Events

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Quarterly Meetings of the NCGS

The 2024 quarterly meetings will be:

  • Saturday, July 20, at 11 am on Zoom
    • Link will be sent to all members of NCGS
  • Saturday, September 7 at 5:30 pm at the Festival

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.

June

Gourd Gathering

(formerly at Cherokee)

The Gourd Gathering is held annually in Waynesville, NC (formerly Cherokee, NC). The 2024 dates are June 5 – 9. The website is here.

August

Mountain Gourd Gathering

The Mountain Gourd Gathering is held annually in August in Cedar Mountain, NC. The 2024 dates are August 8 – 10. The website is here.

September

The North Carolina Gourd Arts & Crafts Festival

Join us at NC State Fairgrounds in Raleigh! 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

NC State Fair Gourd Competitions!

The NC State Fair is held every October in Raleigh. The 2024 dates are October 17 – 27. Gourds can be entered in both the Flower and Handicrafts categories, for judging for a ribbon. 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 2010 video about the gourd museum featured on WRAL’s “Tar Heel Traveler.”

Click here to watch the gourd museum video

Click the button below to see a 2014 video about the gourd museum featured on our local PBS stations (UNC TV) on “North Carolina Weekend.”

click here to watch the nc weekend video