asheville Percussion FestivalThe first annual Asheville Percussion Festival will take place at the Creative Technology and Arts Center, the Odyssey School, 90 Zillicoa in Asheville, NC. The mission is to provide a creative environment where percussionists of all traditions gather to explore, create and innovate. The festival will be hosted by Asheville's  ...read more   

Date: June 9
NC City: CHEROKEE
Event: Cherokee Voices Festival Celebrate thousands of years of tradition in the southern Appalachians with Cherokee people from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, North Carolina’s only federally recognized tribe. Experience traditional music and dance, gospel singing, Cherokee flute playing and storytelling. Talk with Cherokee people in living history encampments and see demonstrations of basketmaking, pottery, carving, beadwork, mask making, blowgun making and more. Traditional food will be available. A unique opportunity to meet  ...read more   

Date: June 9
NC City: Just north of Boone in Galax VA
Event: Blazing Blue Ridge Bands at the Blue Ridge Music Center Country Bluegrass with Don Rigsby / Whitetop Mountain Band -­ Acclaimed singer/instrumentalist, Don Rigsby joins local supergroup Big Country Bluegrass for an unforgettable night of music. Jump-starting the evening and the flatfoot dancing is a favorite old-time group, the Whitetop Mountain Band ...read more   

Date: June 9
NC City: WAYNESVILLE
Event: Appalachian Lifestlye Celebration A full day celebration of mountain heritage, music, dance, craft, and Appalachian life skills. Educational and entertaining, the event features craft demonstrations such as basketry, wood carving, quilting, along with storytelling, traditional mountain music, clogging, and  ...read more   

Date: June 9
NC City: DILLSBORO
Event: Dillsboro Art and Music Festival Rafters and Crafters - Celebrate traditional mountain crafts and enjoy lively regional musicians, dancers and storytellers at this historic Dillsboro’s Annual event. In addition to Dillsboro’s unique shops and studios, Front Street is lined with tents featuring all kinds of art and fine crafts including basketry, pottery, weaving, quilting, woodworking, jewelry ...read more   

Date: June 9
NC City: HOT SPRINGS
Event: Bluff Mountain Festival Music all day featuring some of the region’s best Traditional Old-Time and Bluegrass Music, ballad singing and clogging followed by an evening Square Dance until dark. Bring the family and the lawn chairs to enjoy a day full of music under the shade trees. Food will be available from vendors and the event includes a local arts and  ...read more   

Date: June 9
NC City: ASHEVILLE
Event: A Taste of Opera The Diana Wortham Theatre hosts an evening of food, wine and music ofr a "grand feast of the world". Cuisine from from an array of Asheville restaurants with wine are paired with an exclusive on stage concert at Diana Wortham Theatre featuring performances of opera’s past, present  ...read more   

ate: June 9
NC City: ASHEVILLE
Event: Ooh La La Curiosity Market An outdoor market in Pritchard Park featuring works by local painters, leather smiths, jewelry makers, potters ,up-cycled crafters, and other curious delights, all beneath the colored canopies of large market umbrellas. In addition to the artists, the market will also feature live local music with up three musical acts performing each Saturday and will include everything from a solo saxophonist to folk, blues, acoustic.  ...read more         

CAKE WALK Fundraiser for the Appalachian Food Storybank

April 29, 1-5 PM - Slow Food Asheville has announced CAKE WALK! Fundraiser for the Appalachian Food Storybank. The free event will be held on  at Carrier Park Picnic Pavilion, 220 Amboy Rd. in Asheville. A traditional Appalachian cake walk, set to live music, will be one feature of the event. Cake walk tickets are $2 a round and in each round, someone wins a cake! Cakes come from local bakeries and individuals, some using heirloom ingredients or recipes.

The fundraiser will also feature heirloom plant vendors, food vendors, demonstrations of traditional Appalachian tools and methods, and a phenomenal raffle. Prizes include gift certificates to local restaurants, a class at John C. Campbell Folk School, gift baskets, and more. Zach Phillips of Cultured Foods will give a Kraut making demo, and Jean Benfield will be present to sign her book, Mountain Born. Most of all, attendees will enjoy an afternoon in the park with good food and friends.

