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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.

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).

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.

Local author Thomas Rain Crowe will present a reading from three of his recently published works at 7:30 p.m. Friday, October 26 at the City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

Crowe, a Tuckasegee resident, will read from two poetry collections: Radiogenesis and The Book of Rocks, and from his first short-story collection, A House of Girls. He will be available for questions and autographs after the reading.

For more information, call Jessica at City Lights at 586-9499.

A Sylva Herald article has additional details.

This Saturday (Oct. 20), City Lights Bookstore will be hosting one of the foremost "monster spotters" in the country.

Meet Scott Francis, author of Monster Spotter's Guide to North America, a book in field-guide format with information on more than 100 legendary American monsters. Written for adults in a campy yet informative format, the subjects range from Bigfoot to western North Carolina's Wampus Cat. For those considering a monster hunt, details are included as to where and when the monsters are reported to have been seen, their preferred habitats, appearance and feeding habits.

Francis' program begins at 7:30 p.m. at City Lights Bookstore, on Spring Street in downtown Sylva.

To learn more, call Joyce Moore of City Lights Bookstore at 586-9499 or view more information on a page of the City Lights web site .