The Western Carolina University Bardo Arts Center Performance Hall opens the spring season with a film screening of the acclaimed live production of “Kinky Boots” from London’s Theatre Royal at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9, as part of the Bardo Arts Center Sunday Cinema Series. The screening will b…

The monthly Creating Community Workshop is at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 1 in the Atrium of the Jackson County Public Library.

In the early hours of the morning on Saturday, Nov. 30, slightly more than 500 students at Western Carolina University met in the football stadium parking lot and packed into 12 buses. What did they have in common? They all were members of WCU’s Pride of the Mountains Marching Band. Their de…

For a full decade, the Town of Sylva, Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department and Jackson County Chamber of Commerce have teamed up to bring live music to Sylva on summer evenings.

Sylva Rotary Club added another McGuire family member to club membership on Jan. 9 when Sam McGuire joined as a fourth-generation member.

Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center is hosting an exhibit by Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist José Galvez on Latino life in North Carolina in the museum’s second-floor gallery at Hunter Library.

Waynesville author Holly Kays will present her newest book, “Trailblazers & Traditionalists: Modern-day Smoky Mountain People,” at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. At 3 p.m. there will be a book reading and exploration of some of the stories contained in the book.

The Western Carolina Community Chorus, open to experienced singers high-school aged and older, will resume rehearsals at 3 p.m. Sunday in Room 357 of the Coulter Building on the campus of Western Carolina University.

The Governor’s Volunteer Service Award program, created by the Office of the Governor in 1979, recognizes North Carolina’s most dedicated volunteers.

By Beth Lawrence

David Preston was the Dogwood Crafters raffle winner for a handmade quilt stitched by Larry Walther, a long-time member of the craft collective in Dillsboro. A customer on Dec. 16 drew Preston’s name from a handmade basket full of tickets. Walther is in his 80s and still quilting.

The 39th annual Candlelight Christmas event in Webster is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the historic Webster United Methodist Church. The event opens with Christmas music played on the 1881 Estey organ, and guitar played by David Magil. The Christmas story from the Bible will be read by…

By Norma Clayton

Cedar and Sage Thompson, and Lillian Bryson of the Jackson County 4-H Cloverbud Club (ages 5-8) decorate a Christmas tree at the Jackson County Historical Museum. For eight years, the 4-H’ers have made homemade decorations, decorated the tree and enjoyed some holiday snacks. This year’s tree…

The Webster Historical Society will begin the Christmas season with a four-part program at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Webster United Methodist Church.

A showing of new works and a series of prints by Jenean Hornbuckle, a landscape painter, will open at the Rotunda Gallery of the Jackson County Public Library from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, with a reception sponsored by the Jackson County Arts Council and Sequoyah Fund.

The Mountain Winds Community Band will present a concert of holiday music at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Coulter Recital Hall at Western Carolina University. The concert is free and open to the public. The band is comprised of musicians from Jackson and surrounding counties and students from WCU…

By Beth Lawrence

By Tyler Davis

Smoky Mountain Student Council, FCA more than double goal

The Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet will be playing seasonal music at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6, at Innovation Station, Dillsboro. There is no fee, however contributions to support the Sylva American Legion Post 104 are invited. Post 104 is dedicated to helping veterans in need, supporting youth pr…

Mary Ricketson will visit City Lights Bookstore at 3 p.m. Saturday. She will read poems from “Mississippi, The Story of Luck and Marian.”

Zack Stockbridge peers under a blanket at a laptop connected to a telescope Monday in the Southwestern Community College parking lot as he views Mercury making its way between Earth and the sun. Astronomy enthusiasts from around the region brought eight telescopes to watch the Transit of Mer…

The Western North Carolina Pottery Festival came to Sylva’s Bridge Park on Saturday. Potters and visitors from around the country came to see the 46 potters, the Clay Olympics and featured potter Joy Tanner. The event moved from Dillsboro to Sylva due to construction on the Scotts Creek brid…

By Tyler Davis

By Tyler Davis

America Recycles Day promotes recycling nationwide and will be celebrated this year on Friday, Nov. 15. Recycling advocates should spread the word and share the benefits of recycling with friends, family and neighbors.

Humorist and NPR correspondent David Sedaris will be speaking at Western Carolina University’s Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19.

By Tyler Davis

On Friday, Oct. 18, the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors held a grand opening/ribbon cutting ceremony for new members The Farmhouse Mercantile and Coffee Bar. Located at 582 W. Main St. in Sylva, The Farmhouse features handmade farmhouse pieces, purses, jewelry, clothing and mo…

Each year the Champion Credit Union donates $500 for cash prizes for crafters and artists participating in the Colorfest Festival in Dillsboro. Other winners are: first place art, Suzanne Summers; second place art, Jason Rizzo; first place craft, Debbie Douglas; and second place craft, Nancy Smith.

Michael Lounsbury, of Sylva, recently published “Never Accept Defeat,” a memoir.

Eight Jackson County crafters brought home awards from the N.C. Extension Community Association meeting held Oct. 20-23 at Lake Junaluska. Elaine Haskett, who served as county cultural arts coordinator, won second with her knit shawl and hat, and third with her cross stitch Christmas picture…

North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green works with freshman from Jackson Community School at City Lights Bookstore Tuesday afternoon. She told the students that stories are important and “everyone’s story is precious and has dignity.” In an exercise she called “What we keep, keeps us…

Southwestern Community College’s Advertising and Graphic Design students are adding a new twist to their Halloween display, open to the public from 5:30-8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31 in the Burrell Building.