The Original North Carolina Gold Festival

The Original North Carolina Gold Festival A nonprofit dedicated to preserving and educating about NC’s rich gold heritage since 2004! This year we will be celebrating 16 years of festival excitement.

The NC Gold Foundation holds the NC Gold Festival at its property down on Polly Spout Rd, in the heart of Gold Country..Vein Mt. Join us Friday May 31st and June 1st. The free event features arts and crafts vendors, jewelry vendors, food vendors, historical exhibits, demonstrations of gold mining,
For the past decade, the N.C. Gold Foundation has held the festival which celebrates the history of

gold mining in western North Carolina. More than 170 years ago, some of the richest gold mines in the United States were located in McDowell County before the precious metal was found in California. The first documented discovery of gold in the United States took place in the spring of 1799 when 12-year-old Conrad Reed found a 17-pound yellow-colored rock while fishing on his family’s farm in Cabarrus County. But evidence is suggesting that the first gold may have been discovered as early as the 1590's by the Spaniards and even more recently (and prior to Reed's 1799 discovery) as 1770's in what is now McDowell County. By the 1820s and 1830s, some of the richest mines existed in southern McDowell, as well as parts of Rutherford and Burke counties. The community of Vein Mountain got its name from the veins of gold that existed there. Come join us for a “Gold” Time! https://mcdowellhistory.com/gold-mining/

06/12/2026

We had a blast at the 22nd Annual NC Gold Festival, and hope you did too! If you got any pictures during the festival, share them with us!

This festival wouldn’t have been possible without our great sponsors:

The Lucky Strike
Appalachian Stone Co
Carolina Prospectors
Father and Son Enterprises
Strickland Electric & Plumbing Supply
ARX General Contractor
Masters Hand Print Works
Westmoreland Funeral Home
Dobson Auto Parts
Foothills Construction & Restoration
Hawkins Lumber Co
Austin Laws Trucking
Baker’s City Tire
Blue Ridge Pipe & Supply Co
Burleson Trucking
Carolina Ditching & Demo
Hollifield Auto Repair
Marion Coin Club
McDaniel Insurance Agency
McDowell Hydraulic Supply
M&M Forestry Enterprises
Ramsey Construction
Sharon’s Cafe
Treasure Valley
V Embroidery & Printing


06/06/2026

Three Festivals. One Weekend. One Unforgettable Summer.
Experience all that McDowell County has to offer at any of our unique festivals this coming weekend! From Livermush Festival, to the NC Gold Festival at The Lucky Strike Gold and Gem Mine, to on-trail adventures at the Trails & Trains Festival in Old Fort, or the songs of bagpipes heard across the mountain at The Orchard at Altapass, we have an event for you! Share your experience with the world by using the hashtag , and then swing by our Destination McDowell Visitor Center in Old Fort for a free Destination McDowell sticker!

06/06/2026
06/04/2026

2 days until the 22nd Annual NC Gold Festival!

06/03/2026

3 days until the 22nd Annual NC Gold Festival!

06/01/2026

4 days until the 22nd Annual NC Gold Festival!

06/01/2026

5 days until the 22nd Annual NC Gold Festival!

06/01/2026

Address

251 Lucky Strike Drive
Marion, NC
28752

Telephone

+18288032247

Website

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