For 2011, youth who enter any of the “Heritage Alive Mountain Youth Talent Contests” in Jackson, Swain, and Macon counties will now be eligible to go even further. Jackson County 4-H Youth Development will be assuming the production of all three contests, thereby giving the youth the opportunity to participate in “4-H Entertains” at the district level and state level in Raleigh.

Youth talent contest beginnings

Since 1997, beginning with the first “Greening Up the Mountains” spring festival in downtown Sylva, Catch the Spirit of Appalachia (CSA) has produced a talent show for children called “Heritage Alive Mountain Youth Talent Contest.” Funded by local businesses, individuals, county agencies, CSA board members, and others, every child who ever entered the contests has walked away with a monetary prize or trophy, amid many accolades and loud applause.

In celebration of the National Historic Preservation month of May in Jackson County, three student poster winners have been chosen in the Second Annual Jackson County Historic Preservation Commission Poster contest. The winners are Eli Costa of Cullowhee Valley School, Lucy McRae of Cullowhee Valley School, and Cheyanna Brown also of Cullowhee Valley School. On April 23 the winners will be given a special presentation of cash prizes during “Greening Up the Mountains” at 10:00 am on the SunTrust Stage in downtown Sylva. Historic Preservation Commission Chair Cherrie’ Moses will award the prizes.

Commission Chair Cherrie’ Moses said “we wanted our Jackson County students to help us create a logo for the Historical Preservation Commission and we believe that this second annual poster contest will help to give us a very good logo for our new commission.

City Lights will host Barbara Duncan for a CD release party on Friday, April 15, at 7 p.m. in celebration of her new music CD, entitled “Music Says Go.”

Duncan, who is Education Director at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, is also an accomplished songwriter, storyteller, and poet. “I’ve been writing songs about life, love, nature and spirit my whole life,” she says. “Thanks to some great friends who helped me, my first CD is now available.”

Licklog Players is holding auditions for their next production, the southern red-neck comedy, “Dearly Departed.” This play is part of a trilogy which included last year’s smash hit “Southern Hospitality” in the backwoods of the Bible Belt.

The beleaguered Turpin family proves once again that living and dying in the South are seldom tidy and always hilarious. Despite their earnest efforts to pull themselves together for their father’s funeral, the Turpins’ other problems keep overshadowing the solemn occasion. Amidst the chaos, the Turpins turn for comfort to their friends and neighbors, an eccentric community of misfits who just manage to pull together and help each other through their hours of need.