Black Mountain Parks And People

A new director walks into town and decides the best way to learn it is to get outside with everyone else. We’re joined by Jacob Guiot, Black Mountain’s Director of Recreation and Parks, who’s only a few weeks into the role but already deep in the details that shape daily life here, from youth sports and community spaces to the events that bring the whole town together.

Jacob shares the long road that brought him from Kansas to Western North Carolina, including years in state parks and the exhaustion of managing record crowds during the COVID period. That experience shows up in how he talks about public service: staying visible, listening fast, and building programs that are equitable and welcoming. We dig into what Recreation and Parks actually covers in Black Mountain, including Park Rhythms returning to Lake Tomahawk, indoor and outdoor youth soccer at Grey Eagle Arena, the Center for Active Aging, and how the town’s swimming pool works for both residents and visitors.

We also get into the fun stuff: favorite local restaurants, where to catch live music, fishing and kayaking, and what’s next on the horizon like the Swannanoa bike park and a possible neon bike ride that turns a simple route into a community spectacle. Plus, we preview the Sourwood Festival, one of Black Mountain’s biggest traditions, and talk about why good trail information matters for visitors who come here to hike.

If you love Black Mountain NC events, outdoor recreation in Western North Carolina, and the people who make small towns run, this one’s for you. Subscribe to Exploring the Valley, share this with a friend who needs a mountain weekend, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

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Transcript

Welcome And Meet Jacob

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Jacob Gio. Yes, ma'am. I am so glad you're here today. I'm glad to be here. Thank you for coming in. Thank you for having me. I am excited to have you around. I love Clint. He's fabulous, but um but overwhelmed. There's a lot for one person to do to and however many pieces. Anyway, super happy to have you here.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

And it was fun to meet you in the hall. I met you at Town Hall a couple maybe three weeks ago. How long have you been here?

SPEAKER_01 0:26

Uh this will be my fourth week, so yeah. Fourth week's about it. I think I met you on my first week.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

There we go.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Instantly I knew you just had good energy.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

You were I don't know that it's always good, but it's always jacked up.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

I'm always jacked up, that's for sure. That's always refreshing to meet so good. It was good to meet you.

SPEAKER_00 0:41

Good, good, good. Well, so tell me what your job is, because it's a brand new job, and I'll get it wrong because everywhere else I call it something else.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

So what is what is your So I am the director for Black Mountain Recreation and Parks.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Why is it recreation and parks?

SPEAKER_01 0:56

I'm still trying to figure that out. I've been digging, but you know, for now I'm just gonna go with it.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

Okay. Well, I'm gonna accidentally call it the other every once in a while. Everyone does. Sorry, I'm sure they do. It's really not a big deal. It's all the same concept, same words, just mixed up.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:09

Anyway, tell me what's your story? Where are you from?

SPEAKER_01 1:12

Well, I'm from Kansas. Basketball? Uh my uncle actually played for the KU Jayhawks. Okay. When the brand was there. Oh, okay. We still be friends. I mean, who has the most recent national championship?

SPEAKER_02 1:25

Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

Anyway, but yeah, so Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, big Jayhawk fan. Okay. But I'm from Kansas. Uh while I was going through school, I did parks and recreation. Okay. Um, I absolutely loved it. May or may not

From Kansas To Black Mountain

SPEAKER_01 1:38

have been watching the show and declared my major that way.

SPEAKER_00 1:41

You're that young? That's sad. Okay, keep going.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

Anyway, uh, so once I graduated college, I really fell in love with the mountains. I was a park ranger in Arkansas for a year and then got off of insurance, and I was like, man, I need some good insurance. So I moved back home to Kansas and got a superintendent job at a state park. It's the state park my dad took me fishing to when I was young. That's so cool. So I got to run it and all sorts of things like that. And while I was there, I met my wife.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Uh yeah. She was a fisheries technician. And what does that mean?

SPEAKER_00 2:15

I think I know what it means, but what does that mean?

SPEAKER_01 2:17

She works with fish.

SPEAKER_00 2:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 2:19

Like so for the stitches. Uh no, social.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Fishery.

