The story below is an excerpt from our March/April 2018 issue. For the rest of this story and more like it subscribe today, log in to read our digital edition or download our FREE iOS app. Thank you!
Food and drink! Music and art! Celebrations of cuisine and culture, place and nature! It’s time to plan your year’s mountain travel around the very best gatherings and celebrations in all seven Blue Ridge states.
Slice into a feast of festivals for 2018: Our annual guide to getting-up-and-going offers great getaways for all seasons—from Tennessee, Georgia and Kentucky to the Virginias and the Carolinas. Look for food, wine, beer and spirits plus music, arts and adventure in seven states:
MARCH
Step into some snow at the Homegrown Festival on March 2-4 followed by the Ballhooter Spring Break on March 9-11, both held at the Snowshoe Mountain Resort in Pocahontas County, West Virginia (800-336-7009).
Head south for the Chuck Wagon Cookoff on March 3 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (mypigeonforge.com), to discover cooks preparing campfire meals.
Now, soak up spring with some syrup. First, head to Highland County, Virginia, where the Maple Festival on March 10-11 and March 17-18 (highlandcounty.org) seeks to share “Virginia’s Sweet Spot.” Look for history tours at Eagle’s Sugar Camp and Duff’s Sugar House. And discover arts, crafts and, of course, plenty of pancakes drenched with locally-made syrup. Then pop into Pickens, West Virginia, for another Maple Syrup Festival on March 17-18 with crafters and music plus a ham and bean dinner (pickenswv.com). Finally, just a couple miles above the North Carolina border, wander to the Whitetop Mountain Maple Festival on March 24-25 along U.S. 58 (mtrogersvfd-rs.com) to tour the maple orchard at Elk Garden, hear bluegrass music at the Mount Rogers Fire Hall and savor syrup atop buckwheat pancakes in Virginia.
Go rock like the Irish at Rock City’s Shamrock City, providing a celebration of all things green. That includes the waters of the iconic waterfall at Lookout Mountain, Georgia. Come hear bagpipers, taste Irish food, sip green beer and munch on green fudge on March 10-11 and March 17-18 (seerockcity.com). You can also visit the St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival in Roanoke, Virginia, on March 17 (visitroanokeva.com).
Dollywood’s Festival of Nations in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, kicks off on March 17 and runs to April 9. This year’s stars include the National Dance Company of Siberia and The Flamenco Kings (dollywood.com). While in town, cover yourself with Pigeon Forge’s A Mountain Quiltfest on March 20-23, featuring quilting classes, seminars and a quilt show with a vendor mall (mypigeonforge.com).
In nearby Knoxville, Tennessee, have a listen to the Big Ears Festival on March 22-25, featuring multi-genres of music and performances (bigearsfestival.org).
Wrapping up March: The Blue Ribbon Bluegrass Festival is being held at the community center of Sautee, Georgia (www.snca.org) on March 31.
APRIL
No fooling: On April 1, the Easter Rabbit is set to make his annual appearance at the Biltmore on Easter Sunday in Asheville, North Carolina (biltmore.com). The event includes Easter egg hunts at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Go dance in Dobson at the Surry Old Time Fiddlers Convention, a weekend party in North Carolina on April 6-7 with square dancing, folk songs, band contests and workshops on the campus of Surry Community College (surryoldtime.com). Or check out the Hub City Hog Fest on April 6-7 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, with more than 40 participating teams cooking ribs, wings, brisket and more(visitspartanburg.com).
Look for treasures at the Spring Arts, Crafts and Collectibles Show at the Foothills Mall of Maryville, Tennessee, on April 7-8 (smokymountains.org).
And do you need a fix for a sweet tooth? Well, visit West Virginia on April 14, and look for the Lewisburg Chocolate Festival as dozens of independent chocolatiers—and almost every store, business and restaurant in town—offer tasty treats like double-dark chocolate ice cream in exchange for a $1 ticket (800-833-2068). Kids can have Oreo truffles while adult-only tastes include a Chocolate Martini (lewisburgchocolatefestival.com). Also on April 14, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., you’ll find another Chocolate Festival in Blacksburg, Virginia, with live music and samples of
artisan chocolates (rotarychocolate.weebly.com).
