Harvest Festival Starting Up!

Oh, how we have been looking forward to the Harvest Season! Cooler temperatures, an air of dignity (literally, as you breathe in, the air just gives a taste that makes the atmosphere feel more reverent and majestic without being too much - you'll understand it when you get here), Hay Rides and, saving the best reason for last, the colors of the mountains as they change here during the Harvest Festival.

From our views here on Highlands Condos, it's not crazy to think you might stand outside on our balconies and snap pictures for 10 full minutes or more - looking for perfect angles, dents and hillsides. The views themselves will be no contention as you can literally see out for miles of Smoky Mountain color and see the might of the mountains in full bloom. Suddenly it becomes clear how a culture like our great ancestors could've stayed stubbornly in place during the harsh years of generations before.

That's what the Harvest Festival is all about - celebrating the cultures that were our foundation and the mountains that built that foundation. There are several great places to capitalize that on here in the Smokies -

- The Old Mill in Pigeon Forge.
- Dollywood, which holds a Harvest Festival event month-long every October.
- Cades Cove out in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
- The Arts and Crafts Community of Gatlinburg.
- The Hay Rides of Gatlinburg (Sept 15th to Oct 31st).

If that doesn't give you the spirit of the Smokies in a gorgeous Autumn setting, nothing will. If it does, boy are you in luck, as they are relatively easy to get to from Highlands (although Cades Cove is a good 34-40 miles away, it's well worth the trip) and you can take many chances to explore the cultures with our 4 Night Special which we have listed here:

Fall Specials - 4 Night Special
Starting Aug. 15 through Dec. 23
4 Nights / 1 Bedroom Condo $349.00 + tax
4 Nights / 2 Bedroom Condo $419.00 + tax
4 Nights / 3 Bedroom Condo $539.00 + tax
Void October 8 thru October 31 and Thanksgiving week.

October Specials 4 Night Special (Peak Season prices)
Starting Oct. 8 through Oct. 31
4 Nights / 1 Bedroom Condo $445.00 + tax
4 Nights / 2 Bedroom Condo $545.00 + tax

Reservations for Harvest Festival go pretty quickly, so make your reservations TODAY and get the views that are our National Treasure. Hope to see you soon!

July Craftsmen's Fair

For those who may have been to the Craftsmen's Fair for a while, the one in July, and likely more to come, would have surprised you. You would've arrived to find so many booths (more than 160 as listed by the Craftsmen's information sheet) that many of them had to spread out into the hallways and even outside the W.L. Mills Convention Center in downtown Gatlinburg.

With 160+ booths and artists both local and from Virginia, Ohio, Georgia and way beyond, there was, of course, a wide berth of arts and crafts from candles, baskets, wood works, rock works, paintings, clothes and music to Christmas trees, sports-based fan pulls, old fashioned rifles, shields, interesting lights, and much more than any human being could hope to absorb in a few hours.

If you're coming to the Autumn Craftsmen's Fair and you just can't get enough of hand-made arts the likes of which you've seen and haven't seen before, the $6.00 admission fee is well worth it. Unfortunately, we were not able to get pictures, but we can guarantee you you've probably never seen a convention center this packed with amazing arts and crafts from nearly the entire Eastern half of the country.

Check out some of our Youtube Videos!

Have you seen our Youtube page? We've been building it up and now its filled with video tours of our luxury condos overlooking the city of Gatlinburg. Take a look:



















Our videos can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/user/HighlandsGatlinburg

Special Events Into July

So what's coming up in the Gatlinburg section of the Smokies these days?

Well, tomorrow evening Gatlinburg returns its newest major summer tradition to the streets of Gatlinburg with Gatlinburg Tunes and Tales! Seven nights a week we have performances all throughout the evening and all throughout the city with musicians, dancers, storytellers and much more adding a significant touch of southern Appalachia to our summer here in the Smokies.

Then we have the Fourth of July to think about! The Midnight Fourth of July Parade at midnight the minute it turns 12:00AM (5 minutes after 11:55PM on 7/3/11), River Raft Regatta from 9:00AM on on River Road in Gatlinburg, and the fireworks going off at sundown over the city!


Make reservations at www.highlandscondos.com. See you soon!

Memorial Day and Upcoming June

June and the start of summer are both just around the corner and its never too early to start planning for your summer vacation here in the Smoky Mountains!

For those of you bringing family, Dollywood is doing Kidsfest again this summer from June 17-August 7. This year we have Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 4D, The Gazillion Bubble Show, Penguin Group USA and much more in addition to the list of rides and interactive items Dollywood already has. It's at least a full day's worth of fun right there.

And in Gatlinburg, we have Smoky Mountain Tunes and Tales going on June 17-August 13. It adds more to the evening stroll through downtown Gatlinburg whether its the first time you've seen it or if you've seen it year after year like many of our visitors are now doing. Who wouldn't want mountain music and performers serenading the night away in the Smokies? It's all here and waiting for you in Gatlinburg, TN.

For Those Looking to Live it Up...

...almost everything you came to the mountains to do is right here in Gatlinburg, TN - fishing, horseback riding, whitewater rafting and even winter sports at Ober Gatlinburg just up the road from us.



We have something for everyone; that is Gatlinburg's main appeal. Within a 15 minute walk through the main downtown road is one to two full days of activities with Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies, the Guinness World of Records, The Haunted Mansion on River Road, The Ripley's Believe it or Not! Museum, the Skylift and, of course, the tram to Ober. That doesn't even count other attractions elsewhere in the city, like ziplines or the Arts and Crafts Community!



The sheer multitude of activities both large and small would take months and months to explore fully and its quite common for visitors to come back and stay with us time and time again to really live it up in the Smokies and see what they missed out on the previous trip!

For Those Looking To Relax...

...there is nothing like literally being on top of the world, looking down and out from the balcony at the mountains around you with almost zero distraction, where the sounds of nature fill the ambiance of the air, and knowing everything else you need for a luxurious visit is right behind you inside our condo to separate stress and being from your mind.



Highlands offers you this almost effortlessly and combined with the near perfect weather and atmosphere of Springfest (our two saunas and private balconies overlooking the Smokies help too), you'll melt into March with everything we offer and get the relaxation you came all the way to the Smokies to get!



Special events will be coming up soon, so stay tuned here or our Facebook page (link) as more stuff comes in. Springfest comes alive at Highlands Condos!