SPEAKER_01 2:23

I don't know what that means. Fisheries. So she studies fish populations in lakes, streams, okay, everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 2:29

She's happy here.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Oh, she loves it. Okay, good. She absolutely loves it. Good. But I met her and uh we both loved the mountains. Uh she's from Oklahoma. And we took a few trips out east before like, you know, while we were dating and everything. And we decided, you know, like she couldn't or like we couldn't have jobs in the same place, essentially, with state parks, fisheries, they're very niche jobs. Right. And during this time, she was finishing her masters and I was working through COVID. So I was working like Kansas was one of few state park systems that stayed open 100%. And we were probably at 200% capacity every day. I bet. Yeah. So I got I got a little tired. Yeah. I got a little tired, a little burnt out. And I looked at her one day and I was just like, you know what? Like, I gotta do my dream job and I've enjoyed it. Like, go find yours. And I was like, and I'll get back into Parks and Right, which I love. I've been doing since I was 15 years old. And we started moving east, essentially wanting to get to the western North Carolina Mountains. About three years ago, we got married in between Fairview and Black Mountain.

SPEAKER_02 3:34

Oh, okay. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

Yeah. That's cool. Yeah. And so moving here has really been full circle. You know, like really cool. We visited, we absolutely loved the area. When the job got posted, I think I was jumping up and down, kind of giddy. But it it's been a really good, really good experience. What else about me? That's professionally me.

SPEAKER_00 3:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:54

You're raised by Wolves. Do you have a family?

SPEAKER_01 3:56

Oh, yeah. My family, they're all back in Kansas.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

Okay. And they're visiting soon.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

Uh that yeah. Um my dad and my sister will be out for the blues festival. Okay. Uh my dad thinks he's Stevie Ray Vaughn, but Stevie Ray John is what we called him.

SPEAKER_02 4:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

You know, heck of a blues player, loves music. Uh so last year, before I even thought moving here would be a possibility, we came to the blues fest.

SPEAKER_00 4:19

Oh, how funny.

SPEAKER_01 4:19

That's awesome. I absolutely loved it, met a lot of great people. And that's you know, we've always liked Black Mountain, but that's when I fell in love with Black Mountain. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:28

Cool.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

Yeah. Good music, good vibes.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

Well, the impressive thing is that I actually know who Stevie Ravon is because I don't music. I don't get all that stuff. But I actually he was popular when I was in college. So I do remember that.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

Pride and Joy, Texas flood.

SPEAKER_00 4:46

Yep. There you go. Very cool. Very cool. Okay. And so now we're the recreation and parks guy. Yeah. Which means you are responsible for lots and lots of things. Let me see how many of them I can get right. Okay. So parks, park rhythms.

SPEAKER_02 5:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:03

Which they moved this year. They did back. Yeah. Moved back to Lake Tomahawk. Yeah. Do you know why they moved it back there?

SPEAKER_01 5:09

So for one, it's the 30th anniversary.

SPEAKER_00 5:11

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

And it started at Lake Tomahawk. Perfect. So it kind of, you know, one of those full circle moments again. Yep. They did put out a survey and overwhelming majority said, hey, Lake

Running Recreation And Parks Programs

SPEAKER_01 5:22

Tomahawk is where we really enjoyed it. Some of our best memories are at Lake Tomahawk and let's do it there. And it it has a it really works out for us because it does have a permanent stage. And in case of rain, we can always move it into Lakeview.

SPEAKER_00 5:35

Okay. That makes sense. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So if people would answer surveys, things can happen. Hey. I have trouble with that. I'll send out a survey and I'll get, you know, I'll send it to 600 people and I'll get 13 back. So I don't know what y'all are doing. I'm gonna have to come take a lesson from somebody over there.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

Talk to Clint. He's the man. He's the man. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

I'll just figure that out.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

He does great. And he's done so great with everything. Park rhythms, like he has it down to a T. Like the whole staff I have, they are all incredible. So he knows how to do events. He does. He does.

SPEAKER_00 6:08

Good to know. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 6:09

Oh gosh. Sorry, Clint.

SPEAKER_00 6:10

It's all right.

SPEAKER_01 6:11

If you're listening, sorry, Clint.

SPEAKER_00 6:12

He can tell me no. He tells me no all the time. I'm fine. I get it. I'm fine. I'm fine. So park rhythms, that's the thing I think of. And then I saw that you're doing you are doing some hikes, like your leading hikes. Is that right?

SPEAKER_01 6:24

Well, you know, Clint's gonna go with me.

SPEAKER_00 6:26

Right. I just mean you're gonna be on them. So people have a chance to like meet you.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

Yeah, it'll be just like someone on one time with the public. Um, that's something I'm very big on, is just like being receptive and being open to the public. So it's not like I'm always in this office and you have to schedule a time to see me. Right. You know, I think it gives the public an opportunity to kind of express their opinions, which is what we're here to do, serve the public. So very cool.

SPEAKER_00 6:48

It doesn't matter, you know, and you get to get out of the office, which to me is like gold when I get to leave. I'm just super excited.

