The event is FREE! No tickets required.

Join us for an exclusive local screening of “Rise, Ruin, and Restoration: A History of Lake Toxaway”, a documentary film that brings to life one of Western North Carolina's most captivating stories. The film, directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Dan Johnson, chronicles the creation of Lake Toxaway, the dramatic collapse of its dam in 1916, and the remarkable effort to resurrect the mountain lake decades later.

John LeRoy Nichols III and Dan Johnson’s deep personal roots in the region inspired them to take the interviews Nichols had begun capturing a decade earlier and create a documentary to preserve the area’s rich history. The film includes the story of Nichol’s grandfather, Reginald Davies Heinitsh, whose vision and determination made the lake's rebirth possible. The documentary project was expanded to include the fascinating tale of local legend Lucy Armstrong Moltz, whose Toxaway mansion would eventually become the Greystone Inn.

On July 30 at The Village Green of Cashiers, join us for a free evening celebrating this remarkable local story. The fun begins at 5:00 pm with a reception, followed by the screening at 5:30 pm and a Q&A with John LeRoy Nichols III and the film’s writer and director, Dan Johnson.

It's a piece of history that shaped Transylvania County and the broader Southern Highlands community in ways that have long gone untold. Whether your family has called this mountain community home for generations or you're simply passionate about the history and landscapes of the Highlands-Cashiers area, this is a rare opportunity to hear a beloved regional story finally given the telling it deserves.

This event is in partnership with the Cashiers Historical Society.

5:00pm: Reception

5:30pm: Film screening followed by a director Q&A