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It’s Almost Summer!
Well, Spring is just about past and Summer is right around the corner! No one is more surprise than I! Wasn't it just Christmas???
Just a few notes on upcoming events in Gatlinburg. Don't forget to make your reservations soon for peak dates….Fourth of July is almost sold out!
www.gatlinburg.com/events/summer.aspx
Tunes and Tales is currently in full swing! As you stroll the streets in downtown Gatlinburg, you never know who you may run into! A blue grass band, storytellers, crafts people, cloggers are throughout the downtown area, just waiting to delight you and your family! Already going on Friday and Saturday evenings, beginning June 14, the entertainers will be out each evening until August 10, from 6-11pm. Enjoy!!!
Farmers' Market began this past Saturday and will continue until October 12 each Saturday from 8:30 to 11:00 am in the Alamo Steakhouse parking lot on East Parkway. Find fresh produce, jams jellies and honey, plants and flowers and more. Shop local!
More to follow!
Alternate Routes to Gatlinburg
Update on Alternate Routes due to 441 Closure
While the landslide on the North Carolina side of Highway 441, through Great Smoky Mountains National Park, will block the road indefinitely, Gatlinburg is very accessible by alternative routes. Detours from points South and East are easy to follow.
Please post and distribute the information below to your frontline workers so that when asked, they can help visitors get to and from their desired destinations. Should we receive further information from the National Park Service regarding the road closure, we will assess the information and continue to keep our businesses advised of the situation.
For information on alternate routes to Gatlinburg, call 865-430-4148 or visit our website here
For information on road conditions in Great Smoky Mountains National Park call 865-436-1200 or follow them on their twitter page here
Alternate Routes to Gatlinburg
From Cherokee, NC
Take Hwy 19 North to I-40. Go I-40 West to Exit 440 and follow Wilton Springs Rd. to Hwy 321 South to Gatlinburg.
From Asheville
Take I-40 West to Exit 440 and follow Wilton Springs Rd. to Hwy 321 South to Gatlinburg.
From Greenville, SC
Take I-26 West towards to I-40 West to Exit 440 and follow Wilton Springs Rd. to Hwy 321 South to Gatlinburg.
From Chattanooga or Atlanta
From I-75 North, merge on to I-40 East, then take Exit 407, turn right onto Winfield Dunn Pkwy/Hwy 66/441 South, follow signs to Gatlinburg.
From Nashville
Take I-40 East towards Knoxville, take Exit 407, turn right onto Winfield Dunn Pkwy/Hwy 66/441 South, follow signs to Gatlinburg.
From Lexington
Take I-75 South to I-640 East, at Knoxville, then I-40 East to Exit 407, turn right onto Winfield Dunn Pkwy/Hwy 66/441 South, follow signs to Gatlinburg.
From Virginia
From I-81 South take I-40 East, to Exit 435 (Newport) and follow Hwy 321 South to Gatlinburg.
What’s Up in Gatlinburg? Come See!
As the weather gets cooler and the fall colors arrive, its a great time to enjoy the Smoky Mountains! So much to see and do in and around Gatlinburg….here are a few suggestions:
- Enjoy the harvest decorations as you stroll through downtown Gatlinburg
- Oktoberfest at Ober Gatlinburg: Bavarian-style food, beverages, live music daily through November 3.
- Ripley's Fright Nights: Each weekend in October, no extra charge with paid admission to Aquarium
- Gatlinburg Craftmen's Fair: 200 booths of artisan's and craftsmen, food, live music, craft demonstration
- Trick Or Treet Kickoff Carnival: contests, costumed characters and candy on Halloween, Oct 31 Ripley's Plaza
Back to School Special–September Only
Book a condo or chalet and stay any time in September…..and we'll pay your sales tax for you! The special works this way: you pay the regular rental rates… and we pay the sales tax, no tricks or gimmicks. This offer cannot be combined with any other special or discount, but we will always give you the BEST discount you are eligible for. Come stay and play in the Smokies and SAVE!
Family Fun in the Smokies….and It’s Free!
The following information is courtesy of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Park Offers New Family Opportunities
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with support from the National Park Foundation, The Coca-Cola Foundation and the Great Smoky Mountains Association, will be kicking off the summer with new programs designed specifically families. The new programs are based on the park s current Hike the Smokies and Adopt a Trail programs, both of which have been hugely successful.
The new child-friendly Hike the Smokies program encourages families to hike the park s shorter, less-strenuous trails and offers them an opportunity to record the number of miles hiked in a booklet designed especially for the program. The booklet also contains a spot for family members completing 10 and 40 miles to display special stickers awarded for achieving those two milestones. Special Hike the Smokies-For Families lapel pins are awarded to those completing 25 and 50 miles. For more information about Hike the Smokies, visit www.nps.gov/grsm/
The new Adopt a Trail program gives parents and children an opportunity to help maintain a short, kid-friendly park trail. As trail adopters, families help preserve the beauty of a park trail by keeping it trash-free.
Adopters also help by removing small branches from the trail and reporting larger maintenance needs to the park. After five maintenance trips, families receive a special certificate and lapel pin in recognition of their work. For more information on Adopt a Trail, go to www.nps.gov/grsm/
Two family-oriented work days will be offered this summer as part of the Adopt a Trail program. Both days were designed with kids in mind. The first work day is Saturday, June 30th on the Pine Oak Nature Trail in Cades Cove, on the Tennessee side of the park. The second work day will be held on Saturday, August 4th on the Balsam Mountain Nature Trail, on the North Carolina side of the park. To participate in one of the trail work days, contact Christine Hoyer at 828-497-1949 or grsm_trails_volunteer@nps.gov.
