Burke County welcomes tourists with foliage, festivals, and fun

Burke County Tourism’s Katherine Christie of Marketing and Sales along with City of Morganton’s Jonelle Sigmon shine a light on what’s to come in this fall season.

LEAVES, TROLLEY, & TRADITIONS

One of the top sights is the fall foliage and the Ridgeline Trolley and Tours hosted by the Burke Tourism, Christie said.

“Burke County is known as a great location for seeing the fall leaves. We have the fall color tour on the trolley that brings in people from all over the state and region to see the leaves change,” Christie explained.

“Any given day during our few weeks of peak leaf color, you can see people from all over the country in the gorge, around the lake, and at restaurants and breweries in town, all hoping to see the colors change in the mountains.”

This year’s trolley tour is almost sold out, thanks to an article in Our State magazine. The tours to the Linville Gorge and surrounding area run from Oct. 10 to Nov. 2. The trolley, which holds up to 22 passengers, leaves from the Burke County Chamber of Commerce, 110 E. Meeting St.

Other local fall traditions also keep people coming back year after year.

Christie highlighted the Henry River Farms, which opens its corn maze, pumpkin patch, and hayrides on Saturday, Sept. 21, and continues Thursday-Saturday until Nov. 2.

The Henry River Mill Village offers a spooky hands-on tour on Oct. 19 for up to 12 guests. Visitors can book tickets ahead of time on their website for $18.

The Apple Hill Orchard is also a family-friendly tradition, with apple-picking passes available for $3.50 plus the cost of the apples picked.

UPCOMING FALL EVENTS

Annual events boost tourism in Burke County and promote local businesses. This list is compiled from information provided by Sigmon and Christie.

The Main Street and Downtown Development Association programs help organize the following events:

• September Art Crawl invites people to explore different businesses throughout downtown
• DDA puts on various merchant-based events that encourage shopping downtown. More information is coming out about the specific events.
• The annual Halloween Spooktacular
  • offers trick or treating throughout downtown along with fun events at the Historic Courthouse Square.
  • Small Business Saturday, organized by DDA, is a Willy Wonka-themed shopping event where customers get a chance to win Downtown Bucks by visiting participating businesses and then scratching off their Golden Ticket.

  Additional Burke County events planned for the fall season:

  • Fall Pumpkin Festival at Double E Farm, at 1391 Harrison Carswell Ave., Morganton. Takes place on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Harvest Feast at Silver Fork Winery, at 5000 State Road 1133, Morganton. Sept. 28 from noon to 6 p.m. They will have music all day and a pig-picking that celebrates the bountiful grape harvest.
  • The Glen Alpine Fall Festival featuring Lowdown South will have vendors and food on Friday, Oct. 4, from 5-10 p.m.
  • Burke County Animal Services Fall Festival is full of fun with face painting, a silent auction, carnival games, prizes, and food. At 425 Kirksey Drive in Morganton, the event takes place on Saturday, Oct. 12, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Fall Festival at Perry’s Berry’s featuring Brandon Bethel (who performed at the Morganton Festival) with over 20 vendors, food at their new bistro, and more. The event starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19.
  • The Grow with Drexel will be hosting a Karaoke evening on Saturday, Oct. 19, at downtown Drexel Park. More information will be coming soon.
  • Trail of Treats at the Rutherford College Greenway park will take place on Friday, Oct. 25, from 5-7 p.m.
  • Treat in the Streets in downtown Valdese from 4-6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31. Valdese merchants partner with the Town of Valdese to hand out candy.
  • The Burke County Chamber of Commerce hosts a Halloween Trick or Treat event featuring various Burke County businesses and organizations from 3-6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31.