
Highlands, NC, was recently named "America's best small mountain town" Travel & Leisure. (Shutterstock)
Saturday is the first official day of fall and being in North Carolina makes it that much sweeter. Read on for NC Fall categories that we’re the best at.
It’s Friday, which means it’s time for our Good News Friday roundup. Here’s what we have today:
Food Festival Heaven
Southern Living compiled a list of the South’s best food festivals, and North Carolina showed up twice.
The Chow Chow Food and Culture Festival was held in early September this year, but the BayHaven Food and Wine Festival is right around the corner.
Greg and Subrina Collier, founders of Leah & Louise, are hosting this foodie festival celebrating Black foodways for the third year in a row Oct. 4 – 8 in Charlotte.
Scenic Mountain Towns
What is more fall-inspired than a trip to one of North Carolina’s mountain towns?
Boone and Asheville may be the first to come to mind, but there are many more you won’t want to miss out on. Travel & Leisure recently dubbed Highlands, NC the Best Small Mountain Town, and Hendersonville was no. 12 on Southern Living’s list of Best Small Towns in the South.
Best Place to See Fall Foliage
Last Friday, USA Today released their Readers’ Choice selection of the top 10 places to bask in fall foliage.
Coming in at 6th is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park! The fall colors are breathtaking, and nearby towns like Bryson City have unique places to stay, including glamping in a yurt and scenic trails in towns like Highlands and Cashiers.
Best Apple Orchard
In another USA Today Readers’ Choice list, Sky Top Orchard in Flat Rock, NC was voted the fourth-best apple orchard in the U.S.!
This family-owned orchard grows many apple varieties including Golden and Red Delicious which you can pick or grab at their stand.

On North Carolina’s rivers and streams, the cleanup of Helene’s fury seems never-ending
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One year after Helene, NC program teaches students resilience
By Eric Tegethoff As the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene's devastating landfall approaches, a program in western North Carolina schools is...

Reduced fine for NC farmworker’s death raises accountability questions
By Eric Tegethoff During National Farm Safety and Health Week, a massively reduced fine for poor conditions that led to a farmworker's death...

Reduced fine for NC farmworker’s death raises accountability questions
By Eric Tegethoff During National Farm Safety and Health Week, a massively reduced fine for poor conditions that led to a farmworker's death...

One year after Helene, western NC residents reflect on what their communities have been through
Hurricane Helene left at least 108 people dead, over 100,000 homes damaged or destroyed, and over $60 billion in total costs. A year later,...