SPEAKER_01 6:54

Yeah, yeah, it'll be great. And you know, starting out in parks, fall in love with the mountains. This is kind of like Clint made the suggestion, and uh he said that some of the folks that were on the hikes, they were like, Well, could how could we get out with them? And he was like, Jacob, let's do a director hike. Oh, that's good. I was like out of the office, let's go.

SPEAKER_00 7:11

That's cool, good. And then y'all are responsible for the center for the get it right. Tell me what it's called.

SPEAKER_01 7:18

The center of active aging.

SPEAKER_00 7:19

Active aging. Yeah. We all call it leg view, just so you know. Lake view. The rest of us call it leg view. Okay. But okay, but if we're gonna work on that, then I'll find rebrand. There we go.

SPEAKER_01 7:29

It's all right.

SPEAKER_00 7:29

There you go. And then soccer.

unknown 7:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:32

So tell me about soccer. So we have we have three seasons of soccer. We have a spring and a fall, those are both outdoors, and then we have Grey Eagle Arena and we do indoor soccer here there. And being one of the only public indoor soccer areas, that's our biggest program. Gotcha. We have this year we had 530 kids. Yeah. Old Colin was full speed ahead over there. Loved it. He loved it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Good. Yeah. Good. Okay. I played soccer all the way through college.

Soccer Seasons And Moving Stories

SPEAKER_00 8:00

And then I played while I was 36 years old. Wow. Okay. Pulled a hamstring, said, eh, that's it. And then I just coached. So I just finished I guess three seasons ago, three years ago. Where'd you coach at? In Georgia. Okay. Yeah. How long have you been here? Uh I've been a year and a half. Oh, I've been here two and a half years. But I've been at this job a year and a little bit. Okay, cool. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. That's cool. Yeah. I wish I had time. I would coach for you. I love it. Yeah. I absolutely love coaching and pretending I can still play. It's kind of fun. Yeah. So you've moved here. Did you find somewhere to live easily? Did you are none of my business? Are you renting? Did you buy a house? What'd you do?

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Right now we're renting.

SPEAKER_00 8:39

Okay, good.

SPEAKER_01 8:40

Yeah. We we found a place. Uh everything worked out really well. We had some stuff in mind that we saw online, kind of went and visited them, and we were like, well, this isn't perfect. You know, this isn't exactly what we want. And then uh went in to see the recreation staff before I started and I was talking to them, and uh Michelle was like, Well, I saw a four-rent sign over here. You should go check that out and called the number, met a sweet lady, and she was just like, Yeah, come check it out. Saw the place, fell in love with it. Perfect. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:08

You don't hear that story often. No. Or usually like, yeah, I looked for this long. I was impressed that you actually had somewhere to live that quick.

SPEAKER_01 9:14

That's awesome. And we've just been this past week, weekend and week, we've been moving back and forth trying to get everything from Lenore, finally got settled in. Gotcha. So you only came from Lenore. Right, right. I okay. We were there for three or for about three years and came this way.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

Okay. Okay. So you didn't come from Kansas.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

No. Oh, there was a it was like a six-year process trying to get to Western North Carolina. Gotcha. And we finally got here and we love it.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

All right. So what have you found that you love doing that's kind of a a local thing?

SPEAKER_01 9:45

Like you love to do? So for one, gotta give shout-outs to businesses, right? Sure. So I've been to the White Horse. Uh, this was before I actually lived here. I haven't had really time to go out and explore Black Mountain as much as I would like to because it's been so busy. But before I got here, went to Black Mountain for the Blues Fest. They had some I was a volunteer for the Blues Fest. So they had like an appreciation

Local Food Music And The Outdoors

SPEAKER_01 10:10

day there. Went to that, saw some great music, saw Mac Anthony. Oh, I can't remember his name now. But I was in his like top.02% listeners on Spotify. Oh, wow. Yeah. You're somebody. Okay. But saw him play up there and it was awesome. I mean, he absolutely crushed it. He's like an 80-year-old man that still shreds the guitar. That's awesome. Yeah. But other than that, gotta give a shout out to Trailhead. I've eaten there like probably three or four times since I've been here. Other burgers are delicious. Yep. Uh, you know, I've ate at Grange. Grange is a great place to eat. You know about the local special on Mondays, right? I've heard about that. No, come on. Mondays. I've heard about that. And but that was after I went on a Thursday.

SPEAKER_00 10:48

That's okay. It's great to go every day. But Mondays is special.

SPEAKER_01 10:52

Right. So I have a lunch planned later today with the chair for Greenways and Trails for Black Mountain Greenways and Trails at the Bistro.

SPEAKER_00 10:59

Good.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

Be right next door to me.

