The Streets of Waynesville

Easy to overlook in the glare of nearby Asheville, Waynesville has its own charm and its own talents. There are writers here and photographers also, and those other people who conjure magik out of paintbrushes onto canvas, paper and whatnots. The old mountain crafts are alive and well in Waynesville and available for purchase on Folkmoot's International Day. This is the day to be here and it is the place to buy all those wonderful Christmas and birthday gifts that you will proudly present at appropriate times later in the year.

Not all the great artists of Waynesville work with brush, camera or pencil, some of them make their art in the presentation of their shops. Here's one with the loveliest accommodation for passers-by that I have ever seen. And I use that term in the broadest sense of its metaphysical implications. You CAN'T walk by here without sitting down - it's right on the sidewalk, and you feel like you've finally come home when you do!

Other places in Waynesville prepare their art on plates that they present before you as you clasp your hands in joy and raise your eyebrows high over your pursed lips. On International Day in Waynesville, there is SO much to choose from that NObody can do it right. There are vendors beyond comprehension who are providing ethnic food from many kiosks. I always intend to eat a lot of food there, but I usually bomb out in Nick and Nate's where I gravitate to their pizza buffet and a GREAT glass of Alleycat Ale. If you are lucky, you may have to wait for a table. If that happens, go down toward the buffet line, on the right, and you will see ALL of the roasted, salted peanuts ever cooked in the entire world. The first one or two may not taste very good, but if you go beyond that, the waiters may have to drag you away to your table, kicking and screaming when it comes ready. (That has happened to me several times,)

And there is permanent art here too. Sly foxes watch as you walk past them on the sidewalks. There is a great alligator made out of - nuts and bolts. There are whimsical things that seem to float in some eternal breeze, and of course, who could miss these guys?