Summer Events & Festivals: 50 Best

In Pack Square Park in downtown Asheville, 10 AM-6 PM, with live music, organic local food and beer, cooking demos, samplings, natural arts and crafts. Free.

Fans of the cult-classic Dirty Dancing will relive memories of Baby's first dance in the film’s original, breathtaking backdrop of Lake Lure.

A great day at New Belgium Brewery on the French Broad River near downtown Asheville with live music, food trucks, craft beers and more. Our favorite is the Anything that Floats Parade competition. Free admission.

More than 40 artists display and demo their crafts in artsy Dillsboro at The Monteith Farmstead, home to the Appalachian Women's Museum, 10 AM-4 PM. Plus, live music, food and hands-on activities. Free admission. $3 parking

Enjoy live music, food and beer at this outdoor concert in downtown Asheville. Free admission, 5-9 PM.

There's always plenty to see and do at this free street festival in quaint downtown Black Mountain to celebrate sourwood honey! 200 vendors, crafts, live music, kids' activities and food. Saturday 9 AM-8 PM and Sunday 9 AM-5 PM. 

One of the biggest sports festivals in NC, the event in the spectacular Hickory Nut Gorge is anchored by three major races: 10K Dam Run, Triathlon and Race up Chimney Rock. Events for kids, beginner athletes and spectators, too. 

Get ready to laugh aa the largest stand-up comedy event in the southeast returns with 40 comics performing at mulitple venues in Asheville. Single event tickets & combo passes.

Fantastic fair in Biltmore Village with 100 hand-selected artists from 16 states, representing the full spectrum of craft media - jewelry, ceramic, wood, fiber, metals, two-dimensional art and more.

The streets around Burnsville’s town square are filled with 200 juried crafters displaying nearly every kind of handmade craft imaginable. Located 35 miles northeast of Asheville.

Since 1928, mountain fiddlers, banjo pickers, dulcimer sweepers, dancers, balladeers and others have come together the first weekend in August for a showcase of authentic bluegrass music and dancing in Asheville.

Watch horse jumping with the best riders in the country at the impressive Tryon International Equestrian Center with an exciting atmosphere featuring entertainment, food, kids' activities and Venetian carousel rides. Competitions vary each week. Free admission.

Enjoy music under the stars, Broadway to classical, by the Blue Ridge Orchestra with a synchronized projected light show on the woodland forest backdrop in the NC Arboretum Amphitheatre. Also held Aug 3-4.

Features 30 presenters and 70+ offerings downtown, including yoga, music, outdoor activities, and unique health & wellness experts (fees). Vendor Village at Pack Square Park on Friday-Sunday is free with slackline park, music, art, body care and organic food. 

Musicians and dancers from across Western North Carolina gather to share the region's Southern Appalachian mountain culture and traditions in downtown Asheville in Pack Square Park. Bring a lawn chair or blanket for the "green."

Watch horse jumping with the best riders in the country at the impressive Tryon International Equestrian Center with an exciting atmosphere featuring entertainment, food, kids' activities and Venetian carousel rides. Competitions vary each week. Free admission.

Great BBQ with live bluegrass, antique tractor show, jamming stage, championship clogging teams, artists & crafts vendors, and local food vendors. At the Riverside Park across the river from downtown Spruce Pine. Tickets $5/person. 

This outdoor show in Banner Elk is strictly fine art and master crafts by an invitation-only. Held on the lawn of the historic Elementary School (185 Azalea Cir SE). Mixed media, jewelry, sculpture, glass, pottery, painting, photography, wood & more. Friday 1-5 PM, Saturday 10 AM-5 PM, Sunday 10 AM-4 PM. 

150+ local indie artists, crafters, makers with food, drink and music in Pack Square Park downtown, 12-7:30 PM.

Watch horse jumping with the best riders in the country at the impressive Tryon International Equestrian Center with an exciting atmosphere featuring entertainment, food, kids' activities and Venetian carousel rides. Competitions vary each week. Free admission.

One of the biggest Scottish Games in the United States, with plenty of live music (bagpipes to rock), athletic competitions, dancing, food, heritage vendors and more.

A street festival for dogs and their people with great food, live music, a very fun parade, crafts, street dance, dog competitions and more in Saluda. Live entertainment until 11 PM. Free admission.

