The 17th Annual Franklin Area Folk Festival, “A Celebration of Appalachian Heritage” will be held on Saturday, August 19, 2023 (always set for the 3rd Saturday in August) from 10 am to 4 pm at Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center. Nestled in Cowee West’s Mill Historic District at 51 Cowee School Drive in Franklin, NC, the Center is a unique showcase for demonstrating the everyday skills, crafts and music of our ancestors. And it is a FREE event! We will follow CDC and NC state mandates/guidelines in regards to COVID19.
What can you expect?
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.
Some additional highlights include special quilts on display (like the famous Cabarras Quilt, The Celebrate America Autograph Quilt, etc.), the village blacksmith, flint napping, woodworking/woodcarving, Border Collies’ demonstrations, farmer’s market, old-time music and more. Performances of mountain music, gospel and bluegrass tunes exemplify a very important cultural heritage of the Appalachian region. In addition to performance stages inside and outside, we are partnering with Old Time Music groups to provide jammin’ sessions. Festival-goers are encouraged to bring their instruments and join in! Once known as the Quilting Capital of the World, displays from the Smoky Mountain Quilter’s Guild including kids’ make-it/take-it project and the Cowee Quilters will help showcase this important heritage.
FREE Downtown Parking & Shuttle Service to Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center
- 17 West Palmer Street (vacant lot adjacent to Appalachian Ace Hardware/below the Lazy Hiker Brewery on the corner of West Palmer & Porter Streets). 9:30 am until 3:00 pm – shuttle will run every 30 minutes
- If you drive out to Cowee School, follow signs for offsite parking and take shuttle to school.
- Cowee Baptist Church (6301 Bryson City Rd) – Regular and Handicapped Parking Shuttles
- Snow Hill UMC (330 Snow Hill Rd) – No Handicapped Parking Shuttles at site.
Come learn about the culture and folkways of our Southern Appalachian Mountains by engaging in one of the many living history experiences, a trademark of the Franklin Area Folk Festival, “A Celebration of Appalachian Heritage.” This FREE event is co-sponsored annually by the Folk Heritage Association of Macon County and the Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center with support from Cowee Community Development Organization, local area museums, Franklin Area Chamber of Commerce, and others. Previously, the festival has been made possible by grants from the Franklin/Nantahala Tourism Development Committee, the Tourism Development Authority of the Town of Franklin along with funding from local businesses and individuals.
For more information call (828) 369-4080.
More info to come soon!