The Appalachian Food Storybank is an oral history initiative centered on southern Appalachian heritage foods and foodways. The project works to preserve and collect precious stories of heritage foods and traditional foodways in Appalachia. A “storybooth” will be in place at the CAKE WALK! event, presenting an opportunity for attendees to record their stories of history, culture, and heritage.

Sponsors, Vendors, and Raffle Donors include: ASAP, John C. Campbell Folk School, Imladris Farm, Reems Creek Nursery, Sow True Seed, Tupelo Honey Cafe, Bill Whipple, Buchi, Barbara Swell’s Log Cabin Cooking, Spinning Spider Creamery, Earth and Spirit Designs, Red Stag Grille, Wildwood Herbal, Rise Up Rooted Farms, Fifth Season, Eagledove Greenhouses, Gypsy Queen Cuisine, Southern Fryz, the Potters of Madison County.

Bakeries represented include: Short Street Cakes, West End Bakery, French Broad Chocolate Lounge, Farm and Sparrow, and the Montford Walk-in Bakery.

Stories of Mountain Folk Podcast 2-11-12

February 11, 2012 - Opening the show this week, Amy tells her "O Perfect Love" story, with music by Jo Northup and Richard Birt from Asheville as they play "O Perfect Love." Doreyl's guest is Eugenia Johnson from Graham County, who talks about the Swain County Center for the Performing Arts; Amy then speaks with potter Elise Delfield from Bryson City who shares her love of pottery. The show ends with husband and wife team, Whimzik, who perform "Come Bonnie Laddie." Listen to the podcast here: http://www.storiesofmountainfolk.com/

Stories of Mountain Folk Podcast 2-4-12

February 4, 2012 - Amy's story "Granny Dawson's Basket" opens the show; Doreyl's interview is with Casey Queen from Dillsboro…the two discuss this year's Colorfest which will be held in Dillsboro. Amy then talks with Jeffrey Delfield of Bryson City, who has a deep love of making clawhammer banjos for his customers. We then hear Henry Queen of John's Creek play "John Henry" (clawhammer style banjo), and Jacob Jones of Sylva (who learned from the Queen family to play the clawhammer style) as he plays "Shortin' Bread."

Listen to the Podcast HERE

Woodslore and Wildwoods Wisdom at Walnut Creek Preserve’s Nature Center

January 28, 10:30 AM to 12 PM at Walnut Creek Preserve Nature Center - Doug Elliott offers "Woodslore and Wildwoods Wisdom: Stories, Songs, and Lore Celebrating the Natural World".  Whether he's singing about catfish, pontificating on possums, extolling the virtues of dandelions, cawing with crows, pondering the “nature” in human nature, telling wild snake tales or wailing out a jivey harmonica tune, Doug Elliott is known for his lively presentations as well as his broad, practical, scientific, and cultural knowledge of the Southern Appalachian bioregion.
Elliot will be performing a concert of amazing tales, lively tunes, traditional lore, outrageous personal narratives with facts stranger than fiction. He flavors it all with regional dialects, lively harmonica riffs, and more than a few belly laughs. Time and weather permitting, there may also be an interpretive natural history stroll around the grounds of Walnut Creek Preserve after the presentation. Children and adults are welcome and the event is free.

To get to Walnut Creek Preserve’s Nature Center from the Tryon NC and Columbus area, take NC HWY – 108 E and turn left on to NC HWY – 9 N toward Lake Lure. Follow NC HWY – 9 N for 5 miles and turn right onto McGuinn Road (at the Exxon Station). Go 1 mile to the intersection with Big Level Road; turn left, go 2/10ths of a mile and take the first right onto Aden Green Road. Follow Aden Green for 4/10ths of a mile and turn left on Herbarium Lane and into Walnut Creek Preserve. Take the first left onto Conservatory Lane which takes you to the parking area for the Nature Center.

