The North Carolina Hellbender Festival will highlight the Labor Day weekend on Aug. 30, in downtown Spruce Pine.
This free, family-friendly event celebrates the Eastern hellbender salamander and the rivers it calls home. From 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., visitors can enjoy a full day of live music, local food trucks, a regional maker and art market, and hands-on science and river education activities for all ages. The festival highlights the importance of clean, healthy waterways through interactive exhibits, outdoor recreation demos, and community-led conservation efforts. Join organizers in honoring Appalachian biodiversity, supporting environmental stewardship, and enjoying a lively mountain-town celebration in the heart of the Blue Ridge.
Schedule of events
The Village Stage
11 a.m. & noon: Creature Feature: Reptiles and Amphibians
1 p.m. – Nature Journaling
2 p.m. – Horse-powered Forestry
3 p.m. – Ask a Farmer: Agriculture and Conservation in Conversation
4 p.m. – Natural Native Dyes Demo
All Day events:
• Meet the Hellbender
• Prints from the Sun: Cyanotype Art Session
• Make your own native seed packet
• Make a clay Hellbender seed pod
• Mitchell Giving Gardens: Grow a Hell”bean”der
• Brookie’s Big Adventure Game
• Fin & Foliage Prints
The Main Stage
1 p.m. Billy Jonas Trio
3 p.m. Sammy Osmond and The No Hellers
5 p.m. The Local Honeys
7:30 p.m. River Whyless