Photo by Chris Stonecash
The Fall Lake Lure Arts & Crafts Festival returns to the shores of Lake Lure on Saturday, October 17, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, October 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The juried festival brings artists and craftspeople to 119 Arcade Street, across from the Lake Lure beach, while raising funds for Hickory Nut Gorge Outreach.
“A former mayor, Kevin Cooley, started the festival as something to attract tourists to Lake Lure,” says Chris Stonecash, social media handler for the Lake Lure Arts & Crafts Festival. “Kevin and his wife Yvonne loved crafts and art festivals and asked the best of what they saw in the festivals that they visited to come to the Lake Lure festival.”
Proceeds benefited Hickory Nut Gorge Outreach, and after Cooley’s death, the organization took over the festival. Hickory Nut Gorge Outreach operates less than a mile from the festival grounds. For more than two decades, the organization has provided food and emergency financial assistance to people in the community, including support for students at Lake Lure Classical Academy.
More than 70 vendors will be at this year’s festival, about half of whom are new to it. Visitors will find woodworking, textiles, paintings and graphic art, jewelry, pottery, metalwork, glassware, soaps and candles, as well as packaged foods.
“There is something for everyone,” Stonecash says. “The festival is small enough that you can visit each of our vendors.”
This year’s festival also carries particular significance following Hurricane Helene. Its location close to Lake Lure, long one of the event’s attractions, put the festival grounds directly in the path of the storm’s destruction.
“A massive two-year cleanup effort restored the lake and the shoreline,” says Stonecash. “Being able to hold the festival again said that Lake Lure was back and ready for life to go on.”
Admission to the festival is free, and parking is available within easy walking distance. For more information, visit LakeLureArtsandCraftsFestivals.com.
