The Bascom: A Center for the Visual Arts, will host its annual Community Day on Friday, July 3, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on its six-acre campus at 323 Franklin Road. The event is free and open to the public.
Now in its second decade, Community Day is The Bascom’s annual celebration and thank-you to the community. The event gathers artists, craftspeople, families and neighbors for a morning of hands-on activities, live demonstrations and open galleries. This year’s lineup includes returning favorites and several new additions.
Live craft demonstrations will run throughout the morning. Annie Jacobsen of the Dillsboro Creative Arts Center will shape glass using repurposed energy. New to this year’s lineup, Jesse Bolding will demonstrate metalsmithing. WNC Woodturners John Tagliarini and Tony Sutton will demonstrate their craft on the Terrace. Frank Vickery and Ester Lipscomb will lead an Empty Bowls project at the Dave Drake Studio breezeway.
Other activities include a make-and-take art table with Caryn Raming, a collaborative quilt project with Richard Tichich, and storytelling for all ages by Cory Howard. Mary Bennett will return with face painting, Elder Jones with crayon rubbings, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cashiers with a family activity. Highlands-Cashiers Hospital will host its Teddy Bear Clinic, where children may bring stuffed animals for a checkup with hospital staff. Free popcorn will be available throughout the event.
Three summer exhibitions will be open in the galleries. Joel Gallery will present "2026 Photography Resident Dean Kessmann: Realism Succumbing to Abstraction or Is It the Other Way Around?" Bunzl Gallery will feature "I Sing Behind the Plow," a partnership with the John C. Campbell Folk School. Thompson Gallery will host "Connecting to Place: Blue Ridge Craft Trails Invitational 2026." The Bascom Shop will be open throughout the day, with a trunk show featuring Annie Jacobsen’s glass alongside the current Atrium Series installment.
"Community Day is our annual thank-you to the Plateau. It is a free, open celebration of the creative community that makes The Bascom so special," said Priscilla Galloway, community engagement manager at The Bascom.
Admission to Community Day is free. No registration is required.
Community Day is made possible by support from Wayah Insurance, Macon Furniture Mart, MHK Architecture, the Highlands Chamber of Commerce and the North Carolina Arts Council.