SPEAKER_01 11:01

Yeah. Right. Right. Other than that, some local things that I've done is like take a break from packing, unpacking, and stuff and hit the Swan of Noah and throw a line in the water, try to try to catch some trout. So far, I've got some nibbles, no bites. But yeah, after dinner, I mean, where I'm renting is right on. Oh, how cool. So I can just go to my backyard and throw a line in, which is cool. But things like specific to western North Carolina. I'm a really big whitewater kayaker.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 11:28

That is my favorite thing to do.

SPEAKER_00 11:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 11:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

You enjoy that. I've I I went whitewater kayaking. Why I guess it was rafting. I don't know. It wasn't kayaking. It was rafting because that's easier, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, I went with a group last year. Were Anahala Outdoor Center. Okay. Yeah, the NOC. NOC. I was gonna say NOC, and I thought that's not right. Anyway, we went there with a group that I'm a part of, and uh it was if we had we called it a networking group so that we could write it off. But anyway. Cut that. Yeah. No, it's okay. No, it's true. But we uh we we did that and I was probably the oldest person in the group. Oh wow. So it was a struggle, and I tried to act like I wasn't exhausted by the end, but no, it and it didn't fall out, and they did. So I felt like I've I felt like I accomplished something.

SPEAKER_01 12:16

Good. Yeah. Good. But that's like as far as recreation go, yeah goes, that's probably what I do the most. I really like it, like hiking. Uh just anything outdoors.

SPEAKER_00 12:27

Outdoors.

SPEAKER_01 12:28

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:29

Yeah. I love outdoors. Like I prefer to not be in my office. I prefer to be it's it's a bad word, but uh they call me a street walker because you'll see me walking all over town. That's what I do. I just sit out and walk, walk, walk all day when I have time. So I do prefer when that happens, but sometimes it doesn't. But all right. So what have you found that you haven't figured out or what have you not figured out since you got here? What what can we help you figure out?

SPEAKER_01 12:57

Everything.

SPEAKER_00 12:58

Okay, like what?

SPEAKER_01 12:59

I'm just getting so much information at once, I don't even know where to start. I know. I know. Um this is my fourth week on the job. Right. And so I've really tried to take time to get to know the coworkers, get to know the staff at town hall, and everyone has been super welcoming. The entire vibe of the town. Anywhere I go, people are smiling at me. People are just like, I think I've

Getting Oriented And Listening To Residents

SPEAKER_01 13:19

seen him somewhere, you know. Like it's it's really nice to see that just kind of community here. And that's something I'm really excited to be a part of. I want to say I'm excited to be part of a passionate town too. Like that is actually something that I'm very thrilled to be a part of, you know. Passion is passion's good. That's right. And when people care, it shows that like they're involved, they have opinions, and it's kind of our job to make sure that you know those opinions are accounted for right in some way.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

Oh, and surveys help that. Surveys help would respond to surveys, and maybe he could do things.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

Yeah, with Clint. He's the man my guy.

SPEAKER_00 13:53

Okay, I didn't know that about him.

SPEAKER_01 13:55

Yeah, yeah. Uh back to like recreation and parks. So besides uh park rhythms and soccer and soccer and lakeview, we also have the community garden.

SPEAKER_00 14:05

Oh, yes. Okay, I didn't realize that was under you. I don't know why I didn't. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:09

I just have to Leonora, she's over there and she rocks and rolls. I am blown away by her every single day. She just installed a well to get running water at the community garden on a grant, 100% grant funded, and she kicked butt on that whole process. It just got in, the faucets just turned on.

SPEAKER_00 14:26

I think we heard

Community Garden Camp And Pool Basics

SPEAKER_00 14:27

about it this past maybe last week.

SPEAKER_01 14:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:29

Two weeks ago at business club, we were talking about it.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

Oh, cool. And I it's it is an honor to have her like this team around me, especially like with that, being able to execute from like vision to completion is just incredible. With that, we also have a summer camp that Michelle runs. Okay. Uh, the summer camp is a group of kids, you know, keep them entertained in the summer, keep them out of trouble. Where do you have that? So the base is Great Eagle, like that's kind of like home base, but there's field trips, they go to the swimming pool. Oh, the swimming pool.

SPEAKER_00 14:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:59

Let me talk about another one. Tell me about the swimming pool. I'm gonna tell you about another one of my rock stars, Beth. Okay. That place could not run without someone as dedicated as Beth. I mean, she's a part-time employee and she puts hours on hours on hours. She absolutely puts her whole heart into that place and just another absolutely incredible thing to have on a team. Like, I don't think I could have walked into a better situation as a director with the team that I have.

