At the lumbering speed of 2.5 miles per hour, the Rural Academy Theatre is making their second tour through Western North Carolina. The horse-drawn performance troupe loads all of its supplies, instruments and equipment into a wagon-trailer reminiscent of the Oregon Trail computer game. A few bicyclists ride alongside the caravan to scout roads and […]

There’s nothing all that small about Waynesville, from its hopping Main Street to its dynamic arts scene (think heritage and contemporary crafts, public sculpture, theater and a certain annual folk dance festival). It’s steeped in history, but fully immersed in the present. Downtown events still on the 2013 calendar include the Apple Harvest Festival on […]

Sylva To the visiting outsider, the Jackson County town of Sylva epitomizes the western reaches of Southern Appalachia: soft but tall hills flush with blue-green hues, forming a horizon shrouded in mist; a Main Street of old brick buildings decked with awnings and oblong wooden signs culminating with a regal civic building at the top […]

North Carolina’s pottery tradition stems from the very makeup of its geography: lots of clay. While the clay-laden soil may be a challenge for gardeners, it also provides a rich supply of artistic material. The use of local clay has been part of our history for a long time, with pottery shards dating back to […]

Raleigh-based Lilac Shadows layer their psychedelic pop with weirdness, but keep things concise.They play the Apothecary with Kovacs & the Polar Bear, Lonnie Walker and Jonah-Parzen-Johnson Saturday, Oct. 5 at 8:30 p.m.