Scenes from the 2026 Sourwood Festival

Annual summer celebration brings food, fun and thousands of Visitors to downtown Black Mountain

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
August 10, 2026

Handmade crafts, live music and tasty treats brought thousands of visitors to downtown Black Mountain, Aug. 8 and 9, as the Sourwood Festival returned for its 49th year.

The annual tradition, hosted by the Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce, marks the beginning of sourwood honey season, welcoming more than 100 regional vendors and local makers to the Swannanoa Valley.

Festivalgoers filled the historic district, from Cherry Street to Terry Estate Drive, for the two-day event, which was sponsored by Explore Asheville, Best Buy Metals, PyroWright Fireworks, Atlantic Bay Mortgage-Le Ann Lewis, Appalachian Mountain Health and the Hampton Inn. Artisanal wares, including handmade jewelry, clothing, specialty foods, woodwork and more beckoned shoppers, while live music, local beer and cider and festival fare offered entertainment.

The event, which began in 1977, draws up to 30,000 visitors each summer, celebrates the unique honey harvested from the white blossoms of the sourwood tree, native to the southern Appalachian Mountains.

View photos of the 2026 Sourwood Festival in the gallery at the top of the page.