For more information or directions from another location, please contact the Pacolet Area Conservancy at (828)859-5060

New Year's Program from Stories of Mountain Folk

Each week Stories of Mountain Folk presents a half hour podcast of mountain heritage told through music and interviews with local "folks". This week's offering includes snippets taken from interviews throughout 2011, including:
Amy's "Ballroom Dancing" story, Joyce Moore, Becky Lipkin and Thomas Rain Crowe, all from Tuckasegee, and to end the segment, The Butterpats sing "For the Beauty of the Earth"; Amy's guests are 100-year old Rose Clark from Franklin, 80-year old Ruth Ensley Bryson from Cullowhee, and a young Sarah Conley (from Hickory) of The Hurleys who share with us "Wayfaring Stranger." Finally, Ron Smith plays "Auld Sand Syne."

To listen to this week's broadcast CLICK HERE

History Comes to Life in Old Fort

November 19   Militia Day at Davidson Fort   Davidson's Fort volunteers come out in period clothing to learn and practice eighteenth-century lifeways skills and demonstrate them to visitors. Most of these days have a central theme, but any and all skills are welcome and could be demonstrated any day

Cullowhee Baptist Church Celebrates 90 Years

Submitted by Amy Ammons Garza, Catch the Spirit of Appalachia

Early pioneers to Western North Carolina traveled by foot, by horse, by wagon, looking for a new home in the wilderness of the mountains. Once the pioneers established homes, the spirit of the Christian yearned for a place of worship. Thus, in 1821, began the foundation of Cullowhee Baptist Church in Jackson County.

The first church meeting was held in a log structure near the confluence of Love's Branch and the Tuckaseigee River at Webster, NC. The church moved in 1830 to a hewn-log building near the mouth of Cullowhee Creek.  E. H. Stillwell's “Historical Sketch of Tuckaseegee Baptist Association (1829-1929)” states:   “. . .the church was moved to a site near the mouth of Cullowhee Creek where a small log house served as a place of worship. This log structure stood directly in front of where R. V. Brown now has a stock of goods at Cullowhee.”  (The store known as Brown's Store was located where Kindermusik is today.) 

The Tuckaseigee's periodic flooding chased the people to higher ground, and in 1856, a church building was constructed on property adjacent to the present church cemetery. Other structures–frame buildings–were constructed on the periphery of the cemetery in 1885 and then again in 1918. The present brick building was completed in 1929.

During the early years, new churches spawned from Cullowhee Baptist Church included Oconaluftee Baptist (circa 1828); Webster Back Baptist (no longer standing);  Scotts Creek Baptist (circa 1830);  Old Savannah Baptist (circa 1836); Caney Fork Baptist  (circa 1836, and eventually became Tuckasegee Baptist);  Speedwell Baptist (circa 1902); Little Savannah Baptist (circa 1914);  and Black Mountain Baptist (circa 1919).

Since 1830, Cullowhee Baptist Church has grown up almost like a sister to Western Carolina University, its solidarity providing a constant beacon while progress evolved. Many members of the current congregation are descendants of the original founders of the church.

Co-pastors, the Reverend Dr. Jeffrey and the Reverend Tonya Vickery, will soon be celebrating 10 years as pastors for Cullowhee Baptist Church. With a heart for “missions,” these pastors are aware of needs in the community and lead the church to respond to them as best they can.

The church is intergenerational. “On a typical Sunday in worship, we have 90-years-olds worshiping alongside preschoolers and university students,” says Pastor Jeffrey. “The sanctuary choir includes retired adults, working adults, and an entire front row of middle-school and high-school girls.  We share meals together on Wednesday nights.  And most mission trips have included a wide spectrum of ages.  Our children are known to members of this church by name, and the children can tell you the names of our older “living saints” in the church.  What a blessing to have such a diverse mix of ages, all helping one another as we worship and serve together and grow in faith with one another.

On Sunday, November 20, 2011, the church (now a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship congregation) will host a celebration to honor the church’s longevity, its pastors, its music, and its members. Many of the former pastors, missionaries, members, and current dignitaries will be on hand to help in the celebration and join in the Southern tradition of a wonderful pot-luck meal, open to all who attend. A program will follow, with short talks on the historic church and special music by the children, led by Paula Fox. A new 162-page book commemorating the history of Cullowhee Baptist Church, compiled by the History Committee—Barbara Dooley, Etheree Chancellor, John Bell, Amy Ammons Garza, Dianne Yount, Mary Lou Millwood, Pam Hill,  and other members of the church, with special assistance from WCU graduate student Nicole Jarosinski—and published by Catch the Spirit of Appalachia, will also be available on this date.

