Laurel Magazine

Triumph and Tragedy Zionism, the Palestinians, and the Creation of Israel, 1917-1948 at Center for Life Enrichment
2025-07-28 14:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Center For Life Enrichment, 348 S 5th St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Join Professor Kevin Jones for this session covering the early history of the Israel-Palestine conflict, from the beginning of the British Mandate to the creation of the state of Israel.
We will cover four key thematic questions: (1) Why were the Zionists more successful than the Palestinians in establishing organizations and institutions that could function as the nucleus of an independent state? (2) Why did Palestinians turn from diplomacy to resistance and rebellion against both Britain and the Zionists during the course of the colonial period, and how successful was the strategy of violence? (3) How did the relatively small Israeli army (IDF) so decisively defeat the much larger combined forces of the Palestinians and their Arab state allies? (4) Did the Palestinian refugees “flee” or were they “expelled” from their homes during the 1948 war, and why has the ensuing Palestinian refugee crisis endured for so much longer than other comparable refugee crises?

The Gun and the Olive Branch Palestinian Armed Struggle and the Peace Process, 1967-2025 at Center for Life Enrichment
2025-07-29 10:00 - 12:00 | Center For Life Enrichment, 348 S 5th St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
This session covers the history of the Palestinian national movement from the Six-Day War of June 1967 until the present day.
Professor Kevin Jones will cover four key thematic questions: (1) How did the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) justify its use of violence, including attacks on Jewish civilians and airplane hijacking, and how “successful” were these strategies of warfare and terrorism? (2) Given the widespread popular support among both Palestinians and Israelis for the idea of a two-state solution endorsed by the Oslo Accords, why did the Peace Process ultimately fail? (3) Why did Palestinian public opinion gradually shift away from secular political movements like the PLO and toward religious movements like Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the 1990s and 2000s? (4) What did Hamas hope to accomplish with the high-profile attack of October 7th, 2023, and how is the ensuing war in Gaza likely to reshape the future of the conflict?

Nature Center Nights | Salamander Meander at Highlands Nature Center
2025-07-29 20:00 - 21:00, 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)

Introduction to Alcohol Inks at Center for Life Enrichment
2025-07-30 10:00 - 12:00 | Center For Life Enrichment, 348 S 5th St, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Designed for beginners, this workshop is an introduction to alcohol inks and their versatility in creating translucent and very fluid artworks. Alcohol inks are highly pigmented and fast drying. We will be using 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, Yupo paper, plus the inks to create beautiful, colorful art. If you have used watercolors, you will enjoy seeing the beautiful effects these inks can achieve!
All materials for this class will be provided, and you will leave with a supply list for continuing your art exploration at home.

Tinker Time for Tots at The Literacy and Learning Center
2025-07-30 11:00 - 12:00, 2025-08-06 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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!
