Smoky Mountain Living

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (June 17, 2026)  - Before presenting AscenDANCE, its annual summer performances in Asheville and Winston-Salem, Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance will host Movement for MANNA on July 9, 2026, a fundraiser to benefit MANNA FoodBank and the company's commitment to community engagement through the arts. Co-sponsored by Momentum Gallery, Movement for MANNA will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on July 9 at Momentum Gallery, 52 Broadway St. in Asheville.

Asheville, NC — [June 16, 2026] — The Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands returns to Harrah's Cherokee Center in downtown Asheville July 16–19, 2026, with a fall edition following October 15–18. Now in its 79th year, the fair brings together more than 100 juried artists from across the Southern Appalachian region for four days of handmade work spanning pottery, sculpture, furniture, textiles, apparel, jewelry, and mixed media. Two additions make this summer's fair a standout event.

FLAT ROCK, NC — Flat Rock Playhouse is proud to present a special 30th Anniversary production of RENT, the Tony Award® and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical that has captivated audiences for three decades, running July 24 through August 15 at the State Theatre of North Carolina. Based on Giacomo Puccini's beloved opera La Bohème, RENT tells a timeless story of artists striving to create meaningful lives while navigating love, friendship, loss, and the pursuit of their dreams.

GATLINBURG, Tenn. – In a powerful tribute to America’s semi-quincentennial anniversary, Gatlinburg is set to host the nation's very first Independence Day celebration. The festivities officially begin at midnight on the night of Friday, July 3rd (12:01 a.m. on Saturday, July 4th), as Gatlinburg’s iconic Annual Fourth of July Midnight Parade marches down the Parkway, bringing unmatched energy and community spirit to East Tennessee.

Brevard, NC — The Pisgah Conservancy, in partnership with the USDA Forest Service and the National Park Service - Blue Ridge Parkway, has begun construction of the new Upper Falls Connector Trail in Graveyard Fields. This project is a major milestone in a long-term effort to restore and protect one of Western North Carolina’s most iconic natural landscapes. The new 0.9-mile trail will connect the John Rock Overlook parking area on the Blue Ridge Parkway to the valley floor of Graveyard Fields.

One glance at an auction listing for classic American trucks makes me think of my uncles. Uncle Ellis and Uncle Billy and my aunts were some of our closest neighbors, as my mother and her siblings all built on land inherited from their parents in the Riceville area east of Asheville. Family stories say the brothers drove at an early age—before turning 10—using their father’s truck to help haul water back for their mother from the spring located a few hundred yards away.

The Linville Gorge is one of those rare places where you can glimpse part of the North Carolina landscape in its wildest, most rugged form. Other than changes created by nature, it remains virtually the same as when it was part of Cherokee territory. It encompasses almost 12,000 acres within the Pisgah National Forest, maintained by the U.S. Forest Service.

In his enduring classic on the joys of fishing, The Compleat Angler, Izaak Walton quotes noted physician Dr. Boteler (Butler) in what might well be reckoned the finest description of a food ever to appear in print.

In the northeast tip of Tennessee, rugged mountains shape daily life and most roads lead you to something interesting. It’s where events of the past are celebrated, and new stories are always welcome.

Nearly all the 150 or so maintained trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park end at another trail or at a road. One, the popular Ramsey Cascades Trail, terminates at the tallest- and highest-elevation waterfall in the park, in a thrilling natural theater. It’s one of the Smokies’ most memorable destinations; one that must be earned via a strenuous hike. But a few paths in the Smokies’ 850-mile network of trails end at backcountry campsites. The highest (elev.