SPEAKER_00 15:25

Well, good.

SPEAKER_01 15:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

So the other question is if so, since a lot of people who listen to this are thinking about coming to visit, can a visitor get a pool pass? They're only here for a week or something.

SPEAKER_01 15:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:36

How do you how do you do the pool?

SPEAKER_01 15:38

Does somebody go up to the front desk and go into the pool?

SPEAKER_00 15:41

And you pay money? Do you a town town thing? Or what how does that work?

SPEAKER_01 15:45

So go up to the front desk and the uh employees there will get you taken care of. I'm not sure on the prices. I wish I had that. I could phone a friend.

SPEAKER_00 15:53

That's right. Clint. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:56

But yeah, so visitors can go to the pool. Um, we have all sorts of stuff for everybody. And that's kind of the thing with recreation parks is trying to be equitable and give everybody access to programs that we have.

SPEAKER_00 16:06

That's right. Okay. So we talked about your wife. Does she have a name or is that a secret?

SPEAKER_01 16:11

Oh, she has a really cool name. What is it? Dancy.

SPEAKER_00 16:14

Dancy. And that's her name on her birth certificate, or is that what they call her?

SPEAKER_01 16:17

That's her name on her birth certificate. That is so cool. Yeah, she's got a cool name. And I can always know if someone heard it right, judge it on the reaction.

SPEAKER_00 16:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

You know, like if it's, oh, nice to meet you, they they're gonna call her Nancy. Nancy or fancier, yeah. The next time. But if it's you know, they kind of cock her head, look at her and say, Did did you say Dancy? Yeah. That's cool.

SPEAKER_00 16:34

And what what is her job?

Meet Dancy And Mountain Stream Surveys

SPEAKER_00 16:36

She is Don't say fishery tech or whatever you said.

SPEAKER_01 16:39

She's a fisheries biologist for the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission.

SPEAKER_00 16:42

North Carolina Wildlife, where does that? Where does she where does she work? I don't know what that is. Where's that?

SPEAKER_01 16:48

So the mountains, you know, she samples streams, takes, you know, does surveys of the streams to check the fish populations, collects a lot of data, does a lot of work. And I mean, she is I don't want to say woman on this, because she's the smartest person I know. Oh, that's cool. You know, she is incredibly smart and talented, and there's nothing she can't do. You know, I'm 100% in love with that woman. And I've met the woman in my dreams, and I'm incredibly lucky.

SPEAKER_00 17:15

Isn't that a isn't that a gift? Marin.

SPEAKER_01 17:17

I don't know. That's fantastic. Lucked out there. Just take it.

SPEAKER_00 17:21

Yeah. Take it as a win.

SPEAKER_01 17:22

That's what everyone says. They're like, yep, everything's a too many questions.

SPEAKER_00 17:25

Don't ask too many questions.

unknown 17:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:28

So if I'm trying to like have a good night on the town, go check some things out. Where do I need to go? You tell me. I'll tell you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:35

Oh, well, you've already mentioned Trailhead.

SPEAKER_01 17:37

Trailhead, Trailhead, White Horse. My father's pizza. I've heard great things about my father's pizza.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

And they just open a new uh rooftop deck. Okay. And it's uh you have to you order your drink and you walk up there. You can't go up there and order.

SPEAKER_01 17:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 17:52

That there's reasons. It's uh I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 17:54

It's kind of a hangout.

SPEAKER_00 17:55

It's a hangout, but it's

Best Night Out In Black Mountain

SPEAKER_00 17:56

really cool. You can see 360 of the mountains. You're gonna love it.

SPEAKER_01 17:58

Oh my god, I'm so excited.

SPEAKER_00 18:00

Yes, they're closed on Tuesdays, so pick another day.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 18:03

Let's see.

SPEAKER_01 18:04

What about if I want to check out like live music? Where do I go?

SPEAKER_00 18:08

Old Town District is where I would go.

SPEAKER_01 18:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 18:10

You have to know when they're when they're doing music, when they're not. Sometimes they've some nights they have trivia, some nights they have music. It's just different.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

Where would I find that information at?

SPEAKER_00 18:19

Well, you could just check on our our website generally has events that are going on in town. So get good information. Go check them out. And they post a lot on Facebook and Instagram too. That's where you find a lot of their stuff.

SPEAKER_01 18:31

What's their Facebook page? Is old town district? Sure.

