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Weekend Roundup: Things to Do This Weekend in the High Country; Check ‘em Out, Make Plans March 14-16

by Madison V. Fisler

March 14, 2014. On this wintry weekend, the High Country has so many exciting events to offer its community and visitors. Check our site every Friday for something new and exciting to look forward to while you’re watching the hour hand crawl to 5 o’clock. Find live music down the street, explore a nearby town’s local secrets or try out a new square dancing class. There’s always something fun to do in the High Country.  

Weekend-Long Events

Check out this week’s movie trailers and our weekly movie review of Non-Stop click here.

March Madness: March Madness is still in effect! Come on out to Sugar Mountain Resort for reduced prices for skiers and snowboarders, including 25 percent savings on lift tickets, rental equipment and lessons for the remainder of the snow sports season. Winter Value Packages are also discounted 40 percent, making March skiing and riding more attractive than ever. For more information, click here or call 828-898-4521.

March Specials: March Specials have already begun at Beech Mountain Resort. Enjoy weekday pricing seven days a week for the remainder of the season. Customers can also enjoy 25 percent off of all rental equipment. The wonderful weather in March is a great time to teach family and friends your favorite snow sport. The resort also offers special online discounted tickets and rental packages. For more information, click here or call 1-800-438-2093. 

Heritage Hall Events: Johnson County High School Players and Johnson County Young Artists will present “The Wizard of Oz” at 7 p.m. March 14 and March 15 and at 3 p.m. March 16 at Heritage Hall in Mountain City, Tenn. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and youth.

Friday, March 14

KAMPN Fish Fry: KAMPN’s (Kids with Autism Making Progress in Nature) annual Alaskan fish fry benefit will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on March 14 at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Boone. Guests are welcome to eat in or take food to go. All proceeds go to help families with children with autism to enjoy a nature-based overnight camping program in Deep Gap in July. Cost is $12 for adults and $5 for children younger than 10. Tickets are limited and can be picked up at the Cornerstone Christian Bookstore, at St. Elizabeth or call 264-0054. 

Grandfather State Park Program: On Friday, March 14 and March 21 at 5 p.m. join a ranger to learn about the many neat adaptations the Barred Owl has. These birds of prey are equipped with a lot more gadgets than you would think. During this program, you will not only learn what the adaptations are and how they use them, but you will also get to see what a live Barred Owl looks like and we might even get to hear one. 

Saturday, March 15

St. Patrick’s Day Celebration at Green Park Inn: On Saturday, March 15, the Green Park Inn will host a St. Patrick’s Day Celebration. Enjoy a Corned Beef Dinner in the Grille and Tavern, and then join Blowing Rock’s own Irish Tenor, Rupert Flaherty, singing the classics around Charlie Ellis’ piano, while enjoying an Irish Coffee or two starting at 6 p.m. For more information, click here or call 828-414-9230. 

St. Patrick’s Day Party at Linville Falls Winery: Linville Falls Winery will host a St. Patrick’s Day Party on Saturday, March 15 including music from The Johnson Brothers from 3-6 p.m. Those who arrive wearing green will receive a free wine tasting. For more information, click here or call 828-765-1400.

Plant Parenthood: The ASU Biology Department invites you to attend a free class on the vegetative propagation of plants. You’ll learn nearly two dozen ways to propagate plants asexually. We’ll also discuss unusual reproductive strategies, such as plants that are able to create small versions of themselves along leaf margins, completely circumventing sexual reproduction! Plants used in this hands-on class are largely tropical, but many of the same principles can be applied to propagation of hardy perennials as well. The class is taught as part of the “High Country Gardening” program sponsored by the ASU Biology Greenhouse. Classes are free, although attendees may pay an optional registration fee of $5 or $10 to help support greenhouse operations and education efforts.

Caldwell Traditional Musician’s Showcase: 2014 will be Sweet 16 for the annual and popular Caldwell Musicians Showcase. The event will bring together some of our area’s most talented musicians and singer/songwriters for an evening of homegrown entertainment! Join local favorite Strictly Clean and Decent for an evening of music, Caldwell County style.

