Franklin Area Folk Festival
17th Annual Franklin Area Folk Festival
"A Celebration of Appalachian Heritage"
Come to the mountains of Western North Carolina and discover the Franklin Area Folk Festival a celebration of the rich heritage of Franklin, NC and Macon County! The festival will take place on Saturday, August 19, 2023 from 10am to 4pm at Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center. It's a great day of FREE FUN for the entire family. Admission and parking for the event are FREE! Call (828) 369-4080 for information.
Visit Franklin Area Folk Festival Website »
Celebrating all things Appalachian, this family-friendly festival features live heritage demonstrations, Appalachian crafts, jammin’ sessions that feature old-time mountain music and bluegrass, kids’ activities, food, textiles & more! Artisans inside Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center will exhibit Macon County’s rich heritage by teaching us about pottery, textiles, painting, and local history. By linking our future to our past, the Franklin Area Folk Festival sponsors hands-on activities to allow visitors to experience what mountain life was like way back when. These folks learned at their parents’ knee woodcarving, moonshinin’, weaving and spinning, and all the many other heritage skills they’ll be demonstrating.
New collaborations this year at the Festival – the “Heritage Village” will come alive with a “campsite” on the field where the Southeastern Civilian Living Historians will share their stories and skills about pole lathe/carpentry, gourd carving, cooking preservation, butter churning, animal care, spinning/weaving, flax processing, chair caning/basket making, medicinal herbs, planting by the signs, broom making, log splitting, and more! Their village will also include these Foxfire demonstrators: candle maker, soap maker, blacksmith and others.
In addition, Blue Ridge Public Radio will be partnering with the Foxfire Mountain Heritage Museum to continue their collection of oral histories about women in Appalachia. If you have a story you'd like to share, please stop by their booth. You can find out more about this project at https://bpr.org/WomeninAppalachia.
Free kids' activities begin at 10:00am. At the Kids’ Activity Tent located mid-field, kids of all ages are encouraged to play old-fashioned lawn games such as egg races, sack races, and tug-o-war. At designated times under the tent, kids can try their hand at various heritage skills like milking the “cow”, corn shellin’ and making heritage crafts. Plus, additional kid focused activities will be scattered around the grounds with lots of opportunities for hands-on interaction. Plans include: the Smoky Mtn. Quilter’s Guild Make-it/Take-it sewing item, Border Collie demonstrations, homemade craft projects, exhibits of traditional toys, close encounters with friendly goats, pottery projects in the pottery room, weaving in the hall by Cowee Textiles, clothes washing station and much more.
This FREE event is co-sponsored annually by the Folk Heritage Association of Macon County and the Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center and is made possible by grants from the Franklin/Nantahala Tourism Development Committee, the Tourism Development Authority of the Town of Franklin, Arts Council of Macon County and the NC Arts Council along with funding from local businesses and individuals.
For more information call (828) 369-4080 or visit FranklinFolkFestival.com