Events, Festivals, & Theatre

The High Country definitely has something for everyone. There are a myriad of festivals, annual events and enough arts and culture to please the most discriminating of tastes. We have tried to list the most popular ones for you below. For the exact dates of these events and festivals, see our Calendar of Events. You might want to plan your next vacation with us around one or several of them:

Banner Elk NC Festivals & Events

Banner Elk Park Holiday Market:
Banner Elk Park Holiday Market is held annually on the second weekend in October. This is a fun event where Fall & Christmas meet in the mountains. There is a picturesque pumpkin patch with a photographer for family photos, music, Christmas carolers, local tree farmers, artists, craftsmen and jewelers. Please drop off Toys for Tots or bring a child s warm coat or an unwrapped toy for Christmas. For more information and for vendor participation, please contact Holly Palm at 828-773-1906 or email her at holly@beherbfest.com.

Banner Elk Herb Festival:
Banner Elk Herb Festival is held annually on the last weekend in May, location TBA. On Saturday, the hours are from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. On Sunday, the hours are from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The Herb Festival will feature great local bands, lots of arts and crafts vendors, farmers market items, a kid zone and, of course, thousands of herb plants for sale. There will be great local food & non-alcoholic beverages and carnival games and prizes to each participating child. For more information and for vendor participation, please contact Holly Palm at 828-773-1906 or email her at holly@beherbfest.com.

Banner Elk Summer Concerts in the Park:
These concerts start in July through August, the Banner Elk Chamber of Commerce puts on their Summer Concerts in the Park every Thursday evening starting at 6:30 PM. Come to the stage behind the Bank of America on Highway 194 in Banner Elk. Bring your chairs or blankets and coolers. Food will also be available for purchase at the concert. Raffle tickets can be purchased for prizes as well as for the 50/50 split of the “pot.” Come relax and listen to some great music, or put on your dancing shoes. There is a nice dance floor in front of the stage. For more information or to get a flyer on this year’s bands, please call the Chamber office at 828-898-8395.

Fine Arts & Mastercrafts Festivals:
These 2-day “juried” arts festivals are held in July and August every year and are held at the Banner Elk Elementary School in downtown Banner Elk. For more information, contact the Avery County Chamber at 1-800-972-2183.

Lees-McRae College Summer Theatre:
On July 17, 1985, Lees-McRae Summer Theatre in Banner Elk opened the doors to its first summer production. Patrons enjoy two stages of productions, proudly called the Hummingbird Theatre and the Spotlight Theatre, which include three musicals, Theatre for Young People and three dramas with cultural themes. The productions for 2009 are: Cats, June 17-21; Secret Garden, July 3-16; and Guys & Dolls, July 30-August 3. Also, for more information, call 828-898-8709 or 828-898-8721 and click on the link on the right side of the page for more details.

Woolly Worm Festival:
Since 1978, the residents of Banner Elk have celebrated the coming of the snow season with a Woolly Worm Festival. They set aside the third weekend in October to determine which one worm will have the honor of predicting the severity of the coming winter; and they make that worm earn the honor by “racing” up a 3-foot length of string winning heat after heat of hard-fought races. The Woolly Bear caterpillar has 13 brown and black segments correspond to the 13 weeks of winter. The brown segment indicates that week of winter will be mild. The black indicates that week of winter will be colder and snowier. For more information, please call 828-898-5605. For more details, click on the link on the right side of the page.

Beech Mountain

Autumn at Oz Festival:
This 2-day event is always held on the 1st weekend in October on Beech Mountain. You can park in the meadow across from the Beech Mountain Town Hall and either walk, take a bus or even a hayride up to the entrance of Oz. Take a walk (or a skip) down the yellow brick road and meet all the Oz characters. Food and craft vendors as well as musicians are there for your enjoyment. Don’t forget to bring your camera! For more details, click on the link on the right side of the page.

Beech Mountain’s Summer Sunday Concerts at Fred’s General Mercantile:
Concerts take place at Fred’s Gazebo every Sunday in July and August every year. Be sure to bring your folding chairs or blankets. Also, for more information, you can call Fred’s at 828-387-4838.

Beech Mountain’s Dancing in the Streets at Town Hall:
D.J. Mac Mast is a master at reading the crowd and playing music that will get your heart pumping and your feet moving. Music starts at 7 PM, weather permitting. This is a free event (once in July, August & September) brought to you by the members of the Beech Mountain Chamber. For additional information, call the Beech Mountain Chamber.

