In the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains the quaint village of Lenoir has hosted North Carolina’s Blackberry Festival for the last 17 years. Lineberger’s Farms provides the succulent berries that are given away, sold for charity and used to create the “Patchwork Cobbler.” A host of venders offer blackberry creations like candles, beer, pies, ice-cream, jams and many more as an estimated crowd over 10,000 strong shows up to celebrate.
Linebarger’s sells blackberries by the pint or quart. While sampling this year’s crop we learned the “berry” is a cluster of 60-100 tiny fruits. The larger the tiny fruits, the sweeter the berry.
Bringing your own clown to festivals makes everything more fun.
It pays to pack in your chairs and set them up in the shade near the central stage. You can wander about and still have a great seat for the many live bands and presentations. Nobody has ever bothered our stuff while we were away.
“Rooted” started the music presentations at 10:00 am. Karen was fascinated by the box drum, or cajón, played by Morgan Smith. Six different bands played throughout the day.
The blackberry eating contests started at noon with ages 6-10. The kid on the right took home $50 and a stain challenge for his mom’s wash day.
The older kids put more enthusiasm into their berry gulping. The 16-year-old boy in the cap also took home fifty bucks.
The adult contestants were not allowed to use their hands. In case you ever find yourself in this situation, the winner piled up his berries prior to the start and earned $100 for his efforts.
The Colossal Blackberry Cobbler Parade kicked off at 12:45pm. It included a presentation of Colors and delivery of the cobblers.
Here come the cobblers! Volunteers pick up cobbler kits at City Hall. They include all the ingredients for the cobblers they will bake and deliver for giveaway.
The assembled fruit pies are gathered to create what Lenoir bills as, “THE WORLD’S LARGEST PATCHWORK OF BLACKBERRY COBBLERS!” Everyone lines up and eats ’em up for free.
The music was excellent, but the hot day kept most dancers seated. Those that did dance were very entertaining. The man with the cowboy-puppet dancer was a big crowd pleaser.
Put the Blackberry Festival on your calendar. The big, beautiful berries will be back in Lenoir next year with a cast of characters that make the show a hit.