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Events
FeaturedSpotlight
See events that will close Marion downtown streets this year, including Friday night concerts
Mike Conley
Updated
Downtown Marion will host a variety of events this year that will require the closing of streets, and that includes a series of Friday night celebrations and concerts on the North Block.
The 2024 Dia de los Muertos festival in downtown Marion.
PHOTO BY JOHN SACCO
The schedule of downtown events was adopted by the Marion City Council during the regular meeting on Tuesday, March 17.
City of Marion officials said a series of festivities will take place this spring and summer on every fourth Friday evening. The first will take place on Friday, May 22. The events will include live music at the City Stage on Marion’s North Block. The only month it will not take place is August because that will be the time of the WNC Bigfoot Festival, said City Manager Woody Ayers.
More information about the Friday night festivities will be announced by the Marion Business Association.
The 2025 Liver Mush Festival covered much of Main Street in
downtown Marion.
MIKE CONLEY, MCDOWELL NEWS
On Tuesday, the council adopted the following list of additional events that will require the closing of a downtown street:
Saturday, June 6 — Liver Mush Festival
Saturday, July 4 — Independence Day celebration and parade
Tuesday, Aug. 5 — National Night Out
Saturday, Aug. 29 — WNC Bigfoot Festival
Saturday, Sept. 12 — United Culturas Festival
Saturday, Oct. 10 — Mountain Glory Festival
Saturday, Nov. 7 — Dia de los Muertos Festival
Sunday, Nov. 22 — Marion Christmas parade
Thursday, Dec. 17 — Christmas Fest
Thursday, Dec. 31 — New Year’s Eve celebration.
The schedule of downtown events was adopted by the Marion City
Council during the regular meeting on March 17.
MIKE CONLEY, MCDOWELL NEWS
History
FeaturedSpotlight
McDowell County America 250 presentation to focus on Cherokee-settler relations in western NC
Mike Conley
On Thursday, April 2, an America 250 speaker event in Marion will highlight the relations between settlers and Native Americans on the 18th century frontier.
Cherokee storyteller Nancy Pheasant and Cherokee historian Mark Ledford will provide the Native American perspective on that period of American history. The presentation begins at 6 p.m. at the Marion Train Depot. The event is part of the McDowell County America 250 speaker series. It is free and open to the public, according to a news release from organizers.
Ledford is a member of the Cherokee Nation who lives in eastern Tennessee.
“The Trail of Tears is what the Cherokee are known for,” Ledford said, “but that was a low point — not the golden period by any means.”
Nancy Pheasant
SUBMITTED PHOTO
The golden period, according to Ledford, was the 1700s when Cherokee leaders visited England to negotiate land treaties. They traveled throughout eastern America as a powerful nation.
“They were great warriors and they fought. But it was just a simple case of numbers,” Ledford said. “They couldn’t stand against the size of the onslaught of settlement that was going on.”
Pheasant is a Cherokee storyteller and craftsperson who resides on the Qualla Boundary. Following in her father’s footsteps, she is a respected storyteller committed to preserving and promoting the rich culture of the Cherokee people, according to the news release.
This coming July 4, the U.S. will commemorate and celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The journey toward this historic milestone is an opportunity to pause and reflect on our nation’s past, honor the contributions of all Americans, and look ahead toward the future we want to create for the next generation and beyond. America 250 activities are being organized simultaneously on national, state and local levels, according to the news release.
For more information, visit the America 250 McDowell County, N.C. Facebook page or contact Madalyn Robinson, clerk to the McDowell County Board of Commissioners, at 828-652-2976.
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