A FREE Daily Visitor Guide for the North Carolina Mountains and 50+ NC Mountain Cities

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Last Chance NC Ski Lodging

The recent cold snap has allowed NC Slopes to do more snowmaking and extend the viable ski season for another couple of weeks. Cataloochee, Appalachain, Beech Mountain and Sugar Mountain are all still open and ready for the last skiing and tubing of the 2011-2012 season. There is a variety of ski lodging available, some with specials and discounts offered. Get a complete list HERE.

incredible mountain views from this newer villa style condo

incredible mountain views from this newer villa style condo

Newer Sugar Mountain Condo with incredible views - 2+ bedrooms, 3 baths, sleeps up to 7. Long range mountain views, deck, jetted bathtub, gas fireplace, upscale furnishings. Locate in The Reserve with walking access to the Sugar ski slopes. $245 - $350 night, $1100 week. See rental photos and availability

great views and big enough for the family or group

great views and big enough for the family or group

BIG vacation home with BIG views - 7 bedrooms, 5 baths, sleeps up to 17. Gourmet kitchen, fireplaces, gameroom with pool table, jukebox, pinball, video arcade games, 9 HDTVs, WIFI, large hot tub. 180 degree mountain views. $375 - $425 night, $2400 - $2795 week. Sugar Mountain. See rental photos and availability

Maggie Valley vacation rental special

Special on Maggie Valley vacation rental - $550 per week! Reserve now for skiing at Cataloochee or Spring in the mountains. 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, sleeps up to 5. Fireplace, large deck with grill. $100 - $125 night. See rental photos and availability

Upscale large vacation home minutes to the slopes and golf

Upscale large vacation home minutes to the slopes and golf

Upscale Sugar Pointe Vacation Home - 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, sleeps 8. Hot tub, deck with dining and gas grill, fireplace, HDTV and WIFI, pool table, fire ring. Minutes to the ski slopes, golf, tennis and community hiking and biking trails. $200 night, $1400 week. Sugar Mountain NC. See rental photos and availability

peacefull mountain getaway near Blowing Rock and Boone

peacefull mountain getaway near Blowing Rock and Boone

Beautiful sunsets at this mountain cottage - 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, sleeps 4. Beautiful pasture to mountains view, covered deck with grill and hammock, fireplace, WIFI, lots of peace and quiet. Located minutes to shops and restaurants. $219 night, $1025 week. Blowing Rock NC. See rental photos and availability

Get more Lodging near NC Ski Slopes HERE.

Monday, March 5, 2012

March Madness on the NC Ski Slopes Includes New Snow

March 5 Sugar Mountain Sk Resort March Madness begins today and runs through the end of the season, Sugar offers up to 25% savings on lift tickets, rental equipment, and lessons. Some restrictions apply.
Beginning Monday, March 5, Cataloochee Ski Area will operate from 1 PM until 10 PM, Monday through Friday and 8:30 AM until 4:30 PM, Saturday and Sunday, through the end of planned daily operations for the season on Sunday, March 25. During the late season operating schedule, twilight and night skiing will be Monday through Friday and day skiing only on Saturdays and Sundays. New snow was made last night as temperatures dropped.

March 5, Beech Mountain Ski Resort will operate the day session only, extending session hours from 9 AM to 6 PM, while offering the best-valued lift ticket in the area. An all day ticket, running 9 hours, will be offered at only $30. Half-day sessions will run from 9 AM to 1 PM, and 1 PM to 6 PM, for the low price of $20. Prices and hours will remain in effect for the remainder of the season. 50% off everything in all retail locations including FLOW, Arbor, Grenade, Atomic, Billabong, and Scott. Fresh snow!

March 5 March Madness begins at Sugar Mountain Ski resort with 25% savings on lift tickets, rentals and lessons. Temperatures are in the teens, it's snowing and snow making continues to add more coverage to the slopes. With 3-4 inches of new natural snow and more snowkmaking, conditions are good for Spring skiing. The Sugar Mountain Sports Shop continues to sell all 2012 and older Spyder samples at 30-60% off retail.

Both Wolf Ridge Ski Resort and Sapphire Valley Ski Slopes are now closed for the season.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Brevard Music Center First Monday Concert Series, March-2012

March 5. 12:30 PM, The Brevard Music Center First Monday Concert Series presented at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd at 22 Fisher Road in Brevard NC. The Blair String Quartet.: The Program includes
WEBERN • Langsamer Satz
SCHUBERT • Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810, "Death and the Maiden"

The Blair String Quartet has been praised for combining "technical expertise and emotional fire." The Washington Post calls them simply "a marvelous ensemble." Following a contemporary music concert at Rice University, the Houston Post stated, "The Blair String Quartet is a composer's dream." Widely acclaimed in performances across the country, the Quartet has enhanced its national reputation through appearances at the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, New York's 92nd Street Y and Merkin Concert Hall.

