Pigeon Forge Yama Con 2017

Pigeon Forge Yama Con 2017  is a Smoky Mountain special event you will not want to miss! Gates open at 9 a.m. Friday December 1 and continue through Sunday, December 3, closing around 1 a.m. each night, according to Elle Carr, Yama-Con co-con chair and director of programming.A few schedule highlights include cosplay contests, concerts and a charity auction.

Iron Cosplay, a competition where teams face off and have to create a cosplay with random items, will go from 1:45-2:45 p.m. Friday, according to the convention’s schedule on the Yama-Con app.

A cosplay contest will take place on stage from 3-5 p.m. on Saturday. Registration for the contest is available online at Yama-Con’s website, YamaCon.

Rock band Eyeshine will perform a farewell concert from 6-7 p.m. Saturday. The band has played at Yama-Con for several years and includes one of Yama-Con’s longtime guests, voice actor Johnny Yong Bosch, who also played the second Black Power Ranger in “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.”

The Club Yama rave will feature four deejays and go from 7:30-11:59 p.m. on Saturday.

A charity auction that will benefit Sevierville animal shelter Pets Without Parents will take place from 1:45-4 p.m. Sunday.

Yama-Con’s Friday tickets cost $30; Saturday tickets cost $35, and Sunday tickets cost $25. Weekend passes cost $50, according to the event’s website. All adults need a ticket to attend. Children 10 and under get in free with a paying adult.

Yama-Con 2017 guests

In addition to Johnny Yong Bosch, the convention will feature guests who have provided voices in anime and video games. The guests will participate in panels and autograph sessions throughout the convention.

A few of Yama-Con’s guests include Todd Haberkorn (Natsu Dragneel in “Fairy Tail”), Leah Clark (Mari in “Yuri On Ice,”), Cynthia Cranz (Chi Chi in “Dragon Ball Z“), Chuck Huber (Garlic Jr. and Android 17 in “Dragon Ball Z”), Derek Stephen Prince (Shino Aburame in “Naruto”) and Paul St. Peter (Xemnas in “Kingdom Hearts”).

For more information on the event, visit YamaCon.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park “Womens Work” Day Saturday, June 17, 2017

Great Smoky Mountains National Park “Womens Work” Day Saturday, June 17, 2017. On Saturday, June 17, Great Smoky Mountains National Park will host the annual Women’s Work Festival at the Mountain Farm Museum. This event honors the vast contributions made by the women of Southern Appalachia showcasing traditional work led by women on mountain farms in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The event is from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Demonstrations among the historic buildings will include hearth cooking, soap making, corn shuck crafts, and spinning. Exhibits of artifacts and historic photographs will provide a glimpse into the many roles of rural women. The Davis-Queen house will be open and available for touring and will highlight an audio presentation of memoirs collected from last child born in the house.

In addition to the Women’s Work Festival, visitors will also be treated to a music jam session on the porch of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. Music jam sessions are held every first and third Saturday of the month on the porch from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

All activities are free to the public. The Mountain Farm Museum is located on U.S. Highway 441 adjacent to the national park’s Oconaluftee Visitor Center, 2 miles north of Cherokee, North Carolina. For additional information call the visitor center at 828-497-1904.

The next event at the Mountain Farm Museum is the annual Mountain Life Festival on Saturday, September 16, 2017.

Art sale to benefit Wears Valley Ranch Saturday June 10, 2017

Art sale to benefit Wears Valley Ranch Saturday June 10, 2017. Local artisans and residents of Wears Valley Ranch will offer unique crafts and art at a sale in beautiful Wears Valley, Tennessee. Wears Valley Ranch, a non-profit organization, is celebrating 25 years of service to children from families in crisis situations.

The event, scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the ranch which is located between Pigeon Forge and Townsend, just off Wears Valley Road at Lyon Springs Road, will feature vintage goods, innovative crafts, jewelry, furniture, pottery and a variety of food and live music. Behind-the-scenes ranch tours will be offered at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Make plans now to enjoy a fun day in a delightful setting while helping to raise funds for a worthy cause.

For GPS directions to the ranch use 3601 Lyon Springs Road, Sevierville. To learn more about Wears Valley Ranch go to ART.

HeySmokies.com blog owner puts spare change to good use!

                                    Shelter gains $10,000.00 to help area animals.

HeySmokies.com blog owner puts spare change to good use! Brad Knight, the owner of HeySmokies.com recently presented Pets Without Parents a donation check bringing the amount donated by HeySmokies.com up to $10,000.00. For the past two years the Sevierville company placed donation boxes inside Sevier County businesses to collect spare change from locals and visitors who generously contributed to help reach this milestone.

That spare change has been put to good use at the animal shelter which offers a refuge to many pets who otherwise would be homeless. Pets Without Parents is Sevier Counties only no kill animal facility.

“I am honored to help Pets Without Parents,” said Brad Knight, “this donation program helps with a portion of the shelters monthly expenses which can exceed $10,000.00.”

Sevier County Relay for Life slated for Friday, June 2, 2017.

Sevier County Relay for Life slated for Friday, June 2, 2017. The Annual Sevier County Relay for Life, which celebrates cancer survivors and honors those who have lost the battle, will be held from 4 p.m.-midnight, at Patriot Park on Friday June, 2 2017. This free, family-friendly event also raises money to fund research that will someday find a cure for the disease that ranks as one of the nation’s biggest health problems. Come cheer those who have been affected by cancer whether they have been diagnosed 10 days or 10 years. A survivors lap will honor and inspire those facing a cancer diagnosis, and a caregivers lap will recognize the selfless act of those caring for cancer victims.

A ceremony featuring luminary bags representing loved ones lost to cancer will provide an opportunity to grieve while offering comfort. Participants will walk continuously to signify that cancer never sleeps. Campsites are available around the park and food and beverage vendors are also scheduled to help with fundraising. Activities, music and entertainment is scheduled throughout the event.