Gina Malone, Editor
July has always ranked among my favorite months—and not just because I was a July baby! There’s nothing fickle about this long, hot, decidedly summer month. It just is, and I like that. I look forward to tomatoes ripening on the vine, sunflowers turning their lovely heads, warm night skies full of stars and hikes in the cooler woods. Most of all, this month, along with December, reminds me most of being a child. Lately, we’ve all experienced, and may still be experiencing, stress, grief and worry in our particular lives and concern for the lives of others at home and abroad. But as a wise old statesman once said, “Lost time is never found.” Take some time this month to relax, to enjoy art, to take a hike or to seek out others, whether at a festival, a farmers market or a crafts fair.
We celebrate crafts in WNC in this issue. I hope you’ll take a day to drive along the Blue Ridge Craft Trails, stopping to visit with some of the marvelous makers along the way. Festivals celebrating craft include the Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands, the Fine Arts & Crafts Showcase, the Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair and the Front Street Arts & Crafts Show.
In Waynesville and Maggie Valley, Folkmoot Summerfest 2022 will bring performers from all over the world to our lovely mountains for the sharing of arts and culture. On the most blistering summer days, our WNC galleries are cool spots for appreciation and reflection. Our pages are filled with news of the latest exhibitions of amazing art.
Cover Artist Cynthia Llanes loves color, as evident with this month’s cover of The Laurel. “My hikes along the Blue Ridge and around my neighborhood lead me to wonderful inspirations,” she says. “I hope that everyone is able to enjoy and celebrate the beauty of Nature’s phenomena as much as I do.”
Enjoying where we live and what we have and who we love while we can—words to live by in the best and the worst of times. Happy July!
Gina Malone can be reached at gina@thelaurelofasheville.com
