Yancey County/Burnsville Chamber of Commerce
106 West Main St.
Burnsville, NC 28714
Contact: Shannon Harding-Raines, Executive Director
828-682-7413 or 800-948-1632
Email: info@yanceychamber.com
Web site: http://www.yanceychamber.com

46TH MOUNT MITCHELL CRAFTS FAIR IS AUGUST 2-3

BURNSVILLE, NC Think of the Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair, now in its 46th year, as a kind of living patchwork. On the first Friday and Saturday in August (the 2nd and 3rd this year), a colorful quilt of mountain traditions spreads like a coverlet across Burnsville's historic town square. More than 200 booths surround the statue of Captain Otway Burns, a War of 1812 naval hero for whom the western North Carolina hamlet was named.

Crafts run the gamut from hand-painted furniture to dried flower arrangements, birdhouses to basketry, silver jewelry to stained glass, dulcimers to ironwork. Octogenarian and local legend Luther Thomas offers berry baskets and brooms he's been fashioning from native materials since he roamed the mountains as a child. Second generation potter Pete McWhirter and his wife Kim display earthenware honey pots, mugs and sugars and creamers whose freehand surface designs are their pottery's distinctive signature.

The fragrance of Elke Spirakis' lanolin-rich lavender, cinnamon, and oatmeal/honey soaps mingles with aromas emanating from the food court, where funnel cakes, burgers, roasted corn and blooming onions are among the proffered fare.

"We look for variety and quality, and give Yancey residents a discount on booth price, to encourage local participation," says McWhirter, who serves on the Fair's selection committee, and whose family has participated in the fair "almost since its inception." Most exhibitors hail from North Carolina, though some come from as far away as New York and Oregon.

Fairgoers come prepared to spend the day. Families spread blankets on the grass. Couples relax in lawn chairs around a stage, enjoying a parade of entertainers: actors from the Parkway Playhouse, clogging teams, and musical groups like Split Rail (a bluegrass band from Union, SC), the Melody Masters (a Southern gospel quartet from Bessemer City), and T-Bone (a Burnsville rhythm and blues band). Entertainment begins at 9 a.m., when the fair opens, and continues until it closes (6 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday).

Sponsored by the Yancey County/Burnsville Chamber of Commerce, the Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair is Burnsville's biggest event of the year. There's no admission charge; free shuttle buses run a continuous route from outlying parking areas to the square. For more information, call the Yancey County/Burnsville Chamber of Commerce at 828-682-7418 or 1-800-948-1632, or visit its web site at www.yanceychamber.com.