Recently in Events Category

The Jackson County Smart Roads Alliance, a member of the Jackson County Transportation Task Force, is sponsoring a public meeting on Thursday, January 10, which is entitled "Transportation Issues in Jackson County: Alternatives to the Southern Loop."

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Jackson County Justice and Administration Center, in Courtroom One, and is scheduled to continue until 9 p.m.

Below: a stained glass window at Saint Mary's Catholic Church in Sylva, depicting the holy family. (Click on the photo or any other photos below, to view an enlarged version.)


Below: Frasier fir trees on the lawn of the old courthouse, in downtown Sylva.


Below: Milt and Lucy Wofford of Sylva have a "ChrisMoose" in their front yard!

Below: Boy Scouts Joseph Baker and Alex Madill of Sylva's Troop 999 make last-minute preparations for the 2007 Sylva Christmas parade; the headgear does not seem to be part of the regulation Boy Scout uniform, however!

What makes it feel like Christmas in downtown Sylva?

For some people, it's the wreaths on the old courthouse. For others it might be the big tree at the bottom of the courthouse steps. But for everybody, it's the annual festive window decorations on Sylva's Main Street, hand-painted by local artist Austen Mikulka.

You've probably noticed Austen at work, perhaps accompanied by his loyal dog, Benro. He's the fellow crouching on the sidewalk with paint on his sweatshirt and hands, studying notepad sketches and skillfully turning them into full-color humorous scenes on the plate glass windows of shops on Main Street.

Thanks to his focused attention, each window not only is a bright bit of cheer for downtown Christmas shoppers, but also is a beautiful advertisement for each shop. You'll find snowmen in camping gear at BlackRock Outdoor (roasting snowballs over "coals" of ice); Santa Claus at Nick and Nate's restaurant, where Santa has cheese shredders and pizza cutters in his sack of toys; Santa Claus doing a wheelie at Motion Makers bicycle shop (where the tires are made of wreaths); and many more. The key is to hunt for the delightful details.(Below: two spoons warm themselves in front of an oven, sitting in the snow next to the pizza-slice trees, on the window at Nick and Nate's restaurant.)

You might recognize the Three Wise Men painted on Guadalupe Cafe's front window. On a starry night, on a snowy hill, we see not the three kings from Bethlehem, but loyal Guadalupe Cafe patrons John McCarley (local landscaper), Adam Bigelow (everyone's favorite hippie gardener) and Austen himself.

After moving to Sylva in 2001 from his hometown of Douglas, Georgia, Austen began working at Meatball's Restaurant. The restaurant had a large plate glass window in front, so Austen decided -- between cooking pizzas and waiting tables -- that he'd like to learn how to paint on windows, the way he'd seen an artist do back home. He had not been formally educated in art techniques, and he says "I started painting windows to teach myself how to paint."

Local businesspeople liked the results at Meatball's so much that Austen began to get requests for work on other shop windows. By paying Austen to design and paint the expressive and original scenes on their windows, shop owners enjoy greater sales and attention from window shoppers. Awnings above the glass windows along Main Street protect the art from rain, hail, snow and direct sun, which gives Austen's artworks a long lifespan.

Two of Austen's earliest Main Street customers were BlackRock Outdoor and Nick and Nate's Pizzeria. Newer customers include Bear Lake Reserve, Fantasy Travel, Jake's Mountain House, Guadalupe Cafe, Motion Makers, Lily's Treasures, the Friends of the Library Bookstore, Terri Clark Photography and the Sylva Herald.

(Below: Jake's Mountain House (the "Life is good" store) seems to be announcing that "Christmas is good!" Click photo to enlarge.)

Austen first sketches his masterpieces on paper, trying various shapes and characters. He uses his imagination to create a different scenario that fits each of his business customers. At Halloween on the window of the new Lily's Treasures boutique for children, for example, one could spot a pumpkin-headed lad atop the shoulders of his pumpkin-headed dad. A ghoul appeared atop a bicycle on the window of the Motion Makers bicycle shop. Three varieties of carnivorous plants created a sense of impending Halloween doom on the window of the Guadalupe Cafe.

Austen is thrilled with the response from both locals and visitors, though he sometimes worries his work will not be received well (the ghouls on various windows for Halloween "were pretty creepy," he admits). "I've gotten a lot of encouragement," he said. "It's good, because I'm not just pleasing myself and my friends, the people I know downtown, but also people who are complete strangers, and that's a really cool thing to do."

(Come downtown to Main Street to view all of Austen's Christmas work. The photos in this article are only a portion of the scenes you'll see.)

In addition to his work on Main Street, Austen likes to stay busy with other artistic jobs -- it's his living -- and he's available for photography, hand-painted signs, murals, portraits, graphic design and illustrations.

Several striking pen-and-ink drawings and illustations are available for viewing at the Guadalupe Cafe (which hosted a reception for Austen on Thursday, Dec. 13). Go by and take a look -- and if you can't, call Austen at 828.371.0695 for more information.

The interfaith drama, "Mary Did You Know," presented by the Trail of Light Drama Team, drew crowds this year in its 10th year of production.

More than 15 churches were represented by the cast and crew of the play, which was hosted by Cullowhee Baptist Church on the evenings of November 30 and December 1.

The dance scenes were expanded from last year's performance, with 7 dancers performing 3 Israeli folk dances choreographed by Suzanne Kehrberg of Cullowhee. The performance was accented by the drumming expertise of Caden Painter and the vocal talents of Henry Wong, Sarajane Melton, Britney Acosta, Paula Fox, Victoria Casey McDonald, Larry Haskett, Pelham Thomas, Wesley Haskett, Nikki Henke and a child angel choir.

[Earlier coverage of the event appears in an online article by the Jackson County Magazine (click).]

Shown below (from left to right: the baby Jesus is flanked by angels and shepherds, and Jasper (the dog), Sarajane Melton (as a midwife) , Jim Harbin (as Joseph), Britney Acosta (as Mary). Baby Jesus is Tori Langford.

(Click any image to enlarge.)

Let's go dancing! Western Carolina University will offer beginner swing and salsa workshops for teenagers and adults Monday, Dec. 17, through Wednesday, Dec. 19, in Breese Gymnasium.

The teen workshop will be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m., and the workshop for adults is offered from 6 to 7:30 p.m. No partner or experience is required for either workshop.

A registration fee of $40 per person is required along with pre-enrollment.

For more information or to register, visit http://www.wcu.edu/2874.asp or call the Division of Educational Outreach at (828) 227-3688 or email sfouts@wcu.edu . 

If you missed them last weekend, don't miss them this weekend: Dillsboro's luminary celebration will be held again on Friday and Saturday evenings, from 5 to 9 p.m (December 14 and 15).

