Music makes people feel good.

Many people think of music when they think of North Carolina, and with good reason. There is a long, rich tradition of Mountain Music here, and it is still very much alive and well.

Now through March, on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, there is a Mountain Music Jamboree in Glendale Springs. If you love to listen to music and dance, you should try to schedule your next stay at our Northwest NC cabins over one of these Saturdays.

Arvill T. Scott started the Music Jamboree back in 1987 in an old school house. Over twenty years later, the Jamboree is now in a 7,200 square foot building just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. There is plenty of room to dance here, and boy, do folks dance! Although operating on a slimmer, winter schedule now, the typical week at Mountain Music Jamboree offers Square Dancing and a variety of social dances, sometimes called “mixers”.

Bring your grandma and bring your children. Everyone is encouraged to dance here, and that’s what makes it so darn fun. When you return to your Blue Ridge Parkway cabins, you’ll spin each other around and around until dawn.

Detail from fresco in Holy Trinity Church

Ben Long has had a long, distinguished career. He learned the art of frescoes while an apprentice of Maestro Pietro Annigoni in Florence, Italy, where he worked for almost eight years.

In 2001, Mr. Long was awarded the prestigious Arthur Ross Award for Excellence in the Classical Tradition. His frescoes can be seen throughout the United States and in Italy.

So take a little time to see these frescoes during your next trip to our Blue Ridge Parkway cabins. It’s the next best thing to traveling to Italy.

A fun day trip from our pet-friendly cabins in North Carolina is found in Newton, about an hour and a half to the south. The Harper House will astound you. The North Carolina Department of Archives and History maintains that the Harper House has “the finest Queen Anne interior styling in the entire state.” This is quite a compliment, but it is not unwarranted. Hundreds of details, from door latches to decorative wood banisters, make the interior a wonder to behold. Anyone interested in architecture and craftsmanship should make the effort to visit the Harper House in Newton.

On your way back to your NC pet-friendly cabins, be sure to visit the Bunker Hill Covered Bridge, outside Claremont. It is one of two original covered bridges still standing in North Carolina, and was designated a National Civil Engineering Landmark in 2001. It is lovely to behold.