The Valle Crucis Punkin Festival marks its sixth year in 2011. 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 from the day go to the Western Youth Network (WYN), a non-profit group serving youth and families in Ashe, Avery, and Watauga Counties and the Valle Crucis Elementary School Parent Teacher Student Association. That leads right into one of the event’s theme: Carving for a Cause.

Kids will need a parental permission form completed in order to participate. Click HERE to download a PDF version and fill it out before the festival so you can join in the fun right away.

The festival is staffed by volunteers from WYN, Appalachian State University, Valle Crucis Elementary School, and the Mast General Store.

For more info, visit: http://www.punkinfestival.com/

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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The slopes of the North Carolina High Country are turning vibrant shades of red, orange and yellow this month and area festivals offer great ways to enjoy the season.  The range of elevations in the area make it a premiere location to watch the leaf change and the mix of small towns provides an eclectic offering of autumnal events.

The Boone Heritage Festival October 8 celebrates Appalachian and Daniel Boone heritage with 18th century living history demonstrations, craft vendors, music jam sessions and storytelling.  Located at Hickory Ridge Homestead, the event will feature make-and-take crafts including dipped candles, cornhusk dolls and scarecrows.

The weekend of October 8-9 brings the cry of “yodel lay he ho” to the High Country during the 21st Annual Sugar Mountain Oktoberfest.  The event, at Sugar Mountain Resort, mixes Bavarian and Appalachian culture and is a great experience for the whole family.

The Valle Country Fair, October 15 in Valle Crucis, is an overgrown church bazaar set in the center of one of the most picturesque valleys in North Carolina.

That same weekend is when one of the High Country’s most well-known events takes place.  The 34th Annual Woolly Worm Festival will be held in Banner Elk October 15-16.  Crafts, festival foods and the Woolly Worm caterpillar races predicting the coming winter’s weather make this a must-see event!

The 6th Annual Valle Crucis Punkin Festival will be October 22.  The Punkin Festival benefits local organizations and offers Punkin Sack Races, Punkin Bowling, crafts and music.

The Ghost Train Halloween Festival at Tweetsie Railroad is safe, scary fun for the whole family.  Gates open at 7:30 p.m. every Friday and Saturday evening in October.  Visit the Haunted House, Freaky Forest, 3-D Maze and take a journey on the Ghost Train – if you dare!

Many other events occur throughout the month of October including the Todd New River Festival, art crawls in Boone and West Jefferson, Halloween festivals in Blowing Rock and at Grandfather Mountain, special programming at area state parks and natural areas and opportunities to enjoy bluegrass and mountain music at Crouse Park in Sparta.

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.

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Blue Bear Mountain:

“The Way Camping Should Be!”

Blue Bear Mountain is a brand new facility! We offer private, remote, rustic, leave-no-trace Tent and RV camping on 150 acres of pristine, natural land.

The number of camp sites is limited to protect the land and so you can have plenty of room to play and to enjoy the natural beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Come get away from it all at Blue Bear Mountain!

General Amenities

Everyone at Blue Bear Mountain has access to:

• Private Bath Houses with Showers
• Fresh Natural Spring Water
• Trout Fishing
• Miles of Trails

Tent Sites

Some of our back-country tent sites are very remote and require a hike. Equipment delivery is available upon request!

All tent campsites are equipped with:

• Rock Fire Ring
• Picnic Tables
• Level Tent Spots
• Park Grill
• Log Benches

RV Sites

• 50A and 30A Power Hookup
• Easy Site Access
• On-Site Dump Station

Extra Items for Sale

These are some of the things that can be purchased and delivered to your camp site:

• Firewood
• Charcoal
• Lighter Fluid
• And more… just ask, if we don’t have it, we’ll get it for you!

For more information, visit: http://bluebearmountain.com

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

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July 23rd-24th: Banner Elk, NC

This celebratory arts and crafts show will be held near the Banner Elk Town Hall on Culver Street in beautiful downtown Banner Elk, NC.

This event will be patroned by seasonal residents, locals, and tourists visiting the high country of North Carolina to celebrate Banner Elk’s 100th anniversary of incorporation.

Banner Elk is situated within the High Country of North Carolina, which is home to numerous country clubs, resort communities, and seasonal tourist attractions.

This event is being promoted through the Town Hall and should have a great turnout. Get Directions

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

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Located in Blowing Rock, Boone, App Ski Mtn, and Banner Elk. We have luxury and budget cabins in the Boone/ Blowing Rock areas of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Our cabins are close to all the activties in the area. You can ski at one of the three resorts, snow tube at the Eastern United States largest tube runs, spend a day at Tweetsie Railroad, go whitewater rafting, horseback riding, golfing, fishing, hiking, canoeing and you are close to Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, Linville, Jefferson and many other mountain towns.

