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For Lovers of Crafts and Good Times

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By Taylor Hill, 2013

It would seem that the town of Lake Lure has its fair share of attractions; of course with the expansive lake itself, which visitors get a mesmerizing view of while traveling Highway 64, the Blue Ridge Mountain range, its regal stature impossible to oversee, or the Town Beach, a man-made body of water that sits at the forefront of the large mountains, littered with floating inflatable platforms and plastic sliding tubes that lead into the depths of the water. These, being the most noted, are understandable reasons why Lake Lure is a recognizable western North Carolina tourist location, however, the town gives you yet another motive for visiting, specifically during the rustic fall months.

Lake Lure’s Arts and Crafts Festival – a title that holds no secrets- is a celebration of everything creative and locally made. From hand-crafted furniture, to intricately pieced jewelry, the Festival has no shortages in merchandise, and the sellers are not shy about informing visitors on the techniques and strategies implemented to produce such fine crafts. A product of the Hickory Nut Gorge Outreach–a charity organization that caters to the needs of residents within the Hickory Nut Gorge vicinity– the Arts and Crafts Festival is an annual event that hosts any artisan (after they have gone through the proper application process) who would like to showcase and/or profit from their talents . In 2013, the festival spanned the weekend of October 19th-20th, lasting from 10am-5pm each respective day, and was stationed, as it is every year, in the lot of the Arcade Commerce Center with a gorgeous view of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance.

With over 60 artisans present, however, it is hard for visitors to even take notice of the majestic mountains along the horizon, between maneuvering through curious and awestruck attendees and meeting the likes of guests who come from all over. The vendors, usually amongst the older crowd, have separate tents for the purpose of housing their setups and are welcoming to any buyers or people who are just intrigued by their artistries. Regardless, there are trades to appease everyone in attendance, some being more abundant than others.

Among these are the artists who bring self-made paintings and drawings to the festival. These range from pastel watercolors, with unbelievably vibrant hues and elaborate detail to penciled and chalk abstract sketchings of intangible figures. The subject of the pieces varies from vendor to vendor, some taking a keen fondness for recreating natural environments in the artwork including animals, bodies of water, landmarks etc., while others had a knack for portraits of others and household objects like coffee mugs, tea kettles and furniture. Along those lines, there are always artisans present who represent the craftsman’s league and display hand-made chairs, ottomans, and benches, all of which exude a brilliant shine from being polished thoroughly. Materials for these pieces cover mahogany, oak, pine, birch walnut and maple and often contain personalized inscriptions from their creators. Another large numbered group of crafts, which is always in attendance, come from proclaimed jewelers whose pieces showcase the mastery of complex beading patterns, glass welding and delicate carving.

As if this bevy of designs was not enough to satiate visitors, vendors supply a variety of food and guests are more than welcome to eat in the picnic area adjacent to the creek. To accommodate festival goers further, entertainment is provided through song and dance from performers who emphasize the Bluegrass ambiance of the area, wielding guitars, fiddles, harmonicas and banjos.

Festival coordinators Yvonne and Kevin Cooley take explicit time and effort in constructing a lineup that accentuates the diversity of craftsmanship and variety of expertise alive in North Carolinians, which is why the Lake Lure Arts and Crafts Festival is always a success. It is a flawless exhibition of the cultural elements that comprise of the interesting and never dull foothills region.

Visit the Arts and Crafts Festival’s site!

My Latest Love/Hate Relationship

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By Dustin Swope, 2013

Until recently, I’d never been to Asheboro, and I’d never been to any “fall festival” with real red, brown, and yellow leaves that had fallen from real trees earlier that day. Walking up to one end of the Asheboro Fall Festival’s main street, I thought that would finally change. I crunch my way over a few leaves – I was already envisioning my own freshly raked pile sparring partner, right in line with the other kids half my age.

The first few tents were just as quaint as I’d hoped. Each tent had a specialty food or craft, backed by smiling families in folding sports chairs. No bobbing for apples or scarecrow stuffing, but there was already a five-table spread of baked seasonals, none of which had the telltale white smear of a supermarket label that refused to go quietly.

I thought that I would finally be able to check this one off the bucket list. Then, I looked to my right, up the the surging river of humanity that poured over the banks of Main Street, Asheboro. The column seemed frozen, but after a few minutes of revelling, I realized that there was, in fact, a flow to traffic. Somewhere in this impenetrable swarm, I was supposed to find that simple, seasonal miracle that is the fall festival? It just didn’t seem possible.

