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"While the theme is based on bluegrass and traditional roots music, we've been able to provide something for most tastes on both the WRGC Main Stage and the CSA Second Stage," he said. "All together, these and many more attractions guarantee a great day."
A midway featuring vendor booths, music, food and fun for the entire family will open immediately following the Parade of Many Colors and run until 5 p.m.
CSA Parade
"Majesty of Mountain Heritage" is this year's Catch the Spirit of Appalachia parade theme, said Doreyl Cain, CSA co-founder and parade organizer. Those participating in the parade are asked to begin gathering on Railroad Avenue near Lifeway Church at 9 a.m.
Downtown businessman Sol Schulman has been named this year's parade grand marshal. In business in Sylva since 1932, Schulman will be waving to the crowd from the back of a 1932 Lincoln Roadster, Cain said.
As usual, the festival king and queen will participate in the parade. This year's royalty are King Cliff Franks and Queen Candace Franks, both students at Cullowhee Valley School. The two were chosen for the honors after writing award-winning essays on the parade theme.
5K Road Race
New this year and also scheduled to get under way at 10 a.m. is the Greening Up the Mountains 5K road race. Sponsored by the Great Smoky Mountain Triathlon Club and the Canary Coalition, the race starts at Mark Watson Park, crosses Main Street and turns left on Old Dillsboro Road.
At the traffic light at Hometown Place, runners will turn left again and head toward Sylva on U.S. Business 23. Runners will be assisted across the street to the sidewalk by an officer with the Jackson County Sheriff's Department.
When runners reach the next traffic light, they'll turn right onto Savannah Drive. The race route will proceed along Savannah Drive, which includes two challenging climbs, to Keener Street, where runners will turn right in to the Sheriff's Department parking lot and continue to Bicentennial Park, which marks the finish line.
In addition to assistance from the Sheriff's Department, officers with the Sylva Police Department will aid runners. Emergency personnel with WestCare will also be available along the race route.
For more information on Saturday's race and other events sponsored by Great Smoky Mountain Triathlon Club, visit them at www.gsmtc.com.
Musical Entertainment
Filling downtown Sylva's airspace festival day will be a variety of talented individuals including several in local bands. More than a dozen acts will grace two stages - one on Main Street and another at Alan's - during the daylong event.
Headlining this year's festival will be an acoustic ensemble headed by two-time national flatpicking guitar champion Larry Keel and featuring dobro master Curtis Burch.
Homegrown talent will include rising Nashville, Tenn., country music artist Matt Stillwell, a 1993 Smoky Mountain High School graduate and former Western Carolina University baseball standout.
Traditional Appalachian strains on the Second Stage will be provided by the Queen Family of Caney Fork, featuring local mountain music matriarch Mary Jane Queen, and the Fiddling Dills Sisters and Cullowhee Valley Boys led by Amanda and Sharon Dills of Wayehutta.
Other local acts include Sylva singer-songwriter Jaida, Cullowhee acoustic jazz dance band Zyder Zee, Sylva bluesman Marshall Ballew, former Smoky Mountain Drum'n Bass members Ian Moore and Jonathan Wertheim, bagpiper Josh Bulla of Dillsboro, Sylva gospel group Smoky Mountain Strings, Whittier country artist Patrick Summerall, Christian alternative Brett Michael Wilson and Jackson County-based folk music group The Muses.
Also appearing will be storyteller and musician Jerry Harmon, old-time musician Frank Lee, and comedy/music team Linda & Mr. Wright. Main Stage emcee will be Ian Moore.
Kid's Entertainment
Entertainment designed especially with children in mind includes storytelling sessions, hands-on arts and crafts, skits, a petting zoo, face painting, pony rides and the eternally-popular "Chalk Zone."
For those who fear nothing and seek challenges, Blackrock Outdoor Co. will sponsor a climbing wall to be located on Main Street in front of that business. For more thrills, participants are encouraged to cheer on their favorite Cub Scouts as they race down Schulman Street in cubmobiles of their own making.
A highlight with young and old alike, Carlton Burke of Carolina Mountain Naturalist is scheduled to return this year with Greta the Groundhog and an assortment of other "touchable" wild critters. Burke's booth will be located on the First Baptist Church lawn.
Keeping Kids Safe
As too many of us are well aware, having kids is not all fun and games. In fact, it seems each year more and more children are reported missing, and unfortunately, the outcome of these cases is often not what would be hoped.
To aid in identifying children reported as missing, the men of Dillsboro Masonic Lodge will offer to the parents or guardians of local children a VHS video tape of their child or children depicting that child's appearance, speech and individual mannerisms.
There is no charge for this service if the parent or guardian brings a blank VHS video cassette to the Mason's booth at Greening Up the Mountains. After the recording session, which will take about 5 minutes, the tape will immediately be given to the parent or guardian.
Deputies with the Sheriff's Department will also be present to fingerprint children. The fingerprint card will also be immediately given to the parent or guardian.
"Together, the video and the fingerprint card will, if and when necessary, substantially aid in the identification of a child," said Bob Root, one of the area Masons organizing this event. "We plan to offer this service at each annual Greening Up the Mountain festival, video taping and fingerprinting new children and adding to the videos made in previous years to show maturity changes of the child."
