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Celebrate spring in Sylva Saturday
It’s already snowed in April – twice – so all the signs are pointing to actual spring weather for Saturday’s annual Greening Up the Mountains festival in downtown Sylva.
This year’s street fair looks to be among the best ever, with music from two stages, kids’ activities, crafts and mountain heritage, demonstrations of traditional Appalachian crafts and food and fun for all.
In many ways Greening Up is a throwback to how things used to be, when folks from throughout Jackson County headed to Sylva on Saturdays to shop, eat, conduct business and meet friends.
Main Street’s festival has grown with each passing spring as more events have been added. New this year is a haiku contest with original poems composed for each winner by the North Carolina poet laureate – Cullowhee’s Kay Byer.
Here at The Herald we’ve already seen evidence of the allure of spring as our annual “Mountain Spring” photo contest has generated close to 80 entries that already adorn our front windows, awaiting the ribbons that will be added Saturday. Festival-goers can gaze in awe at the stunning images captured by area photographers.
Many volunteers have put in lots of hours to stage Sylva’s spring shindig. All that’s left to be done to make this year’s Greening Up an unqualified success is for you, your family and your friends to come downtown and enjoy yourselves.
Join us downtown Saturday – and join the fun as we once again celebrate the arrival of spring in the mountains.
More to celebrate
As we prepare to mark the arrival of spring, it’s great to be able to share in Western Carolina University’s celebration of its first decade under the visionary leadership of Chancellor John Bardo.
The changes at Western during Bardo’s tenure have been dramatic and include the Millennial Initiative, announced just two months ago, that doubles the size of the campus. That plan calls for mixed-use development that will include academic buildings, housing and industry – all aimed at helping mountain students excel.
Bardo’s 10 years have been a period of unparalleled growth for the 116-year-old institution that began as a one-room school. Since 1995, WCU has made dramatic strides in increasing both the size and academic qualifications of its student body.
When Bardo arrived, he said he wanted to “raise the bar” at WCU and strive for excellence. By succeeding, he’s improved the future both for Western and the region.
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