Clay Day, a favorite happening at the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Folk Art Center for 20 years, returns on Saturday, June 4, from 10–4 p.m. This free event features craft demonstrations and hands-on activities for children and adults. Members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild will demonstrate throwing on the potter’s wheel, hand building, and surface design, among other techniques.

A highlight of the day is the “Make-and-Take” raku firing. Buy a $10 pot, glaze it, and then watch as expert potters raku fire it for you. Raku is a ceramic firing process that uses fire and smoke to create unique patterns and designs.

While at the Folk Art Center, stop by the Allanstand Craft Shop, the Eastern National bookstore, the Blue Ridge Parkway information desk, and the three exhibition galleries. Outside the Center are hiking trails, picnic areas, and free parking.

The Folk Art Center is at Milepost 382 of the Blue Ridge Parkway, just north of the Hwy 70 entrance in east Asheville. For more information, including a list of craftspeople participating in Clay Day, call 298.7928 or visit craftguild.org. The Southern Highland Craft Guild is a nonprofit, educational organization established in 1930 to bring together the crafts and craftspeople of the Southern Highlands for the benefit of shared resources, education, marketing and conservation.