Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 29

HERE'S A SAMPLE - SIMPLY A SAMPLE, MIND YOU

- of the many gatherings across the mountains:
from Maryland to Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky,
the Carolinas and the Virginias. Have a glance at
a few familiar favorites plus maybe some that you
have yet to find:
Not long after the New Year dawns, the town
of Blowing Rock, N.C., awakens with a theme "Don't Hibernate ... Celebrate" - for its annual
Blowing Rock WinterFest, running Jan. 23-26
(blowingrockwinterfest.com), with events that
include a Chili Challenge, Pancake Breakfast,
Polar Plunge and Bonfire.
Also in January, get to the Great Smoky
Mountains for the Winter Heritage Festival (800525-6834), Jan. 30-Feb. 2, in Townsend, Tenn.,
with a multi-day showcase of storytellers, musicians and a celebration of history.
Down in Georgia, the Dahlonega Trail Fest,
March 14-16, notes the mountain community's
close proximity to the southern gateway to the
Appalachian Trail at Springer Mountain. Trail
Fest features lectures, hikes, canoeing and kids
activities (dahlonega.org).

Bristol's Rhythm & Roots Reunion takes
place in September on the Virginia/
Tennessee state line.

In southwest Virginia, hikers usually don't show up
on the Appalachian Trail until March - just about
the time that the mile-high peaks of Mount Rogers
and Whitetop have thawed from snow. That month,
too, marks the Whitetop Mountain Maple Syrup
Festival, held each year on the last weekend of March
at the Mount Rogers School (mtrogersvfd-rs.com),
with servings of pancakes topped with handcrafted
syrup made from the sugar maples on the mountain.
Oh, surely, it's sweet - about as sweet as all that's
found in Lewisburg, W.Va., during another spring
ritual: the annual Chocolate Festival, held on April
12 (lewisburgchocolatefestival.com).
The Smoky Mountain Fiber Arts Festival
(townsendfiberarts.com/865-448-0044) kicks off
April 11-12 in Townsend, Tenn., highlighting oneof-a-kind fiber arts. This festival includes Border
collie sheep-herding, workshops, weaving and
needlecraft. Also: Look for Townsend's Spring
Festival and Old Timers Day on May 2-3.
Near the Clinch River, the hamlet of Honaker, Va.,
calls itself the "Redbud Capital of the World" and
puts on a weekend-long festival (honakerredbudfest.
com/276-889-1778) on April 11-13 with canoeing
and contests. Further north, on April 25-May 4, the
Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival blooms all over
Winchester with a series of more than 30 events in
Virginia's Shenandoah Valley (thebloom.com),
including the world's largest fire fighters' parade, a
variety of crafters, a carnival and fireworks.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 | 29

REESE

... SAILING INTO SPRING ...

http://www.blowingrockwinterfest.com http://www.dahlonega.org http://www.mtrogersvfd-rs.com http://www.lewisburgchocolatefestival.com http://www.townsendfiberarts.com http://www.honakerredbudfest.com http://www.honakerredbudfest.com http://www.thebloom.com

Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014

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