Guide to the 58th Annual Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair by Yancey County News

Your guide to

The 58th Annual Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair

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Welcome to the 58th Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair! he Yancey County / Burnsville n behalf of Yancey County TChamber of Commerce toO Government, I would like welcomes you to the 58th Annual extend a warm welcome to all of Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair! With approximately 200 juried crafters, this event more than qualifies as a shopper’s paradise, as evidenced by the over 25,000 people who attend this event each year searching for those special, one-of-a-kind items created by artisans from across the Blue Ridge. Come browse a wide selection of items, including handmade quilts, jewelry, hand-turned wooden household items, various types of pottery, art fabrics, rustic furniture, traditional mountain musical instruments, blacksmith creations, candles, soaps and lotions, and artwork of all mediums. Have a seat and watch as the artisans produce their craft throughout the day. Enjoy a lunch of southern favorites such as barbeque and sweet tea on the square as you listen to the live music and entertainment, or perhaps try to keep up with the cloggers and other dancers as they kick up their heels on the stage. Step back into the past as you enjoy an old-fashioned Town Square event that exhibits Southern hospitality at its best. Again, welcome to Burnsville and Yancey County, home of Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Rockies at an elevation of 6,684 feet. Enjoy your visit, and if you need assistance, directions or advice, just ask! We love to have visitors, and we hope you not only come back but that you might consider Yancey as the home you’ve been looking for.

the crafters and visitors to the 58th Annual Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair. The mountains of Western North Carolina are a wonderful place to be all year long but especially in the summer time. The crown jewel of the mountains is Yancey County. Come and enjoy all that the area has to offer, from hiking trails, golfing, shopping, and antiquing to some of the best fishing waters in the United States. Life takes on a slower pace here in Yancey County, where folks are always friendly and happy to see you. Just t h i s y e a r, Burnsville’s T o w n Square was honored with the “Favorite P u b l i c Place” in North Carolina Award by the North Carolina Chapter of the American Planning Association. While on the Square don’t forget your mobile devices as Wi-Fi service is brought to you by Country Cablevision and Yancey County Government. Whatever you chose to do, we welcome you and we are glad that you are here! Enjoy!! Johnny Riddle, Chairman Yancey County Commission

4 • 2014 MT. MITCHELL CRAFTS FAIR GUIDE

We’re here. Now what? What are the nuts and bolts for enjoying the fair? Who is doing what, and when? Where are the bathrooms?Where is there parking? And what to do to keep the kids entertained while mom and dad – or grandma and grandpa – ooooh and aaaaahover a vast collection of crafts?

Where to rest your feet?

The Town Center will also be open to the public off ering a cool place to bring your food to eat at a table in the air conditioning, a place to rendezvous with family and friends, restrooms and baby changing stations, and, most importantly, a place to sit and rest tired feet.

Park and take the shuttle

There’s really no need to search for a parking place, as shuttle vans run a continuous route from outlying parking areas to the downtown square. Shuttles will be running every 10 to 15 minutes from three designated parking areas on the U.S. 19 bypass at Ingles Grocery, Fred’s Shopping Center, and Roses parking lot. Handicapped parking is available near Town Square.

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Rest Rooms

Public/handicapped restrooms are located on West Main Street beside the Chamber of Commerce/Visitor’s celebration Center and also in the Town Center, gloryalong of the with temporary restrooms along rafts,Court food,Street. In addition, there is a baby nursing/changing station at the ment and Burnsville Town Center, located on events! South Main Street.

Spruce Pine, N.C.

Open Mon-Sat thru December on NC 226 between 19E and Parkway

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There’s a special place for pets! t Marion Pets are not allowed in the fair area,

ISSION course, service animals are wel0 a.m.but – 5ofp.m. come. Dog sitting is available just feet from the square during fair hours at festival.com the courthouse lawn for a nominal fee. Signs will be posted to designate the location of the dog sitting area.

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2014 MT. MITCHELL CRAFTS FAIR GUIDE • PAGE 5

She’s been at the fair forever

No matter where you look at the Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair, you can rest assured Eloise Renfro has seen it all. Eloise, a Tipton Hill-area doll and quilt maker, has been a vendor at 57 years of craft fairs in Burnsville. “She’s been there practically every year it’s been held,” said her husband, Bernie. Her ‘topsy-turvy’ dolls have been popular for decades, as have her Raggedy Ann (and Andy.) But her quilts and smaller quilted projects are sublime, featuring a complicated and seemingly three-dimensional ‘Cathedral’ pattern. “I do a little bit of all of it,” she said with a laugh as she sat on her back porch recently. “I guess I’ve made thousands and thousands of dolls.” The topsy turvy doll most often features a female character - Dorothy from Oz, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White - with a flowing skirt. But turn the doll over and the skirt flops down (or is it up?) to reveal another character instead of legs - for Dorothy, perhaps it’s the Cowardly Lion, Tin Man or Scarecrow. For Little Red Riding Hood, of course it is the wolf. Snow White has an added twist: sewn to her skirt are the seven dwarfs, but she and they disappear when turned