The town's shops, inns, and restaurants will be decorated for the season, and will offer cocoa, cider, and small treats for visitors.

Santa will be available for photographs with the kids, inside Town Hall, at the corner of Front Street and Depot Street.

Over 2,500 small white paper bags filled with sand and lighted candles will adorn the streets and sidewalks. Musicians will be stationed at nearly every shop, and look for a group of musicians to be jamming around the firepit at the Riverwood Shops.

Admission is free. Parking is available in town, at several lots around town, and at the Monteith Farmstead, just off of Old Hometown Place Road.

Dress for cold weather, and bring the entire family!

For more information, see www.visitdillsboro.org or call Teresa Dowd, Dillsboro Merchants Association Chairman, at 586-5700. Additional coverage is online in an article by the Sylva Herald (click).

The events coincide with the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad Christmas trains, featuring the Polar Express rides. For information on train rides, call 1-800-872-4681 or visit www.gsmr.com.

Western Carolina University will host commencement exercises at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Ramsey Center. Approximately 560 students are candidates for graduate and undergraduate degrees.

An honorary doctorate of letters will be awarded posthumously to the Benjamin S. Ruffin (shown at right), who became the first African-American to lead the UNC system's governing board when he was elected its chairman in 1998. He was still serving as chairman when he died in 2006.

The primary commencement address will be delivered by Cara Elizabeth Ward, a theatre and art major from Sylva. She enrolled at WCU in 2002 but left the university to serve 11 months with the Army Reserves in Iraq in 2005. She returned to her studies this fall.
 
WCU Chancellor John Bardo will preside and deliver the charge to the degree candidates.

Commencement is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact WCU's Office of Public Affairs at 227-7327.

[Editor's note: tickets are no longer available; the show sold out on December 10.]

The Asheville Symphony Orchestra will perform a holiday concert at Western Carolina University at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Fine and Performing Arts Center.

Performing a concert titled "Holiday Pops," the symphony will feature the Western Carolina Community Chorus under the direction of James Dooley, and soloists Alison Trainer and William Martin.

Both soloists are widely recognized performers and have appeared in both regional and international performances. Trainer is an accomplished vocal performer, and Martin is a tenor and associate professor of music at WCU.

The performance will be conducted by Asheville Symphony music director Daniel Meyer. The show will offer a variety of holiday and Christmas favorites such as "Frosty the Snowman," "Here Comes Santa Claus" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." The audience is invited to participate in a sing-a-long featuring "Joy to the World" and "Deck the Hall," and other favorite Christmas carols.

"The sounds of Christmas are a legacy for all in our communities. These sounds will come alive in the Holiday Pops concert through the magical sound of a symphony orchestra," said Robert Kehrberg, dean of the College of Fine and Performing Arts.  "The Asheville Symphony Orchestra is a treasure to our region with professional performers throughout our region and nation. Anyone who attends will be impressed and changed by this concert."

An online video commercial prepared by WCU is available (click here).

(Shown at right: conductor Daniel Meyer.)

Curtis Blanton's play, "Precious Christmas Memories," will be performed at the Webster United Methodist Church at 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 9.

For more information, see an online Sylva Herald article (click here).

[Jackson County Magazine is not affiliated with the Sylva Herald.]

WCU faculty musicians present a chamber music concert this Sunday evening, December 9.

The public is invited, and there is no charge.

The concert, entitled "Loose Ends," is the last faculty concert of the current semester. The program includes

• Haydn's "London" Trio for flute, oboe, and bassoon

• Walter Hartley's Sonata for tuba and piano

• Madeline Dring's Trio for flute, oboe, and piano, and

• Benjamin Boone's 1994 piece for alto saxophone, "Election Year."

The concert begins at 8pm in the Recital Hall of WCU's Coulter Building.

An exhibit of Craig Forrest's work is featured at the It's By Nature gallery on West Main Street in downtown Sylva this Friday, December 7. A reception for the artist will be held there from 6:30 p.m. until 9.

Information about the artist can be found in an online article by the Smoky Mountain News (click here) and in an online article by the Sylva Herald (click here).

Forrest's Web site, www.sleepyhollowstudio.com, includes an image gallery.

For more information, call 828-743-5191.

City Lights Bookstore in Sylva will host Asheville photographer Kevin Adams on Saturday, December 8th at 4 p.m., for a presentation based on his new book, North Carolina Then & Now.

Published in the fall, the book features more than 75 pairs of oversized photographs of places around the state. Both shots of each pair are taken from the same vantage point, but one is a new photograph taken by Adams and the other is a historic photograph. The photos demonstrate the rapid pace of development in NC over the past 75 years.

Covering all parts of the state, the book includes many photographs from the mountain region, including the downtowns of Sylva, Bryson City, and Asheville. Various mountain views, including Whiteside Cove, Linville Gorge, and Tablerock Mountain are also featured.

Adams includes an extensive caption with each photograph, describing the scene's history. He consulted more than 10,000 historic photographs before choosing which ones to include in the book.

Adams will discuss his research and photography techniques and take questions from the audience. An autographing will follow his remarks.

For more information or to reserve a signed copy of the book, call City Lights at 586-9499. Copies of Adams' previous books, North Carolina Waterfalls and North Carolina's Best Wildflower Hikes, will be available. 

The folks at the Community Table, Jackson County's combination soup kitchen and community gathering center, are gearing up for a holiday season filled with warmth, fellowship and, most importantly, food.

This Christmas season, Timara McCollum, the Table's executive director, is encouraging everyone to give a little time to helping make holidays for those in need. She's joined by the Table's newest addition: Kitchen Manager Samantha Crawford, who joined the Table in August.

Crawford's role is to take whatever donations, Table garden produce and stocked items are available and magically create delicious, nutritious home-cooked meals for hundreds of people. The Table has served more than 100,000 hot meals since its inception in 1999.

She also coordinates the volunteers and garden workers who serve, clean, cook, cut desserts and wash dishes during special events and the four-times-per-week meals.

"I've made stuffed peppers, because we had so many out of the garden once. They also really like that Southern favorite of beans, greens and cornbread," she says, when asked what her most creative or favorite recipes have been. "But then, I've made Chinese stirfry before, and they ate that too," she adds, smiling.

Crawford encourages everyone to volunteer, and promises she can find a job to suit just about anyone -- even kids can play a role in volunteering at the Table. And she finds herself completely in line with the group's mission and goals. To find out more, you can call her at 586-6782.

The Table will hold a Holiday Cookie Bake on December 1, 5, 7, 8 and 12, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on each of those days. The baking event will use donated sugar cookie dough, cookie cutters and decorations like sprinkles to bring together kids, adults and Table patrons and staff at the holidays.