The church invites one and all to join in the celebration on November 20 at 11am. For directions to the church or further information, call 828-293-9024, or go to their website at  www.cullowheebaptist.com.

Asheville hosts HardLox Jewish Food and Heritage Festival

October 16   HardLox  Jewish Food and Heritage Festival    Great traditional Jewish food, Israeli dancing, crafts, a Kids Zone, klezmer music and lots more. Have your name written in Hebrew, discover the Torah, learn about Jewish holidays and festivals, and join in the singing and dancing.

Every Jewish organization in the Asheville area will be represented with many providing interactive educational opportunities to learn about our people and our Jewish heritage and culture. Come eat the delicious Jewish foods and stay for the day to enjoy klezmer music, Israeli folk dancing, Kids zone, crafts, and more.

Get a link for this Festival and other Asheville events, lodging visitor information HERE.

Mountain Music Project at the Blue Ridge Music Center

The Blue Ridge Music Center will present two October Heritage Series events on October 16th in the intimate, Blue Ridge Music Center, indoor theater. At 2pm, there will be a free Galax premiere of the film The Mountain Music Project and at 4pm, there will be a performance-talk featuring local stringband, The Reed Island Rounders.

The Mountain Music Project is a film that follows two Virginia musicians, Danny Knicely and Tara Linhardt, who travel to Nepal to explore the extraordinary connections between Appalachian and Himalayan folk music. Local fiddler, Buddy Pendleton, also makes an appearance in this interesting documentary. Film director and actor, Tara Linhardt, will be present at this first screening of The Mountain Music Project in Galax.

Hillsville's Reed Island Rounders have been playing together since 1993, when fiddler Betty Vornbrock and guitarist Billy Cornette formed a band to compete at the Galax Fiddlers' Convention. Recently, acclaimed North Carolina fiddler and banjo player, Kirk Sutphin, has added his unique styles and North Carolina repertoire to the band. The three now blend their mutual respect for the Old-Time music of West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and SW Virginia, where Betty & Billy make their home. Come and enjoy the Reed Island Rounders' lively mix of Round Peak, Piedmont, and old mountain tunes, and perhaps dance to a lovely waltz or two.

Both The Mountain Music Project (2pm) and the Reed Island Rounders performance-talk (4pm) will take place Sunday, October 16th. Free admission. Phone (276) 236-5309 x112 to reserve seating. Those with reserved seats must show up 15 minutes prior to the start of each event. At start-time remaining seats are given to drop-in visitors.

All of the October Heritage Events are free thanks to support from Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the National Council for the Traditional Arts.

The Blue Ridge Music Center is located at milepost 213 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Blue Ridge Music Center is open 9-5 seven days a week through October 30. Come see the new Roots of American Music exhibition and sit awhile in our covered breezeway and listen to Mid-Day Mountain Music from 12-4pm daily. There is no fee for Visitor Center activities.

NC Fall Leaf Season Events: Mountain Heritage Festivals this Week

Oct 8   BOONE   Boone Heritage Festival   An event celebrating  Appalcahian Heritage and Daniel Boone history. Hickory Ridge Living History Museum hosts for fun with the family, learning about history through 18^th century demonstrations, crafts, music, storytelling and dance.  Enjoy music jam sessions all day with both amateurs and professionals joining in.  The jam sessions are open to musicians, dancers and listeners alike.  You can even get a hands-on, mini music lesson in exchange for a small donation.  Cake walks, make-and-take crafts and a pumpkin carving contest.  Daniel Boone Native Gardens will be offering free, guided tours of the Gardens at 10am, noon and 2pm.  Explore the varied "rooms" of the Gardens, featuring a bog garden, fern garden, rhododendron grove, vine-covered arbor and others.

Oct  4 - 8   CHEROKEE   99th Annual Cherokee Indian Fair    Held at the Cherokee Indian Fair Grounds, the fair offers topnotch nightly musical entertainment, fireworks, a carnival midway full of rides and games, craft vendors, food vendors including some featuring traditional Cherokee food, and an exhibit hall displaying the Eastern Band enrolled members traditional and contemporary arts and crafts.

