Events Calendar

CHILDREN’S FOUNTAIN

Located at RiverPlace, this railroad-themed splash fountain is a popular spot to cool off in the summer months. Hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, from April 1 to October 31.

The WNC Nature Center is having a virtual costume contest this Halloween!

Entering is easy – take a picture of your child and/or family in their costume and email it to [email protected] by Wednesday, November 3.

Voting will start November 7 on our Facebook page! Share your spookiest, most creative, and animal/nature themed costumes, and the winners with the most likes will receive prizes valued at $50 or more!

With the convenience of being open year-round, 7 days a week, the WNC Farmers Market offers a selection of farm-fresh produce at the lowest prices in Western N.C. Our popular retail buildings, providing a selection of non-perishables, fruits, vegetables, crafts and more, are open daily.

The Justus family has been growing apples for over 100 years, we love what we do and invite you to visit our apple orchard in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina.  Enjoy a day in the country with your family, picking apples from our dwarf-size apple trees, bring your lunch and enjoy eating it at our new picnic area while you take in the beautiful views surrounding our apple orchard.

We offer apple orchard tours for families, church groups and other groups featuring quality apples and a great time for all. You can pick your own apples, or we can pick them for you, but whichever way you like it you’re sure to find the variety of apple you love.  Make sure while you are here you visit our bakery for your favorite dessert.  We look forward to seeing you soon!

Artist Michael Fowler creates evocative abstract landscape paintings by incorporating vibrant colors with subtle, complex details. His semi-large-scale approach invites viewers to step into his work and build a sense of wonder and contemplation surrounding the natural world. Fowler’s artistic response in contemplating nature is to capture something of a landscape’s pleasantness, which is often unexpected harmonies of color and shape. In his latest exhibit, Arbor Huescapes, Fowler highlights the distinctive vegetation – primarily trees – and topography of North and South Carolina’s midlands and piedmont regions.

Fowler received his Bachelor of Arts from Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas with a focus in Advertising Design. He then attended the University of Nebraska where he received a Master’s degree in Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing with a minor in Art History. From there, he attended the University of Memphis where he earned a Doctorate in Higher Education. Based in North Augusta, South Carolina, Fowler is currently an associate professor of design and computer graphics and serves as the Mary Durban Toole Chair of Art at the University of South Carolina in Aiken. His paintings are in a number of public and private collections nationally, and he actively exhibits in regional and national shows.

Please note: Arbor Huescapes has been rescheduled due to the COVID-19 crisis and will now open in fall 2021. The exhibit is on display daily September 18, 2021 – January 9, 2022, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. inside the Baker Exhibit Center. All works are available for purchase and a portion of sales will be donated to The North Carolina Arboretum Society.

Hatcher Garden is here for you to enjoy from dawn to dusk, 365 days a year, free of charge.

Please be aware that you are in a natural setting and there are factors beyond our control. We cannot be responsible for falling limbs, acts of God, behavior of wild animals, etc.

Volunteers can help engage with the public in the new Environmental Science and Sustainability Building, Tuesdays- Fridays, from 1:30-4:30pm.

We’re looking for a team of motivated students 8th-12th grade who love science and want the opportunity to engage in activities related to Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, Robotics and Natural Science. Please note that 18 year old students must pass a background check.

Volunteer Applicant: Once you have completed the Volunteer Application and read over the Volunteer Training Handout, complete the Virtual Volunteer Training Assessment.  Please allow yourself at least 45 minutes to complete. The online Virtual Training is replacing our former in-house hour-long meeting.

Closed Thanksgiving Day.

Things to do at Sky Top

The Hosts for this session on Mental Health in the Upstate will be:

• Megan Rogers, Director of Business, The Carolina Center for Behavioral Health
• Patty Nodine, Director of Behavioral Health, Regenesis Healthcare
• Karen Lommel, Chief Medical Officer for Behavioral Health and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Prisma Health–Upstate in Greenville, South Carolina
• Steven Krozer, NP, Owner, iTrust Wellness

By the 1930s, sixteen major cotton mills and two dye/bleaching/processing mills lay within three miles of downtown Greenville, forming a crescent around the growing city. The entrepreneurs who built these mills and their villages became leaders in the southern textile industry and set out not only to build an empire, but also build the upstate of South Carolina.