Parents are encouraged to bring children, and community members are encouraged to come help bake holiday cookies for distribution to patrons of the Table as well as to their friends and families. (There'll be lots of tasting for the chefs, too!)

RSVPs are requested for the Cookie Bake. Call Timara McCollum at 586-6782. If you'd like to donate items for the bake-off, you can call the same number to find out what's needed.

Another holiday event for the Table is an upcoming Christmas feast. The date has not yet been determined.

The Table feeds home-cooked meals to anyone and everyone in need in a homey, restaraunt-style atmosphere, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, from 4 to 6 p.m. In addition, they offer a Blue Plate Special the last Wednesday of the month during which local chefs provide food for $5 per plate, with all proceeds going to the Table. More information is available by contacting McCollum at 586-6782.

The Table is located at the corner of Storybook Lane and Bartlett Street in Sylva, next to the Church of Christ and 2 blocks from St. Mary's Catholic Church.

Shown below: volunteers and staffers at the Community Table (click photo to enlarge). From left: Josh Schond, a WCU student volunteer; Samantha Crawford, the Community Table's Kitchen Manager and Volunteer Coordinator; and Tim and Linda Rice, longtime volunteers. They're working on putting together pots and pots of homecooked spaghetti for dinner.

BRING ON THE SEASON with local bluegrass and blues jam sessions at the Mountain Heritage Center on Western Carolina University’s campus.

The traditional pickin’ sessions and concerts kick off this year on Thursday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m.

The first concert of the 2007-2008 season will feature Marshall resident Don Pedi and Celo resident Bruce Greene, both of whom are widely recognized throughout the Appalachians for their talents in transcribing old fiddle tunes for the mountain dulcimer and performances of old-time Kentucky fiddle music, respectively.

Each concert is followed by a jam session, open to any interested musicians and audience members.

The concerts continue on the first Thursday of each month through March. Performing at future concerts are the McDowell Family on Jan. 3, Chuck Norris and Daybreak on Feb. 7, and Charles Shuler and Friends on March 6.

As part of the focus on mountain music styles, the MHC also will host a third-Thursday open jam session (sans concert), which kicks off next month on Jan. 17, at 7 p.m.

All interested musicians, singers, and audience members are encouraged to attend the free event; the MHC is located on the ground floor of the H.F. Robinson Administration Building (the large white building at the main entrance to campus).

For further information, call the MHC at 828-227-7129.

The Downtown Sylva Christmas Parade is coming! Don't miss it. The parade is this Saturday, Dec. 1, starting at 5 p.m.

The event is a downtown tradition, hosted by the Downtown Sylva Association. This year's parade could be one of the biggest ever, and will features some new elements:

* All parade vehicles and floats will be required to be decorated in a holiday theme.

* To encourage the implementation of DSA's theme, "Home for the Holidays," a cash prize will be awarded after the parade to the winner of the decoration contest.

* No candy or treats will be thrown from the floats and vehicles themselves, but walkers beside vehicles can dispense candy and goodies to onlookers. (Safety and insurance issues prevent throwing the candy from moving vehicles.)

This year's route begins on Scotts Creek Road, with vehicles and floats coming down Asheville Highway and picking up walkers and the Smoky Mountain High School Marching Band at the United Community Bank parking lot, just before the intersection with Highway 107.

The parade then turns toward downtown on Main Street towards the old courthouse. The parade ends at Mark Watson Park on West Main Street.

Shops and restaurants are encouraged to stay open for business in the evening. Many will have special holiday sales and activities on parade day. Sylva's town decorations already are gracing light poles and the traditional tree at the base of the steps of the old courthouse.

Also, the "Pictures with Santa" 2nd annual fundraiser for the Bridge Park Project takes place from 2 to 5 p.m., before the parade. A photo with Santa in the courtyard of Restaurant 553, next door to the Sylva Herald on Main Street, will be taken by local photographer Terri Clark and developed by Livingston's Photo. Both are donating their services, so all profits go towards the Bridge Park project, the park to be built on the town's municipal parking lot on Railroad Avenue. The cost for a 5x7 photograph is $15. Extra photos are available for $5. Each photo includes a holiday frame card.

Drivers should be aware that Main Street will be closed on Saturday, starting in the early afternoon. Traffic will be rerouted to Jackson Street, where vehicles can follow Evalina Street back down to Main Street and then continue west on Main Street towards Highway 107.

Sylva and Jackson County police and emergency personnel will be onsite to help direct traffic and parking, which will be available at the site of the future Bridge Park, at Town Hall and at the public parking lot across from Mill & Main Restaurant.

It promises to be a good year for a Christmas parade, so be sure to come and bring the entire family! Remember to dress warmly.

For more information, call DSA Director Sarah Graham at 586-1577 or write her at info@downtownsylva.org.

Additional coverage by The Sylva Herald is in their online article (click here) about the parade. (The Sylva Herald is not affiliated with Jackson County Magazine.)

WestCare Health System will hold its annual Community Memorial Services for Sylva and Bryson City locations this Sunday, December 2.

The program is designed to help families cope with loss during the holiday season by honoring those who have passed away and providing comfort and care to their survivors. WestCare Chaplain Ron Allen will preside.

The service in Sylva begins at 2 p.m. in the First United Methodist Church. The Bryson City service is 4 p.m. at the Swain County Hospital.

 "Losing a loved one can be traumatic and the first holidays that follow can be difficult. There is healing in being gathered together with others who have had a similar experience," Allen said.

For more information call WestCare's Sylva office at 586-7000. 

The Western Carolina University School of Music will present its annual Sounds of the Season concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2, in the performance hall of the Fine and Performing Arts Center on campus. The traditional concert uses nearly all the school's choral and instrumental ensembles to present a variety of Christmas and holiday arrangements, ranging from traditional compositions of carols to more modern arrangements of old favorites and newer pieces.

But the concert isn't your typical holiday event. Each year, the performances are structured as a "prism concert," which means a succession of ensembles perform at various locations throughout the performance hall.

All proceeds from ticket sales go to the School of Music's scholarship fund.

Tickets (in advance or at the door) are $10 for adults and senior citizens, and $5 for students and children. No reservations are necessary, but if you'd like more information or to reserve tickets, call the music office at 227-7242.

More musical entertainment is available at WCU Tuesday, Dec. 4, as the Wind Ensemble gives its second concert of the season. The show begins at 8 p.m. in the Fine and Performing Arts Center, and will feature several (non-holiday) pieces. The Wind Ensemble concert is free and the public is invited. For more information, call 227-7242.

