By Quincy Murphy

Photos Provided by Heart of  Brevard

The annual White Squirrel Festival in Brevard is coming right around the corner. The White Squirrel Festival also known as “White Squirrel Weekend” is coming up in the next two weeks and Brevard and Hendersonville residents are super excited. The event is put on by the Heart of Brevard. The Heart of Brevard is a 501-c non-profit that works closely with other businesses. Their goal is to build the brand of downtown Brevard, such as pedestrian safety, and downtown design. According to Nicole Bentley, executive director of Heart of Brevard, “this will be the 30th anniversary of Heart of Brevard and the goal is to bring people downtown through their events.”  The White Squirrel Festival has activities that start on May 26th and end on the 28th and have different times for different activities throughout the day. Some of these activities include axe throwing for all ages, face painting, book bus, and Ode to the White Squirrel. Most of the nightlife at the festival is geared towards adults but children are still welcome. On Friday 5-10 PM is the beer garden and food vendors, Saturday 10 AM is the street festival, 10:30 AM is the auto show, 12 PM is the beer garden and 5:30- 10 PM is the live music. Sunday is all activities combined from 10 AM to 5 PM. The festival is located in downtown Brevard throughout all the streets and shops. The white squirrel festival has been around since 2003 and has an annual white squirrel sculpture that is made by local artist Katherine Wilson. Downtown Brevard has a white squirrel shop that is open all year called White Squirrel Shoppe, located at 6 W Main St, Brevard, NC. This store has lots of apparel and decor that represents the white squirrel. It also has many cute stuffed animals and children’s toys. The backstory behind the white squirrel is very interesting. There is a legend that says the white squirrels in Brevard are so popular because they originated from a carnival truck, the story goes that a large carnival animal truck overturned and the squirrels were caught by a man named Mr. Black and were observed in his home. The Brevard white squirrels are so loved by the Brevard city council that it “shall be unlawful for any person to hunt, kill, trap, or otherwise take any protected squirrels within the city by this section”. The white squirrels in Brevard are no albino like most, they are actually descendants of the eastern gray squirrel. In conclusion, the white squirrel festival and the white squirrel have so much history, and it’s an amazing family-friendly environment.