Having resigned myself to an afternoon of elbowing and shuffling with my “excuse me”-record on repeat, I took my first brave steps into the fray. Tent after tent, it was all a blur. I pushed forward on something between instinct and autopilot. Children weaved in and out like burrowing mammals, waiting for a moment of weakness to slide under my foot or in front of my knee, because they know that every trampled child gets a fried oreo to wipe away their tears. Women were given a four-inch berth when possible. Men apparently weren’t expected to acknowledge any sort of personal space bubble.

When a crunch corresponded with a footstep, I freeze. I check my shoes, scan the scene of the crime, and move on. It was a far cry from the tranquility that I imagined the sound of leaves crunching under my feet would inspire. And I’m not sure if because of the herds of deep fryers and smokers or how these metal apparati focused festival-goers into a molten river of body heat, but it was hot. The tents impeded wind like trees in a forest, and all I could do was hope that the next person I crashed into was fighting the urge to sweat as valiantly as I was.

Twenty minutes of grinding it out in this family-friendly mosh pit, I spot the end of my own personal trail of tears, just a block away. I’d been ice-breaking through the crowd for the three ladies I came to the festival with up to this point. Now that the current has slowed and the crowd has thinned, though, I lift my gaze up and over heads to the tents on the side. Maybe the grass was just looking greener on the other side, but I could swear the layers of foot traffic closest to the tents were strolling comfortably, even pausing at the odd craft or baked good that caught their eye.

“That looks like fun,” I think boldly. How could I have gone so far without realizing there was more to Asheboro’s celebration than sweating, getting kicked, and trying to not kick the person in front of me? Well, shame on me for wasting the trip down, but I wasn’t making the same mistake twice. The girls about-face while I tag the end of the festival on this street, and dive into the downstream current in pursuit of the parking lot. I, however, planted my feet and began a quiet, smiling survey of the landscape

Flowers, candies, crafts, pies, preserves, jewelry, spices, and political advocacy. So there was more to the Asheboro Fall Festival than sweating, shuffling, and apologizing. I paused at a barbeque stand to purvey the range when the grillmaster asked how everything looked – a school crush might as well’ve asked me how her hair looked. “Beautiful! I don’t know what you did, but it’s beautiful.”

I lost track of time amongst the sweet and spicy smoke at my own little backyard cookout, sampling the goods and talking grilling like I knew why one would use a dry rub instead of marinating or a mid-grill glaze. From a spirit-breaking trial, to a mid-eastern Grand Bazaar, to a seasonal gathering of friends with skills and hobbies, the Asheboro Fall Festival has come a long way to holding a special place in my heart.

I “Dorothy” my way down the rest of Asheboro’s yellow brick road, swinging my bag full of baking and grilling spice blends that I promised my new grillmaster friend I’d learn to cook with. Toe-tapping, fanning hands, and folded arms greet me as I complete my circuit through Asheboro’s Fall Festival. Oops, guess I was in the doghouse for the ride back to Elon. A fast blast to a baked-bonanza tent for chess pie and a sweet potato spice coffee cake and I was ready to hit the highway again. So, I didn’t get to lose myself in a corn maze or fill a scarecrow’s jeans with hay, but this was so much more “fall festival” than a Florida city of millions like Tampa had ever put together for me.

Balloons Rise

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By Jeffrey Flitter and Immanuel Bryant, 2013

The Statesville Balloon Festival is an event held every year in Statesville, NC that brings together more than 30 hot air balloons for a competition. Our group of four – Immanuel Bryant, Anna Mokas, Taylor Hill, and Jeffrey Flitter – followed a massive line of cars through the back roads of Statesville to find the festival on a local airport’s property. We arrived to a massive open field filled with spectators, balloons preparing to take off, food booths, artists booths, and a concert stage. The hill was filled with lots of people watching the balloons set up and prepare for the event. We began by standing at the top of the hill and waiting for the balloons to take off.

BalloonFest_027We didn’t have to wait long before the first balloon hit the air. We cut it close, but thankfully made it just in time for the balloon race to begin. As we watched the balloons begin to take off, we, along with everyone else at the festival, grabbed our cameras and started to snap tons of pictures. Everyone at the festival enjoyed watching the balloons and took up the challenge of skirting around children, families, and photographers to get pictures of the balloons, their children, and others. The ascension of the balloons took about thirty minutes in total, but it felt like the blink of an eye before they were all in the air. We felt there had to be more to this than simply balloons rising into the air; otherwise, what was the point.