Ducks on the Tuck
As part of the second annual "Ducks on the Tuck" ducky derby race Saturday, several Dillsboro merchants will sponsor a "Walk Like A Duck" fun walk for children. The walk will begin at 2:30 p.m. and children are encouraged to come wearing their funniest duck costumes.
Challenges will include walking like a duck and talking like a duck. Each entrant will be given a bandana with the duck logo on it and prizes will be awarded. All participants should meet at the Applegate Inn in Dillsboro at 2:30 pm.
The fun walk will end in time for the Ducks on the Tuck race, which is set to begin at 3 p.m.
Ducks on the Tuck is a fund-raiser for the New Century Scholar's program, which provides college scholarships to area students. Ducks will be available downtown for $5 prior to the race.
CSA Demonstrations
Wafting through the air during this year's festival will be the smell of candy and candied apples as the Dillsboro Candy Factory tantalizes festival-goers, drawing them to Catch the Spirit of Appalachia's "Traditional Heritage Walk," said Amy Garza, CSA co-founder.
Located in the lot next to The Sylva Herald, this walk through yesteryear will showcase hand rug braiding by Dianne Ellis, quilting by Penny Bullock, soapmaking by Dan and Brenda Cagle, woodcarving by members of Macon Chips and the Jackson County Woodcarvers, pottery throwing with raku pot glazing by Lee Houston, watercolor illustrations by Madeline Epp and mural painting by Cain.
Traditional heritage contests sponsored by CSA and judged through N.C. Cooperative Extension Service will once again be featured. Contest winners will be awarded cash prizes for first- and second-place honors in several categories, including canned and dried vegetables, quilting and handcrafts. Heritage demonstrations that capture the history and culture of the mountain region will be featured throughout the day.
In addition to these contests, CSA will sponsor for the first time a handstitched apron contest. Aprons submitted will be on display during the festival for all to see, Garza said.
"We are encouraging all who not only have made their own aprons, but who have saved their mothers' or grandmothers' handmade aprons to enter the contest," she said. "Some of the talents of apron handstitchery could include embroidery, cross stitch, appliques, quilting and patchwork."
For more information on CSA's heritage contests, call 631-4587.
Tree, Greenway Walks
For those who want to get an early start on the festival, members of the Sylva Garden Club will lead visitors on their Tree Walk Friday, April 26, at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. The walk winds through downtown Sylva and covers approximately 1.2 miles.
Organizer Martha Chovan said participants will follow the Tree Walk booklet that was produced by the garden club in 1981 and revised in 1998 and will see some 44 trees, most of which are native to this area. The walks are free and will originate at Bicentennial Park on Keener Street just below the old courthouse.
Then on Saturday, the Greenway Commission will sponsor a 1.5-mile walk around town, through the "Pumpkin Patch" residential area and along the Sylva River Walk. This walk starts at 11 a.m. For a $5 fee, which will go to support Greenway activities, participants will receive a bare root oak tree at the walk's conclusion. Participants should gather at the Greenway Commission booth on Main Street in front of Peeble's.
Jackson County Museum
The Jackson County Museum, located in the recently-renovated Hooper House, will officially open during the festival. "Jackson County Through Early Post Cards" is the title of the museum's first exhibit, said Joe Rhinehart, a main force behind the facility's development.
Under the guidance of the Jackson County Historical Association, the Webster Historical Society, the Cashiers Historical Society and the Jackson County Genealogical Society, "the Jackson County Museum is a museum for us, the people of this county, to know and learn our history," Rhinehart said.
Fishing Opportunity
Sylva Mayor Brenda Oliver reported that Scotts Creek through Sylva will once again be stocked with trout for this Saturday's festival. As a hatchery-supported stream, Scotts Creek will be stocked by the N.C. Wildlife Resource Commission in time for fishermen to hit the water early, she said. Those planning to fish should secure a North Carolina fishing license.
Recycle, Recycle, Recycle
Greening Up the Mountains - sponsored by Sylva Partners in Renewal, the Sustainable Business Community and Catch the Spirit of Appalachia - is Sylva's Earth Day festival, and as such promotes a "zero waste" theme. Festival-goers and presenters are asked to use recyclable materials and recycling receptacles.
Festival Transportation
In preparation for the festival, a block of Sylva's Main Street - between Schulman and Landis streets - will be closed to vehicular traffic beginning at 10 p.m. Friday, according to Sylva Police Chief Jeff Jamison. This will allow festival organizers to begin constructing the Main Stage in front of First Baptist Church.
The remainder of Main Street will be closed to cars between Keener and Evalina streets from 6 a.m. until approximately 6 p.m. Saturday, Jamison said.
For more information about Greening Up the Mountains, call the Sylva Partners in Renewal office at 586-1577 or visit www.greeningupthemountains.org.
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Downtown Sylva will host the fifth annual Greening Up the Mountains street festival this Saturday, April 27, beginning at 10 a.m. Larger crowds than have been seen at previous festivals are expected, organizers say, due to the incorporation of several new elements. In addition to two performance stages emphasizing both bluegrass and traditional roots music, a 5K road race and a climbing wall have been added to the day's lineup.