Sylva kicks off spring start with food, music, and other entertainment for the 27th annual Greening Up The Mountains festival on Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with no cost to attend. According to their website, the event usually has upwards of 12,000 attendees and 175 vendor booth spaces on Main Street and Bridge Park.
The festival also offers a 5K run/walk for attendees that starts at 9 a.m.. The course begins at Mark Watson Park and loops the runners back to the starting area. The race day registration fee is $20 and starts at 8 AM.
The vendor booths are filled with arts and crafts, food, and non-profit organizations that are mostly local to the Western North Carolina area. The arts and crafts span from jewelry to pottery and are usually hand-made by the vendors in attendance.
Music, beer and food
Local craft breweries will also be in attendance and four live music performances will be happening throughout the day at Bridge Park, alongside Junior Appalachian musicians at 1 p.m. on Main Street.
The festival’s live music kicks off with Hannah Thomas, a 26-year-old from Covington, Georgia who has been professionally performing her own twist of roots rock for a decade, according to her website. She has toured with Indigo Girls and has shared the stage with the likes of rock-and-roll Hall of Famer Pat Benatar, Melissa Etheridge, Kristian Bush of Sugarland, and more. Her performance starts at 10 a.m. and lasts until 11 a.m. at Bridge Park.
After Thomas, from 11:30-12:30 a.m. is The Maggie Valley Band. Two sisters, Whitney and Caroline Miller are a “blend of country and indie rock that captivates audiences with their heartfelt melodies and authentic storytelling” according to their website. They have collaborated with David Mayfield, Matt Langston of Eleventyseven, and Zakk Garner.
The next two artists to perform at the festival are Bird in Hand and the Robertson Boys. Bird in Hand are a married duo, Bryan and Megan Thurman, that have performed “all over the Appalachian area, as well as across the country,” with what their website describes as “Appalachian Thunder Folk” music. The Robertson Boys are a group of four, David Robertson, Rick Robertson, Ashlyn Nelson, and William Morgan that are based in High Point, North Carolina. They have been performing for several years now all over the state. Bird in Hand will play from 1-2 p.m. and the Robertson Boys play from 2:30-3:30 p.m. to close out the live music at the festival.
Closed streets
It is the biggest festival for the town so downtown will be hard to navigate in and out. Here is what streets will be closed for traffic during the day.
- Main and Mill Streets in downtown Sylva will be blocked off, and police officers will direct traffic around town. Information tents will be located on Main Street and at Bridge Park.
- West Main will be closed from 6 a.m. until 5 p.m. Traffic will be routed along Jackson Street and then down to Evalina Street and back to Main Street.
- Chipper Curve Road from the intersection of Harold Street to the intersection of Municipal Drive at the Sylva Fire Department will be closed at the same time and traffic using Chipper Curve Road will be routed to Allen Street or Skyland Drive.
- Municipal Drive from the intersection at the Sylva Fire Department to the intersection of Allen Street will be closed at the same time and traffic using Municipal Drive will be routed to Mill and Main Street and then Grindstaff Cove Road.
If you want to learn more information on the festival itself, such as parking, locations of certain activities happening around the festival, or have general questions, visit the Greening Up The Mountains website or Facebook page to learn more.
