Mast Store, BRPF celebrate the Blue Ridge Parkway

Mast General Store in Boone, Asheville and Hendersonville, as well as the Original Store and Annex in Valle Crucis, are all celebrating Friends’ Day in honor of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation on Saturday, Sept. 15.

Ten percent of North Carolina Mast General Store’s sales on Friends’ Day will go to the foundation, which is committed to preserving the past, enhancing the present and safeguarding the future of “America’s Favorite Journey.”

Foundation stewards, including contributors to 2011’s Friends’ Day, helped fund projects focusing on education, historic and natural resources, as well as visitor enrichment, amenities and safety.

Among the many initiatives, a new “Our Kids in Parks” TRACK trail opened this summer at the Orchard at Altapass. Multipurpose projects at Graveyard Fields, Price Lake Trail, Flat Top Manor and the Heart Pond at Bass Lake are all under way.

The foundation’s new vision for the Moses H. Cone Estate features a visitor attraction where experiencing history will be combined with recreational activities.

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation is also working to install weather stations and webcams along the length of the Parkway to allow both National Park Service staff and visitors access to up-to-the-minute weather information.

Representatives from the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation will be on hand at Mast Stores in North Carolina except Waynesville on Saturday, Sept. 15. They will share information about projects the foundation is currently undertaking to preserve the character of America’s favorite 469-mile stretch of road.

For more information, visit http://www.brpfoundation.org and http://www.mastgeneralstore.com.