Spring is just around the corner....

Although it is quite chilly this morning, there are signs of Spring everywhere.  Not only are we seeing the early Spring flowers peaking out of the ground everywhere we look, our neighbor which gets more sunlight than we do, has flowers on his daffodils.  

This morning, I heard the most beautiful song bird right outside my kitchen.  I looked outside trying to see what type of bird it was, but couldn't find it.  We have a large variety of birds on our property, often we have a wonderful nature produced concert going on.  

This past winter was colder than any we have experienced in the last few years, but it is almost over and we are looking forward to Spring.  We live in Cherokee County and this winter has brought us a lot of rain which we are very thankful for.  It  should do wonders for the watershed of North Carolina bringing great photo opportunities throughout this coming year.  We would love to hear from others throughout the mountains about what is happening in your part of the mountains.

We are in the process of updating the 2009 Events and Festivals on the Highlander, take a look at the ones we have on line and plan a trip to the mountains.  If you know of any other events or festivals that should be listed on the Highlander for all our readers to learn about, please take the time to let us know at publishers@theblueridgehighlander.com.  Thousands of readers come to the Highlander every day looking for things to do in the mountains and we would like to help them find what they are looking for.

We will be posting our latest community profile this week on Rutherford County North Carolina, home of Chimney Rock  at Chimney Rock State Park.  We found a lot of great places to explore in Rutherford County and wonderfully friendly people which made our trips there very special.  So keep in touch to read about all the great things we found in our visit.  

We have our 2009 Easter trip planned.   We are excited to be going to the Sunrise Easter Service on the top of Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park.    We are excited and really looking forward to experiencing this one of a kind event.  We are told that seeing the sun rise at the conclusion of the ceremony is awe-inspiring. We can't wait, come join the Highlander for this very special event.

Write to us publishers@theblueridgehighlander.com and let us know what you would like for us to cover this year in the Highlander, we want to be your source of the "Best the Mountains Have to Offer.

Christmas Festivals in the Mountains

Christmas is right around the corner, and the reports all say that retail spending is higher than last year what a great report, it is nice to have some good news for a change.   We are really looking forward to the new President's plans and know this country can get back on the right track with some hard work and a lot of faith.

Mr. Highlander is working on this year's Holiday Tale, and it sounds like a perfect message for the end of this year and a fresh new beginning.  If you haven't read our past Holiday Tales, we have a nice collection and you can find links on the front page of the Highlander.

It is a great time escape to the mountains to enjoy a few festivals. Christmas events are now on line for Georgia, Western North Carolina and Tennessee, click to find a few to attend.

Here are a couple of our favorites and one unusual one we are visiting for the first time this coming Saturday, click the links for more information.

Christmas at the Fort December 6, 2008

Christmas for the Kids at John C. Campbell Folks School December 20, 2008

Now, for the unusual...

the Highlander is looking forward to attending this events for the first time.

Santa is rappelling down Chimney Rock to get ready for his Christmas Eve trip December 6th & 13th 2008

We will be reporting on this event in our next newsletter, along with our 2008 Holiday Tale.

Enjoy the Holidays and Count your Many Blessings, Mrs. Highlander

Hiawassee Art Hop

Join us in the mountain on August 28th, 5:00 - 8:00 pm

An Evening of Art and a Progressive Light Dinner. 

Visit each of the galleries to be eligible for a Door Prize valued at $200.

The event is free and the experience unlimited.

for more information contact ArtWorks Artisan Centre, 308 Big Sky Drive,

Behind Holiday Inn Express, Hiawassee Georgia, 

for more info call 706-896-0932 or email mtnregartscraftsguild@hotmail.com