The Jackson County Grounds Department has been working hard -- like Santa's elves -- to prepare for Christmas. Elaborate decorations are being installed at the old courthouse, in Sylva.

Windows will be lined in lights, with two lighted Christmas trees on the balcony above the front entrance. More lights will be stationed around the courthouse and along its stair steps.

The Grounds Department has placed 40 Frasier fir trees around the courthouse. The trees were harvested from a tree farm in Little Canada.

Shown above is Johnny Bradley of the Jackson County Grounds Department placing a ribbon atop one of the trees on Thursday.

Many of the fir trees can be seen in the photo below.

(From a press release.)

The Trail of Light Drama Team once again brings to life the song “Mary Did You Know?” by producing the popular interfaith play of the same name.

“Mary, Did You Know?” begins with the birth of Jesus and follows the child as he grows into an adult.

Actors include Henry Wong from NCCAT, as Gabriel; Britney Acosta from Smoky Mountain High, as Mary when she was a young girl; Jim Harbin of Ela will be Joseph; and Polly Huff of Cullowhee is playing the adult Mary. Sarajane Melton, also of Cullowhee, plays the midwife; Ron Huff from Cullowhee will be Herod. Dawn Fincher of Cullowhee will be the narrator.

A child “Angel Choir,” ages 3 through 9, will be featured, as well as 7 dancers who will perform three dance scenes.

Jesus will be seen as a newborn baby, at 2 years old (David Sluyter of Dillsboro), at 12 years old (Billy Durning of Cullowhee) and as an adult (Caden Painter of Maggie Valley).

Songs featured include “Ave Maria,” “Mary Did You Know?,” “O Holy Night,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “Joy to the World,” “We Four Kings,” “I Wonder as I Wander,” “Go Tell it on the Mountain” and “Sweet Little Jesus Boy.”

Assisting Amy Ammons Garza (Sylva) with direction is Dianne Yount, producer is Etheree Chancellor and choreographer is Suzanne Kehrberg, all of Cullowhee.

Pre-show entertainment starts one hour prior to the play. Special guests will provide old-time gospel. Performers include Jeanette Queen Schrock (youngest daughter of the late Mary Jane Queen) on vocal and autoharp, and Ron and Julia Thompson of Alarka, on vocal and guitar. Others spotlighted will be Henry Wong, guitar and vocal; Ally, Elizabeth, and Tonya Vickery, flute and piano; Britney Acosta, vocal; Sarajane Melton, vocal; Teresa Eberly, vocal.

The 53-member cast and crew are drawn from churches of different faiths spanning three counties -- Cullowhee Baptist Church, Cullowhee United Methodist, The Summit of Cullowhee, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints of Franklin, Fall Cliff Baptist from Webster, Webster Baptist Church, East Sylva Baptist Church of Sylva, God’s Holy Tabernacle of Sylva, St. Mary’s Catholic Church of Sylva, First Baptist of Waynesville and Lakeview Church of the Nazarene in Lake Junaluska. A troop of seamstresses and background workers of many faiths also supports the cast and crew.

Come share the Christmas story on Friday, November 30th (pre-show at 6 p.m., show at 7 p.m.) or Saturday, December 1st (pre-show at 5 p.m., show at 6 p.m.), at the Cullowhee Baptist Church on the campus of WCU, next door to the Hunter Library.

Hot chocolate and hot cider will be provided on the lawn after the productions, courtesy of the board of Catch the Spirit of Appalachia.

Admission is free.

For more information, call 828-631-4587.

(Shown above: representing the Angel Choir are (left to right) Brittney Lee Collins, Casey King, and Ally Vickery.)

Shown below: from King Herod’s Court are (left to right) Ron Huff, Phillip Huff, Naomie Edmonds and Fred Harris. Shown below: Irene Hooper will be playing Anna in the Simeon scene.

DO GOOD this Friday: a benefit concert for Malawi drought victims, organized for a Smoky Mountain High School Senior Project by student Sabine Moses, will be held in the school gym from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

All donations at the door (no tickets, suggested donation is $5 per family) will go to help victims of severe weather conditions in Malawi, Africa.

Featured local performers include the Summit Church Band, Eric Barnes, the Retroblenders and Matt Williams.

For more information, call Sabine at 399-0694. 

Looking for something to do? Don't forget that we are surrounded by sights and sites that attract tourists from around the world. Get out and explore! Recently I did just that.

Some of the best-known peaks in the Plott Balsams mountain range lie just north of Highway 23/74. The Blue Ridge Parkway (which has an entrance on 23/74 just past the Jackson County line, heading towards Waynesville) can take you to Waterrock Knob, Blackrock and Pinnacle Peak.  All 3 are splendid hiking destinations, with fantastic 360-degree views that include Sylva, Cullowhee and Cherokee.

I've never been an avid hiker, so when I agreed to hike from Waterrock Knob to Blackrock it was because my hiking partner told me it would be an easy walk... just a few uphill parts, some great views, and barely any driving needed to get there. It sounded perfect for my day off, because I love being outside for camping and gardening.

So off we went, hiking along a single-file game trail, up several steep inclines and then along the top of the ridge from Waterrock over Double Top and Yellow Face. We continued around Table Rock and then hiked through to Blackrock.

The views were wonderful, when I could breathe enough to see them clearly. Catamount Gap is clearly defined, with Cullowhee sleeping right behind and Sylva getting bigger by the second in the foreground.

When the burning in my legs got too bad (I discovered some muscles I didn't know I had), I stopped to take a closer look around. I could see wild berries, sleeping spots where bears had patted the grass flat, pine and birch forests that hadn't been disturbed in hundreds of years, and oaks just turning the barest hint of red.

Our route included wildflowers of every kind, huge rocks the size of cars teetering on the edge of one ridge where they’ve been teetering for centuries, laurel slicks and fallen birch with the bark peeling off like reams of paper. It was a wonderland, heightened by the abandoned feeling of a forest at such an elevation.

Any local can tell you there's a deep sense of contentment that comes from spending even a small afternoon in the company of nothing but mountains, sky and trees. It's really more than a guidebook can describe. At higher elevations there's a magic to be found in the solitude, where not even small animals move. I felt the sense of place our mountains provide -- safety, security, beauty and timelessness.

Unfortunately, the differences between isolation and civilization became all too clear when we crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway. While waiting for traffic to let us cross, we experienced the smell of car exhaust, the sound of engines, motorcycles and airplanes, and the heavy traffic at the Waterrock Knob overlook. There, at a parking lot filled with cars and motorcycles, we saw people drinking beer and taking videos of the vista, but the trail itself was devoid of walkers.