Oct  8  BREVARD   2nd Saturday Program at the Heritage Museum   The History of Transylvania -  The Historical Use of Culinary Herbs: Gail Comer

Oct  8   TODD   Annual Todd New River Festival   Multiple music performances, storytelling, bluegrass jams, puppet shows, athletic competitions and other recreational events for all to enjoy. Many bluegrass bands and over 30 vendors with a variety of arts and craft,  barbecue and great food. Admission is free. Parking and a shuttle ride to the festival are available for $5 at the field just off Railroad Grade Road from the Highway 194 entrance to Todd.

Oct  8   WHITTIER   Maple Leaf Festival   Featuring area artists and crafters, entertainment, food, and heritage and holiday exhibits, all found on the quaint and usually quiet Whittier Main Street.

Oct  8   CHEROKEE   Fall Harvest Festival   Artists from all over the Southeast will gather to demonstrate and sell their hand crafted works. Artists will include Cherokee stone carver, wood carvers, gourd artists, blacksmith, jewelry designers, Appalachian crafters and authors. Located at the Old Mill.

Get more NC Fall Leaf Season Events HERE

Penland Offers Historic Preservation Classes

Penland School of Crafts has announced its partnership with the North Carolina State Office of Historic Preservation and Preservation North Carolina to offer two special workshops this fall in the craft of renovation and historic preservation.

October 14 - 15: Historic Preservation Workshop with preservation architect Joe Oppermann.   This workshop covers historic designation on the National Register and in your local community, the use of tax credits for individuals and communities as they restore and rehabilitate historic architecture, and special breakout sessions for historic preservation commissioners. Preservation architect Joe Oppermann will explain the restoration and rehabilitation process by leading a discussion on two preservation projects on Penland’s campus: an 1860 log farm house with German siding and a 1916 Craftsman style dorm.This workshop is designed for the general preservation audience but also qualifies for historic preservation commission education credits. The workshop will also include a special presentation on saved historic architecture in North Carolina by Myrick Howard, President of Preservation North Carolina. 

October 21 - 22: Window Restoration Workshop with specialist David Hoggard. This is a window restoration workshop with specialist David Hoggard, owner of Double Hung, a window restoration company. Students will learn the mechanics of traditional windows and participate in a hands-on session of basic window repair and materials using mid-19th and early-20th century buildings on Penland’s campus. There will be technical tips and a presentation on more complicated window repair. This workshop is designed for homeowners, do-it-yourselfers, general contractors, and carpenters.

Get a complete schedule more information, pricing, and registration form HERE

Sow, Grow it and Show it at the Macon County Fair in Franklin

Septembet 14-17   56th Annual Macon County Fair  57 years of authentic agricultural fair featuring crafts, farm animals and festival foods. Held at the Wayne Proffitt Agricultural Center on the Macon County Fairgrounds

US 441S.in Franklin NC

Education Booths and Individual Exhibits will be open daily 9 AM - 9 PM. Enjoy a variety of shows including horsemanship, dairy, pet, rabbit, goat, lamb and hog shows. There's a Kids Fun Day, Pedal Tractor Pull, BBQ Supper. Enjoy entertainment at the Pavilion and Family Activities every day. Find out who wins the "Best Cake in the County" Contest and the Tractor Driving Contest. Entries for the Annual Scarecrow Contest will be on display throughout the Fairgrounds.

Labor Day Weekend Event: 40th Annual Smoky Mountain Folk Festival

On September 2 and 3 enjoy two evenings and 100s of some of the best mountain music and dance performers at this year's Annual Smoky Mountain Folk Festival.  The Festival begins each evening with the "Open tent" begins at 5 PM followed by  the Main Stage Show follows at 5:30 PM.

The event features a huge variety of mountain music and dance including fiddlers, banjo players, string bands, ballad singers, buck dancers, square dance teams as well as the wondrous sounds of dulcimer, harmonica, jew's harp, bagpipes, spoons, saws, and folk ensembles of all sorts. Get a schedule here.

