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.

Week three of the primer is seeing a lot more color appearing in the higher and middle elevations. In some reporting locations, the color change really sped up over the weekend. This week is filled with festivals and special events to truly get out and take part in the color change.

Week two of the Fall Foliage Primer is here, but a lot more color is not. Higher elevations around Graveyard Fields or Grandfather Mountain have more color, but in general we are seeing some reds and yellows hanging around with the getting-ready-to-get-started greens. While the leaves an event in themselves, there are many more happenings in our communities that our reporters hope to help you discover.

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.

It's the first report of the fall foliage season. As is to be expected, the most prevalent color is green, but in all reporting areas there is some fall color beginning to show itself. It might be in the blooming of goldenrod and asters or it might be in the sourwoods and dogwoods beginning to show their true colors. Read the full report to get ideas on activites to enjoy during your visit.

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.

Saturday, September 9, 2017 is Friends’ Day at Mast General Store. On that day Mast General Store will donate 10% of proceeds from the day’s sales to support local partners. For all of the North Carolina stores the recipient of that support is the Mountains To Sea Trail.

The calendar may say summer, but fall is the word of the day. New arrivals for the upcoming season are arriving daily. As trends do, everything old is new again. Many of this fall’s fashion trends are remakes of styles from a not-too-distant past. Mast Store’s fashion sense tends to embrace the classics because you can never go wrong there. But you will see some of the trends represented in our fashion and footwear departments. Let’s have a look.

It’s hard to believe it’s already August, and everyone is talking about back-to-school plans. Even so, there’s still time to check off a few more items on your summer bucket list. Just in case you’ve already completed yours, we have a few suggestions for you to consider adding.