Great Smoky Mountain News and Events: June 2 - June 8

Upcoming Meetings -
The Chamber Board meeting is on June 16, at 6 p.m. in the Chamber office.
The TDA Board meeting is on June 29, at Noon in the Chamber office.

Weekly Events and happenings June 2-8.  Click here for a printable flyer.

Best of the Road - Vote for Bryson City in the Rand McNally and USA Today Best of the Road poll to find the best small towns. Vote here for Bryson City.

New Chamber Members May 23-27 -
Seventh-Day Adventist Church
1122 Old Highway 19 South, Bryson City, NC
828-734-5195 or 828-332-1601
Sabbath School 10 a.m. Saturday
Worship 11 a.m. Saturday
Bible Study 6 p.m. Wednesday

Shurr Adventures  Guided flatwater kayaking and hiking trips in the Great Smoky Mountains with professional naturalists Alli and Justin Shurr. No experience necessary! We offer 2 hour express trips, half-day, full-day, kayak rentals, sunset, full moon, multi-day, and our very popular kayaking/hiking combo trip.   Bryson City, NC   877-551-4453 or 877-455-2925

News from Swain County Center for the Arts -
Chinese watercolor techniques at Art League of the Smokies meeting. Click here for more information.

Craft festival at the Old Mill 1886 -  On June 18 artists from all over the Southeast will gather to demonstrate and sell their hand crafted works. Artists will include: Cherokee artists, wood carvers, blacksmith, quilters, jewelry designers, Appalachian crafters and authors. Smoked BBQ, kettle corn, homemade ice cream and music. The mill is located at 3082 U.S. 441. A mile south of Cherokee. Festival hours are 9:30 am to 5:00 pm. Admission is free. 828-497-6536

News from P.A.W.S. -  P.A.W.S. sends out a BIG THANK YOU to all those who voted to help us win a brand new Toyota van for the shelter! Come on down and see the cute critters we will have up for adoption this weekend! Click here for a printable flyer.

News from Mountain BizWorks -  Mountain BizWorks offers a new 3-part series on social media and internet marketing. Click here for more information.

News from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Park managers close Elkmont entrance road nightly June 4-12 for firefly viewing. Update on closed trails. Click here for more information.

News from the Marianna Black Library - The Summer Music Series at the library begins on June 9th. The first music jam of the month is on June 2nd. Click here for more information.
Friends of the Library bookstore anniversary -Come celebrate the best used bookstore in Bryson City, the volunteers that make it run and the amazing help we are able to give to the Marianna Black Library because of our wonderful customers! Click here for a printable flyer.

Ponie Express fundraiser for breast cancer survivors - Hike, bike or ride to raise funds for breast cancer survivors. Please read the message from Carol Dilley with the Settlement at Thomas Divide. She would appreciate any support you can give for the event. She is also looking for vendors for the event. Click here to read the message.

News from The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee - The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee will host a bird walk at Queens Branch with Jack Johnson on Friday, June 3rd at 8 a.m. The Queen Branch parcel, which is a restoration site for mitigation purposes, was gifted to LTLT by Duke Power in June 2004. The property is 16 acres with 1,600 feet of Little Tennessee River frontage just upstream of the Lost Bridge Tract acquired by LTLT in September 2003. The floodplain parcel has open meadows and wetlands and a significant archeological site.To get to Queens Branch take HWY 28 S (Bryson City Road) and go past Cowee Community, the parking lot with sign will be on your left hand side. For more information contact Jill at 828-524-2711 ext 209 or outreach@ltlt.org. www.ltlt.org

For more Smoky Mountain Events contact the Swain County Chamber of Commerce, 210 Main Street in Bryson City, North Carolina

RiverLink June donations get Matching Funds

NOW is the time to make a donation to RiverLink! Thanks to a generous donor every dollar you donate will be matched dollar for dollar from now until July 1, 2011. DOnations to Riverlink are among the most productive in the charitable and nonprofit industry. 87 cents of every dollar donated is used on projects that make local rivers fishable, swimmable, drinkable and accessible for all of our children's children and everyone to enjoy.

Whether you measure in trash bags filled, tires removed, kids educated, water quality or acres of greenspace preserved forever in the riparian corridors, RiverLink's impact on the watershed is enormous. RiverLink receives foundation, state and federal grants for big projects such as greenway purchases or historic land and building along with our many stream restorations but these funds do not support our daily operations.

This is a real opportunity to double your support of the organization that acquired the old speedway now transformed into Carrier park - the old EDACO junk yard - soon to be added to the greenway after a phytoremediation (clean up petroleum using plants) and continues to spearhead greenway and adaptive reuse of historic buildings along the river corridors. RiverLink is making the French Broad River watershed a destination for everyone to live, work and play.

Riverlink teaches 5,000 school children a year, is developing river access and overnight camping sites, holds conservation easements in the riparian corridor for future generations and hosts a variety of events throughout the year

The Voice of 1,000 party in honor of donors will be held again this year at the home of Barbara and Don Layden in September.

Riverlink is close to the $200,000 goal - donate today at riverlink.org or by calling  828-252-8474, ext 10 , or using snail mail at P.O. Box 15488, Asheville, NC 28813-0488.

We truly appreciate your support and need your help today to meet our goal! Thank you in advance for your support.  - Karen Cragnolin, Executive Director RiverLink

Grandfather Mountains Notes the Passing of an Era

Granfather Mountain officials have announced the end of an Era for The Singing on the Mountain with the passing of Singing Chairman Robert Hartley.

The 87th annual Singing on the Mountain will be a memorial to two of the event’s great leaders: Singing Chairman Robert Hartley who passed away in May 2011 and Music Master Tony Greene who passed away in September 2010.

Robert Hartley was the youngest child of Singing Founder Joe Hartley, who with his four brothers took over the role as Chairmen of the Singing after their father’s death in 1966. The last remaining Hartley brother, Robert’s passing is the end of an era that his friends and family will celebrate Sunday, June 26.

Performing at the 87th Singing will be the Tim Greene Trio, The Hoppers, The Primitive, The Cockman Family, Michael Combs, the Mighty Gospel Enforcers and George Hamilton IV with Terry Warren. Admission is free.

NC Trout Fishing: Troutacular! Festival and Heritage Program

June 4 - Troutacular! You'll find everything Trout at the state’s newest mountain heritage trout festival. The one-day event is a dual town Festival connecting Spruce Pine and Bakersville, two of the five mountain towns named participants in pilot programs for Mountain Heritage Trout Waters Cities in North Carolina.

The Mountain Heritage The Mountain Heritage Trout Waters Program was established by the General Assembly in 2007 as a means to encourage trout fishing as a heritage tourism activity.  Participation is limited to cities and towns that provide public access to trout waters which are currently in the North Carolina Wildlife Commission’s trout management program and run through or adjacent to those cities or towns.  Both Spruce Pine and Bakersville –along with Maggie Valley, Waynesville and Newland-have been designated as part of the pilot program.

Activities are being planned that will provide educational and fun entertainment for participants of all ages.  Events for the festival include fishing and wildlife vendors and exhibits, Trout Unlimited, trout fishing, Toe River Outfitters with demonstrations, children’s activities, a fishing tournament for cash prizes, NC Fish and Wildlife exhibits, local crafters and of course food!

The Mountain Heritage Trout Cities Festival is coordinated by the Spruce Pine Main Street, the Town of Bakersville, along with community business people. This event is free for kids age 14 and under.