Tinker Time for Tots at The Literacy and Learning Center
2025-07-30 11:00 - 12:00, 2025-08-06 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | The Literacy & Learning Center, 675 S 4th Street, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
The Literacy & Learning Center is excited to bring back another season of engaging workshops tailored for preschoolers and their parents. The aim is to empower parents by demonstrating inventive ways to utilize everyday household items for their children’s educational benefit.
These sessions will showcase practical activities that parents can seamlessly incorporate into their daily routines, fostering a rich learning environment at home.

Garden Tour at Highlands Nature Center
2025-07-30 12:00, 2025-08-06 12:00 | Highlands Nature Center, 930 Horse Cove Rd, Highlands, NC, 28741
Join in for a free guided tour of the Highlands Botanical Gardens! Led by our Horticultural Specialist, a naturalist, or a guest expert, these weekly tours explore the fascinating native plants, ecosystems, and seasonal wonders of the Southern Appalachians. No two tours are ever the same!
Meet at the Highlands Biological Station Amphitheater. Come take a walk with us and see what’s blooming!

Craft Camp at The Literacy & Learning Center
2025-07-30 13:00 - 16:00, 2025-07-31 13:00 - 16:00, 2025-08-01 13:00 - 16:00 | The Literacy & Learning Center, 675 S 4th Street, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Craft Camp for K-2nd graders
Led by Carolyn Middlebrooks, is a fun and creative experience where young artists can explore different crafts! Kids will have the chance to make colorful projects and express their creativity in a hands-on, playful environment.

Birthright Citizenship: A Constitutional Debate in the Age of Originalism at Center for Life Enrichment at Center for Life Enrichment
2025-07-30 14:00 - 16:00 | Center For Life Enrichment, 348 S 5th St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” That this provision guarantees “birthright citizenship” to everyone except the children of foreign diplomats stood as a virtually unquestioned feature of American constitutional law for more than a century. Recently, however, a small group of conservative legal scholars has endorsed a radically different interpretation, arguing that the Constitution grants citizenship only to the children of American citizens. Although this interpretation has lingered mainly on the fringes of American constitutional law for the past two decades, President Donald Trump dramatically endorsed it in January 2025 in an executive order issued on the first day of his second term. The Supreme Court may weigh in or give some hints as to how it might resolve this issue in the near future.
This lecture will examine the history of the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause, the arguments for and against the two competing interpretations, what these arguments can teach us about “originalism” as a method of constitutional interpretation, and the implications of the debate over birthright citizenship for American law, politics, and culture.

CHS | Mountain Heritage Series: Tim Barnwell at Albert Carlton Cashiers Community Library
2025-07-30 15:00 - 16:00 | Albert-Carlton Community Library, 249 Frank Allen Rd, Cashiers, NC, 28741, United States
Mountain Heritage Series: Tim Barnwell, Faces & Places of Cashiers Valley. Author discussion at the Albert-Carlton Cashiers Library from 3-4pm

Village Nature Series at The Village Green
2025-07-30 17:00 | The Village Green, 160 Frank Allen Road, Cashiers, NC, 28717, United States
Monarch Conservation in WNC
Joyce is a retired RN and retired Master Gardener, now devoting more time to monarchs, pollinator/monarch way-stations habitat establishment, and sometimes, restoration. She has been part of the volunteer Monarch Watch Conservation Specialists since 2011.
We look forward to having her speak at the Village Nature Series!

Family Storytime at Hudson Library
2025-07-31 10:30, 2025-08-07 10:30 | Hudson Library, 554 Main St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Join us for stories, music, and movement at Family Storytime, every Thursday morning at 10:40AM.

Cashiers Quilters at St Jude's Catholic Church
2025-07-31 11:30, 2025-08-07 11:30 | NC
Come join us for lunch each Thursday at 11:30 at a local restaurant and then quilting at the church.
Held at St Jude’s Catholic Church in Cashiers.

