Bridge Park in Sylva
By Andrew Dallas-Marconi
On Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the 26th annual Greening Up the Mountains (GUTM) festival will be held in downtown Sylva. This is the town’s largest festival of the year. Entry is free and activities for all ages are planned. “We were asked in 2022 by Paige Dowling, Sylva’s town manager, to consider coordinating Greening Up the Mountains,” says event coordinator Mark Haskett. “We discussed this offer and decided to take the responsibility as a way to give back to a community that we love and call home.”
The festival celebrates spring’s greening of the mountainsides as well as being a kick-off to the busy summer season. “We see a positive economic impact in Jackson County, through an increase in overnight occupancy as well as visitors who are here just for the day,” says Julie Donaldson, director of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. “People love this event and often spend their money with our local businesses and the festival vendors. There are vendors that have been a part of Greening Up the Mountains for years and they count on this event. Some have said it is their ‘best sales day’ of the year. The festival also serves as a beautiful reminder to keep our mountains clean and green and we see several groups picking up debris and cleaning up the waterways, which is always helpful.”
Approximately 150 vendors—including local crafters, breweries, food vendors, artisans and non-profit organizations—will be present to highlight arts and crafts, small businesses and Appalachian food. One of these vendors is Kimberly Gray of Mudpuppies Pottery. “As a long-time resident of Jackson County, I look forward to GUTM each year as an exhibitor and a patron,” says Gray. “It’s like a big friends-and-family reunion in the streets of our town. The weather is finally warming up and people are excited to get out, walk their dogs and enjoy a spring day in the mountains.”
Live music performances will take place throughout the day at the Bridge Park Stage. Other entertainment options include demonstrations of glassblowing and blacksmithing on Main Street and activities for children, such as bubble blowing, face painting and balloon animals.
A pre-festival 5k race begins at 9 a.m. Registration is free and can be completed on the website or in person at the event at 8 a.m.
While fun and entertainment are the main focuses of the event, environmental awareness also plays a large role in this annual event marking Arbor Day. Organizers of GUTM recently created a plan which removes plastic bags and encourages recycling among attendees.
“We’ve seen the festival evolve from a small street parade with a handful of vendors to a large-scale event that sells out of vendor spaces most every year,” says Donaldson. “At the Chamber & Visitor Center, we have guests from as far away as Texas that make the journey each year to come and enjoy Greening Up the Mountains. They say it is their family tradition, and we love that!”
For more information, visit GreeningUpTheMountains.com. Andrew Dallas-Marconi is a senior majoring in creative writing at UNC-Asheville and a spring intern with The Laurel.