Later our senses were jarred by the flat, lifeless green of Balsam Mountain Preserve’s golf course at however-many-thousand-feet, where we had expected to see more ridges, valleys, trees and small pastures.

And as we walked down a road and rounded a curve we discovered a sudden, secret view of blue peaks and ridges against a bluer sky -- but it was interrupted by a glaringly white, huge new house on the side of the foremost mountain. Why do people paint mountainside houses bright white?

Ironically, such encroachments might keep us from taking for granted the natural beauty of the place where we live.

I know I have a renewed appreciation for these mountains, and I'll bet you will, too -- so take a hike!

The Community Table in Sylva will host a thanksgiving dinner this Tuesday, November 20, and everyone is invited.

Local contributors have made the free dinner possible. A traditional dinner of turkey and trimmings will be served from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m.

No reservations are required. Diners are welcome regardless of need or income.

The Community Table is located at the corner of Storybook Lane and Bartlett Street in Sylva, next to the Church of Christ and two blocks from St. Mary's Catholic Church. It is Jackson County's only facility for providing free or low-cost meals to people who might otherwise go hungry. More than 100,000 hot meals have been served since 1999.

For more information, contact executive director Timara McCollum at 586-6782.

The Western Carolina University School of Music will present the Christmas portion of George Frideric Handel's oratorio "Messiah" in WCU's Fine and Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 19. The performance will feature a chorus of more than 200 members, composed of the Concert Choir and University Chorus at WCU and the Western Carolina Community Chorus.

The Western Carolina Civic Orchestra, with Robert Holquist conducting, will join the chorus to help re-create the grandeur of the Victorian-era performances that made the "Messiah" a famous piece of music history. The masterpiece was performed for the first time in 1742.

Both WCU choral groups are directed by Holquist, WCU professor of music, and the community chorus is led by James E. Dooley, professor emeritus of music at Western. William Henigbaum, director of the civic orchestra, is a member of the WCU adjunct music faculty.

Vocal soloists include Colby Coren, Lance Newman, June Thomas, Ralph Wright-Murphy, Ashley Setzer, Liz Geeslin, and Heather Hallmark.

The evening's proceeds will benefit WCU music department scholarships.

Tickets (which will be sold at the event) are $10 for adults and senior citizens, and $5 for children and all students with identification. Tickets also can be purchased in advance at the WCU music office in the Coulter Building or at WCU's Fine and Performing Arts Center box office, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

On November 17, 2007 beginning at 5 p.m. at the Sylva Community Center, Catch the Spirit of Appalachia will present “Passing It On,” a performance with stories, songs, and spontaneous art in a fast-paced production. Featuring The Ammons Sisters as the teller and illustrator of the story, the presentation will spotlight the prose, poetry, music and creativity of local writers and singers. Admission is free.

(The Sylva Community Center is located at 538 Scotts Creek Road.)

One storyteller will be Karen Greenstone from Sylva, whose story is called "Baseball Bonanza," an example of a "shaggy dog story" (where the teller spins a long yarn ending with a clever punch line). Karen has taken the skeleton of a particular shaggy dog story about baseball that she heard years ago and has embellished the original tale to create a fictional account of the most memorable kids baseball game ever in the New Orleans neighborhood of her childhood in the 1960s.

Other stories include “The Detour/Two Sides of a Secret” by Erik Hicks; “The Early Years” by Serena H. Dossenko; “Steal Away Home” by Victoria A. Casey McDonald; “The Long Road Home” by Samantha Ganly-Hicks; “The Legend of Mountain Laurel” by Judy Rhodes; “Without Lies,” by Chelsea Greene; “Remembering Grandpa,” by Lauren Hicks; and “The Cow Story,” by Barry Dossenko.

Immediately following, CSA will present special entertainment featuring “The Muses,” a 3-woman a cappella group singing an ingenious mix of Celtic, Americana, traditional Appalachian, and World music. Their repertoire covers a wide range and includes original compositions, spirituals, soul numbers, and songs from Scotland and Ireland.

This year’s Pastel Art Exhibit will include artists Paul Knoepp of Otto, Becky Nelson of Whittier, Nikki Hinke of Cullowhee, Lucius Salisbury of Franklin, Margot Johnson of Glenville and Doreyl Ammons Cain of Tuckasegee. These pastel artists have painted the bright colors of the mountain land with a creative flare. This pastel exhibit brings together many views of our mountains.

A special part of the exhibit will display Art Chairs from the animal relief fund raiser for Catman2 and ARF. Highly imaginative scenes of animals, painted on many different types of seating furniture, will be offered to the highest bidder in a silent auction. For holiday giving, the sale of books, photography, Limited edition art prints, greeting cards and original art will be offered for sale, so come ready to purchase an unforgettable treasure.

Finally, at 7:30 p.m., Harold Sims will draw the winning ticket for this year’s Catman2 Quilt Raffle.

Included in this free evening of creative arts and opportunities are homemade refreshments by Becky Nelson from Barker’s Creek -- salmon loaf, carmel apples, cheese and fruit, Baklava, hot cider and hot chocolate and more -- served by members of the CSA Board of Directors.

Shown below: Karen Greenstone of Sylva demonstrates the art of storytelling.

Western Carolina University's Mountain Heritage Center is hosting a presentation on Tuesday, Nov. 13 by Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranger Brad Free. The talk is entitled "Trade, Timber and Tourism: The Trans-Mountain Road of the Smokies," and centers around the Oconaluftee Turnpike built to connect North Carolina and Tennessee in the 1830s.

The toll road was the only crossing in the Smokies for several years. It followed a Native American trail across passes and over high ridges through what is now the national park. Ranger Free will describe the changing landscape along that road and how it differs from other ecosystems in the Smokies.

Free is an experienced speaker. As an employee with the national park's Division of Resource Education and Visitor Services, he guides history hikes, presents campground evening programs and provides costume interpretation at the national park's Mountain Farm Museum.

The program begins at 5:30 p.m.

WCU's Mountain Heritage Center is on the ground floor of the H.F. Robinson Administration Building. For more information, call (828) 227-7129 or visit www.wcu.edu/mhc.

If you're looking for a volunteer community project about strong women and local heritage, the town of Dillsboro is looking for you.

This Saturday, Nov. 10, the Monteith House Restoration Committee is looking for helpers to get "down and dirty" at a volunteer clean-up event at the Monteith Farmstead in Dillsboro. The event begins at 10 a.m. and continues through the afternoon.

Volunteers will help clean, repair and catalog at the turn-of-the-century Monteith Farm, which has a four-level farmhouse, a canning house, a flower house, a greenhouse and a barn. Workers are needed for a variety of tasks, including sweeping down cobwebs, cleaning and organizing artifacts, and fixing broken windows and boards.

