Explore Haywood County Waynesville - Maggie Valley - Canton

Worth visiting

Haywood Community College Professional Crafts Program — since 1974, a two-year intensive program training the next generation of craftspeople in clay, fiber, jewelry, and wood, blending traditional craftsmanship with real business and marketing skills. A recent Craft Catalyst Initiative awardee, recognized alongside Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, the NC Glass Center, and Toe River Arts as one of only five national craft hubs in the country. Each spring, HCC's graduating class is showcased in a public exhibition at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway — a nice pairing with a visit to Asheville.

Waynesville

• Downtown Waynesville — voted #2 Best Main Street in America (USA Today 10 Best), and on the National Register of Historic Places. About a dozen galleries line Main Street.

• Haywood County Arts Council — Gallery 86 — the county's leading arts organization, rotating exhibits plus retail glassware, pottery, and paintings.

• Museum of North Carolina Handicrafts / Shelton House — an 1875 farmhouse on the National Register, preserving traditional NC crafts since 1977. First site on the Haywood County Quilt Trails, showcasing regional pottery, quilts, baskets, and woodworking. Open May-October.

• Museum of Haywood County History — housed in the historic Shook-Smathers House, Clyde.

• "Art After Dark" — First Fridays, May-December, downtown galleries stay open until 9pm with artist demonstrations and receptions.

  Craft & culture

  • Church Street Art & Craft Show — one of the finest juried art shows in NC, with mountain music and clogging.

  • Folkmoot USA — international and regional artwork, dance, and music in a street-festival format downtown.

  • Apple Harvest Festival — October, apple-themed crafts, cider, food, and live mountain music.

  • Appalachian True Heritage Festival — new for 2026, two days of mountain culture, craft, food, and live music

  • Freedom Craft Show — July, Smoky Mountain Event Center, Waynesville.

  • Haywood County Studio Tour — September, working studios across clay, fiber, wood, jewelry, glass, and metal.

  • Church Street Art & Craft Show — fall, downtown Waynesville

  Maggie Valley

  • Wheels Through Time Museum — 350+ rare American motorcycles and memorabilia, founded by the late Dale Walksler, "The King of Old Motorcycles."

  • Stompin' Ground Dance Hall — live mountain, bluegrass, clogging, and square dancing.

  • Blue Ridge Craft Trails artists — several working studios open by appointment, including Different Drummer Pottery and Maggie Mountaineer Crafts.

  • Quilt block trail — large hand-painted quilt blocks mounted on barns and buildings throughout the valley, visible from the road.

  Craft & culture

  • Hillbilly Jam — July, mountain music festival.

  • Smoky Mountains Bluegrass Festival — October.

  Canton

  • Colonial Theatre — a 1932 Colonial Revival movie house on the National Register of Historic Places, now a 300-seat venue for concerts, plays, and community events.

  • Canton Area Historical Museum — artifacts from Canton, Bethel, and Cruso, centered on the town's Champion Paper Mill history, alongside local inventor Fillmore Christopher and poet Fred Chappell.

  • Canton Main Street Historic District — a National Register mill-town district along the Pigeon River.

  Craft & culture

  • Canton Labor Day Festival — the Southeast's longest-running Labor Day celebration, held annually since 1906.