Teen Leadership Program
Pre-registration required. FREE for the 2021-2022 school year
August 23, 2021-June 3, 2022 | Monday-Friday | 3:30-6pm
6th-9th graders.
Looking for a cool and enriching alternative for your Teen to attend
this school year? We offer creative activities, diverse projects,
field trips, and more.
Locations: Grant, Shiloh, Stephens-Lee

What goes on behind the curtains? In this course students learn the ins and outs of technical theatre and backstage work, including safety, basic light and sound board operation, and stage management. Students will then put their skills to practice by covering technical and backstage roles during Youth Production Class performances of The Giver. Students will split tech and performance dates so some scheduling conflicts may be accommodated. Tuition will be $225.00 – payment plans and scholarships will both be available.

Classes: Mar 17-May 5, 2022 | Thursdays at 4:30-6:00 PM

Tech Week (Group 1): May 9-12, 2022 | Monday through Thursday| 4:30-6:30 PM
Tech Week (Group 2): May 16-19, 2022 | Monday through Thursday| 4:30-6:30 PM

Performances (Group 1): Saturday, May 14 at 2:30 PM and Sunday, May 15 at 6:30 PM
Performances (Group 2): Saturday, May 21 at 2:30 PM and Sunday, May 22 at 6:30 PM

Registration will begin on Tuesday, February 8, 2022.

Ages 12+

Heralded by The New Yorker as “thrilling” and “genuinely moving.”

From the producer of The Lion King and Aladdin, Frozen, the Tony^®-nominated Best Musical, is now on tour across North America and the critics rave, “It’s simply magical!” (LA Daily News).

Frozen features the songs you know and love from the original Oscar^®-winning film, plus an expanded score with a dozen new numbers by the film’s songwriters, Oscar winner Kristen Anderson-Lopez and EGOT winner Robert Lopez. Oscar winner Jennifer Lee (book), Tony and Olivier Award winner Michael Grandage (director), and Tony winner Rob Ashford (choreographer) round out the creative team that has won a cumulative 16 Tony Awards.

An unforgettable theatrical experience filled with sensational special effects, stunning sets and costumes, and powerhouse performances, Frozen is everything you want in a musical: It’s moving. It’s spectacular. And above all, it’s pure Broadway joy.

Official Website

The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad welcomes back The Bunny Hopper Express Easter Train April 15 & 16! This 4 and half-hour round trip special event train departs the historic Bryson City Depot at 10:30 am and will travel along the Nantahala Gorge River to our picturesque layover destination, for Easter-themed activities and Egg Hunt.

• Classes of Service
• Class Comparison
• How to Purchase
• Schedule

Passengers will be on the lookout for those train-hopping bunnies who have snuck on to take a free ride! Festivities include an Easter egg hunt with prizes, a give-away bag with activities to enjoy during the train ride, and a yummy Easter treat for our junior railroaders to enjoy at the layover. There will also be plenty of opportunities for pictures with our bunny hoppers, so do not forget your camera!

Pre-registration required. FREE for the 2021-2022 school year
August 23, 2021-June 3, 2022 | Monday-Friday | 2:45-6pm
K-6th graders.
Does your child enjoy having fun and making new friends? Offering
arts, crafts, special events, homework assistance and more!
Families currently enrolled in the school system’s reduced or free
meal program, please contact your recreation center for discount
fee information.
Locations: Burton, Grant, Montford, Shiloh, Stephens-Lee

Montford Pre-Teen Afterschool Program
Pre-registration required. FREE for the 2021-2022 school year
August 23, 2021 – June 3, 2022 | Monday-Friday | 3:30-6pm
5th-6th graders.
New program designed to meet the needs of your pre-teen.
Providing time dedicated to school assignments, life skills, arts,
communication, leadership, fitness, nutrition, and loads of fun.
Location: Montford

Teen Leadership Program
Pre-registration required. FREE for the 2021-2022 school year
August 23, 2021-June 3, 2022 | Monday-Friday | 3:30-6pm
6th-9th graders.
Looking for a cool and enriching alternative for your Teen to attend
this school year? We offer creative activities, diverse projects,
field trips, and more.
Locations: Grant, Shiloh, Stephens-Lee

Game Highlight (2): Fireworks Night

Post-Game Fireworks Show Presented By Ingles

Game Highlight: Dollar Dog Friday

$1 hotdogs served every Friday, thanks to Blossman Gas!

Heralded by The New Yorker as “thrilling” and “genuinely moving.”

From the producer of The Lion King and Aladdin, Frozen, the Tony^®-nominated Best Musical, is now on tour across North America and the critics rave, “It’s simply magical!” (LA Daily News).