In April of 2012 the Blair Quartet will perform at Weill Hall in New York City, which will include a premiere of Michael Hersch's quartet, Images from a Closed Ward. Some of their residencies have been at the Aspen Music Festival, the Sedona Chamber Music Festival, and Dartmouth College, as well as appearances at the Colorado Music Festival, the Meadowmount School of Music, the Sewanee Music Festival, Music Mountain in Connecticut and the Maverick Concert Series in Woodstock, New York. They have been the Quartet-in-Residence for the Classical Fellowship Awards competition of the American Pianists Association, and the Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival.

The Blair Quartet has received grants and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts , the Southern Arts Federation, the Tennessee Arts Commission and Chamber Music America's C. Michael Paul Residency Program. The Blair String Quartet is in residence at the Blair School of Music of Vanderbilt University. The members of the ensemble are Christian Teal and Cornelia Heard, violins, John Kochanowski, viola, and Felix Wang, cello.

Get a link for the Brevard Musice Center First Monday Series
and more Brevard NC events HERE

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Get Lucky on St Patrick's Day

This year for luck on St. Patrick's Day, skip the rabbit's foot and . . .

Adopt A (lucky) Rabbit!

You can choose from either of the WNC Nature Center's two rabbits - Pogo and Slate

Pogo, a Holland lop-eared rabbit, and Slate, a Flemish giant rabbit, live at the Center's Educational Farm, where guests have the opportunity to visit them and learn about the similarities and differences between the two.

(Size is the first obvious difference. Holland lop-eared rabbits average 3-4 pounds, whereas when Slate is full grown, he may end up weighing 14 or more pounds!)

In return for your adoption, you'll receive an adoption certificate, a fact sheet, a Zoobook, and a photo of your rabbit. Plus you'll be assisting the Friends to provide resources to support the WNC Nature Center and its work to inspire guests while educating them on Southern Appalachian animals, such as these rabbits and many more.

Adopt at the $50 level, and you'll receive a (lucky) plush rabbit toy!

You'll also be celebrating St. Patrick's Day in a very unique way! We're pretty sure you'll be the only lucky rabbit Wild Parent at the party.

Click here to adopt a rabbit today!

The Blue Ridge Parkway at 469 miles long is the nation's longest scenic rural parkway. Now 70 years old it is administered by the National Park Service and host to approximately 20 million visits annually. It connects the Shenandoah Valley National Park with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee. Along the route are opportunities for lodging, dining, camping, hiking and simply enjoying breathtaking views from easily accessible overlooks and picnic areas. For additional information visit :The Blueridge Parkway Association

The River Arts District is open year around with the opportunity to meet artists in their studios. Schedules are available online. This unique area along the French Broad River is home to more than 165 artists with working studios located in 18 turn-of-the-century industrial buildings. The artists of the River Arts District welcome you into their studios to talk with them, see their latest artwork, watch demonstrations, and experience for yourself the magic hidden inside the time-worn factories and warehouses along the French Broad River.

Chimney Rock Park is named for a 500 million-year-old giant granite monolith overlooking Hickory Nut Gorge. Visitors are awed by the breathtaking view that spreads 1200 vertical feet beneath them and 75 miles across the Carolinas. The now state owned park encompasses 1,000 acres offers the best of the mountains in one place with spectacular 75-mile views, hiking trails for all ages, a 404-foot waterfall, a variety of special events and much more. Chimney Rock NC

The National Scenic Byways Program is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. The program is a grass-roots collaborative effort established to help recognize, preserve and enhance selected roads throughout the United States. Since 1992, the National Scenic Byways Program has provided funding for almost 1500 state and nationally designated byway projects in 48 states. The U.S. Secretary of Transportation recognizes certain roads as All-American Roads or National Scenic Byways based on one or more archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational and scenic qualities.

Tsali Recreation Area is an outdoors lover's paradise. Probably the most popular features of Tsali Recreation Area are the 39 miles of trails suited for mountain bikers and horse-back riders, as well as hikers. The 4-loop system offers a variety of landscapes. You can climb 1-foot wide rugged paths or travel flat, well-beaten roads. The four trails--Right, Left, Mouse Branch, and Thompson Loops--meander through mixed pine and hardwoods on a peninsula stretching into Fontana Lake. Near Bryson City NC and Robbinsville NC.