Brevard, North Carolina, is a quirky blend of the arts and outdoors, home to the famed Brevard Music Center as well as 250 waterfalls and 1,000 miles of trails in surrounding Transylvania County. The resulting energy resonates on every street corner.
Adobestock
The imposing 1881 Transylvania County Courthouse sits in the center of downtown Brevard—and yes, that’s a white squirrel decoration on the lightpost.
You know how it goes with stories—they change with the teller and the times. So it is with the white squirrels of Brevard. What seems pretty consistent is that the squirrels were riding in a traveling carnival truck that overturned in 1949. They were kept in captivity for several years; one escaped; the other was released; and the rest is white squirrel history. (For the record—with dark eyes and some gray in their coats, they’re not albinos.)
They’ve been spotted in a few other states. But as far as I know, no other town has placed them on their Main Street traffic light poles, nor declared itself a white squirrel sanctuary.
Located in a county that’s more than half public land, it’s no surprise that Brevard is a magnet for hikers, mountain bikers and fly-fishing anglers. What is a surprise is that this small city of 8,000 also has a sophisticated and growing arts presence, a lot of fine dining, a multi-floor toy store itself worth a trip and one of the best bookstores I’ve shopped. With a group of young and determined development staff aligned with long-time residents, Brevard feels like a place that’s deeply rooted yet growing with creativity and verve.
You could easily wander Brevard’s downtown for a full day, enjoying the art galleries, home décor and clothing stores, restaurants and gift shops (including the White Squirrel Shoppe). Brevard has been a Main Street Community since 1993, and it’s championed by its nonprofit, The Heart of Brevard.
Nicole Bentley, the executive director of Heart of Brevard, started work just months before the pandemic began. With her community engagement manager, Sara Jerome, she set out to keep downtown Brevard alive.
Joan Vannorsdall
The longstanding Brevard Music Center brings musicians and music lovers from all over the world to Brevard every summer.
“We had to do a lot of COVID re-envisioning. We developed a downtown open-house model, rather than hosting festivals with outside vendors coming in. We started Saturday Strolls on the last Saturday of the month, April through September. We did a plein air event in late June, with 25 artists painting throughout the downtown and a ‘wet sale’ of their work at the end of the weekend,” Bentley says. “Basically, we did micro-events to keep the crowds down and the businesses open.”
Adobestock
Brevard’s famed white squirrels are arguably the cutest town mascot in our mountains.
Jerome, a Brevard native who was hired in March of 2020 to do events for Heart of Brevard, spent the early part of the pandemic focusing on growing their online presence. Facebook Live arts and crafts demonstrations. A YouTube channel. A 2020 Virtual Halloween Fest.
All of it worked. Downtown Brevard has a 98% occupancy. Even mid-week, it’s hard to find a parking place on Main Street.
DeeDee Perkins, owner of DD Bullwinkel’s Outdoors and Moose Tracks shoe store (both must-shops), is married to a Brevard native. She’s lived in town for 36 years and served on numerous community development and downtown boards. She can tell you the history of every building in the downtown, and was a crucial player in successfully recruiting businesses to fill 14 empty store fronts. “I’m a relationship builder,” she says. “This is home, and I want to see it flourish.
“Both Transylvania County and the City of Brevard were just recognized for their sustainable tourism,” Perkins says. “We’re really proud of that.” (As well they should be: they were one of only five North American recipients of the Global Top 100 Sustainable Destinations award, and the only one in the eastern U.S.)
The vibrant Brevard downtown is cradled by mountainous forests: Pisgah National Forest, Dupont State Recreational Area, Gorges State Park, Headwaters State Forest, and a small piece of Nantahala National Forest. In addition to the fabled waterfalls, there’s some big history to be learned in these woods: the Cradle of Forestry (the first forestry school in America and now a visitor destination); the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute—PARI (a former NASA satellite tracking station); the Setzer State Fish Hatchery (the largest in North Carolina); the Southern Highlands Reserve (a native plant arboretum).
It’s all there—the arts and the culture; the civic pride and investment; the endless outdoors. A world-renown music center and nationally recognized Brevard College.
How does that happen, in a small mountain town off the beaten track? I can take a few guesses—persistent creative placemakers; a clearly imagined and well-sloganed identity; strong cooperation among stakeholders.
Adobestock
High Falls, in DuPont State Forest, is just one of more than 250 falls in Transylvania County.
But Clark Lovelace says it best. “We are an authentic town. We value what is. We’re warm and friendly without airs. We have the warmth of a small town and the amenities of a larger city. We’re small—but we come across as bigger. We are one of a kind.”
Lovelace is the Executive Director of the Brevard/Transylvania Chamber of Commerce and the Tourism Development authority. He grew up in Brevard, and remembers when two industries—Ecusta paper mill (which manufactured paper for cigarettes, Bibles, and dictionaries) and Dupont (photographic film)—provided jobs for the majority of Transylvania County residents.
“Tourism was always present in our county,” he says. “But when both of our industries shut down within 18 months of one another, we refocused on tourism. We’re more intentional about it now.” (Their rack booklet, “The Heart of Adventure” is proof positive of that—it’s the best I’ve ever seen.)
“We have 17 summer camps in Transylvania County. People come to camp here, come back to visit as adults, and retire here. People who are choosing to live here—they’re really choosing to live here.”
Go to Brevard for the art galleries and restaurants and the summer music festival. The hiking and biking and outdoor history. The art and food; the bookstore and the toy store. Go to Brevard because it hasn’t been overdone. Because it knows what it is…and where it’s heading.
And because the white squirrels are mighty cute.
The story above first appeared in our January / February 2022 issue. For more like it subscribe today or log in with your active BRC+ Membership. Thank you for your support!