Jan. 27 - BLOWING ROCK WINTERFEST: Join the Village of Blowing Rock as it celebrates the fun side of winter at the 14th annual Blowing Rock WinterFest through Jan. 29. The event includes the Chili Challenge, Polar Plunge, WinterFeast, Wine Tasting and Auction, ice sculpture contest and demonstration, pancake breakfast, Winter Paws Dog Show, live game shows and much more. For more information, call (828) 295-7851. Read more...

Jan. 20 - CHILI COOKOFF: Cornerstone Summit Church will be hosting a chili cook-off at 6:30 Friday, Jan. 20, at Boone United Methodist Church, located at 471 New Market Boulevard, Boone. The cost of tickets is $10 per person and will include the meal, as well as inclusion in a raffle for gift certificates and other prizes provided by local businesses. Tickets can be purchased at the door or by calling the Cornerstone Summit office at (828) 265-3795. Proceeds from this fundraising event will go toward sending community members with Missions.Me to La Ceiba, Honduras, March 11-18. This trip will focus on reaching out to the area public schools and will culminate at the end of the week in a citywide crusade.Read more...

An Internet campaign by the organization Grass Roots North Carolina to persuade members of the Blowing Rock Town Council to vote against a proposed amendment to a town ordinance may have backfired when residents of the town got wind of it. 
Read more...

More than 100 athletes competed at Appalachian Ski Mountain in the annual Special Olympics North Carolina’s Winter Games event. Read more...

For five local distance runners, the road to London goes through Houston. Read more...

ELK KNOB STATE PARK: in Watauga County will host two educational programs this weekend that are free and open to the public. At 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14, folks will learn all about the American black bear, including its habits, habitats and much more. At 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 15, rangers will explore the predators that call Elk Knob home and various adaptations that allow these animals to live at the apex of the natural world. Bring a creative and open mind, as folks will be asked to design their own predators using the adaptations discussed in the program. Both programs last about an hour. Meet at the Elk Knob Park Office. For more information, call (828) 297-7261.Read more...

Bonnie Tyson Prothro, 95 of Blowing Rock, passed peacefully from this life with her daughter at her side Tuesday, January 10, 2012, at Blowing Rock Extended Care.Read more...

The seventeenth installment of UNC-TV’s historic “Biographical Conversations” series provides an intimate portrait of a well-known North Carolina artist on the occasion of his 75th birthday.Read more...

It’s the situation that all traveling pet lovers fear the most: You are on the road and all of a sudden your dog or cat goes missing. Read more...

More than 120 athletes and coaches from 20 local programs and Virginia will participate in the Special Olympics North Carolina Winter GamesRead more...

Mr. Karl Hollers Jr., 79, died December 10, 2011, at the Indian River Medical Center, Vero Beach, FL.Read more...

Wednesday - HIGH COUNTRY HOSPICE: will be hosting a four-week grief support group at the Hospice Office, 136 Furman Road, Suite 2, Boone, in February. The group will be offered at no charge and will be held from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays, Jan. 4, 11, 18 and 25. The group is open to anyone in the community who has lost a loved one.  For more information or for additional grief support services, contact the bereavement coordinator at (828) 265-3926.Read more...

This weekend we will bid adieu to 2011 and welcome in 2012. Read more...

David M. Creagh, an influential public radio pioneer, producer, radio station manager and industry executive, died Dec. 16.Read more...

The end-of-the-year holidays are known as a time for giving. For a few criminals in the High Country, however, it turned into a time for taking. Read more...