Sylva celebrated its sixth annual Pride festival Sunday, Sept. 20, at Bridge Park. Tents of vendors and food trucks lined up to sell handmade crafts and assorted food and beverages, while local businesses and nonprofits shared information about their work supporting the LGBTQ+ community in Sylva. The long-anticipated Pride parade started at 2 p.m. on […]
Civic Forum space for non-partisan political discourse and community engagement
September 26, 2026 by
With elections approaching Webster and Jackson County Board of Elections are organizing a civic forum as a space for the community to meet with candidates running for different offices, discuss issues and problems and how they will address them. People can register to vote, ask questions while having fun. The event is on Sunday, Sept. […]
McNeely’s Chainsaw Competition chops it up at Mountain Heritage Day
September 26, 2026 by
The annual Mountain Heritage Days festival brought the Bardo Arts Center Lawn to life with the buzzing and roars of the chainsaw competition. Smoke and woodchips filled the air as participants put their machines to the test. “I grew up around chainsaws. My old man right over there, he started me running a saw when […]
Whee Life: Helene brought the community together and how resilient people are
September 25, 2026 by
This week we have a special edition commemorating second anniversary since Hurricane Helene devastation of Western North Carolina. Hear from our guest on the recovery efforts, the distribution of funds for projects and politics from Cory Vaillancourt, special Helene Recovery reporter for The Asheville Citizens Times and former editor at the Smoky Mountain News. Two […]
JCPS schools improve in latest state report
September 23, 2026 by
Story originally published in The Sylva Herald, Sept. 23 Jackson County Public Schools improved their performance grades at four schools during the 2025-2026 school year. Adam Holt, JCPS director of testing and accountability, presented the district’s state test results during the Jackson County Board of Education meeting Sept. 22. All JCPS schools met or exceeded […]
The Class of 2030: Adjusting to college life in the mountains
September 23, 2026 by
Western Carolina University’s freshman class is settling into campus life one month at a time to make Cullowhee feel like home. WCU’s Class of 2030 is the largest freshman class in history. Chancellor Kelli R. Brown reported 2,385 freshmen this fall, contributing to an overall enrollment of 12,308 students. While some students have noticed changes around campus, the first month has also given freshmen opportunities to find their place at WCU. […]
