Labor Day Village Square Art & Craft Show

  September 3 & 4 

 10 - 5  Saturday & Sunday

 Highlands Kelsey Hutchinson (Pine Street) Park

and the Highlands Village Square

Where can you find art, jewelry, birdhouses, pottery, baskets, rustic furniture and many more mountain creations all in one location? At the Village Square Art & Craft Show! Add music, food and face painting and you have a fun event for the whole family.

The show will be in the Highlands Village Square and Pine Street Park (AKA Kelsey-Hutchinson Park) and features 80 regional vendors, including lots of new artisans.  The show goes on rain or shine from 10 to 5 both Saturday and Sunday.

Kristine Cooke (of Franklin) will demonstrate her technique for wrapping gemstones and fossils with gold wire. Byrdell Sparks creates necklaces using novelty yarn. Other jewelers include Melanie Ruffin, Mark Edge, Lee Johnson, Joy Whitney, Susan Sorrentino and Monika Stute, each with their unique style.

Tom Ruffin (Franklin) will demonstrate basket weaving using natural fibers and oak.  Wood turners Donald Krebs and Ron Thompson will return, as will local potter Patrick Taylor. Other potters will be there, each with their distinctive style, including Kim Ross, Michael Miller-Riley, and Cathy Christie. Face jugs are a mountain tradition, and Judy Lynn has them. Tim and Karen Chambers (Highlands) make cool folk art which includes old windows, signs, hand-crafted frames and gourd animals. Also returning  is Marcus Thomas, an amazing oil and watercolor painter who is also a quadriplegic. He will demonstrate his unusual painting technique where he holds the brush with his teeth.

Fiber artists Pat Lorenz, Holly Hartman Williams and Candi Mancini each have beautiful and colorful creations.  Is recycling your bag? Matt Kruse recycles tree stumps into beautiful furniture.

Regional photography by Dave Allen and Johnny Lynn, fine art paintings and prints, whimsical folk art, garden accessories, and children's clothing are other items that can be found at the show.

Enjoy music by singer/songwriter Sylvia Sammons. A Highlands resident, Sylvia retired several years ago, so this a rare opportunity to see her perform. There will also be music on Sunday.

Fressers will have breakfast and lunch in the Village Square. There will be fresh-sqeezed lemonade and smoothies in the park as well. Public parking and bathrooms are available.

You can see photos of many vendors and their products in the gallery.

For more information contact coordinator Cynthia Strain at Mill Creek Gallery & Framing (828) 787-2021 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .