Heirloom Vegetables, Harvest Fests, and Other Happenings
On Saturday, July 27, from 1:30-7pm, Patryk Battle of educational nonprofit Living Web Farms in Mills River leads an “All About Cucurbits” workshop to discuss the crop family encompassing melons, squashes, cucumbers, and gourds. Topics include genetics, soils and soil preparation, timing, seed cultivation and seed saving, crop care, harvest, and post-harvest storage. $15 suggested donation. To see other summer workshops and to register, visit livingwebfarms.org.
An event at nearby Bullington Gardens in Hendersonville, Herbal Tea: Cooking & Crafting with Lavender — happening Thursday, Aug. 1, 2-4pm — invites visitors on a guided tour through the facility’s comprehensive herb garden, followed by a lesson in cooking with lavender and ending with a delectable fare and tea tasting. Cost is $25. Also at Bullington: Celebrating the Pawpaw 2019 happens Saturday, Aug. 17, 9am-12pm, led by area specialized extension agent Craig Mauney, who will explain how to cultivate pawpaw trees and how to best use the native fruit — aka “the Appalachian banana” — followed by a taste testing of pawpaw-flavored foods. $25. www.bullingtongardens.org.
Photo by Leah Kelley
The Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair, begun in the middle of the last century, is the longest-running street fair of its kind in the Blue Ridge Mountains, celebrating the talent in craft-rich Burnsville and Yancey counties. It runs at the Burnsville Town Square Friday and Saturday, Aug. 2-3, 9am-5pm both days. (yanceychamber.com/mt-mitchell-crafts-fair/).
Join New Morning Gallery for the 47th Annual Village Art and Craft Fair, bringing inspiration with 114 vendors in clay, wood, metal, fine art, and more. It’s always the first weekend in August — this year Saturday, Aug. 3 from 10am-7pm and Sunday, Aug. 4 from 12-5pm — at the Cathedral of Souls in Biltmore Village (newmorninggallerync.com).
The 42nd Annual Sourwood Festival, a celebration of the local sourwood-honey harvest, is held in downtown Black Mountain. It begins Friday, Aug. 9 with the “Sourwood Idol” singing competition (7-10pm) and continues Saturday, Aug. 10 (9am-8pm) and Sunday, Aug. 11 (9am-5pm) with more than 200 vendors including art and craft, family fun, and bee-culture/honey-making demos. (sourwoodfestival.com).
On Labor Day weekend (Aug. 30-Sept. 2), the North Carolina Apple Festival street fair in Hendersonville showcases local art, music, and food, including early harvest samplings from some of Henderson County’s hundreds of apple growers. (ncapplefestival.org)