During this specially designed self-guided driving tour, you will have the opportunity to learn about mills that are still standing and share the fascinating history of what was once known as the “Textile Center of the World.”

Participants will be able to enter nearly half of the locations and knowledgeable docents will be available at each location to give the history.

Mills included in the tour are Mills Mill, Franklin, Dunean, Westervelt/Judson, Judson II, Brandon, Piedmont Plush, KM Fabrics, Woodside, Carolina/Poinsett, Southern Weaving, Monaghan, Riverdale, Union Bleachery, Simpson/American Spinning, and Poe.

This event will begin at the Upcountry History Museum with an in-person presentation by Greenville Historical Society board member and historian Don Koonce.

Manzanar: The Wartime Photographs of Ansel Adams consists of fifty photographs taken by famed Western landscape photographer Ansel Adams of the Manzanar Relocation Center between 1943 and 1944. The controversial period in American history is depicted in authentic black and white photographs by the skilled Adams and presents a moment in time when Japanese American citizens were denied their freedom and rights due to their Japanese ancestry.

Adams presents an intimate look at daily life in Manzanar through portraits and images of daily life. This series is a departure from his usual landscape photography. Concentrating on the internees and their activities, Adams photographed family life in the barracks; people at work – internees as welders, farmers, and garment makers; and recreational activities, including baseball and volleyball games.

In addition to Adams’s work, the exhibition features photographs by Dorothea Lange and Toyo Miyatake. Miyatake, a Los Angeles portrait photographer and internee at Manzanar, fashioned a camera from parts he brought with him in his luggage. Both Adams’s and Miyatake’s photographs present a positive view of those interned at Manzanar. In contrast Lange’s photographs reflect the upheaval of evacuation and the bleak conditions at the camp.

The Soldier Bishop: Ellison Capers, a special exhibit created by Faith Memorial Chapel, Cedar Mountain, NC, now on display at the Upcountry History Museum, presents the unshakable faith of Rt. Reverend Ellison Capers and how his fortitude created a lasting legacy.

Though he lost loved ones and survived many of his own near-death experiences in some of the most horrific engagements of the American Civil War (1861-1865), Capers’ trust in God and the path before him never faltered. In 1865, at the age of 28, he was promoted in the military to Brigadier General receiving recognition for his leadership and distinguished service. After the war Capers was elected Secretary of State for South Carolina. Even so, his calling to Christ was overpowering. The Governor told him, “You can be a Governor, Senator, or anything you like. You will be a fool to give all this to become a preacher.”

In 1866, Capers accepted a call to Christ Church Episcopal in Greenville, South Carolina, where he served for 20 years. He was consecrated as bishop of the State of South Carolina in 1893 and moved to Charleston. To escape the summer heat, he purchased a plot of land in Cedar Mountain, NC, and erected a cottage. This inspired in Mrs. Capers a dream to erect an Episcopal chapel for the local population. In 1894, this dream became a reality, and “Faith Chapel” was built.

“Faith Chapel” fell into disrepair following Capers death in 1908. In honor of his enduring influence and guidance, a disciple of Capers, the Reverend Dr. Alexander Mitchell from Greenville, began a movement to rebuild the chapel and dedicated the new church, “Faith Memorial Chapel,” in Capers’ memory in 1941.

The exhibit shares the story of Ellison Capers and the history of Faith Memorial Chapel. Historical artifacts, including Capers’ original military sword, the musket balls that nearly killed him, his war diaries and handwritten letters to his wife from the battlefield, and the preserved renderings for rebuilding the Chapel dedicated to his memory, highlight key moments of Capers life’s journey through war, faith, and salvation.

“Shine and Dine” on the railway! We cordially invite you to hop on board The Carolina Shine, GSMR’s All-Adult First Class Moonshine Car! We will be proudly serving hand crafted, triple-distilled, craft moonshine. Some of the smoothest tasting moonshine in the Carolinas!

Offered on the Nantahala Gorge excursion, this shine and dine experience begins in a renovated First Class train fleet car, The Carolina Shine. The interior features copper lined walls filled with the history of moonshining in North Carolina. Learn about the proud tradition that the Appalachians established when bootlegging was an acceptable way of life and local home brews were the best in town. Read about Swain County’s very own Major Redmond, the most famous mountain moonshine outlaw of the 19th century.