Frozen features the songs you know and love from the original Oscar^®-winning film, plus an expanded score with a dozen new numbers by the film’s songwriters, Oscar winner Kristen Anderson-Lopez and EGOT winner Robert Lopez. Oscar winner Jennifer Lee (book), Tony and Olivier Award winner Michael Grandage (director), and Tony winner Rob Ashford (choreographer) round out the creative team that has won a cumulative 16 Tony Awards.

An unforgettable theatrical experience filled with sensational special effects, stunning sets and costumes, and powerhouse performances, Frozen is everything you want in a musical: It’s moving. It’s spectacular. And above all, it’s pure Broadway joy.

Official Website

Come experience the national parks! On five days in 2022, all National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission to everyone. Mark your calendar for these entrance fee–free dates in 2022. Please check operating status at this park and others before traveling as there may be changes due to Covid-19.

Every April, during the presidentially proclaimed National Park Week, we join with the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks, to celebrate America’s treasures. National Park Week is a time to explore amazing places, discover stories of history and culture, help out, and find your park.

Celebrate National Park Week 2022 with us April 16 to 24! Parks across the country will host a variety of special programs, events, and digital experiences. Entrance fees are waived on April 16 to kick off National Park Week and encourage everyone to enjoy their national parks.

The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad welcomes back The Bunny Hopper Express Easter Train April 15 & 16! This 4 and half-hour round trip special event train departs the historic Bryson City Depot at 10:30 am and will travel along the Nantahala Gorge River to our picturesque layover destination, for Easter-themed activities and Egg Hunt.

• Classes of Service
• Class Comparison
• How to Purchase
• Schedule

Passengers will be on the lookout for those train-hopping bunnies who have snuck on to take a free ride! Festivities include an Easter egg hunt with prizes, a give-away bag with activities to enjoy during the train ride, and a yummy Easter treat for our junior railroaders to enjoy at the layover. There will also be plenty of opportunities for pictures with our bunny hoppers, so do not forget your camera!

Yoga with baby goats…it is just as ridiculous and amazing as it sounds. You can expect to grin, giggle, move, and flow alongside the sweetest little snuggly socialites. The goats may pull your attention away from your movement practice from time to time but they are the most adorable anchors to the present moment and can spark pure joy.

Upcoming public classes:
April 16
April 30
May 14
May 28

Private classes available daily with advanced notice!

Disconnect with stress and connect with loving, social baby goats! This is a unique opportunity to spend time outdoors and let the busyness of the world melt away for a moment. You can expect a beginner-friendly yoga class that is easy to follow…and rejoin if you find yourself distracted throughout.

Wear loose fitting clothing, long pants, shirts with sleeves, and clothes that you don’t mind getting a bit dirty. Please plan on bringing your own yoga mat or you may rent a mat in advance for $5. These events will be held rain or shine. In the case of inclement weather, we’ll move under the cover of the open air milking barn. Don’t forget to bring an open mind and adventurous spirit! It is sure to be an experience to remember!

Come get glammed up with Magical Fairy Hair!
You can still wash, brush, comb, curl, flat iron, (up to 450°!), color, straighten, perm, blow it dry, get your haircut, etc.
Do whatever you normally do to your hair -but most of all; ENJOY IT!
Long lasting, super fun, and affordable!
Covid precautions will be used.
Space is limited. Appointments Required.
Book Now at FairyKimSparkles.com/calendar

Drop into our studio to experiment freely and collaborate using different materials, tools, and techniques! Visit a chosen artwork in the galleries for inspiration, then head to the studio to create. All ages and abilities are welcome (children must be accompanied by an adult); no reservations are required.

Please note:

• In accordance with Buncombe County and city directives, a limited number of people can be in the studio at one time. To ensure all participants have time to create, we may ask you to limit your time.

Heralded by The New Yorker as “thrilling” and “genuinely moving.”

From the producer of The Lion King and Aladdin, Frozen, the Tony^®-nominated Best Musical, is now on tour across North America and the critics rave, “It’s simply magical!” (LA Daily News).

Frozen features the songs you know and love from the original Oscar^®-winning film, plus an expanded score with a dozen new numbers by the film’s songwriters, Oscar winner Kristen Anderson-Lopez and EGOT winner Robert Lopez. Oscar winner Jennifer Lee (book), Tony and Olivier Award winner Michael Grandage (director), and Tony winner Rob Ashford (choreographer) round out the creative team that has won a cumulative 16 Tony Awards.

An unforgettable theatrical experience filled with sensational special effects, stunning sets and costumes, and powerhouse performances, Frozen is everything you want in a musical: It’s moving. It’s spectacular. And above all, it’s pure Broadway joy.