over to reveal the evil queen. Mrs. Renfro says she and many girls in the community learned to make dolls when they were young, sharing in a tradition handed down over the generation by the older women in the community. “We had classes over at Tipton Hill School,” she recalled. “Our gang would meet and learn how to make a new doll.” There were also smaller gatherings, and often older women shared tips, or brought new designs to see if the local girls could improve on them. “A lot of girls my age made dolls,” she said, “but something about Eloise’s works had popular appeal. “Mine had a different face,” she said. “I draw on the face then I needlework around” to bring out the personality of the figure. She says customers always comment on her face designs. Eloise and Bernie have three children, and she says she made them toys when they were young. When the children were small Bernie was gone repairing railroads for a week at a time See next page

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She’s kept some doll secrets to herself

From Page 5 time still, she seems to say, for the seand Eloise ran the household. “I stayed crets. busy with a big garden and canning; Eloise didn’t think she will have any raising the children and sewing,” she full quilts for sale this year, but the said. booth will be packed with dolls and Bernie is the first to say that the baby blankets, daisy chains of characmoney she made selling dolls, quilts ters for nursery mobiles and quilted and baby blankets helped support the aprons. “She makes them just like she’s family. doing it for herself,” Bernie said. “PeoEloise said she always looks forward ple come from everywhere.” to the Mt.Mitchell Crafts Fair. “I meet my friends. People are always coming by. They say, ’We found you again!’” Daughter Loretta took to doll making early, and she now sets up the booth and handles the transactions. “I like to do 828.682.9759 it, but this will probably be my last year to be at the fair,” 310 Pensacola Road • Burnsville, NC 28714 Eloise said. But she hasn’t yet www.brooksiderehabandcare.com shared all of her patterns and ideas with her child. There’s EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

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TRAC anchors the local arts community

The Toe River Arts Council (TRAC) is a non-profit organization founded in 1976 to promote the arts in Mitchell and Yancey Counties. By buying locally, you are not only supporting the Arts Council but the community in which the artists live and work. For almost two decades, the Toe River Studio Tour has brought arts aficionados to the colorful communities and country roads of Mitchell and Yancey counties in western North Carolina — learn about this tour below and find more open studio tours in the list that follows. More than 145 studios and galleries are featured on the Toe River Studio Tour, held in June and December and sponsored by the Toe River Arts Council in Spruce Pine. This extensive tour covers Mitchell and Yancey counties in the N.C. mountains, including the towns of Bakersville, Penland, Spruce Pine, Burnsville, Micaville, Newdale, Estatoe and Little Switzerland. “What I enjoy most about the studio tour is that people actually see where and how things are made,” says Claudia Dunaway, whose wheel-thrown stoneware and porcelain can be seen at Yummy Mud Puddle Gallery near Burnsville. “Visitors come away with a better understanding of how we live and how we work. Our exchanges are mostly around techniques and how things are done.” Celo area artist Rob Levin, a 1981 and 1997 N.C. Arts Council Fellowship recipient who makes hand-blown vessels out of glass, says the studio tour’s educational component makes it appealing to children and families. “When people walk into a studio, especially a glass studio, they may have seen finished pieces in the past, but they may not be familiar with the process,” Levin says. “I’ll end up explaining and demonstrating the process of making the work, and people can see the studio facilities where the work is being made. People will say they had no idea that so much went into it. I think that helps to demystify the process and makes it

all a little more accessible. Children especially are often very taken with the whole process.” S e l e n a Glass’ Deana Blanchard, who lives and works in the Burnsville area, says that traveling the side roads to get to the studios is part of the adventure. “You get to explore a lot more of the mountains. Then when you come to the person’s studio you get a glimpse into the artist’s life. Because most craftspeople have an aesthetic sense, the place where they live is pretty, too. It might not be big See page 8

