Things to Do in Elizabethton

Since 1976, area merchants and knowledgeable experts from around the country have gathered to swap ideas, inspiration, and advice at the Western North Carolina Home Show. Throughout the Asheville Civic Center, hundreds of local businesses and experts set up booths where they explain the nuts and bolts of their industry, whether landscaping, interior decoration, window installation, or furniture crafting. Meanwhile, speakers present seminars on a wide variety of topics throughout the weekend-long extravaganza, from hyperpractical subjects, such as setting a budget, to more abstract topics, such as the definition and history of green building. Visitors to the show depart with rekindled enthusiasm for projects, as well as an arsenal of facts that give them an edge when vetting contractors or performing standup at interior-design conferences.

Every day from dawn to dusk, adventure seekers climb aboard Asheville 4 Wheeler Rentals' stable of two-person ATVs and skirt Pisgah National Forest's wooded wonderland—more than 180 acres of privately owned unpaved roads and pristine land. Hardwood trees whip past the sturdy buggies as drivers staunchly traverse the bumps and jumps of a wilderness ride in search of the area's numerous waterfalls and gnome villages hidden behind waterfalls. The company's guide and cart-keeper will gladly accompany guests on their endeavors into his property and also offers expeditions into the depths of the national forest itself.

Thousands of sheep have Friends & Fiberworks to thank for their cool, breezy summers. The shop's 4,000-square-foot show room is packed with the dyed, spun remnants of their winter coats, inspiring shoppers to fashion art for the home and body. Wooden display panels show off sample projects above shelves stuffed with skeins of all kinds, including yarns spun by local fiber artists such as Rowan and Debbie Bliss. Amid the rainbow of pillowy packages, cushy armchairs await practicing knitters and spiders-in-training.

More than just a supply shop, Friends & Fiberworks cultivates its own flock of knitters and craftspeople through ongoing classes and twice-yearly retreats. The talented instructors delve into everything from weaving on a loom to spinning wool into yarn and straw into gold, eliminating the need to wager firstborn children away to nameless imps.

Sprawled across 140 acres of mountainous backcountry, more than one mile of steel cable suspends from the trees, forming ten zipline tracks that glide throughout the canopy. On the ground below, a swinging bridge spans the mountainside, and a cliff jump offers an immediate path to the terrain below. To some, this sounds like the set of an action movie, but it’s actually the zipline course at Sky Valley Zip Tours, and it’s open to the public.

The guides at Sky Valley Zip Tours offer outdoor adventures that introduce guests to the thrill of ziplining while also learning about the local flora and fauna. They cap groups at 10 people, led by at least two guides who expertly navigate the tracks, which were professionally designed, constructed, and made safe by Challenge Design Innovations. Trips include all equipment, including helmets, harnesses, and translators to communicate with feral tightrope walkers.

Each pass is valid for multiple visits or multiple children. Passes can be redeemed during all open-bounce hours, excluding Parent’s Night Out. Parents can join their kids in the play structures at no additional cost.

[[m:####Leaping Lizards Family Entertainment Center

Leaping Lizards Family Entertainment Center’s inflatables range from rainbow-striped complexes of slides and obstacles to a wave-riding shark feasting on a boat. Youngsters—and parents, if they want—can bound across the bouncy surfaces during regular hours, or add some bounce to a birthday party, complete with pizza, drinks, and a private room. Alternatively, staffers who have undergone rigorous safety training supervise tots on Parents Night Out, a Friday-night event that replaces babysitters with bounce-house fun and gives parents an opportunity to check out the local fight club.

From the time Dr. Lucius B. Compton founded Eliada Homes, Inc. in 1903, the nonprofit community support agency continues to work toward creating healthy futures for abused, dependent, and neglected children and their families through foster care, therapy, and range of other programs. One of those programs begins each autumn, when the agency sets up its corn maze through 12 acres of tall cornstalks and challenges visitors to decipher its intricate passageways without help of any helicopter reconnaissance support. When not working through the facility’s three mazes, participants can also enjoy less mentally taxing attractions such as a giant sandbox filled with corn kernels, a storybook trail, and hayrides in the pumpkin wagon. All proceeds from admission directly benefit needy children and families in the community.