It’s Pottery Festival weekend

41ST ANNUAL SEAGROVE POTTERY FESTIVAL

WHEN — Saturday, Nov. 18, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 19, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. 

WHERE — Seagrove Elementary School, 528 Old Plank Road

ADMISSION —$5

Featuring potters market, auction of signed and dated pottery, demonstrations and food vendors. 

HISTORY — The first annual Seagrove Pottery Festival was held on Nov. 21, 1982. Local potters joined together to promote tourism for the surrounding pottery community. Over the years, the Festival has grown in size and adopted new educational activities. 

The Festival has always been held at the Seagrove Elementary School gymnasium. As the popularity of the event grew, along with the number of participating potters, the number of booths required outgrew the gym, so a large tent was incorporated to handle the increased Festival size. Today, the gym and tent are used to house the vendor booths of both pottery and crafts. In 2001, the Festival was made into a two-day event and is now held on both Saturday and Sunday. 

RECOGNITION — The Seagrove Pottery Festival has been recognized as one of the “Top 20 Events in the Southeast” by the Southeast Tourism Society. 

NUMBERS — The festival includes more than 120 area potters and traditional craft people that make Seagrove’s colonial cottage industry one of the largest collections in the United States.

16TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF SEAGROVE POTTERS

WHEN — Saturday, Nov. 18, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 19, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 

WHERE — Historic Lucks Cannery, 798 NC-705, Seagrove.

ADMISSION — $8. Celebration Tour is free. 

EARLY BIRD SHOPPING — For shoppers who want the first opportunity to browse and buy, there’s an Early Bird Special. For $25, arrive between 7:30-8 a.m. for a complimentary breakfast of coffee, tea, sweet and baked goods, granola and fruit. 

Early Bird shopping takes place 8-9 a.m. Tickets can be purchased at discoverseagrove.com or at the door. 

GENERAL — The Celebration is an all indoor event but food trucks will be onsite. It takes place in the historic Luck’s Cannery in addition to a Studio Tour. Wheel-throwing demonstrations are scheduled during the event and auction pieces are available for bidding. Hospice of the Piedmont volunteers will assist with the auction, and 25% of the auction proceeds will benefit Hospice. 

STUDIO TOUR — A Studio Tour will be available for free, giving visitors a chance to see new work created for this special weekend. Pick up a program (with a studio tour map and a layout of participants) at the Cannery or at an information tent near the stoplight in Seagrove. 

NUMBERS — Twenty Seagrove pottery shops will set up booths at the Luck’s Cannery. In addition, 34 pottery shops are participating in the self-guided driving studio tour.

MORE EVENTS:

Walk Through the Past returns Sunday in Asheboro

ASHEBORO — Walk Thru the Past, led by Ricky Allred, returns this weekend for a special event honoring Veterans Day.

Walk Thru the Past is a stroll through the Old Asheboro Cemetery during which listeners hear tales about some of the “residents” there.

In honor of Veterans Day, the walk will focus on veterans, particularly WWI vets and members of Asheboro’s Company K. 

Be ready to enjoy some Randolph County history and to hear how national historical events were experienced locally.

The walk begins at 2 p.m. The Old Asheboro Cemetery is located at 180 West Salisbury Street, Asheboro.

Friday Night Bluegrass: Talent Showcase, Part 2

ASHEBORO — Friday Night Bluegrass on Nov. 17 features Part 2 of Tim Moon’s annual Talent Showcase, where the local music teacher’s students, young and old, show off their developing skills for a live audience.

The event begins at 6 p.m. at Sunset Theatre in Asheboro. The event is free.

Two cruise-ins set to collect toys for area children

ASHEBORO — Two Saturday cruise-ins — one on Nov. 18, one on Nov. 25 — will be collecting toys to be distributed to children this holiday season. Both cruise-ins will take place in the Randolph County Courthouse parking lot on Salisbury Street.

The first cruise — the Hot Ride Holiday Cruise-In Holiday Toy Drive — is from noon-3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18 from. Central Piedmont Community Action, Inc. will sell dinners (chili/cornbread/drink for $5), raffle tickets ($1 for one, 6 for $5) and collect new, unwrapped toys for area children ages 2-14.

As a draw, the group is calling all vintage cars, hot rods, muscle cars, specialty cars and motorcycles to come out and make an appearance. Can’t make it? Website donations can be made at www.cpcanc.org.

The next cruise-in, on Nov. 25, will be the final event in the monthly Asheboro Summer Cruise-in Series held throughout most of 2023. Organized by organized by Grounded Elegance Car Club, ClutchKickers Car Club and Brightside Gallery, it runs from 6-10 p.m. and will include a cruise-in and a cruise out of the parking lot onto Fayetteville Street during the evening. Each month’s event typically has a theme and this month’s is the annual donation drop-off for the Randolph County chapter of the Toys for Tots organization that benefits area families and children.

Ongoing food drive ends Nov. 30; here’s how to donate

ASHEBORO — Speaking of donations, a food drive sponsored by Randolph Communications that began on Oct. 1 remains open until Nov. 30. Accepted donations will be distributed to food banks in the area.

Further, Randolph Communications will match all donations and donations can lead to chances to win a $100 Amazon gift card. Dropoff locations are:

- Asheboro office, 317 E. Dixie Dr.

- Liberty office, 211 W. Swannanoa Ave.

To learn more,  call 336-879-5684 (Asheboro) or 336-622-7900 (Liberty).

Time for another ‘Quiet Day’ at the North Carolina Zoo

ASHEBORO — The North Carolina Zoo has instilled an occasional Quiet Day this year, and the next one is set for Tuesday, Nov. 21.

Scheduled on Tuesdays when attendance is expected to be lighter, Quiet Days eliminate extra and excessive noise for those who need or want to experience a more sensory-friendly experience. No reservations for large groups will be taken on those days and loud music and messaging will be turned off at the entrances. 

In addition, designated quiet areas are marked throughout the zoo, a sensory bags are free for checkout and even the Kidzone will have quiet sensory play experiences from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.