8 • 2014 MT. MITCHELL CRAFTS FAIR GUIDE

TRAC Tour encourages artistic fellowship From page 7 and fancy, but usually it will have a charm to it, and you can tell it’s a place that’s been managed lovingly.” Blanchard says she enjoys the fellowship encouraged by the tour. “We do have people who come back every year, and it’s kind of like a homecoming,” she says. “There’s a couple of sisters who come back to our studio every year from Charleston, S.C. Last time, one sister made each of us a little cap, and the other sister made ceramic pins. So we do establish a relationship with people that come every year, and it’s so sweet. We love it when people buy things, but part of the tour is just the chance to get to know people.” “There’s a lot of repeat people,” Dunaway agrees. “We have a group of women that comes in and takes over a bed and breakfast, or they’ll rent a

house for the weekend, and they’ll go off and pick a different area each time. Sometimes they’ll focus on Bakersville, sometimes they’ll focus on Burnsville. It’s really fun.” In addition to people from the local community, Blanchard welcomes visitors from the New England states, Wisconsin, Iowa and cities including Charleston, Atlanta, Charlotte, Chattanooga and Knoxville. She also credits the nearby Penland School of Crafts, with its well-known and wellestablished craftspeople, as a draw for collectors. “Everybody brings a different perspective to looking at artwork,” Levin says. “When someone voices their own response to a piece, it’s eye-opening because there’s always another perspective beyond what I might have had See page 27

2014 MT. MITCHELL CRAFTS FAIR GUIDE • PAGE 9

Region’s largest telescope coming to county Yancey County is dark, and that’s what amateur astronomers like about it. The county’s distance from urban lights, and the fact that its tall mountain peaks block ambient light from the surrounding area, means some of the best night-sky viewing on the East Coast is available right here. Amateur astronomers are flocking here from the piedmont, and at least a few have bought property to build their own observatories with top-of-the-line telescopes. They say areas in Pennsylvania or Virginia have officially ‘darker’ ratings than Yancey, but the pollution in those places makes night-time viewing more difficult. Two local astronomers compared photographs taken at the same moment in Yancey and in the darker locations to the north, and they say the Yancey images are sharper and show more of the cosmos. The county is about to secure its spot as a top stargazing destination with the installation of the state’s largest telescope, which will be housed at the Blue Ridge Observatory and Star Park, locaetd off N.C. 80 North. “This is going to be the largest telescope in North Carolina, and the largest ‘dark sky’ telescope in the southeast,” said Bob Hampton, a local astronomer. “There is one larger telescope (in the southeast) in Atlanta, but with the (urban) light pollution they are limited to the moon and the planets.” The telescope in Yancey will measure 34 inches in diameter, Hampton said. “The dimmer things; the galaxies, the nebulas, we’ll have a front row seat for those.” In honor of notable local efforts to preserve the natural nighttime landscape of Western North Carolina, the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) has designated the Blue Ridge Observatory and Star Park as the first International Dark Sky Park in the southeastern United States. The Yancey telescope will be a one-

of-a-kind, custom made Dobsonian-type, computer-controlled observatory telescope. In addition to direct viewing at the eyepiece, astronomers will have the ability to show live video from an ultrasensitive camera system attached Mayland’s Jon Wil- to the telescope. “This telescope mesherr will collect more than 16,000 times as much light as a dark-adapted human eye, and is guaranteed to give crisp, sharp images all the way up to 1700x,” Hampton said. A star park area will be built adjacent to the observatory for hosting star parties – a place where visiting astronomers can set up their own telescopes and enjoy our night sky. Star parties attract crowds, whether locally or internationally. They can last just one night or for a week or longer, and many amateur astronomers schedule their vacations to coincide with the gatherings. Nationally, star parties attract hundreds of thousands of people, but the key is the availability of a dark night sky. Many here have voiced support to promote Yancey County as a star party tourism destination, and the construction of the new telescope is key to the proposal. “I think we’re in a fine spot” for stargazing tourism, said Hampton. “As astronomers, it’s just wonderful, and the community has been very supportive. “My understanding is that the mirror is complete,” said Jon Wilmesherr, director of Learning Resources Center and Distance Education at Mayland Community College, which is building the observatory. “The telescope will be built and the mirror installed See next page

10 • 2014 MT. MITCHELL CRAFTS FAIR GUIDE

‘The Highest Peak East of the Rockies’ Mount Mitchell State Park was the highest peak east of the Mississippi first state park of North Carolina. River), Big Tom and Balsam Cone. Located off of NC 128 and the About 8 miles of trails exist within Blue Ridge Parkway in south Yancey the park in all. County, it includes the peak of Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Rocky Mountains. US 19E, portions of Main Street in Burnsville, and NC 80 South are part of the Mt. Mitchell Scenic Bypass. From the parking lot you can take a short hike to the summit which includes an observation tower and the grave of Elisha Mitchell, the professor who first documented the mountain’s height. The old observation tower was torn down in Early October 2006. The trail leading to the summit has been paved, and a new observation platform was constructed and opened to the public in January 2009. The summit also features an exhibit hall with information about the mountain’s natural, cultural and historical heritage. In addition to Mount Mitchell, the park encompasses several other peaks which top out at over 6,000 feet in elevation, including Mount Hallback, Mount Craig (just 37 feet shy of Mount Mitchell in elevation and the second

Telescope being built From page 9 in it when there is an observatory building to house them. The telescope comes installed in the facility.” Wilmesherr said the Mayland Foundation has “started a building campaign for the observatory,” and information is available at www.energyxchange.org/ starpark/future-observatory-building. “When people have inquired I have told them we are in an awkward phase right now - think adolescence.” said Wilmesherr. “We have the mirror and the Dark Sky designation, but we are missing the final piece of the puzzle that connects the two. Hopefully, soon one or more donors will step forth and make all of our dreams come true.”