More opportunities to help will be on Wednesday Nov. 14 from noon to 5, and on Saturday, Nov. 17 from 10 a.m. continuing through the afternoon.

The restoration eventually will bring the home to almost-original condition. It will house the Southern Appalachian Women's Museum, which will showcase the lives and contributions of sisters Edna and Edith Monteith, who were the home's last owners, and other outstanding Appalachian women.

The town of Dillsboro purchased the 16-acre property from the estates of the sisters. Edna and Edith lived in the farmhouse with their family and were its last surviving members. The 2 women, one of whom was married for a time, ran the farm themselves. They had gardens, chicken coops, butchery, beehives, greenhouse, canning and laundry rooms.

A lot of dust and dirt needs to be removed because the house was unoccupied for several years, but it already has yielded treasures, including the sisters' school essays on the then-recent passage of the 19th amendment allowing women the right to vote; dozens of shoes and dresses in near-new condition; letters, postal records and other documents that describe the history of Jackson County as it grew in the 1950s though 1980s; and the orignial beehives the women kept to make honey.

According to Volunteer Coordinator Tim Osment, the two events also enable the all-volunteer restoration committee to put other events in motion. By cleaning out the first floor of the house and cataloging its contents properly, the committee then can use the space to collect donated items for a planned January attic sale fund-raiser. Early next year the committee plans to jump-start its fund-raising drive with a traveling Appalachian exhibit and opening gala. Osment would like the house to be in "tourable" condition for people participating in those events.

Attic sale items can be donated during the 3 clean-up days, and those interested in information about the park are encouraged to stop by, whether or not they can help clean.

To volunteer, wear old clothes and sturdy, close-toed shoes. If you'd like to dust artifacts, bring a new or clean paint brush. Flashlights, permanent markers, and any food or drinks would be useful, too. Come to the park for one, two or all three of the events (for a map, click here).

From Sylva, take west Main Street towards Dillsboro to the first stop light after passing the Dillsboro Court shopping area. Turn right at the light and then approach the farmstead using the first road on the right. Parking is in the gravel lot. From Highway 441, turn into downtown Dillsboro at the traffic light (Haywood Road) and continue to the first stop light; turn left and then approach the farmstead using the first road on the right.

If you'd like to pre-register (not necessary, though) or to get more information, contact Osment at 828-273-7619 or by email at timosment@gmail.com.

The town of Dillsboro's website has an article about the project (click). The town plans to run a section of its portion of the Jackson County Greenway through the farmstead, and to build a fine arts theater, visual arts gallery, public restrooms, playground and picnic shelter.

Shown below is the flower house, one of the outbuildings scheduled for restoration and salvage. Here the Monteith sisters grew plants and stored canned goods. Beehives were in the top portion of the shed. (Click photo to enlarge.)


The photo below shows, from left, the main farmhouse, the butchery shed and chicken coops (which shared a building), and the canning and laundry house. A fireplace grill in the laundry house was used for boiling vats of laundry and canning vegetables. The building contains one of the first Maytag washers made. Its upper floor is clear of nearly all items; volunteers are still trying to determine its use.

As it has done each year since 1970, Western Carolina University is inviting the public to attend a Madrigal Dinner presented by students, faculty and staff. This year 2 dinners will take place on Friday Nov. 30 and Saturday Dec. 1.

Each Madrigal Dinner is an evening of dinner, theatre and music in the tradition of the Elizabethan period, presented by characters in elaborate period dress.

Dr. Jim and Barbara Dooley, co-founders of the Madrigal Dinners, will serve as "lord and lady" of the dinner theatre, as they have since its inception.

"It's a tradition steeped in people. The same people have been putting this on, and the same people have been coming back again and again to participate," said Diane Harris, director of the University Center, whose staff will co-produce the dinners. "It seems to be very contagious." Harris has been with the university and participating in the Madrigal Dinners for 26 years.

The dinners will be held in the University Center. WCU's Musical Theatre Department, directed by Dr. Bob Holquist, will provide entertainment. The campus foodservice group, Aramark, will cater a three-course meal including the historical staples of Wassail, Cornish game hens, glazed carrots and plum pudding. (Click here to view the menu.)

Guests don't need to wear period costumes or fancy dinner attire but many do, Harris said. The guests, called patrons, will be seated at tables of 8 in the UC Grand Room. Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. on each night but patrons must be in their seats by 6:25 p.m.

Tickets sell out fast; the sale began on Tuesday, Nov. 6. WCU student admission is $18; all others are $30.

The ticket office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until noon and from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m., and is located on campus on the first floor of the University Center.

Tickets also can be purchased by Visa or MasterCard, at 227-7206.

Additional information is available from UC office manager Kim Davis at 227-3621 or UC director Dianne Harris at 227-3619.

Help build Jackson County's new library and have fun, too, by participating in the Great Smoky Mountain Book Fair in Sylva on Saturday, November 10.

More than 50 regional authors will gather to read from and talk about their work with you, including local authors Gary Carden, David Lamotte, Curtis Blanton, Rob Neufeld, Barbara Duncan and Bob Terrell.

Tickets ($5) will be available soon at many Sylva businesses.

On the evening before the Book Fair, hear a one-woman performance of “On Agate Hill,” a Lee Smith story, by Barbara Bates Smith (accompanied by musician Jeff Sebens playing banjo, hammered dulcimer, and lap dulcimer). The cost is $25. Hors d’oeuvres are included.

Both the Friday night performance and the Saturday book fair will take place at the First United Methodist Church of Sylva.

By participating in one or both events, you'll be helping to build our new library. All ticket proceeds and 20% of book sales will be added to a construction fund for a new building.

The book fair is produced by the Friends of the Jackson County Library, Sylva's City Lights Bookstore, and the Honors College at Western Carolina University.

For more information, visit the City Lights Bookstore page about the event and visit the web page of the Great Smoky Mountain Book Fair.

The Sylva Herald has more coverage about the book fair in an online article (click) (not affiliated with JacksonCountyMagazine.com).

Jackson County Habitat For Humanity's retail/resale store in downtown Sylva is now open for business on Wednesdays from 12-5, Thursdays from 2-7, Fridays from 12-5 and on Saturdays from 9-2.

For information, see our earlier online article (click).

[Note: this article contains corrections to the original version:

• one-stop voting is not available on Monday, November 5
  
• the registration deadline is Friday, November 2 (not Monday)
  
• voting hours are longer than we had reported; stations open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.
• voting occurs at the Justice Center in addition to the two locations described in the original article; see below]
  

Election Day for Sylva's town board is Tuesday, November 6, although voters have an opportunity to vote even earlier.

