Traditional dress is required.

At this festival, you will find handmade quality arts and crafts, i.e. quilting (hand or machine), weaving, knitting, tatting, crocheting, sewing (clothing, dolls), works of art—plus chair caning, blacksmithing, wood carving, botanical drawing, dulcimer making, and much more.

On Saturday the festivities start at 9 am at the Jackson County Recreation Center, with fabric arts and crafts booths inside the gym and traditional folk craft tent booths outside the facility. Foods will be presented by local churches and/or civic groups.

The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad Railfest

Great Smoky Mountains Railroad announces Railfest 2011! Headliners for Railfest 2011 include Motorcars from across America, Steam Engine #1149,  and Jackson County 4-H Youth Development & CSA’s "Heritage Alive!" Entertainment with the seventh annual Children's Talent Show (see below for application). The fun begins Friday night with a special “Wet Your Whistle” kick-off celebration train reception. The Mountain Craft Festival officially opens at 9am on Saturday (going through Sunday 4pm), offering guests wonderful handmade crafts, a taste of railroad food, memorabilia, storytelling, dance, live music, special excursions and events that happen only once a year.

General Information:
In the upcoming 9th year, the Mountain Craft Fair section of the upcoming 2011 GSMR Railfest will be Saturday from 9am until 5pm, and on Sunday from 9am until 4pm.
        "The deadline for entries in the Mountain Craft Fair is August 1, 2011," says Catch the Spirit of Appalachia, who is coordinating the fair for GSMR. "Those wishing to have a booth for the Railfest Fair should check below for the link to the application and Policies for the Mountain Craft Fair." 
More information can be found at http://gsmr.com/
      
Application and Policies:  

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ColorFest, Art of the Blue Ridge
Downtown Sylva, NC, Main Street

Catch the Spirit of Appalachia, Inc. invites regional Blue Ridge Mountain artists to display and demonstrate their art form in the 3rd annual event, ColorFest, Art of the Blue Ridge. This art festival has been formed to increase community awareness of the immense talent of our western North Carolina fine artists. ColorFest, Art of the Blue Ridge is produced by Catch the Spirit of Appalachia, Inc. with support from the Jackson County Visual Arts Association, the Jackson County Arts Council and Jackson County Chamber of Commerce.
      Beginning October 1st, 2011, each participating artist will be given a prime location inside the shops in Downtown Sylva where his/her work will be spotlighted during the beautiful Fall Color Season in Western North Carolina. On the day of ColorFest, Art of the Blue Ridge, Saturday,, the artists will set up easels on the street outside the shops, under awnings, where they will interact with the public from 10 am until 4 pm. During the art festival the artists have the opportunity to demonstrate how their art is created, talk with the public and sell artwork. This is a valuable opportunity for the visitors and residents of the Blue Ridge Mountains to see artists at work and learn about the creative process.

To Apply, interested artists call Doreyl Ammons Cain at 828-293-2239 or Amy Ammons Garza at 828-631-4587. To receive an application, click on the link below:
ArtBluRdgApplicationAug

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Heritage Alive! Mountain Youth Talent Contests
Produced by Jackson County 4-H Youth Developement
Assisted by Catch the Spirit of Appalachia

Download the appropriate guidelines and application form:

2011 participants in the Mountain Youth Talent Contest at Greening Up the Mountains Festival, Sylva, NC


Jackson County Heritage Preservation Commission
2011 Poster Contest winners


Listen to the voices of the winners of both talent contests on the April 30, 2011 Stories of Mountain Folk Radio Show posted online at;
http://www.storiesofmountainfolk.com/

To view all the photos of the interviews of these young poster winners, go to:
https://picasaweb.google.com/111834411138592598549/ContestWinnersShotsApril232011#