On Saturday, December 19, Great Smoky Mountains National Park will host a Holiday Homecoming at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center and the Mountain Farm Museum. Park staff and volunteers will provide historical demonstrations and holiday music from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and hot cider and cookies will be served. The visitor center will be decorated for the holiday season and will include an exhibit on Christmas in the mountains in the past. The Davis/Queen farmhouse at the Mountain Farm Museum will also be open for visitors to walk through. Demonstrations will include woodworking, making cornshuck dolls and handmade brooms. Visitors may also have an opportunity to make beeswax candles. Local musicians will be on hand to provide traditional holiday music as well as old-time tunes.
“As a highlight this year, local author George Ellison will be on hand to discuss and sign copies of Horace Kephart’s “lost” novel, Smoky Mountain Magic, which is now in print—80 years after its completion!” exclaimed Park Ranger Lynda Doucette. Ellison has special insight into the life and writings of Kephart, and penned the introduction to the newly released novel.
The Oconaluftee Visitor Center and Mountain Farm Museum are located on Newfound Gap Road (U.S. Highway 441), two miles north of Cherokee, N.C. For more information call the visitor center at (828) 497-1904. All activities are free and open to the public. Generous support of this event is provided by Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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