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Hiking club leads local explorations

If you enjoy hiking, you’ve come to the right place: Yancey County offers some of the region’s most spectacular trails. Home to the tallest mountain in the Eastern United States, Mt. Mitchell (6,684 feet), the county’s terrain varies from deep woods tracts to picturesque waterfalls and craggy peaks topping 6,000 feet, where the weather, plants and animal life are more like what you’d find in Canada than in the Southern U.S. Leading the way on adventures into this natural paradise is the N.C. High Peaks Trail Association, Yancey’s hiking club. The group typically sponsors two hikes each month, along with an easier stroll, plus a day of trail maintenance work. Hikes vary from short and leisurely to long and hard, sometimes with climbs or descents of several thousand feet. Founded by several avid local hikers, High Peaks also represents outdoor enthusiasts at public meetings with U.S. Forest Service and National Park officials, making sure that planners respect the interests of those who want to protect our natural resources for recreational enjoyment. The group’s website, www.nchighpeaks.org, has a list of upcoming hikes and other events, along with an interactive trail map. Just click on the trail you are thinking of hiking and a pop-up window will give you all the details, from directions to the trailhead to the length of the section, the elevation change, overall difficulty and the availability of water. High Peaks works with federal agencies to maintain local hiking trails. With most government agencies facing deep budget cuts and personnel losses, High Peaks volunteers are often the only ones willing and able to weed-eat, clear downed trees and repair tread on local hiking paths.

Club hikes are open to the public, and leashed pets are welcome on most of the outings. For more information, visit the High Peaks website or the club’s Facebook page. Join the club or simply join us for a hike!

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Home of the Studio Glass movement By Robin Warden Artists of the Toe River Valley of Western North Carolina embody the national story of the American Studio Glass movement. The lives and work of these individuals tell a story of two generations of glass artists who have created a rich history and culture of art, education, mentorship, and commerce. In 2012, an exihibition titled History of Glass in the Toe River Valley offered a 50-year timeline highlighting the careers of approximately 50 glass artists interwoven with the significant events in the region that provided the impetus for the movement and helped it flourish. In 1962 Harvey Littleton, known as the father of the movement - with the assistance of Norm Schulman - offered two glass workshops at the Toledo Museum of Art. Bill Brown’s vision, as

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the director of the Penland School of Craft in the mid 60s, further captured artists’ excitement to learn the new glass medium. Penland built a glass studio, along with residency programs that followed — marking the arrival of early students, colleagues and other glass pioneers to the Toe River Valley. Biographical information and archival photos shared in the exhibition illustrated events and accom plishments that influenced their careers from the early days of experimenting with various glass processes to the 1990s and the development of sophisticated glass studios. The second generation of glass artists in the region represent many of the Who’s Who in the American Studio Glass Movement — four among them have been named “North Carolina Living Treasures.” Their works have been shown in prominent galleries and museums around the globe and become part of many private collections, including in the White House. Their international influ ence affects a wide array of collaborative ventures with European and Asian glass artists, reflected in exhibitions in worldwide. At home in the Toe River Valley, they continue to foster the evolution and growth of their craft as residents and instructors at the Penland School, developers and leaders of the Glass Arts Society and other professional organiza tions and conferences, and mentors to the next generation of glass artists who continue to move to the region to study, live, and work. Like their predecessors, they find themselves captured by the magical beauty of the Toe River Valley and the supportive community that continues to embrace and sustain them. History of Glass in the Toe River Valley was organized by the Toe River Arts Council and was part of several events in the “Glass in Mountains Celebration” honoring the 50th anni versary of the Studio Glass Movement across the nation.