47th Annual Roasting of the Hog and Fireworks Display:
Beech Mountain’s annual Roasting of the Hog is held on the Saturday closest to July 4th each year. Volunteer chefs cook up some delicious barbecue pork and turkey. There is a children’s activity area that opens at 3:30 p.m., music that starts at 5 p.m., barbecue served at 5:30 p.m. and fireworks that begin shortly after dark. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Beech Mountain Chamber or at Fred’s General Mercantile on Beech Mountain (828-387-4838 or 828-387-9331).

Kiddo Fishing Derby:
In the month of June a popular event for kids and family is the Kiddo Fishing Derby, that is a free event for children ages four to 12. The competition awards trophies in the categories of the first trout, largest trout, heaviest trout and the first to catch the limit of four trout. Vendors are also on site selling hot dogs and soft drinks or picnic tables are available for families that want to bring their own food and snacks. For more information, call the Beech Mountain Chamber of Commerce to register and to find out more.

Woolly Worm Ball:
This event is held in October before the Woolly Worm Festival at the Beech Mountain Club and includes a dinner, dance & silent auction. For tickets and more information, call the Avery County Chamber at 828-898-5605.

Blowing Rock

Blowing Rock Art in the Park:
The Blowing Rock Chamber puts on a series of six “juried” arts and craft shows that start in May through October each year. Art in the Park originated in 1962 with a handful of area artists and craftspeople showcasing their work and talent. 46 years after its start, Art in the Park is host to 100 artisans at each show. Some of the best local and regional artists and craftspeople display their handcrafted glass, jewelry, painting, photography, pottery, and more. These shows attract artisans from all over the Southeast. The quality of work exhibited draws thousands to the mountains each month. Art in the Park is planned and administered by the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber emphasizes the arts focus of this event. The town and area businesses are enthusiastic and participate with Art in the Park, and the public eagerly anticipates each season. Also, for more information, please call toll-free 800-295-7851 or 828-295-7851.

Blowing Rock Blue Ridge Wine & Food Festival:
This is an annual event held in April. More than one hundred wines and a myriad of events await thousands of visitors at the Annual Blue Ridge Wine and Food Festival. Every year the event, hosted in Blowing Rock, grows in scope on the strength of wine tastings, cooking demonstrations, including an Iron Chef-style championship cook-off, winemaker dinners and much more. For more information, please call toll-free 877-295-7965 or 828-295-7851.

Blowing Rock Stage Company:
Since 1986, this non-profit organization has been presenting professional theatre as a community service. Productions include comedies, dramas and musicals, with a variety of shows from mid-June into September and holiday performances in December at the Blowing Rock Arts Center. Reserved seating. Admission. For more information, call 828-295-9627.

Blowing Rock Sunday Concerts in the Park:
Concerts are held in Memorial Park in downtown Blowing Rock and start at 4 p.m. You can also call 828-295-4636 for more details.

Blowing Rock Monday Night Concert Series:
Concerts are held in the Broyhill Park Gazebo on the lake off of Clark Street during the summer months. Performances begin at 7:00 PM and the alternative inclement rain location is the American Legion Building on Park Avenue. Concerts feature a wide array of music and often feature Farm House Alumnus. Concerts are free and open to the public. They are sponsored by the Blowing Rock Parks and Recreation. For questions about the Concert Series call Parks and Recreation at 828-295-5222.

Blowing Rock WinterFest:
This is an annual January event. The fun side of winter is celebrated with a wine auction, live bluegrass, a chili cook-off, kid’s activities and the “Polar Plunge” in Chetola Lake. You can also call toll-free 877-295-7801 or 828-295-3160.

Hayes Performing Arts Center:
The Mariam and Robert Hayes Performing Arts Center is a year-round facility that is the home of the Blowing Rock Stage Company. The center also offers a gathering place for civic and cultural activities as well as a resource for local commercial interests with its meeting facilities and hosting capabilities. For more information, call the Box Office at 828-295-9627.

Tweetsie Railroad’s “Discover Thomas”:
This is an annual event held in June. It is a fun day for the children to have a “Day Out With Thomas” to include a 25-minute ride with Thomas, enjoy storytelling, live music, and much more. They even have a great interactive web site for the kids: http://www.thomasandfriends.com/usa/games.asp. For more information, call Tweetsie Railroad at 828-264-9061. Also, for more details on Tweetsie Railroad, click on the link on the right side of the page.

Tweetsie Railroad’s & Ghost Train & Halloween Festival:
The Ghost Train and Halloween Festival is held during the month of October and features ghostly attractions such as night-time rides on the Ghost Train, an exciting haunted house, and Halloween shows at the Tweetsie Saloon. There are also freaky favorites such as the 3-D Maze, Black Hole and trick-or-treating for the kids. It is scary yet safe fun for Halloween lovers of all ages. Special bracelets are available for the young and easily scared that will let all of the Tweetsie ghosts and goblins know to take it easy on them. For more information, call Tweetsie Railroad at 828-264-9061. For more details, click on the link on the right side of the page.

