How many driveways do you need to pull into to meet a third of the artists on this fall's Weaverville Art Safari? The listings for the Nov. 7–8 tour count 85 artists at 36 studios. Five of those stops get you past a third.
That count comes from the tour's own artist directory, which tags every artist with a map stop. Grouped by map number, the directory shows a handful of farms and shared studios carrying a large share of the weekend, with a longer tail of solo workshops after them. If you have one free afternoon on Saturday, Nov. 7, or Sunday, Nov. 8, plan it around those groupings.
Counting by map number instead of by artist
The Weaverville Art Safari is a free, self-guided studio tour. It runs twice a year, on the last full weekend in April and the first full weekend in November, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The cooperative behind it was founded in 2001 and juries its artists. This fall's dates are Saturday, Nov. 7, and Sunday, Nov. 8.
The official directory currently shows 84 artist cards spread across map stops numbered 1 through 35. That's one artist and one stop short of the 85-and-36 figure in the Weaverville Business Association listing. Either way, it's roughly 85 artists. How those artists are spread out matters more for your Saturday than the exact count:
| Map stop | Known as | Artist cards | A few of the names |
|---|---|---|---|
| #17 | Out In Jupiter Farm | 9 | Ann Hord-Heatherley, Paul Eisenhauer, Fork Mountain Handworks, Jewelry by MaryBeth, Happy Art By Kay |
| #15 | Shared stop | 6 | SB's Artistrees, Blue Mountain Glass Design, Salvaterra Pottery and Woodworks, Be-Dazzled Beadery |
| #13 | Shared stop | 5 | Carlos Marrero Collection, Nabil el jaouhari, Sam Rae, Barbara Portwood, Mark Bettis |
| #22 | Reems Creek Pottery | 5 | Pottery by Rachel, IyaBlu Inc, Mountain Otter Candles, Carolina Coil Baskets, Jewelry by Nadine |
| #23 | Dragonfly Dreams Creations | 5 | Kit Martin's woodshop, Sage Thrane's fiber work, Stephanie McCune Glass, Stone Run Craft, Rosa Friedrichs Ceramics |
Those five stops add up to 30 of the 84 cards, or about 36%. The other 54 artists are spread across 30 stops. Thirteen of those stops have a single name on them, and the largest of the rest is #19, where Todd Tabor's Dry Run Woodworks shares space with Urban Witchcraft, Kelly Reese and Arts Alive Ceramics. Matching the 30 artists at those five stops takes the next 12 busiest stops on the map.
What a nine-name stop actually looks like
Map #17 is the clearest case, and it isn't a gallery. Out In Jupiter Farm sits at 1983 New Stock Road, just outside Weaverville. The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area profile describes it as land that has been in Trish Hord-Heatherley's family for more than 100 years, with a farmhouse her grandfather built in 1924. Ann Hord-Heatherley makes cloth figures inspired by early 20th-century photographs. She hand-dyes the fabrics, and the hair on her dolls comes from the farm's own angora goats. The farm also sells mohair fleeces, roving and yarn from those goats.
On an ordinary week the farm lists itself as open by appointment. Safari weekend adds eight more names to that one driveway. The directory lists Happy Art By Kay as a guest artist at the farm. Paul Eisenhauer, a woodworker, and Fork Mountain Handworks, Margaret McGinnis's studio, also show at #17, along with Deb Herman Art, Jewelry by MaryBeth, Ilana Brody, Art.a.tecture and Jean Hord Roberts.
Reems Creek Pottery at #22 is built on the same idea. Its listing calls it a collective working pottery studio and gallery in the Reems Creek Valley near downtown Weaverville, with private lessons and workshops. For the Safari, Rachel's pottery shares the stop with IyaBlu Inc, the studio of Travis Burnette and Eirene Peterson, plus Ann Oakes's Carolina Coil Baskets, Mountain Otter Candles and Jewelry by Nadine.
The six names at #15 range from glass and beadwork to pottery and wood. Amanda Bagnato's Blue Mountain Glass Design and Barb Wilcox's Be-Dazzled Beadery appear there alongside Carol Eder-Smith Designs, Donna Leven's The Woodshed, SB's Artistrees and Salvaterra Pottery and Woodworks. Salvaterra's own Safari page says its gallery has expanded. A year ago, WLOS spoke with Sue Salvaterra-Hintz during the fall 2025 tour. She said Helene's effect on business had made that season harder and that the Safari helped carry the artists into the next year. For a studio economy that leans that hard on two weekends a year, the shared stops are also how a lot of these artists get seen at all.
Where one card stands for more than one artist
Miya Gallery at #8 is listed as one card, marked "Founding Art Safari Member." Its Safari page describes a gallery that has represented local handmade work in jewelry, functional pottery, sculptural ceramics, glass and wall art for more than 20 years. The gallery is also home to jewelry studios and Van Dyke Jewelry repair. It's at 20 N Main St, so it works as the downtown stop on any route.
Crucible Glassworks at #14 is the other anchor with a fixed address you can plan around: 60 Clarks Chapel Rd. It shares map #14 with Molly Walter Pottery and Cole Klutch by Ashley Bangert. According to Crucible's Safari page, Michael Hatch, a longtime member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, will do live hot-glass demonstrations on and off both days. The page says the studio's glass face jug show will still be up, wall platters will be on sale, and Hatch's work includes Incalmo-technique vases and hand-sculpted solid glass bears. Demonstrations come and go through the day, so Crucible is the stop where your arrival time matters.
The single-card stops are a different kind of visit. Mangum Pottery at #7, where Rob and Beth Mangum show, Dort Lee's fiber work at #6, Lakey Studios at #25 and Janice Levitt Mosaics at #35 each have one studio's work in one workspace. Those visits take longer for each name you check off. Some people want exactly that. Either way, it helps to know the difference before you start driving.
Building a Saturday from the map numbers
The official map numbers every stop, and each artist's directory card carries the same number. That makes it easy to plan a day by stop instead of by name:
- Pick one or two of the five big stops from the table above. On their own, #17 and #22 put 14 artists in front of you.
- Add one fixed-address anchor. Miya Gallery puts you on Main Street. Crucible gives you the demonstrations.
- Choose one solo studio in a medium you care about, from the single-name cards in the directory.
- Save Sunday for anything you missed. The hours are the same both days, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
ArtsAVL's fall 2026 roundup describes the studios as spread across Weaverville and North Buncombe. Check the map for exact locations before you leave, especially for the shared stops whose host addresses aren't printed in the directory. If you want a sense of the town's warmer-weather rhythm to compare, our Weaverville August guide walks through the market and Main Street schedule.
The Safari is one of the few weekends a year when Weaverville's outlying valleys open their doors to anyone who drives up. If a stop on New Stock Road or in the Reems Creek Valley gets you wondering about the land and homes out that way, I'm glad to talk it through, whether you're thinking about a move or just curious. Find me at Andy Ball, or browse the Weaverville neighborhood page. Let's Connect.
