Laurel Magazine

Kids Zone at Hudson Library
2025-07-31 15:30, 2025-08-07 15:30, 2025-08-14 15:30 (America/New_York) | 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.

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.

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.

Jazz Meets Classical: Uncovering the Hidden Connections Between America's and Europe's Musical Traditions at Center for Life Enrichment
2025-08-04 10:00 - 12:00 | Center For Life Enrichment, 348 S 5th St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
The late great Dr. Billy Taylor said: “Jazz is America’s classical music.” But what does he mean? What is the relationship between “America’s classical music” and the classical music of the European tradition? The connections might be stronger than you think. Emory Music professor, minister, and jazz musician Dwight Andrews offers some intriguing insights into this subject with his lecture “Jazz Meets Classical.” He suggests there is more than a symbiotic relationship between the two in sound, sensibility, and even musical structures. Andrews uncovers the often overlooked connections of aesthetics, improvisation, and the requirement of mastery in both musical traditions. Equally important, he confronts the historically value laden and exclusionary ways that the very term “classical” serves to place some composers and music within the framework and excludes others. His presentation will include musical excerpts, provocative observations from the musicians themselves, and engagement with the audience to literally “hear” the connections when “Jazz Meets Classical.”

Fascism Unbound: Exploring the Rise of Transnational Movements Then and Now at Center for Life Enrichment
2025-08-05 10:00 - 12:00 | Center For Life Enrichment, 348 S 5th St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
With the recent rise of far-right governments around the world, fascism is back in the news. But what is fascism? And how do we identify a “fascist”? These questions are hauntingly similar to those of the interwar period. When Benito Mussolini came to power in 1922, he declared that fascism was “not for export.” Nonetheless, far-right nationalists across Europe borrowed from Mussolini’s fascism, creating hybrid, syncretic movements that scholars have labeled “transnational fascism.”
This session uses the concept of transnational fascism to analyze illuminating, historical case studies, including Mussolini’s Italy, Adolf Hitler’s Germany, Gyula Gömbös’s Hungary, and Kārlis Ulmanis’s Latvia. Ultimately, the session will unveil the appeal of transnational fascism, both historically and in the present day.

CLE | An Exploration of Old World/New World Wines at High Country Wine and Provision
2025-08-05 15:00 - 17:00 | High Country Wine & Provisions, 621 Franklin Rd, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Step into the captivating world of wine as we guide you on a journey through the timeless classics of Old World wines and the bold, innovative flavors of New World wines!
In this class, you’ll learn the key differences between these two wine regions, from Europe’s traditional, terroir-driven wines to the more contemporary and fruit-forward styles of areas like California, Australia, and South America.

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.

Tinker Time for Tots at The Literacy and Learning Center
2025-08-06 11:00 - 12:00, 2025-08-13 11:00 - 12:00 | 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.

Free Expression from Ben Franklin to Facebook at Center for Life Enrichment
2025-08-06 14:00 - 16:00 | Center For Life Enrichment, 348 S 5th St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
What do we mean when we say that free expression should be regulated by the “free marketplace of ideas?” This seductive metaphor has gained widespread currency in the modern United States. For this reason, it is worth thinking about its history. Who popularized the idea? Who opposed it? How is the market to be regulated (as all markets are)?
This illustrated lecture surveys the long history of free expression in the United States from the enactment of the First Amendment in 1791 which limited the power of Congress to restrict the press, to the rise of the Internet, and the challenges posed by AI. Among the topics that we will consider will be the abolitionist mails controversy of the 1830s, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.’s famous dissents in First World War era sedition cases, the regulation of movies and radio during the Second World War, and a little known law—Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996—that has structured public discourse on social media platforms and other on-line communications today.

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.

Summer Writing Workshop at Albert Carlton Cashiers Community Library
2025-08-07 13:00, 2025-08-14 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.

Zahner Conservation Lecture Series | Finding the Fabulous Ordinary at Highlands Nature Center
2025-08-07 18:00 - 19:00 | Highlands Nature Center, 930 Horse Cove Rd, Highlands, NC, 28741
Featured Speaker: Georgann Eubanks, author, University of North Carolina Press
Nature writer Georgann Eubanks gives us a guidebook to the spectacular seasonal joys of ecosystems in the Southeast. The destinations and events she explores in her latest work are scattered across seven states. They include such wonders as bugling elk in the Smokies, a half-million purple martins roosting on an island in a South Carolina lake in July, the bloom of thirty acres of dimpled trout lilies in a remote Georgia forest in February, and gnat larvae that glow like stars on the rock walls of an obscure Alabama canyon. These magical sites are great destinations to visit with children, inspiring wonder and the impulse for protection.
FREE | No registration required

