Spring Into The NC High Country With Birding, Wildflowers & Festivals!
An extended period of unseasonably warm weather has brought the sights and smells of an early spring to the NC High Country. Wildflowers are blooming weeks earlier than normal and the lush, green landscape in the valleys below is making its way up the mountain flanks.
One of the first spring events in the High Country is the Blue Ridge Wine & Food Festival in Blowing Rock April 11-15. An extra day has been added to the event, now in its sixth year, to give visitors additional opportunities to take part in shopping, cooking classes, wine seminars and more.
MerleFest, April 26-29, in Wilkesboro is a festival of music described as “tradition plus” meaning the traditional music of the Appalachian region plus whatever other styles the musicians would like to play. MerleFest, founded in 1988 in memory of Eddy Merle Watson, boasts musicians ranging from Vince Gill to Sam Bush to Los Lobos this year, plus dozens more.
The hillsides come alive in the spring with music, wildflowers, songbirds, herbs and mushrooms. The 4th Annual Banner Elk Herb Festival takes place May 26-27 this year with more fresh herb plants that ever before. The event will offer arts and crafts, farmers’ market items, a kid zone, food vendors and great live music.
Many other happenings occur throughout the months of April and May including weekly wildflower walks at Grandfather Mountain State Park in April, Wednesday morning bird walks at Valle Crucis Park with the High Country Audubon Society and the 2012 kickoff of the Watauga Farmers’ Market May 5. The Farmers’ Market will continue every Saturday through October from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Horn in the West parking lot in Boone.
For ticket information, times and more information on all High Country events please visit the High Country Host website, www.mountainsofnc.com.
North Carolina’s High Country provides the best vacation experience in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The area includes 100 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway and many popular tourist destinations including Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, Linville, Sparta, West Jefferson and Wilkesboro.
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.
MerleFest 2009!!!
It all began with a gardener who wanted to raise funds for gardens on the campus of a rural North Carolina Community College and a community of musicians who wanted to honor the memory of a fallen friend and his musician father. It grew to an internationally renowned music festival and fundraiser that contributes more than $17 million to the region. It’s MerleFest.
For all things MerleFest, please visit MerlFest.org!
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