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

Friday, July 29, 2016

Whitewater Junior Olympics on the Nantahala River

photos courtesy of www.noc.com

July 29 - 31, 2016 Whitewater Junior Olympics Nantahala Racing Club hosts the 2016 Whitewater Junior Olympics on the Nantahala River. This national-level youth event featuring slalom, downriver and freestyle competition as well as just-for-fun on- and off-the-water events such as duckie-cross, SUP free paddle and yard games.

Family-friendly and fun for beginner through advanced paddlers, the Whitewater Junior Olympics are a great opportunity to meet young paddlers and families from around the country and get inspired about whitewater. Ages 18 and under.

For more information, visit www.nantahalaracingclub.com

Get local information on our Bryson City NC Visitor Guide.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Blowing Rock Horse Show Hunter-Jumper Division Begins Today

July 26 - August 7, 2016 Blowing Rock Horse Show Hunter / Jumper division I. The 90th annual Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show is one of the oldest horse show events in the country and has been a Blowing Rock tradition since 1923.

Admission is charged. This year several new Classics including Pre Green Incentive Classics are being introduced both weeks along with Classics for Children, Adults, Ponies and Juniors.

The Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show is held at The Equestrian Preserve, 1500 Laurel Lane in Blowing Rock NC.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Franklin NC Hosts 51st Macon County County Gemboree this Weekend

photo courtesy www.discoverfranklinnc.com

July 28 - 31, 2016 51st Annual Macon County Gemboree The Second oldest gem and mineral show in the Southeast features dealers from across the United States. Rough and cut gemstones, minerals, lapidary equipment and much more. The event is sponsored by the Franklin Chamber of Commerce and the Gem and Mineral Society of Franklin.

Get links for local rentals, restaurants and attractions on our Franklin NC Visitor Guide.

Saturday, July 16, 2016

Blue Ridge Music Center Concert - Carlene Carter & the Reed Island Rounders Tonight

July 16, 2016 Blue Ridge Music Center Concert - Carlene Carter & the Reed Island Rounders The Blue Ridge Music Center Summer Concert Series is performed rain or shine. You are welcome to bring your own picnic basket (NO ALCOHOL please) and encouraged to bring a lawn chair. Phone ticket sales through BRPF Office end at Noon on Friday and are available online up to 12 hours before the concert. The Galax Smokehouse serves BBQ, sides and drinks at each concert. Check the website for details about the performers and concerts

Carlene Carter is the daughter of country music legends June Carter and Carl Smith. Carlene’s own career started in the late 1970s when she went to England to record her acclaimed self-titled debut album (with Graham Parker and the Rumour). She has co-written songs for Emmylou Harris (“Easy From Now On”) and The Doobie Brothers (“One Step Closer”). She came home to country in the 1990s with hits like “I Fell in Love,” “Come On Back,” “Every Little Thing,” and her own shows on VH1 and TNN. In 2014, Carlene returned even closer to home with a tribute to the timeless music of her historic family titled Carter Girl.

photos courtesy of Blue Ridge Music Center

The Reed Island Rounders are not your typical string band. Drawing from the lonesome hollers of West Virginia, the lively traditions of Kentucky’s fiddlers, Blue Ridge Mountain styles, and now the North Carolina sounds from Round Peak to the Piedmont, the Rounders weave archaic with sophisticated, soulful with foot-stomping, and romantic with down-to-earth. Since 1993, when Billy Cornette (guitar and vocals) and Betty Vornbrock (fiddle and vocals) teamed up to compete at fiddler’s conventions, the band has been sharing foot-stomping dance tunes, romantic waltzes, chilling ballads and more with audiences. Kirk Sutphin (banjo and fiddle) rounds out the band.

The Blue Ridge Music Center is located at 700 Foothills Road in Galax, VA at Milepost 213 on The Blue Ridge Parkway, Just north of Boone NC

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.