This was the first year
in the three since I began development at Overlook Brasstown and Overlook
Martin's Creek that I had the opportunity to visit the John C. Campbell Folk
Schools Fall Festival. Not that I didn't want to go before but we have been
busy manicuring North Carolina Mountain Land into today's pristine communities.
Needless to say, I headed out on the brisk October 3rd Saturday morning in
anticipation of enjoying the day. I had heard the rumors that a minimum
expected in the numbers of people was somewhere in the 5,000 range however, I
never really and truly believed this as I thought it was being exaggerated.
Overlook Brasstown's Summer Art & Music Festival that we hosted drew a 1000
but 5000 seemed like it was impossible. I was definitely wrong.
We arrived at the event to witness the long lines of cars heading in but
amazingly the parking attendants were extremely well organized and getting a
spot was easy. Then we experienced the long lines of people from everywhere -
my father was visiting from Iowa and even he was amazed at the visitors from
all over the country. Some had been to the folk school many times over and came
back year after year in support of these wonderful artisans and performers. Not
to mention the awesome food - some great BBQ pulled pork, homemade ice cream
and funnel cakes!
Entering the festival we found ourselves in a maze of outdoor shops along rustic trails and paved walkways. Over 200 juried and non-juried creative folks were on hand selling handcrafted items, paintings, jewelry, pottery, weaving, rugs, woodcarvings, woodturning, furniture, baskets, ironworks, photography and more. Many of the artisans were extremely skilled in their craft. One woman, from Blairsville, makes jewelry from recycled materials such as magazines and coffee filters. Very attractive jewelry and affordable.
The weather was perfect with sunshine and mild temperatures. My father and I enjoyed a bit of the clogging going on in the barn where there was standing room only. From cloggers to church choirs, banjos to bluegrass - there's was a wide variety of entertainment and it was all free.
It was a wonderful time and a great way to spend a few hours on a Saturday morning enjoying the glory of the North Carolina Mountains at John C. Campbell Folk School. Looking forward to next year - I will not miss it again!