Virtual Beer Festival

Virtual Beer Festival scheduled for August 21, 2020. State of Southern Beer sampler to offer virtual North Carolina beer tasting.

The North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild (NCCBG), a non-profit organization, is offering North Carolina beer fans an exclusive opportunity to taste the State of Southern Beer while maintaining a safe social distance- a very social distance!

Each session, to be held via Zoom, will feature a guided tasting experience hosted by an award winning North Carolina brewery. Those registered will receive two 16 oz. cans per featured style (a total of four 16 oz. cans) that will be shipped to them directly.

Continue reading…

Smoky Mountain Poisonous Plants

Smoky Mountain Poisonous Plants. Don’t let poison ivy or its relatives scratch your summer fun. “It comes on like a rose, but everybody knows-it’ll really do you in, when you let it get onto your skin” – or so a song goes about poison ivy; and those who come into contact with one of the many plants that contain oils that can cause pure misery will no doubt agree. 

Continue reading…

GSMNP Bike Trail Proposal

GSMNP needs your input on proposed bike trail.

GSMNP bike trail proposal. Great Smoky Mountains National Park seeks public input for a proposed mountain bike trail system on the unfinished section of the Foothills Parkway corridor in Wears Valley, TN. The park is initiating an environmental assessment in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and National Historic Preservation Act.

Continue reading…

Great Smoky Mountains Hikes For Healing Program Announced

Great Smoky Mountains Hikes For Healing Program Announced. GSMNP Superintendent Cassius Cash is inviting the public to participate in a new initiative called Smokies Hikes for Healing. Ten people per hike can join the superintendent on eight scheduled outings. Hikes will be guided by facilitators who will provide opportunities for open conversation about diversity and racism while enjoying one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. The public can also participate by coordinating their own experiences using Smokies Hikes for Healing materials.

Continue reading…

Dollywood Flowers And Food Festival

Dollywood Flowers And Food Festival. Dollywood has added a new festival to the mix during this season. The Flower and Food Festival kicked off when Dollywood opened on June 1, 2020. Visitors will enjoy over half a million new flowers and plants throughout the park. Many displays are Smoky Mountain turtles, frogs, black bears, and a tribute to “Coat of Many Colors” with a butterfly and scenic sculpture of Dolly’s mother sewing the coat. The tallest sculpture is Dolly’s mother, which is 14-feet tall! The sculptures are called “mosaics.” Mosaiculture is the art of creating larger-than life plant sculptures using thousands of plants to cover a steel frame. There are more than 6,000 plants in Dolly’s mosaics. The mosaics aren’t the only “flower” elements in the park! There are also beautiful floral carpet beds around the walkways and plenty of flowerbeds.

Continue reading…