2026 Past Events
August 1: Appalachian Broom Making
7:00 p.m. in the Robin Hood Barn
Discover the ancient art of tying natural fiber brooms with artisan Bruce Tuxhorn. Learn about the unique weaving patterns of attaching fibers stalks onto unique handles to create functional and beautiful sweepers, cobbers, and hearth brooms. Admission is free! Wine and water will be available for donation beginning at 6:30 p.m.
July 25: Former CIA analyst and author Craig Gralley
7 p.m. in the Robin Hood Barn
Gralley will reveal what he learned while writing PARI: An Untold History of Spacemen and Spies. Discover why some call PARI, the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute, the greatest secret of Western North Carolina. Admission is free! Wine and water will be available for donation beginning at 6:30 p.m.
July 18: Richard Smith in Concert
7 p.m. in the Robin Hood Barn
Internationally acclaimed guitarist Richard Smith returns with a solo repertoire that spans from uptempo barn burners to swing standards, the classics to pop, and traditional fiddle tunes to Sousa marches. If you were lucky enough to catch him here in 2024, you know he’ll offer a showcase of finger-picking virtuosity and versatility. Admission is free! Wine and water will be available for donation beginning at 6:30 p.m.
July 11: From the Mountains to the Hollers – The Rich Culture of the Southern Appalachians
7 p.m. in the Robin Hood Barn
This interactive program will feature a short film and talk by filmmaker and Center for Cultural Preservation director, David Weintraub. Hear three oral histories of mountain elders: a Cherokee elder, a fifth generation moonshiner, and an African-American minister. 7 p.m. in the Robin Hood Barn Admission is free! Wine and water will be available for donation beginning at 6:30 p.m.
May 21–June 21: 2026 Photo Contest
Neighbors are invited to submit a single photo they’ve captured in the past year that best illustrates our theme, a quote by author Gary Snyder: “Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.” Share your vision of what makes Sherwood Forest special and a sentence or two that describes your thoughts about the image. Send jpg images to Susan Wilkinson, sgeew7@gmail.com between May 31 and June 21. Photos received before or after those dates cannot be considered. First prize: $50, two runners-up each awarded $25. Participation implies permission for SFF to use your photo in future publications by the non-profit. Judges: Chuck O’Rear, Carol McCullough, and Susan Wilkinson. Winners will be announced in the summer newsletter issued on or around July 1.
April 23: Celebrate Earth Day
4:00 p.m. in the Robin Hood Centre
Lang Hornthal, the Executive Director of EcoForesters, will speak at Sherwood Forest Friends annual Earth Day celebration. EcoForesters is a non-profit professional forestry organization dedicated to conserving or restoring Appalachian forests through education and stewardship.
2025 Events
December 7: McGaha Christmas Caroling
2:30 p.m. in McGaha Chapel
Join us at the beautifully decorated McGaha Chapel in Cedar Mountain for caroling on Sunday, December 7. The Chapel will be open to visitors at 1:30 p.m. and caroling will take place from 2:30 until 3:15. Dress warmly as there is no heat in this beautiful old building. Park at the Robin Hood Centre and walk or ride a shuttle, provided by Sherwood Forest Woodcutters, to the Chapel. Shuttle service will begin at 1:45 p.m. After the music, we’ll regroup at the Robin Hood Centre, for homemade sweets, hot apple cider, and coffee. This free event, born of our neighbor Charlie Burden’s fond memories of nightly mill camp sing-alongs, is sponsored by the Transylvania County Historical Society, the Sherwood Forest Friends, and the Cedar Mountain Community.
November 7: Annual Members Meeting
4:30 p.m. at Cedar Mountain Community Center
The Sherwood Forest Friends annual meeting will take place on Friday, November 7 at the Cedar Mountain Community Center. Join us from 4:30-6:00 p.m. to discover what we have accomplished over the past year. Learn about the recipient of the 2024 Greg Allikas Scholarship, enjoy great food by Caroline Joe, tap your foot to live music, and have fun socializing with other members. R.S.V.P. pcmccullough@mindspring.com by October 31.
