9/29/2022 update: One day before the planned beginning of Elk Fest 2022, event officials cancelled the event due to the forecasted weather of Hurricane Ian, however the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s Great Elk Tour remains open through Saturday.
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Two days of family fun celebrating elk in the Appalachians are back after a two-year hiatus. Elk Fest 2022 will take place September 30-October 1 in Maggie Valley, North Carolina.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is among several sponsors of the community event. Among RMEF-related activities will be an elk calling contest on the main stage at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds. Also, the Great Elk Tour, RMEF’s traveling conservation exhibit featuring big bull mounts, videos and RMEF garb, will be on hand.
Six different musical performances are scheduled. Other activities include educational demonstrations, craft vendors, an elk photo contest, wildlife artists and food vendors. Admission is $5 for adults. Children get in for free.
RMEF provided financial support for the successful restoration of elk to their historic North Carolina range in 2001.
Dating back to 1995, RMEF and its partners completed 126 conservation and hunting heritage outreach projects in North Carolina with a combined value of more than $4.9 million. These projects conserved and enhanced 4,860 acres of habitat and opened or improved public access to 1,925 acres.
(Photo credit: Elk Fest)