14 • 2014 MT. MITCHELL CRAFTS FAIR GUIDE

Yancey County Chamber of Commerce

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Mount Mitchell Crafts Fair Mount Mitchell Crafts

Vender Booth Locations Fair 1-2 Martins Wooden Crafts 3-4 Quality Leather 5-6 Rawls Pottery 7 Nanike Originals 8 Turnings by Bob 9 Rustic Remakes 10 Gurley Creations 11 Sonrise Pottery 12 Jt’s Wooden Toys 13 Caroline Sandlin 14 The Nut House 15 Wildlife Plastics 16 Glass Designs by Lori King 17 18 Deborah Bryant Handwoven 19 Kika’s Fine Jewelry 20 Studio Earth 21 Olde Time Chimes 22 The Glass Menagerie 23 Robin Roberts Baskets 24 Firefly Glass 25 Stamps by Impressions 26

27 Wood N Antler Art 28 C and R Rockers 29 Met-Art 30 31 Element Tree Essentials 32 33 34 35 Black Black Moon 36 Sister Act Two 37 Adoughables 38 Soulfully Salvaged Paper Arts 39 Parnell Family Weavers 40 Sharpe’s Wooden Neckties 41 S and G Designs 42 Handwoven Creations 43 In Blue Handmade 44-45 Bodins Tropicalls 46 Crafty Creations 47 B. Cool 48 Those Kooky Chickens 49

50 51 Lovejoy Pottery 52 Bristow Pottery 53 Brooms and Boxes 54 Appalachian Hardwood 55 Barn Country Furniture 56 J Mann Studio 57 Paiche Eco Jewelry 58 Crispin Kettle Corn 59 Indian Creek Creations 60 Tammy Rudd Handmade 61 Wendells Bowls 62 Sally’s Famous Gourmet Foods 63 Southerland Farms 64 65 Silver Eagle Design 66 67 68 PW Pottery 69 Natures Grace 70 Visions in Stained Glass 71 Swan Shadow

72 Jim Leather Craft 73 Rotary Club 74 75 76 Down Top Earth Pottery 77 She Collection 78 Memory Scrapboxes. com 79 Small Town Candle Creations 80 Little Blackberry Creek Pottery 81 Cotton Patch 82 83-84 DAV 85 NC High Peaks Trail Assoc. 86 American Cancer Society 87 Young life Burnsville 88 Dig In! Yancey Community Garden 89 Whitworth Properties 90 PNC Bank 91 Burnsville Chevrolet 92 US Cellular

2014 MT. MITCHELL CRAFTS FAIR GUIDE • PAGE 15

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107 Owassart 108 Miguela Creations 109 M.R. Manufacturing / Metal Works 110 Asparagus Soap 111 112 Hip Remix 113 Nate Barton Works 114 115 Andre Art Glass 116 117 Morningside Books 118 Volunteer Laser Engraving 119 Designs by Lynell 120 Sal Gal designs 121 Tiedyeclothing 122 County Argyle 123 Carolina Custom Corner Paddles 124 Hudgins Design 125 126 Mosaic Goddess Studio 127 Bluebird Design 128 TJ Crafters 129-130 Blended Treasures 131 132

133-134 Garden Treasures 135 Britts Leather 136 137 138 139 Musket Ridge Flowers 140 141 Designs by Nancy Roth 142 Pursonally Yours 143 Celitic Pottery Studios 144 The Copper Goddess 145 146 Don’s Ice Cream 147 Brian Vasilik Design 148 McWhirter Pottery 149 150 Sunflower Fibers 151 ART Island 152 Unbowlievable Designs 153 154 155 Deb’s D’apples 156 Hand Crocheted Designs 157 Mimzart 158-159 Karen’s Kreations 160 Artography by Bob 161 Ginny the Bead Lady 162 Mckenzie-Jones

163 PJ’s Crochets 164 WoodArt 165 Yancey Center for Ceramic Arts 166 Walnut hill Crafts 167 Paper Gifts & Décor 168 Ole Fish House Pottery 169 170 171 Arm Chair Crafts 172 173 174 Midnight Sun Pottery 175 Whitsons Crafts 176 Ariel Studios 177 Sophisticated Junkie 178 Rita’s Italian Ice 179-180 Covenant Crafts 181 Smitty’s Homemade Ice Cream 182 Fran’s Baskets 183 Ran-dee Designs 184 Toe Cane Beekeepers 185 Mountain Wood Design 186 Blue Frog Designs 187

188-189 Four Corners Framing & Gifts 190-191 The Lazy Scroll 192 North Cole Pottery 193 194 Suwannee Song Designs 195 196 197 Wall’s Walking Sticks 198 199 Corner Crafts 200 Buffalo Creek Handcrafts 300 Overcreek Pottery

Vendor list does not include late changes

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Area attracts mountain bikers with trails