August 9: Journeys Through WNC
7 p.m. in the Robin Hood Barn
Chris Bainbridge has a lifelong passion for storytelling. As the host of Ingles weekly Open Road series on local TV and online, Chris and his trusty steed, a ’66 Mustang, travel country roads and share fun, educational, and unique adventures. Chris’ lively and entertaining take on the region’s charming small towns, mountaintop experiences, fascinating museums, and interesting activities is sure to inspire a calendar full of awesome day trips.
Enjoy free admission to our annual Summer Series! Beverages and raffle tickets to benefit the Greg Allikas Scholarship Fund will be available for donation at 6:30 p.m.
July 26: Songs and Stories
7 p.m. in the Robin Hood Barn
Josh Goforth was raised in a family of storytellers in Madison County, an area is known for its ballad and storytelling traditions brought by early Scots-Irish and English settlers in the mid-17th century. Josh is an accomplished storyteller and an acoustic musician, proficient on a multitude of instruments from euphonium to fiddle. His fiddling was featured in the movie Songcatcher and he has toured extensively with a variety of groups like the Steep Canyon Rangers and Open Road. He has performed at the Grand Ole Opry, the Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall. In 2009 he was nominated for a Grammy for his album with David Holt entitled “Cutting Loose”. He currently is on faculty at the Academy for the Arts in Asheville and performs all over the world.
Enjoy free admission to our annual Summer Series! Beverages and raffle tickets to benefit the Greg Allikas Scholarship Fund will be available for donation at 6:30 p.m.
July 19: Gaia Herbs-Soil to Supplement
7 p.m. in the Robin Hood Barn
Kate Renner, the Director of Farm Operations at Gaia Herbs, will dig into the history of Gaia’s farm and its evolution. Since 1997, Gaia Herbs has been rooted in the history of Transylvania County, as one of its largest employers and as an agricultural land steward of 350 acres. Discover what inspired Gaia Herbs to become the first and only Regenerative Organic Certified™ farm in the Carolinas and the many ways migrant farm crews have made farm operations possible over the decades.
Welcome to our annual Summer Series. Free admission!
Beverages and raffle tickets to benefit the Greg Allikas Scholarship Fund will be available for donation at 6:30 p.m.
July 5: Shoo-Fly Summers Square Dance
6-9 pm in the Robin Hood Barn
Dance the night away with Cedar Mountain Music Project and Sherwood Forest Friends. Laurie Fisher & The Timberdoodle will lead us in promenades and do-si-dos, no experience needed! $5 admission, babes in arms free. Snacks and beverages will be available for purchase.
June 7: McGaha Chapel Sing-a-Long and Watermelon Cut
2:30 p.m.
Raise your voice in song at the McGaha Chapel annual summer sing-along on Saturday, June 7. The Chapel will be open to visitors at 1:30 and the program will begin at 2:30 p.m. Don’t worry if your skills are not ready for showtime, more adept vocalists always carry the tune, sending old favorites echoing through the 1872 structure. After singing, stick around for a refreshing watermelon social.
Park at the Robin Hood Centre (70 Robin Hood Road, Brevard) or the adjacent barn lot. Shuttle service to the Chapel will be provided by Sherwood Forest Woodcutters or you can enjoy a short, albeit hilly, walk to the venue. Shuttle service will begin at 1:45 p.m. and resume after the event.
This free, annual event, born of our neighbor Charlie Burden’s fond memories of nightly mill camp sing-alongs, is now sponsored by the Transylvania County Historical Society, the Cedar Mountain Community, and Sherwood Forest Friends.