Today s children are tomorrow s leaders and stewards of our National Parks, says Superintendent Dale Ditmanson. Family volunteer opportunities in the Smokies are not only a great way to get young people involved in our National Parks, they re a wonderful opportunity for families to spend quality time and enjoy the outdoors together.
The Park also continues to offer traditional ranger-led hikes. Many of these hikes are opportunities for children to complete fun activities, as well as to learn about the park s plants and animals. Some hikes also incorporate learning how to properly prepare for hiking in the park s backcountry. Schedules for ranger-led hikes may be found in the Smokies Guide, which is available at any park visitor center or by calling 865-163-7318.
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 395 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov
We Are So Blessed!
God is good, and faithful to sustain us….even in a tough economy! We are grateful.
Summer season is here and things are hopping! Our Campus Crusade staff and students have arrived for Smoky Mountain Summer Project and we are thrilled to have them once again. It is so wonderful to see them grow in faith in a few short weeks. Many students from past Projects have gone on to projects overseas and some are even now on staff with Cru. How awesome to be even a small part of that!
We finally got to see the synchronous fireflies at Elkmont, a truly unique experience! If you haven't heard of this phenomenon, see our past blog post for more information, or visit the national park website at http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/fireflies.htm The natural display is over for this year, but mark your calendars for next spring. A new parking pass system has eliminated the need to wait , but reservations are required. The passes sold out in less than two weeks when they went on sale this year!
Tunes and Tales starts this week, so as you walk about downtown, you may meet any of the singers, musicians, actors or crafters who are there to entertain and educate you and your family. They populate downtown between 5-9 pm each evening through June and July.
We can't wait for this years 4th of July Parade through downtown Gatlinburg…a true small town experience to delight your entire family. Its the "first in the nation" parade beginning at 12:01 am on July 4. The fireworks begin at dusk over downtown Gatlinburg on the evening of July 4…see you there!
Mountain Man Memorial March in Gatlinburg
Courtesy of the Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce website:
Eighth Annual Music of the Mountains
The following information is courtesy of the National Park Service:
Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced the 8th annual "Music of the Mountains" celebration, which will be held this year April 20th through the 22nd. Over the years, this event has grown to span an entire weekend, with performances of traditional music in neighboring communities, including an entire day of free music at the Sugarlands Visitor Center on April 21st.
The three-day event begins with a concert of Celtic music by the Good Thymes Ceilidh Band on Friday at 7:00 p.m. at the Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center in Townsend, Tenn. General admission is $5. The "Music of the Mountains" program continues on Saturday with a series of free performances of old-time mountain music during the day at the park's Sugarlands Visitor Center. Back again this year will be a Sunday afternoon program at the Smoky Mountain Visitor Center in Cosby, Tenn., where traditional Appalachian religious music will be showcased. General admission is $4.
At Sugarlands Visitor Center, six programs are planned from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (see schedule below). They are all free of charge and open to the public.The students of the East Tennessee State University Old Time Band will be performing at the event for the very first time this year. The group will play two sets, at 2 and 3 pm.
"The park has offered the 'Music of the Mountains' festival since 2005 to share with our visitors the region's rich musical traditions of the era before modern bluegrass and country music," said supervisory park ranger Kent Cave. "We are delighted to continue partnerships with our neighbors in Cosby and Townsend that presentvarious types of music played here in the southern mountains," said Cave
The schedule of events are:
April 20th – Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center, Townsend
Admission: $5
7 pm – Celtic Music by "The Good Thymes Ceilidh Band"; come early to enjoy Art on the Porch with members of the Townsend Artisan's Guild
April 21st – Sugarlands Visitor Center, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Admission is free
10 am- Lost Mill String Band
11 am – Brien Fain
12 pm – Boogertown Gap Band
1 pm – Tony Thomas
2 pm – ETSU Old-Time Band
3 pm – ETSU Old-Time Band
4 pm – Mountain Strings
April 22nd – Smoky Mountain Visitor Center, Cosby
Admission: $4
2pm-4pm -"Heritage, Harps and Hymns" – traditional offerings from Cocke County
Spring is Springing Ahead!!! Don’t miss the FUN!!!
Dollywood opening day is this Saturday, March 24.Once again, we are offering the Dollywood "Play Another Day" which gives you a second day free with a one-day admission price…FREE + Dollywood = FUN, FUN, FUN! See our website, or call our office at 866-430-3411 for more information. http://www.dollywood.com
Rafting In the Smokies' season has begun and they are offering a Spring Special through April 30, 2012: Upper Pigeon River is just $29, Lower Pigeon River $25, plus tax, Raft and Zip combo packages $57 Upper River, $53 Lower River, plus tax. Call them directly to book and mention this special: 800-776-7238. http://www.raftinginthesmokies.com After May 1, ask us for a $10 coupon when you check in. (Based on availability)
Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage is in April (but lots of blooming happening NOW!) See http://www.gatlinburg.com/events
for details.
We still have openings in our clean and comfortable condos and chalets for your family's spring getaway! http://www.gatlinburgcondosandcabins.com




