un hosted Wooly Worm Festival/Races $10 @ Banner Elk
Details
# FYI non hosted.... $10 .... No pets Woolly Worm Festival 2025
check website for Frequently Asked Questions for more info and details. Woolly Worm Festival
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The worm has returned! Join us for our 48th annual festival celebrating all things magical about the high country in the Fall.
## Location
Historic Banner Elk School
185 Azalea Circle Southeast Banner Elk, NC 28604Get directions
## Agenda
Agenda - Day 1
Agenda - Day 2
9:00 AM
Doors open for the Woolly Worm festival!
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There are two locations where you can pay to enter into the festival. Enjoy vendors, food, live music, and family activities! The fun starts now!
10:00 AM
Woolly Worm races began!
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Bring your woolly worms, have them registered, and race them for a cash prize! Heats will run throughout the day leading up to the semifinals!
12:00 PM
Live Music on the Main Stage!
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Enjoy local performers bring mountain tunes and energy!
3:00 PM
Woolly Worm Race Semifinals
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Cheer on your favorite worm to make it to the finals!
4:00 PM
Woolly Worm Race Finals!
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Watch the crowning of the winning worm and the official winter forecast be revealed!
5:00 PM
The festival closes for the day.
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The festival will close at this time, see you all the next day for more fun!
Collapse agenda
## Good to know
Highlights
- all ages
- In person
- Paid parking
Refund Policy
Refunds up to 7 days before event
## About this event
Holiday • Fall events
We look forward to welcoming you to the 48th Annual Woolly Worm Festival hosted by the Avery County Chamber of Commerce and Banner Elk Kiwanis! Join us on October 18 & 19, 2025 in Banner Elk, North Carolina for woolly worm races, craft and food vendors, live entertainment, children’s activities, and so much more.
The Woolly Worm races begin around 10 a.m. Each heat consists of 25 worms. Races continue all day until the grand final around 4 p.m. The winning worm on Saturday is declared the official winter forecasting agent and receives a $1,000 cash prize! The Sunday worm races are for prestige, fun, small prizes and $500 for Sunday’s winning worm.
No person is more likely to have a winning worm than any other person. There is no home-field advantage, and no preferred age for the person who sets the worm on the string.
Selecting names for the Woolly Worms is a delightful way to learn how amazingly creative your friends and family members can be. Consider these clever monikers: “Wormzilla”, “Patsy Climb” and “Dale Wormhardt”.
Best of all, there is no other experience in life that can produce the absurd euphoria that comes from cheering for a worm to climb a string. It is so indisputably ridiculous that it is completely liberating!