SPEAKER_00 18:34

Okay. Cool. It's great. I don't know. Yeah. Uh you know, there's there are 38 restaurants in this town. 38. 38 independent restaurants. I'm not even talking about the chain kind of thing. So why have I been to Trailhead five times? Yeah, that's what I was gonna ask you. So we're gonna stop by the visitor center on your way home and you're gonna pick up the list of the restaurants. Awesome. So not all of them are on there. Chamber members are on that list. Okay. But you can go by there, pick it up, it'll help you plan and you can check things off and go see them. That's awesome. I've eaten in every single one of them. Nice. I'm really a good eater. Good. Good at that. Oh, me too. It's one of my gifts and talents.

SPEAKER_01 19:05

Me too.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

But yes, definitely. There's there's so many more places. I mean, I could name I could name so many.

SPEAKER_01 19:12

I have eaten it fresh.

SPEAKER_00 19:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 19:14

That was really good. Good. Uh town clerk Wesley, yeah. He took me there after a meeting one night. Uh and it's pizza was great. Yes. Atmosphere was great. Trying to think of where else I've eaten. Did I mention Trailhead?

SPEAKER_00 19:26

You may have. Yes. I tried to go last night and they were closed. I was like, man. Yeah. But that's okay. That's okay. Yeah, there's just thousands of places. I mean, I could sit here and name them restaurants all day. I mean, there's not a bad restaurant in this town. I will tell you that.

SPEAKER_01 19:40

That and you know, so like I try to eat gluten-free, but my wife eats gluten-free, and I'm just impressed by all the options that there are for her, you know.

SPEAKER_00 19:47

So that's welcome to the western North Carolina. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 19:50

Super nice.

SPEAKER_00 19:51

They're gonna be they they generally do take. It's funny because the first event I went to was at Whitehorse, and they had Baradu had had catered the dinner, and it was lasagna, and they had they had regular, like Cheryl lasagna, mean stuff like that, and then they had a vegetarian lasagna, and then they had a vegan lasagna. And I was like, my goodness, I have hit a town that really makes sure everybody's taken care of. So that was my first experience, and then I've noticed that that's pretty universal around here. That's awesome. Pretty cool. Yeah, good. So vegan or vegetarian? Gluten-free. Gluten-free. Yeah. Well, I don't think they had gluten-free lasagna. I think that's probably well no, it's not hard, but they didn't that night. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 20:30

They got it everywhere. I mean, gluten-free pizza.

SPEAKER_00 20:32

I think you had eat salad that night. I don't know. Who knows? I wasn't paying attention.

SPEAKER_01 20:36

Hey, a good salad's not bad either.

SPEAKER_00 20:38

That's true. All right. So have you checked out Swannanoa yet?

SPEAKER_01 20:42

Yeah. Throw my line in the water all the time.

SPEAKER_00 20:44

Not the river. Oh. The town, the area, the community.

SPEAKER_01 20:47

But it's not a town, it's a community. I do know that they're about to get a sick bike park, and I'm super excited for that. They are. I dabble in mountain biking. Okay. Yeah. And I've seen that project going on, and I'm very excited to check that out just down the road. Yes. So it's close by. It's gonna be great. I'm so excited for that. Uh you know, I do skateboard a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 21:06

Oh my.

SPEAKER_01 21:07

Yeah.

Swannanoa Bike Park And Neon Ride

SPEAKER_00 21:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:08

I need to probably cut down on my hobbies, but you will.

SPEAKER_00 21:12

You will. Yeah. Have you met Michael? Michael Roberts down at Epic Cycle yet? No, I haven't. You need to go down there and meet him. He's he's great. And he is super good at telling you all the mountain biking places to go. Nice. But nice. Trying to teach me how to ride a bike, which is hysterical because you know, six-year-old, you can ride a bike, and when you're 58, you can't, apparently.

SPEAKER_01 21:33

So one thing we're kind of exploring with doing here coming up is like maybe late summer, early fall doing like a neon bike ride. Whereas that mean oh, it's when it's like, you know, there might be a full moon or like lots of ambient light. We take the kids in the town and we soup up their bikes with glow sticks with lights. Right now we just gotta kind of find a path that we can take them on that's safe, that we can light up a little bit with the you know, LED lights on the side. But that That's an event that we've done in the past at you know previous places I've worked that has been a really big hit. And it's something that's cheap, it's something that everybody loves and it's almost like a parade because people will come out to watch it to see all the cool bikes and that sort of thing. Uh so we did reach out to the guy at Epic Cycles and hopefully he reaches back and he will. Yeah. If he doesn't, just call him again. When I say when I say He and I are the same.

SPEAKER_00 22:22

If we don't respond, just ask us.

SPEAKER_01 22:24

Well, when I say we reached out, I think it was literally yesterday. And I haven't been checking emails today in my office.

