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Taste the New Delights

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Chasing Sunsets and Waterfalls

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There are so many great articles in the pages of The Laurel Magazine, sometimes you want to read them again. You won’t miss a thing. Use these helpful search parameters and find just what you’re looking for about Highlands, NC and Cashiers, NC.

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Birds, Bees, & Butterflies

Many of us wonder what we can do to help reverse the alarming declines in many bird, butterfly, and bee populations.    One way we can make a real difference is by using native plants in our home landscapes, because they are by far more nutritional than exotics for native insects needed for pollination and as food for nestling birds.  …

Dragonflies on the Plateau

Dragonflies are found throughout North Carolina in a large variety of colors and sizes. The state boasts 187 species of dragonflies and their smaller cousins damselflies, which are collectively in the insect order Odonata.  The scientific name Odonata, comes from “odon,” the Greek root for tooth and refers to this group’s sharply toothed jaws that hint at their predatory habits, said Jason …

A Virtual Masterpiece

As Covid-19 cuts its swath across the South and Western North Carolina, and events close to maintain social distancing, The Cashiers Designer Showhouse will be thriving virtually this year.   As Chair Melissa Hudson noted, “This moment demands a pause of our in-person tradition and a play on creativity.”      Ticket Holders to the 2020 Showhouse will be able to take a state-of-the-art …


Mountain Motoring Cranks Up

Earlier this year, with the coronavirus bringing vast sectors of life to a standstill, organizers of the June 13th annual Highlands Motoring Festival, made the difficult decision to cancel the event despite the fact that nearly all the events were sold out.   What had become one of the South’s most popular automotive events and voted “Best Concours” by Classic …

For the Benefit of Blue Ridge

Add to the toll of the world’s pandemic crisis: The 2020 Annual Songwriters’ Round, featuring Country Music Songwriters’ Hall of Fame honoree Rivers Rutherford and a host of other entertainers to benefit the Blue Ridge School Educational Foundation.   The foundation made the decision to cancel this month’s event at the Trillium Club to protect the health of everyone involved …

Marketplace’s Fall Bounty

One of the surprising bright spots in all the Covid-19 chaos has been that the Highlands Marketplace has enjoyed an uptick in interested shoppers since its delayed opening the last Saturday in June.  Don Deal, a local farmer and current organizer for the Highlands Marketplace, said the 15-year-old Saturday market has seen steady attendance and sales and is expected to …


The Climate of Our Country

In 2018 and 2019 The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center of Highlands hosted a weeklong retreat that explored the topics of Climate Change, Social Justice and the intertwining of these two issues.  Today, as our social fabric has been torn apart by the pandemic and civil unrest in unprecedented ways, this year’s event, happening September 16-21, seems most pertinent than …

Orchard Session Series

The magical trilogy of music, the outdoors and the mountains come together once again at The Farm at Old Edwards on October 29.  From 6 to 8 P.M., in that wondrous interlude between the sun settling and the moon ascending, singer-songwriter-recording artist Mike Kinnebrew will perform under the boughs in the blissful Orchard setting.  Even the most exacting country-music fans …

Days of Dazzling Dahlias

Don’t miss the Highlands Historical Society’s 10th Annual Dahlia Festival, which will be held this year during the weekend of September 19.  Covid is impacting every area of our lives but nature is thriving, and the much-loved and enduring dahlias will provide us with a bit of normalcy and beauty when they bloom in late summer. The Historical Society has …


Libraries: Resource Centers

Despite the upheaval that Covid-19 caused last school semester, and the relative uncertainty that permeated the fall 2020 semester start, area libraries are consistent resource centers for parents of young school-age children, as well as for independent high school learners.  Carlyn Morenus, branch librarian at Hudson Library in Highlands, pointed out that the public always has access to a free …

It’s Quackers!

But a cluster duck doesn’t deter Highlands Rotary. Even though July 4th’s celebrations were postponed until Labor Day, the town’s enthusiasm for a jolly good race is wild with anticipation. In fact, Rotary and their annual Derby, albeit somewhat mallard-justed, is supremely ducky. Rain or shine, with or without quarantine, the ducks will be bob-bob-bobbin’ along the Mill Creek run …

November’s Big Block Party

The heady combination of wine, amuse-bouche, and cut-a-rug live music will power a block party that stretches all the way from Highlands to Cashiers.  You may think that concerns about the Coronavirus would clip the wings of any sort of soaring party.  On the contrary though, 2020 will see the staging of an event that extends over three days and …