Christmas Trees from the White House to Your House - North Carolina High Country Style

The White House has chosen our Western North Carolina Fraser Fir 11 times to be the nation's official Christmas tree. This year Vice-President Joe Biden and billionaire Donald Trump are two high-profile Americans who will celebrate Christmas morning with one of our trees.

Enjoy this annual tradition in an even deeper historical way in 2010. The NuWray Inn, our legendary and historic inn on town square in Burnsville (where F. Scott Fitzgerald stayed while on trial - but that's another story) is teaming up with Sugar Plum Farms for a Choose and Snooze Christmas Tree Package. Visit with Santa in the North Pole, go on a hayride, choose and cut your very own Christmas tree, roast marshmallows, sip hot chocolate or cider made from locally grown apples, enjoy North Carolina barbecue, do some Christmas shopping (don't forget the Home of the Perfect Christmas Tree Store)and then enjoy the Southern hospitality and comfort of our beautifully refurbished NuWray Inn. Marvel at the history and acclaim that your new Christmas tree and its progenitors have garnered over the decades.

North Carolina Christmas Tree Facts

North Carolina has an estimated 50 million Fraser fir Christmas trees growing on over 25,000acres.

Fraser fir represents over 96% of all species grown in North Carolina.

Fraser fir is grown in the far Western North Carolina counties which include Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, Mitchell, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga and Yancey.

There are over 1,600 North Carolina growers.

The North Carolina Christmas Tree Industry is ranked second in the nation in number of trees harvested.

North Carolina produces over 19% of the Real Christmas Trees in the U.S.

The North Carolina Fraser fir has been judged the Nation's best through a contest sponsored by the National Christmas Tree Association and chosen for the official White House Christmas tree 11 times (more than any other species)....1971, 1973, 1982, 1984, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2005, 2007 and 2008.

The North Carolina Fraser fir Christmas tree is the most popular Christmas tree in North America and is shipped into every state in the U.S. as well as the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Canada, Bermuda, Japan and other points all over the world.

The North Carolina Fraser fir has soft, pleasant-to-touch needles, incomparable needle retention, long lasting aroma, and more pliable yet stronger branches for even the heaviest ornaments.

There are approximately 400 Choose and Cut Christmas tree farms in North Carolina.
Individual Christmas tree growers may sell anywhere from a few dozen trees per year to hundreds of thousands of trees per year. The Cove at Celo Mountain is located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway outside of Asheville - just minutes from these beautiful tree farms. Make this a part of your family's Christmas tradition for the generations as you gather from across the country to celebrate this special time together. Estate lots, mountain homes, beautifully appointed Cabins at Celo.

For more information on North Carolina Christmas tree farms

Stargazing with Amateur Astronomers on our Historic Town Square

Man has always turned his eyes and thoughts to the stars for guidance, inspiration, wisdom and hope.

On January 6th, Christianity celebrates Epiphany or Holy Lights - a night when stargazing led to a miraculous discovery by 3 Wise Men as they followed the Star of Bethlehem .

On January 8th we will gather as a community on our historic town square of Burnsville,turn off all the lights, and once again marvel at the stars over these ancient mountains. Amateur astronomers will be there with their big telescopes, hot chocolate and cookies will be served, and we can all begin the new year with "a window to the infinite and beyond." Please join us for this special event presented by our Small Town Main Street committee.

"I have long thought that anyone who does not regularly--or ever--gaze up and see the wonder and glory of a dark night sky filled with countless stars loses a sense of their fundamental connectedness to the universe. And as the astounding vastness of the universe becomes obscured, there is a throwback to a vision of a universe that essentially amounts to earth, or one's country, or state or city. Perspective becomes myopic. But a clear night sky and a little instruction allows anyone to soar in mind and imagination to the farthest reaches of an enormous universe in which we are but a speck. And there is nothing more exhilarating and humbling than that."-Dr. Brian Greene, Columbia University Physicist.

Make home a place where star gazing can be a nightly ritual - the beautiful, pristine Cove at Celo Mountain. Far enough away in the mountains to feel the touch of the infinite; close enough to a top destination city to maintain connectedness.

For videos and stargazing preparedness

Unique Gifts from the Ancient Arts and Crafts of the Appalachian Mountains

When you seem to be getting overdosed on Smart Phones, Xboxes, Wide-Screen TV's, and Wii's, consider something unique, original, handcrafted from the ancient arts and crafts of the Appalachian Mountains. Here are some of my favorites from various categories.

Trashformations - Rolf Holmquist takes the "throw-aways", the discarded of our society and transforms them into something beautiful and useful. Here are birdhouse Christmas tree ornaments and large garden birdhouses made from the recycled wood from old NC tobacco barns and found objects. This acclaimed artist has works in the top galleries in WNC.


Handmade Lapidary - there is beautiful jewelry, and there is jewelry that tugs at your heart for its symbolism. Matt Willig's designs are both.

Hand-thrown Pottery - loving and using the beauty of the handcrafted everyday - Sarah House is one of the best of the best.


Hand-blown Glass Ornaments or Objects - I don't even know how to begin here to pick out the artisans - some of the best in the nation are within a few miles of The Cove at Celo Mountain: Rob Levin, William and Katherine Bernstein, Kenny Pieper and others.


There is Billie Ruth Sudduth, a NC Living Treasure, whose Basket Weaving incorporated the Fibonacci numbers and Nature Sequence long before Dan Brown made it famous in his books.

There are Iron Forgers so gifted we have festivals where they have hands-on demonstrations to teach people from around the country. Zack Noble is one of the those gifted artisans.



Quilting is one of our heritage crafts. Contact our Mountain Piecemakers Quilt Quild to put you in touch with quilters or sellers of heirloom quilts.
While I have only touched the tip of the iceberg with this local genius, I will leave you with the best stocking stuffer of all, our beautiful 2011 Calendar of the Quilt Trails of Western North Carolina. These are in very limited supply, so order now.
Begin your own mountain memories, learn a heritage craft, reconnect with what is important in life - The Cabins at Celo, the land in The Cove at Celo Mountain - streams, creeks, trout ponds, waterfalls, long-range and short-range mountain views. Rivers and mountains and all that implies The mountains are beckoning.