Three Kinds of Vendors
The Kick-off Weekend willl take place Friday October 18 from 3pm - 9pm
and Saturday October 19 from 10am - 9pm
The Christmas Trees Will Stay Lit Through New Year's Day.
Tree Growers
Our tree farmers are coming from Allegheny, Ashe, Watauga, Avery, Mitchell, Yancey & More Counties; all from western North Carolina.
Also, some growers from East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia are involved.
Food Vendors
Come hungry and scratch the itch with vendors offering such delights as funnel cake, turkey drum sticks, kabobs, hamburgers and hot dogs.
Craft Vendors
All juried; our craft vendors will be displaying their skills with pride and with the knowledge that they are the best of the best.
Avery County - The Fraser Fir Capital of the World
The first annual, inaugural Christmas Tree festival will kick off Friday October 18, 2024 from 3:00pm - 9:00pm and include Saturday October 19, 2024 from 10:00am - 9:00pm.
A history of Fraser Firs in western North Carolina - written by Dr Jill Sidebottom
The reason why Fraser fir, named after the Scottish botanist John Fraser (1750–1811), made it off the top of the highest mountains to become a major agricultural commodity in western North Carolina is two-fold. First of all – simply put – it is a superior Christmas tree and no doubt it would have been recognized as such eventually no matter what the circumstances. But the other reason is just as important. Farmers in western North Carolina needed something to grow that they could grow better than anyone else in the country. That was something they had never had before. Sam Cartner grew up on a farm in Davie County. He graduated from NC State College in 1946, and served in the military like most young men did at the time. After the war, he took a job as an Extension Agent in Avery County.
Encouraging Avery County farmers to grow Christmas trees would not be an easy task. People who were used to raising a 120-day crop were now being asked to raise a 7-to-10 year crop. In early spring of 1959, only a few would be interested.
Charles Pittman, an Avery County nurseryman and Christmas tree grower, says his father Claude set out Frasers for Christmas trees in either 1950 or 1951.
Herman Dellinger set trees in 1957. Those trees would be sold in Charlotte by his nephew, Jack Wiseman of Newland in 1965. Jack W. Wiseman in Crossnore remembers planting his first trees in 1959.
Read more at: https://christmastrees.ces.ncsu.edu/christmastrees-chapter-3-fraser-christmas/
And now, in 2024, Fraser Fir trees have won the national competition for the best tree in the country to adorn the White House as the National Christmas Tree. Sam Cartner of Newland has the distinguished honor of being the tree farmer to supply the White house this year 2024, while Larry Smith has had the honor in 2022 and continues to be involved with promoting Avery County and Fraser Fir trees.
This tree is headed to the White House and is being harvested by Cline Church Farms in Ashe County, North Carolina.
Fraser Fir Trees have adorned the White House more often than any other species of tree.
Become a Sponsor
Silver
$300
1- Real Estate Sized Sign to be placed on the square
1- Placard on the sponsor’s billboard on-site
Gold
$600
1- Real Estate Sized Sign to be placed on the square
1- Placard on the sponsor’s billboard on-site
1- A page dedicated to your business placed on our website.
1- Elligibility to participate in our scavenger hunt
Platinum
$1,200
1- Sign placed on the square
1- Placard on the sponsor’s billboard on-site
1- A page dedicated to your business placed on our website
1- A banner on the main music stage
1- Up to 120 seconds to tell the story of your business over the mic at the music stage.
Inclusion in our digital marketing campaigns to include 2 posts per week on Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, and more until September when the number of posts increases to 4 posts per week. This includes our festival getting user-generated content starting this summer. our sponsors will be getting this benefit as soon as they come on board.
