With many of our neighbors being unemployed or underemployed and winter on the horizon, there’s even more need to share the warmth and help others to fend off the cold. The Mast General Store is hosting its seventh annual Share the Warmth coat, sweater and blanket collection campaign from now until November 30th.

As we scurry about enjoying the cool days of fall, we all know that colder temperatures are on the way, and many of us are ready to face whatever weather the coming season has to offer. Unfortunately, there are some in our communities who aren’t as prepared.

The Mast General Store, along with Columbia Sportswear, invites you to share the warmth in your community by “sharing” your clean, gently-worn coats, jackets, sweaters, gloves, hats, and even blankets so others can be warm this winter. You can drop off your items at the Original Mast General Store and the Mast Store Annex in Valle Crucis. Your donation to the Original Store will go to the Eastern Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia tornado victims and the Valle Crucis Elementary School, and the Annex will be given to the Hospitality House and Valle Crucis Elementary. Donations at the Boone Mast Store will be given to Green Valley Elementary School as well as to the April 2011 tornado victims.

It was important to us that our community partner have direct access to those in need, said Fred Martin, president of the Mast Store. Our employees, our customers, and Columbia Sportswear are all eager to help our neighbors, so we want to ensure that these coats, jackets, sweaters and blankets will go to individuals who can use them.

For over 26 years, the Hospitality House has provided emergency shelter services and transitional family housing, operates the Bread of Life Community Kitchen, and administers WeCAN  a crisis intervention and homeless prevention program in a seven county region.

Warm items will be given to teachers and staff at Valle Crucis and Green Valley Elementary Schools who will discreetly distribute coats to students they know could use extra layers for warmth this winter.

This past spring, thousands of Eastern Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia residents were permanently displaced when a historic outbreak of tornadoes swept away homes across the region. Countless losses have taken a tremendous toll on folks ravaged by the storms of April 2011 and because of their isolation and the size of their communities, many of their needs remain unmet.

This is the seventh year the Mast Store has undertaken this project to help provide coats for those in need in their home communities, and its the fifth time that Columbia has generously offered their own donation of 326 coats, which will be divided across all Mast Store communities. Our customers are always so helpful when we identify a need. We all have jackets and coats hanging in our closets or in storage that can be put to better use, said Martin. If you can help, please drop off your clean coats, jackets and blankets by November 30th.

The High Country Host is a regional travel promotion organization.  For more information on accommodations, attractions, dining or shopping in the area please visit www.mountainsofnc.com or call 800-438-7500.

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Make the Taylor House Inn, our Valle Crucis, North Carolina bed and breakfast, your home base to visit the area attractions that have been attracting settlers and travelers alike, for nearly 200 years. Guarded by some of the highest peaks of southern Appalachian, the Valle Crucis stretch of Watauga River Valley retains an air of simplicity lost to most places generations ago.
Taylor House Inn is a bed & breakfast known for offering romantic getaways, hosting fabulous family reunions, corporate retreats, and some of the best weddings in Valle Crucis.

With the surrounding majestic valley scene, it is the perfect place to spend some quality time as well as to host an outdoor event. As the new owners of this B&B, we invite you to recapture a wonderful time with us in beautiful Historic Valle Crucis; experience a place that reminds one of times past, a place where moments of solitude are as abundant as the rivers and streams that give life to the surrounding hills. We feel fortunate to be part of such a powerful place and would like to extend our hospitality to help share the magic of Valle Crucis and other area towns such as Banner Elk.

For more information, visit: http://www.taylorhouseinn.com/

For more info on The High Country of North Carolina, call (800) 438-7500, or visit www.MountainsofNC.com.

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The Original Mast General Store is hosting Christmas in the Valle on weekends now through December 24. 

December 4th & 5th, you can have your pet’s picture made with Santa Paws.  Mr. & Mrs. Paws will be at the Little Red Schoolhouse, behind the Mast Store, from 1pm – 4pm. 

This is a fundraiser for the Watauga Humane Society.

Today, the Mast General Store both embodies and embraces a way of doing business that is becoming more difficult to find in our fast-paced world. We strive to continue the great tradition of not only providing most everything anybody would need, but doing it with the same gracious and helpful customer service that W. W. made famous. Whether you are at the Original Store in Valle Crucis or the Mast Store on a main street in your town, we hope the service you receive lives up to that tradition.

For more, visit: http://www.mastgeneralstore.com

For more info on The High Country of North Carolina, call (800) 438-7500, or visit www.MountainsofNC.com.

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Saturday, Otober 23rd: The Valle Crucis Punkin Festival marks its fifth year in 2010. It was founded in 2006 as a kid-friendly event tied to the harvest season. Although it is a small festival, it is big on fun – starting with the name. The organizers chose the name “simply because it’s a lot more fun than pumpkin.”

Kids are invited to participate in all kinds of old-fashioned games like Apple Bob (bobbing for apples hanging from a string), Hoop-La (can you hook the ring?), Punkin Sack Races (try to do that without laughing), and Dog Bowl In (get the ball to stay in one of the dog bowls).

