Things to Do in Morganton

Since 1976, area merchants and knowledgeable experts from around the country have gathered to swap ideas, inspiration, and advice at the Western North Carolina Home Show. Throughout the Asheville Civic Center, hundreds of local businesses and experts set up booths where they explain the nuts and bolts of their industry, whether landscaping, interior decoration, window installation, or furniture crafting. Meanwhile, speakers present seminars on a wide variety of topics throughout the weekend-long extravaganza, from hyperpractical subjects, such as setting a budget, to more abstract topics, such as the definition and history of green building. Visitors to the show depart with rekindled enthusiasm for projects, as well as an arsenal of facts that give them an edge when vetting contractors or performing standup at interior-design conferences.

Every day from dawn to dusk, adventure seekers climb aboard Asheville 4 Wheeler Rentals' stable of two-person ATVs and skirt Pisgah National Forest's wooded wonderland—more than 180 acres of privately owned unpaved roads and pristine land. Hardwood trees whip past the sturdy buggies as drivers staunchly traverse the bumps and jumps of a wilderness ride in search of the area's numerous waterfalls and gnome villages hidden behind waterfalls. The company's guide and cart-keeper will gladly accompany guests on their endeavors into his property and also offers expeditions into the depths of the national forest itself.

Travels in Wine Tours' co-founders, Kimberlee Young and Derek Schuler, share their love of wine, food, and travel with curious tourists through tours designed and led by certified sommeliers. Epicurean scenic tours of boutique wineries, personalized luxury Napa vacations, and custom weekend getaways marry viticultural education with flavorful indulgence as guests take in picturesque panoramas of vineyards that stretch to the horizon before curving upward and forming bridges to the moon.

At Heritage Outdoors’ retail shop and indoor archery range, a team of nature enthusiasts equips visitors for forest exploration and animal tracking with archery lessons and a full stock of attire and gear from BowTech, Browning, and Mossberg. During archery lessons and open practice, the shop’s staff outfits archers with bows and arrows before they swarm Heritage’s 16 archery lanes to test their accuracy, precision, and ability to withstand Robin Hood’s merry band of hecklers. A collection of brand-name hunting, fishing, and archery equipment abounds within the onsite shop, where guests can find the tools they need to thoroughly reconnect with nature.

Thousands of sheep have Friends & Fiberworks to thank for their cool, breezy summers. The shop's 4,000-square-foot show room is packed with the dyed, spun remnants of their winter coats, inspiring shoppers to fashion art for the home and body. Wooden display panels show off sample projects above shelves stuffed with skeins of all kinds, including yarns spun by local fiber artists such as Rowan and Debbie Bliss. Amid the rainbow of pillowy packages, cushy armchairs await practicing knitters and spiders-in-training.

More than just a supply shop, Friends & Fiberworks cultivates its own flock of knitters and craftspeople through ongoing classes and twice-yearly retreats. The talented instructors delve into everything from weaving on a loom to spinning wool into yarn and straw into gold, eliminating the need to wager firstborn children away to nameless imps.