Summer Writing Workshop at Albert Carlton Cashiers Community Library
2025-07-31 13:00, 2025-08-07 13:00 | Albert-Carlton Community Library, 249 Frank Allen Rd, Cashiers, NC, 28741, United States
Beginning on June 5 at 1:00 p.m. and continuing every Thursday until August 28, ACCCL staff member Michael Redman will lead a writing workshop that is free and open to everyone, regardless of previous writing experience.
The workshop will be a place to be introduced to techniques, perspectives, and exercises to help you develop your writing. It will also provide a safe,welcoming environment for you to share your own thoughts, ideas, and questions.

Borders and Beliefs: Debunking Myths About Immigration at Center for Life Enrichment
2025-07-31 14:00 - 16:00 | Center For Life Enrichment, 348 S 5th St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Immigration was a huge issue in our recent election, so huge that it might seem like unrestricted immigration is a recent phenomenon. In fact, migration is as old as human history; what’s new is the idea that governments can and should restrict people’s movements. For most of human history, governments have encouraged, not barred, migrants.
Professor Hahamovitch will discuss common myths about immigration and the rise of the biggest myth of them all: the idea that migration can be stopped.

Kids Zone at Hudson Library
2025-07-31 15:30, 2025-08-07 15:30 | Hudson Library, 554 Main St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Kids Zone features a variety of fun and interesting programs where kids can explore art, nature, science & more! Best for ages 5 and up.

Pride Mountain Vineyards 'Atelier' Tasting featuring Special Guest Corey Crowe
2025-07-31 17:00 | Highlands Wine Shoppe, 269 Oak St, Highlands, 28741, United States
Join Highlands Wine Shoppe for a very special tasting featuring Special Guest Corey Crowe of Pride Mountain Vineyards—one of Napa Valley’s most iconic + acclaimed wineries!
Perched high atop the Mayacamas Mountains at elevations reaching 2,100 feet, Pride Mountain Vineyards straddles the Napa and Sonoma county line and is renowned for producing powerful yet elegant wines that reflect their dramatic terroir.

Zahner Conservation Lecture Series | The Good, the Bad & the BUGly at Highlands Nature Center
2025-07-31 18:00 - 19:00 | Highlands Nature Center, 930 Horse Cove Rd, Highlands, NC, 28741
Dr. Kelly Oten, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, NC State University
Insects are all around us and play very important roles in our forest ecosystems. But they can also be pests, damaging trees and impacting our lives. Join Dr. Kelly Oten, a forest entomologist at NC State, to find out when to worry about a tree pest and what to do when things get a little bit bugly.
Sponsored by Suzanne & Don Duggan, Julie & Charlie Shefeldt, Ruthie & Franko Oliver, Margaret Waters, Adele & Nick Scielzo, and Florence & Tom Holmes.

Carolina Concert Series at Trailborn Highlands
2025-07-31 18:00 - 21:00 | Trailborn Highlands, 96 Log Cabin Ln, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Join us in the Trailborn Highlands backyard for live music and drinks during our Carolina Concert Series!

Oceans of Grain: How Wheat and War Shaped Empires and World History at Center for Life Enrichment
2025-08-01 10:00 - 12:00 | Center For Life Enrichment, 348 S 5th St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Though we often speculate, it is difficult to pinpoint how empires are made and how they fall. But by tracing a single crop — wheat — historian Scott Reynolds Nelson demonstrates its profound impact on the world economic and political stage in his critically acclaimed book: Oceans of Grain: How American Wheat Remade the World. He will describe how the US, from its founding in 1776, sought to replace Imperial Russia as the breadbasket of Europe and only succeeded when the US Civil War threatened to end the republic. He’ll show how three microscopic organisms that traveled with food – fungi, a potato blight, and the plague – rewrote world history.

