Sourwood Festival brings food, fun and family-friendly vibe downtown

Locals and visitors flock to Black Mountain for two-day event

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
August 13, 2022

The streets of downtown Black Mountain were buzzing, Aug. 13, as thousands of local residents and visitors took in the sights, sounds and flavors of the 44th Annual Sourwood Festival.

The two-day event, hosted by the Black Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce, features around 150 vendors, live music and a variety of food offerings.

The festival kicked off at 9 a.m., Saturday, with the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center’s “Rock the Classics” car show and the Black Mountain Tailgate Market. Booths along Black Mountain Avenue, Sutton Avenue and Cherry Street will remain open until 8 p.m. Sourwood will return for its second day, from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 14.

Vendors display a variety of goods, while venues in Cherry Street Square and behind Black Mountain Natural Foods, host live music. Food offerings include funnel cakes, fresh-squeezed lemonade, ice cream and more.

The summer tradition takes its name from sourwood honey, produced by bees using nectar from the blooms of sourwood trees, which are abundant in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Known for its light amber color and distinctive flavor, the honey’s popularity extends well beyond the region.

Black Mountain hosted its first Sourwood Festival, a four-day event, in 1978. The family-friendly gathering was held on the second weekend of every August before a one-year hiatus in 2020. The festival brings tens of thousands of visitors to the town every summer.

Photos of the first day of the 2022 Sourwood Festival can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.