Woolly Worm Festival

Home
United States
Banner Elk, NC
Woolly Worm Festival

The official page of the Woolly Worm Festival in Banner Elk, North Carolina. Join us for the 49th Annual festival on October 17-18, 2026

10/18/2026

SUNDAY’S BIG WINNER! 🐛

Michael from right here in Beech Mountain, NC, took home the win in today’s Sunday championship race and walked away with the $500 grand prize!

Nothing like a little hometown pride to wrap up an incredible weekend of woolly worm racing!

Congratulations, Michael! 👏🐛

10/18/2026

Lo from the Avery County Chamber of Commerce took home the win in today’s Local Business Woolly Worm Race! 🐛

And honestly, we couldn’t think of a more fitting winner! As one of the hosts of the Woolly Worm Festival, the Chamber helps make this whole weekend possible.

Congrats, Lo and the Avery County Chamber of Commerce!

10/18/2026

Day 2 of the Woolly Worm Festival, and Banner Elk is showing off! 🍂🐛

Fall colors, blue skies, and a whole lot of woolly worm fun. Couldn’t ask for a better Sunday in the High Country!

Come see us! 🧡

10/18/2026

☀️🐛 DAY TWO, LET’S GO!

Yesterday, Wally raced his way to the top, taking home the $1,000 grand prize and earning the title of our official 2026 Woolly Worm Weather Predictor!

But the racing isn’t over! Today, another champion will crawl away with $500 in prize money! 💰🐛

We need your help bringing more woolly worms to the races! Every worm brought to the Customer Service Tent will earn you $1. 💵 Before heading in, take a look around the ground, sidewalks, and under leaves to see if you can find a woolly worm or two!

We’ve got sunshine in Banner Elk today, but temperatures will barely break 50°! Bundle up, bring those warm layers, and come enjoy one more day of Woolly Worm fun.

🎟️ Gates are open at 9AM! See you at the races!

10/18/2026

It all came down to one final showdown between Lightning McWorm and Wally. Racer Mark and Wally pulled off the win to take home the 2026 Woolly Worm Festival Championship! 🏆

That’s what we call WOOLLY WORM RACING! 🏁🔥

10/17/2026

🚨🐛 THE WINNING WORM HAS SPOKEN! 🐛🚨

Meet WALLY, your 2026 Woolly Worm Festival Champion and the OFFICIAL winter weather predictor 🏆

After racing his way to the top, Wally has delivered his forecast for the 13 weeks of winter. Congratulations to racer Mark from Hammond, Louisiana!

WALLY'S OFFICIAL WINTER PREDICTION:

❄️ Week 1: Cold and snowy!

🍂 Weeks 2–3: Average temperatures

🥶 Week 4: Below-average temps with a chance of light snow or frost.

☀️ Weeks 5–12: EIGHT straight weeks of average temperatures! Wally's calling for a pretty mild stretch.

❄️ Week 13: One last chilly surprise! Below-average temperatures with possible light snow or frost.

There you have it, folks! A snowy start, a long stretch of average temperatures, and a chilly finish.

THE BIG QUESTION: Do you trust Wally's forecast?! 👀

Share this with your favorite weather watcher, tag someone who's already hoping for snow, and let us know what you think! 👇

04/17/2026

Daydreaming of festival views like this 😍 We’re exactly 6 months out, folks! Mark your calendar for October 17 & 18 for the 2026 Woolly Worm Festival. Tag a woolly good friend to join you 👇

04/10/2026

In today's game of "where's woolly", how many worms do you see??

Have a beautiful spring weekend!

Address

Banner Elk, NC
28604

Telephone

(828) 898-5605

Website

http://www.woollyworm.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Woolly Worm Festival posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.