Mountain bike excursions are fast becoming the exercise and adventure of choice for some. In Yancey you can find several established trails: Briar Bottom Bicycle Trail: Length 1.2 miles; Rating - Easy. The trail joins a loop road which goes around Briar Bottom Group Campground. Follow this road right back to the point where you began. Directions: From Burnsville go east on US 19E for about 4.3 miles and turn right on NC 80S. Follow 80S for 11.6 miles to Mt. Mitchell Golf Course and turn right on FR 472. After the road changes to gravel, arrive at an intersection where you take a right. Go to parking lot on the left with a bulletin board with trail maps and information. Shinbone Trail: Length 8.5 miles; Rating - Moderate. The trail is quite rocky and not currently blazed. Directions: From Burnsville go east 1.1 miles on US 19E and take a left on NC 197. Stay on this road for 6.6 miles and watch for a sign pointing to the left that says “Green Mountain.” Turn

left here and go 1.5 miles. Cross a narrow bridge and go right on Jacks Creek Road. Follow this road for 3.4 miles and take a right on NC 197. At 1.4 miles, take a right to stay on this road. Keep going for 7.9 miles and watch for a pull off to the right. You can park here and begin biking on Forest Service Road 5583 to the left, or drive up FR 5583 to the lock gate on the left and start there. Buncombe Horse Range Trail: Length 16 miles; Rating - Strenuous. Advanced riders can test their skills on this physically challenging trail. It has high elevations with some steep sections. Directions: From Burnsville go east on US 19E for about 4.3 miles and turn right on NC 80S. Follow 80S for 11.6 miles to Mt. Mitchell Golf Course and turn right on FR 472. Follow this road past Black Mountain Campground, where parking is available in pull offs along the road. Parking for the Buncombe Horse Range Trail is on FR 472, about four miles past the campground.

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2014 MT. MITCHELL CRAFTS FAIR GUIDE • PAGE 19

Trust saves the ‘Lost Cove’ There’s something alluring about a ghost town in the middle of the forest, where stone chimneys and building remnants hearken back to more vibrant days. You can almost imagine that the stones in fallen walls whisper stories about the families who lived there. In December 2012, the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy purchased a 95-acre portion of historic “Lost Cove” in the remote and rugged Nolichucky Gorge, an in-holding in the Pisgah National Forest. Nestled near the border between North Carolina and Tennessee, the secluded Lost Cove is a ghost town with a colorful history of self-sufficient families, railroad crews, timber, and moonshine. “The opportunity to save this significant part of Lost Cove was very important and welcome to those of us who live in its vicinity, who know personally of its special natural and historical significance and have long hoped it would one day be protected,” said SAHC Trustee David Ramsey. Lost Cove is one of the most legendary ghost towns in the Eastern United States. The community was most likely founded during the Civil War era, although a few accounts hint that two families from a Daniel Boone expedition originally settled the area. Lost Cove grew into a self-sustaining, thriving agricultural community until the railroad brought timber and railroad jobs around 1910. Located on the boundary of Yancey and Mitchell counties, Lost Cove was notorious for moonshining as early as 1898. Its remoteness and location along the state boundary made it difficult for tax collectors to penetrate. However, the cove’s isolation, as well as economic necessity, eventually led to the community’s demise. The last family moved out in 1957. “It has long fired our imaginations, made us curious about our mountain surroundings and our history and in

Jamie Ervin, Americorps Land Protection Associate with SAHC, visits the site of Lost Cove. spired many of us to dig deeper into and ultimately care more about - our Appalachian heritage,” said Ramsey. “To me, this effort is one more example of the amazing and extremely important conservation work of the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy.” “The offering of this property for sale presented a unique opportunity to protect an incredible recreational, environmental, and historical asset,” said SAHC Executive Director Carl Silverstein. SAHC purchased the tract with the intent that it will eventually be added to the Pisgah National Forest. The mission of the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (a land trust) is to conserve the unique plant and animal habitat, clean water, local farmland and scenic beauty of the mountains of North Carolina and east Tennessee for the benefit of present and future generations.

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Local college ranked among the best

Mayland Community College - serving Mitchell, Avery and Yancey counties - is ranked among the top 1 percent of community colleges nationwide. Mayland was ranked in the Top 50 Community Colleges by TheBestSchools.org. In fact, Mayland ranked 10th in the nation on the list. Soon after that Washington Monthly ranked Mayland 32nd in the nation on its list of the Top 50 Community Colleges in the nation. Then Bankrate.com ranked two-year community colleges and technical centers around the country to see where students could get the best, most affordable start in their college careers. Mayland ranked 9th in the nation in the top community colleges. Bankrate.com officials say the rating was inspired by President Barack Obama’s incentive to develop a college ratings system to help students make informed decisions about where they can get the best deal on a college education. With the Bankrate.com rating, Mayland Community College solidified its position

in the top 1 percent of community colleges nationwide. “I think it is wonderful and somewhat incredible that in this small rural mountain community, a top 1 percent community college is here to serve our residents,” said Mayland Community College President John C. Boyd. “Mayland’s high national rankings make me proud to say that I am a student at the college,” said past Student Government Association President Corey Robinson. “Mayland has provided me with a gift

of success through the supportive faculty and staff (and a) pleasant learning environment. The college has given me the opportunity to follow my career dreams.” With more than 10,500 credit and noncredit students, Mayland supports 27 academic and technical programs spread across its main Mitchell campus in Spruce Pine and satellite learning centers in Avery and Yancey counties. For information on the national rankings visit www.mayland. edu.

