Many opportunities are in store at the Swannanoa Valley Museum
The Swannanoa Valley Museum in Black Mountain is a great place to take your little for an outing. Located in the heart of the town, the Swannanoa Valley Museum has a permanent collection of artifacts as well as rotating exhibits. In addition to providing fun and educational opportunities within its walls, the Museum hosts events on a regular basis that explore the area’s rich natural and cultural offerings. Some are listed below and more can be found on the SVM website: www.swannanoavalleymuseum.org.
See the Black Mountain Fireworks from a Mountaintop
Each year, the Town of Black Mountain presents an awesome display of fireworks on the Fourth of July. And for many years, the Swannanoa Valley Museum has offered a unique viewpoint for watching the fireworks show–from high on a mountaintop.
The event is a hike up Sunset Mountain, (aka Miami Mountain) with a short program of historical interpretation followed by a bar-b-que supper and a watermelon-cutting. A new view spot has been cleared (thanks to Mother Nature’s ice storms last winter), and we will be able to see the fireworks from the peak of the mountain.
This is an ideal family event (sorry, no dogs), and one that will make for a memorable Fourth of July. The hike is moderate, about 45 minutes in length, but uphill (that’s what it takes to get to a mountaintop.)
Details: Participants will meet in the parking lot of Black Mountain Savings Bank, 200 E. State St., at 6:30 pm to carpool to the hike site at the base of Sunset Mountain. Bring a folding camp style chair and flashlight. (Your chairs will be transported up and down the mountain–you don’t have to carry them!) Since it can get cool after dark, we recommend that you bring a light wrap and perhaps a poncho in case of a rain shower.
Cost is $20 for Museum members; $30 for non-members and includes the bar-b-que supper. Reservations are required–participation limited so make them early! Call 828-669-9566 or send an email to swannanoavalleym@bellsouth.net.
It’ll Be a Gem of a Day
The mineral wealth of Western North Caorlina will be on glittering display at the North Carolina Mineral and Gem Show in Spruce Pine from July 29-August 1.
On opening day, Thursday July 29, the Museum will sponsor a Daycation to the show, a journey that promises to be a rockhound’s delight! Depending on the time spent at the show and the preferences of the participants, we may also visit a local gem mining concession or the NC Mineral Museum just off the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Details: Meet in the parking lot of Black Mountain Savings Bank, 200 E. State St., at 10 am to carpool to Spruce Pine. Cost is $15 for Museum members; $25 for non-members and includes the entree fee to the show. Food is available inside the show, prepared by the Board of the Mitchell County Chamber of Commerce. (The event is held inside, so no worries about rain.)
Reservations are needed for this event. Call the Museum, 828-669-9566, or send an email to swannanoavalleym@bellsouth.net to sign up.
