Sourwood Festival unveils new-look event schedule

Music, pony rides, craft demonstrations and more set for downtown Black Mountain

The Valley Echo
August 9, 2021

The 43rd annual Sourwood Festival will take place Aug. 14 and 15 in downtown Black Mountain. Image courtesy of Black Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce

When the Sourwood Festival returns for its 43rd year, Saturday, Aug. 14 and Sunday, Aug. 15, a new look is coming with it. The annual downtown Black Mountain summer tradition, named for the popular honey produced by the Sourwood trees that grow in the area, is spreading out and taking a trip back in time with craft demonstrations and acoustic music in Town Square and more. 

The weekend craft fair began in 1977, when the Black Mountain - Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce organized the inaugural craft fair, which grew into a summer tradition in the decades that followed. Sourwood Festival will feature multiple live music performances throughout the town, a petting zoo and pony rides.  

Approximately 100 craft and artisan vendors will showcase their work along Sutton Avenue, Black Mountain Avenue and in the parking lot of SunTrust Bank. Also available will be three lap quilts created from three decades of Sourwood t-shirts that will be raffled; winners do not have to be present to win.

Parking for the Sourwood Festival will be located in the former Bi-Lo parking lot on N.C. 9, just north of I-40.  Additional parking on Saturday can be found at Ingles, south of I-40 on N.C. 9, with shuttle provided from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.  

An activity schedule for the 2021 Sourwood Festival is listed below:

August 14

8 a.m. - 12 p.m. Rotary Pancake Breakfast  - Black Mountain Presbyterian Church (117 Montreat Road)

9 a.m. -12 p.m.  Tailgate Market - First Baptist Church (130 Montreat Road)

9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Appalachian Craft Demonstrations - Town Square

9 a.m. - 10 a.m. Storytelling with David Sharp - Music Stage (108 Black Mountain Avenue)

9 a.m. - 8 p.m. Vendor Booths open

10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Pottery Sale in the parking lot of the Black Mountain Center for the Arts (225 West State Street)

10 a.m. - 5 p.m. History in the Alley - Swannanoa Valley Museum parking lot (223 West State Street)

11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Storytelling with Larry Pearlman - Black Mountain Avenue music stage

1 p.m. Sorella Jack  (Eclectic Acoustic) - Black Mountain Avenue music stage

2 p.m. Ashley Heath (Blues, Rock & Roll) - Town Square Pavilion

3 p.m. Gin Mill Pickers (Folk, Blues) - Black Mountain Avenue music stage

4 p.m. The Circuit Rider (Bluegrass) - Town Square Pavilion 

5 p.m. Émigré (Celtic) - Black Mountain Avenue music stage

6 p.m. The Dashers - Town Square Pavilion 

7 p.m. Randall Marks & Friends  (Blues) - Black Mountain Avenue music stage

August 15

9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Vendors Open

10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Pottery Sale in the parking lot of the Black Mountain Center for the Arts 

12 p.m. Stealing Peachers (Jazz, Latin) - Black Mountain Avenue music stage                                

1 p.m. Christina Chandler (Soul Americana) - Cherry Street Square

2 p.m. Bob Williams (Americana) - Black Mountain Avenue music stage

3 p.m. Madlyn Ilana (Acoustic Folk) - Cherry Street Square

4 p.m. Barrett Davis Band (Americana) - Black Mountain Avenue music stage