The Perfect Day in Burnsville

Talk about a day!!! I can’t tell you how excited I was to put my feet up and revisit what was fast becoming a memory. As I was pulling off my shoes, letting exhaustion take over, I realized my long day had also been a perfect one.

While promoting Burnsville as a tourist destination is my job, trust me when I tell you, I promote it because it’s incredibly special to me. So let me share this day. 

As much as I wanted to stay in bed on a Sunday morning, I had this sense I needed to be on a trail where a patch of Gray’s lilies thrives. When that sense strikes, the thing I know about myself is that I need to heed it. I should mention Gray’s lily is a wildflower that’s listed as being threatened in North Carolina, which makes it that much more important to me to make sure it’s still thriving. 

Gray's Lily

The trail in question is not in Burnsville, but an easy drive from here. There are many trails I recommend for guests staying in town that are located beyond Burnsville’s boundaries depending on what they’re looking for. This one is near Grandfather Mountain.  

Although most of the flowers had passed their peak, a few vibrant blossoms remained. I like to think they were waiting for me.  

The bonus sighting was a vast stretch of galax. The long white stems lined with tiny blooms makes me think of the sparklers I sometimes light on July 4^th. The forest floor was covered in them – it felt magical!! I stood there, mesmerized by the beauty, letting the magic lift my spirits. 

Galax on the trail

Realizing I was early for lunch with friends, I headed back into Burnsville to visit a few art studios and galleries that were participating in the twice-annual Toe River Arts Studio Tour. The studio tour was what first brought me to these mountains in 1998. I never grow tired of visiting the artists, catching up, seeing what they’re up to on the creative front, and adding a few pieces to my personal collection. 

Toe River Arts Studio Tour

Lunch at Live Oak Gastropub with friends was next on the agenda. The three of us used our 30-minute wait to explore Toe River Arts’ Burnsville gallery, which sits next door. We were not killing time; we were making the most of it! Thirty minutes isn’t enough to peruse the colorful variety of glass, ceramics, jewelry, mixed media, and two-dimensional work, but we did our best. 

Since I had just ordered my favorite tuna poke nachos the day before, I chose a grilled chicken sandwich accompanied by Chef Brian’s sublime pomme frites. Hot, crispy, lightly salted. I’ll call it what it is: French fry nirvana! As was the chicken sandwich with perfectly crisped, thick-cut bacon.  

While lunch and catching up was awesome, the best was still yet to come. After paying the check, we had enough time for a leisurely walk to Parkway Playhouse to see the final performance of Sister Act. How often, particularly in a rural town, can you walk to the theater?  

Having grown up near Broadway with a theater-loving mom, live theater has always been special to me. Melanie Veazey, Parkway’s new executive director, has raised the bar. You can feel the energy the moment you walk in and are greeted by staff and volunteers who are clearly excited to be there. For me, there’s also the added joy of seeing people I know in the cast. But trust me, had I not known a soul onstage, I still would have been blown away. It was just a wonderful, touching, uplifting performance. Bonnie, one of my friends, used to be involved with the theatre, and said this performance was the finest she had ever seen there.  

Sister Act at the Parkway Playhouse

As my friend Susan and I walked back to the square and our cars, we talked about the day – nature (had I not been in search of Gray’s lily, I would still have walked on a favorite nearby trail), art, great food, live theater.  All right here in and from Burnsville.  

Recently, our Tourism Development Authority has been using what some would call a slogan – “there’s something for everyone in Burnsville.” I know it’s more than a slogan; it’s a simple truth. My “perfect day” isn’t the exception; it’s the rule.