Local Specialties at The Orchard

The Orchard at Altapass is located in an incredibly beautiful place, attracting visitors from all over the world.  This beauty is just the beginning of what makes the area so very special.  The Orchard is fortunate to have among its friends and supporters: locals, artists, craftsmen, musicians, naturalists, authors, scientists, environmentalists, farmers, historians and descendants of pioneers who first settled this land.  Every Saturday and Sunday during the season people full of these talents gather to share their skills, knowledge and avocations with the guests at The Orchard.

Penland School of Crafts is a large contributor to the population of artists who locate in our mountains.  A visitor to the area will want to drop in at Penland, one of the leading artists and crafts schools in the world.  Tours are conducted on Thursdays.  Many of the artists and craftspersons who locate their studios on the hillsides back in our "hollers" learned about the magic of the mountains as students at Penland.  Other established artists moved to the area to be a part of the quiet settings and the incredible "art scene."

Residents whose families settled in this area of Appalachia generations ago became very proficient craftspersons, learning, often by necessity, the arts of weaving, blacksmithing, metal crafting, making musical instruments, quilting, woodwork, toy making, baking and cooking.  Others moved to the area to learn from these masters.  Jewelry makers developed from the influence of the gemstones that are byproducts of feldspar and mica mining.

Incredible natural resources bring botanists, geologists, lepidopterists, naturalists, and herbalists.  Writers are drawn by the richness of the variety of knowledge and experience and by the incredible mountain culture so full of stories, philosophies, and humor.  Of course, photographers work endlessly to capture the flavor of the above.

As industrial jobs disappear in rural areas such as this, small businesses arise, based on the talents and skills of individuals. In support of ingenuity of these people The Orchard does what it can to encourage and promote individual enterprises.  Check the calendar of events page for information about upcoming live demonstrations and events we call Special Happenings, as well as our Online Store, showing many items for sale by local artists and crafters and books buy local authors.