Communities throughout western North Carolina invite locals and visitors alike to celebrate their unique local cultures through seasonal festivals. Featuring regional live music and arts, craft brews, and creative foods, these events draw people together and help visitors explore the region. And the fun experiences help build the relationships that keep visitors coming back.
GROW NC spoke with cultural arts and tourism leaders about the value festivals bring to western North Carolina communities and the important roles creative artists play in driving attendance. Learn about events that took place in Boone and Saluda earlier this summer. And keep reading to find a list of upcoming festivals so you can start planning your next visit to western North Carolina!
Boonerang Music and Arts Fest
The Boonerang Music and Arts Festival is a free street festival that takes place each year during the third full weekend of June. The festival celebrates the Town of Boone, bringing Boone-connected artists and fans together to “Boonerang” back to the place they love.
Boonerang features multiple performance spaces with live music, a dance lot, and artist vending lots. Local beer and food are featured in vending areas around town to offer attendees tastes of what the community has to offer. All featured participants have Boone connections.
Town of Boone Cultural Arts Director Mark Freed estimates attendance reached about 10,000 people for this year’s June 19-21 event.
“Over the course of the weekend, there are quite a number of people who come in and out of town,” said Freed. “It’s become a very special event, offering an opportunity for our local folks to come and celebrate alongside people who have spent time in and fallen in love with this mountain town and the unique culture that makes Boone such a special place.”
Freed says the arts community is an essential driver of festival success. The 2026 Boonerang Festival featured more than 40 artists, performing groups, and dance groups. Many genres were represented from rock-and-roll and pop to funk and blues, and a Cajun band and an organ trio entertained as well. In Boone and elsewhere, the arts help make communities the places that we want to visit and the places that we want to live and work and play. And the arts community is often asked to support other local events and other fundraising efforts.
To celebrate the contributions of artists and to give back, festival organizers created the Inspire Educators Fund in partnership with the local Arts Council, with a portion of festival proceeds going to local arts efforts, including music, theater, dance, and art teachers. These funds are intended to help raise the next generation of performers and art vendors.
It takes a lot of work to organize community festivals. Town staff worked alongside 150 volunteers who put in around 1,000 volunteer hours to make the event a success. Local nonprofit organizations help with bartending as a way to raise money for their organizations.
It takes a big community effort to pull off the festival, but the rewards are worth it, according to Lane Moody, Boone’s Downtown Development Director. “Community events like Boonerang directly and indirectly support all of our downtown businesses, which is just so wonderful,” said Moody. “We’re thankful for people taking the time to pour in and love on our downtown.”
From the locals and returning “Boonerangs” to first-time visitors, Boonerang attracts people with an appreciation for High Country living and all that the Boone area has to offer. The next Boonerang will take place June 18-20, 2027, but there are many more opportunities to explore mountain culture, like the High Country Beer Fest happening on August 29 at the High Country Fairgrounds in Boone.
Keep reading for a list of featured summer festivals.
Saluda Coon Dog Day
Coon Dog Day is a beloved community festival in downtown Saluda that began in the 1960s. The event is centered on traditional activities, including a parade, a dog show, and a chicken dinner. There are a host of other opportunities for fun and entertainment, too, including live music, arts vendors, square dancing, a firefighter agility competition, and a 5K run supporting the Polk County High School Band. It all happens in downtown Saluda, right in the middle of town.
“We see a lot of return guests who attend Coon Dog Day,” said Summer Flynn, Saluda TDA member. “Downtown Saluda has a lot of great shops and galleries that are fun to walk through any time of the year, especially during local events when there’s a surge of energy in the community.”
Coon Dog Day begins with a parade in the morning, with a variety of floats offered by local organizations. The free Saluda Depot Museum provides an opportunity to learn more about local railroad history, which is important to locals who look forward to the Saluda Grade Trail Project.
Saluda is home to talented artists, many of whom participate in Coon Dog Day. “It’s always been an integral part of the event, getting together with the community, listening to music, being together, learning about art, seeing different art, and being exposed to some new things,” said Flynn. “And it’s always fun to get up and dance a little bit, too.”
The Saluda Visitor Center stays open for Coon Dog Day to help newcomers learn about the many other adventures that await in Saluda. “There are so many fun activities in our region,” said Flynn. “We have a number of outdoor recreation events and businesses, including the Green River Gorge and zip lining adventures. There are also facilities that you can use at the visitor center and lots of other pamphlets about all of the things that are available to see and do in Saluda year-round, like Pearson’s Falls and some really lovely ways to celebrate the beautiful scenery that we live among here in Saluda.”
Events like Coon Dog Day offer a connection to the past for the generations of families who have attended through the years, and all are invited to experience these annual festivities. “We love to welcome people to see what really makes Saluda so unique and so special,” said Flynn. “It’s a wonderful way to be together and celebrate all the wonderful things that our mountain community offers.”
Upcoming WNC Summer Festivals
Many more mountain community festivals will be held in the weeks and months ahead. Scroll through the list below and search Visit NC for more western North Carolina destinations and activities.
July Festivals
- July 17 Symphony on the Mountain – Blowing Rock
- July 17-18 Party on the Mountain Weekend – Beech Mountain
- July 18 Ebbs Chapel Blackberry Festival – Mars Hill
- July 24-25 Ashe County Blue Grass and Old Time Fiddler’s Convention – West Jefferson
- July 25-August 2 K9s In Flight Frisbee Dog Show at Tweetsie Railroad – Boone
- July 30-August 1 Mountain Dance and Folk Festival – Asheville
- July 30-August 2 NC Mineral and Gem Festival – Spruce Pine
August Festivals
- August 6-9 Asheville Sounds Fest – Asheville
- August 7-8 Mount Mitchell Crafts Fair – Burnsville
- August 8 Summer Music Series – Beech Mountain
- August 8-9 Sourwood Festival – Black Mountain
- August 15 Bela Fleck’s Blue Grass Banjo Concert – Brevard
- August 15-16 Art Studio Tour – Leicester
- August 21-22 Hazy Hideaway Music and Arts Festival – Fletcher
- August 21 The Brew Ridge Jam Featuring Leftover Salmon – Asheville
- August 22 Pigeon River Fest – Canton
- August 29 High Country Beer Fest – Boone
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