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Fall Festival 2023

Celebrate Appalachian culture at our 47th Fall Festival!

October 7-8, 2023

  • The Fall Festival presents a wonderful opportunity to share treasured Appalachian culture, crafts, and music with our region’s residents and visitors. When planning each year’s event, we always look for ways to broaden our connection to our Folk School community. This year, we’ll celebrate our 46th anniversary, and we’re excited to offer several new elements we think everyone will enjoy.

  • "I attended an artisan bread class around 1999 and have come back for Fall Festival several times. I hope to attend another class in the near future. I love the school grounds and everything that the school stands for."

    Michael Dresdner

  • Our Fall Festival is essentially a multifaceted arts and music showcase that draws hundreds of passionate artisans and performers. Hundreds of fine craftspeople will showcase distinctive crafts that range from quirky to elegant. Local and regional musicians and dancers, including some talented family groups, will bring a delightful energy to our Folk School campus.

Celebrate Appalachian Culture

Visit a wide variety of fine craft exhibitors tucked along the school’s winding wooded paths. Watch more than 30 artisans demonstrate traditional and contemporary crafts. Fill your ears with traditional roots music, and tap your toes to clogging, Morris, and other dance performances throughout the weekend.

Craft & Vendor Information

One of the largest and most popular events of its type in the region, the Folk School’s Fall Festival is a celebration of our rich Appalachian culture. The annual festival features over 200 craftspeople, continuous live music and dance on two stages, and demonstrations all weekend long. Visitors will enjoy tasty food, kids’ activities, and much more.

Craft and food vendor applications will open on Friday, March 31, 2023. We will add a link to this page when the application is live.

Fall Festival: News & Stories

Good to Be Together: An Interview with Zak Foster, Fall Festival Banner Designer 2022
Posted:
September 7, 2022

Good to Be Together: An Interview with Zak Foster, Fall Festival Banner Designer 2022

"Good to Be Together" CP:...

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A band performing in Festival Barn
Posted:
May 18, 2022

Our 46th Annual Fall Festival Returns on October 1 and 2, 2022

Purchase Tickets Online The John...

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I stopped by the Oscar Cantrell Blacksmith Shop, the current shop of Resident Blacksmith, Paul Garrett. Paul and I talked about the upcoming Blacksmith & Fine Craft Auction on November 1, a special event planned for October 31st, and about Folk School life in general. Enjoy! ...
Posted:
October 17, 2014

Bell, Hook & Anvil: Auction Talk

I stopped by the Oscar Cantrell Blacksmith Shop, the current shop of Resident Blacksmith, Paul Garrett. Paul and I talked about the upcoming Blacksmith & Fine Craft Auction on November 1, a special event planned for October 31st, and about Folk School life in general. Enjoy!
…

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Betsy Henn Bailey celebrates her 36th year as a Fall Festival vendor and artist. A local artist and teacher in the Brasstown and Murphy area for over 40 years, Betsy has had a great influence on art and culture in our community. The week before the 39th Annual Fall Festival I talked to Betsy about the festival, her art, and her Folk School memories. ...
Posted:
October 4, 2012

Betsy Henn Bailey: 36 Years at Fall Festival

Betsy Henn Bailey celebrates her 36th year as a Fall Festival vendor and artist. A local artist and teacher in the Brasstown and Murphy area for over 40 years, Betsy has had a great influence on art and culture in our community. The week before the 39th Annual Fall Festival I talked to Betsy about the festival, her art, and her Folk School memories.
…

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 Thirty-eight years ago, the very first Folk School Fall Festival was held by Open House beside the large fields. Gus and Maggie Masters, then directors of the Folk School, were enamellists who were used to selling their art at shows and festivals. So they simply brought to the Folk School and local artists a festival of our own! ...
Posted:
September 20, 2011

A Colorful Tradition: Fall Festival Banners

 Thirty-eight years ago, the very first Folk School Fall Festival was held by Open House beside the large fields. Gus and Maggie Masters, then directors of the Folk School, were enamellists who were used to selling their art at shows and festivals. So they simply brought to the Folk School and local artists a festival of our own!
…

Read more
It’s raining again, and if this were boy-scout camp, there’d be a lot of soggy tents, unroasted marshmallows, and unhappy campers.  But here at the John C. Campbell Folk School, each shower puts another bud on the lilies and another apple on the bough over at Orchard House, which will make for fine cider come the Fall Festival.  Over one hundred people have gathered to weave backpacks from straw, piece fabric into quilted jackets, build their own mountain dulcimer or learn to play one--just a few of the projects this week. ...
Posted:
June 8, 2010

Folk School in the Beginning of June

It’s raining again, and if this were boy-scout camp, there’d be a lot of soggy tents, unroasted marshmallows, and unhappy campers.  But here at the John C. Campbell Folk School, each shower puts another bud on the lilies and another apple on the bough over at Orchard House, which will make for fine cider come the Fall Festival.  Over one hundred people have gathered to weave backpacks from straw, piece fabric into quilted jackets, build their own mountain dulcimer or learn to play one–just a few of the projects this week.
…

Read more
The Sunday Morning String Band, Jan Davidson, Martha Owen, and David Liden started the day out right with some old time fiddle tunes.  This year they invited guests to the stage.  Fred Ward, a friend from England, played some tunes from old Britain on the melodion, which looks like a small accordion.  Before long they invited their youngsters, Chole Davidson, my sister Annie Fain Liden, and I to sing a family favorite -  Lazy John. ...
Posted:
October 8, 2009

Sunday at Fall Festival

The Sunday Morning String Band, Jan Davidson, Martha Owen, and David Liden started the day out right with some old time fiddle tunes.  This year they invited guests to the stage.  Fred Ward, a friend from England, played some tunes from old Britain on the melodion, which looks like a small accordion.  Before long they invited their youngsters, Chole Davidson, my sister Annie Fain Liden, and I to sing a family favorite –  Lazy John.
…

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Upcoming Events

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Images from past Fall Festivals

Fall Festival 2022 - Good To Be Together
Fall Festival 2022 - Good To Be Together
Fall Festival 2022 - Good To Be Together
Fall Festival 2022 - Good To Be Together
Fall Festival 2022 - Good To Be Together
Fall Festival 2022 - Good To Be Together
Fall Festival 2022 - Good To Be Together
Fall Festival 2022 - Good To Be Together
Fall Festival 2022 - Good To Be Together
Fall Festival 2022 - Good To Be Together
Spinning demonstration, 2022
Jeff Hornung Demo, 2022
Fall Festival 2022 - Good To Be Together
Fall Festival 2022 - Good To Be Together
Fall Festival 2022 - Good To Be Together
Fall Festival 2022 - Good To Be Together
Fall Festival 2022 - Good To Be Together
Face painting in Kids Cove, 2022-2
Face painting in Kids Cove, 2022
Kettle Corn, 2022
More

Locate & Contact

The John C. Campbell Folk School

Events & Volunteer Manager

Morgan Budzinski

1.800.FOLK.SCH (365-5724)

Mailing Address
One Folk School Road
Brasstown, NC 28902

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