101 North Carolina Festivals: September

Photo courtesy of Smoky Mountain Folk Festival.

Smoky Mountain Folk Festival

Held each Labor Day weekend, this festival has offered traditional music and dance of the Southern Appalachian Region for nearly half a century.

Ayden Collard Festival

Ayden | aydencollardfestival.com

This four-day event, which got its start in 1975, has been estimated to draw 15,000 visitors to celebrate the healthy greens its named for.

Bluegrass Island Festival

Manteo | bluegrassisland.com

Blue Skies, Blue Water, Bluegrass! More information and next year's line-up available at the festival's website.

Day at the Docks

Sponsored by Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative
Hatteras | hatterasonmymind.com

This dockside festival was started to celebrate the "Spirit of Hatteras" when the village recovered from Hurricane Isabel in 2003. The event remains a confirmation of the strength of community, heritage and living traditions of the waterman.

Dublin Peanut Festival

Sponsored by Four County EMC
Dublin | dublinpeanutfestival.com

This festival takes us back in time to show the early years of peanut harvesting from horses and plows, to peanut stacks and to tractors and mechanical peanut pickers of today. The Festival includes a peanut cook-off contest and each entry must include peanuts. Cash prizes are given to these winners. We have for sale roasted, salted in the shell and freshly boiled peanuts. The students of Dublin Elementary School create our festival T-shirt graphics each year.

Engelhard Seafood Festival

Sponsored by Tideland EMC
Engelhard
Engelhard Seafood Festival on Facebook

To honor all our local fishermen who have worked long, hard and dangerous hours to bring North Carolina Seafood to the tables of families near and far.

Festival of Books and Authors

Winston-Salem | bookmarksnc.org

Featuring 45+ authors, plus readings, book signings, panels, exhibitors, family-friendly area.

Read more about the Festival of Books and Authors, as covered by Carolina Country!

Hog Day

Sponsored by Piedmont Electric
Hillsborough | hogday.org

Orange County's largest and longest running festival. Enjoy local bands, fun contests & games, and our original BBQ cook-off contest featuring veteran cooking teams!Hog Day will be hosted at the Riverpark in downtown Hillsborough, NC.

Muscadine Harvest Festival

Sponsored by Four County EMC & Tri-County EMC
Kenansville | ncmuscadinefestival.com

Join us in celebrating the heritage of the NC state fruit, the Muscadine Grape!

National Folk Festival

Greensboro | nationalfolkfestival.com

A Great American Festival Comes to North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad. Make your plans now to join us in the heartland of North Carolina for The National Folk Festival—one of America’s largest, most prestigious, and longest-running celebrations of arts, culture, and heritage. Best of all, this three-day celebration is FREE! No tickets needed!

NC Fall Festival

Sponsored by Lumbee River EMC
Raeford | Facebook @ncfallfestival

Formerly the NC Turkey Festival, this event has expanded to celebrate the coming of fall in Raeford and Hoke counties.

NC Honey Festival

Sponsored by Brunswick Electric
Whiteville | nchoneyfestival.com

The mission of the North Carolina Honey Festival is to highlight the significance of bees in our environment, celebrate honey and honey products, encourage bee-friendly practices, and promote beekeeping in all of North Carolina’s regions. Look forward to a fun-filled day of bee exhibits, food, honeybee product vendors, and community fellowship.

NC Spot Festival

Sponsored by Four County EMC
Hampstead | ncspotfestival.com

Proceeds from the festival are divvied up between the fire department and the five “Topsail” schools in the Pender County school system. Every year the festival is filled with– live music, scholarship pageantry, arts, and crafts, lots of stuff for the kids to do, plus, of course, those delicious spot, fried just right by Hampstead Fire Department fire men and women. The Spot Festival is one of the most important events in Hampstead, it brings thousands of visitors to our community every year.

North Carolina Apple Festival

Hendersonville | ncapplefestival.org

For more than 70 years, the lure of freshly picked apples has called festival-goers to this event at and around Hendersonville’s historic courthouse.

North Carolina Hot Sauce Contest

Oxford | nchotsaucecontest.com

The NC Hot Sauce Contest brings thousands of people to downtown Oxford to interact with friends, merchants, fans, artisans and vendors. North Carolina’s finest hot sauces and barbeque sauces, along with breweries and wineries spice up the blends and texture of downtown’s historical streets. Enter the NC Pepper Eating Contest sponsored by Bailey Farms. Capture all the history of Oxford by visiting the Granville County Museum and their September Sensations Bazaar at the Harris Exhibit Hall, famous for showcasing local artisans. Activities for children, local shops waiting to greet you and great restaurants.

Sweet Potato Festival

Rockford | rockfordgeneralstore.com

Enjoy sweet potato pies, sweet potato sonker, cakes, drinks & coffee, fried pies, roll-ups, country ham biscuits, chicken stew, pintos & cornbread and more great food.