Attend a lively musical performance, go dancing at one of the many street festivals planned throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains, explore regional gem mines, sample your way across a food and wine festival, or explore a new art exhibit. There’s no shortage of cool things to do here in Western North Carolina. Here’s a list of some of the best events taking place this month.

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Statewide Star Party: Bare Dark Sky Observatory
April 21, 2018 @ 5:30 pm - 11:00 pm
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This year, the Bare Dark Sky Observatory will participate in the NC Science Festival’s annual Statewide Star Party. The observatory is home to the Sam Scope, a 34″ diameter Newtonian telescope — the largest public telescope in North Carolina. The Star Party event will be free to the public, and visitors will have the opportunity to look through the Sam Scope at one or two objects in the night sky, as well as other objects through smaller telescopes that will be set up around the observatory. The Mayland Earth to Sky Park is an International Dark Sky certified location, one of only two in the Southeastern United States. Visitors will have the experience of total darkness. A food truck will be on-site for the event, and tours of the Earth to Sky Park will be available before it gets dark.