The 11 th annual Catawba Valley Pottery and Antiques Festival will be held on Saturday, March 22, 2008 at the Hickory Metro Convention Center, I-40, Exit 125 in Hickory, NC from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm. Tickets are $6.00 for adults and $2.00 for children 12 and under and are available at the door. Ticket holders will be entered in a drawing for door prizes.

Friday night, March 21, 2008 there is a Preview Party from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm. A Southern Supper, entertainment by the Sigmon Stringers, and an early buying opportunity make this a popular event. An advance $40.00 ticket is required and must be purchased by March 15, 2008. No Preview Party tickets will be sold at the door. Please call Dr. Huffman, Pottery Festival Chairman, at 828-322-3943 to purchase Preview Party tickets.

This Festival is a fundraising event for two non-profit organizations, the Catawba County Historical Association and the North Carolina Pottery Center.

The Catawba County Historical Association maintains the 1924 Courthouse in Newton, the Bunker Hill Covered Bridge and Murray’s Mill, a functioning grist mill from the turn of the century. The Courthouse Museum showcases an outstanding collection of artifacts from Catawba County, including furniture, textiles, pottery and period room interiors. The Hickory History Center with the Harper House, a renovated 1886 Queen Anne Home, is located in Hickory and is also maintained by the Catawba County Historical Association.

The North Carolina Pottery Center is located in Seagrove, NC. Its mission is to interpret the history and ongoing tradition of North Carolina pottery. In the South, good clay could be found adjacent to rivers and streams and provided the basic element to produce pottery. Beginning with Native American pottery, production has continued for centuries. The Pottery Center provides interpretative exhibits and provides information to visitors to the nearly 100 potters located in the Seagrove area.

In addition to the 110 pottery and antique vendors from all over the Southeast, this year’s Festival will feature a pottery exhibit. Also, Dr. Henry Glassie will lecture on “Use and Beauty: The Art of Southern Folk Pottery.” Dr. Glassie is a folklore expert and professor in at Indiana University and has written numerous books, including “Patterns in the Material Culture of the Eastern United States” and “Folk Housing in Middle Virginia.”

For further information on the Catawba Valley Pottery and Antiques Festival, please call 828-322-3943 or 828-465-0383.

2008 Catawba Valley Pottery and Antiques Festival Ad