Greening Up the Mountains is April 28

TV personality Bob Caldwell to be parade's grand marshal

By Lisa Majors-Duff

That's according to SPIR Executive Director Richard McHargue, who Monday announced that more than 100 vendors, exhibitors and demonstrators have signed on to participate in this year's event, which will be held Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

"This is going to be a great festival," said McHargue, who is in his first year as SPIR's administrative head.

Last year's event was attended by about 5,000 people. Festival planners expect that record to be broken this year.

"We've planned some really great entertainment, events for children and a larger-than-ever parade," said festival chairman Sandy Lyon.

The event will once again be sponsored by Sylva Partners in Renewal, Catch the Spirit of Appalachia and the Tuckaseegee Alliance.

As in years past, the festival will get under way at 10 a.m. with the Parade of Many Colors, under the direction of CSA. WLOS-TV weatherman and on-air personality Bob Caldwell will serve as grand marshal of the parade, which will use as a theme "The Many Colors of Music."

As part of Jackson County's 150th anniversary celebration, county Manager Jay Denton will accept a "Sesquicentennial Tree" from Noble Green organizers in a ceremony to open the festival following the parade. Noble Green's mission is to heighten ecological awareness among regional book buyers by asking them to contribute to a fund to replace the trees cut and used in the printing industry.

Following the opening ceremony, musical entertainment will continue throughout the day on the festival's Main Stage. The schedule features the award-winning Queen Family Band at noon; the Fiddling Dills Sisters with the Cullowhee Valley Boys at 1:30 p.m.; country music rising star Matt Stillwell at 2 p.m.; and Sylva's magnificent seven, Smoky Mountain Drum Śn Bass at 3:30 p.m. Country Music Hall of Famer Lee Shannon will serve as emcee during the day.

Participants can expect to find a variety of vendors representing more than 10 WNC counties during Greening Up the Mountains, from area artisans to delicious food selections to local non-profit agencies eager to share their message. Many of downtown Sylva's merchants also plan to make their presence known April 28 with sidewalk sales, extended hours, demonstrations and storytelling.

Just for kids, the Jackson County Arts Council will once again staff an area designed to let a child's imagination run wild. Street chalk drawing will be available, as well as face painting, free to all festival-goers. For the kid who likes wild animals, Carlton Burke of Carolina Mountain Naturalist will once again bring his collection of creatures ­ including possums, groundhog, flying squirrels and more ­ to the festival. Pony rides and petting zoo will round out the animal nature of the festival.

A highlight of this year's festival will be the 1 p.m. Clean Air Rally sponsored by the Canary Coalition in its continued effort to make the mountains of WNC a healthier place to live and breath. Winners of the organization's first-ever poetry contest will be invited to read their work, while others will be encouraged to join the fight for cleaner air.

Poetry is only one of several contests open to festival-goers. CSA will once again sponsor its heritage contest, with prizes to be awarded in categories such as canned vegetables, pickles and relishes, jams and jellies, canned fruits and juices, baked goods, quilting and handcrafts. The Sylva Herald will display winners in its fourth "Mountain Spring" photo contest, and winning creations by creative recyclers will be announced by Earthworks Recycling.

As an Earth Day festival, Greening Up the Mountains will promote a "Zero Waste" theme, asking all festival-goers and presenters to use recyclable materials during the event. Recyclable receptacles will be available during the day in several locations.

For more information about Greening Up the Mountains, call McHargue at 586-1577.

Back to Archive: 04/19/01.