Laurel Magazine

The Burnt Part Boys at Highlands PAC
2025-08-22 19:30, 2025-08-23 14:30, 2025-08-23 19:30, 2025-08-27 14:30, 2025-08-27 19:30, 2025-08-28 14:30, 2025-08-28 19:30, 2025-08-29 14:30 (America/New_York) and 3 more dates | Highlands PAC, 507 Chestnut Street, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Siblings from a mining town learn the power of self-reliance in this Appalachian, bluegrass-inspired journey.
Locally known as “The Burnt Part,” the Pickaway Coal Company’s South Mountain closed down after an accident in 1952 that resulted in the death of four miners. Ten years later, Jake Twitchell is an employee of that same company, doing the same job that took his own father’s life. Much to the dismay of his movie-buff younger brother, Pete, the Pickaway Coal Company is going to begin re-mining The Burnt Part and send down the next generation of young men. Inspired by his silver screen heroes, Pete sets out for The Burnt Part with his best friend, a pack full of dynamite, and plans to blow up the mine in hopes of protecting his older brother. This new musical is a dangerous and heartwarming adventure following the journey to discover the importance of the choices we make to protect our family.

Nashville Songwriters' Round at The Boys & Girls Club of the Plateau
2025-08-23 18:00 | Boys & Girls Club of the Plateau, 558 Frank Allen Rd, Cashiers, NC, 28717, United States
The Blue Ridge Education Foundation is pleased to announce the 19th annual Nashville Songwriters’ Round.
Join us on Saturday, August 23rd, 2025 at the Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau for an exciting evening of music and story-telling featuring Nashville singer and songwriter Rivers Rutherford and friends.
All proceeds benefit Blue Ridge School and Blue Ridge Early college.

Pop Up Pipers in Downtown Highlands
2025-09-06 16:30 - 17:00, 2025-10-04 16:30 - 17:00 | NC
The Pop-Up Pipers will appear in unexpected locations throughout downtown Highlands on select Saturdays from 4:30 to 5:00 P.M.
Keep an ear out on the following dates: June 7, July 12, August 2, September 6, and October 4, but exactly where they’ll play remains a mystery, adding an element of spontaneous joy to each performance.

Bel Canto at Highlands PAC
2025-09-07 16:00 | Highlands PAC, 507 Chestnut Street, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Bel Canto is an annual benefit performance featuring international opera stars, many of whom have performed at the Metropolitan Opera. The program features arias from favorite operas but also includes popular songs from Broadway shows as well.

The 33rd annual Bel Canto Recital will be held in Highlands on Sunday, September 7, 2025, at 4 PM at the Performing Arts Center. A gala dinner with the artists will follow at the Highlands Country Club.
The performance will feature a quartet of internationally recognized singers.

Soprano: Ashley Milanese
Mezzo Soprano: Abi Levis
Tenor: Christopher Bozeka
Baritone: Brian James Myer
Bass: Matthew Langley

St. Peter's and the Papal Basilicas of Rome at Highlands PAC
2025-09-11 17:00 | Highlands PAC, 507 Chestnut Street, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
St. Peter’s and the Papal Basilicas of Rome takes you on a journey through the four Papal Basilicas in Rome and their treasures: St. Peter’s (one of the 25 destinations most visited by international tourists from all over the world), St. John in the Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls.
Four majestic buildings – each with a precious papal altar, each a treasure trove of timeless works of art and a destination for millions of travelers and pilgrims over the centuries.

Terry Barber/Music of Queen at Highlands PAC
2025-09-13 19:30 | Highlands PAC, 507 Chestnut Street, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
With his extraordinary vocal range, countertenor Terry Barber celebrates Queen’s Freddie Mercury, blending hit songs with stories from Mercury’s life. More than a concert, this tribute offers an intimate look at a rock legend who defined a generation. Barber’s concept recording of this material is up for eight Grammy nominations.

HCFF Seminar | The Art of the Title at Highlands PAC
2025-09-18 09:00 | Highlands PAC, 507 Chestnut Street, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Hosted by Christian Haberkern
Christian will explore the rich history and evolution of main-on-end title sequences in film, beginning with the groundbreaking work of Saul Bass on classics like Vertigo, North by Northwest, and Psycho, and Maurice Binder’s iconic contributions to the James Bond franchise. He will trace the development of the craft through to the modern era with influential sequences like Kyle Cooper’s gritty and genre-defining work on Seven, as well as contemporary television examples such as Severance and True Detective.
The talk will also include a behind-the-scenes look at some of the title sequences he has designed, including Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and the Disney+ series Agatha, offering insight into the creative process and storytelling power behind these visual introductions and conclusions.

