June 7, 2019. The 2019 Ensemble Stage Professional Summer Season gets underway on Friday night with the Deborah Zoe Laufer’s romantic comedy “Fortune.” “Fortune” will be performed from June 7 through June 15 at the Ensemble Stage Professional Theatre in Banner Elk. This is a special moment for Ensemble Stage as it is the season opener but it also marks the North Carolina premiere for “Fortune.” “Fortune” is the story of Maude, a lonely, surly, storefront psychic has accepted that love is not in the cards for her. She can see the future and knows this to be her fate. But when she takes pity on a love-hungry customer whom she tells is destined to the same fate, she decides fate is in need of a real butt-whipping. Thus begins a hilarious and clever, no-holes-barred, wrestling match, pitting love against predestination. By Nathan Ham / Read more…

March 11, 2019 It will be summer before you know it, and with that will be another year of great shows and performances by Ensemble Stage. Season tickets for Century Club members and 2018 season ticket buyers are already on sale, but if you are a first time season ticket subscriber, you can make your purchases beginning this Saturday, March 16. The cost is $84 for each season ticket or $77 for senior citizens, military veterans and students. Single show ticket purchases will go on sale April 1. Ensemble Stage shows take place at the Historic Banner Elk School, located at 185 Azalea Circle in Banner Elk. By Nathan Ham / Read more…

February 12, 2019 Each year since 1972, the Ashe County Little Theatre has been a staple of the arts community in the county. The theatre presents three to four plays each year, and this year, the group is expecting to present four productions for your enjoyment. “It’s a wonderful line up with some really diverse offerings,” said Jane Lonon, Executive Director of the Ashe County Arts Council. All shows will be presented at the Ashe Civic Center in West Jefferson. The season will begin with the production of “Is He Dead” from March 29-31. Next up will be the summer performance of the Braodway musical “Gypsy” from June 20-24. The third show of the year is set for August 22-25 and will be the production of “Calendar Girls.” The final show of the 2019 Ashe County Little Theatre season will be “Who’s On First” presented October 13-15. By Nathan Ham / Read more…

June 1, 2018. Ashe County Arts Council has been a leader in promoting the arts in Ashe County and across the region for 40 years and they are having a downtown street festival in celebration. On Saturday, June 2 the Arts Council will present Forty Fest! The Arts Council makes its home in downtown West Jefferson at the Ashe Arts Center, the “hub” of the arts in West Jefferson. The Arts Council moved into the 1930’s WPA building in 1993 after renovating the building to include offices, a gallery space and a gallery shop. The Forty Fest celebration will be set up outside around the Ashe Arts Center with music demonstrating artists, historic displays and children’s activities. There will be food trucks set up in the new parking lot across the street from the Arts Center entrance. / Read more…

April 17, 2018. A long-standing tradition of presenting an annual musical production enters its 30th year for the Watauga High School drama department. This year, the Playmakers will be presenting “Cinderella Enchanted” starting this Thursday, April 19 and lasting through Saturday, April 21. The musical will take place each night at 7 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase at the school’s front office from now through opening day. Saturday’s showing will also feature an open gala celebrating 30 years of theater at Watauga High School. Those who have performed in the past are invited to attend. The gala will also honor the directors of the show, Sarah Miller and Zach Walker, who were presented with the North Carolina Theater Conference Excellence in Teaching Award. By Nathan Ham / Read more…

April 9, 2018. The Children’s Playhouse presents Playhouse BuildFest from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 14th at Watauga High School. This free event is part of the 2018 North Carolina Science Festival. There will be a “soft open” for kids with special needs from 9 am-10 am before the event opens to the general public at 10. Now in its fifth year, this free community event regular attracts 1200 kids and parents for a day of learning and fun. / Read more…

April 6, 2018. The “The Schaefer Center Presents…” performance series, a program of Appalachian State University’s Office of Arts and Cultural Programs, continues its 2017–18 season with a collaborative production of the Tony Award-winning best musical “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” at 7 p.m. on April 13 and 14, and at 2 p.m. on April 15 at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for Appalachian faculty/staff and retired faculty/staff, and $10 for students. / Read more…

What’s going on in your community? Here’s a brief update on the emails we received today. Check back each day for an updated list of events going on in the area. As always, please feel free to email us about your event or update.

