Flowers are in bloom in downtown Hendersonville.
Photo by Florence Brooks
Hendersonville, North Carolina offers cool mountains and warm southern hospitality. Hendersonville is nestled in the foothills of Western North Carolina, and beckons to you to step away from the everyday and lose yourself in the playground of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Hendersonville is ideally located for exploring town and country with varied attractions, festivals, cultural and recreational activities, historical sites, golf courses, family activities, a historic downtown with unique shops, excellent restaurants and quality antique stores. Henderson County offers many diverse attractions, all within an easy walk or quick drive from downtown, including the Henderson County Farmers Curb Market, Jump Off Rock scenic overlook, Historic Johnson Farm, Holmes Educational State Forest, the waterfalls in DuPont State Recreational Forest, the Western North Carolina Air Museum and the Historic Hendersonville Train Depot.
The nearby village of Flat Rock began when families from South Carolina’s Low Country came to Flat Rock to escape the sweltering heat and the epidemic of yellow fever and malaria. South Carolina’s Low Country gentry affectionately called Flat Rock “The Little Charleston of the Mountains.” The entire district of Flat Rock is included in the National Register of Historic Places. Historic Flat Rock is home to several attractions such as: The Flat Rock Playhouse, State Theatre of North Carolina; the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site; and St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church as well as many unique specialty shops.
Garden Jubilee Festival
The Garden Jubilee Festival is a two-day festival, held on Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend in Downtown Hendersonville. This is a great opportunity for gardeners to speak with the experts at the garden clinics and gather tips and advice. Garden Jubilee stretches eight blocks of Main Street with over 250 vendors selling handmade arts and crafts, plants and items to enhance your outdoor living area. Local and regional nurseries offer 1000’s of annuals, perennials, vegetables, herbs and hard-to-find plants on every block of the festival.
Summer evening concerts showcase traditional mountain music, square dancing, folk, blues and country Monday nights and oldies rock and dancing Friday nights. The three concerts are held under the stars at the Visitor Center, located on Main Street in Downtown Hendersonville. Music On Main Street showcases musical talents from rock to beach music. Monday Night Live features a diverse line-up of folk, country and blues. The sounds of fiddles and banjos playing at the Street Dance have been a part of Henderson County’s heritage for 97 years. The concerts are held early-June through mid-August.
Hendersonville wineries and breweries provide tours and tasting rooms to sample mountain grown selections. Henderson County is home to Burntshirt Vineyards, Saint Paul Mountain Vineyard, Southern Appalachian Brewery, and Sanctuary Brewing Company. Just north of the city, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company has opened a state of the art craft brewing operation, and offers tours of beautiful facility, a tasting room, and gift shop.
Hendersonville offers something for everyone, so that even the most unique traveler will feel right at home in the mountains.