Learn to knit at the WNC Nature Center with a warm cup of cider in hand. In two hours, instructor Sarah Ramos Knight walks beginners through the slip knot, casting on and off, a basic knit stitch, counting rows and fixing the usual mistakes, and you go home with instructions to turn your square into a stuffed rabbit or cat.

Bring your own needles and yarn, or add needles for $8. It's $35, or $30 for members, and that includes entry to the Nature Center. Ages 16 and up, and 13 to 15 with a participating adult.

The WNC Nature Center is a 42-acre wildlife park on Gashes Creek Road in East Asheville, and it's all about the animals of the Southern Appalachians. Black bears, red and gray wolves, cougars, bobcats and river otters live in big wooded habitats, plus red pandas, and the new Gateway to the Southern Appalachians area was just finished this year.

It's open every day from 10 AM to 4:30 PM, with last admission at 3:30. Adult tickets run $16.95 plus tax, kids 3 to 12 are $12.95, 2 and under get in free, and City of Asheville residents pay less. Active duty and retired military get in free, and the ticket window is cashless.

The calendar stays busy, with monthly behind-the-scenes Wild Walks, Wolf Howl nights in the fall, a stuffed animal Critter Check Up in December, and Brews & Bears after-hours nights with beer and live music on second Fridays in summer.

Local families come back again and again, and the kids find something new every time. Folks love how close the paths get you to the animals and how easy the trails are with a stroller.

WNC Nature Center

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