Sales and demonstrations of the craft occur throughout the day, and if you arrive a day ahead (Nov. 4th) you can take in Friday’s “Clay Olympics”, a wheel-throwing competition in which local and visiting potters compete for prizes and bragging rights.  The Clay Olympics take place from 1:00 to 3:00 in front of Tree House Pottery.  Behind Tree House is the wood kiln firing demonstration; the kiln will take most of Friday to fire and will be opened during the festivities on Saturday.

The village of Dillsboro is small enough to walk, yet varied enough to provide a full day’s worth of sights, sounds, tastes, and textures. There are plenty of working studios and friendly shops, and the autumn color of the Great Smoky Mountains is not to be missed. You might want to do some early holiday shopping — get the pick of the best crafts before the post Thanksgiving shoppers hit the village!

Dillsboro is about a 30 minute drive from Franklin, NC and Sit a Spell Cabin, and is close to Sylva and Cullowhee, NC as well.

Saturday’s festival hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine. Admission is $3 per person and includes a ticket for a day-long raffle with hourly drawings. Children under 12 are admitted free.  Parking is available at pay and free lots, and free shuttles will run all day between the parking lots and the festival.

For festival info, call (828) 631-5100, or visit: www.wncpotteryfestival.com. For lodging info, call the Jackson County Visitors Center at (800) 962-1911.

This post brought to you by the cutest cabin ever – Sit a Spell Cabin – in beautiful Oak Grove near Franklin, NC.

From 10 am until 4 pm on the 22nd, you can enjoy regional artists’ works — painting, sculpture, glass art, clay, paper art, fiber art, canning, fine art jewelry, wearable art, outdoor art, fine pottery, wood carving, ceramics and fine furniture.  Live music and street entertainers happen around and about Main Street to add to the atmosphere.

As you walk around Sylva, you’ll no doubt need refreshment. My husband and I always enjoy meals and coffee from Lulu’s On Main Restaurant, and ethically yummy pastries, breads, or cookies from Annie’s Naturally Bakery. I had a sald once at Lulu’s (the Szechwan salad, I believe) that was sooo gorgeous I had to take pictures of it, and then ate every last bite. Delish!

What a fun day you can have — head over to Sylva, enjoy the fall colors on the ride over, stroll and take in the arts, music, smile and make new friends, enjoy interesting conversations with other art lovers, have a little morning snack and coffee, stroll and visit some more, and top it off with a late afternoon lunch and maybe a glass of wine.

For more information, visit Dorey’s blog!

This post brought to you by Sit a Spell Cabin, located in Franklin, NC.

When visiting Sit a Spell Cabin, take some time to head a few miles south on 28, to Cowee-West’s Mill Historic District, and stop in at The T.M. Rickman General Store.  The store itself was built in 1895, and in 1925 Thomas Rickman bought it and operated it until he passed away in 1994.  The store, obtained in 2007 by The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee,  is now part of the 370 acre Cowee-West’s Mill National  Historic District.

The store hosts events, farmers markets, and now you can trade books at Rickmans.  Every Friday, from 3pm to 7pm, the store is open for book trading, and you can also enjoy live dulcimer music brought to you by Sally DeLawter and Phil Myers.  You’ll also want to check out the selection of produce and crafts of local vendors.

The T.M. Rickman Store is next to Cowee Elementary School, on Cowee Creek Road.  From Sit A Spell Cabin, head south on 28 about 5 miles, pass the motorcycle store on your left and look for the Cowee Convenience BP on your right.  SLOW DOWN!  Take a left onto Cowee Creek and you’re almost there.

For more info, visit the Cowee Community Development Organization and the Rickman Store’s web site.

I visited recently, just to do research, of course, and thoroughly enjoyed a blueberry muffin and a cinnamon roll.  (Yes, gluttony lives!)  The muffin was not overly sweet, plump blueberries burst in each bite, and the top was crumbly and yummy.  Definitely made by expert hands!  The cinnamon roll was even better – sweet dough the way it should be – not mushy and overly yeasty but with some structure and taste of its origins (wheat flour).  The cinnamon filling was restrained and flavorful, and the icing topped it off perfectly.  It was satisfying and not a huge jolt of sugar, preservatives, and commercial flavoring.

I was running errands, so I didn’t have time to enjoy their sun room seating area and a cup of freshly made fresh-roasted coffee.  My loss – it looked delightful and comfy and I plan to go back.

While I was there, I spied several loaves of the most gorgeous round french, a few baguettes, more muffins (bran with carrots and raisins), scones (how did I leave without one of them?), and gigantic oatmeal cookies.

Check out Riverblaze on the web, and make sure you stop by when visiting Franklin or just passing through.  You’ll be glad you did.  I was!

When you stay at Sit a Spell Cabin, north of Franklin, head into town!  Pick up a few muffins, some great bread, a couple of cookies, to bring back for your next days breakfast and lunch.  Take your time at Riverblaze, enjoy a cuppa coffee or tea, and relax into your vacation.

