Possibly the shortest 5K ever run

April 2, 2012 By

It started possibly as a joke. It became, though, a worthwhile event.

Jimmy Smith Park 5KThe humor centered on Jimmy Smith Park, a small by-the-highway grassy area in Boone. It’s comprised of three benches, three rocks and a wrap-around sidewalk. Several weeks ago someone posted to facebook a crude drawing of the park, with the words Jimmy Smith Park 5K.

It was funny. But, in a region known for a variety of great outdoor runs, it also became a viral hit. Why not have a 5K at the shortest track ever run? To further attract giggles, it was scheduled on the most appropriate day possible – April Fools.

And lo, runners ran it. Another indication of the uniqueness of those who call the High Country home.

I am proud to say I participated in the 1st ever: Jimmy Smith Park 5km in Boone, NC on April Fools Day! Many folks thought this was just a joke with humorous banter via Facebook for the last 4 weeks. Runners showed up doubting it’s existence= yet we thrived!

The event started out as a kinda joke, yet artistic director/race director Sean Dunlap, seized the interest and created a real fund raiser for a Math Scholarship Fund! …

Jimmy Smith Park is a itty bitty park with a few rocks, plaque, benches and not enough room for a trash can. The paved loop sidewalk equals .1 mile, so Sean calculated 31 laps would equal 3.1 miles! Makes sense!

Long live the short run! Let it soon rival other area events, like the Blue Ridge Brutal 100, New River Marathon, The Bear, and many more. The High Country has a variety of outdoor events, whether on a bike or on foot, or even for just .1 miles.

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Things to do on a weekend – Enjoy some Mountain Home Music

March 16, 2012 By

Saint Patrick’s Day, and its music of the Irish, will be the theme of this Saturday’s Mountain Home Music. The musical event brings together a variety of instrumentalists in the area as a way to honor the diverse influences in the mountain area.

The St. Patrick’s Celebration is a particularly special event, with a talented cast.

David Johnson (fiddle, guitar, banjo, etc.) is a member of the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame and has twice been named National Studio Musician of the Year (in gospel music).

Mountain Home Music logoScott Freeman (mandolin, fiddle, guitar) is a member of the old-time band, Skeeter and the Skidmarks, and is the founder of The Fiddle & Plow, a concert series on “The Crooked Road” Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail.”

Mary Greene (piano, guitar, dulcimer) studied Appalachian music at Appalachian State University and teaches music in Ashe County. In 2011, she toured Ireland with a group from Mountain Home Music. Jacquelyn Bartlett (harp) has performed with The New York Philharmonic, The Rotterdam Philharmonic, The North Carolina Symphony, and many other orchestras and symphonies. She currently tours with The Fire Pink Trio.

Nancy Schneeloch-Bingham (flute, penny whistle) teaches flute at ASU. She also teaches each summer in Ireland and is a cofounder of the Celtic group, Sunday’s Well.

Joe Shannon (hammer dulcimer, concertina) is the founder and host of Mountain Home Music.

This weekend’s Mountain Home Music will take place at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in downtown Boone. Concerts are held in a variety of venues. Here’s a past performance featuring Upright & Breathin’ with Steve Lewis.

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Things to do on a weekend – Enjoy a college baseball game

March 3, 2012 By

Last weekend, the Appalachian State baseball team shocked the college baseball world, beating then No. 7 LSU two times in a three game series, including a 11-1 win in the rubber match. The Tigers had been considered a strong national title contender. The Mountaineers had been picked in preseason as a middle-of-the-conference team. The trip to Baton Rouge proved otherwise, and sparked excitement that this could be a special team.

Appalachain State baseball stadiumThe recent success and the series win at LSU owe mostly to pitching, and Pollard’s pitching background (he pitched at Davidson in the mid-1990s) makes it the program’s foundation. The Mountaineers have ranked fifth, third, second and fourth in the Southern Conference in ERA the last four seasons, with team ERAs declining from 6.14 to 4.42 in that span.

