Schedule
We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, September 30, 2023 in Cullowhee, North Carolina.
The festival will run from 10:00am and close at 5:00pm.
General Activities
Festival Activities - Discover all our vendors for this year including the juried arts and crafts show, food vendors, and local non-profit organizations. There are over 150 vendors with thousands of unique items to choose from.
Kids Activities - Family fun for all ages! Take a wagon ride, learn traditional crafts, try your hand at old-time mountain skills, learn new dances and more. Be sure to stop by the Children's Tent for activities.
Cherokee Games - One of the most important elements of Mountain Heritage Day is the influence and culture of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The annual stickball demonstration is a highly ritualized contest you won't want to miss.
Andy Shaw Ford Classic Car Show - They just don't make them like they used to! Showcase your classic automobile (25 years or older) in Mountain Heritage Day's Andy Shaw Ford Classic Car Show. Visitors can stroll amongst the beautiful machines and cast votes for their favorites.
Music - Bluegrass, Acoustic, Old-Time, Roots, Country, Mountain Swing, and Gospel, just to name a few. With two stages and dozens of performers, you'll want to dance the day away.
5K Race - The 5k Race is organized and hosted by the students at Western Carolina University Sport Management program. The money that is raised will go to help fund the Sport Management Association Scholarship.
McNeely’s Chainsaw Competition - Try your hand at this activity! The competition will be carried out in four categories: Homeowner, Box Stock, Stock Appearing, and Open. There will be ten classes of saws:
- Class “E”
- Class “D”
- Class “C”
- Class “B”
- Class “A”
- Class “AA”
- “Hot Saw”
- AA Modified Motorcycle Parts
- Cross Cut Saw (two person teams)
- One-man Bucking Saw
There is a fee for each entry and must be 18 years or older to enter.
rules and Registration
Chainsaw Carving Demonstration - 1:00 PM immediately following the McNeely’s Chainsaw Competition in the same location. (Not part of the McNeely’s Chainsaw Competition)
Mountain Heritage Skills, Crafts and Historical Demonstrations
- Jim Boardwine, Salt Making
- Nathan Bush, Copper Smithing
- Nate Darnell, Tractor Rides
- Kevin Fountain, Hit and Miss Engines
- Louise Goings, Cherokee Basket Weaving
- Butch Goings, Cherokee Wood Carving
- George Edward Goings, Flint Knapping
- David Russell, Cornshuck Chair Caning
- Matthew Shirey, Blacksmithing
- Dede Styles, Natural Dying
- Richard Tichich, Quilting
- James JR Wolfe, Copper Smithing
- Nathan Woods, Horse & Mule teams
Stages, Tents & Stickball
Running Cedar Springs Children's Stage
Jackson County Tourism Balsam Circle Tent
McNeely’s Chainsaw Competition
Andy Shaw Ford Classic Car Show
Ingles’s Blue Ridge Stage
10:00 am: Buncombe Turnpike
10:45 am: Whitewater Bluegrass Co. with Bailey Mountain Cloggers
12:00 pm: Mountain Heritage Awards presentation
12:30 pm: Tried Stone Missionary Baptist Choir
1:30 pm: Cherokee Dance with JR Wolfe
2:00 pm: Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper with Bailey Mountain Cloggers
3:15 pm: Let’s Try Clogging with Simone Pace
3:45 pm: Bluegrass Allstars with J-Creek Cloggers
Running Cedar Springs Children's Stage
10:00 am: Deitz Family
10:30 am: Blue Ridge JAM program
11:00 am: Jackson County 4-H Livestock Club
11:30 am: Tom Godleski, storytelling
12:00 pm: Jubilee Mountain Cloggers
12:30 pm: Phil and Gaye Johnson
1:15 pm: Dustin Tramper, Cherokee Storytelling
2:00 pm: Simone Pace and J-Creek Cloggers, clogging demonstration
2:30 pm: Ashton Woody tells Jack Tales
Jackson County Tourism Balsam Circle Tent
10:00 am: Jean Dowell with Mike Oberst
10:45 am: Haywood Ramblers
11:30 am: Fiddle Circle with Michael Cleveland, Crystal Deitz, Don Lewis, and William Ritter
12:30 pm: Deitz Family
1:15 pm: Sparky and Rhonda Rucker
2:15 pm: Music makes Community Circle with Phil and Gaye Johnson, Darren Nicholson, Travis Stuart, Jeanette Schrock and Uncle Ted White
3:15 pm: Dustin Tramper, Cherokee stories
Shape Note Tent
10:00 am: Sacred Harp Singing
12:00 pm: Ballad Circle
1:00 pm: Christian Harmony Singing
3:00 pm: Cherokee Language Choir
First Bank Stickball Field
11:00 am: Birdtown Stickball Team
2:00 pm: Big Cove Youth Stickball Team
3:00 pm: Atlatl and Black Powder Rifle demonstration
McNeely’s Chainsaw Competition
9:00 am: On-site registration
10:00 am: Competition Beings
Andy Shaw Ford Classic Car Show
9:00-10:00 am: Registration
2:00 pm: Awards Announced
Schedule is subject to change.