Boone

An Appalachian Summer Festival:
This major festival is considered one of the top twenty events in the Southeast and is held in June and July! It is held on and around the Appalachian State University’s campus in Boone, NC and features the finest music, theatre, dance, visual arts and film. For more information, call toll-free 800-841-2787 or 828-262-6084. For more details, click on the link on the right side of the page.

Boone Art Crawl:
On the first Friday of every month, downtown comes alive in the evening as local art galleries feature exhibition openings and a number of shops have extended evening hours. Sponsored by the Downtown Boone Development Association (DBDA), the monthly Art Crawl attracts a large number of pedestrians to the sidewalks of Howard, Depot and King Streets. For more information, call the DBDA at 828-262-4532.

Concerts On the Lawn at the Jones House:
Every summer on Fridays in downtown Boone at the Jones House there are free concerts on the lawn. (See more details on the Jones House below.) They start at 5 p.m. Bring your own chair or blanket.

Jones House:
Built in 1908 and standing prominently on a hill in the middle of downtown Boone, this beautifully restored Queen Anne/Colonial Revival-style house serves as both an art gallery and as headquarters of the Watauga Arts Council. The Arts Council sponsors regular art exhibitions within the Jones House that is home to three separate galleries. The Mazie Jones Gallery offers a variety of monthly exhibitions. The Open Door Gallery features the work of emerging artists, and the Senior Gallery displays artwork by local senior citizens. Every summer from June through September, the Watauga Arts Council hosts Concerts on the Lawn, a series of free concerts that take place at the Jones House every Friday. Starting around 5 p.m., the Concerts on the Lawn series features a wide variety of bands. As musicians perform on the Jones House front porch, the grassy lawn in front of the house is filled with appreciative listeners, some of whom dance to the music while others sit back and relax in lawn chairs. As well as hosting Friday concerts, the Jones House is the site of musical events every Thursday. On Thursday afternoons, the Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) Program offers 3rd and 12th graders a number of classes in fiddle, dulcimer and other traditional Appalachian musical instruments. The Jones House is located at 604 West King Street in Boone. For more information, call 828.262.4576 or email them at joneshouse@charterinternet.com.

Turchin Center for the Visual Arts:
Located on King Street in downtown Boone, the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts is part of Appalachian State University and its galleries feature a wide range of art exhibitions. It definitely serves the High Country as a world-class arts center. The Turchin Center is considered the community’s largest “classroom” and has become a gathering place devoted to teaching and exploring the visual arts, offering workshops, lectures and other arts enrichment programs. Admission is free. For hours or additional information, call 828-262-3017.

Linville

Grandfather Mountain’s Highland Games:
Each July, the High Country hills truly are alive with the sound of music Celtic music, that is, and much more. Shuttle service is available in Avery County. Taking the shuttle service is a great way to avoid the traffic and congestion in the Linville area on Highway 105. Round-trip tickets on the shuttle bus from Linville and Camp Yonanoka lots are $5.00 roundtrip, $3.00 one-way, and round-trip tickets on the shuttle bus from the paved parking lots at the Avery County High School (Saturday only) are $5.00. All amounts are subject to change. All proceeds from the shuttle services go directly to Crossnore Volunteer Fire Department. For more information, you can call 828-733-1333. For more details, click on the link on the right side of the page.

Grandfather Mountain’s “Singing on the Mountain”:
This annual event is held in June and is a day-long gathering held outdoors at the base of Grandfather Mountain in a meadow. Music begins at 8:30 a.m. and continues throughout the day, with a break at mid-day for the sermon. Many families bring lawn chairs and picnics and make a day of seeing old friends and enjoying performances by top Southern Gospel groups. Admission to the “Singing on the Mountain” is free. It is located on US Highway 221, two miles north of Linville and one mile from the Blue Ridge Parkway. For more information about this event, call 828-733-2013.

Newland

Avery County Agricultural & Horticultural (A & H) Fair:
This 5-day old-fashioned good time annual event for the whole family occurs in September and showcases and rewards the best that the county has to offer in livestock, agricultural produce, arts and crafts and Fraser Fir Christmas Trees. There are also midway rides, games and musical entertainment. The Avery County A & H Fair is located at the New Heritage Park in Newland off Highway 194 behind Ingles Grocery Store. Hours are from 5 p.m. “until” on Tuesday through Friday and from noon “until” on Saturday. For more information, call 828-387-6870.

