Sourwood Festival set for candy summer time enjoyable — The Valley Echo

Thousands of holiday makers and native residents will descend upon downtown Black Mountain, from 10 a.m. to five p.m., Saturday, Aug. 8 and from 11 a.m. to five p.m., Sunday, Aug. 9, as an annual summer time custom returns to the Swannanoa Valley for its forty ninth 12 months.

The 2026 Sourwood Festival, that includes artisans, crafters and actions all through the district, will host a various array of family-friendly leisure to have a good time the candy Appalachian deal with from which it takes its title.

Presented by the Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce and staffed by dozens of native volunteers, the occasion will welcome roughly 110 distributors to Cherry Street, Sutton Avenue, Black Mountain Avenue and parts of Vance Avenue and Terry Estate Drive. The weekend, which coincides with the Kansas City Barbecue Society Battle within the Blue Ridge competitors, hosted Friday, Aug. 7 and Saturday, Aug. 8 by the Asheville East KOA, will start in Swannanoa with a Friday evening fireworks show by PyroWright Fireworks.

“If you’re coming to town, there is something to do everyday this weekend,” mentioned Shannon Howard, chair of the chamber’s advertising and marketing subcommittee for the competition. “You can find something to eat, shop for, do and enjoy, right here in the Swannanoa Valley.”

Sourwood will current a juried roster of distributors from all through the area, with a give attention to high quality and selection, in response to Howard. Artists representing a variety of mediums, together with canvas work, woodwork, leatherwork, glasswork and extra, will occupy cubicles alongside 5 streets closed to car visitors.

Entry to the Sourwood Festival is free to the general public, which can get pleasure from an unlimited number of meals choices, starting from competition favorites like funnel cake to native downtown eating places.

“So much of this event is about supporting our amazing local businesses by bringing visitors to the Valley for the weekend,” Howard mentioned. “So, we definitely encourage people to stop in our local restaurants to grab something to eat and visit our shops, before, during and after the festival.”

Sponsored by Explore Asheville, with assist from Givens Estates, Tyson Furniture, Best Buy Metals and the Town of Black Mountain, the Sourwood Festival will host a Kidzone close to the intersection of Black Mountain Avenue and Terry Estate Drive. The venue will supply actions like Touch-A-Truck with massive tools, pin the tail on the bear, face portray and cornhole.