SATURDAY, Feb.19: No Hike leader available. SUNDAY, Feb. 20: The Nantahala Hiking Club will take an easy 1.5 mile hike on the Tessentee Farm loop trail through woods and farm fields. Meet at the River Road picnic area off Hwy, 441 S (about 1-mile south of the Smoky Mtn. Visitor Center) at 2:00 p.m. Hikes are limited to 20 people; reservations are required. Call leader Kay Coriell, 369-6820,for reservations, more information, or in case weather looks doubtful on day of hike. Visitors are welcome, but no pets please.

Feb. 21 - The Literacy Council is sponsoring a fun and inspiring creative writing class Monday nights, from 5 to 7:30, under the instruction of Sadie Rowe, a published author from this area. The class is free and is for 6th through12th grades. For more information, call the Literacy Council at 526-9938 ext 240.

March 03-06 Contact Number: (828) 526-8084
"Stepping Out"
A good natured comedy about an adult dance class consisting of seven women and one man who come from very different backgrounds and range from hopeless to competent.
Location: Performing Arts Center Sponsored by: Highlands Community Players

NEW FACES IN "STEPPING OUT"

Several new performers have stepped forward for Stepping Out, the current play of the Highlands Community Players, scheduled to open March 3. Along with five HCP �old-timers,� the five newcomers have learned tap dancing steps as well as their lines for this good-natured comedy about an adult tap dancing class consisting of seven women and one man.

That one man is Justin Taylor, who plays the part of Geoffrey, a fellow of few words (as you can imagine) in a class of seven women! Though new to the Community Players, Justin is a graduate of Highlands High School and performed in �Mame,� the 2000 senior class play. And though new to tap dancing, he is experienced in ballroom dancing. Justin keeps fit and earns his livelihood as a personal trainer at Mountain Fitness in Highlands.

Among the women in the cast new to HCP is Nancy Reeder. She has appeared in one other play, a Pennsylvania community theater production of I Remember Mama. After many years teaching in elementary school, Nancy is currently utilizing her dramatic talent as storyteller and as a coach for teachers in storytelling and writing techniques to use with their students. Nancy is working on a master�s degree in storytelling from East Tennessee State University, living in Franklin with her friend Lonnie Busch, an artist and writer.

Bonnie Earman, is performing for the first time on the stage. (Her son Taylor made his debut with HCP last summer in The Sunshine Boys.) Bonnie is active in many town organizations, including the Mountain Garden Club, Leadership Highlands Governing Board, and Land Stewards of the Highlands Plateau. She is co-chair of the upcoming Beetle Ball, a benefit for the Jackson-Macon Conservation Alliance to help finance the acquisition of ladybird beetles to consume the infamous wooly adelgids that are attacking our hemlocks. A longtime resident of Highlands, Bonnie is the Visitor Center Director for Highlands Chamber of Commerce.

Another new actress is Catlin Huitt, a senior at Highlands High School. She is originally from Anderson, SC, but now lives in Sapphire. In addition to her high school classes, she is taking college level courses at Southwestern Community College and hopes to attend Clemson University next fall. Catlin works at a summer camp and enjoys outdoor activities.

Caroline Wilder has done a bit of acting in school plays, but this is her first time performing in community theater. A native of North Carolina, she lived for a number of years in Atlanta where she earned an MBA degree from Georgia State University and worked for a time with Swan Antiques. Antiques remain one of her major interests. She has also worked with Ryan and Company in Cashiers where she now lives with her husband Frank Wilder of Mountain Realty and works as a fourth-fifth grade teaching assistant at the Summit Charter School.

New to HCP, Jenny King is acting, not on stage, but in the key backstage position of stage manager. Jenny became a full time resident of Highlands in 1990, moving here from the North Carolina coast. She is now happily on the staff of the Highlands Chamber of Commerce, having sold her business, Highlands Whole Life Supply in 2004. She now has her weekends off to spend with her partner Robert and their new puppy Mica.


All these new performers as well as the rest of the cast, Ronnie Spilton, Misty Thomas, Ginny Harris, Sue Feldkamp, and Mary Adair Leslie, will be performing March 3 - 6 and March 12 and 13, in the comedy Stepping Out at the Martin-Lipscomb Performing Arts Center, Highlands. Call 828-526-8084 for reservations.

March 05 Contact Number: (828) 526-5841
Chili and Salsa Cook-off. 6:30 - 9:30. Tickets $20 each 6:30 pm
Location: Highlands Conference Center Sponsored by: Highlands Chamber of Commerce

March 28 - Macon County School Board meeting held at Highlands School library at 6 p.m. Commissioners are hoping for a good turnout from the community

March 28 - Beekeeping School for Beginners sponsored by the Macon County Beekeepers Assoc. will be held two days � Thursday from 7-9 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the N.C. Extension Office in Franklin. To register, call at 526-2385

Highlands Wine & Cheese Shop

Stop By Fridays & Saturdays - There Is Always Something New Going On.