Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Halloween is a festive time when people from all walks can go a little crazy with creative costumes, wild parties, intricate pumpkin carving contests, and candy, candy and more candy! Trick-or-treating is by no means the only fun thing to do at this time when excitement runs high and the chill in the air at dusk makes your spine tingle with thoughts of spooky adventures to be had. Here are some fun local Halloween events to participate in:

October 28: The Gatlinburg Recreation Department is hosting its annual free Halloween Carnival in Gatlinburg Community Center on Mills Road for children in pre-school through eighth grades. Kids can look forward to a costume contest, free food, games, face painting, and more. Call 865-436-4990 for more information.

October 28: The Sevierville Civic Center is the place to be at 7 p.m. for the frighteningly entertaining “Howl”oween Bash and Costume Ball! A night of chills and thrills with a $500 first place costume prize is set to benefit the Sevier County Humane Society. A $50 per person donation is requested to raise support for the local charity. The evening offers heavy hors d’ oeuvres, unlimited champagne, wine, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages, live music, a silent auction, and costume contest. Contact Kris Spencer at 865-453-7000 for more information.

October 29: Valley View Baptist welcomes everyone to attend Trunk and Treat from 4 to 7 p.m. in Wears Valley.

October 29: Pigeon Forge First Baptist Church hosts their annual Fall Harvest from 4 to 6 p.m. Jimbo Whaley and Greenbriar will provide music and entertainment, and guests can enjoy games, horse rides, food, and candy. Call 865-453-4647 for more details.

October 30-31: The Fall Free for All at New Hope Church of God offers bounce houses, games, giveaways, candy, food, and fun for the entire family from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Call 865-932-HOPE for more information.

October 31: Indoor Halloween Celebration including trick-or-treating, stories, haunted ghost walks, games, and hayrides at Pigeon Forge Community Center. Call 865-429-7373.

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Leaf season has arrived, and the Great Smoky Mountain tree foliage has transformed from summer's lush greens into the dramatic red, orange, and yellows that characterize fall in the Smokies.

Some might wonder why do the leaves change, and what weather is best to bring about this autumn transformation? Well, the cool days of fall and evenings when temperatures are chilled, but not freezing is the best recipe for beautiful foliage. If daytime temperatures are too warm, the color intensity of the foliage suffers. Additionally, frost slows the production of anthocyanin, which turns the leaves a deep red color. Water and wind also play an important role in the perfect autumn foliage. Typically a wet spring and a less windy fall period create the best conditions for beautiful fall foliage that lasts through the season.

You can read more in-depth reports on why the leaves change colors in the fall by visiting Associate Professor of Forestry Wayne Clatterbuck's online article, "
Changing Colors of Leaves" as well as the Tennessee Department of Forestry's website.

Now is the time to see the fall foliage views! September marked the start of leaf season, and usually the trees of the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park reach their peak by the third week of October. Foliage experts recommend the period between October 16 and November 3 as the best viewing time for the lower elevations of the Park.

Call the Fall Foliage Hotline at 1-800-697-4200 before you visit to hear the latest update in the Smokies. You can also log onto the Great Smoky Mountains National Park webcam, which shows the view from Look Rock. From the webcam you can see about 122 miles of beauty as the mountain leaves change this fall.

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The Boyds Bears are hanging in there. Originally scheduled to be closed by the end of October, the Pigeon Forge Boyds’ Bear Country retail store will not close until after this year’s holiday season. The delayed closure is a welcome change to many fans and collectors of the Boyds Bears merchandise. Boyds Collection corporate offices have reportedly received “thousands” of phone calls from customers, leading to the decision to keep the store open through the holidays. The 115 employees to lose their jobs just before the holidays may now continue to work through the holiday season.

This new decision comes one year after Boyds Collection CEO told the Pigeon Forge community that Boyds did not intend to close Boyds Bear Country in Pigeon Forge. The assurance was a response to widely held concern that the store would close because the Boyds Collection was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Unlike Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Boyds Collection can still operate its business without selling off its assets. The move is basically a way for the company to reorganize its debt and contractual obligations, given the approval and supervision of bankruptcy court.

But selling off assets is exactly what Boyds plans to do with the Big Red Barn in Pigeon Forge. The selling price is unknown, but Boyds Collection is looking for a buyer for the multi-million dollar Pigeon Forge property. Despite what city officials have claimed was a “very profitable” two years in business, Boyds Collection seems determined to unload this valuable Pigeon Forge real estate.

The rationale for this move is a mystery to everyone. Fans of Boyds Bears say that there are fewer and fewer places to find the bears they are so very fond of. Still more say that the Barn was a highlight of their Pigeon Forge vacation.

All of this begs the question, just what is the CEO of Boyds Collection, Bob Coccoluto, thinking? Does this CEO really understand just how special people think the Boyds Bear Barn is? The pattern of indecision on the part of the CEO suggests not. First the CEO said he would not close the Pigeon Forge location. Then he changed his mind and closed it anyway. Now he is extending the closure date because “thousands” of people were calling in protest. But despite those calls, the CEO still wants to close the store, irregardless of overwhelming support for keeping it open. These seem like the actions of someone who does not understand the potential for the Boyds Bear Country retail location in Pigeon Forge.

PigeonForge.com has said this before, but it’s worth saying again: 11 million visitors come to see the Pigeon Forge area each year. That’s 11 million people who have the chance to stop by the Boyds Bear Barn. Boyds Collection has already made the investment in Pigeon Forge, one of America’s most popular vacation destinations. Closing the store is a decision that forgets that Pigeon Forge is a place for families to vacation together, a reason why the family-friendly Boyd’s Bears is ideally located. It’s simply a bad decision to close the store in Pigeon Forge.

Fans of the Bear Barn in Pigeon Forge can join in keeping the pressure on Boyds Collection CEO Bob Coccoluto by writing to Boyds Collection. For those who would like to contact the Boyds Bears company, you can do so through email at http://www.boydsstuff.com/boyds101/TellUs_email.cfm?subject=GENERAL.

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