Late June/July things to do

I went to college nearby and we%26#39;ve visited the Franklin area MANY times over the years, but always over Thanksgiving week. This year we are coming for two weeks in late June/early July and are searching for local festivals, celebrations, flea markets, farmers markets, etc. Anything within a 2 hour drive. We%26#39;re long-time fans of the Franklin Christmas parade, the ';Hard Candy Christmas'; market even after it moved and we still visit the Christmas market now in the community center.

We%26#39;ve already hiked most of the local waterfalls and will revisit our favorites to enjoy the leaves actually on the trees, don%26#39;t much care to do gem searching any more, absolutely refuse to go whitewater rafting and have a long list of local artists we frequent. Please, if you have other ideas we look forward to your suggestions.

Late June/July things to do

Here%26#39;s a link to the Chamber of Commerce Events calendar: franklin-chamber.com/visitorInformation/even…

Have you visited the Biltmore Estate?

Have you been to any of the indian reservations?

Have you been to Waynesville, Highlands, Cashiers?

Late June/July things to do

Thanks for the link. We%26#39;ll check it out. After 40+ years of visiting the area we%26#39;ve done pretty much everything listed in all of the guidebooks, including Foxfire. We are looking for new arts (festivals, galleries, etc.) and will definately check out the farmers markets and flea markets.

We%26#39;re also hoping there will be special events around the 4th of July.

Thanks again for your help.

What are your exact dates you are coming for? I have several ideas if you will travel 2 hours.

Our dates are June 27-July 9.

We will probably go over to Hiawassee if there is any music fest going on and make a drive through YHC for old times sake. We%26#39;ll make at least a day trip into Asheville and visit the gardens at Biltmore. One day will be a trip to Courthouse falls outside of Cashiers. It%26#39;s for sure I will spend some time fishing. Perry%26#39;s Water Gardens is definately on our to-do list since it is summer time.

Does Franklin still do the music on the square? That sounds like a nice way to spend an evening, especially when tied to a dinner at Cafe Rel (?) or the Frog and Owl.

The house we rent is out past Cowee school, so just the drive to town takes 20 minutes. Two hours is absolutely in our relm. Send any ideas you might have.

Thanks.

They have a new 1,500 arena opening in Franklin on July 3rd. The Oak Ridge Boys is the act performing if you like them. I will do some more thinking on ideas for you. Here is an article on the new arena.

www.maconnews.com/index.php…

Now that%26#39;s the kind of thing we are looking for! It%26#39;s been a while, but I%26#39;d love to ';dig a little deeper in the well boys'; with the ';Boys';. I%26#39;ve been reading about the 4th of July fireworks and feel it is something we want to do. Do you have a suggestion for best place to watch without being directly underneath the explosions? I%26#39;m thinking the parking lot around the outdoor Outfitters place right at the bridge. Probably would have to be there early to get a good spot.

We will visit the farmers market and count on getting nice sweet corn for numerous meals. I want to cook it on the cob and creamed style at least a couple of times. I long for homegrown tomatoe sandwiches on white bread with nothing but mayonaise and salt to accompany. Some fresh peas would be wonderful cooked with a slab of salt pork for flavoring. I%26#39;ll shell the damed things myself to get the freshness of just-off-the vine delishitoshity. Organic eggs with Nantahalia sausage must be included for several breakfasts. I%26#39;m lousy at making pretty bisquits from scratch, but will do my best to honor Grandmother Smith%26#39;s and Mama%26#39;s lessons.

Here%26#39;s a new question. Is the area still under a fire ban? We like to do a small ontained ';campfire'; in the evenings but have respected the drought conditions for two thanksgivings now. Have things eased any? Steaks cooked over oak wood are an alltime favorite in our family.

The drought in now over. May is going to set a record for the amount of rain in some areas.

Have you ever visited the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown. It is fun to spend a day there and have lunch there.

https://www.folkschool.org/

Thanks for still offering ideas.

While I was a student at Young Harris College I spent a great deal of time at the JCC folk school. We still make a trip over there every Thanksgiving to do Christmas shopping in their store.

It%26#39;s too bad we will miss the corn festival by only a couple of days. But we found a crafts fair at WCU which should be interesting. And we%26#39;ll go into Franklin for the 4th of July parade. It will be fun to compare it to the Christmas parade which we love attending.

scars