SPEAKER_00 22:30

I'll give you his text number. You can just text him. That's go with that one. All right. He's never gonna respond to an aerial scene. Yeah, no. Yeah, he will. He's great. That's cool. So I I've been trying to figure out one more event to add at the chamber. And one of the ones I thought about was a Century Ride because I think that'd be cool here because nobody else is doing it that I know of. Okay. They may be that I haven't found yet.

SPEAKER_02 22:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:51

But we did one in Georgia that was very successful, and people came from very far away to be a part of it. And I thought that would be a cool way to bring visitors to town, but also another event that's not a three-day festival or something.

Sourwood Festival And Century Ride Talk

SPEAKER_01 23:07

Are you are you are you referring to the Sourwood Festival?

SPEAKER_00 23:09

Oh, yeah, that would be the one.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

Okay. Can you tell me about that? Is someone new to town that I just briefly heard about it? What what do I have to look forward to for that?

SPEAKER_00 23:17

Well, oh, I've got some volunteer opportunities for you. No, Sourwood is the second weekend in August every year, and this will be the 49th year that we've done it. Next year's the 50th, so we're gonna do some different things next year, which is kind of exciting, but I can't tell you about that yet. Okay. So 125 or so arts and crafts vendors from as far away as Indiana, wow, Florida. But we also have about a third of them are from Bunkham County. So there is still a huge percentage that comes from our area, but also they come from they they fight over it. I mean we we turned down 119 people this year, 119 vendors.

SPEAKER_01 23:59

So it's incredible.

SPEAKER_00 24:00

It's pretty, it's pretty uh, what's the word, competitive to try and get in. And it is a juried event, so it means that that the caliber of handmade crafts is pretty high. Oh. So when you live in an art town, yeah, it's kind of like they expect it to be, you know, pretty, pretty high caliber.

SPEAKER_01 24:18

I'm definitely looking forward to attending and volunteering.

SPEAKER_00 24:21

Of course. You heard it here and and and and now I have it recorded, so that's good.

SPEAKER_01 24:25

I'm a man of my word. Okay. I am so good. Absolutely good. Uh let's see. You're telling me about the sentry ride.

SPEAKER_00 24:32

It's just an idea. I mean, we're not we're not doing it yet.

SPEAKER_01 24:34

So yeah, but what is a sentry ride?

SPEAKER_00 24:35

I'm not sure. Oh, okay. It's 100 miles. 15 miles on a bike and back. It's a loop usually. You can count me out of that. Yeah, you don't have to do it. You like to help me make it happen. Yeah. Well, I mean, uh that's something else we could do, is figure out how to do it a trail one instead of a road, you know.

SPEAKER_01 24:51

You usually have to go up the hill first. I can hit some jumps. Hit it with some stees, you know.

SPEAKER_00 24:57

Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I just thought that was being it's not easy because we've done many of them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:02

But it is it's pretty lucrative as far as up to the top of Mount Mitchell and back.

SPEAKER_00 25:07

Yeah, sure. They actually have a run every year that they do that that goes from Black Mountain to I don't think I don't know when they're doing it this year. I guess they didn't do it this year either. They didn't do it last year.

SPEAKER_01 25:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 25:17

They normally do.

SPEAKER_01 25:18

Yeah. Now, is that through like trails or is that okay yes, both, both and okay road and trail. Okay, yeah. I noticed the trail system around is very incredible. Uh Clint's gonna get me some more information on that because I haven't quite had time to hike. I'm really looking forward to it. Yep. But just listening to all the opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts is incredible.

SPEAKER_00 25:39

We need to work together on that. I need some help in the visitor center making that a beefing up that section of it.

SPEAKER_01 25:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:45

Probably a third of the people that come in are asking for hikes and things like that. That's incredible. We have a little bit, but we don't have a whole lot.

SPEAKER_01 25:52

Yeah. And then one thing I've noticed

Trails Guides And Event Permits

SPEAKER_01 25:54

is kind of like just through the brief research I've done, is like you you have to dig to really find it. So maybe compiling lists and getting like a visitor's guide to Black Mountain hiking trails. Right.

SPEAKER_00 26:05

Yeah, we do have a visitor's guide that's coming out soon, and there is a section in there about that, but it's not complete yet. So maybe we need to talk before I do the final thing.

SPEAKER_01 26:15

That dude is so passionate about the outdoors and he is so knowledgeable. Like having him on the staff too is just incredible. So anytime I have a question, he's like, Oh, there's this, this, this, this, and this. And I'm like, hey, break it down a little bit. Like, I'm new.

