Contact: Tammy O’Kelley, Director of Tourism
(336) 626-0364, ext 203
SEAGROVE – The 27th Annual Seagrove Pottery Festival has been selected as one of Southeast Tourism Society’s Top 20 Events for November, 2008. The event was first selected for the Top 20 list in November, 2007.
According to Tammy O’Kelley, director of tourism for Randolph County, inclusion in the Top 20 event list will extend the festival’s ability to market itself exponentially. “This is a very prestigious designation to have received two years in a row. Having this significant a media focus on the Seagrove Pottery Festival will help draw visitors from outside a larger radius, which means if they come, they will stay longer and have a greater financial impact on the local economy.”
The Southeast Tourism Society (STS) Top 20 Events publication receives extensive exposure in print, Internet, television and radio media throughout the U.S. and Canada. More than 800 newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations, and AAA offices receive the Top 20 listings. The list is also featured on the STS Web site at SoutheastTourism.org, as well as their consumer Web site at EscapeToTheSoutheast.com. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution prints the Top 20 Events as a regular quarterly feature in its travel section; and it was recently featured on the New Orleans-based radio show “Travel Talk Radio.”
This year’s pottery festival will take place on November 22 and 23 at Seagrove Elementary School. It is currently the only event where potters in the Seagrove area come together under one roof in their hometown to demonstrate, display and sell their work. The festival features first choice on new designs made especially for the event, limited edition special commemorative pieces and their popular Sunday auction.
For more information on the Seagrove Pottery Festival, contact the Museum of North Carolina Traditional Pottery at (336) 873-7887, or the Heart of North Carolina Visitor Information Center at (336) 626-0364.
The Heart of North Carolina is the official destination marketing organization for Randolph County Tourism Development Authority, representing Archdale, Asheboro, Franklinville, Liberty, Ramseur, Randleman, Seagrove, Staley, and Trinity. For additional information, please call (336) 626-0364 or go to HeartofNorthCarolina.com.
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27th Annual Seagrove Pottery Festival
When: November 22-23, 2008 Where: Located At: Seagrove School, 528 Old Plank Road, Seagrove, NC.
Richard Gillson, 1936-2008.
Friend, Artist, Potter, Promoter, Visionary. No man did more to define the famous "Seagrove Area Potteries" or to nurture the traditional arts and crafts in the heart of North Carolina than Richard Gillson. His personal mission was to promote the Seagrove pottery tradition and create the most inclusive, creative, open, democratic, consistent and accessible organization in the Seagrove area.
Proposed Museum Information Center
This new and modern facility, transformed from the old downtown grocery store building, would enable the Museum to continue it's mission - to preserve and perpetuate the pottery tradition of the five-county Seagrove area, which includes Randolph, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, and Chatham counties. This area is currently home to the largest group of working potters in the nation, and is rich in North Carolina's pottery heritage that has continued in Seagrove for over 200 years.
The Randolph Plate - Circa 1775
In 1983, the Museum of NC Traditional Pottery purchased its first piece of antique pottery for the museum's permanent collection, for $6,200. It is a beautifully decorated slipware plate, 13 inches in diameter, dated by experts to the late 1700s. It is believed to have originated in Randolph County, which is further supported by the fact that it was acquired from a Randolph County family in which the plate has been for many generations. The unsigned plate's age, quality of design, condition and rarity make it one of the finest and most significant pieces of antique pottery ever to be found in the Seagrove area.
Museum gives birth to NC Pottery Center
Under Richard's leadership, the museum helped start the N.C. Pottery Center by donating nine acres of valuable commercial real estate, a large house, historic pottery, financial support and staffing to the Center over a period of many years.
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