Pumpkin Festival

First held in 1978, the Pumpkin Festival has become a tradition for many people. If you've never been, you should come. If it's been years since you've visited us, come back and see what you've missed. If you've been every year, welcome back!

The first white settler, in 1745, was Cornelius Keith.  The local natives, of Cherokee stock, already had a small village on nearby Uwharrie Mountain. Their chief was named Woolenoy, whence the name of the Oolenoy Valley. From this man Cornelius Keith peacefully acquired, by selling one of his ponies, a piece of land where the village was to grow.

The unique name of the place comes, obviously, from the pumpkins that already grew wild, and in large numbers, in the valley.