Summertime—with its signature longest day of the year just weeks away. Poet Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “In Summer Time” is a lovely ode to the season we most equate with enjoyment, ease, Nature’s full flowering. “The summer sounds, and summer sights,/That set a restless mind to rights/When grief and pain and raging doubt/Of men and creeds have worn it out,” writes Dunbar. It’s a lovely poem. Go find it and lose yourself in the words if you haven’t before.
Gina Malone, Editor
There’s a lot that says carefree June hours in this issue: comfortable rockers, sweet berries, summer camp, and Highland Games. Wander through the blooming exhibition Wildflowers at Wedge Studios (p. 49), and right now there are some lovely hydrangeas blooming in Judith’s garden.
What would summer be without concerts and music festivals in the fresh air and under the stars? The Brevard Music Center announces a season of delightful sound, and don’t miss outdoor concerts including a lineup of bands in Weaverville for Music on Main and the Blue Ridge Orchestra’s Summer Soirée among grapevines in Fletcher.
Wherever there’s writing about the arts, there’s always mention of hope and overcoming adversity through creativity as with Tiny Movements, the film about dancer Jenn Green’s journey to healing. And check out Emma’s feature about how artists are turning trees felled by Hurricane Helene into works of beauty and usefulness symbolizing the resilience of our region.
I’ll leave you with a few more words from Dunbar: “Tis wealth enough of joy for me/In summer time to simply be.”
May you be wealthy in simplicity during this season of delight!
