FOR THE MEDIA | vallecountryfair

Homegrown Meets Handmade at the Valle Country Fair

Due to the impact of Hurricane Helene, the 46th Annual Valle Country Fair will NOT take place on October 19, 2024, as originally planned.

The co-sponsors of the event, Holy Cross Episcopal Church and the Valle Crucis Conference Center, are working on alternative plans to provide necessary human and financial resources to the non-profit agencies and families in need that we so faithfully serve. In the meantime, please keep our entire region in your prayers.

VALLE CRUCIS, NC—October 19 marks the 46th year that the parish of the Holy Cross has invited the public to join them in the heart of one of the most ethereal valleys in

Western North Carolina for their annual fall festival. Harvest flavors of Brunswick Stew, WNC barbecue, homemade apple butter and hundreds of cakes, pies and breads are served up in this celebration of all things homegrown, handmade and local.

Started as a small church bazaar to raise money to build a parish hall, the Valle Country Fair has turned into a major attraction attended by ten thousand people a year. The combination crafts fair, mountain music jam and harvest festival now raises funds for human service organizations in Avery & Watauga Counties, generating more than $1.3 million for people in need since the event's founding 46 years ago.

Always held on the third Saturday in October, the 2024 Valle Fair is happening Saturday, October 19, on the grounds of the Valle Crucis Conference Center on NC Highway 194 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Festivities include crafts, food, children's activities and mountain music. Admission is free and ample parking is available adjacent to the Fair for $10 per vehicle.

The event takes place in a huge meadow between a picturesque red barn and a field planted with sorghum. The tents of more than 100 craft exhibitors line wide lanes that meander back and forth across the grounds. Bales of hay are stacked in the intersections of these alleys to offer fairgoers a spot to sit as they ponder which craft booths to visit next.

Handmade is the organizing principle behind the arts and crafts items available for sale at the Fair In addition to insuring that all work is made by artists' hands, organizers jury the craft vendors see that there is a wide variety of creative products available to shoppers. Craft shopping is even more fun for fairgoers when they know that the exhibitors donate at least ten percent of their proceeds back to the charitable work of the Fair.

Two stages are set up to provide entertainment throughout the day. The main stage is for homegrown mountain music, while a smaller venue presents story tellers, folk dancing and other children's entertainment.

Guests can feel good about pigging out at the Valle Country Fair because most of the food concessions are operated by the church or other non-profit organizations that dedicate 100 percent of their proceeds to community service. Tables and chairs are provided under a large tent located near the main stage so that fairgoers can enjoy the music while they dine.

Food concessions include Brunswick Stew, barbecue, chili, hot dogs and hamburgers, sausage with onions, ice cream, funnel cakes, baked goods, jams and jellies, fresh-pressed apple cider, and hot-out-of-the kettle apple butter.

Proceeds from the 2024 Valle Country Fair will be shared between the Backpack 2 School Festival, The Children’s Council, Community Care Clinic, Frontline to Farm, Fresh Start of Hearts of Hospitality House, High Country Caregivers, Immigrant Connection of the High County, The Hunger & Health Coalition, Jason Project, Mediation and Restorative Justice, Mountain Alliance, Quiet Givers, Valle Crucis School PTSO, Watauga County Extended Learning Center, Habitat for Humanity, Watauga Housing Council and WAMY. The outreach committee at Holy Cross Church distributes all remaining proceeds to help local families in crisis.

The event is produced by Holy Cross Episcopal Church in cooperation with the Valle Crucis Conference Center. Media sponsors for VCF 2024 are Curtis Media Group and Mountain Times Publications. Proceeds are used to provide grants to local non-profit organizations, and relief to local families with emergency needs. For more information, contact Holy Cross Church at 828-963-4609 or visit the Fair on the Web at www.vallecountryfair.org. To request high resolution photographs for publication, contact Catherine Morton at mortoncw58@gmail.com.