It is finally autumn! And with the seasons changing also comes the beautiful autumn colors of the trees as well as woolly worms! And this October 15 and 16 in Banner Elk is the 45th annual woolly worm festival!
The festival takes place the 3rd weekend of October in downtown Banner Elk and is a very unique festival. Attended annually by about 20,000 people, up to 1,000 people bring their own woolly worms and race them! The winner takes home $1,000 on Saturday and $500 on Sunday.
Of course, in addition to the food, there is great food as well as arts and craft vendors. Many of these are woolly worm themed so are very unique. There also will be great local music and breathtaking views of the mountains to take in!
Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for children 6-12 and free for those 5 and under.