Five candidates are running for three seats on the Sylva Town Board. The winners will be the 3 candidates receiving the highest number of votes. Ballots will ask the voter to select 3 out of the 5 persons running: Danny Allen, Mike Beck, Sarah Graham, Ray Lewis and Maurice Moody. Allen, Lewis and Moody are on the Town Board currently, and are running again because their terms are expiring.

Only persons who are residents of Sylva (that is, whose residences are within the town limits) are eligible to vote.

Voting occurs on Tuesday, November 6 at these three locations: the Justice Center at Sylva's Exit 83 on U.S. 74 for persons in Sylva's "North" precinct, the Community Services Building in Sylva (on Hospital Road, between Skyland Drive and Asheville Highway) for persons in Sylva's "South" precinct, and the Dillsboro Town Hall (at the corner of Front Street and Depot Street) for persons in Sylva's "Dillsboro" precinct. Each location will be open for voting at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. (you'll be given time to vote if you arrive by 7:30).

Voting is allowed only for persons who have "registered." If you have never registered before, you can register at the Board of Elections in Suite 249 of the Justice Center in Sylva on or before Friday, November 2. To register, bring a utility bill or your driver's license showing your residence is in Sylva. If you are already registered to vote in Jackson County (if, for example, you voted in the last election, for congressional and county seats, or have voted in presidential elections in this county before) you are automatically registered to vote in the town election of your residence. You ONLY need to complete a registration form if you've never voted in Jackson County before, or if you've lived in a different county or state immediately before living here.

It's also possible to register by completing a form and then mailing it to the Board of Elections, but there's a deadline: those forms have to arrive by Friday, November 2, so they can be processed before the Tuesday, Nov. 6 election. Copies of the form are available at the Jackson County library in Sylva and the library in Cashiers, and can be picked up at the Board of Elections office or emailed to you by contacting the BOE (contact information appears below).

"One-stop" voting is taking place now, which means any registered voter who wishes to vote before election day can go to the Board of Elections on or before Saturday Nov. 3 and cast his or her vote during normal office hours: 8 a.m. to 5 Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 on Saturday. The "one-stop" voting is a way to simplify the long lines at polling stations on election day by allowing residents to vote over a longer period of time.  Even a non-registered person can take advantage of this opportunity; by going to the Board of Elections in person, he or she can register and then vote during the same visit.

One-stop voting is available whether or not the voter will be out of town on November 6; at one time an "absentee" ballot could be cast only if the voter certified he would not be available to vote on election day. That restriction no longer applies. Absentee ballots - for people who are out of town, disabled, or otherwise unable to make their way to a local polling station and cannot cast their vote in person - can now be counted throughout the voting process, as long as they have been verified before November 6. If you wish to cast an absentee ballot, make sure you contact the BOE as soon as possible. There are some restrictions and certifications necessary, and they'll help you with the process and deadlines as quickly as they can.

If you have questions about how, when or where to vote, call Lisa Lovedahl-Lehman at 586-7538 or 586-4055, ext. 6035, or email her at jackson.boe@ncmail.net. The web site of the Board of Elections is http://www.boe.jacksonnc.org.

The public is invited to a free performance on Tues. Nov. 6 at 8 p.m. in the recital hall of Western Carolina University's Coulter Building.

Clarinetist Shannon Thompson, associate professor of music at Western, and pianist Andrew Adams, assistant professor of piano at Western, will perform masterworks for clarinet and piano.

Jackson County Magazine says: Don't miss this and other musical performances at WCU's acoustically excellent auditorium. We are fortunate to be able to hear professional musicians in such a comfortable environment. Bring your teen-agers and make them leave their iPods at home!

More information is available at a WCU web page (click).

Whether you’re familiar with clay, firing practices, and glazing techniques or you just like the look and feel of a handmade coffee cup first thing in the morning, you’ll be astonished Saturday, Nov. 3, as the streets of Dillsboro fill with pottery aficionados of every stripe and color. Artisans will be on hand all day at one of the state’s largest juried pottery fairs, showcasing their wares and their artistic touch in a wide array of presentations and hands-on demonstrations.

The fair, organized by Dillsboro potters Karen and Brant Barnes of Riverwood Pottery and fellow Dillsboro shop-owner JoeFrank McKee of Tree House Pottery, is in its third year and brings visitors from all over the country to learn more about handcrafted pottery and browse through the more than 150 visiting artists’ booths. There’s also live music all day, traditional food, and shopping in the stores of Dillsboro proper, plus a train ride catered to festival-goers later that afternoon. Admission to the event is free.

Organizers say the family-friendly event is not just a boost for local stores and artists, but a chance to keep alive the traditional art of handcrafted pottery for both visitors and residents alike. We couldn’t agree more.

Public parking the day of the fair is available at Dillsboro’s Monteith Park, and shuttles will be available throughout the day. Whether you’re coming for the day or planning to make a weekend out of the event, you can call Barnes at 586-3601, McKee at 631-5100, or click your way to www.visitdillsboro.org.

On Wednesday (Oct. 31), the Community Table in Sylva will host a special lunch for all members of the general public. The $5 cost will provide needed operating funds for Jackson County's only source of free and reduced cost meals for the needy.

This week's "Blue Plate Special" begins at 11 a.m. and runs through 2 p.m.

The meal will be prepared by Wanda Moss, who for many years owned the Riverhouse Restaurant in Cullowhee, will be guest chef. She’ll prepare two soups: one vegetarian and the other a vegetable beef brew she is famous for. Sandwiches will be her homemade pimento cheese served on pumpernickel or rye bread.

The Community Table's Kitchen Manager, Samantha, will make a graveyard cake and witches' fingers cookies for dessert. Staff and servers will be in costume, so come prepared for pleasant spookiness and treats!

To-go orders can be placed by calling 586-6782. Also, deliveries can be made in the Sylva, Cullowhee and Dillsboro area.

The Community Table is in Sylva's former "Pumpkin Patch" neighborhood, on Bartlett Street across from the Sylva Church of Christ. [View directions on Mapquest.com (click)]

A Blue Plate Special occurs on the last Wednesday of each month. Jackson County Magazine says: Put it on your calendar!

The Community Table is a nonprofit, volunteer group. Since 1999 the Community Table has provided meals four days a week to those in need, on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, from 4 to 6 p.m.

To volunteer or for more information, call Executive Director Timara McCollum at 586-6782.

The WCU Commercial and Electronic Music Program presents local musician and WCU music student Matt Williams in a concert celebrating the release of his new CD, "Particles." Song samples are online (click). Pavel Wlosok and several other musicians will perform with Williams.