Riverwalk Arts Festival:
This event used to be called the Avery Arts Council’s annual On The Square Arts & Crafts Festival. It is scheduled in August every year along the Riverwalk in downtown Newland, NC. Friday night kicks the festival off with a street dance. You will find fine art and folk arts and crafts, live local entertainment, a variety of food vendors and a Children’s Corner. For more information about the festival, call 828-898-4292 or email averyarts@lmc.edu.

Spruce Pine

Grassy Creek Gem Show:
This is an annual event that runs the same time as the NC Mineral & Gem Festival (last week of July) and is located outdoors at the Parkway Fire Department in the Grassy Creek areas of Spruce Pine. They have a fantastic barbeque too so be sure to go hungry! For more information, call the Visitor Center at 1-800-227-3912 or 828-765-9483.

NC Mineral & Gem Festival:
This is an annual 4-day summer event held the last week of July into the first week of August in Spruce Pine, NC since the early 1950’s. It is directed by the Mitchell County Chamber of Commerce. It is held indoors so weather is never an issue. Even celebrities have been spotted at the Festival buying jewelry, gemstones and gifts! Gem, jewelry and mineral dealers from across the country showcase their merchandise to fit every budget. For more information, call the Visitor Center at 1-800-227-3912 or 828-765-9483. For more details, click on the link on the right side of the page.

Sugar Mountain

Sugar Mountain Oktoberfest:
Enjoy this annual two-day festival at Sugar Mountain featuring live German music, German and American food & beverages, children’s fun center, hayrides, local & regional craft fair, lift rides and much more. For more information, call (828) 898-4521. For more details, click on the link on the right side of the page.

Valle Crucis

Valle Crucis Concerts in the Park (“Music in the Valle”):
Starting in May through mid-September, there are free concerts in the Valle Crucis Community Park each Friday evening starting at 7pm. (However, they will start at 6pm in September.) Bring a chair or a blanket. For more information, call 828-963-9239 or email heatherhstewart@gmail.com.

Valle Country Fair:
The Valle Country Fair is an overgrown church bazaar set in the center of one of the most picturesque valleys in the North Carolina mountains at the peak of the fall color season (the third Saturday in October). All monies raised go to fund High Country organizations which serve people in need. It is located in the field across from the Valle Crucis Conference Center on N.C. Highway 194. Admission is free. Parking is available adjacent to the fair ($5 per vehicle) and runs both days from 9 AM to 4 PM. For more details, click on the link on the right side of the page.

Other Areas

Mountain Music Jamboree:
Tucked cozily away in the shadows of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Glendale Springs, the Jamboree is the kind of place where you are only a stranger once. Even the youngest of the family can hit the dance floor to show off their dance steps. From 1987 when it started until now, the Jamboree has continued to grow in popularity both near and far. As a testament to that popularity, you can find three maps hanging just inside the door of the building: One of North Carolina, one of the United States and one of the World. Covering those maps (with a few more on the World map than you might expect) are push pins that visitors have placed there. In addition to the music that is served up fresh every Saturday night, the Jamboree offers up the Winner’s Circle buffet from May to October and year-round on special occasions. They are a family place where you can go and laugh and dance and just enjoy traditional music and the tradition of a barn dance. They feature live bluegrass and old-time bands, clogging, square dancing, and smiles for everyone! Doors are open at 6 p.m. and the bands start around 7:30 p.m. from November through April. It is a smoke and alcohol-free family entertainment venue, located at 9331 N.C. Highway 16 in Glendale Springs. For more information on the Jamboree or to make reservations, you can call 1-800-803-4079 or 336-384-4079 or email them at info@mountainmusicjamboree.com.

Music Fest N Sugar Grove:
If you enjoy good music and the fresh mountain air, you need to make it a point to attend the MusicFest N Sugar Grove. This annual event is held in July.

Roan Mountain Rhododendron Festival:
This annual festival is held either the third or fourth weekend in June, depending on the peak of the rhododendron bloom. It is held in Roan Mountain State Park, located at the foot of Roan Mountain. There are crafts, food and a variety of traditional music. For more details, click on the link on the right side of the page.

Todd New River Festival:
This is an annual event held in October in Todd. There is free entertainment all day with crafts, food, and fun and special children’s activities. For more information, call 828-964-1362.

Brushy Mountain Apple Festival:
This annual free event presented by the Brushy Mountain Ruritan Club is held in North Wilkesboro on the first Saturday in October. It is a celebration of their mountain heritage and is one of the largest one-day arts and crafts festivals in the Southeast. For more information about this festival, call 336-984-3022.

MerleFest:
This is an annual musical celebration commemorating the life and music of Merle Watson, son of Doc Watson, who made this region’s bluegrass and folk music world famous and is held in April. Join the fun on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro with music, moments and memories to last a lifetime. It is four fun-filled days of music and activities that are sure to please. For more details, call 1-800-343-7857.