Festivals
Contact Us
Christmas in the Mountains
Saturday, December 2nd 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
free | Schoolhouse Cafe Open
Christmas in the Mountains is an indoor Stecoah arts & crafts show just in time for holiday giving. This event coincides with our annual Breakfast with Santa event – plan ahead by purchasing your pankcake breakfast. Don’t forget to get your picture with Santa!
Some of our favorite vendors are located throughout the main building and are stocked with handmade items perfect for your Christmas shopping list. Don’t miss Santa’s workshop with crafts and activities fun for all ages – cookie decorating, ornament take & makes, and printmaking!
Participate
Smoky Mountain SpringFest
Saturday, April 20th
10:00 am – 4:00 pm | FREE
Come on out for the second annual Smoky Mountain SpringFest at Stecoah as we celebrate spring and our beautiful Great Smoky Mountains!
We have access to so many outdoor activities through which we can enjoy our mountain home and our native plants and wildlife. This is an opportunity to experience why Graham County truly is Your Natural Destination.
This event is hosted in partnership with Graham County Travel and Tourism.
- Seed & Plant Swap
- Fitness Walk
- National Park Service with Children’s Activities
- Smoky the Bear
- Face Painting
- WNC Nature Museum Program
- Hands On Fly Fish Casting Demonstrations
- Arts & Craft Vendors
- Food Vendors
Keep an eye on our classes schedule as we begin putting together next the weekend’s hands on experiences. Last year’s festival weekend featured a Traditional Fish Basket course with renowned Cherokee artist, Ramona Lossie.
Vendors, demonstrators, and activities are still being added. This event will be updated as those are confirmed. An hourly schedule will be confirmed as the event nears.
Participate
29th Annual Harvest Festival
Participate
There are many ways to participate in what is our biggest event of the year – as a volunteer, a demonstrator, a vendor, an exhibitor and more!
We are currently accepting craft and art vendor applications.
Entries for our annual Quilt Show with a $100 Viewer’s Choice award close October 14th.
Friday, October 18th
6:00 pm
Free | Concessions Available
Join us around the campfire with a FREE marshmallow roast while we welcome a special guest, who will kick off our festival weekend with stories of the Cherokee. Storytelling will end around dusk with a tale as chill as the mountain air.
Please be prepared for cool temperatures as the sun goes down. Bring a chair – some hay bale seating is available.
Saturday, October 19th
10:00 am – 5:00 pm
$5 admission | FREE Parking
A day full of family fun including music, dancing, food, heritage demonstrations, arts and craft vendors, a quilt show, the country fair, live animals and more! Kids activities include face painting, pumpkin bowling, and a scavenger hunt.
Last Year’s Pavilion Schedule
| 10:00 am | Opening Ceremonies |
| 10:15 am | Stecoah JAM Band |
| 11:00 am | Welch Family Singers |
| 12:00 pm | Oktoberfest Dancers |
| 1:00 pm | Mandy Millsaps |
| 2:00 pm | Julie Nelms & Sonny Reickard |
| 3:00 pm | Nicholas Edwards |
| 4:00 pm | The Smoky Mountain Boys |
Last Year’s Schoolhouse Schedule
| 11:30 am | The American Song Catcher (auditorium) |
| 2:30 pm | Sacred Harp Singing (front kitchen) |
2023 Special Performers
Stefanie Priskos
Join us for a Shape Note Singing school led by folklorist, Stefanie Priskos of the John C. Campbell Folk School. There will be an an introduction for beginners at 2:30 pm but anyone is welcome to join at anytime. This is a wonderful opportunity to take in and...
Nicholas Williams
The Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center is very excited to release that Nicholas Williams will be both speaking and performing at the Stecoah Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 21st. Williams is the host of the popular roots history podcast American Songcatcher as...
Nancy Pheasant
An enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, she resides in the Wolftown community of the Qualla boundry in Cherokee, NC. She is a multi-media indigenous artist that specializes in shellcarving jewelry. She has recently retired from her...