This Summer, Experience the Rich Culture of the NC Mountains for Free!
 The unique heritage of the people living in the oldest mountains on earth continues to thrive in the Blue Ridge of NC, in the Asheville area. And this summer visitors and locals alike can experience these living traditions at free events and attractions featuring music, crafts and farming amidst the natural scenic beauty in the Blue Ridge Mountains and foothills.
Here’s just a sampling:
Pickn’ and Poetry on the Porch, Thomas Wolfe House, 52 N. Market Street Asheville, First and Third Fridays, May through October, Noon to 2 p.m. Novelist Thomas Wolfe grew up in this 28-room Victorian boardinghouse once run by his mother. This event features local musicians, poets, and writers performing on the front porch. Bring a sack lunch and enjoy this downtown cultural event. See more events under 2nd Saturdays.
Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) Visitor Center. Free movie, exhibits, and information. Located at Milepost 384 in Asheville. Check out the I-Wall, a 22-foot interactive map of the Parkway which provides multi-media information on places to visit. Fly over the Parkway and mountains via the film, “The Blue Ridge Parkway-America’s Favorite Journey,” shown in high-definition surround sound (similar to the I-MAX experience).
NC Mineral and Gem Festival, Downtown Spruce Pine. Celebrating 50 years of the rich heritage and culture of mining in this region. Spruce Pine is widely known as the most important mining district in the world. Special exhibit and mine tours are a part of the festival in addition to community events such as the Rock Hop Street Dance in downtown Spruce Pine. Visitors can also enjoy touring the National Park Service’s Museum of NC Minerals in Spruce Pine, located right off the Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost 331.
Mount Mitchell Crafts Fair, Burnsville Town Square. 54th Annual Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair hosts over 200 crafters offering handmade arts and crafts. The “Heritage Hollow” is a giant tent that includes locals dressed in period costumes, basket weavers, candle makers, potters, and quilters, and another booth telling the incredible story - “The Building of the Blue Ridge Parkway.”
2nd Saturdays: June 11, July 9 and August 13, 2011
This Summer, Experience the Rich Culture of the NC Mountains for Free! The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources will present a varied mix of artists, musicians, re-enactors, historic sites, and museums in the second year of its popular “2nd Saturdays” summer program at all 37 museums and Historic Sites that are part of the Department of Cultural Resources. Many of the historic sites will feature costumed re-enactors who step out of the pages of history into today. In many rural counties, the State Historic Site or museum is a main tourist destination. Most events are free. The inaugural 2nd Saturdays program during Summer 2010 involved more than 600 artists who sold their work - potters, weavers, photographers, painters, metalworkers, papermakers, jewelers - as well as farmers with produce or value-added products such as honey, goat cheese, soy candle makers, or bakers.
The Mountain Gateway Museum and Heritage Center, 102 Water Street, Old Fort, 9 am – 5 pm – Promotes the understanding and preservation of the mountain region’s history from the earliest inhabitants through the settlement period and into the twentieth century. Fly fishing lessons, wood carving, pottery, basketmaking, cheese making are just a few of the special demonstrations planned for 2nd Saturdays.
Zubulon Vance Birthplace, 911 Reems Creek Rd., Weaverville, 9 am – 5 pm
Rugged and controversial, Zebulon Vance, North Carolina’s Civil War governor, had a dynamic political career that is traced at this pioneer farmstead where he was born. The reconstructed buildings and period furnishings reflect the governor’s influential mountain family who lived here from 1795-1840. Special demonstrations.
Thomas Wolfe House, 52 N. Market Street Asheville, 9 am – 5 pm
Horne Creek Farm, 308 Horne Creek Farm Road, Pinnacle, 10 am – 4 pm
This living historical farm features rare and endangered breeds of animals, heirloom garden and field crops, and a heritage apple orchard. Farming, domestic skills and historic craft demonstrations recall the life of the Hausers, a circa 1900 northwest Piedmont family.
Annual Singing on the Mountain, Near BRP Milepost 305, June. The “Singing” is a day-long gathering in a meadow at the base of Grandfather Mountain. Music begins at 8:30 a.m. and continues throughout the day, with a break at mid-day for the sermon. Bring a picnic, make new friends and enjoy performances by top southern gospel groups.
Graham County Heritage Festival, downtown Robbinsville. A celebration of Appalachian entertainment. Events include horseshoe contests, coon dog competitions, logging events and Civil War encampment. Food booths include Native American and mountain dishes. Old Time, country, and bluegrass music groups present square dancing and buck dancing. Handmade crafts include paintings, gourd painting, pottery, basket weaving, Native American crafts.
The Great Smoky Mountain National Park is one of the few major national parks that doesn’t charge an entrance fee. Ranger-guided programs are offered spring through fall in the park, and most programs are free.
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