A volunteer working the festival’s ticket exchange explained to us what was actually happening during the festival: a hot-air balloon competition. He described the different types of competitions that could take place to us. He said that day’s competition involved the first balloon taking off while all the other balloons chased after it. The first balloon would sometimes leave a trail of items in trees that the other balloons would have to retrieve. Sometimes it is an old fashioned race where the only goal was to reach the place where the first balloon lands before all the other balloons.

IMG_1961After the balloons were in the air and the competition had been explained to us, we began to look around the rest of the festival. We noticed many tents set up featuring local artisans displaying their crafts, local vendors with fudge and alcohol, a music stage, and the large food tents with the boards that anyone who has ever attended a festival in the south would recognize. We all decided to get different foods from the tent so that we had a variety of opinions. Jeff was adamant that the food was good but that it was the same food you would find at any festival or fair. Having some extra tickets, Jeff went to buy a beer. He was disappointed when the local brews were not part of the ticket system, but he bought a local brew anyway and thoroughly enjoyed it. While eating, we sat down and watched the musical performance.

The performance featured a small band, but it was more than enough for the audience. People were dancing in front of the stage, children were running around, and many people sat and simply enjoyed the music. One number brought children and adults on stage to do a “chicken dance” to the amusement of everyone in the audience. Seeing a wide range of people from an elderly woman to young toddlers shaking their “tail feathers” was an amusing site for sure.BalloonFest_037

Having extra tickets from the dinner, especially since Jeff could not use them for his beer, we collectively purchased a funnel cake. Eating the funnel cake as the sun faded from view and was replaced with a darkening sky was a perfect setting to end the day on. We finished our funnel cake, finished taking some notes in our travel journals, and headed for the exit.

Of course exiting an event like this is never as easy or quick as one expects. On the way out, we thought it would be a wise idea to stop at the information tent and get some information and make sure we had our facts straight. We instead had a discussion with the workers about what brought them to the fair and why they did it. One woman described how she had been on the committee for the festival for many years and loved it. She also explained to us that the festival supports a non-profit or social cause every year. This year the event was supporting Relay For Life of Statesville & local charities, but the discussion to change it came up every few years and they would vote to keep it the same or change it. Having all the information we needed, we began to leave. We paused as we came up with an idea and decided to turn around and make our way back to the tent. We arrived back and promptly asked to take a group photo with the information tent workers, to which they happily agreed.

Having our pictures, information, and experiences compiled within our minds and journals, we piled into the car and made our way to the hotel for the night.

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Scuppernong River Festival

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By Dannie Cooper, 2013

Columbia’s 22nd Scuppernong River Festival was something to behold.  From Route 64, Columbia looked sleepy, and perhaps on an average day, most people would just drive past and not look back. However, on the day of the festival, there were cars packed everywhere.  I walked down one of the festival streets, enticed by the dozens of food stands and trucks.  The smell of barbecue, tacos, and funnel cakes filled the air.

As I made my way down the street, I found the information tent, where I met Rhett White, who has been the county manager for nine years.  White was kind enough to talk to me about the history of the Festival.  Twenty-two years ago, J.D. Brickhouse, the county administrator; Carlisle Harrell, the town manager; and Francis Voliva, the 1st woman in the U.S. to be director of the county extension office, decided to host a festival centered around Columbus Day for the town of Columbia and the county.  The festival was named “Scuppernong” after the river the town sits beside, as well as after the Scuppernong grape that the local vineyard grows. The town & county hosted festival picked up about seven to ten years ago, and has been a huge event ever since.

On festival day, the small town of 871 residents turns out a surprising crowd of nearly 8,000 people.  White says that a lot of the attendees are returning town members or family of town members.  He described it as “a big family reunion.”  He also noted that many of the vendors are from the county, but, since the festival has grown, they’ve gotten some vendors from outside the county and even outside the state.

The growth of the festival becomes obvious as you walk around.  The festival features a parade, local music, a helicopter tour, kid’s rides, and a Civil War era ship replica – the Ram Albemarel.  White proudly stated that the Elizabeth II used to come as well.  The festival also featured three streets of various vendors, ranging from local craftsmen, including a wreath-maker and a blacksmith, to food-related salesmen, including a barbeque rubs seller and a local beekeeper.