April 17: Earth Day
12:00 in the Robin Hood Barn
Celebrate with Sherwood Forest Friends and Nature Nuts
Forests, Climate and Environmental Justice in the US South
Presented by Danna Smith, Founder and Executive Director of the Dogwood Alliance
Sponsored by a donation from the Woodcutters Fund for Environmental Education
In honor of Ken and Harriet Walls (The Walls Fund) Sherwood Forest Friends will present a check to the Arboretum
2024 Events
December 1: McGaha Christmas Caroling
Join us at the beautifully decorated McGaha Chapel in Cedar Mountain for caroling on Sunday, December 1. The Chapel will be open to visitors at 1:30 and caroling will take place from 2:30 until 3:15. Dress warmly as there is no heat in this beautiful old building. Park at the Robin Hood Center and walk or ride a shuttle, starting at 1:45, to the Chapel.
After the music, we’ll regroup at the Rocky Hill Baptist Church Family Life Center, a few miles south on 276, for homemade sweets, hot apple cider and coffee.
This free event is sponsored by the Transylvania County Historical Society, the Sherwood Forest Friends and the Cedar Mountain Community.
November 8: SFF Annual Members Meeting
Hear what we’ve accomplished this year, meet the recipient of this year’s scholarship, enjoy good food and music, and socialize with other members. 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Cedar Mountain Community Center.
August 17: African American History
Laura Sperry, the Local History Librarian at Transylvania County Library, will present an overview of the African American History of Transylvania County. Sperry will highlight prominent figures, community locales, industries, and achievements.
August 3: Summer Camps
Learn about the history of summer camps in Transylvania county with Page Lemel, the fourth-generation director of Keystone Camp.
July 27: Richard Smith in Concert
Internationally acclaimed guitarist Richard Smith promises to wow Cedar Mountain with a solo repertoire that spans from uptempo barn burners to swing standards, the classics to pop, and traditional fiddle tunes to Sousa marches. If you were lucky enough to catch him at Brevard Music Center last year, you know he’ll offer a showcase of finger-picking virtuosity and versatility.
July 6: ShooFly Square Dance
Dance the night away with Cedar Mountain Music Project and Sherwood Forest Friends. Uncle Ted and the Whitewater Bluegrass Band will inspire do-si-dos and promenades. Beginners and pros, singles and couples are invited to join the fun. 6-9 p.m. in the Robin Hood Barn. $5 admission. Snacks and beverages will be available for purchase.
April 13: Clean Water, Food, and Tunes!
Join Sherwood Forest Friends and the Cedar Mountain Canteen to consider watersheds, clean water, and what it means to be a community residing on the Continental Divide. Anna Alsobrook, French Broad Watershed Science and Policy Manager for MountainTrue, will describe initiatives to test water and what the results mean to you. Is it safe to drink? Is it safe to swim? Gather at the Canteen at 11 a.m.
At noon, the Canteen’s Plant-based Supper Club will host a potluck dinner and provide education on preparing plant-based meals. Please bring a dish to share and your own reusable place-settings. If you cannot provide food or a place setting, for any reason, we are happy to provide.
A Bluegrass Jam will begin at 2 p.m. All are welcome to join in!
April 20: Chimney Swifts: Want to Know More?
Celebrate Earth Day by discovering everything Winkie Clark knows about these chimney swifts. Gather at 10 a.m. in the Robin Hood Barn. The talk will be followed by the dedication of a new, third (!) swift tower.
2023 Events
September 9: Summer Series: Mountain Music: Fireside to Fender
Al Brothers, Mary Gordon, Lillie Syracuse, and friends will offer Mountain Music: Fireside to Fender. Guest performers will include 12-year-old strings phenom Judson Stone. Sing along and tap your toes in time to an eclectic mix of bluegrass, Celtic, blues, and rock n’roll rhythms. Pack your instrument and join a post-performance jam at The Outpost. Admission is free. Wine and water will be available for donation beginning at 6:30 p.m.
7 p.m. in the Robin Hood Barn
August 26: Summer Series: Remembering the Great Flood of 1916
Award-winning filmmaker and executive director of The Center for Cultural Preservation David Weintraub will screen his film Come Hell or High Water, Remembering The Flood of 1916 and share stories born of Western North Carolina’s worst natural disaster.