Tickets available at the Junaluska Administrative Office, Haywood County Arts Council & at the door. Stuart Auditorium, Lake Junaluska. The Smoky Mountain Folk Festival is held annually Labor Weekend in Stuart Auditorium at Lake Junaluska, NC.

Labor Day Weekend Event: Heritage Walk and Festival in Murphy

September 3    11th Annual Heritage Walk and Festival   Enjoy a step back in time with this celebration of Cherokee County- North Carolina's first, last and finest place to be. Enjoy all-day historic walking tours and a heritage festival celebrating area artists, crafters, growers, food, live stage entertainment, and more. All events are free and open to the public. Located in Murphy NC.

Murphy NC Cabins available for Labor Day Weekend:

Murphy Cabin August and September Special -  $85 night, $600 week. 3 bedrooms 2 baths, sleeps up to 8.  Wonderful mountain views, game room with air hockey, fireplace, lots of deck. On 2 acres in gated community with easy access.  Get details

Log Cabin peaceful getaway - 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, sleeps 6. Mountain views, Fireplace, grill, FREE WIFI, Pet Friendly, jetted tub in master. Fully equipped kitchen including ice cream maker. $100 night, $550 week, $1800 month.         Get details

Murphy mountain chalet with stream and pond - 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, sleeps 6. Stream, pond and gazebo in a park-like setting. Wrap around deck, gas grill, gas log fireplace, WIFI. $85 night, $550 - $595 week.              See photos and more

Find more Murphy NC Cabin Rentals here

Youth Contestants sought for Talent Contest at Great Smoky Mountains Railroad’s Railfest

To showcase the musical and vocal talents of our children, 4-H in association with Catch the Spirit of Appalachia will again produce a Youth Talent Contest at the GSMR Railfesst, September 17, 2011. The contest will run from 10:45 until 12 noon, and will give opportunity to youth to share their talents up to the age of 18. Participants in this contest must exhibit a talent that will reflect heritage and old Appalachian ways of our region and adhere to the contest Qualifications and Rules. Deadline for Applications— September 1, 2011.
This competition will be held on the main stage and will be part of the “heritage” entertainment provided during the festival. Categories of the contest include:
Poetry/Storytelling (writings about heritage, items of historical significance, old timey ways)
Vocal Performance – Individual or Group (old timey songs, old gospel songs, bluegrass, heritage tunes from the turn of the century)
Instrumentalists – Individual or Group (feature instruments such as banjo, fiddle, guitar, dulcimer, mandolin playing old timey songs, old gospel songs, bluegrass, heritage tunes)
Dance – Individual or Group (Clogging, Square Dance, Irish Folk Dance, Native American Dance)

Trophies are offered for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. First Place Best of Show winner will have the opportunity of playing on the Heritage Stage at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Day on Saturday, September 24th, 2011.


To register, download an application from www.spirirofappalachia.org, fill out the application form by September 1 and mail to Jackson County 4-H, 538 Scotts Creek Road, Sutie 205, Sylva, NC 28779, or send to kerri_rayburn@ncsu.edu, or fax to 828-586-5009. For more information or request an application form by mail, contact Heather Gordon, Jackson County 4-H at 828-586-4009 or heather_gordon@ncsu.edu.

Stories of Mountain Folk keeps Heritage Alive and Available

Start your week off on a positive note by listening to the Podcast from Saturday's Stories of Mountain Folk. Through modern technology the Show keeps the past, and mountain heritage, alive and well - and in the here and now. The 30 minute broadcasts cover all things mountain from music to gardening to storytelling. The radio show began in September 2008, the product of the ever-creative minds of  the Ammons Sisters, cofounders of Catch the Spirit of Appalachia.

The weekly shows are available anytime by going to the Stories of Mountain Folk Website, one of the many projects of Catch the Spirit of Appalachia. On the podcast from the July 23 show you can listen to The Butterpats introduce the show with "For the Beauty of the Earth," followed by Doreyl's interview with Peggy Dawson of Tuckasegee about gardening. Host Amy then talks with Bill Crawford from Franklin about how his parents met in Nantahala, and the show concludes with the Cockman Family and "Old Time Religion."

The shows have been archived on the website and are there waiting for you whenever you need a little lift or a few minutes of sanity and spiritual sustenance.  Click here to listen now.