By Nathan Ham
With special safety measures in place, the nearly 30-year tradition of the Avery Fine Arts and Master Crafts Festival will proceed as planned on the weekends of July 17-19 and August 14-16.
The event, sponsored by Famous Brick Oven Pizzeria, will be happening at Sugar Mountain Resort and will feature some wonderful works of arts and crafts from local artists and crafters as well as other artists from all across the country. Sugar Mountain Resort is a new location for the festival. Everything will be set up in the parking lot below the resort lodge.
Melynda Pepple, the Executive Director of the Avery County Chamber of Commerce, says that the festival will begin at 1 p.m. on Friday, July 17.
Sugar Mountain Resort will also be open during this time with golfing, mountain bike activities, the chair lift ride, and dining throughout the weekend.
“We will have over 55 vendors showcasing their unique wares from wood to beautiful paintings, watercolor, oil, jewelry, and all types of different products from all over, not just our North Carolina folks,” said Pepple.
The event is free to attend and organizers are taking all the proper safety measures with masks and social distancing.
“We are falling the “Wash, Wait and Wear” procedures and there will be sanitation booths throughout the festival so people can sanitize. We are also working directly with the county for some sanitation and disinfecting measures that they have,” Pepple said.
Parking will be plentiful and booths will be able to be spread out to meet all social distancing requirements. Every vendor will be in single rows with no vendors having to share back-to-back spaces.
“This gives people a chance to get outside and shop safely. We have a lot of folks up here and we’re expecting a good turnout,” Pepple said. “Sugar Mountain has opened their arms to welcome and partner with the Avery Chamber of Commerce to make the Avery Fine Art and Master Crafts Festival happen.”
Sugar Mountain Resort is located at 1009 Sugar Mountain Drive. For more information, visit the Avery County Chamber of Commerce website at www.averycounty.com or call 828-898-5605.
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