The concert is October 31 at 7:30 p.m., in WCU's Fine and Performing Arts Center (FAPAC).

Free tickets are available while they last. You'll need to go to FAPAC to get some (tip: call the ticket office first at 227-2479 to see if they are still available). Another location that has a limited number of tickets to distribute is the University Center ticket office on the second floor of WCU's University Center.

Williams also provides tickets by mail, if you complete a form on his web site (click).

Restaurant 553 West Main in Sylva and WCU's student radio station, Power 90.5, are sponsoring the event.

Williams' CD project began in spring 2005 at WCU's Center for Applied Technology Recording Studio. It is the first student project at the new facility.

The general public is able to view the excellent 3-page Jackson County Happenings for the month of November, published by the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce.

(Requires the free Adobe Reader program to view.)

Highlights: the publication includes information about the On Agate Hill play in Sylva on November 4 (better get your tickets now), the Great Smoky Mountain Book Fair in Sylva on November 9 and 10, another blacksmithing class on November 10 and 11 in Dillsboro, and WCU's Madrigal Dinner on November 30 (tickets go on sale on Tuesday, November 9).

Jane Gibson Nardy, a Cashiers native, will bring her skills as an historian and author to City Lights Bookstore in Sylva this Saturday, October 27 at 2 p.m., for a reading from her recently published pictorial history, Cashiers Valley.

Nardy and co-author Jan Wyatt compiled the book with more than 200 vintage photographs and extensive historical captions, all describing the evolution of the Cashiers Valley area in southern Jackson County.

Nardy will also speak during the program about the importance of photographs, their role in our society, and how interpretations of photographs can provide clues to a community's past.

Nardy is the historian of the Cashiers Historical Society, which was formed in 1996 to save the historic Mordecai Zachary House, located on Highway 107 two miles south of Cashiers. Then-owner Robert "Bubba" Tolbert wanted to sell the home to a group willing to undertake its preservation. In 1997 Thomas and Wendy Dowden purchased the home, now called the Zachary-Tolbert House, and donated it to the Cashiers Historical Society, which restored the 1850 house to nearly-original condition. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, the building is used by the historical society as its headquarters and serves as a community resource for learning, recreation and fund-raising.

Nardy is a descendant of Colonel John Zachary, one of the original founders of Cashiers, whose history is part of the story told in the house museum. She will be available after the reading for questions and book signings.

For more information, call Jessica at City Lights at 586-9499 or visit a page about the program on the City Lights web site.

A Sylva Herald article has additional coverage.

Comedian Jamie Kennedy performs at WCU's Ramsey Activities Center on Fri. Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are required and can be purchased online or by phone.

See an online article in the Sylva Herald for complete information.

Cullowhee Valley School is the spot for this year's barbeque sponsored by the Cullowhee Volunteer Fire Department, beginning Sat. Oct. 27 at 3 p.m. and lasting until about 8.

Tickets can be purchased at the event, which features live music and raffles for two shotguns donated to the department by Papa's Pizza to Go in Cullowhee.

See the Sylva Herald's web site for more.

Volunteers are asked to assemble at Smoky Mountain High School this Saturday morning beginning at 8:30, to do weeding, mulching, planting and general cleaning. The event is sponsored by the Parent-Teacher Organization.

Bring your rakes, wheelbarrows, shovels and brooms. At 1 p.m. SMHS principal Jay Grissom will provide a cookout lunch for the volunteers.

The PTO can provide more information, at 226-1078.

Nobody cooks fish like Catholic men on a Friday! The Knights of Columbus, a men's fraternal organization at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Sylva, fires up its 4 vegetable oil fryers Fri. Oct. 26 from 5 to 8 p.m. ($8 for adults, $5 for kids 12 or under), filling them with American catfish (they taste better than Chinese catfish, and it's the principle of the thing), hushpuppies and hashbrowns. Over in the kitchen, others are serving freshly made cole slaw, drinks, homemade pies, brownies and other desserts.

The crowd of several hundred people is always lively and friendly -- Catholics, Protestants and perhaps even a few hungry nonbelievers. The net proceeds go to charitable causes, including support for intellectually disabled residents in Jackson County.

Directions: St. Mary's church is in Sylva's former "Pumpkin Patch" neighborhood. Once you're on Grindstaff Cove Road between U.S. 23-74 and downtown Sylva, take Dillsboro Road into the neighborhood and you'll see the church, which is at the corner of Bartlett Street and Dillsboro Road.

In addition to the Egg Haunt on Thurs. Oct. 25 and the Pumpkin Patch Trail on Sat. Oct. 27 (click for details), kids have several other opportunities in our area to show off costumes and generally have fun tromping about:

Haunted Warehouse at the old Chasam plant on Scotts Creek Road; 7:30 p.m. each evening Thurs. Oct. 25 through Wed. Oct. 31 (but not Sun. Oct. 28). This is a fundraiser for juvenile diabetes patients in our area. The 30-minute tours run until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, until 10 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, and until midnight on Wednesday (Halloween). Directions: turn onto Skyland Drive from Business 23 (Asheville Highway); after about 3/4 of a mile, turn right onto Scotts Creek Road just before the bridge over Scotts Creek itself. The plant is located on the right at 380 Scotts Creek Road; parking is available in the gravel lot on the left side of the road. For more information call 631-3959. A Sylva Herald article has additional coverage.

In nearby Franklin is Pumpkinfest held during the day on Fri. Oct. 26 and Sat. Oct. 27. Live entertainment is provided all day Saturday, along with a pumpkin rolling contest ("I regret that I have but one pumpkin to give for my country" -- Nathan Hale.). For more information call 421-7613 or visit www.franklinpumpkinfest.com.

Haunted Trail and Barn at the Old Buchanan Farmhouse in Webster (529 Buchanan Loop); Fri. Oct 26 and Sat. Oct. 27 from 7 to 10 p.m.; suggested donation of $5 per family. It's recommended that kids be age 10 or more. This is a fundraiser for Mountain Youth Resources, to help build a new Hawthorn Heights emergency youth shelter (to replace the 70-year-old shelter being used now). The shelter serves youths, age 10 through 17, from the 7 westernmost North Carolina counties. For more information call Margie Allison at 586-8958.

9th annual Harvest Carnival at the Lifeway Community Church in downtown Sylva at the corner of Railroad Avenue and Allen Street; Sat. Oct. 27, 6 to 9 p.m. Games and live entertainment for children and adults. Call 631-9322 for more information.

Haunted "Trunk and Treat" at Greens Creek Baptist Church; Wed. Oct. 31 from 6 to 9; free. Church members provide candy from the trunks of their vehicles in the church parking lot, which is located about a mile and a half u