Festivals & Fairs

Woolly Worm Festival

Name: Woolly Worm Festival
Start: 2026-10-17T09:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-10-18T09:00:00-04:00
Location: Historic Banner Elk School

October 17–18, 2026 · 9am · Historic Banner Elk School

This year’s event – the 49th annual – takes place Oct. 17-18 on the field of the Historic Banner Elk Elementary School. The Woolly Worm Festival is co-hosted by the Avery County Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwanis Organization of Banner Elk. The Woolly Worm races begin around 10:00 a.m. Each heat consists of 25 worms, and races continue all day until the grand final around 4 p.m. The winning worm on Saturday is declared the official winter forecasting agent. The Sunday worm races are for prestig

Every year

Woolly Worm Festival returns every year, typically the third weekend of October.