Name: 8th Annual Sausage Festival in the Big Barn
Start: 2026-11-14T11:00:00.000-05:00
End: 2026-11-14T16:00:00.000-05:00
Location: Hickory Nut Gap Farms

8th Annual Sausage Festival in the Big Barn

Celebrate everything sausage in the Big Barn on Saturday, November 14, 11am to 4pm. Expect polka from Das OomPapas, a live sausage-making demo by the butchery crew, axe throwing, a pretzel eating contest and adults-only musical chairs. It's also the last weekend of fall festivities, with pony rides, hayrides and pressed cider. Tickets are $12, and kids 5 and under get in free. Oktoberfest costumes are encouraged.

Hickory Nut Gap is a working family farm out on Sugar Hollow Road in Fairview, east of Asheville, and the same family has been farming it since 1916. They raise 100% grassfed beef plus pasture-raised pork and chicken, and the farm store and butchery is where you stock up on all of it, along with local goods and prepared food.

Fall is when the farm really comes alive. Weekends bring hay rides and pony rides by donation, with the money going to Project HNG. Wednesday through Sunday the kids, and plenty of grown-ups, hit the culvert slides, the trike track, the sound silo and the creek with its little rope swing. Local apples, farm-pressed cider and pumpkins fill up the store in September.

The calendar stays full out here. Monthly Big Barn Socials, barn dance shows with live music and a two-step instructor, stargazing nights, birding walks and Sunday morning qi gong all happen on the farm, so grab tickets early for the bigger nights.

Regulars come for the meat, the grassfed beef and the sausages especially, and plenty of folks make the drive just to restock the freezer. On fall weekends it's a go-to for families, with kids bouncing between the slides, the piglets and the chick brooder while the grown-ups grab a hot dog and a cider.

Hickory Nut Gap Farms

Asheville's food scene is mostly local, and this guide walks it neighborhood by neighborhood. For specials by day and happy hours, see the [Dig Deeper guide to deals, specials and free things to do](/asheville-nc/dig-deeper/142-deals-specials-free-things-to-do-asheville-nc). Downtown, [Posana](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/34-posana) on Biltmore Avenue builds its menu around local farms, [Bargello](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1883-bargello) makes hand-rolled pasta on Pack Square, [Old Europe Pastries](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1716-old-europe-pastries) has made Hungarian pastries since 1994 and now sits on Broadway, and [Capella on 9](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1369-capella-on-9-rooftop-bar-and-lounge) serves tapas on the roof of the AC Hotel. On the South Slope, [Tiger Bay Cafe](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/2068-tiger-bay-cafe) cooks Latin and West Indian food inside Ben's Tune Up, and the [Funkatorium](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1134-the-funkatorium) on Coxe Avenue pours sour beer. Haywood Road in West Asheville has [Biscuit Head](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1753-biscuit-head), [Thai Pearl](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1985-thai-pearl-west-asheville), [Finest](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/4262-finest) and [Westville Pub](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/118-westville-pub). Merrimon Avenue in North Asheville has [plant](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1574-plant), [Mountain Madre](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1186-mountain-madre), [Mother Ocean Seafood Market](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/2187-mother-ocean-seafood-market) and [828 Family Pizzeria](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/962-828-family-pizzeria). In East Asheville, [RendezVous](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1907-rendezvous) serves French bistro food on New Haw Creek Road. [Rocky's Hot Chicken Shack](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1185-rocky-s-hot-chicken-shack-west-avl) fries Nashville-style hot chicken on Patton Avenue in West Asheville and on Sweeten Creek Road in South Asheville. For vegan kitchens and meat-free menus, see the [Dig Deeper guide to vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Asheville](/asheville-nc/dig-deeper/2-best-vegetarian-food-in-asheville-nc).

