A High Country homecoming
VALLE CRUCIS — What began in 1979 as a small bazaar at Holy Cross Episcopal Church has become a cherished tradition in the High Country. The Valle Country Fair (VCF) is now an annual celebration of Appalachia’s art, live music, passed-down recipes, and community spirit – drawing roughly 12,500 visitors annually and generating millions of dollars for humanitarian organizations across Ashe, Avery and Watauga Counties.
But in September 2024, everything changed, and Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte was there to respond.
A fairground becomes a disaster hub
On September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene devastated the region, destroying roads and bridges and forcing the fair to cancel. The VCF immediately shifted to become a disaster-relief hub, using its generators, tents and Wi-Fi to provide area residents with food, water, showers, warm meals and essential supplies. The local Valle Crucis School relocated K-5 students to the church and conference center where the fair is held, using its meeting rooms, dining hall, and grounds to continuing operating.
During this time, the VCF felt their mission of neighbors helping neighbors “had never been required so acutely,” said VCF spokesperson Keith Martin. Yet as the months went on, they realized, “it was time to get the 2025 Valle Country Fair started up once again,” he said.
However, they were also facing stark financial realities shared by many in western North Carolina: they could not recoup the annual operating costs needed to power their generators and infrastructure – the very elements that had made their disaster response possible.
Catholic Charities steps in
The VCF reached out to Scott Elliott, chief deputy director for engagement at the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina – the entity established to facilitate recovery efforts.
He connected Catholic Charities with VCF leadership.
“Catholic Charites was happy to receive the request for funding from the Valle Country Fair after learning that Hurricane Helene cancelled the 2024 event,” said Jesse Boeckermann, Catholic
Charities’ western regional director in Asheville. “The economic impact of the Valle Country Fair to Banner Elk, Watauga County and the surrounding areas is enormous.”
Catholic Charities paid off the VCF’s 2024 invoice – $6,000 in operating costs – and provided a $6,000 grant to cover operating costs for the 2025 event.
“Catholic Charities was the first to step up with financial assistance,” Martin said, likening the support to the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval," because is jumpstarted assistance from additional funders, including the Watauga County and North Carolina Arts Council.
A homecoming two years in the making
When the fair reopened this year, the emotion and joy were unmistakable.
“I kept pinching myself to make sure it was all real,” Martin shared. After two cancellations in five years, one from the pandemic and the other from Helene, gathering once again with neighbors and more than 200 volunteers felt like a true homecoming, he said.
This year’s event saw record-breaking attendance by visitors from 23 states and was filled with highlights that capture the resilient spirit of the High Country–142 craft exhibitors, a huge turnout for children’s activities, record numbers of shoppers leaving with handmade gifts and baked goods, four dozen musical performers, and the Junior Appalachian Musicians’ director Jim
Lloyd performing with students from Avery County’s after school program.
As Elliott noted at the time, “Days like today don’t happen by accident.”
Beyond its charitable impact on local nonprofits, this fair brings substantial economic benefits to the High Country. Martin reported that the fair generated $448,911, which included $290,500 in exhibitor sales, and is estimated to have a total economic impact of $763,149 when tourism spending is included.
“As Catholic Charities continues to work with individuals, families, churches, communities, and towns in Helene recovery efforts, economic revitalization and development in hard hit areas, like
Valle Crusis, the River Arts District in Asheville, and Swannanoa, is extremely important as communities recover from Helene,” Boeckermann said. “Helping the Valle Country Fair come back to life in 2025 was another step in the community’s recovery from Helene. This fair is part of the annual experience living in Watauga County, and Catholic Charities responded to the need for help, as we have for thousands of people since the hurricane hit western North Carolina.”
— Grace Kunik, Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte. Photos by Steve Hopper
Looking ahead
The VCF is planning its 48th year, scheduled for Oct. 17. With hotels booking far in advance, the fair encourages visitors to plan early. Visit ValleCountryFair.org to learn more.
