 Scenes & Sites
If you enjoy gospel music, come in June for the “Singing on the Mountain” at Grandfather Mountain...and stay through August to attend the Gospel Singing Jubilee, hosted by the nationally known Gospel music family, The Greenes. In July, you can hear the bagpipes herald The Highland Games and Gathering of the Scottish Clans at MacRae Meadows adjacent to Grandfather Mountain. The celebration of summer continues with the month-long variety show, An Appalachian Summer Festival. A few years ago, authors Lou and Alice Winokur published a regional guidebook, Joy in the Mountains, which was penned “for philosophers of natural living or just plain mischievous adventurers.” They saved their best prose for autumn. “...If you’ve never seen the huge tapestry of mountain woodland leaf coloring, or experienced the visual excitement of varied hues from soft, muted tones of yellow and orange to vivid purple and flaming crimson, you haven’t lived. “The mountainsides are truly awesome, draped against a lush background of evergreens. This superb extravaganza of autumn fire and brilliance is one of the dramas of life.... “As you enjoy the color spectrum and masses of rich hillside colors during Indian Summer Days, from the comfortable, well-banked, winding road of the Blue Ridge Parkway, or other mountain heights, take time to relax and rejoice. “The incessant rhythm of life confronts you at every turn, inviting you to be still, be very still and know ‘God’s in His Heav’n and all’s right with the world.’” Stroll the streets of Downtown Boone during the Olde Boone Streetfest in September. Roam the banks of our nation’s second-oldest river during the New River Festival in Todd. Explore the sights and sounds of the popular Valle Country Fair and the fun-filled Woolly Worm Festival on the third weekend in October. Other festivals and events celebrating autumn include the Brushy Mountain Apple Festival in North Wilkesboro, the Cranberry Festival at Shady Valley, the month-long Halloween Festival at Tweetsie Railroad and the Hickory Ridge Homestead Apple Festival.
The crisp air of November signals the beginning of ski season in the High Country. Four ski resorts offer the finest in southern skiing and snowboarding. In January, the Hickory Ridge Homestead gives insight to the traditions, decorations and food of the Epiphany during the late 1800s, with their annual Olde Christmas Celebration. In nearby Blowing Rock, Winterfest reminds us to “celebrate not hibernate.” The annual polar plunge into the lake at Chetola Resort at Blowing Rock is the ultimate “big chill.” The Winokurs are also fond of spring “with lots of warm, wafting, apple-blossom days....The shiny trout and other varieties of fish in the cold mountain streams or whirling pools are fairly jumpin’ for the fishermen... “Throughout the vast continent of Europe, there are fewer types of wildflowers than in the Blue Ridge Mountains,” the Winokurs note. “The wild flame azalea, mountain laurel and several species of rhododendron grow in wild, ecstatic profusion... and more than 30 species of salamander are to be found here, the largest variety frequenting any similar size area in the world.” Spring also ushers in the sounds of Bluegrass at MerleFest, an annual musical celebration commemorating the life and music of Merle Watson, son of Doc Watson, who made this region’s bluegrass and folk music world famous. Let the celebration begin.
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