Mayland Community College Courses

Public Water and Sewer System Development Fee Act

Grandfather Mountain State Park 2018 Annual Wildflower Walks Free and Open to the Public

Public Comment Period on Proposal to Move Confederate Monuments to Close, 4/12

Mayland Community College Plant Swap, 4/28

Announcing: The First Ever Fundraising Event For Spirit Ride, 5/5

Watauga County Public Library, Author Visit Program: “Kirk’s Raiders”, 4/19

JAM Day Planned at Blue Ridge Music Center, 5/19

Ashe County Marathon Jam, 5/19

Caldwell Arts Council Call for Artists for “Art Around Caldwell Studio Tour” to be Held 6/23

Read more…
Compiled by Kate Herman

April 4, 2018. Join Lees-McRae College in celebrating spring’s return to the mountains during the eighth annual Appalachian Heritage Week April 9–13. Sponsored by the Stephenson Center for Appalachia, the College will highlight coal mining and other unique aspects of mountain heritage throughout the week. / Read more…

What’s going on in your community? Here’s a brief update on the emails we received today. Check back each day for an updated list of events going on in the area. As always, please feel free to email us about your event or update.

Prestigious Full-Tuition Elizabeth McRae Scholarship Recipients Announced

Camp GOTR (Girls on the Run)

Watauga County Parks and Rec Pickleball for Seniors

High Country Local First Memberships- New!

Weekly Events at Lost Province Brewing Company, 4/4- 4/14

App State Emergency Siren Test, 4/4

Tweetsie Railroad Opening Day, 4/6

BRAHM’s Upcoming Events: Gentle Yoga, 4/6

Boone Area Lions Hold Country Breakfast, 4/7   

Watauga Humane Society’s Tour for Life Adoption Event, 4/8

BRAHM’s Upcoming Events: Traveling Smithonian through 4/28

Spirit Ride’s Kentucky Derby Fundraiser, 5/5

Upcoming Sparta Events, Starting in June

Read more…
Compiled by Kate Herman

March 28, 2018. Easter Sunday will take place on April 1 this year. For those who are deciding how to celebrate Easter, here is a list of Easter Sunday Services and egg hunts to attend. Some egg hunts are taking place this coming weekend, others will take place on Easter weekend.  By Kate Herman / Read more…

What’s going on in your community? Here’s a brief update on the emails we received today. Check back each day for an updated list of events going on in the area. As always, please feel free to email us about your event or update.

Writers Advocate to Speak in Boone, 3/31

Get a Taste of Technical Theatre with Wilkes Playmakers: Backstage Courses Series, March-May 

Appalachian Gastroenterology Will Join Appalachian Regional Healthcare System, April 1

Boone Area Lions Hold Country Breakfast, 4/7 

High Country Writers Guest Speaker, April 12

Day Trips With Watauga County Parks and Rec, April 18-May 25

Men’s Senior Softball League Signup, June- September

Caldwell County – Call For Artists – Caldwell Visual Artists Competition, Submission Deadline Mid June

Read more…
Compiled by Kate Herman

March 26, 2018. The Banff Film Festival screening originally scheduled for this past Saturday have been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m. Winter weather pounded the High Country on Saturday, forcing the cancelation of all Banff Film Festival events for Saturday. However, event organizers did not give up on the event and were able to reschedule it, even if it is on a short notice. By Nathan Ham / Read more…

March. 26, 2018. Susan Rivers will be the featured speaker at the regular meeting of the High Country Writers at the Watauga County Public Library on Thursday, April 12, 2018, at 10:00 am.  She will also be doing a reading and book signing at the library at 2 pm on April 12. The programs are free and open to the public. Her talk is titled Be Secret and Exult…Writing through the Doubt and the Difficulties.  “For the fiction writer toiling away in anonymity, the publishing world can often seem like a rigged game, inscrutable and impenetrable,” she said.  / Read more…

What’s going on in your community? Here’s a brief update on the emails we received today. Check back each day for an updated list of events going on in the area. As always, please feel free to email us about your event or update.

