This Saturday, December 17, The Great Smoky Mountains National Park will host a Holiday Homecoming at the new Oconaluftee Visitor Center. There will be plenty of activities to participate in from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Come for a couple of hours or come stay all day!
Park staff and volunteers will provide hands-on demonstrations of traditional crafts from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Children and adults will have the opportunity to make a corn shuck doll, buzz button, and cinnamon ornaments to take home, or if they wish, to hang on the visitor center tree. Then from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. there will be an acoustic old time jam session focused on holiday music. “Musical expression was and still is often a part of daily life in the southern mountains, and mountain music is strongly tied to the Smokies history and culture,” said Lynda Doucette, Supervisory Park Ranger, Oconaluftee Visitor Center. She continued, “We would like to invite musicians to play traditional Appalachian tunes such as gospel songs and traditional ballads as they were played on the porches in the old days.”
The visitor center will be decorated for the holiday season and will include an exhibit on Christmas in the mountains in the past. Hot cider and cookies will be served on the porch accompanied by a glowing fire.