Official Website

Did you know our staff had a wild side? Join a Park naturalist to meet some of our live Animal Ambassadors and learn what kind of wildlife inhabits the Park and their important roles in the ecosystem. Some of our best teachers have feathers, fur, shells or scales!

Heralded by The New Yorker as “thrilling” and “genuinely moving.”

From the producer of The Lion King and Aladdin, Frozen, the Tony^®-nominated Best Musical, is now on tour across North America and the critics rave, “It’s simply magical!” (LA Daily News).

Frozen features the songs you know and love from the original Oscar^®-winning film, plus an expanded score with a dozen new numbers by the film’s songwriters, Oscar winner Kristen Anderson-Lopez and EGOT winner Robert Lopez. Oscar winner Jennifer Lee (book), Tony and Olivier Award winner Michael Grandage (director), and Tony winner Rob Ashford (choreographer) round out the creative team that has won a cumulative 16 Tony Awards.

An unforgettable theatrical experience filled with sensational special effects, stunning sets and costumes, and powerhouse performances, Frozen is everything you want in a musical: It’s moving. It’s spectacular. And above all, it’s pure Broadway joy.

Official Website

Celebrate the glory of Easter with song, scripture and spiritual music as a spectacular sunrise ascends over Lake Lure. Chimney Rock’s nondenominational Easter Sunrise Service has become a legendary event in western North Carolina. The event is free but reservations are required.

The Episcopal Church of St. John in the Wilderness welcomes children of all ages to join the Young Families group hosting the annual Easter Egg Hunt at 10am on
Easter Sunday, April 17.
Participants are encouraged to join the fun in the Rector’s Garden and Parish Hall Lawn next to the Parish Hall across Rutledge Drive from the church. Parking is
available.

Heralded by The New Yorker as “thrilling” and “genuinely moving.”

From the producer of The Lion King and Aladdin, Frozen, the Tony^®-nominated Best Musical, is now on tour across North America and the critics rave, “It’s simply magical!” (LA Daily News).

Frozen features the songs you know and love from the original Oscar^®-winning film, plus an expanded score with a dozen new numbers by the film’s songwriters, Oscar winner Kristen Anderson-Lopez and EGOT winner Robert Lopez. Oscar winner Jennifer Lee (book), Tony and Olivier Award winner Michael Grandage (director), and Tony winner Rob Ashford (choreographer) round out the creative team that has won a cumulative 16 Tony Awards.

An unforgettable theatrical experience filled with sensational special effects, stunning sets and costumes, and powerhouse performances, Frozen is everything you want in a musical: It’s moving. It’s spectacular. And above all, it’s pure Broadway joy.

Official Website

Did you know our staff had a wild side? Join a Park naturalist to meet some of our live Animal Ambassadors and learn what kind of wildlife inhabits the Park and their important roles in the ecosystem. Some of our best teachers have feathers, fur, shells or scales!

Heralded by The New Yorker as “thrilling” and “genuinely moving.”

From the producer of The Lion King and Aladdin, Frozen, the Tony^®-nominated Best Musical, is now on tour across North America and the critics rave, “It’s simply magical!” (LA Daily News).

Frozen features the songs you know and love from the original Oscar^®-winning film, plus an expanded score with a dozen new numbers by the film’s songwriters, Oscar winner Kristen Anderson-Lopez and EGOT winner Robert Lopez. Oscar winner Jennifer Lee (book), Tony and Olivier Award winner Michael Grandage (director), and Tony winner Rob Ashford (choreographer) round out the creative team that has won a cumulative 16 Tony Awards.

An unforgettable theatrical experience filled with sensational special effects, stunning sets and costumes, and powerhouse performances, Frozen is everything you want in a musical: It’s moving. It’s spectacular. And above all, it’s pure Broadway joy.

Official Website

“That was my mission on this album: To really set these songs up so that they have a life of their own,” says Samantha Fish about Kill or Be Kind, her sixth solo album and her debut on Rounder Records. “Strong messages from the heart – that’s what I really set out for.” Indeed, what comes across immediately on hearing the album is the extraordinary level of songcraft on its eleven tracks, the way these songs are so smartly put together to deliver a potent emotional impact.

Anyone who has ever heard Fish’s previous albums knows that she has earned a place in the top rank of contemporary blues guitarists and that her voice can wring the soul out of a ballad and belt out a rocker with roof-shaking force. And, rest reassured, those virtues are fully in evidence on Kill or Be Kind. But each of the songs on the album does far more than simply provide a setting for Fish’s pyrotechnics. They tell captivating stories, set up by verses that deftly set the scene, choruses that lift with real feeling, and hooks that later rise up in your thoughts, even when you’re not aware that you’re thinking of music at all. It’s the kind of songwriting that emerges when raw talent is leavened by experience and aspiration, and when a committed artist genuinely has something to say. Those qualities make Kill or Be Kind a genuine artistic breakthrough for Fish.

