The White Squirrel Festival-Brevard, NC

Written By Heather McCulloch

Every year over a three day weekend in late spring you can count on a few things in the mountains of North Carolina, lots of rain and temperamental weather, lush green flowers coming to life all along the countryside, and the White Squirrel Festival in Brevard.

About an hour away from the Biltmore Estate, 45 minutes from downtown Asheville but only 20 minutes from the airport, Brevard is a sweet little town with a lot to offer during a weekend getaway.

A White Squirrel I spotted in the wild of Brevard.

The origin of the White Squirrel is debated, but the most consistent story goes back to old folklore from 1949. Supposedly a pair of White Squirrels were traveling with a carnival from Florida and got loose.

Brevard is located at the entrance to the Pisgah National Forest and is known for its moderate climate, cultural activities, beautiful scenery, and for being home to a population of white squirrels.

The festival started in 2003 and inaugural event kicked off with the unveiling of a white squirrel sculpture outside of City Hall created by local artist Kathryn Wilson. It has always been a street festival with events like car shows and local musicians, and grows every year to include more and more vendors, entertainment, and has even had a 5k that coincided with the weekend.

There is usually always a great variety of food trucks (along with the incredible variety of the restaurants along the streets), arts and crafts, music, and all kinds of family fun. Sometimes they even offer tours to the local Brevard College where a large population of the White Squirrels reside.

The festival is super popular among locals from surrounding towns, so I highly recommend getting there early to get good parking and to avoid the crowds. Take a look at the schedule if there is a specific band you want to see, and if you want to partake in the beer garden, that does not start until later in the day, so you will need to plan accordingly.

Image taken from heartofbrevard Instagram.

The main stage.

The festival often falls over Memorial Day weekend, and can include Memorial Day festivities like parades, so checking the website for an event schedule ahead of time is a must. Most of the vendors have participated before and have merchandise for all three days, but because of popularity, if you are there to shop for local arts and crafts, know that the good stuff will sell off early.

Image taken from https://brevardnc.org/whitesquirrelweekend/

We have been coming to the festival for years and years as a family. This is Matt, my mom and dad, my cousins Kayla and Adam, and I think that’s my moms dog Winston in the stroller. We are enjoying some freshly made lemonade and some shaved ice.

Craft & Retail Vendors (A-M)

“L” Notes local Transylvania County vendors.

“SP” Notes organizational sponsors.

31Summers Jewelry

AG1 LLC dba/Appalachian Growers

American Glory Style

Arcadian Settings L

Asheville Dragonfly, LLC

Bee. honey+hive L

Bistra Hristova Fine Art Photography

Blu Bird Blessings L

Blue Ridge Woodcrafters

Bohemian Splendor

Bonitos Hats

Carolina Tye Dyes

Certified Members L

Charlotte Jerky

Color Me Happy LLC

Cullowheegee Farms

D’Day Photographic Art

Defiant Sauce Co

Ecusta Creative LLC L

EWDesigns

Hamlin Ceramics

Harriet B Morton Art L

Hudson River Inlay

Jey Jewelry

Jones Custom Knives

Lasting Treasures

Mandari Designs

Marie Enterprises

McClain & Company Woodworks

Medicine Wind Music

Megan Hartman Art Collection

Melded Bear

MIGDALIA

Moonlight Crow Creations

MTN FOLK LORE LLC

One of the local vendors was giving away free children’s books. It was a super neat walk through bus experience and they were taking donations.

Some of the local vendors.

Craft & Retail Vendors (N-Z)

Nancy Wahl Art

Nature’s Gift Market

Niamh Botanicals

No Label Candle Company

Pat’s Art

Plottware Pottery

Pumpkin Center Pottery

Purple Girl Designs

Salt Soothers NC

Sheep & Squirrel, LLC

Shining Rock Soap L

Shore Soap

Sights Of Africa L

Silver Lake Designs – A Calliope Company

Southern Comfort Swings

Specialty Distribeautyng

The Kipsy Kitten

Village Blacksmiths L

Vistas By Foster L

Weathervane Productions L

Whiskey, Wine & Design

Wild Goods

Wiltsek Wood Works L

One year, one of the vendors was a local rescue group and they were helping to rehabilitate some of the squirrels and we got to see one up close!!

We always stop by the official tent to get a t shirt. They sell ones for the current year and ones from the previous year at a deep discount.

Some more of the local vendors. We bought some local honey.

Some of the food vendors.

They had tons of seating available off to the side in a parking lot that they had converted to a seating area. They brought in tables and chairs and even had most of them covered with tents to protect from the sun and the potential rain.

Keep it clean folks. It gets super crowded and out of respect for all in the crowd, the city prohibits tobacco use during the event.

Near the seating area and the food, they also had portable restrooms available.

They even had a special Beer Garden area for the adults to enjoy!

Always something interesting to see! This truck was covered in pennys!

Dad enjoying the car show.

One of the beautiful cars from the show. All of the owners were so kind and knowledgeable.

Outside The White Squirrel Shoppe.

So, if you find yourself planning a mountain getaway over the early summer, this is a great weekend to explore the mountain towns and enjoy some of the local fare, brews, art, and music. Have a great time, and keep an eye out for a flash of a White Squirrel racing through the grass or the trees as you pass through the town of Brevard!

Dodger enjoying his squeaky Squirrel toy from The White Squirrel Shoppe.

Heather McCulloch
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