BOONE — Wednesday, Jan. 29, marks the annual Point-in-Time Count. The PIT Count, coordinated by the Northwest Continuum of Care, is the annual documentation of the extent of homelessness in Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey counties.
The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce announced its winners of the 2019 Business of the Year Awards during the fourth Annual High Country Economic Kickoff Breakfast on Jan. 16 at Meadowbrook Inn in Blowing Rock.
Alta Vista Gallery
You know Guy Ritchie even if you think you don’t. He’s the British film director who used to be married to Madonna. You’ve bought tickets to some of his hit movies – “Sherlock Holmes” with Robert Downey Jr. and Disney’s live-action “Aladdin” with Will Smith. But he’s best known to his hardco…
Maybe you read Henry James’s “Turn of the Screw” in a college literature course. You might vaguely recall that it was a ghost story written in 1898 by an American-British author regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism.
LINVILLE — Linville resident Jim Magruder was recently honored as a winner in the Landscapes division of the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission’s ‘Wildlife in North Carolina’ 2019 Photo Competition. Magruder’s image captured Grandfather Mountain exhibiting the characteristics of bot…
JEFFERSON — On Jan. 18, local crafter and pre-k teacher at Sizemore Headstart, Becky Rose, dedicated her time to the community to share the craft of making corn husk dolls at the Museum of Ashe County History.
WEST JEFFERSON –The Kruger Brothers trio, Jens, Uwe and Joel will take the stage for a sold out concert at the Ashe Civic Center at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25.
BOONE — Horn in the West, Boone’s summer outdoor drama, is preparing for its 69th season by holding local auditions for actors, singers, dancers, and technicians. The auditions will be held on Feb. 1 at the First Baptist Church of Boone, located downtown at 375 W. King Street.
BURNSVILLE — Parkway Playhouse will be holding auditions for the first production of the 2020 Junior Season, Frozen JR. The auditions will be held on Sunday, Jan. 26, from 2-5 p.m. at the Mountain Heritage Center located at 113 Green Mountain Drive in Burnsville. Auditions are open to anyone…
The Folk Legacy Trio will perform in Watauga High School’s auditorium on Feb. 2 to benefit the Pioneer Playmakers’ upcoming trip to Louisville, Ky., for the Southeastern Theatre Conference at the end of February.
LINVILLE — A local photovoice project highlighting the importance of inclusion, specifically employing individuals in the community with diverse abilities, is featured at Cannon Memorial Hospital in the Dickson Gallery during January and February 2020.
Parkway School students — spanning grades K-8 — are showcasing their skills to the community in a production of “The Lion King Jr.” that they have been rehearsing since October.
After a multi-year hiatus, the Doc and Rosa Lee Watson MusicFest ‘N Sugar Grove will return to the High Country on Saturday, July 18, for the festival’s 20th event.
BOONE — On the day named after civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., the town of Boone on Jan. 20 honored his life and work by dedicating a section of Hunting Hills Lane to him in a ceremony at Boone Fire Station No. 2.
On a clear night in September of 2019, filmmaker and Appalachian State University alumna Rebecca Jones finds herself alone on the rocky base of a steep mountain on the Appalachian Trail as the biggest night of her professional career unfolds elsewhere before the world.
BOONE — In September 2017, Brittney Tensi and Travis Potts crafted a small pantry cabinet out of an entertainment center the couple bought from the Boone Habitat ReStore, cleaned it up and placed it in front of the N.C. Works building on Poplar Grove Road Connector. Now, the repurposed furni…
Just because two actors share a movie doesn’t mean they’re best friends. Movie stars get hired for a lot of reasons, but one of them is not compatibility with other cast members.
WILKESBORO — Wilkes Community College will offer an amateur radio course taught by David Ritter; an amateur radio operator who has been licensed for over 50 years.
BOONE — The Schaefer Center Presents series welcomes acclaimed dance company Abraham in Motion — which draws with equal authority from ballet and hip-hop — on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of Appalachian State University. The program…
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is on Monday, Jan. 20, and there are several events happening across the High Country to honor King’s legacy.
With the release of “Bad Boys for Life,” we got to thinking about producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s long list of slam-bam, boom-boom blockbuster action movies. Internet Movie Database lists 110 films to his credit. But which are the best (meaning delivering the adrenaline rush that you expect fro…
I talk to animals. But my cat rarely answers back. I don’t seem to have the linguistic abilities of Dr. Dolittle.
WEST JEFFERSON — The Ashe County Arts Council will be sponsoring a community celebration in honor of Martin Luther King Day on Monday, Jan. 20, at 7 p.m. at the Ashe Arts Center in West Jefferson.
