VALLE CRUCIS, NC – The October 18 Valle Country Fair (VCF) will be the swan song for BBQ Booth chairs Mike and Debbie Galleher, as the 2025 festival will be the last in their 31-year run as members of the VCF leadership team.
“We started going to Holy Cross church and wanted to get involved in the Valle Country Fair,” said Mike. “We were told that everyone starts with garbage.”
Always held on the third Saturday in October (October 18, 2025), the Valle Country Fair is an authentic harvest-season celebration that revolves around hand-made crafts, home-cooked food and mountain music. Proceeds are used to provide grants to local charities and relief to local families with emergency needs. Admission is FREE and parking is available in the adjoining field for $10 per vehicle.
Describing his first Valle Country Fair in 1994, Mike said, “The day before the Fair, Jim Hatch and I put out stakes and ribbons along NC 194 to discourage parking on the sides of the roads.
“Then on Fair day we emptied garbage onto Gary Swartz’s big flatbed truck and drove it up to the container station,” he continued.
“All of the Gallehers, including our three little kids,” Mike said. “We have been doing garbage ever since!”
With a sentimental smile on his face, Mike tells another story from his first Fair. “Jim Hatch and I were sitting in the apple barn, drinking a beer. He told me, ‘You know Mike, garbage is the best job. It’s not political, it’s not glamourous, and nobody will ever mess with you.’
“We’ve taken on a lot of other things over the years, but we’ve always held on to garbage,” Galleher concluded.
“I remember running around the old fairgrounds at the Apple Barn,” said Ashley, the youngest Galleher. “In the mornings I would work with my Dad spreading out the garbage cans and putting liners in them.
“For years my dad and I continued to spread out trash cans on the morning of the Fair,” she added. “Then we would enjoy a biscuit and some coffee together. It was our little routine and we loved it.”
Even with the whole family doing their part, the Gallehers still needed help keeping up with the trash. By the late 1990s Mike was able to give (Valle Crucis) Scout Troop 160 the job of emptying garbage on Fair day. But traffic on the day of the event put an end to driving to and from the container station, so the Valle Country Fair had to begin renting its own dumpster.
“The Fair practically doubled in size when we moved across the road (in the year 2000),” Mike continued, “so we recruited Troop 109 from Boone United Methodist Church to help us out.”
Having pitched in at several of the food tents over the years, in 2011 the Gallehers took on their next vital management role. “We apprenticed under Missy Watson, and she taught us about managing the serving of the barbecue and Brunswick Stew,” said Debbie.
Working over the years with Bandana’s, McKethan Brothers, and Barbeque, Burgers & Brew, in 2018 Ashley introduced her parents to J.J. and Bridget Murphree of Moe’s Original BBQ in Asheville.
“Working with Moe’s was a game changer,” said Debbie. “They volunteer labor, donate some product and actually work with us on Friday and Saturday! The amount we can take in for charity is so much greater. And they are the best people to work with because they share our commitment to giving back to the community.”
Before the Gallehers can step away, however, they must train their successors. The suckers, I mean successors, who agreed to take over Mike and Debbie’s food tent are fellow Holy Cross parishioners, Susan Howard and Patty Dilley, who will shadow the Gallehers at on October 18.
“I have so much admiration for Mike and Debbie,” said Susan. “I just want to be worthy of the trust they’ve put in me.”
“It feels overwhelming,” Patty added with a chuckle. “I can see why they are ready to take a break.” As the handoff gets closer, the reminiscences get deeper.
“You think about how far we’ve come,” said Debbie with a note of awe in her voice. “When we first started, we kept the money in a cigar box! Now we can take credit cards!”
The Valle Country Fair is produced by Holy Cross Episcopal Church in cooperation with the Valle Crucis Conference Center. The Fair is supported by the Watauga Arts Council and the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
Media sponsors are Curtis Media Group and Mountain Times Publications.
For more information, contact Holy Cross Church at 828-963-4609 ext. 23 or visit the Fair on the Web at www.vallecountryfair.org.
“We’ll miss this,” said Debbie, “but truly it feels like it is time for us to give it up. It’s been a good run.” Entertaining second thoughts, Mike interjected, “We may hold on to the garbage.”
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