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Mountainfilm on Tour Returns to Lees-McRae for High Country Film and Speaker Series 2025–26 on Feb. 21 – Discounted Tickets Available Now

December 4, 2025 One of the country’s longest-running film festivals, Mountainfilm on Tour, returns for another season of the Lees-McRae High Country Adventure Film and Speaker Series, this year featuring a live music performance before the screening of the latest lineup of documentary short films. This year’s Mountainfilm on Tour event will be held on Saturday, Feb. 21 in Hayes Auditorium on the college’s North Campus. Live music will begin at 6:15 p.m. and the film screening will begin at 7 p.m. Advance online tickets are $10 for Lees-McRae students and $15 for community members. 

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Boone Junior Appalachian Musicians Announce Recital at the Appalachian Theatre

December 3, 2025 Boone, NC – December 3, 2025 -This semester’s recital features over 100 students from Boone JAM group classes, sharing the region’s deep musical traditions on guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, and ukulele. The community is invited to enjoy an evening of lively, heartfelt music from the next generation of old-time and bluegrass musicians.

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New Mercy Urgent Care location in Boone now open

December 3, 2025 Boone, NC – December 3, 2025 – “With 125 years of history in Western North Carolina, Mercy’s mission has always centered around providing compassionate, affordable care,” said Rachel Sossoman, president and CEO of Mercy Urgent Care. “We’re thrilled to soon join the Boone community and do our part to eliminate barriers to care so people can get the help they need, when they need it.”

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2025 Winter Market Opening December 6!

Just in time for your holiday shopping, the King Street Market is opening for the Winter Market December 6th! Join us for our first winter market of the season, with new and returning vendors ranging from produce and meats to beautiful jewelry and crafts, unique drinks, baked goods, and more! The market will start at 10AM and be open until 1PM, but arrive early to be one of the first 20 customers to receive a free Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture produce bag! There will also be a community banner that we invite people of all ages to decorate that will be hung in the warehouse during the market season! Customers can enter at the door to the right of the Food Hub entrance, as well as through the main doors of the Agricultural Conference building. We will have live music from the lively Jones House JAM! throughout the market, featuring folk sounds. “We’re so excited to have our first market back in the indoor space this season! I’m looking forward to our different special events throughout the season,” says Blythe Ransdell, the Farmer’s Market Assistant Manager. The market is hosting several special events throughout the winter season, including a …

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Ribbon Cutting for Green Park Inn Exhibit on December 11 at Edgewood Cottage

December 3, 2025 Boone, NC – December 3, 2025 -This special exhibit tells the story of the Green Park Inn through words and photographs, tracing its journey from its grand opening in 1891—just two years after Blowing Rock became a town—through the present day. Visitors will enjoy historic photos of events and amenities, original shadow boxes from the Inn, and images of notable guests who stayed there.

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Santa Paws is Coming to Town

December 3, 2025 Boone, NC – December 3, 2025 – Admission is simple: bring a new, unopened bag or case of wet pet food, treats, or a monetary donation to the WHS Enrichment Fund. That’s your ticket to a photo with Santa.

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Lessons and Carols at St. Mary of the Hills

December 2, 2025 Boone, NC – December 2, 2025 -Unlike the secular world – in which we are surrounded by holiday music and exhortations to spend ever more money in an endless cycle of consumption beginning in mid-October – in the early church, the month before Christmas was a season of deep introspection, reflection, and patience in preparation to receive the miracle of God’s love as expressed by the birth of the Christ child.

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Appalachian State and High Country Humanities bring world languages to young learners through the “International Story Time” series in partnership with Watauga Public Library, sponsored by Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

December 2, 2025 Boone, NC – December 2, 2025 -Appalachian State University’s Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, the AppELS English Language Institute, and High Country Humanities, in collaboration with the Watauga County Public Library, is pleased to present “International Story Time,” a series of storytelling events by Appalachian State University faculty members and students during the Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 semesters, sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning for Student Success.

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Brandon Walker says thank you in a tangible way for Thanksgiving

December 2, 2025 Boone, NC – December 2, 2025 -“I do this at Thanksgiving and Christmas as a show of appreciation to the town employees for their hard work and devotion,” Walker said. “Every year there are numerous examples of the employees going above and beyond, which makes our town the special place that it is.”

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Winter Weather Advisory for Watauga County until noon today

December 2, 2025 Boone, NC – December 2, 2025 -Expect freezing rain and ice accumulation around two tenths of an inch. The advisory is for portions of north central and northwest North Carolina, central, south central, southwest and west central Virginia and southeast West Virginia.

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BooneBeam Shines a Spotlight on FloydFest 2026

November 26, 2025 Boone, NC – November 26, 2025 -In 2021, recognizing the large number of Boone festival goers regularly attending FloydFest he dreamed up “The BooneBeam”, a six foot tall, carved wooden “beam”, commissioned by the Festival and crafted by Floyd woodworker (and earth moving master) Bill St Pierre. Following Hurricane Helene, St Pierre trailered down several pieces of heavy equipment and spent weeks digging out High Country resident’s homes, volunteering his time, and setting aside his regular business and customers back home in order to help out in the massive recovery effort.

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Shane Fox, looking forward

November 26, 2025 Boone, NC – November 26, 2025 – “Between 2019 and 2025, I think this has been the most difficult time in the town’s history, between Covid and Helene,” Fox said. “Through both of these major events, most people in town always approach every situation by asking, ‘how can I help?’”

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Blowing Rock Segment of Middle Fork Greenway Beginning to Take Shape

November 26, 2025 Boone, NC – November 26, 2025 – It has been a long path to get to this point, but with the easements donated to the Town of Blowing Rock for the Middle Fork Greenway through 4 Forty Four and the Appalachian Regional Healthcare System, the trail is making progress in Blowing Rock. Kevin and Lillie Troyer have been patient advocates supporting the Middle Fork Greenway for years.

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3rd Annual Boone’s Got Talent Moves to Winter and Adds Cash Prizes

November 26, 2025 Boone, NC – November 26, 2025 – Boone’s Got Talent started in 2024 as the official kick-off event for Boonerang Music &
Arts Festival. The event showcases some of the High Country’s best local performers of many styles and types, from musical and dancing acts to magicians and acrobatic feats, all featured on the Doc Watson Stage at the historic Appalachian Theatre in downtown Boone. “The talent showcase was started as a way to feature broader artistic mediums at Boonerang and to give more local performers a chance to be a part of the festival,” says Cultural Resources Director Mark Freed.

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Popular Community Carol Sing Returns in Banner Elk

November 26, 2025 Boone, NC – November 26, 2025 -On Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 3 p.m., the joyous sing-along of familiar Christmas carols returns to the sanctuary of the historic Banner Elk Presbyterian Church. The fifth annual Community Carol Sing is a 45-minute casual service for all ages that includes a dozen familiar favorites, ranging from “White Christmas” and “Let It Snow” to “Silent Night” and “Joy to the World”.

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High Country Photography Showcase Spotlights Local Talent

November 26, 2025 Boone, NC – November 26, 2025 -The free event is hosted by the High Country region of the Carolinas’ Nature Photographers Association (CNPA). It will be held in the library’s community meeting room at 140 Queen Street. The public is invited to attend.

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Lees-McRae Summer Theatre announces lineup for 2026 season

November 26, 2025 Boone, NC – November 26, 2025 -“Our 2026 season will be full of laughter, inspiration, and patriotic pride. These shows are some of the best we have ever done, and I can’t wait to experience them through the eyes of our wonderful Lees-McRae Summer Theatre supporters,” Lees-McRae Summer Theatre Director Janet Barton Speer said. 

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