LINVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA – Grandfather Mountain, the not-for-profit nature park run by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, has announced that tickets for the final presentation of the Grandfather Presents 2025 speaker series are on sale now. “CBS Sunday Morning” correspondent Conor Knighton will close out the 2025 series on Thursday, Oct. 2.
The Wilson Center for Nature Discovery’s Classroom in the Clouds will host the event. Guests will experience a “night at the museum” atmosphere, the speaker presentation and a book-signing/ “meet-and-greet” with Knighton.
“We are excited to wrap up our Grandfather Presents speaker series in October with Conor Knighton,” said Landis Taylor, vice president of marketing and communications for the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation. “Knighton’s search for larger-than-life characters in off-the-beaten-path locations makes for fascinating stories that tie us, as individuals, to nature.”
This season’s “Grandfather Presents” roster has a focus on those who make it their life’s mission to highlight challenges, opportunities and good work happening around exploration, nature and conservation. Knighton will close out the 2025 speaker series with some of his favorite small-town stories.
The entire lineup includes:
Author and journalist T. Edward Nickens • July 24
Author, TV series host and conservationist Jeff Corwin • Aug. 7
Nature’s Song of Renewal: Ecological Resilience After Helene • Sept. 25
Knighton is the author of New York Times best seller “Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia-to-Zion Journey Through Every National Park.” Described by BookPage as “entertaining, informative and inspirational,” “Leave Only Footprints” is an account of the year Knighton spent wandering through America’s “best idea,” exploring the threads that tie our national parks together and that tie us to nature.
Copies of Knighton’s book will be on sale at Grandfather Mountain’s Wilson Center gift shop prior to the event and on Oct. 2 during “Grandfather Presents,” as supplies last.
Knighton has won five Daytime Emmys as part of the “Sunday Morning” team and has won a Los Angeles Area Emmy for his work on KCET’s “SoCal Connected.” He’s been nominated for two additional Los Angeles Emmys and his feature reporting has been honored with a National Headliner Award and an LA Press Club Award.
Schedule: Oct. 2, 2025
9 a.m. • Grandfather Mountain opens for the day, and “VIP Reception” ticket holders are allowed access to the park. Event tickets will be scanned at one of the ticket booths at the entrance gate.
4:45 p.m. • “Presentation” ticket holders are allowed to enter the park and are welcome to explore the Conservation Campus (Wilson Center, Mildred the Bear Environmental Habitats and more) prior to the speaker presentation. Your event ticket will be scanned at one of the ticket booths at the entrance gate.
4:45 – 5:45 p.m. • Check-in for all event attendees near the front entrance of the Wilson Center (to receive your wristband for the event)
5 – 5:30 p.m. • “VIP” Reception in the Wilson Center (VIP Reception ticket holders only)
5:45 – 6:45 p.m. • Speaker presentation in the Classroom in the Clouds
6:45 – 7:30 p.m. • Meet-and-greet/book signing with speaker
7:45 p.m. • Park should be clear of all “Grandfather Presents” guests
Event Tickets
Two levels of tickets are available for the Thursday night Grandfather Presents programs.
“VIP Reception” tickets include a VIP reception with the guest speaker that features heavy hors d’oeuvres, in addition to the program and “meet-and-greet/book-signing” session after the event. Admission to the park for the day is also included. VIP tickets to the event are limited.
“Presentation” tickets are a more cost-effective option and include only the speaker’s program and the “meet-and-greet/book-signing” session after the event. Children, ages 12 and under, are admitted free to the event with a paying adult. A maximum of four free children is permitted per purchase.
Tickets for “Grandfather Presents: Conor Knighton” are on sale online now. To learn more about “Grandfather Presents: Conor Knighton” and to purchase tickets, visit .
To learn more about the “Grandfather Presents” speaker series, visit .
The nonprofit Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation strives to inspire conservation of the natural world through education, exploration and example. For more information, visit .
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Molly Dowdle is director of marketing and communications for the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation.