BLOWING ROCK — Having saved up their proceeds from the last five years of Girl Scout cookie sales, Blowing Rock Troop 02738 decided to put these funds toward the educational experience of a lifetime.
WILKESBORO — MerleFest has released another round of artist additions for MerleFest 2020, which will be held April 23-26 at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro.
With the approach of one of Blowing Rock’s largest annual events, WinterFest, the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum is excited to welcome first-time visitors and returning ones alike. Since the opening of its current building in 2011, BRAHM has been an epicenter of local and regional artis…
The group Western Centuries has risen up in the roots music scene in recent years and has received acclaim for its diverse sound and original songwriting. Fueled by three songwriters who are also lead singers, Cahalen Morrison, Ethan Lawton and Jim Miller, Western Centuries produces a unique…
Alta Vista Gallery
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are bad boys. Well, at least they were in two previous movies of that name. And now, in a third installment, they declare themselves “Bad Boys For Life.”
BLOWING ROCK – More than 130 athletes from several counties in North Carolina plus Virginia and South Carolina descended on an unseasonably warm Appalachian Ski Mtn. on Jan. 12-13 for the Special Olympics North Carolina Winter Games – Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding.
BOONE – The 34th annual Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition and Exhibition opened for submissions on Jan. 13. The nationally recognized juried sculpture competition, established by Martin and Doris Rosen, has long served as a point of pride for Appalachian State University and its annual sum…
The Ashe County High School Vanguard Marching Band received its Turkey Trophy from the Novant Health Thanksgiving Day Parade on Jan. 8 — the band had been announced as the winner of the Battle of the Bands competition on Dec. 9, following a voting period that was opened on Thanksgiving and w…
On Jan. 13 at 7 p.m., Nikki Giovanni took the stage of the Schaefer Center for the 35th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration.
COLFAX – Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont and Girl Scouts of the USA launch the 2020 Girl Scout cookie season, when Girl Scouts across the country become entrepreneurs as they earn money to power their own leadership opportunities and adventures.
WILKESBORO — The Walker Center, on the campus of Wilkes Community College, will present The Greatest Love of All at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30. Doors open at 7 p.m.
WEST JEFFERSON — This year’s North Carolina Downhill Race at Mount Jefferson State Natural Area will be an official World Cup Event, which will make the park one of only six venues in the world to host such an event.
BOONE — In its sixth year of conducting the Big Kahuna Campaign to raise money for affordable housing, Watauga County Habitat for Humanity is now asking people to participate in the 2020 competition as a team.
Favorite jeans have a hole? Stained a go-to jacket? Come and learn artful and practical skills to mend, patch and repair damaged clothing and textiles inspired by Japanese Sashiko, a visible mending technique using decorative stitches to repair garments.
BOONE — The new year brings a line-up of new events booked at the venerable Appalachian Theatre of the High Country. Less than three months after its opening, Executive Director Laura Kratt announced details for the next three concert events at the Art Deco landmark in Boone with general pub…
BOONE — The final stretch of the 2019-2020 season of “The Schaefer Center Presents …” performing arts series is just around the corner. From Feb. 1 through April 4, the SCP series, presented by Appalachian State University’s Office of Arts and Cultural Programs, offers something special to l…
BOONE – The schedule is set for the 2020 Spring Indoor Concert Series at the Jones House, held in the intimate 40-seat Mazie Jones Gallery. With a power-packed lineup that includes Cajun musicians, old time string instrumentalists, a local country-blues extraordinaire, a bluegrass legend and…
The Ashe County Arts Council will sponsor the Coffee House Live! event on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hensley Hall of the West Jefferson Methodist Church in West Jefferson. The featured performers will include The Sheets Family Band, The Mountain Laurels, Cooper Parsons and Sharon …
VALDESE — The Old Rock School in Valdese will host two events Friday and Saturday, Jan. 10-11.
The Open Mic group that hosts a monthly meeting in partnership with the Watauga County Public Library is accepting poetry submissions from Watauga County high school students.
Alta Vista Gallery
If you’re a horror fan, you’ve probably seen “Ju-On: The Grudge,” a 2002 Japanese film written and directed by Takashi Shimizu.
“Just Mercy” has an authentic voice when telling the story of Walter McMillan, an Alabama man on death row in the 1980s for a murder he didn’t commit. That’s because the movie is based on a book by Bryan Stevenson, the lawyer who defended McMillan. Being that both men are black, this true st…
Sometimes, you have to leave the mountains. Life calls, work is pursued and family situations demand it.
Nestled into the Bethel community near Vilas is a log cabin house that Donne Mills and his wife spend most of their time at.
Dear Naturalist,
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