This hit event returns! Join Banner Elk Presbyterian Church for this fun 90-minute concert, featuring love songs from our favorite musicals. This performance features singers from the Lees-McRae Summer Theater and the Banner Elk Presbyterian Choir. 

Admission is free, but donations are encouraged. 100% of the donations benefit the Banner Elk Presbyterian Church Preschool. 

LINVILLE, N.C. – Grandfather Mountain, the not-for-profit nature park run by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, will host its annual Junior Naturalist Day on Saturday, Aug. 9. Activities, included with admission, will be provided specifically for children ages 5 to 12 — though all ages are welcome — to explore their environment and experience all that Grandfather has to offer.

Programming takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will feature birding with a naturalist, nature journaling, looking for lichen and more.

In honor of the mountain’s upcoming “Hawk Watch” event during the month of September, there will be a Junior Hawk Watch program near the Mile High Swinging Bridge in the afternoon. Grandfather is one of more than 300 Hawk Watch sites officially designated by the Hawk Migration Association of North America.
Grandfather Mountain’s Junior Naturalist Program offers an experience that caters to curious young explorers at the park’s Wilson Center for Nature Discovery and Conservation Campus — which will be expanded in fall 2025 through the opening of Yonni’s Clubhouse, a space designed to combine learning and fun via indoor and outdoor, hands-on, education opportunities.

We are looking forward to another "banner" year of Woolly Worm racing! Please note that this event is sponsored by the Avery Chamber of Commerce. Please contact them with questions or comments at ​https://averycounty.com/.

​The Chamber's After Hours events are great opportunities to network with other Chamber members. The events start at 6:00 P.M. and usually end no later than 7:30 P.M. While not required to attend, we appreciate an RSVP (select the link below to provide your RSVP).

After Hours events are held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month, starting in February and ending in November or December.

There will be introductions during the event, giving everyone a chance to talk about their business and latest news.

Upon arriving, visit the sign-in area for everyone to receive a name tag and sign in so that the host will have a record of who attended their event. 

Everyone is encouraged to bring business cards to assist with networking opportunities, as well as a business card and $1.00 for a drawing!

Visitors: Those joining us as a non-member guest are welcome to come to one event to see what the Chamber is all about. You'll be given an application to take home with you during your visit. If you have been to an after-hours event and would like to come to another, membership is required.