291 E US Hwy 19E, Burnsville, North Carolina • 828.682.9992

2014 MT. MITCHELL CRAFTS FAIR GUIDE • PAGE 21

‘The joy of creative occupation’

Penland School of Crafts, located on he began a work-study scholarship Penland Road in Mitchell County, was program to make Penland accessible founded by Lucy Morgan, a teacher at to a broader range of students. an Episcopalian school that once ocToday the school encompasses 47 cupied several buildings which are still buildings located on 400 acres of land. in use by the school. In 1923, she or- Each year approximately 1,200 peoganized the Penland Weavers, which ple come to Penland for instruction provided looms and materials to local and another 14,000 pass through as women and marketed their handwo- visitors. A gallery and visitors center ven goods. She invited noted weaving showcases work by Penland-affiliated expert Edward F. Worst to teach, and artists. The community education when requests for instruction came program brings first-hand craft exfrom other parts of the country, Pen- perience to hundreds of local school land School was born. Soon after the children. The unique core fellowship first students arrived in 1929, other program provides nine emerging artcrafts were added, and the school be- ists who do part-time work for the gan to raise funds, acquire property, school, with room, board, and access and construct buildings. By the time to classes throughout the year. Morgan rePenland has tired in 1962, no standing facPenland had ulty; all classes acquired an are taught by international guest instructors reputation who, along with as a center their students, for experienlive at Penland tial, hands-on for the duration learning. of their class. Lucy MorStudents take gan was suconly one class at ceeded by a time, allowing Bill Brown, a A student at work at Penland School. them to learn sculptor, deby total immersigner, and sion - the ideas teacher who had spent 11 summers and information gained in a two-week working at Haystack Mountain School session might take a year to absorb of Crafts in Maine. Originally modeled and process. Workshops are offered on Penland School, Haystack attracted in books and paper, clay, drawing and as faculty many prominent studio craft painting, glass, iron, metals, photograartists as well as teachers from univer- phy, printmaking, textiles, wood, and sity art departments. Brown brought other media. with him a formidable network of The school has also become the fofriends and contacts in the emerging cal point of a lively community of craft studio craft movement. During his 21- artists, thanks in part to the resident year tenure, new media, such as iron artist program which has encouraged and glass, were added to the program many artists to settle in the area. Today and the school began offering eight- there are more than 200 studios in the week sessions in the spring and fall. vicinity of the school. The presence of Brown also started the resident art- so many working studios greatly enist program, which provides low-cost hances the quality of the student expehousing and studio to craft artists who rience, and has had a strong impact on work at Penland for several years, and See next page

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Penland: A pervasive influence on American craft From previous page the local economy. Students at Penland come from all walks of life. They range from 19 to 90 and from absolute beginners to professional artists. Some see Penland as a productive retreat, some as a source of inspiration for their personal creative lives, and others as a network for the exchange of useful information. What brings them together is a love of materials and making, and the often transformative experience of working with intensity and focus in a supportive community atmosphere. Penland School began out of a strong belief in a few simple values. Lucy Morgan summarized these as “the joy of creative occupation and a certain togetherness - working with

one another in creating the good and the beautiful.” For 75 years, these principles have guided a remarkable institution which has had a pervasive influence on American craft and touched the lives of thousands of individuals. For information about visiting Penland, call the Penland Gallery and Visitors Center, 828-765-6211. The gallery sells work in many different media and offers tours of the Penland campus. Visitors are welcome to walk through the campus, although Penland’s teaching studios are not open to the public. The studios of the Penland resident artists are open, and the gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p,m,; Sundays, Noon to 5 p.m.; closed Mondays. Penland School is located on Conley Ridge Road, just off Penland Road in Mitchell County.

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Dig In! means feeding those in need Dig In! Yancey Community Garden has been serving Yancey County for five years, building and maintain a volunteer-operated vegetable garden to feed the hungry. Since 2009, the community garden has given away 12,000 pounds of fresh produce grown on the x acre garden in Pensacola. Through partnerships with local hunger relief agencies, Dig In provides fresh fruits and vegetables to people within the community who are in need of food assistance. Volunteers handle almost everything, “From tilling the soil to planting the plants to weeding and harvesting. That goes on non-stop throughout the summer,” said Linn Dowell of Dig In! “In the summer there’s always something going in, something coming out.” The garden provides vegetables to Reconciliation House, soup kitchens and community kitchens. Some of the agencies come and harvest the vegetables they use.