Weekly Events at Lost Province Brewing Company, 3/25- 4/1

BRAHM Weekly Events, 3/27- 3/31

Appalachian Gastroenterology Will Join Appalachian Regional Healthcare System, 4/1

High Country Chapter of Military Officers Association of America Pancake Breakfast, 4/7

Extension Offers Hands-on Shiitake Mushroom Cultivation Workshop, 4/13

Blue Ridge Artisan Center Calls for Artists and Artisans in Northwest N.C. Counties to Take Part, Submission Deadline 4/19

Watauga Humane Society’s 4th Annual Raffle, 4/29

Ensemble Stage 2018 Professional Summer Season 

Read more…
Compiled by Kate Herman

March 19, 2018. There’s a rule among movie buffs that there has never been a decent live-action adaptation of a video game. Not a single one. A scant few detractors will defend the original “Resident Evil” or “Mortal Kombat” movies, but even then the arguments are rarely more passionate than “it works as a guilty pleasure.” The Angelina Jolie-led “Tomb Raider” movies from the early 2000’s are certainly no exception to this rule, though the 2001 original is the highest-grossing video game movie of all time. This commercial success from nearly two decades ago has led Hollywood to excavate the character of Lara Croft and let her take another shot at representing the medium. By Bob Garver / Read more…

Mar. 9, 2018. For those who love to shred, Appalachian Mountain Brewery’s Daniel Boone Rail Jam is taking place on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. ‘Rail Jam’ is an outdoor skiing and snowboarding competition in which the proceeds go to the Revamp the Amp project. There will be food and beverages available for purchase.  All are welcome to participate or spectate at the event. By Kate Herman / Read more…

What’s going on in your community? Here’s a brief update on the emails we received today. Check back each day for an updated list of events going on in the area. As always, please feel free to email us about your event or update.

Studio 140 is Show Casing Art at Sorrento’s Bistro on Weekends in March

Asheville Welcomes Elizabeth Smart, Where There’s Hope, There’s Healing, 3/8

High Country Lifelong Learners Movie Screening, 3/12

S.N.I.P.S of Watauga Humane Society Presents ‘Everything but the Kitchen Sink’, 3/17

Read more…
Compiled by Kate Herman

What’s going on in your community? Here’s a brief update on the emails we received today. Check back each day for an updated list of events going on in the area. As always, please feel free to email us about your event or update.

Weekly Events at Lost Province Brewing Company, 2/26- 3/10

Watauga Humane Society Event: Saint Paw-trick’s Day, 3/15

2018 BRAHM Gala: An Evening in Venice, 6/23

Watauga County Arts Council Vocal Music Scholarships Available

Read more…
Compiled by Kate Herman

Feb. 26, 2018. March is Youth Art Month and the Watauga County Arts Council is kicking it off with a morning of celebrating the art of K-3 area students! A free painting lesson will be offered to kids in grades K – 3 on Saturday, March 3 from 10:00 am – 11:30 at the Blue Ridge ArtSpace at 377 Shadowline Drive in Boone.  For the Home Sweet Home lesson kids will paint their homes and Watauga County scenes.  They are asked to bring pictures of their home or their favorite mountain/village scenes. / Read more…

Feb. 23, 2018. This weekend, Feb. 23-25, The Pioneer Playmakers will present “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder. The performance is a not a musical and has three acts. The play focuses on love, marriage, eternity, daily life and death. Showtimes will take place at 7 p.m., on Friday and Saturday. Sunday’s show will take place at 2:30 p.m. All shows will take place in Watauga High School’s auditorium. / Read more…

Feb. 21, 2018. BRAHM is known for hosting enriching events within the community. Read below to discover the four main upcoming attractions that are being offered during the month of March at the museum. The following events include: 
1) Smithsonian Exhibition Exploring the American Workforce Coming to Blowing Rock Art & History Museum​
2) Scholars & Scones: Crafting Coffee: The Daingerfield Blend
3) Thursday Art and Culture Talk (TAC Talk): Supporting Your Health with Essential Oils
4) Smithsonian Exhibition Featured in BRAHM’s Latest Coffee with the Curator Tour / Read more…

Feb. 7, 2018. Relationships can be difficult to navigate, especially those between parents and children, and even more particularly between fathers and sons. Lees-McRae Theatre Arts presents the story of one such fraught relationship with the musical Big Fish Feb. 22–25. / Read more…

Feb. 19, 2018. We were first introduced to T’challa aka Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) two years ago in “Captain America: Civil War.” A prince from the fictional African country of Wakanda, T’challa ascended to the throne when father the king was killed during a peace conference. His thirst for revenge led to the apparent creation of the Black Panther persona, and though he was certainly gifted athletically, it looked as though his “powers” were mostly royalty-based, similar to how his MCU colleague Tony Stark’s “powers” are mostly money-based. By Bob Garver / Read more…

Feb. 2, 2018. If you’re looking for employment that provides a fun and rewarding work experience, Tweetsie Railroad may be the perfect fit. Plan to attend the park’s annual Job Fair on Saturday, February 24, 2018, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Tweetsie Palace (300 Tweetsie Railroad Lane, Blowing Rock) to learn more about seasonal employment for 2018, including special events positions. / Read more…

Feb. 16, 2018. Are you or a friend looking for a course that will help you improve your business? Perhaps you aresimply looking to learn a new trade or skill. Mayland Community College is offering several course to the public. The starting dates vary per class.  / Read more…

What’s going on in your community? Here’s a brief update on the emails we received today. Check back each day for an updated list of events going on in the area. As always, please feel free to email us about your event or update.

