Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2018 - 22

Maple syrup festivals (at
left), like one in Highland County, Virginia,
are a sweet way to get
a sugary jump-start on
spring.

courtesy of HigHland county cHamber of commerce

Slice into a feast of festivals for 2018: Our annual guide
to getting-up-and-going offers great getaways for all
seasons-from Tennessee, Georgia and Kentucky to the
Virginias and the Carolinas. Look for food, wine, beer and
spirits plus music, arts and adventure in seven states:

MARCH
Step into some snow at the Homegrown Festival on March 2-4 followed by the Ballhooter Spring
Break on March 9-11, both held at
the Snowshoe Mountain Resort in
Pocahontas County, West Virginia
(800-336-7009).
Head south for the Chuck Wagon Cookoff on March 3 in Pigeon
Forge, Tennessee (mypigeonforge.
com), to discover cooks preparing
campfire meals.
Now, soak up spring with some
syrup. First, head to Highland County, Virginia, where the Maple Festival on March 10-11 and March
17-18 (highlandcounty.org) seeks to
share "Virginia's Sweet Spot." Look
for history tours at Eagle's Sugar
22 BlueRidgeCountry.com

Camp and Duff's Sugar House. And
discover arts, crafts and, of course,
plenty of pancakes drenched with
locally-made syrup. Then pop into
Pickens, West Virginia, for another
Maple Syrup Festival on March
17-18 with crafters and music plus
a ham and bean dinner (pickenswv.
com). Finally, just a couple miles
above the North Carolina border,
wander to the Whitetop Mountain Maple Festival on March
24-25 along U.S. 58 (mtrogersvfd-rs.
com) to tour the maple orchard at
Elk Garden, hear bluegrass music at
the Mount Rogers Fire Hall and savor syrup atop buckwheat pancakes
in Virginia.
Go rock like the Irish at Rock
City's Shamrock City, providing a celebration of all things green.
That includes the waters of the

iconic waterfall at Lookout Mountain, Georgia. Come hear bagpipers,
taste Irish food, sip green beer and
munch on green fudge on March
10-11 and March 17-18 (seerockcity.
com). You can also visit the St. Patrick's Day Parade & Festival
in Roanoke, Virginia, on March 17
(visitroanokeva.com).
Dollywood's Festival of Nations in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee,
kicks off on March 17 and runs to
April 9. This year's stars include the
National Dance Company of Siberia
and The Flamenco Kings (dollywood.
com). While in town, cover yourself
with Pigeon Forge's A Mountain
Quiltfest on March 20-23, featuring quilting classes, seminars and a
quilt show with a vendor mall (mypigeonforge.com).
In nearby Knoxville, Tennessee,
have a listen to the Big Ears Festival on March 22-25, featuring
multi-genres of music and performances (bigearsfestival.org).
Wrapping up March: The Blue
Ribbon Bluegrass Festival is being held at the community center
of Sautee, Georgia (www.snca.org) on
March 31.

APRIL
No fooling: On April 1, the Easter
Rabbit is set to make his annual appearance at the Biltmore on Easter
Sunday in Asheville, North Carolina
(biltmore.com). The event includes
Easter egg hunts at 11 a.m. and 1
p.m.
Go dance in Dobson at the
Surry Old Time Fiddlers Convention, a weekend party in North
Carolina on April 6-7 with square
dancing, folk songs, band contests
and workshops on the campus of
Surry Community College (surryoldtime.com). Or check out the Hub

http://www.visitroanokeva.com http://www.geonforge.com http://www.bigearsfestival.org http://www.snca.org http://www.biltmore.com http://www.highlandcounty.org http://www.time.com http://www.BlueRidgeCountry.com

Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2018

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