“We will be at the Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair! Our booth will be located on South Main Street, near the Town Center. Please drop by to say hello.”

The garden will be selling tickets for its te Empty Bowls Dinner fundraiser, which will be held Friday, Sept. 26 at Higgins United Methodist Church.

24 • 2014 MT. MITCHELL CRAFTS FAIR GUIDE

No repeat; he’s a second-generation potter Pete McWhirter may have grown up the child of artists, but he says he had no intention of becoming a potter himself. Funny how things turned out. His parents, the late Jim and Kore McWhirter, established McWhirter Pottery in 1963 “on White Oak Road in a milking barn,” he said. “Mom did turning on the wheel. Dad did oil painting, sign lettering, and mixed glazes. He had a few designs” for pottery, Pete said, and “Mom had designs she would do.” They loved their art, and built their lives around it, establishing what is now the longest operating pottery in Yancey County. But Pete knew tossing clay wasn’t for him. “I didn’t know what I would do, but not this,” he said. As he spoke his hands never stopped moving, sculpting one of a series of decorative jugs that start out normal at the base but explode into a threedimensional rooster at the top. Yes, it’s pottery. Pete’s pottery. “This is what I grew up thinking I would never do.” His mother is the one who talked him into a career in ceramics. He had grown a career in steak houses, opening Western Sizzlin restaurants throughout Western North Carolina. He and his wife, Kim, lived in Celo, and “while I was still working in Asheville, Kim was working with mom, learning to throw. She threw pots before I did.” Kore hoped one of her four children would learn the craft and take over the pottery, which in 1970 had moved to its current location on N.C. 80, across the road from South Toe Elementary School. But though the children were all artistic, no one wanted to operate the pottery. In the early 90s, Kore turned to Pete. “When my mom said

I was the last option of the four kids, that’s when I thought I’d give it a try.” He’d grown up around the pottery, and “even when I wasn’t thinking about pottery I was artistic; drawing and making music,” Pete said. “I grew up in a creative family.” So when his mom asked, he says he replied, “Sure, Mom.” Soon he discovered that the art was engaging. “You find out the different facets of it, and you find something about it that you enjoy.” It helped that he’d been meeting artists since age eight, when he began going to craft shows with his parents. “I was meeting craftspeople; people working in wood, leather and clay. I liked them.” But he and Kim keep busy doing music, performing across the region doing what Pete called “kind of an Appalachian folk thing. It can’t really be defined as bluegrass; we do more twists and turns than bluegrass. It has the mountain flavor of simplicity,” he said. Kim, who trained in dance and operated a studio in downtown Burnsville, said they “both enjoy the performance aspect” of music. Asked which is more important - music or pottery - she stopped and pondered. “That’s a hard question,” she said, but within a moment she found the answer. “The pottery is more important. The music is an emotional and spiritual release, like therapy,” but not something on which they would want to base their lives. Pete acknowledged that pottery took control years ago. “I’ve already made that decision, he said, based on what he calls his “love of creating clay.” McWhirter Pottery is at the crafts fair and the gallery is located on N.C. 80 in Celo. Pete and Kim can be reached at at pkmcwhirter@gmail.com.

2014 MT. MITCHELL CRAFTS FAIR GUIDE • PAGE 25

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Artists attracted by quality of work here

From page 8 about the work when I was creating it.” Dunaway, who exhibits and sells at the two Southern Highland Craft Guild fairs as well as the Potter’s Market in Spruce Pine, says that their participation in the Open Studio Tour has a cumulative effect. “We market year-round,” she says. “The studio tour helps build the business.” All of the artists credited the local arts community and, in particular, the Toe River Arts Council, as major factors in the tour’s continuing success as well as their enthusiasm about participating. “When we were looking for a place to live in the area, one of the first things we did was to go on the studio tour — twice,” Dunaway recalls. “We found that the quality of work here and the welcoming artists were just hard to beat. So was the Toe River Arts Coun-

cil. That’s why we ended up here.” “Many artists have been in the area for so long, it makes it a wonderful place to live,” she adds. “I grew up in North Carolina, and I used to come over here 30 years ago with my parents. The artists have really built a wonderful relationship with the local community, and the studio tour really keeps that going. Local folks come and do the tour to see what’s going on and what their neighbors are up to.” Levin says that when visitors spend the night or enjoy a local restaurant, they benefit the counties and surrounding towns. “Places like Yancey and Mitchell counties are kind of tucked out of the way,” he says. “A lot of people don’t know about them because they’re not really ‘on the way’ to anyplace. The studio tour opens up a nice window on what these places are all about.”