Biltmore Village annual festival canceled for 2024: What to know

Tiana Kennell, Asheville Citizen Times
·3 min read

ASHEVILLE - For 51 years, the annual Village Art & Craft Fair has been a tradition in Asheville. But for this year, the event will not go due to a major development plan in the historic Biltmore Village.

The Village Art & Craft Fair, independently sponsored and produced by New Morning Gallery, will take a hiatus for 2024 due to an upcoming hotel project.

Leah Chang, Village Art & Craft Fair coordinator at New Morning Gallery, said there's concern the construction of Kessler Hotel, at 10 Kitchin Place, will conflict with the fair.

The free, two-day event is hosted each September on the grounds of the Cathedral of All Souls, across from the impending construction site.

Last month, the proposed Kessler Hotel ― to include a 99-room hotel, restaurant and retail space ― was approved at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.

The Kessler Collection, a Florida-based hospitality brand, owns the property and the Grand Bohemian Asheville down the street.

"We don't know the timeline, we just know they got approval recently so we thought it would be a good time to take space and think about the future of the show," Chang said.

Village Art & Craft Fair serves as an outlet for artists and crafters to sell their high-quality creations.

On average, 100-120 juried artists from Western North Carolina and across the U.S. states sell items including ceramics, drawings, jewelry, leather, paintings, photography, sculptures and more. Chang said several thousand people attend the fair each year.

Also, the fair has acted as a fundraiser for the Cathedral of All Souls.

"It's been an Asheville tradition for a while. I know we'll have some disappointed patrons and a lot of artists do the show every year, so they will definitely be missed," said Chang, who's also the office manager for New Morning Gallery.

Chang said the fair is a big weekend that brings in a lot of people into the historic district, including its restaurants and retail shops.

"We've been very fortunate to have wonderful neighbors in the Village and I know it will ― hopefully not impact them too much during that weekend," she said.

The fair was intended to occur the weekend after Labor Day. Chang said there was no other place to host the event in Biltmore Village, and the Cathedral of All Souls is a big part of the event so that option was not considered.

The last time the Village Art & Craft Fair was canceled was in 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chang said the Village Art & Craft Fair is intended to return in 2025.

In a news release, the organizers recognized the artists, patrons, the Cathedral of All Souls, Biltmore Village neighbors, the City of Asheville and the staff of New Morning Gallery and Bellagio Art.

"We thank them for the support over the years. We couldn't have done it all this time without them and we're hopeful for the future," Chang said.

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Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Village Art & Craft Fair organizers announce hiatus of 50+ year event