Located halfway between Boone and Blowing Rock, our office is in the gray building at Mystery Hill.

Stop by our office and meet the friendly staff who can assist you in your vacation needs. The Blue Ridge Mountains are calling you to explore the high country so come on up and visit us soon!

When coming to Boone, Blowing Rock or any place in the High Country of NC, consider our Log Cabins, Chalets, and vacation rentals.

We want to provide the best selection and service for your vacation cabin needs in the North Carolina High Country. We have cabins in the Boone and Blowing Rock areas. Our number one goal is to make sure you are satisfied and have a pleasant trip. Our mission is to do anything we can do to make your stay more enjoyable.

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

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

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Mystery Hill – Each year, for over 50 years, guests come from all over the world and the United States to visit Mystery Hill. They are all compelled to come for various reasons; “My mother came here as a child,” “I remember coming here with my Grandfather,” “I drove by this place and just had to come and see what the mystery really was,” “I just can’t get this place out of my mind.” No matter what the reason, they come back time and time again, bringing relatives and friends to experience the mystery of our “crooked house.” People do remember the remarkable defiance of gravity, where you can see a ball roll uphill, and where folks are pulled from an upright position to an uncanny standing angle of nearly 45^°. This strange phenomenon has been amusing and puzzling visitors to Mystery Hill for generations. Since there is a variety of things to see and do, no one leaves disappointed. Mystery is a family oriented “edutainment” center that offers fun for children ages 2 to 102. We welcome you to join us at any time of the year.

To Learn More, Visit: http://www.mysteryhill-nc.com/

To request a free High Country vacation guide, call (800) 438-7500 or go online to: www.MountainsofNC.com.

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The Turchin Center for Visual Arts invites you to celebrate a fantastic Spring Exhibition.   The Turchin Center is located at 423 West King Street in Downtown Boone.  This event will be held from 7:00 to 9:00pm, on Friday April 1^st.  This event is FREE and open to the public! 

There will be Food, Live Music, a Cash Bar and a chance to meet the artists!  On the first Friday on each month the Turchin Center participates in the Downtown Boone’s First Friday Art Crawl, and this celebration is part of Aprils.  The Spring Exhibition Celebration is a wonderful program to get engaged with the Appalachian community and intact with the arts which is both therapeutic and educational for all ages. 

The Turchin Center takes pride in the ability to provide visitors and residents with a dynamic, year-round program rotation of visual art exhibits.  The center’s mission is to make programming accessible in support of the university’s role as a key educational, cultural and economic resource for Appalachian State University’s campus, greater community, and beyond.

Spring Exhibition Celebrating:
Appalachian Alumni in the Arts
8^th Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition
Open Spaces, Sacred Places: Tom Stoner & TKF Foundation
Beyond Their Natural Range: April Flanders
Places for Contemplation in the Public Buildings: Alex Poorman
Chromata: Laura Berman

For more information about the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts or these Exhibits please call 828-262-3017 or visit www.tcva.org

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

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The Appalachian Philharmonic is coming to the Ashe Civic Center on Saturday, February 12th. 

The performance will begin at 7:30pm.  Under the direction of James Allen Anderson, The Appalachian Philharmonic is the Hayes School of Music premiere student/faculty ensemble. 

The Ashe Civic Center, located in West Jefferson, North Carolina, is a performing arts venue which hosts theatre, music, dance and community events. The facility is home to the Ashe County Little Theatre and managed by the Ashe County Arts Council.

The Ashe Civic Center exists to enrich, unite and promote Ashe County. 

For ticket information please contact the Ashe Civic Center at 336-846-ARTS, http://www.ashecivic.com/

Join the Village of Blowing Rock as we celebrate the fun side of winter at the 13th Annual Blowing Rock Winterfest! From the Chili Cook-Off to downtown hayrides, from the icy Polar Plunge to WinterFeast, there’s something for all age groups at Blowing Rock Winterfest.

- Shop with Blowing Rock Merchants
- Dine in our cozy restaurants!
- Free Hot Chocolate & Hayrides!
- FREE SNOW!

TICKETS AND INFORMATION
available at Blowing Rock Visitors Center, 7738 Valley Blvd.
Blowing Rock, NC – 877-295-78014 or 828-295-7851

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

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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4th Annual Hometown Christmas celebration on Friday, November 26th!

Early bird shopping, costumed characters walking around downtown, lighting of the community Christmas Tree at 5pm in the Backstreet Park!

Also, don’t forget about the Ashe County Holiday Market!

Looking for a great gift idea for the holidays? Plan to attend the Ashe County Farmers’ Market annual “Holiday Market” during the months of November & December! Crafters will be on hand with a wonderful selection of handmade arts & crafts.