Everyone can get their face painted and enjoy food, of course. In addition, kids and their parents have an artistic outlet to carve their Jack ‘o Lanterns with no muss and no fuss. Festival volunteers “cut and gut” the pumpkins for you!

Proceeds for the day go to the Western Youth Network (WYN), a non-profit group serving youth and families in Ashe, Avery, and Watauga Counties. That leads right into one of the event’s theme: Carving for a Cause.

For more info, visit: http://www.mastgeneralstore.com/punkin/index.cfm

For more info on The High Country of North Carolina, call (800) 438-7500, or visit www.MountainsofNC.com.

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The Mast Farm Inn, in Valle Crucis, North Carolina, is very pleased to announce that our good friends at The Mast General Store have offered a full scholarship for an artist to attend the Dan Tyminski & Ronnie Bowman retreat at The Mast Farm Inn. If you know a highly talented emerging Bluegrass Artist, who could not otherwise afford to attend, please let them know. See details below.
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THE SCHOLARSHIP
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The Mast General Store will pay all expenses and fees for a student who meets the qualifications; For the retreat, workshops, materials, all lodging, dining, beverages and all applicable taxes included, excluded are travel expenses to and from the workshop. Application must be submitted by email to bluegrasslegacy@mastfarm.net by June 30th. In order to submit an application, please send your submission by email using the template provided at the end of this note.

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THE WORKSHOP
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Dan Tyminski & Ronnie Bowman
The Bluegrass Legacy at The Mast Farm Inn
A four day & three night, musicians retreat for 12 Bluegrass Artists. August 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, 2010

The Course:
Songwriting, Arranging, Production & Business

The Professors:
Dan Tyminski & Ronnie Bowman will be running the workshops, providing group and personal one-on-one tutoring, mentoring, and be lodging the entire time onsite at The Mast Farm Inn.

Participants Who May Qualify:
Intensive Retreat for Professional or Semi-Professional Artists Committed To Bluegrass Music. Call Henri Deschamps at 828-963-2626 for more information.

The Costs, In The Case of This Scholarship Paid For By The Mast General Store:
All Inclusive Price for the Retreat, Workshops, Materials, All Lodging, Dining, Beverages and all applicable taxes included. Special Free Programs & Activities for spouses and significant others not participating in workshops. The cost is heavily subsidized by supporting organizations, and you will need to qualify, so call Henri at 828-963-2626 for more information, and to see if you qualify to participate.
$1,090-$1,290 per couple for lodging and dining, depending on your lodging options, and with one person of the couple taking the courses. To make regular reservations for this retreat click here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=108289632549422

From “The Bluegrass Journal”
“In what may be a once in a lifetime opportunity for twelve students, two of Bluegrass’ biggest names and former bandmates, Dan Tyminksi and Ronnie Bowman will be joint instructors for a three and a half day intensive Mentoring Session.”
CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE: http://www.bluegrassjournal.com/2010/05/17/dan-tyminski-ronnie-bowman-holding-bluegrass-mentoring-sessions-workshop-at-mast-farm-inn-in-august/

From “The Bluegrass Blog”
“The Mast Farm Inn, a lovely B&B in western North Carolina, has announced a new series of intimate musical retreats, designed to offer serious students of bluegrass music an opportunity to study closely with its top practitioners.”
CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE: http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/bluegrass-legacy-launches-artist-in-residence-series/

Dan Tyminski
Dynamic on stage, down to earth off stage, 13-time Grammy winner Dan Tyminski has the voice, instrumental chops, and charisma to be counted among the most recognizable and popular male vocalists on today’s bluegrass and country music scenes. Yet his demeanor – low-key and laconically sly – ensures that all the accolades are the product of his own innate gifts. Since 1994, his ace instrumental skill (mainly on guitar, but also on mandolin) and burnished, soulful tenor singing have been key components of Alison Krauss and Union Station, arguably the most visible and successful bluegrass band in the modern era. Tyminski notably stepped ever more deeply into the popular conscience as the singing voice of George Clooney in the Coen Brothers’ Odyssean farce O Brother, Where Art Thou? In addition to being a pivotal element in the plot of the film, his powerful rendition of the Stanley Brothers’ version of “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” became a surprise hit single – firing off a popular renaissance in bluegrass in the process. The song was given the Country Music Association (CMA) award for Single of the Year, the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Award for Song of the Year, and a Grammy Award for Country Collaboration with Vocals. The project was also honored with the IBMA Award for Album of the Year, as well as the Grammy Award for Album of the Year – a rare achievement for a soundtrack project. ~ http://www.dantyminski.com/
VIDEOS
Dan Tyminski ~ “The Boy Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5X4Q6jFtHg
Dan Tyminski, Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas ~ “Simple Love”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os8E_k8FwCY
Dan Tyminski, Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas ~ “My Poor Old Heart”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuGJaU25ZIA
Dan Tyminski, AKUS ~ “Goodbye is All We Have”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8O9eCxgOjw
The Dan Tyminski Band ~ “Wheels”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0GyL4kHpqM
Dan Tyminski, Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas ~ “The Lucky One”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P7J1_hZ7iM

