Fall Fills the Senses

Written By: Luke Osteen | Issue: October 2024

With the arrival of the annual Fall Leaf Show, you’re seeing the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau at its best.

The bold colors carpeting the mountains around us suggest a quilting bee that shared a pot of peyote tea and then went to work, finally tossing their finished product over an unmade bed. The display is breathtaking in its richness and randomness, kaleidoscopic in its hypnotic variations.

But here’s the thing to remember: Those brilliant leaves, dying in such magnificent style that visitors and locals alike will literally stop in the middle of the road to take in a particular cove or vista, are just a portion of the Plateau’s October glory.

Consider the entire sensual banquet offered freely throughout the season.

For scent, the cool, crisp days offer the deep forest balm of decaying leaves, the redolence of leaves being burned, and the musk of compost before the onset of the hard frosts.

For a blending of beauty and flavor and an inimitable part of the local culture, look for Staghorn Sumac in the fields and forests of the area. In the spring and summer, it’s an unassuming denizen of the underbrush, but in the fall, it seduces passersby with leaves and berries that have turned a deep crimson. It’s a showstopper.

If you choose to harvest the berries, you can make a delicious tonic that’s handed down to us from the Cherokee who first settled here.

Soak the berries in water for about 10 minutes, then mash them with your hands or a potato masher. Let the resulting mixture sit for half an hour, then repeat, letting it stew for another half-hour.

Rose Quartet

Strain the resulting mash through a cheesecloth, then add a bit more water and some sugar (or honey if you want to keep it authentic) to create a sweet-tart mixture. You can also add a bit of mint for flavor. Serve this Sumac-Ade on a sunny October afternoon and you’ve got a transcendent moment to treasure.

(For a completely different flavor of the season, turn to Marlene Osteen’s tribute to the area’s apples and her beloved husband Louis’s magnificent Stewed Apples.)

For sound, well, I’d direct your ears to our local schools, the Fidelia Eckert Living Center and at the First Presbyterian Church of Highlands. They’re the locales for the Fall 2024 Highlands Cashiers Chamber Music Residency Program.

Between October 24 and 27, the Rose Quartet will present three school programs at Highlands, Blue Ridge and Summit Schools, providing students with a deeper understanding of music, instruments, and the art of ensemble playing. A live performance at the Fidelia Eckerd Living Center is certain to bring joy, and an opportunity for residents to engage with the musicians while reflecting on their own musical memories. Highly anticipated is the free concert at the First Presbyterian Church of Highlands on Saturday, October 26, at 5:00 P.M.

For completely different sounds of the Plateau, but equally authentic, stake your spot at Highlands’ Town Square, where each Friday evening there’ll be free open-air concerts performed by local musicians. This is a direct call-back to the cherished nights at Helen’s Barn, with the same exuberant spirit – and, if you’re seized by the spirit, you’re welcome to dance.

And finally, to truly experience life in the twin communities, visit the Halloween Block Party in Cashiers on Saturday, October 26; and Highlands’ Downtown Trick or Treat Celebration, Thursday, October 31.

Both events feature the entire communities coming together for fun, music, and laughter. You may be telling yourself, “I’m too old for stuff like that.” Believe me, you’re not. Both events will enrobe you in Cashiers and Highlands in ways that can’t be duplicated in any other manner.

Enjoy the leaves but remember to savor the entire spectrum of life on the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau.