On Saturday, December 15, Great Smoky Mountains National Park will host a Holiday Homecoming at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. Park staff and volunteers will provide hands-on traditional craft demonstrations from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Children and adults will have the opportunity to make a corn shuck doll, buzz button, and cinnamon ornament to take home. Visitors will be encouraged to make a cinnamon ornament to hang on the visitor center tree for years to come.
From 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. there will be an acoustic old time jam session focused on holiday music. "Musical expression was and still is often a part of daily life in the southern mountains, and mountain music is strongly tied to the Smokies history and culture," said Lynda Doucette, Supervisory Park Ranger, Oconaluftee Visitor Center. She continued, "We would like to invite musicians to play traditional Appalachian tunes such as gospel songs and traditional ballads as they were played on the porches in the old days."
The visitor center will be decorated for the holiday season and will include an exhibit on Christmas in the mountains in the past. Hot apple cider and cookies will be served on the porch with a fire in the fireplace.
The Oconaluftee Visitor Center is located on Newfound Gap Road (U.S. Highway 441), two miles north of Cherokee, N.C. For more information call the visitor center at (828) 497-1904. All activities are free and open to the public. Support of this event is provided by the Great Smoky Mountains Association.
Jeff
Hiking in the Smokies
2 comments
Wish I could be there! Sounds like a great time will be had.
Agree!
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