Todd Wright Trio Concert: The Todd Wright Trio will perform at the Ashe Arts Center on Saturday, March 15 at 7;30 pm. Enjoy an evening of jazz ranging from classic to contemporary. Tickets are $13 adults and $5 students and are available at the Arts Center or at the door. For more information please call 336-846-2787.

Country Breakfast at the Post: The Watauga American Legion Post #130 will host the Country Breakfast at the Post on Saturday Morning, March 15 from 7-10 a.m. Cost is $8 per person for an all-you-can-eat country breakfast with menu items including country ham, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, homemade biscuits and gravy, hash browns, grits, cooked apples and fresh fruit, orange juice, coffee, regular and buckwheat pancakes with takeout available upon request. This event is open to the public and supports local Veterans and Veteran programs. The post is located at 135 Bear Trail at Junaluska Town Park in Boone. 

Seed Swap and Grower’s School: On Saturday, March 15, all aspiring and practicing area gardeners are invited to Ashe Family Central (the former Ashe Central High School in Jefferson) to the High Country Seed Swap. The event features a day-long open exchange of seeds, plus a workshop apple tree grafting taught by area experts. Beginning at 8:30 a.m., gardeners will be able to display their own surplus seeds and view the offerings of others on tables set up in the cafeteria space. A seed swap will continue throughout the day. Coffee and food locally prepared by Subs 2 GO, A&M Concessions and Reid’s Catering will be available for purchase on-site at Family Central throughout the morning and early afternoon. The grafting workshop and fruit-scion-wood exchange will be held from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. led by nationally known apple experts Ron and Suzanne Joyner. Gardeners are encouraged to bring any surplus seeds, bulbs, corms, plants, and fruit scion wood they can to exchange. Seed swaps operate on the honor principle that gardeners will bring whatever they can this year, grow what they take from this swap, and bring more seeds from their crops to next year’s seed swap. The Seed Swap takes place in the Community Space (i.e.- former cafeteria) of Ashe Family Central, located at 626 Ashe Central School Rd., in Jefferson, NC (28640). North Carolina Cooperative Extension sponsors the event, with support from the Ashe County Farmers Market.

Spring Anticipation at Elk Knob State Park: March brings many signs of change to a new season. Come learn what makes this month stand out. Meet at the park office at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 15. 

Sunday, March 16

St. Patrick’s Day Jam: Appalachian Ski Mtn. will host a St. Patrick’s Day Jam with High Fives and Nightrain on Sunday, March 16. This year, the Alpine Ski Shop will collaborate with the High Fives foundation & Nightrain Clothing to bring you a better St. Patrick’s day Park Jam than ever and support a great cause. Bring your green hat! This will be the second season of the Park Jam, which was conceptualized by our Alpine Ski Shop, who will be providing some AWESOME prizes for standouts thanks to Line, Saga, Anon, Burton, Roxy, Giro, and Nightrain. Registration is from 9:30-11:30 a.m. with the event starting at 12:30 p.m. 

St. Patrick’s Day Party at Six Pence Pub: Six Pence Pub in Blowing Rock will host a St. Patrick’s Day Party on Sunday, March 17. For more information, click here or call 828-295-3155.

Mountain Home Music: Come and enjoy an all-Celtic St. Patrick’s Day Benefit Concert on Sunday, March 16 at 4 p.m. at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum (BRAHM) located on Main Street in Blowing Rock. Mountain Home Music (MHM) presents Strictly Clean and Decent, the Mountain Home Bluegrass Boys and members of the Forget-Me-Nots, all perennial MHM performers. Joe Shannon has been the founder and guiding light for Mountain Home Music for 20 years. He conceived the MHM concert series in order to honor the music and outstanding musicians of the Appalachian region. Click here for more information. 

Grandfather State Park Program: On Sunday, March 16 at 2 p.m., meet a ranger at the Lowes Foods Grocery Parking Lot and learn about the classic ten essential items of backpacking, the Grandfather Mountain ten essentials and see examples of the types of equipment that hikers should be taking with them. The program will last 30-45 minutes and will be outside.