Daniel Boone Days

Come Celebrate Boone in Boone on September 4th, 5th and 6th in BOONE, NC! The word is out, people are starting to take notice, historians are readying their presentations, wine is being shipped, Daniel Boone caps have arrived, World Record Academy judges have been notified, the bands have signed their contracts, fiddlers are starting to practice, runners are training, area businesses and organizations are jumping on board and the ideas are snowballing.

What is it? It’s Daniel Boone Days—Boone’s new annual festival planned for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, September 4, 5 and 6, at various locations around Boone. Organized by High Country Press and Mountain Fountain Productions, Daniel Boone Days addresses the need for a unifying celebration for the Town of Boone—a celebration that highlights the town’s namesake.

The American pioneer and hunter whose frontier exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States had a soft spot in his heart for the mountains that surround present-day Boone. He appreciated the abundance that fills these hills, and, legend has it, he frequented a hunting cabin near Howard’s Knob during his early life. The area where Boone hunted is the area we now know as the Town of Boone. And what better way to honor the town’s namesake than with a festival celebrating his life and legacy?

The festival kicks off on Thursday, September 4th, with a Daniel Boone Days Open House and Social at the High Country Press office at 130 N. Depot Street in Boone from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. There, visitors will enjoy a exhibit on Daniel Boone from the Appalachian Cultural Museum, a native bird exhibit, a Daniel Boone Hotel exhibit, a display of coonskin caps to be used for a world record, an exhibit on the Daniel Boone Native Gardens, an information kiosk with the Daniel Boone Days schedule and a ticket outlet for the festival’s many events.

On Friday, September 5th, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Appalachian State University’s Valborg Theater, the Daniel Boone Days Symposium takes place, featuring bestselling author and historian Robert Morgan—author of Gap Creek and Boone: A Biography—who will talk about everything Boone with regional experts. Morgan’s book Boone: A Biography is the Together We Read book for this summer and fall. Together We Read is western North Carolina’s regionwide reading and discussion program for bookstores, libraries and schools in 21 western North Carolina counties. Tickets for the inaugural Daniel Boone Symposium are $2.

On Friday night, it’s time to taste the wines of television’s original Daniel Boone at the Fess Parker Wine Dinners at The Gamekeeper Restaurant and Casa Rustica. Both dinners start at 7:00 p.m. and seating is limited, so interested parties are urged to get tickets as soon as possible. Patrons have their choice to wine and dine in a log cabin at Casa Rustica or eat wild game entrees similar to what Daniel Boone would have eaten at Gamekeeper Restaurant. Both dinners include three courses and multiple glasses of Fess Parker wine. The dinner at Casa Rustica costs $65 per person, and the dinner at Gamekeeper Restaurant costs $85.

On Saturday, September 6th, at 8:00 a.m., brave runners will follow in the footsteps of Daniel Boone as they climb and descend Howard’s Knob during the Daniel Boone Chase Foot Race. The race begins in downtown Boone, takes a lap around a city block, ascends the mountain and then returns back to the start. Three winners will be crowned—one for the first to complete the lap around the block, one for the first runner to reach the summit and one for the first person to finish. Do you have what it takes to beat Daniel Boone? Entry into the race is $20 and includes a t-shirt.

In the middle of the day, Boone will make history as festival-goers attempt to set a new World Record Academy Record for the “Largest Gathering of People Dressed Like Daniel Boone.” The hats are for sale at Mast General Store in Boone, as well as at Daniel Boone Headquarters, located at 130 North Depot Street in Boone from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the caps will go to the Watauga Education Foundation. The caps cost $10.

Daniel Boone Days comes to a close on Saturday with the inaugural Pioneer Festival at the Horn—a music and cultural festival at Horn in the West from noon to 11:00 p.m. An event for all ages, the Pioneer Festival at the Horn features arts and crafts vendors, a square dance, storytelling, the Watauga Arts Council’s fiddlers’ competition, the Daniel Boone Look-Alike Contest, living history and live music from Boone’s Ottava Rima, Boone’s Lost Ridge Band, Virginia’s Larry Keel & Natural Bridge and MerleFest standouts The Waybacks. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door; children under the age of 12 are $5.

Come celebrate Daniel Boone in the heart of Boone and find out why Daniel Boone had it right, paving the way for all of us to discover what the pioneer originally found. For more information, visit www.danielboonedays.com.