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

49TH MOUNT MITCHELL CRAFTS FAIR IS AUGUST 5-6, 2005

BURNSVILLE, NC — Think of the 49th Annual Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair as a kind of living patchwork. On the first Friday and Saturday in August (the 5th and 6th this year), a colorful quilt of mountain traditions spreads like a coverlet across Burnsville’s historic town square.

More than 200 booths line the streets around the square, filled with crafts that run the gamut from hand-painted furniture to dried flower arrangements, bird houses to basketry, silver jewelry to stained glass, dulcimers to ironwork.

On stage in the center of the square, continuous live entertainment begins when the fair opens at 9 a.m. and runs until it closes (6 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday). Bluegrass, country, traditional mountain and gospel musicians perform.

"As in the past several years the craft booths will line the downtown streets," says former Chamber executive director Shannon Harding-Raines. "This provides more space on the square for people to relax, and children to run around and play. Parents and grandparents love to come watch their children and grandkids on stage. Families spread blankets on the grass; couples relax in lawn chairs and listen to the music."

The food court caters to every taste. Find funnel cakes, barbecue sandwiches, quesadillas, subs, homemade ice cream and other treats. Fairgoers can slake their thirst on water, soft drinks, tea or lemonade at drink stations throughout the fair area manned by chamber volunteers.

But the heart of the fair remains the crafts. 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. Quilts and crocheted items, handmade soaps, wooden toys, leather goods, watercolors, twig furniture and copper and glass sculpture are among the traditional and not-so-traditional crafts featured in other booths. Most exhibitors hail from North Carolina, though some come from as far away as New York and Mississippi.

The Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair has been selected again as one of the Southeast Tourism Society’s Top 20 Events. The Crafts Fair was chosen among events from all the Southeastern states including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

In addition to the Crafts Fair, Yancey County offers two beautiful golf courses, a dude ranch, unique shops, art studios, hundreds of crafts people, bed & breakfasts, charming inns, historic sights, summer theatre, camping, hiking, fishing, and Mt. Mitchell, highest peak east of the Rockies.

Sponsored by the Yancey County/Burnsville Chamber of Commerce, the Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair is Burnsville’s biggest annual event. Admission is free. Shuttle buses, a great alternative to finding a parking place, run a continuous route from outlying parking areas to the fair entrance. For more information about the fair, call the Yancey County/Burnsville Chamber of Commerce at 828-682-7413 or 1-800-948-1632, or visit its web site at www.mtmitchellcraftsfair.com.