Judging the Court: The Evolving Role of the Supreme Court in Modern America at Center for Life Enrichment
2025-08-08 10:00 - 12:00 | Center For Life Enrichment, 348 S 5th St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
In the Federalist 78 Alexander Hamilton called the Supreme Court an “intermediary” between the “People” and the legislature, as the Court served as a “bulwark” for a limited Constitution. Some contemporary judicial critics challenge this notion, as public opinion of the Supreme Court has decreased, long-standing precedents have been overturned, and personal issues with the justices have created controversies. Others see the Supreme Court as protecting the fundamental and essential principles of the United States’ founding. All perceptions, of course, are filtered by partisan ideology in these modern times.
This presentation will examine the current Supreme Court, putting these issues in historical context and placing emphasis on cases from the 2024-2025 term.

Art Workshop - Creating a Watercolor Brush Painting in the Style of Japanese Tradition at Center for Life Enrichment
2025-08-08 14:00 - 16:00 | Center For Life Enrichment, 348 S 5th St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Create a work of art based on the tradition of watercolor brush painting! Practicing traditional techniques and using traditional design materials, class participants will produce a final project: a watercolor painting of a “sakura” cherry blossom tree on handmade paper. All materials will be provided for this class, and you will leave with a supply list for continuing your art exploration at home.

Our Dishonesty Crises: How Technology is Eroding Honesty at Center for Life Enrichment
2025-08-11 14:00 - 16:00 | Center For Life Enrichment, 348 S 5th St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Dishonesty has always been with us. But in recent years new technology has led to a variety of dishonesty crises, in which being dishonest is easier and more tempting than it has ever been in the past. We will look closely at three examples. In the first, deepfake videos which represent people saying and doing things they never did, are becoming easier to make and harder to detect, with implications for everything from our elections to the war between Ukraine and Russia. In the second, it has become easier than ever to become a celebrity due to TikTok and other forms of social media, but that also increases the threat of dishonest behavior. In the third, professors are drowning in a wave of academic cheating by students using ChatGPT and other AI. All is not lost, however, as we will also see some practical strategies to help us resist these dishonesty crises.

Behind the Scrubs: A Behind the Scenes View of the Operating Room and Hospital Quality Ratings at Center for Life Enrichment
2025-08-12 10:00 - 12:00 | Center For Life Enrichment, 348 S 5th St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Ever wonder what actually happens in surgery? Many people have had surgeries, such as a hip or knee replacement, and they have no recollection of what happened until well into the recovery phase.
This lecture will cover all the stages of surgery from the other side, from the time a decision for surgery is made through recovery. We’ll talk about the use of robotics in surgery, how trainees participate in surgical care, and where we are headed with surgical care in the next 10-20 years. We’ll also discuss hospital performance ratings and what they really tell (or don’t tell) us about hospital quality. We’ll seek to clarify some of the common misconceptions about these ratings and explain why they often don’t tell the full story.

Effortlessly Elegant : The Appetizer Edition with Center for Life Enrichment
2025-08-12 14:00 - 17:00 | NC
Elevate your appetizer game in this stylish, hands-on class. Chef Susan Hansen will guide you through crafting three sophisticated yet simple starters that are perfect for any occasion. First, dive into the delicate art of making a Sushi Shrimp Bowl, featuring perfectly seasoned shrimp served atop a bed of sushi rice with fresh veggies, garnished with a splash of soy sauce and a hint of wasabi. Next, master the savory flavors of Sundried Tomato and Garlic Butter Bruschetta. Learn to make sundried tomatoes and garlic butter from scratch, then top them on crunchy toasted baguette slices for a perfect balance of tangy and rich flavors. Finally, discover the art of making Pesto Pinwheels. Susan will show you how to create fresh pesto from scratch, which you’ll then spread on puff pastry and roll into perfect pinwheels, ready for baking into golden, flavorful bites. By the end of the class, you’ll have the skills to make these elegant appetizers at home, perfect for impressing guests or enjoying a personal gourmet treat.

Kids Nature Series at The Village Green
2025-08-12 16:00 | The Village Green, 160 Frank Allen Road, Cashiers, NC, 28717, United States
Marsh Magic
Join HCLT to learn about the wonderful world of an Appalachian Bog! We will be exploring the Village Green trails to see the wonderful organisms that live in this unique ecosystem!

