Amenities include gas fireplace, TV and DVD player in the living room; an open deck with rockers; a screened deck with six-person hot tub; a game room with pool/air hockey table, TV and DVD player; charcoal grill; whirlpool spa in the master bathroom; and upstairs loft with sleeper sofa, TV and DVD players. In fact, you’ll find TVs and DVD players in all the bedrooms as well as the living room and game room.

Priceless Memories benefits from a private setting, which makes it a great choice for a large family trip or a weekend couples’ getaway.

You’ll find one fiesta taking place at Loco Burro restaurant, which is hosting a whole sombrero full of activities. Enjoy cultural events such as a Chihuahua parade and dog race, a mariachi band, folk dancers, a DJ and karaoke, clowns, a mime, a balloon artist, salsa dancers, a face painter, bounce houses and more. Loco Burro will also be serving authentic Mexican dishes and beverages.

The celebration is a collaborative effort between City of Gatlinburg Special Events, Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, El Crucero of East Tennessee Newspaper.

Meanwhile, there’s be plenty more outdoor fun at the Cinco de Mayo event in front of Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies. This tribute to Hispanic culture and history promises to be fun, educational and colorful, featuring Latino music, folk costumes and cuisine.

This weekend, make sure your accommodations are close to the action. Explore our selection of cabin rentals in Tennessee, and you’ll find that we offer the perfect combination of location, prices and amenities.

Tuesday, April 24 – Earth Day Festival

3 to 7 p.m., Mynatt Park in Gatlinburg

This free event is open to the public and full of Earth-friendly family fun. Cash will be needed for vendor items and food. Listen or play along with Tuatha Dea Drum Nation or try your hand at disc golf. You can even bring your dog.

Wednesday, April 25 – Wildflower Pilgrimage Welcome Luncheon

W.L. Mills Conference Center at Gatlinburg Convention Center

Presented by the Gatlinburg Garden Club, featuring naturalist and storyteller Doug Elliott. $25 per person. Call 865-397-7355 or 865-428-2653 for tickets. You can also participate in the Mountain Hope Good Shepherd’s Smoky Challenge Adventure Race, which is based on the TV show The Amazing Race. $40 per person. Call 865-774-7684 for registration and race info.

Friday, April 27 – Shred day for Anna Porter Public Library

10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Anna Porter Public Library in Gatlinburg

For a $5 donation per standard file size box, have your old records and paperwork shredded and receive an official certificate of destruction from Ocoee Records Management. All shredded documents are recycled and proceeds go the new book fund for Anna Porter Public Library and the Chamber’s Foundation. No limit.

Just as in winter, the fun starts with a journey from downtown Gatlinburg to the mountaintop on the aerial tramway, which offers spectacular bird’s-eye views of the Smokies. You can see even higher sights at the resort when you go for a ride on Ober’s scenic chairlift. Afterwards, you might want to head back downhill on the 1,800-foot-long alpine slide.

You’ll also discover an outdoor maze, wildlife encounter, kiddie rides, a water slide, raft ride, mini golf, arcade and more. You can even still get a taste of winter inside the resort on the ice skating rink, which lets you get your glide on all year long.

Note, however, that you’ve only got about one more week to enjoy the fun at Ober Gatlinburg before they start their annual preventive maintenance period, which runs April 23 through May 3. During that time, all resort activities will be closed. When planning your travel to the area, be sure to check our own available dates for our cabin rentals in Gatlinburg, TN.

But we suggest that you take such claims with a grain of salt. It’s true that some cabins are less expensive than others, but in such cases, keep in mind the old expression about getting what you pay for. And if you’re going to be spending your hard-earned money on a fun trip to the Smokies, you don’t want to compromise by staying in a property that’s old, run down or suffers from poor location. In other cases, the property may be decent, and the quoted price may sound inexpensive, but then you have to be careful about hidden fees.

At Heartland Rentals in Gatlinburg, all of our properties are top-notch cabins that offer a mix of both secluded and convenient settings while spoiling you with comfort and handy amenities. We have a cabin for virtually any vacation scenario, from one-bedroom cabins for honeymoons and anniversaries to two- to five-bedroom cabins for reunions, company outings or any kind of group get-together.