Ronnie Bowman
From the tender age of three, Ronnie Bowman has been performing music. Starting in a family band playing churches in North Carolina and Virginia, he eventually joined the acclaimed Bluegrass band The Lost & Found. Shortly after Ronnie joined The Lonesome River Band, and became a participant in the band’s recording of “Carrying the Tradition”; an album that was named the International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA) Album of the Year in 1991. It wasn’t long before Ronnie Bowman became a household name in the Bluegrass community. He has been awarded IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year three times, has twice earned the IBMA song of the Year award (“Three Rusty Nails”, and “Cold Virginia Night”), and was awarded the Gospel Performance of the Year award for “Three Rusty Nails”. As a songwriter Ronnie has earned a great deal of respect not only among Bluegrass professionals, but also in Country Music. Both Brooks & Dunn, and Kenny Chesney have brought Ronnie Bowman originals to #1, and Lee Ann Womack also included a song by Ronnie on the multiplatinum selling album “I hope you Dance”. Ronnie Bowman has achieved remarkable heights in his musical career as an award-winning Bluegrass songwriter and vocalist, and a respected, successful writer in Country music. ~ http://www.ronniebowman.com/
VIDEOS
Ronnie Bowman ~ “Rise Above”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE-dsDzMdS4
Brooks & Dunn Recording of Ronnie Bowman’s Song “Getting Better All The Time”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRuqOFHrOy8

The Mast Farm Inn
The Mast Farm Inn is a world renowned award winning full service North Carolina Country Inn & Restaurant in Historic Valle Crucis, NC, is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a Member of PAII and Of The Select Registry ~ http://www.facebook.com/mastfarm

The Bluegrass Legacy
The Objective of “The Bluegrass Legacy” FaceBook FanPage is to present, honor and celebrate Bluegrass Music & Artists ~ http://www.facebook.com/the.bluegrass.legacy

Media Contact:
Henri Deschamps, 828-963-2626
bluegrasslegacy@mastfarm.net

We’d like to thank Keith Case & Associates and DS Management of Nashville, TN, and The Mast General Store in Valle Crucis, North Carolina, for helping make this unique event possible. See:
Keith Case & Associates
~ http://www.facebook.com/KeithCaseAndAssociates
The Mast General Store
~ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mast-General-Store/179544156710

For more info on The High Country of North Carolina, call (800) 438-7500, or visit www.MountainsofNC.com.

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The Talk of the Town Social Media Workshop Series conducted once a month at The Broyhill Inn in Boone has made an impact in The High Country.

The Mast General Store, one of the attendees, has grabbed the bull by the horns and has exploded onto the social media scene.

With over 4,500 fans on Facebook and followers growing quickly on Twitter, the store is a great example of how social media is having a profound influence on consumer behavior and how people process information.

Because of the Facebook presence, they now have the ability to have an ongoing relationship with their past and potential customers, making it more likely they will keep coming back.  They are going where the people are: the web, and drawing them into a  two-way give and take.

Check out the Mast General Store on Facebook: CLICK HERE
Follow the Mast General Store on Twitter: CLICK HERE

For more information, visit: http://www.mastgeneralstore.com

For more info on The High Country of North Carolina, call (800) 438-7500, or visit www.MountainsofNC.com.

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VALLE CRUCIS – Constructed in 1909 of locally harvested chestnut, maple, and pine, the Mast Store Annex, located on Broadstone Road in Valle Crucis, is celebrating its first 100 years July 16-18.

The building was constructed as a competing general store by R. L. Lowe of Banner Elk and opened under the name of the Watauga Supply Company. It was purchased one year later by C.D. Taylor and his son-in-law Dr. Henry Baker Perry and was re-named the Valle Crucis Company. It carried a myriad of lines including suits, brogans, tools, piece goods, and the like. Although it was competition for the nearby Taylor and Mast General Store (later the Mast General Store), its lines were also complementary.

Regardless of the official name, it became known locally as the Farthing Store because it was managed by Aubyn Farthing, who later owned the business outright.

In addition to items for purchase, the store also housed the Valle Crucis Post Office until Aubyn was forced to retire as postmaster in 1963. In the time between its operation as a general store and becoming the Mast Store Annex, the building also served as an antique store and a storage area.

Today visitors can see the authentic rolling ladder that was used by Mr. Farthing to fetch items off the top shelves and evidence of an “old-time theft deterrent” just above the front door. Be sure to ask about the Valle Crucis Post Office moving back and forth between the Mast Store and what is now the Mast Store Annex.

In celebration of 100 years of service to the community, the Mast Store Annex will offer small ice cream cones on Thursday, July 16 for just 100¢ and on Friday, July 17, stop by around 2 p.m. for cake and punch, while supplies last. There will also be other promotions into the weekend.

For more information, call the Mast General Store Annex at 828-963-6511.

For lodging and other travel information, contact North Carolina High Country Host at 800-438-7500 or visit: www.mountainsofnc.com.

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