Greening Up the Mountains termed 'great success'

Greening Up the Mountains, downtown Sylva, NC

Photo by Livingston Kelly

The third annual Greening Up the Mountains festival, Sylva's celebration of Earth Day and the arrival of spring, drew the largest crowd ever Saturday, with more than 5,000 participants taking part.

"The festival was a real bonding of different elements of the community toward a common goal for the improvement of downtown Sylva," said SPIR Executive Director Karen Armel. "And everywhere I go I keep hearing what a wonderful, beautiful, fun day it was."

Sylva Mayor Brenda Oliver had similar words of praise for the festivities.

"I thought (the festival) was wonderful," Oliver said. "The crowd was upbeat, the mood was festive and the exhibitors were excellent. I thought this one was the best one ever."

Oliver gave credit for the festival's success to all those involved, with special praise for Armel and Susan Leveille, who returned this year to handle production duties for the event. "Except for a chilly beginning, I think it was a warm and wonderful day," said Joyce Moore, chairman of SPIR's promotion committee. "I also want to say how grateful I am to all the people who participated in the festival. I think the day was very successful."

A crowd count of two times previous Greening Up the Mountains festival brought attendance numbers to more than 5,000 Saturday.

Photo by Nick Breedlove	Most in attendance agreed that one of the reasons for the success of the festival were the main stage performances, including two by Smoky Mountain Drum'n Bass. The seven-man band kicked the event into high gear early and closed the show with just as much energy.
Members of Smoky Mountain Drum'n Bass, from left, Jonathan Wertheim, Brooks Butler, Ian Moore, Kyle Huff, Henry Queen, Scott Denmon and Eric Mrozkowski, kicked Saturday's Greening Up the Mountains festival into high gear with an early morning performance. The local band then closed the show with even more energy, leaving crowds wanting more.

Individual talent also translated into success at the Catch the Spirit of Appalachia's heritage contest. Winners in categories from the best parade entries to the best pickles are as follows:

Children's Contests

Children's parade costumes - first, most original, Jarrett Frazier; tie, most colorful, Teran Wilson and Ryan Buchanan.

Children's essays (which determined the parade king and queen) - tie, queen, Alea Skwara and Kirstyn Coggins, both of Fairview Elementary School; king, David Shearin, Cullowhee Valley School. Second place in both the essay contest when to Richard Sutton, Fairview, and Mary Riddle of Cullowhee Valley. Third place when to Molly Gehring, Fairview, and Mary Beegle, Cullowhee Valley. Honorable mentions included Angela Craig, Grace Leonard, Julia Belo, Brendon Ferguson and Dylan Coward, all of Fairview; and Sam Lawing of Cullowhee Valley.

School prize - Scotts Creek School art club.

Heritage Contests

Canning: Fruits and Juices - first, second and third, Linda Vinson.

Vegetables - first, Linda Vinson; second and third, Molly Shaw.

Jams and Jellies - first and third, Linda Vinson; second, Molly Shaw.

Pickles and Relishes - first through third, Linda Vinson.

Quilts - first, Doris Pannell; second, Annette Sutton; third, Erma Tipton.

Hand Crafts - first, Susan Fox; second, Andy Sutton; third, (tie) Christy Pannell and Annie Lee Bryson.

Baked Goods - first, Doris Pannell; second, Pat Mackey; third, Linda Vinson.

Judges for the heritage contests were Betty White, Virginia Short, Opal Ward, Donna Bommer and Cathy Gibson.

Mountain Spring photo contest

The third annual Mountain Spring photo contest sponsored by The Sylva Herald took in 64 entries. Best of show was awarded to Herb Zachmann of Sylva for his "Red Tulip Trio." First- through third-place winners were named in two categories - Cute Kids and Fabulous Flowers. They are:

Cute Kids - first, Linda Minor of Sylva, "I See You"; second, Janaye Houghton of Sylva, untitled; and third, Sharon Schneider of Whittier, "Rachel at Easter." Fabulous Flowers - first, Nick Breedlove of Sylva, "Fisher Creek Tulip"; second, William Douglas of Harvey, La., "Glorous Laurel"; and Harley Sellers Jr. of Sylva, "Purple Azaleas."

Judge for the contest was Holly Rhodarmer, an art history major at Western Carolina University and a newspaper intern.

A People's Choice Award was also held during the festival Saturday. All photos submitted were eligible, with the most votes going to William Douglas's "Spring Blooms from the Rock."

Audience participation

Audience involvement was a significant part of Saturday's festival, with folks invited to touch wool freshly sheared from sheep at the Fiber Fair and to cheer on their favorite Cub Scout in the Cubmobile races. Chalk decorated a large portion of Main Street as young and not-so-young like expressed themselves through temporary art.

"The chalk decoration of the streets was a hugh success," Mayor Oliver said. "I think we need to expand on that next year."

Eternal Harvest, in support of Greening Up the Mountains, sponsored a free sunflower and bean seed giveaway. Festival-goers were encouraged to get their hands a little dirty as a part of the activity. Eternal Harvest provided the peat pots, sunflower and bean seeds, dirt and water while the participants (mostly younger children) were encouraged to plant the seeds themselves.

More than 120 plants (mostly sunflowers) were given away. Each participant in the free giveaway was encouraged to take a sheet with care instructions that parents and children could read together as they watch their seeds grow.

Greg Walker and Scott Burns, founders of Eternal Harvest, said they were excited by the number of seeds given away.

"This was a great way to reach and teach kids about the beauty of growing a plant from the seed to seed," they said. "Eternal Harvest had a giant mammoth sunflower head on hand that kids were encouraged to look at to see how big their sunflowers might grow."

Eternal Harvest is a non-profit organization working in Jackson and Macon counties focused on promoting seed saving of heirloom and open-pollinated plants through sustainable home gardening.

Walker encouraged those who took a seed to e-mail Eternal Harvest to let them know how the seed is doing and if there are any questions.

Next year's Greening Up the Mountains will be held Saturday, April 21.