Each summer, The Bascom celebrates what it does best, bringing people together through the visual arts. Community Day, a beloved tradition more than a decade strong, invites residents and visitors alike to experience the joy of creativity, connection, and shared place.
On Friday, July 3, from 11:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M., The Bascom’s six-acre campus will come alive with free, art-filled festivities for all ages. Guests can take part in hands-on activities, explore the grounds, and enjoy fresh-popped popcorn under the summer sky.
This year’s lineup brings together artists, craftspeople, and community partners from across the Plateau and beyond.
The Jackson County Green Energy Park returns with live glassblowing demonstrations by Annie Jacobsen, who shapes glass using repurposed energy. Bascom clay artists Frank Vickery and Ester Lipscomb will lead a hands-on Empty Bowls project at the Studio Barn breezeway. On the Terrace, WNC Woodturners John Tagliarini and Tony Sutton will demonstrate their craft. The Highlands-Cashiers Art League joins this year’s celebration with art-making activities open to all. Caryn Raming, The Bascom’s Community Engagement Associate, will host a make-and-take art table; artist Richard Tichich will guide a collaborative quilt project; and storyteller Cory Howard will share tales for listeners young and old. Mary Bennett will delight with face painting, Elder Jones with crayon rubbings, jewelry artist Illene Kay with a look at her process, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cashiers with an activity for families. Highlands-Cashiers Hospital will host its Teddy Bear Clinic, where children bring stuffed animals in for a check-up with hospital staff.
Inside the galleries, three summer exhibitions invite quiet looking. Joel Gallery presents 2026 Photography Resident Dean Kessmann’s realism succumbing to abstraction or is it the other way around. Bunzl Gallery features I Sing Behind the Plow, a partnership with the John C. Campbell Folk School, and Thompson Gallery hosts Connecting to Place: Blue Ridge Craft Trails Invitational 2026.
The Bascom Shop will be open throughout the day, with a trunk show by Annie Jacobsen and the current Atrium Series installment featuring work by Ann Strub, Bill Farmer, Kim Adams, Miche, and Robert Doe.
Whether you’ve visited many times or are just passing through, Community Day is an invitation to create, connect, and feel at home in the heart of the Plateau’s creative community. Community Day 2026 is made possible with support from Wayah Insurance, MHK Architecture, Macon Furniture Mart, the North Carolina Arts Council, and the Highlands Chamber of Commerce.
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