Tremont to host Writing the Appalachians forum October 28
Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont is pleased to announce Writing the Appalachians, an evening of literary exploration, held Saturday, October 28, at Maryville College’s Clayton Center. The public forum brings Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Powers together with authors Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, Janet McCue, and Frank X Walker to share stories and insights from their […]
Smokies volunteers chase butterflies for science
Every fall, Great Smoky Mountains National Park plays host to what might best be described as a moving miracle.
Now accepting applications for 2024 Steve Kemp Writer’s Residency
Great Smoky Mountains Association is now accepting applications for its fourth Steve Kemp Writer’s Residency. The annual residency hosted by GSMA is designed to help writers of any medium connect in meaningful ways with Great Smoky Mountains National Park by providing space for successful applicants to focus on their craft in an inspiring, retreat-like setting. […]
Blue Ridge artist Tray Wellington builds bridges with bluegrass
Late last month, I was lucky enough to catch a special musical performance in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was a fine morning in high summer, and on the back porch of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center near Cherokee, North Carolina, a four-piece string band launched into the first swirling notes of an original composition. […]
Eric Mingus uncovers origins of a famous family’s saga
Eric Mingus is intimately familiar with his father’s story. For better or worse, it’s a story that has followed him throughout his life and shaped his own path as a performing artist. The story goes something like this: Born in 1922, Charles Mingus Jr. came of age in Los Angeles, California, where he received training […]
¿Lees Español? Bilingual Storybook Trails have arrived in the Smokies for the summer
The Storybook Trail of the Smokies is back, and this year, the popular self-guided outdoor education series is bringing both English and Spanish reading opportunities to new trails in the park and beyond. Great Smoky Mountains Association recently partnered with the City of Gatlinburg, the Sevier County School System, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park […]
“Sepia Tones” podcast miniseries honored with national award
Great Smoky Mountains Association received national recognition at the 2023 Public Lands Alliance Partnership Awards for its podcast miniseries Sepia Tones: Exploring Black Appalachian Music, which won the award for Outstanding Public Engagement. PLA publicly announced and honored the winners of its annual Partnership Awards at a virtual ceremony on Thursday, April 27. Funded by […]
An Appalachian salamander’s glow could shed light on a biological mystery
Three years ago, researchers from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota captured the attention of biologists around the world with a surprising discovery. After observing a number of frogs, salamanders, and newts under blue and ultraviolet light, the team found that every amphibian they tested could glow, or ‘biofluoresce.’ Although biofluorescence has been studied predominately […]
Sepia Tones welcomes Amythyst Kiah and Jack Tottle
In a new episode of Sepia Tones: Exploring Black Appalachian Music, hosts Dr. William Turner and Dr. Ted Olson talk to Amythyst Kiah—an acclaimed, Grammy-nominated musician whose work blending the genres of folk, rock, and roots music has established her as a distinctive new voice in Appalachia.
Park invites visitors to “We Are Grateful Otsaliheliga” Storybook Trail
Great Smoky Mountains National Park invites visitors to experience the We Are Grateful Otsaliheliga Storybook Trail on Saturday, October 8, through Friday, November 12, on the Oconaluftee River Trail near Cherokee, North Carolina. This unique opportunity allows visitors of all ages to learn about Cherokee culture through dual-language storybook panels along the one-mile trail beginning at the […]