“I think I’ve grown as a performer and as a player,” she explains. “I’ve become more respectful of the melody. You can go up and down the fret board and up and down your vocal register, but that’s not going to be as powerful as conveying a simple melody that people can really connect to and sing themselves.” To help bring those elements to her music, Fish sought out high-quality songwriting collaborators – the likes of Jim McCormick (who has worked with Fish before and also written for Luke Bryan and Keith Urban); Kate Pearlman (who has worked with Kelly Clarkson); Patrick Sweeney; Parker Millsap; and Eric McFadden. The result is an album on which each song is distinct, but the complete work hangs together as a coherent, entirely satisfying statement. “When you get to this point in your life as an artist,” Fish says, “it’s good to work with others, because it makes you stretch. I think you hear a lot of that nuance on the record, songs that have a pop sensibility to them, hooks that really pull you in.”

You get a good sense of the range the album covers from the first two songs released. Fish propels “Watch It Die” with an insistent guitar riff, but near the song’s end two female background singers lend the song a haunting soulful feel. Meanwhile, “Love Letters” moves on an insinuating, stop-time riff in its verses until it bursts in passion on its chorus. Both songs use horn sections for finesse and texture. “Love Letters” also introduces one of the album’s central themes: the allure of losing yourself in love – and the dangers of it.  “Keep waking up in the bed I made,” Fish sings. “Forget the pain when you wanna play/I’m back to broken when you go away.”

“That’s just a love-sick song,” Fish says, laughing. “like I think I was when I wrote it.” The title track, a seductive ballad, offers a lover a stark choice: “Make up your mind/I can kill or be kind.” To explain that dichotomy, Fish says, “It’s funny how love can be so fickle, how quickly you go from object of affection to one of disdain. I’ve always found that dynamic interesting. That track is full of that duality,” she adds, laughing. “I also loved the Memphis sound of the horns on there. They sound modern, but it’s got this vintage feeling as well.” The songs “Dirty,” “Love Your Lies” and “Fair-Weather” explore similar themes – how deceit, self-deception and shifting expectations can alter the course of life and love. The affecting ballad “Dream Girl” stands the endearment of its title on its head and explores the dilemma of a love not coming to fruition. “I wish you’d take the rest of me,” Fish sings. “These tears, they kill your fantasy.” On “She Don’t Live Around Here Anymore,” a soul ballad once again bolstered by tasteful horn parts, the singer confronts the feeling of being used and finds empowerment in walking away.

The album is framed by songs — “Bulletproof” and “You Got It Bad (Better Than You Ever Had).” “Bulletproof digs into the theme of vulnerability, about it being mistaken for weakness, and how we often times feel the need to wear a mask to survive in the world today, while “You Got It Bad (Better Than You Ever Had)” is about working towards your dreams and the knifes edge we often walk to reach our goals.

“Trying Not to Fall in Love With You” finds the singer not wanting to rush a relationship – and therefore undermine it. “I fall fast,” Fish admits, “I have to remember to take care and not scare the person away.”

To make Kill or Be Kind, Fish chose to work at the legendary Royal Studios in Memphis, with Scott Billington as producer. “I worked at Royal before, when I made my Wild Heart album,” she says. “The soul in the walls, the vibe – you can feel it in that place. I’m such a fan of Al Green, Ann Peebles and all the classic recordings that happened there. Memphis just kept calling to me. I’ve always felt so inspired there.” As for Billington, a three-time Grammy winner, Fish appreciated both his open-mindedness and his willingness to ease her out of her comfort zone. “Scott allowed me to see the building-out process of the album all the way through, from the top to the bottom,” she says. “Bringing in background singers and synthesizers, which I’d never done on an album before, that added an extra edge. Honestly, it was a challenge. It pushed me to think about the songs differently. That trust from my producer gave me the freedom to really take some risks.”

Having completed an album that she believes in so strongly – “This is me coming through, my personality,” she says – Fish is eager to bring it to the world. “I got the moon in the back of my mind, and I want to shoot for it!” she declares. “I want to reach over genre lines and get out to as many people as possible. This album is so broad – and it’s all me. So I’m just hoping it catches people and appeals to them.”

She concludes, “Overall my big goal, career-wise, is to contribute something different and new to music. I want to give something that stands apart and yet is timeless.” With Kill or Be Kind, Samantha Fish is well on her way along that path. – Anthony DeCurtis

Did you know our staff had a wild side? Join a Park naturalist to meet some of our live Animal Ambassadors and learn what kind of wildlife inhabits the Park and their important roles in the ecosystem. Some of our best teachers have feathers, fur, shells or scales!