7 p.m. in the Robin Hood Barn
August 19: Summer Series: Summer Camps in Western North Carolina
Since the early 1900s, the arrival of the camp season has drawn many families to this area, home to the largest concentration of summer camps in the United States. Discover the traditions, innovations, and impact spawned by summer camp with journalist and president of Historic Flat Rock, Missy Schenck, who runs a camp with her family.
7 p.m. in the Robin Hood Barn
August 12: Summer Series: The Story Behind the Story
Meet Sharyn McCrumb, award-winning writer beloved for her Appalachian “Ballad” novels, set in the North Carolina/Tennessee mountains. She compares her best-sellers to quilts, “brightly colored scraps of legends, ballads, fragments of rural life and local tragedy, pieced together into a complex whole that tells not only a story, but also a deeper truth about the mountain South.”
7 p.m. in the Robin Hood Barn
July 1: Shoo-Fly Summers Square Dance
Snacks and beverages will be available for purchase. Dance the night away with Cedar Mountain Music Project and Sherwood Forest Friends. Uncle Ted from the Whitewater Bluegrass Band will lead us in promenades and do-si-dos until our boots fall off!
6-9 p.m. in the Robin Hood Barn
June 9: Brevard Music Center- Then and Now
Discover the history of the Brevard Music Center with Kalen Lawson, BMC’s manager of grants and community engagement. Since its origin in1936, this premier summer music institute and festival teaches some of the world’s most talented young musicians to play at the highest artistic level, offering the soundtrack to our summers.
7 p.m. in the Robin Hood Barn
April 22-23: Earth Day Celebration
On April 22, 2023, Sherwood Forest Friends celebrated the 53rd Earth Day, which is now the largest secular observance in the world, with over 1 billion people participating each year.
This year is also the 50th anniversary of the NC Trails System Act, and has been designated as the Year of the Trail. Fittingly, SFF hosted Frank Porter of the board of directors of the Friends of the Ecusta Trail to tell us about progress on the project linking Hendersonville and Brevard.
2022 Events
September 3: Owen Grooms & Friends: An Evening of Old-Time Mountain Music
Acoustic musician, Owen Grooms has been playing Mandolin since childhood and Banjo since 2008. Since then, he has enjoyed playing claw-hammer banjo and mandolin in several groups in Western NC and teaching both instruments to children through the Junior Appalachian Musician program and private lessons. He will be joined by guitarist Mark Queen and special guest, Jenn Linville, for an evening of foot stomping music. As a bonus, dance teacher Linda Block will give a group clogging lesson starting at 6:30PM.
7:00 PM at Robin Hood Barn Summer Series.
August 27: Textile Traditions: Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia
Cassie Dickson specializes in the weaving of coverlets using traditional patterns handed down for generations. Like the Scots-Irish settlers, she grows her own flax and processes it into linen cloth. She has been spinning, weaving, and natural dyeing for over 40 years and has raised silk worms to make silk fabric for the past 32 years.
7:00 PM at Robin Hood Barn Summer Series.
August 20: Influence of Scots-Irish Immigrants on the Music of Appalachia
Doug Orr and his wife, Darcy, will be telling stories and performing the songs that came across the “carrying stream” from Ulster to Appalachia. Orr is President Emeritus of Warren Wilson College and co-author, with Fiona Ritchie, of the book, Wayfaring Strangers: The Musical Voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia.
7:00 PM at Robin Hood Barn Summer Series.
August 13: Finding Your Way Home: Stories of True-Life Adventures & Mountain Roots
Connie Regan-Blake is one of America’s most celebrated storytellers. She has captivated the hearts and imaginations of people around the globe with her powerful performances and workshops. Entertaining audiences in 47 states, 18 countries, and 6 continents she brings the wisdom, humor, and drama of stories to main stage concert halls, libraries, and into the corporate world.
7:00 PM at Robin Hood Barn Summer Series.
July 2 Shoofly Summers Square Dance
Friends and neighbors will gather from for this family-friendly event. Dances will be called by Susan Brown. Admission is $5 at the door.