SPEAKER_00 26:27

I'm like, calm down, slow down, big guy. He also does a great job with uh special event permitting stuff.

SPEAKER_01 26:33

Yeah, he handles all that.

SPEAKER_00 26:34

I think the director did that before. Okay. But Clint took over it, okay, took it over. Yeah. And then so look out. Yeah. Could be coming back.

SPEAKER_01 26:43

Oh, there's I'm starting to get stuff left and right.

SPEAKER_00 26:46

You know, but that's a cool meeting, and it's it's you know, people are always like, you have to go get a permit to do an event. And both those guys are super helpful because the the fire, the police, and the public works are all there.

SPEAKER_02 26:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:58

And and wreck and parks are there. There you go. And anyway, but but together they know the they they handle all of them. So if I have a question, I can go, hey, how do I how do I do this? And they're like, oh, why don't you think about this, this, or this?

SPEAKER_01 27:12

So and the staff, like in the town with all the departments, they all work really well together. And that's something that's really nice to see is the communication and just like the care that each department has for the town is really incredible.

SPEAKER_00 27:24

And they've been very kind to me, which is helpful. A lot of people think that the chamber is part of the town. It's really we're totally unrelated. Um, we are our own little entity, but a lot of times people think that I work for the town, which I work for the town, but not the town of Black Mountain Government. Government. Local government, that's right. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 27:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:44

So anything I forgot to ask you, anything you want to throw out there?

SPEAKER_01 27:49

Hi, mom, hi dad. There you go. Miss you guys back in Kansas.

SPEAKER_00 27:53

So our numbers should go up for in Kansas. Yeah. Next next week, next time. Here we go.

SPEAKER_01 27:57

Um, anything you forgot to ask. I mean, we talked about special events, park rhythms. I know that a newer thing that they're doing is kind of the Halloween event. Okay. I'm not new.

SPEAKER_00 28:08

I'm it's not new. They might be doing it a new way.

SPEAKER_01 28:10

They're doing, I don't know, cut it out because of being prepared. I'm not sure about any of that.

SPEAKER_00 28:14

But uh it's a thing here. Okay. And and

Closing Thoughts And Staying In Touch

SPEAKER_00 28:18

it it blew me away. Nice. It's there are people who chose, we've interviewed one, who chose to live on that street because that's where the Halloween thing takes place. I'm like, that would be the last place I would live. Four million children wandering up a I don't know. Right. Not my thing. Right.

SPEAKER_01 28:35

Well, I know that it's a big deal and it's awesome. I know that recreation parks is doing something kind of new as well. So I'm not, you know, again, give me a break. I'm new. I'm not, I don't know all the ins and outs yet.

SPEAKER_00 28:46

You can make stuff up. It's fine.

SPEAKER_01 28:48

Well, no. I know it's recorded forever.

SPEAKER_00 28:50

Nah. Nah, you'll be fine.

SPEAKER_01 28:52

The other special events that they do, the Valentine's Day 5K.

SPEAKER_00 28:56

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 28:56

Yeah, that's a big thing. Yeah. He's gotten great responses to that. A lot of people that participate in that. What other park stuff we got? Wreck park stuff.

SPEAKER_02 29:08

Wreck park.

SPEAKER_01 29:10

Oh gosh. You guys have a lot of community garden, Lakeview, Van Clan, blah, blah, blah.

SPEAKER_00 29:17

Yeah. Well, one thing y'all are getting better at is sending me those events. Okay. And Clint has really kicked it up where he sends them to me. I could put them in the newsletter and on the website. Yeah. Things like that. So help people find them.

SPEAKER_01 29:27

And there's always something happening with us. So if you're interested, want to know more, want to know how we can do better, just please reach out. You know, we're all we are here to serve the public, and that's what we're gonna do. That's right. Like I was saying, I skateboard. First thing I'm not gonna do when I come here is be like, we need a new skate park. Let's spend two million dollars on a skate park. Because I know that's not the constituent group that's right I'm serving.

SPEAKER_00 29:50

Not so much.

SPEAKER_01 29:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:52

But yeah. Oh, good. Well, we appreciate you coming in for that.

SPEAKER_01 29:55

Thank you for you guys having me. This has been great. It's been great to sit down and talk to you. Yeah, let's get together.

SPEAKER_00 29:59

Let's make this happen.

SPEAKER_01 30:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:01

Make some cool stuff happen.

SPEAKER_01 30:02

Cool, cool.

SPEAKER_00 30:03

Thank you. Thanks for joining us on Exploring the Valley. Until next time, keep celebrating the pride of our community and discovering the magic of the mountains. In the meantime, you're free to move about the valley.