News Release

National Park Service Selects the Southern Highland Craft Guild to Operate Visitor Services at the Folk Art Center

Interior of Folk Art Center

NPS Photo

News Release Date: February 12, 2026

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The National Park Service selected the Southern Highland Craft Guild, Inc. to operate visitor services at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway under a 10-year concession contract. The Southern Highland Craft Guild is the current operator, providing craft sales at the Folk Art Center since the facility opened in 1979.

The Folk Art Center is located in east Asheville on the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 382, a 10-minute drive from downtown Asheville. The Folk Art Center showcases the finest in traditional and contemporary crafts of the Southern Appalachians. It houses three galleries, a library and the Allanstand Craft Shop. Established in 1895, Allanstand Craft Shop is nationally recognized as the oldest craft shop in America. The Folk Art Center is open year-round and from March to December visitors can see daily live craft demonstrations.

The Southern Highland Craft Guild is a non-profit organization founded in 1930 during the Great Depression to unite local artisans and provide them with opportunities to sell their work. Today the Guild is a community of over 800 juried artisans selected for the high quality of design and craftsmanship reflected in their work. Comprised of members from nine Appalachian states, the Guild’s mission is to bring together the crafts and craftspeople of the Southern Highlands for the benefit of shared resources, education, marketing and conservation.

Concession contracts across the NPS provide important services that visitors seek while traveling the Parkway and are critical to ensuring a positive visitor experience. This new contract was awarded through a competitive selection process.