I’ve met so many vacationers who want to get some golfing in as they vacation in our corner of the state. So, without further ado …. Sequoyah National, the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians 18 hole public golf course …. opened in August 2009 … the first public golf course to open in the region since the 1990s.

Now, I am not a golfer, so I’m not going to try to write a review of the course! You can read an excellent article about the course in the WNC Travel Guide, and here’s more information (and lots of photos) at the Sequoyah National’s web site.

If you’re interested in visiting several scenic areas, for example, Highlands (SE of Franklin), the Cullasaja, Franklin, gem mining in Cowee (N of Franklin), golfing at Sequoyah in Whittier (stone’s throw from Cherokee and NE of Franklin), the Little Tennessee River and the Needmore Conservancy, then you want to pick a central spot to stay. Sit a Spell Cabin is central to all of the above – 12 miles north on 28 is where you make the turn onto 19 to head to Bryson City, Cherokee, Whittier, the Great Smoky Mountain Park. We are 12 miles north of the town of Franklin, and about 20 miles away from the Cullasaja, 64, and an incredible drive up to Highlands (totaling approximately 30 miles). Sit a Spell is in the midst of gem mining country, and quite a few of our guests tell us they had a great time gem mining and finding whoppers!

So come on down, enjoy all that WNC has to offer, and make yourself at home at Sit a Spell Cabin!

For those of you who like to plan around various Gemborees and festivals in be-yoo-ti-full Macon County – herewith the beginnings of events in 2010:

May 7 – 9 ~ Mother’s Day Gemboree

July 3 ~ 4th of July Fireworks and Fun Day

July 22 – 25 ~ Macon County Gemboree

October 15 – 17 ~ Leaf Lookers Gemboree

November 28 ~ Franklin’s Christmas Parade

For more info, call the Franklin Area Chamber of Commerce at 888-337-7529.

We’ll post more as details unfold.  As always, there is so much to do and see in Macon County and the surrounding counties.  Even if you can’t plan your vacation during a festival or Gemboree you will be well pleased with your visit to our gorgeous county.

Speaking of gorgeous, this post was brought to you by Sit a Spell Cabin, located in gem mining country, in the scenic Cowee/Oak Grove communities, 12 miles north of Franklin.

The weather is usually good – I can remember several Thanksgivings where we gloried in blue skies and sunshine, 60 degrees, and crispy crunchy leaves underfoot.  Take a walk in the countryside and listen to the birds, talk with your partner, breathe, smile, and be thankful.

Sit a Spell Cabin’s kitchen is completely equipped and several Thanksgiving dinners have been cooked and shared there.  If you like to go all out and cook from scratch, roast a turkey, mash potatoes, make your favorite cranberry relish, well, you go right ahead and enjoy yourself!  Take a break now and again to walk outside and enjoy the day … sit in the sun on the deck with some hot cider and a book … build up a fire in the fire pit and toss in some foil wrapped sweet and white potatoes.

Sit a Spell offers a new dishwasher so you can take it easy after your meal.  If we could find a way to include a butler with the cabin, we would, because we want you to relax and enjoy yourself while you’re visiting the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina.

What else would you do over a long Thanksgiving weekend around Franklin, NC?  Head into downtown Franklin on the 27th, where the shops will be ready for the holidays.  Walk and browse a bit, enjoy an espresso at Main Street Coffee, drool over the estate and modern jewelry at Stewarts on Main, and then oooh and aah at the annual Tree Lighting (7 pm) at the Clock Tower on the square on Main Street. 828-524-2516.

The 4th Annual Mistletoe Magic Arts and Craft Show happens Nov. 27 – Nov. 28 at the Macon County Community Building in Franklin.  Franklin is compact, so you’re only 10 minutes away, at the most, from town and the Main Street happenings.  828-524-6630.

Wave to Santa (several of them!) as the Annual Franklin Christmas Parade marches by … Sunday afternoon, 3 pm, Nov. 29 in downtown Franklin.  828-524-3161.

We’ll post more ideas about things to see and places to go over Thanksgiving and the winter months, so stay tuned!

**This post brought to you by Sit a Spell Cabin – 877-680-1989.**

Not easy to find – they are located behind (south of) Main Street – at 58 Stewart Street, Franklin, NC 28734. Park on Main Street and walk through the alley back to Stewart Street, or take a left from Main Street at the Town Square corner and another left almost immediately. Park nearby – you’re a stone’s throw from Rathskeller Coffee Haus. Their phone number is 828 – 349-0598.

When you visit our corner of western North Carolina, visit Franklin, and stop by Rathskeller Coffee Haus for good food and nice people.

This post brought to you by the good folks at Sit a Spell Cabin, north of gorgeous Cowee, 12 miles from Franklin, NC.]