This is the time of year when you hope you have lots of scrap paper handy. Adding names, making notes, scratching out other notes, drawing lines to link thoughts – sometimes your gift list can get confusing! Mast Store hopes to help alleviate some of that confusion with this gift guide to at least get you started. It is broken out into different areas of the store to showcase some of the items we think would be appreciated by your lucky recipient.

Since 2010, the Saturday after Thanksgiving has been recognized as Small Business Saturday. American Express recognized the impact that small businesses have on the economy, towns, and on our individual lives. By shining a light on the businesses we frequent every day and helping us see them in a whole new light, American Express and many neighborhood and municipal advocates are making Small Business Saturday a day of discovery and rediscovery.

Supporting other small businesses is in the ethos of Mast Store. So, in celebration of Small Business Saturday, we’re showcasing some of our favorite small businesses that you’ll find in most every Mast Store.

It’s hard to believe that it’s time to begin thinking about serving up the turkey and trimming the tree, but it is. Holiday celebrations begin this weekend. We’ve pulled together a quick list of parades in each of our communities along with other events you and your family may want to put on your holiday itinerary. Let’s get started.

There’s a decided chill to the temperatures, so Winter is just around the corner. Mast Store is helping Share the Warmth in all its communities by holding a coat collection now through November 30. Columbia Sportswear, Mast Store’s vendor partner, is making a donation of new coats, jackets, and fleeces to keep the chill away, too.

If you could do one thing that would help a child do better in school, have a better outlook on life, and be better able to fight disease, would you do it? Having enough to eat helps with all three of those situations and more. That’s why Mast Store, Merrell Footwear, and food security agencies in Mast Store's home communities are partnering again from October 25-November 7 to provide Food for Kids.

Local historian John Preston Arthur wrote, “There’s a dreamy spell that hangs over this little valley.” That spell is further magnified during the month of October. With eye-popping visuals – think brightly-colored leaves, cattle quietly grazing in pastures, orange pumpkins peering out from amongst their leafy vines – the curvy road that brings you from Boone or Banner Elk is like a portal that slows time to a more relaxing, almost lazy, pace. To take in all of the activities we’re recommending for this 24 hours, you won’t be able to tarry long.

When Our State magazine started looking for a partner for its 2017 Made in NC contest, Mast General Store seemed like a natural fit. “They believe in many of the same things we do,” said Lisa Cooper, president of Mast General Store.

If you subscribe to Mast Store’s Almost Monthly E-mail, you are well acquainted with Francine. She’s corresponded with folks for more than 16 years – almost since the invention of e-mail. Her fans have shared many accomplishments, concerns, and questions over the years. In this week’s blog, Francine answers some questions from her website “Ask Francine” opportunity. Let’s see what she has to say.

Perhaps a better directive would be “please begin planning your itineraries and booking your reservations; the show is about to begin.” As the calendar continues its march to the fall equinox, the anticipation of the changing of the leaves builds.

Will this be a good fall color season? How will the recent hurricane affect the leaves? Just what happens to make the leaves change anyway? The answers to these questions will vary depending upon who you ask, where you live, and the types of trees in the general area. To get a better handle on an answer that is applicable for the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains, we contacted Dr. Howard Neufeld at Appalachian State University.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited unit in the National Park Service. On September 9, the Mast Store in Knoxville is hosting volunteers from the Friends of the Smokies (FOTS) and will donate 10% of the day’s sales to help this group’s continuing efforts to preserve and protect this important, beautiful, and biologically diverse park.