Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 14
Four Main Streets and a Whole Lot of Art
Burnsville, North Carolina
A story about shopkeepers, storytellers and superlatives.
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY JOAN VANNORSDALL
Y
14 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
ou can tell a lot about a town by its
claims to fame. Here's what drew me to
Burnsville:
1. Yancey County (of which Burnsville
is the county seat) is home to the
highest per capita concentration of artists in America.
2. The Parkway Playhouse is " proudly the oldest continually
operating summer theatre in North Carolina. "
3. Just outside Burnsville, the Mayland Earth to Sky
Park is the first certified dark sky park in the Southeast.
It houses the Bare Dark Sky Observatory, with the largest
telescope in North Carolina.
4. Featuring more than 250 juried vendors, the
longstanding Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair is " one of the
largest and most unique crafts fairs in the North Carolina
mountains. "
5. Rising above Burnsville is Mount Mitchell, the
highest peak east of the Mississippi.
Truth be told, that last one is what made me head
down the backroads of western North Carolina, thinking
that it would be pretty wonderful to stand 6,684
feet above sea level and look out at the Black Mountains
beauty.
My mistake was to think I could do that in early February,
when the long-range forecast called for high wind
and cold rain. " The Blue Ridge Parkway up there's
been closed off most of this week, " they told me at the
Burnsville-Yancey Chamber of Commerce office.
So what was there to do but wander the town of
Burnsville, learning its ways by walking its streets and
meeting its people?
North, South, East and West Main Streets all bring
you to the same place: Burnsville's beautiful town
square, its walkways lined with winter-blooming flowers
and leading to the statue of the town's namesake:
Captain Otway Burns, a naval hero of the War of
1812. " He guarded well our seas, let our mountains
honor him, " reads the base plaque.
Walk in any direction from the town square, and
you'll find artwork, shops, restaurants and historic
buildings like the 1833 Nu-Wray Hotel (another superlative-it
claims to be the oldest continuously op
http://www.BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 3
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 4
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 5
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 6
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 7
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 8
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 9
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 10
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 11
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 12
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 13
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 14
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 15
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 16
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 17
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 18
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 19
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 20
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 21
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 22
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 23
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 24
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 25
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 26
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 27
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 28
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 29
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 30
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 31
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 32
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 33
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 34
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 35
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 36
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 37
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 38
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 39
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 40
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 41
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 42
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 43
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 44
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 45
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 46
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 47
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 48
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 49
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 50
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 51
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 52
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 53
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 54
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 55
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 56
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 57
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 58
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 59
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 60
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 61
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 62
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 63
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 64
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 65
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 66
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 67
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 68
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 69
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 70
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 71
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 72
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 73
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 74
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 75
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 76
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 77
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 78
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 79
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 80
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 81
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 82
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - Cover4
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG1
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG2
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG3
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG4
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG5
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG6
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG7
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG8
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG9
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG10
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG11
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG12
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG13
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG14
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG15
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG16
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG17
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG18
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG19
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG20
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG21
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG22
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG23
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG24
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG25
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG26
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG27
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG28
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG29
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG30
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG31
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG32
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG33
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG34
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG35
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG36
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG37
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG38
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG39
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG40
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG41
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG42
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG43
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG44
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG45
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG46
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG47
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - BRPG48
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/blue-ridge-country-nov-dec-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/blue-ridge-country-sept-oct-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/blue-ridge-country-july-august-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/blue-ridge-country-may-june-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/blue-ridge-country-march-april-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/blue-ridge-country-january-february-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/blue-ridge-country-november-december-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/blue-ridge-country-sept-oct-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/blue-ridge-country-july-august-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/blue-ridge-country-may-june-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/blue-ridge-country-march-april-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/blue-ridge-country-january-february-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/blue-ridge-country-november-december-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/blue-ridge-country-september-october-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/blue-ridge-country-july-august-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/blue-ridge-country-may-june-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/BlueRidgeCountryMarchApril2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/blue-ridge-country-january-february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/BRCND21
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/BRCSO21
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brcja21
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2021_0506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2021_0304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2021_0102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2020_11_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2020_0910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2020_0708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2020_0506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2020_0304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2020_0102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2019_1112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2019_0910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2019_0708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2019_0506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2019_0304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2019_0102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2018_1112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2018_0910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2018_0708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2018_0506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2018_0304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2018_0102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2017_1112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2017_0910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2017_0708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2017_0506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2017_0304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20170102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_201612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20160910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20160708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20160506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20160304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20160102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20151112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20150910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20150708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20150506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20150304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20150102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20141112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20140910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20140708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20140506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20140304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20140102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20131112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20130910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20130708
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com