Valle Crucis, NC



8th Annual Great American Backyard Campout

Childhood summers are marked by memories of biking around town with a pack of friends, listening for the bell of the ice cream truck, catching fireflies in Mason jars, and staying outside well after the sun sinks in the sky. With the dawn of the information age, many children are missing out on traditional summer fun and are glued to their electronic devices instead.  It’s time to boot our children outdoors, so they can benefit from fresh air, green grass, and the carefree joys of a summer spent in nature.

A wonderful way to turn your child’s screen time into green time is by having your family participate in the 8th annual Great American Backyard Campout on June 23rd.  The National Wildlife Federation, along with national studies, finds that outdoor time helps children grow lean and strong, enhances creativity and attention spans, decreases aggression, and boosts classroom performance. The bottom line is that outdoor time makes for healthier and happier kids.

The Great American Backyard Campout helps kids explore a whole other world in their own backyard, with friends at a local campground, together with neighbors, or at a large community camping event. An evening under the stars will help kids understand why it’s called the “great” outdoors.

Before June 23rd, drop by your local Mast General Store to pick up a few items for your family’s overnight outdoor adventure. The North Face Sprout Daypack is a perfect size for a smaller child and will teach them to share in the camping preparation process.

Every happy camper should prepare themselves for a stray summer shower. The Marmot Boys’ and Girls’ PreCip Rain Jackets are lightweight, waterproof, and breathable. If there’s anything on your Backyard Campout list, from headlamps and camping cookware to tents and sleeping bags, a Mast Store associate will gladly help you find what you need for your outdoor adventure.

Check out backyardcampout.org and register your campout on National Wildlife Federation’s website. You’ll find great information to make your family camping experience a memorable and safe one. The site offers nocturnal wildlife guides, campfire recipes, nature activities, as well as campfire songs and games. Move your son and daughter’s childhood from the indoors to the outdoors this summer. One day they’ll thank you for their precious summer memories too!
 


One of the many pleasures of spring is transitioning out of bulky winter wear into lighter, warm weather clothing. As you put away your winter boots and replace them with summer sandals, check to see if there are any shoes cluttering your home.  Instead of stowing your unwanted pairs at the back of the closet, share them with those who need them at Mast Store’s fifth annual Sharing Our Shoes collection campaign going on now through May 31.

As you gather your family’s extra shoes during spring cleaning, drop by Mast General Store in Downtown Boone or Valle Crucis, and they will be shared with the Hospitality House and Watauga County Schools. For over 26 years, the Hospitality House has provided emergency shelter services and transitional family housing, operates the Bread of Life Community Kitchen, and administers WeCAN – a crisis intervention and homeless prevention program in a seven county region. In addition to the Hospitality House, shoes will be given to teachers and staff members in the Watauga County School System, who will discreetly distribute them to students they know could use a new pair this summer.

Donating your shoes is not only a gift to those in need, it’s a gracious act on behalf of the environment.  Last year alone, Americans discarded millions of pairs of shoes. “We all have unused shoes with many miles left in them,” said Fred Martin, president of the Mast Store. “The Hospitality House helps many individuals who have no way to buy shoes for themselves or their family. Our educators in the school system also reach out to students who could use assistance. At this time, there is so much need. Our employees and our customers are always so generous and eager to share what they have with the people who matter to us most – our neighbors.”

De-clutter your closet, reduce the strain on our environment, and lend a helping hand to your neighbors this May by answering the SOS and sharing your shoes at Mast General Store.
 

 

Hike for Health This Summer


 

Chetola Resort at Blowing Rock is offering  a Hike for Health Package this summer. Focusing on wellness and weight loss, the package includes a morning hike, $25 Gift Card to Mast General Store (all locations), fitness classes and activities,  healthy breakfast and lunch daily, a personalized coaching session and choice of a massage or facial. Two nights start at  $383 per person, based on double occupancy.  

For reservations and information, visit chetola.com or call 800-CHETOLA (243-8652).

 

 

Mast Store featured in Southern Way of Life


If it seems like an odd combination at first -- shirts and skirts, a few feet away from the pans and preserves, which are a few steps from The North Face and Necco Wafers -- then you've become too conditioned to the conglomerate-owned-"big-box"-store way of shopping.

Before there were mega-malls and specialty stores, before there were department and discount stores, there was the general store - a family-owned, folksy place where you could buy flour, fabrics, nails or grain while getting caught up on local news (or gossip) - where those short on cash paid in trade (a chicken for a sack of flour, etc.) or were extended credit.

Today, no one would give good odds that such a business could survive, much less prosper.

But one general store has - nine times over. Mast General Store has gotten hotter 'n a black hat in August. It's gone from one rustic slice of late 1880s America to nine busting-at-the-seams purveyors in the heart of bustling downtowns in the western Carolinas and East Tennessee.

From 1883 to 1979, there was only one - the Mast General Store in Valle Crucis, North Carolina (in the heart of High Country, near Boone, Banner Elk and Blowing Rock). Today, there's the original; the "Annex" just two-tenths of a mile down Highway 194; the one on West King Street in downtown Boone; and Mast General Stores in Asheville, Hendersonville and Waynesville, NC; and on Gay Street in Knoxville, Tennessee; and two in South Carolina - on the Main Streets of Greenville and Columbia.

And all nine stores are in buildings dating from 1883 to 1945 - which is one reason why Mast General Store won Preservation North Carolina's highest award - the "L. Vincent Lowe, Jr. Business Award," given to businesses that protect or promote the state's historic side. And Preserve America awarded the Mast General Store with its 2006-2007 "Gatekeepers of History" award, given to those " whose work epitomizes the ideals, values, and traditions on which America is based." In each store are fixtures from the past mingling with new display units; ornate pressed-tin ceilings, and either restored well-oiled worn wooden floors or terrazzo that looks as though it was laid a century ago.

Continue reading this fantastic article by Southern Way of Life by clicking HERE.