CHS | Mountain Heritage Series: “Monticello: Sharing History for a Century” at Albert Carlton Cashiers Community Library
2025-08-02 15:00 - 17:00 | Albert-Carlton Community Library, 249 Frank Allen Rd, Cashiers, NC, 28741, United States
Mountain Heritage Series: “Monticello: Sharing History for a Century”, with Brandon Dillard at the Albert-Carlton Cashiers Library from 3-5pm

Saturday Sound Bath at Unfurl Wellness Spa
2025-08-02 16:00 | Unfurl Wellness Spa, 454 Dillard Rd, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Join us each Saturday at 4:00 pm for Unfurl Wellness Spa’s Sound Bath, a serene experience designed to help you reset and reconnect. Through the soothing vibrations of crystal singing bowls and gentle percussion, sound baths encourage deep relaxation and promote mental clarity. These harmonic tones help slow brain waves, reduce stress, and foster a meditative state, allowing your body and mind to unwind from the pressures of daily life.
Take this time to nurture your well-being in a calm, supportive environment.

Sacred Sundays at Unfurl Wellness Spa
2025-08-03 13:00 - 14:30 | Unfurl Wellness Spa, 454 Dillard Rd, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Sacred Sundays is a 90 minute class of mindfulness movement and poses accompanied with an acoustic sound meditation held by Robert John Malone.
This is an all levels class focused of a variety of wellness practices to assist in raising our mind/body awareness through conscious movements and poses (1:00 – 2:30 each Sunday this season)

Highland Plateau Audubon Society | "Four Cameras, 100 Birds" at Albert Carlton Cashiers Community Library
2025-08-04 18:30 | Albert-Carlton Community Library, 249 Frank Allen Rd, Cashiers, NC, 28741, United States
A photographic flight path through our woods taken by four local artists showing the beauty of our local birds.

Presented by the Highlands Plateau Audubon Society

Nature Center Nights | What Bat is That? at Highlands Nature Center
2025-08-05 20:00 - 21:00 | Highlands Nature Center, 930 Horse Cove Rd, Highlands, NC, 28741
Stretch your wings and tune into the sounds of the many special bats of the Highlands area! Join our Naturalists on a walk through the Botanical Garden to watch them in flight.
All ages welcome
FREE | Registration required
(Weather dependent)

CLE | Rooted in Restoration: A Garden Tour with Lisa Dailey
2025-08-06 10:00 - 12:00 | NC
Join Lisa Dailey of Cultivation for an immersive horticulture restoration class on plant diversity, soil rebuilding, and sustainable gardening practices.
This interactive tour will guide you through a stunning 5-acre in-town mountain property, showcasing everything from untouched spaces to sophisticated gardens. Discover how Lisa integrates native plants, cutting gardens, dahlias, and seasonal vegetables into her landscape. Learn about the stages of garden development and soil rejuvenation. We’ll cover about 1/2 acre on foot with moderate inclines, so please dress accordingly and wear sturdy, comfortable footwear.
CLE will provide a sack lunch, and there will be time to sit and reflect after the tour. Bring a camping chair or folding chair for comfort.

Exclusive! How Journalists Skewered Big Business in U. S. History—and Why It Mattered at Center for Life Enrichment
2025-08-07 10:00 - 12:00 | Center For Life Enrichment, 348 S 5th St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Thoughtful Americans have long resented special privilege and foreign domination. For much of U. S. history, one word—monopoly–symbolized both of these perils. To combat these perils, journalists —in conjunction with jurists, government officials, social scientists, and business people—have popularized an anti-monopoly vision that has shaped law, public policy, and popular culture. This illustrated lecture (with lots of cartoons) surveys the long history of journalistic representations of big business in U S. history. Why is big business so often represented as an octopus? What about “Mr. Money Bags”—the comic figure in the popular board game “Monopoly”? Anti-monopoly is often conflated with the “big is bad” ethos identified with an 1890 law known as the Sherman Act. This is misleading. The journalistic critique of big business in U. S. history is much more capacious. In 1904, for example, journalist William Randolph Hearst ran for president on a platform that was anti-trust, but pro-municipal ownership. The journalistic indictment of big business—in cartoons, fiction, and oratory, as well as the law—offers us a window on one of the most enduring political impulses in American history. In this lecture, we will not only see how, but also why, this indictment mattered in the past, and how it can help us think more constructively about plutocracy, health care, finance, digital media platforms, and the “tech-industrial complex” of the present.