Regardless of your agenda, you’ll find that our rentals have everything you’ll need to make a home away from home.

The Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community is hosting its annual Easter Craft Show at the Gatlinburg Convention Center April 5 through 7. Local crafts people will be showcasing unique handcrafted items, and many of the artisans will be demonstrating their work as well. Crafts include one-of-a-kind works of art like pottery, woodcarving, candle making, quilting, weaving, broom making, painting and much more.

Admission is free, and guests are invited to visit with the crafters in a relaxed downtown Gatlinburg setting, although visitors will be able to purchase items that they’re interested in.

Established in 1937, the Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community is the largest group of independent artisans in North America. Some 100 artists and craftsmen have shops and studios occupy an eight-mile loop along Glades and Buckhorn roads in Gatlinburg, just three miles from downtown.

If you’re headed to town this weekend and looking for accommodations, don’t be drawn in by offers of cheap cabins in Gatlinburg, TN. At Heartland, our cabins are competitively priced, but we offer very high-quality lodgings with all the amenities you would want in a mountain getaway.

• Do not ever feed bears. This contributes to their dependence on human food, which causes them to encroach in areas they’re not wanted, such as campgrounds and even residential areas. If a bear does wander into your campsite and shows interest in your food, back away and let him or her have at it. The best preventive measures are to take food that doesn’t have a strong smell and keep your food stores in plastic containers, either away from the campsite or suspended by rope from a tree.

• If you meet up with a bear, keep it at as great a distance as possible. If the bear notices you and changes its behavior or the direction in which it is moving, or if it starts pawing the ground or making loud noises, that means you are too close. Back away slowly—do not run away—from the bear and make lots of noise. Remember that a bear can run, climb and swim faster than you can.

• If backing away doesn’t deter the bear, try throwing rocks or sticks at it and making yourself as large as possible by raising your arms in the air and acting aggressively. Don’t play dead. It’s too risky. Also, groups of five people or more are at the least risk of being approached by a bear.

If you’re going to be in town, be prepared for a crowd. That’s because more than 50,000 parade goers traditionally line the Parkway to get a glimpse not just of Dolly but of a long procession of colorful floats, marching bands, and local entertainers and celebrities.

That also means that you shouldn’t plan on trying to get anywhere along the Parkway that late afternoon or early evening. The parade starts at traffic light #7 and will travel north along the Parkway and disband at Belz Factory Outlet Word at traffic light #3.

It’s an event worth coming to town for, and when you do, we can put you close to the action with one of our cabin rentals in Pigeon Forge, TN. Check out our selection to find a property that’s a convenient distance from the heart of town and the parade route.

Sticks And Stones is just one of our many honeymoon cabins in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Tucked away in the foothills between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, this one-bedroom 1.5-bath honeymoon hideaway benefits from beautiful mountain views and peaceful wooded tranquility. Its secluded location makes it ideal for a honeymooning couple or even couples on an anniversary trip or romantic getaway.
The four-person hot tub on the covered, screened-in deck offers plenty of privacy, or you may want to fire up the gas fireplace on chilly nights. Other amenities include a charcoal grill, satellite television with DVD player, a king-sized bed and handy access to all the major attractions and restaurants in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.

• Hike Mt. LeConte. It’ll take a few hours, and you’re looking at about a six-mile hike, but the two main viewing areas from the third-highest peak in the Smokies are definitely worth the trip.

• Take a scenic drive. Hop in the car and set a course for Foothills Parkway, or even take U.S. 441 across the Smokies toward Cherokee North Carolina. Both routes offer stunning long-range views of peak after peak.

• Ride the Ober Gatlinburg aerial tram. Both the journey itself and the mountaintop resort at the other end (including Ober’s scenic chair lift) afford great viewing opportunities.

• Ride to the top of the Space Needle. You’ll find this tall attraction in the heart of Gatlinburg, and after a short elevator ride, you’ll find yourself hundreds of feet in the air, looking out over the rest of the town.