Village Vision’s Second Annual Talent Couture, 2/23

The Watauga County Republican Women’s Club (WCRWC) Meeting, 2/28

New Monthly Meditation Program at the Appalachian Regional Library

The Appalachian Regional Library Received a Grant for ‘Cracked, Not Broken: Maintaining and Managing Mental Health’ Project

Read more…
Compiled by Kate Herman

Feb.16, 2018. Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute will host Wiley Cash, author of The Last Ballad, for its 2018 Laurette LePrevost Writers Symposium.The college will host a reading and discussion session with Cash on Thursday, March 15 at 12 p.m. on CCC&TI’s Watauga Campus and at 7 p.m. at the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center in Lenoir. On Friday, March 16, the college will host a reading and discussion with Cash at 12 p.m. in the gym on the Caldwell Campus in Hudson. All events are free and open to the public / Read more…

Feb. 16, 2018. The Stephenson Center for Appalachia at Lees-McRae College invites everyone to spend an hour with two distinguished Appalachian poets, Dr. Don Johnson and Dr. Jesse Graves, on Thursday, Feb. 22 at Evans Auditorium in the Cannon Student Center beginning at 7 p.m. / Read more…

Feb. 14, 2018. The Appalachian State University Department of Theatre and Dance begins its spring season with the first mainstage performance of the calendar year, “Well” by Lisa Kron. Produced on the university’s campus in the Valborg Theatre, “Well” will be presented Feb. 22-25. Tickets are $10 for students and $17 for adults.  / Read more…

Feb. 12, 2018. Black Mountain College (BMC) was founded in North Carolina’s Swannanoa Valley in 1933 by a band of academic dissidents led by John Andrew Rice Jr. — whose papers are housed in Appalachian State University’s W.L. Eury Collection — and closed its doors in 1957. To this day, BMC remains the greatest academic adventure ever launched on American soil. By Ellen Gwin Burnette / Read more…

What’s going on in your community? Here’s a brief update on the emails we received today. Check back each day for an updated list of events going on in the area. As always, please feel free to email us about your event or update.

American Pickers to Film in North Carolina

Weekly Events at Lost Province Brewing Company, 2/12- 2/18

In/Visible Theatre Volunteer Night, 2/13

Lees-McRae College Opens Career and Graduate School Fair to all High Country Residents, 2/20

Read more…
Compiled by Kate Herman

Feb. 12, 2018. I don’t blame the birds for chirping or the fish for swimming. I don’t blame February for being cold or a romantic restaurant for being booked up on Valentine’s Day. So I can’t say I blame the third and final “Fifty Shades” movie for being awful. Of course it’s awful. That’s what these movies do, they spend two hours being awful. There’s no pleasant surprise here, but there’s not really an unpleasant surprise either. The best thing I can say about this movie is that it isn’t like “Boo! A Madea Halloween 2” or “Daddy’s Home 2” where I’m astonished by how it manages to be worse than my meager expectations. It’s exactly as bad as it’s expected to be. By Bob Garver / Read more…

Feb. 12, 2018. The King Bees – the High Country’s premier blues ambassadors – are known for rocking the local festivals and parks with a big sound. You might have even seen guitarist Rob Baskerville walking through the crowds, playing slide guitar with water bottles, umbrellas, and lawn chairs of wide-eyed onlookers. This Friday, February 16, the Bees are released indoors, as The King Bees perform a special indoor concert at the Jones House Cultural and Community Center in downtown Boone. / Read more…

Feb. 7, 2018. Appalachian State University’s Playcrafters, a student organization affiliated with the university’s Department of Theatre and Dance, will present their 2018 New Play Festival in the I. G. Greer Studio Theatre on Feb. 15, 16, and 17 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for the general public and will be sold a half-hour prior to each performance. / Read more…