Things to Do in Morganton

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.

Instructors at The Painted Parrot take a lighthearted approach to painting. Each strives to empower budding artists with guidance and feedback but emphasize creative expression over technical form. Their studio space reinforces the cheerful, no-pressure vibe: green and blue walls peek out from beneath previous classes’ paintings, and the studio’s resident parrots, JoJo, Petie, and Ralphie, squawk out commands for crackers or deliver lectures on art history over the popping of BYOB bottle corks.

Travels in Wine Tours' co-founders, Kimberlee Young and Derek Schuler, share their love of wine, food, and travel with curious tourists through tours designed and led by certified sommeliers. Epicurean scenic tours of boutique wineries, personalized luxury Napa vacations, and custom weekend getaways marry viticultural education with flavorful indulgence as guests take in picturesque panoramas of vineyards that stretch to the horizon before curving upward and forming bridges to the moon.