6-9pm at Robin Hood Barn
April 21-22: Earth Day Celebration
CELEBRATE EARTH DAY WITH SHERWOOD FOREST FRIENDS
Earth Day, on April 22nd each year, marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. The day was created to demonstrate support for our planet in a variety of ways. It has been estimated that Earth Day is celebrated by over a billion people worldwide.Sherwood Forest’s celebration of Earth Day will open on Thursday, April 21 with a Nature Nuts presentation featuring Dr. Dave Ellum of Warren Wilson College. Discover Forest Understory Ecology at 7 p.m. at the Robin Hood Centre.Join fellow Nature Nuts and naturalist/educator, Eric Young, for a leisurely stroll through Sherwood Forest’s woodlands. Enjoy the wonders of the season in a unique way. Old and young alike will use their senses to celebrate the natural world. There will be a tea party, a picnic, a concert, and more, but nothing is what it seems. Meet at the Barn at 10:00 a.m.
February 25: Chimney Swift Nesting
Tower Dedication. Discover what chimney swifts do for you and your environment and why they need our help. Visit our second tower!
3 p.m. at the Barn
2021 Events
October 30 Open House
Judith Duff was a beloved neighbor and renowned potter who passed away in 2021. Mingle with fellow Friends and discover Judith’s unique interpretation of Japanese pottery.
2-4 p.m. Judith Duff Pottery Studio
September 9: Leave it Better
Cleanup and fun at DuPont State Forest.
3:00pm. Meet at The Barn
July 29: John Rucker and his Amazing Turtle- Tracking Spaniels
Turtles are bellwethers, increases and declines in their population mirror the health of our ecosystem. Discover what one man and his dogs are doing to protect them. Meredith Brooks will describe efforts underway in Sherwood Forest.
4 p.m. at The Barn
August 21: Space, how do we know what we know about it?
Professor Mike Castelaz, Associate Professor of Physics at Brevard College, will explain the process for exploring the universe in search of life.
7:00pm at The Barn
August 14: Summer Series. Collecting Meteorites from Antarctica: Exploring Space on a Shoestring since 1977
Join Linda Welzenbach-Fries, science communications specialist in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences at Rice University, will recount her adventures in Antarctica.
7:00pm at The Barn
August 13: Perseid meteor shower
Meteor watch party at with Marc & Linda.
pre-dawn, 5 a.m., Arrowhead dam
August 13: Summer Series. Meteorites, messengers from space
Dr. Marc Fries, a planetary scientist within the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, will tell us what information meteorites hold.
7:00pm at The Barn
August 7: Summer Series. Mary Draper Ingles: A Story of Courage
Join us as Caroline McIntyre brings to life the harrowing tale of one woman’s escape from Indian slavery.
7:00pm at The Barn
July 8: Leave It Better Cleanup and fun at DuPont State Forest.
3:00pm meet at The Barn
June 3: Leave It Better Cleanup and fun at DuPont State Forest.
3:00pm meet at The Barn
May 14: Blue Ghost Bubble v. 2.5
COVID-friendly drive by. Enjoy live music and pick up a goody bag with a recipe for a B.G. cocktail, watching tips, and more.
4 p.m. at The Barn
April 24: Earth Day
Nature hikes: sign up for Photography, Spring Wildflowers, or Kids Stroll
10 a.m. at The Barn
April 24 Storytelling and garden planting
Eric Young will entertain then kids will plant a flower garden.
3 p.m. at Studio 276
April 8: Leave It Better
Cleanup and fun at DuPont State Forest.
3:00pm meet at The Barn
April 2 – May 16 Get Up Get Out Challenge
Run, ride, slither, swim or crawl to benefit the Sherwood Forest Friends (SFF) Scholarship Fund. Anyone can get up and get out, wherever they are, because SFF Hike n’ Bike is virtual! Sign up on RunSignUp.com (search for Sherwood Forest Friends Get Up and Get Out Challenge).