Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05

Daniel Boone Days—Come Celebrate Boone in Boone on September 4, 5 and 6

By Sam Calhoun

The word is out, people are starting to take notice, historians are readying their presentations, wine is being shipped, Daniel Boone caps are starting to arrive, Guinness judges have been notified, the bands have signed their contracts, fiddlers are starting to practice, runners are training, area businesses and organizations are jumping on board and the ideas are snowballing.

What is it?

It’s Daniel Boone Days—an inaugural festival planned for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, September 4, 5 and 6, at various locations around Boone. Organized by High Country Press and Mountain Fountain Productions, Daniel Boone Days addresses the need for a unifying celebration for the Town of Boone—a celebration that highlights the town’s namesake.

The American pioneer and hunter whose frontier exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States had a soft spot in his heart for the mountains that surround present-day Boone. He appreciated the abundance that fills these hills, and, legend has it, he frequented a hunting cabin near Howard’s Knob during his early life.

The area where Boone hunted is the area we now know as the Town of Boone. And what better way to honor the town’s namesake than with a festival celebrating his life and legacy?

The festival kicks off on Thursday, September 4, with a Daniel Boone Days Open House and Social at the High Country Press office on Depot Street. There, visitors will enjoy a exhibit on Daniel Boone from the Appalachian Cultural Museum, get acquainted with the Daniel Boone Days schedule and have a chance to buy tickets to the many events.

On Friday, September 5, at 11:00 a.m. on the ASU campus, the Daniel Boone Days Symposium takes place, featuring bestselling author and historian Robert Morgan—author of Gap Creek and Boone: A Biography—who will talk about everything Boone with regional experts. Morgan’s book Boone: A Biography is the Together We Read book for this summer and fall. Together We Read is western North Carolina’s regionwide reading and discussion program for bookstores, libraries and schools in 21 western North Carolina counties.

On Friday night, it’s time to taste the wines of television’s original Daniel Boone at the Fess Parker Wine Dinners at The Gamekeeper Restaurant and Casa Rustica. Both dinners start at 7:00 p.m. and seating is limited, so interested parties are urged to get tickets as soon as they go on sale in June.

On Saturday, September 6, at 8:00 a.m., brave runners will follow in the footsteps of Daniel Boone as they climb and descend Howard’s Knob during the Daniel Boone Chase Foot Race. In the middle of the day, Boone will make history as festivalgoers attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for the most people to wear a Daniel Boone cap at one time. The hats will soon be for sale at Mast General Store in Boone. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the caps will go to the Watauga Education Foundation.

Daniel Boone Days comes to a close on Saturday with the inaugural Pioneer Festival at the Horn—a music and cultural festival at Horn in the West from noon to 11:00 p.m. An event for all ages, the Pioneer Festival at the Horn features arts and crafts vendors, a square dance, Boone’s plott hounds, the Watauga Arts Council’s fiddlers’ competition, the Daniel Boone Look-Alike Contest and live music from Boone’s Lost Ridge Band, Virginia’s Larry Keel & Natural Bridge and MerleFest standouts The Waybacks.

Come celebrate Daniel Boone in the heart of Boone and find out why Daniel Boone had it right, paving the way for all of us to discover what the pioneer originally found.

For more information, call 828-264-2262 or click to www.danielboonedays.com.