As it’s said of spring, “April showers bring May flowers,” and boy did it shower on Saturday, April 27, at the 16th annual Greening Up the Mountains festival in Sylva. Despite the rain, many people still showed up to celebrate the arrival of spring in the mountains.

The festival kicked off at 9 a.m. with a 5K race sponsored by the Jackson County Greenways Project. Of the 93 participants, the overall male winner was Evan Grant with a time of 18:35. Traci Long, Sylva, N.C., was the overall female winner with a time of 24:59.

Franklin High School hosted a special film festival Monday to celebrate Earth Day. The event was sponsored by FHS' Eco Club along with the Western North Carolina Alliance and allowed students to take a break from the classroom to watch short films featuring current environmental issues that are attracting attention in the United States.

“We've had such a good turnout,” said Sarah Weresuk, a biology and chemistry teacher at FHS. She was approached this year about sponsoring the Eco Club in its inaugural year.

The 16th annual Greening Up the Mountains festival takes place Saturday, April 27, on Main and Mill streets in historic downtown Sylva.

This free festival celebrates spring in the mountains, when the greening leaves work their way up the Great Smoky Mountains. It also celebrates the greening of the environment, with info about sustainable living and presentations by environmental groups.

On Saturday, April 13, a group of about 50 volunteers comprised of a diverse group of citizens from the Franklin and Highlands areas joined forces to clean up the Cullasaja River Gorge's roadsides and river banks.

This initiative is one of the Highlands Chamber of Commerce's ongoing annual projects to help keep area natural resources clean. The cleanup takes place every spring during the NCDOT's clean sweep week and has been headed up by the Highlands Chamber for the last 10 years.