Appalachian Summer, Highland Games Named Top 20 Events
Southeast Tourism Society Lists July Highlights

By Jeff Eason

July has traditionally been the big tourism month for the High Country. The kids are out of school for the entire month so it is the best time for families to travel. There are also plenty of events during that month as our country celebrates its birthday with parades, picnics and fireworks celebrations.

There are two other reasons why people flock to the High Country during the month of July: An Appalachian Summer Festival at ASU and the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.

Both events were recently selected by the Southeastern Tourism Society to be on its list of Top Twenty Events in the Southeast during the month of July.

The 21st Annual Appalachian Summer Festival runs from July 1 through July 30 and features a wealth of arts and entertainment offerings for folks in the area. Highlights of this year’s festival includes an Evening with comedienne Lily Tomlin (July 2), the Glenn Miller Orchestra (July 5), an Evening with Leahy (July 9), the Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra (July 10 & 24), Paul Taylor Dance Company (July 12), Ladysmith Black Mambazo (July 23), and an outdoor fireworks concert featuring The Temptations and The Supremes (July 30).

This marks the second time in the last five years that An Appalachian Summer has been named a Southeastern Tourism Society Top Twenty event.

The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games will celebrate its golden anniversary July 7-9 at McRae Meadows near Linville. This gathering of over 100 Scottish clans is one of the biggest such gatherings in the country and attracts thousands of visitors for three days of fun, music and competitive games. The event is modeled after the Royal Braemar Gathering in Scotland. The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games is also used as a fundraiser for scholarships for deserving Avery County students.

The two High Country events join such popular July events on the Top Twenty list as the National Fiddlers’ Jamboree & Crafts Festival in Smithville, Tennessee (July 1-2), the Blue Angels Air Show in Pensacola Beach, Florida (July 1-2), the Midnight Fourth of July Parade in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, the South Carolina Peach Festival in Gaffney (July 14-17), the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta (July 15-24), and the 18th Annual Cajun Music and Food Festival in Lake Charles, Louisiana (July 16-17), among others.

The Southeastern Tourism Society promotes travel and tourism in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

For more information on the Southeastern Tourism Society and its Top Twenty List, visit www.southeasttourism.org.
 

And once you are finished for the day from Appalachian Highland Games, return home to one of our handful of Blue Ridge Cabin Rentals, relax and unwind by the fire, on your back porch with gorge views rocking away the evening. Introducing BLUE RIDGE FOR RENT, your one stop shop for all of your Blue Ridge Parkway Lodging needs.  We manage a hotel, The Ridge Hotel & Lodge, a B&B, individual Blue Ridge log cabins and million dollar Boone NC Cabin Rentals.