Recently in Especially for kids Category
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.
For more information, call 828-743-5191.
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.)
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.)
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.
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).
(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).
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 up Greens Creek Road, off U.S. Highway 441 South.
Trunk-or-Treat Fall Festival at East Sylva Baptist Church; Wed. Oct. 31 from 6 to 8:30; free. Church members provide candy from the trunks of their vehicles in the church parking lot. Free hot dog supper at 6. Games, hay rides, cakewalk and bonfire. For more information call 586-3853 or visit www.eastsylvabaptist.org.
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 up Greens Creek Road, off U.S. Highway 441 South.
Trunk-or-Treat Fall Festival at East Sylva Baptist Church; Wed. Oct. 31 from 6 to 8:30; free. Church members provide candy from the trunks of their vehicles in the church parking lot. Free hot dog supper at 6. Games, hay rides, cakewalk and bonfire. For more information call 586-3853 or visit www.eastsylvabaptist.org.
The Pumpkin Patch Trail, Jackson County's annual Halloween event for children ages 12 and under, will be set against new scenery this year, and will take place on the Saturday a few days before Halloween arrives. On the Saturday prior to Halloween (Oct. 27) at 6 p.m., local ghosts, goblins and witches ages 12 or under are invited to trek through a trick-or-treat trail at Cullowhee's Jackson County Recreation Complex (the Rec Center), with a rain date of Tuesday, Oct. 30.
The trail will include 15 to 20 decorated booths at which volunteers from area churches and businesses will provide the treats. Non-food items also will be available. The event continues until candy or people run out, which usually happens around 8 p.m. Lines are expected when the trail opens at 6, so it might be smart to arrive around 7 instead.
Why the Change in Location
The Jackson County Recreation/Parks Department says the change in location is needed partly because crowds have grown so large in the traditional location (the neighborhood between St. Mary's Catholic Church and the Church of Christ, just off of Grindstaff Cove Road in Sylva).
The new location also means parking should be easier, explained event coordinator Dora Caldwell: spaces will be available at the recreation center and at nearby Cullowhee Valley School.
But more importantly, kids should have as much fun at the new location because the trail will include dozens of carved illuminated pumpkins just like last year (they are prepared by the recreation/parks department) and the same kinds and quality of candy (paid for by the recreation department, as in past years) will be distributed by volunteers at a number of decorated booths. The outdoor location at the recreation center will have about as many booths as the number of houses that participated in last year's trail in the Sylva neighborhood.
Another Fun Opportunity for Kids Occurs on Thursday Night
Another event for kids sponsored by the Recreation/Parks Department is the annual Halloween Egg Haunt on Thursday Oct. 25 beginning at 7 p.m., also at the Rec Center.
Parents can bring kids as early as 7 p.m., when judges will begin judging costumes. Prizes will be awarded for 2 age groups.
Black-and-orange candy-filled plastic eggs will be hidden for kids to find. The egg hunt (officially called the "haunt") begins at 7:30. Flashlights are encouraged.
The Halloween Egg Haunt is temporarily being held this year at the recreation center rather than its traditional location at Mark Watson Park due to a construction project currently underway on a road at Mark Watson Park.
On Halloween night, of course, kids and their parents might visit traditional locations. For those who come into Sylva, the Downtown Sylva Association is encouraging downtown businesses to be open to trick-or-treaters on Wednesday evening (Oct. 31).
For More Information
If you have questions about about the Pumpkin Patch Trail or the Halloween Egg Haunt, Ms. Caldwell can be reached at the recreation center at 293-3053.