See 100+ regional, local and national artists and craft artisans with fine jewelry, a big variety of art and hand-crafted apparel and decor. Pack Square Park in downtown Asheville. Free admission. 10 AM-5 PM. 

Go to one of the top bluegrass music festivals in the South, with 20+ bands including some national headliners. Camping, food, crafts and more in a beautiful park in Morganton. Fireworks on the 4th. Daily admission starts at $25/advance and $30/gate. Four day pass is $60/advance and $75/gate.

Much is happening on Independence Day and weekend. See our list of July 4th Celebrations

Musicians and dancers from across Western North Carolina gather to share the region's Southern Appalachian mountain culture and traditions in downtown Asheville in Pack Square Park. Bring a lawn chair or blanket for the "green."

Watch horse jumping with the best riders in the country at the impressive Tryon International Equestrian Center with an exciting atmosphere featuring entertainment, food, kids' activities and Venetian carousel rides. Competitions vary each week. Free admission.

See works from 15 invitational potters in Cashiers; includes a big pottery sale, demonstrations and more on the Village Green, gazebo and park. 10 AM-5 PM. Free admission.

See and buy fine arts and crafts from dozens of local artists at Pack Square Park in downtown. 10 AM-5 PM.

Watch horse jumping with the best riders in the country at the impressive Tryon International Equestrian Center with an exciting atmosphere featuring entertainment, food, kids' activities and Venetian carousel rides. Competitions vary each week. Free admission.

450th anniversary of the first European inland settlement in the USA at Fort San Juan (predates Jamestown by 40 years). Open for excavation tours, demos of primitive skills and Cherokee craft. Located at 1700 Henderson Mill Road, Morganton, 10 AM-2 PM, parking $5, admission free.

Celebrate the headwaters with outdoor fun for all ages, 10 AM- 3 PM including canoe relay, outdoor gear flea market, hands-on activities, free tubing, music, food trucks and more. Champion River Park and Rosman Town Hall (6 Main Street, Rosman)

Take a free self-guided driving tour of the galleries and working studios of Graham and Swain Counties and buy arts and crafts directly from the artist. Pick up a map at the Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center near Fontana Lake and Robbinsville. 10 AM-5 PM. 

Watch horse jumping with the best riders in the country at the impressive Tryon International Equestrian Center with an exciting atmosphere featuring entertainment, food, kids' activities and Venetian carousel rides. Competitions vary each week. Free admission.

From traditional bluegrass to funk and soul, rock, jazz and hip-hop, enjoy five stages of musical diversity in West Asheville - both outdoors and indoors. Local vendors Shows start each day at noon and continue through 2 AM Saturday and 10 PM on Sunday. Free. 743 Haywood Road. 

Two Rhododendron Festivals (North Carolina and Tennessee versions) are held in the Roan Mountain area!

Potters and ceramic artists of the Southern Highlands Guild at the Folk Art Center share a variety of techniques such as throwing, sculpture and coil-building. Glaze and see the firing of raku pots. Watch the Clay Olympics. 10 AM-4 PM. Free admission.

Watch horse jumping with the best riders in the country at the impressive Tryon International Equestrian Center with an exciting atmosphere featuring entertainment, food, kids' activities and Venetian carousel rides. Competitions vary each week. Free admission.

Experience the 11,000-year old Cherokee culture through dance, music, storytelling, arts and crafts. Held at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, 10 AM-5 PM, with a blowgun contest at 11 AM. Traditional food available for purchase. Free admission. 

Outdoor festival with plenty of live music, food trucks, beer & wine and more at Lake Logan in Pisgah National Forest south of Waynesville, about 30 miles from Asheville. Weekend tickets $75/person. Camping and accommodations available - reserve early.

Watch horse jumping with the best riders in the country at the impressive Tryon International Equestrian Center with an exciting atmosphere featuring entertainment, food, kids' activities and Venetian carousel rides. Competitions vary each week. Free admission.

Go to the Western North Carolina Air Museum in Hendersonville for their big annual open house, airplane rides, children’s Ornithopter rides and antique cars and motorcycles. 10 AM-5 PM each day. Free parking and admission. May 31st update: CANCELLED due to area flooding

Two small festivals east of Asheville, one in Old Fort and the other south of Marion, both with exhibits, mining demonstrations, gold panning, arts and crafts, music and food. Free admission.