This weekend on a shoestring

Friday, Aug. 30

• The Opportunity House in Hendersonville will host its 51st annual Arts and Crafts Show, showcasing a variety of local crafters and handmade items from across WNC. 1411 Asheville Highway, Hendersonville. Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free to attend.

• “The apple has been called the loveliest of all fruits,” boasts the website for the annual North Carolina Apple Festival. “It is also one of the most important agricultural crops grown in Henderson County. During a normal year it brings in an average income of 22 million dollars or more. … The North Carolina Apple Festival is proud to include local apple growers in the Street Fair. You can purchase a few apples or bushels of fresh locally grown apples. Many of the growers also feature items such as fried apple pies, apple cakes, apple butter and apple cider at the Festival.” In addition, the festival will include live music, dancing, arts and crafts and more. Held throughout downtown Hendersonville. Friday, Aug. 30 through Monday, Sept. 2.

• The 107th annual Canton Labor Day celebration invites the community to enjoy live music, a car show, basketball, cornhole, crafts, dancing and more from Friday, Aug. 30 through Monday, Sept. 2 at the Canton Recreation Park, 77 Penland St. Free. See website for complete schedule and times.

• “Featuring two nights of the finest traditional Southern Appalachian music and dance, the Smoky Mountain Folk Festival is held annually over Labor Weekend in Stuart Auditorium at Lake Junaluska,” explains the event’s website. “Both nights of the Smoky Mountain Folk Festival include a rich variety of the region’s finest fiddlers, banjo players, string bands, ballad singers, buck dancers, square dance teams and the marvelous sounds of dulcimer, harmonica, jew’s harp, bagpipes, spoons, saws and folk ensembles of all sorts.” 91 N. Lakeshore Drive. See website for complete schedule. $10 in advance.

• From a Smart Bet in this week’s issue, “Flat Rock-based Americana trio Letters to Abigail (James Harrell, Kelli ‘Mae’ Redmond and Lauren Bandy) raised $15,000 through Kickstarter to record their debut LP, Say Anything, at Echo Mountain Studios. They brought in guests like Steep Canyon Rangers’ fiddler Nicky Sanders and Jimmy Buffett’s pedal steel player Doyle Grisham for the record, which the band describes as ‘a new and refreshing approach to a sweet familiar sound.’ (Speaking of sweet, check out their video for ‘Angel in Ordinary Shoes.’) Letters to Abigail performs Friday, Aug. 30, at Highland Brewery. That night celebrates the band’s album release (6-8 p.m.) as well as the brewery’s seasonal release of Clawhammer Oktoberfest (beginning at 4 p.m.). Free.” Alli Marshall 

Saturday, Aug. 31

• Memory Makers Quilt Guild will host a quilt and craft show, featuring more than 30 artisans and refreshments, at First Baptist Church, 6th Ave. and Buncombe St., Hendersonville. Proceeds benefit quilts for disaster victims. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Info: 697-0853.  

• Join Wild South in downtown Asheville to celebrate all things wild,” begins a Facebook page for the event. “There will be live animal presentations from wildlife experts, environmental educators, conservation organizations and more. This year we will have food, fun and live music.” Held at Jubilee Community Church, 46 Wall St. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.

• From a Clubland feature in this week’s issue, “The French Broad Playboys (featuring members of One Leg Up, Firecracker Jazz Band and The Blue Rags) are masters of infectious Western swing, performing a dance-inducing mix of standards and originals it calls ‘hillbilly jazz.’ The band plays Jack of the Wood on Saturday, Aug. 31.” 81 Patton Ave. 9 p.m. $5.