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 […]
Mountain Heritage Week to celebrate Appalachia
September 19, 2026 by
For more than 50 years, Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Days has celebrated the music, stories and traditions of Southern Appalachia. This year’s weeklong festival returns Sept. 21-26 with live entertainment, cultural experiences, educational programs and family-friendly activities across campus and throughout the region. Mountain Heritage Days serves as a celebration of Appalachian heritage and […]
Whee Life: Mountain Heritage Days recap
October 3, 2025 by
This year, Mountain Heritage Day expanded into Days with a week of fun events for students and community members. Hear more about events that took place during the week including the Hurricane Helene anniversary and Rooted in the Mountains symposium. Mountain Heritage Days co-director Amber Albert also gives us a peak as to what next […]
Reaching to the past with the hands of the future
September 22, 2025 by
Twenty-two WCU elementary education students and volunteers prepare to guide Jackson County 2nd graders as part of a Mountain Heritage week of celebration. The crafts and cultural demonstration for elementary students from the surrounding areas will be on Tuesday, Sept. 23 near the WCU picnic tables. Students of the elementary social studies methods class will […]