Turn south to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to sip fine wine at the Smoky Mountain Winefest (gatlinburg.com) on April 14.
Nearby, look on April 14 for the Townsend Founder’s Day, with a walking tour originating at the Little River Railroad Museum (smokymountains.org) in Townsend, Tennessee. Or head to Knoxville on April 14 for the Rossini International Street Festival (knoxvilleopera.com), celebrating international culture, crafts and opera with a variety of Italian, Mediterranean and international foods.
The Hands-On Gatlinburg event on April 13-15 (800-568-4748) features lessons in how to make unique works. Another option: On the “peaceful side” of the Smokies, look for the Smoky Mountain Fiber Arts Festival (townsendartisanguild.net) in Townsend, Tennessee, running April 20-22 at the Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center.
Wear your flannel and boots when you pop into Pikeville, Kentucky, on April 19-21, to celebrate the mountain frontier at Hillbilly Days, featuring three days of a crazy carnival plus fun, food and frolics (hillbillydays.com).
The Honaker Redbud Festival on April 20-22 in Honaker, Virginia, includes a canoe contest plus music (honakerredbudfest.com).
Dahlonega’s Bear on the Square Festival in Georgia features musicians and crafters on April 21-22; it kicks off with auction night on April 20. This party’s funny name recalls when a baby bear climbed a tree in town and was rescued (bearonthesquare.org). Also in Georgia, follow the highway to Helen for the Spring Bierfest at the Festhalle, starting at noon on April 21 with traditional German dancing and over 100 beers to sample (helenchamber.com).
Head to Watoga State Park on April 20-21 for this year’s Wild Edibles Festival in West Virginia, where you’ll learn how to find, prepare and understand the healthy benefits of consuming “the weeds of the woods” (800-306-7009).
In Hendersonville, North Carolina, look for the Cider Wine & Dine Weekend on April 20-22, featuring hard cider producers from the region plus local wines (visithendersonvillenc.org). In turn, the Fork & Cork in Blacksburg, Virginia, on April 21, 1-6 p.m., features wine, food, music and an art extravaganza plus cooking demonstrations (blacksburgforkandcork.com).
You can celebrate the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains on April 24-28 during Gatlinburg’s Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage (gatlinburg.com).
The time-honored music gathering of MerleFest returns to Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina (merlefest.org), on April 26-29 with performers including Cardboard Fox, Jim Lauderdale, Erin Harpe, Jeanette Williams Band, Roy Book Binder, My Bubba, Rodney Crowell, Robert Earl Keen and Kris Kristofferson.
Go dig the Dogwood Arts Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee, as pretty trees bloom on Market Square with a juried arts and crafts show on April 27-29 (dogwoodsarts.com).
You can also tap the West Virginia Craft Brew Festival at the State Fairgrounds of West Virginia near Lewisburg on April 28 (304-645-1000).
For a spring fling, slip into Sylva, North Carolina, for Greening Up the Mountains (greeningupthemountains.com) on April 28—with more than 200 vendors on Main Street and Railroad Avenue. And head to the actual Spring Fling of Spartanburg, South Carolina, on April 27-29 (visitspartanburg.com). Or simply Celebrate Clayton, looking for arts and crafts in Clayton, Georgia, on April 28-29 (celebrateclayton.com).
In Georgia, the Blue Ridge Trout Fest & Outdoor Adventures (706-374-2390) casts a line at the Blue Ridge City Park on April 28 with fly-fishing seminars, kayak vendors, trout conservation experts and local guides.
As April becomes May, the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival blooms across Winchester, Virginia, with a variety of crafters, a carnival and fireworks (thebloom.com) on April 27-May 6.