Events
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Quarterly Meetings of the NCGS
The next 2026 quarterly meeting will be:
- Saturday, August 29, at the Festival in Durham.
Patches
Local clubs/groups that have periodic meetings for crafting & socializing are called “patches”. See this web page for details about the patches in North Carolina.
May 27 – 31, 2026
Gourd Gathering
(formerly at Cherokee)
The Gourd Gathering is held annually in Waynesville, NC (formerly Cherokee, NC). The 2026 dates are May 27 – 31. The website is here.
August
Mountain Gourd Gathering
The Mountain Gourd Gathering is held annually in August in Hendersonville, NC. The 2026 dates are August 7 – 9. The website is here.
Saturday,
TBD
“Gourd Day”
at the State Farmer’s Market in Raleigh.
Directions and more at their website here.
August 22 – 23, 2026
Cary Lazy Daze
Join the NC Gourd Society in the Herbert Young Community Center in Cary where the Society started in 1937! Details are on their website here.
August 29 – 30, 2026
The 84th North Carolina Gourd Arts & Crafts Festival
Join us at our new location:
Kenneth E. Harrell Gymnasium,
2003 S. Miami Blvd. in Durham
We have 2 days of craft classes; vendors selling raw gourds, crafted gourds, tools & supplies for crafting gourds, t-shirts, books, and more; gourd competition for children and adults in many categories; Make & Take (a quick craft); a free gourd craft for children; a display of gourds from around the world; and more! Check out the details here
October 15 – 25, 2026
NC State Fair Gourd Competitions!
The NC State Fair is held every October in Raleigh. The 2026 dates are October 15 – 25. Gourds can be entered in both the Flower and Handicrafts categories for prizes and ribbons. The fair website is here
Marvin Johnson Gourd Museum
28 N Raleigh St
Angier, NC 27501
Located in the public library; about 25 miles south of the NC State Fairgrounds in Raleigh.
Master Gourd Grower Marvin Johnson and his wife Mary cultivated more than 200 different kinds of gourds and collected gourds from around the world. You’ll see everything from giant African gourds to gourds so tiny they look like robins’ eggs.
Click the button below to see a free 2010 video about the Marvin Johnson Gourd Museum in Angier, NC, featured on WRAL’s “Tar Heel Traveler.”
Click the button below to see a free 2014 video about the gourd festival featured on our local PBS stations (UNC TV) on “North Carolina Weekend.”