In the preseason, Pollard told BA, “(This) should be deepest pitching staff we have had in my eight years at Appalachian. We return three weekend starting pitchers and two of (the) three top arms out of bullpen. We should also be very strong defensively.”

The Mountaineers open their home schedule this weekend against Rider. They play in beautiful Smith Stadium, which has an outfield surrounded by a wooded area and a scenic view from the stands. Games have a great atmosphere, a luxury many communities lack. Dare to Live the Dream in a land of high-quality college baseball!

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Things to do on a weekend – Celebrate the 80s downhill

February 25, 2012 By

This weekend Beech Mountain turns into a culture club with a new sensation – adding some hot pink to its cold white slopes. It’s a Retro 80′s weekend at one of the High Country’s three ski resorts. Leg warmers. Big hair. Loud colors. Smooth operators are free to lose control for three days of the best of times while they beat it up and down the slopes. Sweet dreams are made of this.

Beech Mountain 80s weekendThe ski resort is also sponsoring a Rail Jam freestyle competition at 4:30 p.m. Saturday featuring a DJ playing retro tunes.

“We encourage folks to dig out their 80s ski garb and head up the mountain for an enjoyable ski weekend,” said Calder Smoot of Beech Mountain Tourism Development Authority. “The final weekend of February typically provides great skiing conditions, as well as smaller crowds because it’s just after the President’s Day holiday.”

Businesses throughout town are rolling out retro-themed deals.

Ski season continues for a few more weeks, as long as the temps remain cold enough to make snow. That translates to plenty of opportunities to make a run or two or a dozen before spring weather takes over. An eventful reason to consider Living the Dream in the High Country of North Carolina.

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So that’s what jumping into cold water sounds like

January 30, 2012 By

Blowing Rock Winterfest 2012 is complete, but odds are there are still a couple of people struggling to warm back up. A record 96 people participated in Saturday’s Polar Plunge. On the plus side, no ice in Chetola Lake! On the not-quite-negative, the water was a balmy 45 degrees. Not too dramatic but still, it was every man for himself.

Blowing Rock Polar PlungeAn estimated 1800 people rimmed the shores and docks the lake, eager to see the costumes, antics and “splashes” made by the assorted characters from all age groups. With Brown telling the jumpers they were “lucky” this year, what with the usual six inches of ice not formed across the top of the lake, the brave, timid, and intrepid alike braved the 45-degree waters. Many put on a brave face as if to say, “this will be nothin’”, but they were among the first to scream, “Oh my God!” or “Oh, #@)&*($!” upon their immersion.

At one point, Brown noted the many couples and father-daughters who jumped, saying, “Chivalry is dead in Blowing Rock. I’ve never seen so many guys shove their girlfriends, wives and daughters out of the way to get to the ladder first!”

“#@)&*($!” is reportedly Latin for, “Pardon me for my ignorance regarding how quickly I would adapt to the sudden change in temperature.” The is the first of two High Country plunges. Students at Appalachian State University in Boone are scheduled to make their descents into the campus’ Duck Pond February 16. Dare to Live the Dream – and do so drying off in near freezing water – only in the High Country of North Carolina.

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Things to do on a weekend – Jump in some really, really cold water

January 28, 2012 By

One of the highlights of the annual Blowing Rock Winterfest is the Saturday morning Polar Plunge. Dozens of brave, cold-defying souls line up for their opportunity to be swallowed by the January-chilled waters of Chetola Lake. Many do so in costume. Others decide less is more. The colder the better!

In previous years the lake top has been frozen. That shouldn’t be the case this weekend, thanks to moderate temperatures. But there should still be quite the party atmosphere when the plungers arrive.

Blowing Rock Winterfest polar Plunge“We are freezin’ for a reason,” said Tracy Brown, the tourism director for the town of Blowing Rock. …

“We usually have between 25 and 50 people jump into the lake,” Brown said.

The audience festively agonizes with the participants, many of whom show up in costumes.

And when it’s all over?

Judges award the locally famous “Golden Plunge” award to the plunger sporting the best costume, Brown said.

Money raised at the event also goes to the participants’ favorite charity.