The atmosphere of the festival was warm and fun.  People stopped to talk to one another, and vendors would called out to their friends as they passed.  The Methodist and Baptist churches in Columbia passed out free water bottles throughout the festival with smiles.  Everyone I talked to was friendly, and I was even called ‘dear’ and ‘sweetheart’ a few times.  I could see that White was right about one thing: it did feel like a family reunion.  “The Festival is about celebrating the river, the grape, the culture, and the community,” White said. After experiencing it for myself, I have to agree.

CNC Mountains to the Coast

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By: Will Stiefel

We were fortunate to catch the start of the renowned Cycle North Carolina
“Mountains to the Coast” bike trip, which coincided with our visits to
Brevard and Hendersonville. This year the trip, hosted by North Carolina
Amateur Sports, celebrated it’s fourteenth annual journey from the
western Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to the it’s eastern
shore. Bikers began their trek on September 28th in the sleep college
town of Brevard. Here, we saw a few early arrivals warming up with trips
throughout Brevard’s surrounding mountainous territory. It would be a
later in the when all 1,100 participants came together to begin the
first leg.

The entire trip adds up to 450 miles of biking from Brevard College to
Carolina Beach. Each biker tends to ride from 40-80 miles per day, a
physical demand drawing only the avid bike enthusiast. However, because
much of this trip is downhill, anyone of any age has the potential to
complete it. The average age of participants is 56, but this year it
ranges from a 5-year old to an 84-year old. Many participants that we
spoke to in the older age range attributed a large portion their bike
enthusiasm to the inability to run anymore due to arthritis or poor knee
health. The next best thing they seemed to think to do was to bike, and
what better a trip to do it on.

The trip coincides with the beginning of fall in western North Carolina,
arguably it’s most beautiful season. As the leaves change, the bikers
coast through both scenic and historical locations such as Hickory Nut
Gorge, Chimney Rock Park, Ellenboro Historic Train Depot, Hamlet Train
Station and Museum, Historic John Blue House, UNC Pembroke, Lu Mil
Vineyard, Jones Lake State Park, Moore’s Creek Battleground, River Road
Park, Intercoastal Waterway and the Carolina Beach Boardwalk. These
beautiful and historically fascinating locations that crop up throughout
North Carolina’s back roads showcase the cultural and geographic
diversity of the state. This is one of the many draws of the trip that
brings over a 1,000 bikers each year.

Bikers who participated this year hailed from 38 states including a portion of
enthusiasts from international locations. Citizens of Canada, British
Columbia, Russia, Great Britain, and Switzerland were all drawn to North
Carolina for this revered event. This year was especially significant
because it marks the first time the bike route will run through downtown
Charlotte. Bikers road on bike-safe roads through the city taking in
its sites and history. The trip is not as much about completing the long
journey as it is about enjoying what town visited has to offer. The
trip finish takes riders to the sandy shores of Carolina Beach. Here,
the town will allow bikers to camp on the beach for the first time this
year.

Throughout the trip, the majority of bikers spend their night stops camping near
the route. Others stay in hotels or bed and breakfasts along the way,
though most are booked months in advance. The overnight stops include
Lake Lure, Shelby, Matthews, Rockingham, Lumberton, and White Lake.
These stops are strategically chosen to break up the trip into even
stretches, both in terms of distance and difficulty. However,
participants are not required to complete the entire journey if they do
not feel up to it. Alternative options include multiple or single day
trips. These trips still help Cycle North Carolina to achieve the
event’s overall goals and participants for shorter portions are always
encouraged to come out.

Cycle North Carolina ends it’s cycling season with this cumulative event.
Riding from mountains to shore gives those who participate a sense of
the entire state, providing the organization with an appropriate season
finale. They hope that the trip will help achieve their goals of
promoting healthy lifestyles and providing economic impact to North
Carolina’s rural communities. Each town that hosts a stop along the way
is significantly benefited by increased business and exposure due to a
thousand-plus visitors. The organization estimates that the event’s
economic benefit ranges from two-hundred to five-hundred thousand
dollars every year. This is an extremely impressive, helpful amount that
both CNC and the participants are very proud of. The last bikers we ran
into on our trip, stopping in Hendersonville for coffee, could not hold
back their smiles and excitement for what lay ahead. We’re sure it was
nothing short of spectacular as they took in all of the sights and
history North Carolina’s roadways have to offer.