Nature Center Nights | Salamander Meander at Highlands Nature Center
2025-08-12 20:00 - 21:00 | Highlands Nature Center, 930 Horse Cove Rd, Highlands, NC, 28741
Join our Naturalists on a nighttime search for our secretive salamander friends.
All ages welcome
FREE | Registration required
(Weather dependent)

Tech Time at Hudson Library
2025-08-13 13:00 - 15:00 | Hudson Library, 554 Main St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Have you ever received the gift of a new digital device, like an iPad, smartphone or laptop, but had no idea how to use it? Hudson Library has the perfect solution-
Tech Time sessions offer one-on-one help on any personal digital device. Tech Time is a chance for residents of all ages to bring their devices and ask any questions. Learn how to set up an email account, mute your cell phone, back up and store files, and more.
Tech Times are free. No library card is required and no appointment is necessary. Services are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Jimmy Carter: An American Giant at Center for Life Enrichment
2025-08-13 14:00 - 16:00 | Center For Life Enrichment, 348 S 5th St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Join US Presidential Historian Douglas Brinkley for a discussion on why Jimmy Carter is one of the great figures of the 20th and 21st centuries. He will evaluate the lasting importance of Carter’s Camp David Accords; personal diplomacy with China’s Deng Xiaoping; lifetime humanitarian work in Africa; and the sudden controversial Panama Canal treaty. Brinkley will also discuss in detail why Carter was the most successful land and water conservation president since Theodore Roosevelt. Having written a biography of Carter ‘s post White House years titled, The Unfinished Presidency, Brinkley will offer personal stories about his own experiences with the ex-president including Habitat for Humanity house builds and travels to Israel/Gaza.

The Boys of Pointe du Hoc: D Day and the US Army 2nd Rangers at Center for Life Enrichment
2025-08-14 10:00 - 12:00 | Center For Life Enrichment, 348 S 5th St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Join Douglas Brinkley for a discussion on the history of D Day ( June 6, 1944) from the perspective of the US Army 2nd Rangers who stormed the coast of Normandy by climbing the 100 foot promontory known as Pointe du Hoc. Facing arguably the toughest task to befall US forces during World War II , the brave special ops battalion boldly seized control of the fortified cliff and set in motion the Liberation of Europe.

Zahner Conservation Lecture Series | Southern Appalachian Forest Resilience in a Post Hurricane World at Highlands Nature Center
2025-08-14 18:00 - 19:00 | Highlands Nature Center, 930 Horse Cove Rd, Highlands, NC, 28741
Megan Sutton, The Nature Conservancy, Southern Blue Ridge Program Director
Join Megan Sutton from TNC’s Asheville office for an insightful program on the threats as well as the hopeful opportunities that our beloved Southern Appalachian forests face in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. She will explore the extensive damage caused by the hurricane and will highlight both the immediate and long-term impacts on forest ecosystems. Megan will discuss the critical nature of forest recovery work and how TNC is working to help the forests adapt in a changing climate.
Sponsored by Martha & Michael Dupuis, Monte & Palmer Gaillard, and Melanie & Tom Mauldin.

Unveiling the Smokies: How Discover Life in America is Mapping the Hidden Biodiversity of the Great Smoky Mountains at Center for Life Enrichment
2025-08-15 10:00 - 12:00 | Center For Life Enrichment, 348 S 5th St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
This presentation will describe and explain the work of Discover Life in America (DLiA), a nonprofit organization committed to studying and conserving biodiversity, with a focus on its flagship project, the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The ATBI, launched in 1998, is a comprehensive effort to document the estimated 60,000 to 80,000 species within the park. But an ATBI is more than just a checklist of species names. It is a complex and living database of species locations, habitats, genetic diversity, population density, symbiotic relationships, and predator-prey interactions. Working cooperatively, expert scientists specializing in all different forms of life discover new species needing protection, identify new threats in time to act, and understand how to protect a complex and valuable ecosystem like the Smoky Mountains. DLiA has successfully doubled the number of known species in the park and identified 1,092 species that are new to science. Despite these accomplishments, a vast amount of biodiversity remains to be discovered in the park. To further this research and exploration, DLiA leverages new technologies, engages in community science projects, and collaborates with scientists from around the world.

Night Visions: Unlocking the Secrets of Photography After Dark at Center for Life Enrichment
2025-08-18 10:00 - 12:00 | Center For Life Enrichment, 348 S 5th St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
People used to ask Kevin Adams what is there to photograph at night? Today, night photography is extremely popular, with photographers capturing all sorts of nighttime subjects. Nothing new to do, right? Not so fast! In this presentation, Kevin covers the typical stuff—Milky Way, star trails, lighthouses, cityscapes, etc.—but he’ll also talk about photographing subjects you’ve never thought of, and he’ll share techniques for photographing ordinary subjects in ways you’ve never imagined. Fair warning, though. Kevin says that after you attend this presentation, you won’t be getting much sleep going forward—unless you do it in the daytime!
Note: this program is a lecture, not a workshop.