Highlands Cashiers Film Festival at Highlands PAC
2025-09-18 09:00 - 19:00, 2025-09-19 09:00 - 21:00, 2025-09-20 08:30 - 22:00, 2025-09-21 09:00 - 12:30 | Highlands PAC, 507 Chestnut Street, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
The Highlands-Cashiers Film Festival will be held September 18 – 21, 2025 in the towns of Highlands and Cashiers, North Carolina.
Film, filmmakers, actors, directors, producers, and writers will be promoted at this 4-day event, featuring screenings of the film festival finalists, an industry professional panel, a Director and Film Critic workshop, and an awards ceremony celebrating the winners of the festival.
All proceeds from the Highlands-Cashiers Film Festival will be used to support the performing arts within Highlands, including the PAC Educational Theatre programs at the Highlands Performing Arts Center, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.
For more event information including a full schedule, please visit https://www.highlandscashiersfilmfestival.com/

HCFF | Exclusive Sneak Preview of The Gardener Movie at Highlands PAC
2025-09-18 17:00 | Highlands PAC, 507 Chestnut Street, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Join us for a sneak peek of an exclusive screening of a film shot right here in Highlands!
This will be the first ever viewing of this film shown to the world. Come be part of this early moment in the film’s journey, right where it began in Highlands, NC.

Highlands Cashiers Film Festival | A Walk in the Garden Soiree
2025-09-18 17:00 - 19:00 | NC
On September 18, the Highlands Performing Arts Center will be the location for the premiere of a new feature film. This film was shot in the private Highlands gardens of Ray and Diane McPhail.
After the showing, join us in the gardens. Meet the director and actors and enjoy food from the Food Network star, Kyle Bryner!

HCFF | Bogart Cocktail Party at Highlands PAC
2025-09-19 17:00 | Highlands PAC, 507 Chestnut Street, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Stroll along the red carpet and join all the actors and stars attending the film festival for a very Hollywood cocktail party featuring vintage and Bogart approved cocktails and food prepared by our very own local Food Network star.
This event will be held at the PAC.

HCFF | "Best of" Awards and People's Choice Award at Highlands PAC
2025-09-21 11:30 | Highlands PAC, 507 Chestnut Street, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Viewers at each individual film will get a chance to vote. The winning film will be announced on Sunday.
Winners will receive $1000 and a custom designed art piece which was made by a local artist from the The Bascom, a Center for the Visual Arts in Highlands, NC.

Brubeck Brothers Quartet at Highlands PAC
2025-09-27 19:30 | Highlands PAC, 507 Chestnut Street, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Chris and Dan Brubeck have been making music together practically all their lives. Drummer Dan and bassist, trombonist, and composer Chris cut their first record together in 1966 more than a half-century ago. They’ve subsequently played a variety of styles in several different groups, as well as with their father, jazz giant Dave Brubeck, and their own Brubeck Brothers Quartet. With Dan and Chris as the foundation, guitarist Mike DeMicco and pianist Chuck Lamb complete this dynamic Quartet. They perform at concert series, colleges, and jazz festivals across North America and Europe, including the Newport, Detroit, Montreal, Playboy/Hollywood Bowl, and Monterey Jazz Festivals.

National Theatre Live | Dr. Strangelove at Highlands PAC
2025-10-09 17:00 | Highlands PAC, 507 Chestnut Street, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Seven-time BAFTA Award-winner Steve Coogan plays four roles in the world premiere stage adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s comedy masterpiece Dr. Strangelove. This explosively funny satire, about a rogue U.S General who triggers a nuclear attack, is led by a world-renowned creative team including Emmy Award-winner Armando Iannucci and Olivier Award-winner Sean Foley.

Vincenzo Bellini's La Sonnambula at Highlands PAC
2025-10-18 13:00 | Highlands PAC, 507 Chestnut Street, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
Following triumphant Met turns in Roméo et Juliette, La Traviata, and Lucia di Lammermoor, Nadine Sierra summits another peak of the soprano repertoire as Amina, who sleepwalks her way into audiences’ hearts in Bellini’s poignant tale of love lost and found.

Halloween Baking Championship Community Watch Party at Highlands PAC
2025-10-20 20:00 | Highlands PAC, 507 Chestnut Street, Highlands, NC, 28741, United States
When the clock strikes 9 pm on Mondays, something stirs in the mist over the Highlands Plateau. Not the wind… not the owls… but the pulse of Halloween Baking Championship—the bewitching hour on Food Network.
Since September 15, when our own Oksana Shchelgachova, the heart and hands behind Edelweiss Bakery Boutique, first stepped into that eerie kitchen, Highlands has held its breath.
Her journey hasn’t been a straight path—it’s been a roller coaster of fire and frost, of chocolate and chaos.
But Oksana never folds. She fights. She creates. She represents us—our mountains, our community, our spirit.
One for all, and all for Oksana.
Every week she’s faced storms that would melt lesser souls… and yet, she rises—stronger, sweeter, sharper.
The grand finale won’t come until October 27, but every episode leading there is a story in itself: suspense, artistry, and a heart that won’t quit.
Now it’s our turn to rise with her. Join the Highlands family for a Community Watch Party on Monday, October 20, at the Highlands Performing Arts Center, 507 Chestnut Street, Highlands,
Doors open at 8:15 PM, and admission is free—but come early, before the seats vanish like magic…and beware… those who arrive late may find themselves under a chocolate spell.
