Mount Mitchell Craft Fair--Largest in the Blue Ridge

Check out the granddaddy of all craft fairs in the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area the first weekend in August when more than 200 area crafters gather in Burnsville for the 54th Annual Mount Mitchell Craft Fair. (http://www.yanceychamber.com/craftsfair.html)

That’s right! For 54 years, this small mountain town has hosted the fair, which started as a way for the women in the community to sell homemade goods so they’d have enough cash to survive the winter.

The crafters are juried, so the selections are top notch. There is a wide variety of goods to choose from, but they all have one thing in common—everything is hand crafted. There will be handmade quilts, jewelry, wooden bowls, pottery, traditional mountain instruments, stained glass art, as well as soaps, lotions and local food products.

Many of the artists will be at work during the fair, so you can have a chance to chat with them about their work. And if you want to know about how the fair has evolved over the decades, look up Elouise Renfro of Green Mountain, who has been selling her handcrafted dolls there since the very beginning.

Dates for this year’s Mount Mitchell Craft Fair are August 6-7. The quaint town of Burnsville is in Yancey County, home to Mount Mitchell, highest peak east of the Rockies.