You will have 4 opportunities to attend this year! November 20^th, 26^th, 27^th & December 4^th. Each day will be open from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. The market will be held on the backstreets of downtown West Jefferson.

For more information please contact the Ashe County Farmers’ Market at info@ashefarmersmarket.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or the Ashe County Chamber of Commerce at 888-343-2743. Also visit: http://www.ashechamber.com

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

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Win a one-night stay at the Inn at Crestwood in Boone, NC and 2 tickets to the Mountain Home Music concert!

Be the 75th person to answer this question correctly and you will WIN!  All answers need to be emailed to highcountrycontests@gmail.com to qualify!

Question: What North Carolina River located in the High Country is said to be named after an Indian princess who drowned herself after losing her lover?

The Winner gets a one-night stay at the Inn at Crestwood in Boone, NC and 2 tickets to the Mountain Home Music concert!

The Inn at Crestwood is nestled in the mountains of Boone, North Carolina.  Crestwood is definitely a place to come and relax and get-a-way from the daily grind.  Each guest room, suite and cottage at Crestwood is uniquely designed with the ultimate mountain experience in mind. They featuring private terraces, whirlpool baths, gas-log fireplaces; amenities such as afternoon wine & cheese, continental breakfast, turn down services and more. You can enjoy unforgettable panoramic views, distinctive dining, celebrated local art and relaxing spa services all in one harmonious setting.  For more information about the Inn at Crestwood visit their website: www.crestwoodnc.com 

Mountain Home Music holds concerts throughout the year featuring the tradition sounds of the area!  Musicians, dancers, storytellers and poets come together to delight you with sounds of Appalachian music. The Appalachian tradition includes Celtic, old-time, bluegrass, dulcimers and African American forms of artistic expression.  When you attend a Mountain Home Music concert, fun can be had by people of all ages, couples or families.  For more information about Mountain Home Music and upcoming events please visit their website: www.mountainhomemusic.com

Disclaimer:  The Mountain Home Music concert tickets are through September 2011.  You will need to call and make your reservation with Crestwood first to see if there is any availability for the evening of a Mountain Home Music Concert!

The Winner will be contacted via Email from High Country Host to get their contact information.  The Winner will be mailed the Give-A-Way Package!  Included in your package will be the Inn at Crestwood’s information and a Fall and Winter Schedule for the Mountain Home Music concerts!

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

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What’s your favorite country store in the NC High Country?

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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Winter sports enthusiasts are invited to ring in 2010 on the slopes in the High Country of North Carolina. Each of the three High Country ski resorts offers a fireworks extravaganza this New Year’s Eve.
 
The festivities begin with a 10:30 p.m. fireworks show at Beech Mountain Resort, while Appalachian Ski Mountain and Sugar Mountain Resort light the skies at midnight.
 
Beech Mountain Resort provides night skiing until 10 p.m., followed by ice skating from 10 p.m. to midnight. Folks can watch the 10:30 p.m. fireworks display from the Viewhaus restaurant or anywhere in the Alpine village at the base of the slopes. There will also be live music in the Beech Tree Bar & Grill from Chasing Edison, a Charlotte-based rock band.

Sugar Mountain Resort has skiing, tubing and ice skating until 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. At midnight, the public is invited to a combined torch light parade and fireworks show, while the Terry Batson Band provides live beach music and oldies in the lodge.
 
Appalachian Ski Mountain’s alcohol-free celebration begins with night skiing at 6 p.m., followed by moonlight ice skating at 10 p.m. A torch light parade takes place at 11:45 p.m., with fireworks at the stroke of midnight. Breakfast is also available from 9 p.m. to midnight.
 
“We’ve provided fireworks on New Year’s Eve since 1992. It’s one of our best nights of the year,” said general manager Brad Moretz. “They shoot them off on the slopes and people watch from the deck, or on the base of the slopes or the front porch.”

For info on these three celebrations, call High Country Host at (800) 438-7500, or visit the website for each resort: www.appskimtn.com, www.skisugar.com and www.skibeech.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 Valle Crucis Punkin Festival marks its fourth year in 2009. 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.

Kids will need a parental permission form completed in order to participate. The festival is staffed by volunteers from WYN, Appalachian State University, and the Mast General Store.

For more info call 828 963-6511 or Visit: http://www.maststoreonline.com/punkin

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

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You’ll find exciting attractions in Boone and all around the High Country. The region is the home of several “firsts”: North Carolina’s original family theme park Tweetsie Railroad, the state’s very first golf course, Linville Golf Club, the state’s oldest travel attraction The Blowing Rock, the state’s only public caverns Linville Caverns, the nation’s oldest Revolutionary War drama Horn in the West, and the world’s first privately-owned biosphere reserve Grandfather Mountain.

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