This year’s charity recipient is Wine to Water. So plungers can feel good about raising money for a local cause, even when dripping wet with chills from an icy jump. Just another unique Saturday morning in the High Country of North Carolina.

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Things to do on a weekend – Rock the baby to the jams at Phipps

January 12, 2012 By

Great music is a wild native of the High Country. It’s colorful, masterful and often, right on schedule. Take for instance Friday nights at Phipps Store in Lansing. The old store in Ashe County welcomes one and all to listen and/or play a tune at its regular Friday night jams.

Friday Night JamThe music played on Friday nights are by local and regional musicians. The music is old time mountain songs and an occasional mountain ballad. All ages and music skill levels are welcome as dancers are too. The area boasts some of the best ‘pickers’ anywhere in these mountains. Many have gone professional and play with the most popular bluegrass bands. When the pros aren’t playing in Nashville, they usually come back home and you never know where they will show up to jam. Maybe even here on Silas Creek. The jam is free, donations welcome for the electricity and upkeep.

Tunes are so fine, even a baby can rock to ‘em. There are plenty more videos where that came from. Plus, facebook.

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Things to do on a weekend – Try snowshoeing for free

January 5, 2012 By

Saturday is Winter Trails Day, when more than 100 U.S. locales with good snow and great hikes welcome all ages to experience snowshoeing, for free. Sugar Mountain Resort in Avery County is participating for the 17th year. It will provide snowshoe rental and guided tour at no charge. All that’s required is interest, motivation and warm layers.

Sugar Mountain snowshoeingThe event offers children and adults new to snow sports the chance to try snowshoeing for free.

“It is a national effort to get people outdoors in winter with something that’s easy to do and not expensive,” said Kim Jochl, marketing director at Sugar Mountain.

It’s so inexpensive, in fact, that the snowshoe tours are free. Usually, tours are $20 per person, so this is a great deal for the family.

The tours last 45 minutes, starting every hour between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.. and will be tailored to suit the energy level of the group, Jochl said, from those who want to head straight up a ski slope to those who wish to stay on relatively level ground.

The Asheville Citizen-Times calls the event an “Asheville Area Adventure of the Week.” Yet it’s just one of many potential daily adventures available to those living the dream in the High Country of North Carolina.

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Things to do on a weekend – End the year dancing and skiing

December 30, 2011 By

Appalachian Ski MountainIt appears 2011 will end much as it began – with slopes packed with snow and go! A recent cold snap finally hit the High Country this week, allowing guns to go full bore on the area’s three ski slopes. It appears the New Year’s Eve weekend will be the first big ski weekend of the season.

It coincides with the traditional New Year’s Eve celebrations, including fireworks atop Appalachian Ski Mountain and Sugar Mountain Ski Resort. There’s also torchlight skiing and moonlight ice skating. Oh, and dancing. Lots and lots of dancing, as one list of entertainment outlines.

Dance it up, dine it out, drink it down – the High Country is the place to be on New Year’s Eve.

2011 is about to go on the shelf, and 2012 is on target to start out well, thanks to the numerous events being put on by restaurants, bars and resorts.

Only the High Country can offer something cold (snow), something hot (fireworks) and something cool (moonlight ice skating) to end and begin a year.

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Things to do on a weekend – Enjoy the Nutcracker on stage

December 9, 2011 By

Studio K NutcrackerIt’s been a High Country holiday tradition for 14 years, “The Nutcracker” presented by Studio K Dance Workshop. It’s a wonderfully intricate telling of Clara, her nutcracker doll, the Land of Snow, the Kingdom of Sweet and the Sugar Plum Fairy.

The locally produced show involves hundreds of dancers, more than 400 costumes and five backdrops on the stage of Appalachian State University’s Farthing Auditorium. The production will run for three days, beginning today through the weekend.

“It’s the tradition to my children, a lot of the children in this area, myself and the students,” Studio K owner Cay Harkin said. “I really do not remember what Christmas is like without it. It’s just as much of a tradition as putting up my Christmas tree.”

The High Country has strong youth dance programs. It’s a regular Christmas gift to see so much talent and hard work on display!

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