Asheville Food and Drink: Restaurants, Specials and Happy Hours

The easiest way to learn Asheville is to let a local show you around. [LaZoom Comedy Tours](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1366-lazoom-comedy-tours) runs comedy bus tours on its purple bus from Biltmore Avenue, [Gray Line Trolley Tours](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1465-gray-line-trolley-tours) makes hop-on hop-off stops from the Visitor Center, and [Asheville Food Tours](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1027-asheville-food-tours) has led downtown tasting walks since 2009. Downtown, the [Moogseum](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/2393-moogseum) lets you play theremins and synthesizers on Broadway, and the [Asheville Art Museum](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/2071-asheville-art-museum) on Pack Square has welcomed visitors since 1948. For a night out, catch a play at [Asheville Community Theatre](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/997-asheville-community-theatre) or [North Carolina Stage Company](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/780-north-carolina-stage-company), or a show at the [Wortham Center](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1402-wortham-center-for-performing-arts). In West Asheville, [Asheville Retrocade](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1217-asheville-retrocade) has restored 80s and 90s arcade games and a full bar. Out east, the [WNC Nature Center](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1066-wnc-nature-center) has black bears, wolves and red pandas, and [Hickory Nut Gap](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/743-hickory-nut-gap-farms) in Fairview has been a family farm since 1916. In Black Mountain, [Black Mountain Escape](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/2003-black-mountain-escape) has three themed escape rooms, the [Swannanoa Valley Museum](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/904-swannanoa-valley-museum) sits in a 1921 firehouse and [Oak and Grist](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1301-oak-and-grist-distilling-company) pours its own whiskey. [Two Trees Distilling](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/2530-two-trees-distilling) has tastings in Fletcher, and [Urban Escape Vehicles](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1940-urban-escape-vehicles) rents campervans for a road trip. Every spot below has hours, photos and directions.

Tours in Asheville, NC: Food, Trolley, Walking and Pub Tours

Asheville farmers markets, tailgate markets, craft fairs and festivals, from the [WNC Farmers Market](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1570-wnc-farmers-market) and [River Arts District market](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1909-river-arts-district-farmers-market) to the Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands. Find dates, seasons and directions below.

Festivals and Markets in Asheville, NC

Asheville Made is your guide to products made right here in the mountains, from hot sauce and craft sodas to farm-raised meat, handmade crafts and small-batch spirits. [FIREWALKER Hot Sauce Company](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/991-firewalker-hot-sauce-company) has made small-batch, vegan sauces with locally grown produce since 2012. [Devil's Foot Beverage](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1409-devils-foot-beverage-the-mule) brews ginger beer and craft sodas with organic ginger and fruit from local farms, and pours them at The Mule, its taproom on Sweeten Creek Road near Biltmore Village. [Hickory Nut Gap Farm](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/743-hickory-nut-gap-farms) in Fairview has been farmed by the same family since 1916 and sells its grassfed beef and pasture-raised pork and chicken at the farm store. The [Southern Highland Craft Guild](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/656-southern-highland-craft-guild) shows the work of hundreds of juried Appalachian craftspeople in pottery, fiber, glass, wood and jewelry. For local spirits, visit [Eda Rhyne Distilling](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1467-eda-rhyne-distilling-company-and-tasting-room) in Biltmore Village, [Oak and Grist](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1301-oak-and-grist-distilling-company) in Black Mountain and [Two Trees](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/2530-two-trees-distilling) in Fletcher. These are good stops for gifts and souvenirs that are actually made in Asheville. Every listing below has hours, photos and directions.

Asheville Made: Local Artisans, Makers and Handmade Gifts

Looking for things to do with kids in Asheville? Find wildlife, hands-on museums, farm days, arcades, bowling and outdoor theater. In East Asheville, the [WNC Nature Center](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1066-wnc-nature-center) has black bears, red wolves, river otters and red pandas on Gashes Creek Road. Near downtown, the [Asheville Tourists](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1418-asheville-tourists-baseball) play minor league baseball at HomeTrust Park, long known as McCormick Field. Downtown, the [Asheville Art Museum](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/2071-asheville-art-museum) on Pack Square has a makerspace where kids and grown-ups make art together, and [Asheville Community Theatre](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/997-asheville-community-theatre) on Walnut Street stages youth productions. In West Asheville, [Sky Lanes](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1044-sky-lanes-bar-grill-bowling) has been bowling on Patton Avenue since 1963, with bumpers and an arcade, and [Asheville Retrocade](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1217-asheville-retrocade) on Haywood Road is packed with vintage arcade games and pinball. South of town, [Claying Around](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1106-claying-around) on Hendersonville Road is a paint-your-own pottery studio, and [Sweeten Creek Brewing](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/1329-sweeten-creek-brewing) has a big creekside lawn with cornhole and barbecue. Out in Fairview, [Hickory Nut Gap Farms](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/743-hickory-nut-gap-farms) runs hay rides and pony rides on fall weekends. Each summer, [Montford Park Players](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/2252-montford-park-players) stage free outdoor Shakespeare in Montford. [Asheville Parks & Recreation](/asheville-nc/explore-places-to-go/3370-asheville-parks-recreation) runs more than 50 parks with playgrounds, swimming, trails and community centers.

8th Annual Sausage Festival in the Big Barn

The Scoop