The 48th Holly Arts & Crafts Festival fills the Village Center on Saturday, October 17, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. Both groups of sellers this year follow one rule: they must have made what they sell. More than 200 juried artisans will set up on the village streets. On the grass of Tufts Memorial Park, the new PineyFest market will be run by sellers ages 5 to 17, held to the same standard.
That shared rule explains how the festival works this year, why it may look a little different from last October, and why your Saturday should start earlier than you expect.
The Rule That Holds the Whole Day Together
The 2026 vendor application from Pinehurst Business Partners spells out the standard plainly:
"All art/craft items displayed and sold must be made by the exhibitor. No Buy-Sell Items. No imports. No dealers. No sales representatives."
Applicants also send photos of their work and their booth display, a list of items with price ranges, and a short description of how they make their pieces. Anyone who assembles manufactured parts or prints designs on ready-made clothing such as T-shirts has to say so on the application. Booths may sell only the products listed on the application. Jewelry made from an artist's medium has to be declared, along with the share of the booth it represents.
PineyFest uses the same principle at a smaller scale. Every item sold there must be made by the young participant. Adults can supervise, but they may not run the booth or sell on a child's behalf. So when you buy anything at either market, you are almost certainly paying the person who made it.
Why This Year's Street Booths Could Look Different
People who come every year may expect to find a favorite potter or woodworker in the same spot. The 2026 application changed that. It says the Holly Arts & Crafts Committee makes a juried selection, and that "due to the increased number of applications, returning artisans from previous years can no longer be granted automatic acceptance to the festival." It also states that no space is held for any vendor.
In practice, every booth on the street this year earned its place against a larger pool of applicants, returning vendors included. The application deadline was June 10, and space assignments with street maps were set to go out to exhibitors the week of October 6. No public vendor roster or street map has been posted, so finding a particular artisan may take some wandering.
The range of crafts has stayed broad. Organizers describe work "from woodworking to glass, hand-crafted jewelry to metal sculpture, and stitched art to lawn ornaments." PineStraw described the 47th festival in October 2025 with the same mix, so the categories carry over even where the people may not.
Exhibitors pay $75 per display space plus a $25 non-refundable application fee, with a limit of two adjoining spaces. Each booth measures 10 feet 6 inches by 10 feet on the paved village streets. Those numbers are a useful baseline for what PineyFest asks of its sellers.
PineyFest, the Second Market in Tufts Park
The Village of Pinehurst's event listing calls PineyFest "a new kid-created & run marketplace" set in Tufts Memorial Park and celebrating "the next generation of young entrepreneurs in our community." Its page says it is organized entirely by volunteers as part of the larger festival, and First Bank Pinehurst is the sponsor.
According to its organizers, the goals are to encourage creativity, build confidence and teach real-world business skills. Young sellers make their own product or service, set their own prices and deal with customers themselves. Each registered family gets a workbook, and families who can't print it can pick up a copy at First Bank in Pinehurst.
The FAQ suggests what may be on the tables: artwork, jewelry, candles, crocheted items, woodworking, baked goods, crafts, seasonal décor and 3D-printed pieces. Any food has to be prepared off-site and meet Moore County Food Services requirements.
Here is how the two markets compare on paper:
Holly street festival | PineyFest | |
|---|---|---|
Who sells | Juried artisans, 200+ expected | Young sellers ages 5–17, adult supervision required |
Where | Paved streets of the Village Center | The grass in Tufts Park, beside the Tufts Archives building |
Seller cost | $75 per space plus $25 application fee | $20 per booth |
Booth size | 10'6" x 10' | About 10' x 10' |
Electricity | $5 where available | None |
Made by the seller | Required | Required |
PineyFest's registration page currently says registration is full, and families who completed the form after it filled go onto a waitlist. The organizers haven't published a total booth count. Families with a young maker thinking about next year can find what to expect on the PineyFest page.
To find it, use 150 Cherokee Road for GPS. The market sits on the green to the right of the Tufts Archives building. Tufts Memorial Park also holds the festival's food court and family picnic area. That puts the kids' market, lunch and the picnic tables in the same place, which helps if you are bringing children or grandchildren.
The 9 a.m. Rule That Shapes Your Morning
Because the booths are on the streets, the village has to be cleared before they go up. The festival page says all vehicles must be off the streets and out of public parking lots by 9 a.m. For anyone who usually parks near the Village Center on a Saturday, that is the detail to plan around.
The day runs in this order:
- 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. Exhibitors set up.
- By 9 a.m. All vehicles off the streets and out of public lots.
- 10 a.m. The festival opens.
- 4 p.m. The festival closes. Exhibitors may not start breaking down before then.
Booths stay up for the full six hours, so a mid-afternoon visit still means a full street of vendors. Public parking during the event is in two gravel lots: one at Village Green and Tufts Park, 1 Village Green Road West, and one at 50 Dogwood Road. When those fill, a free shuttle from Kirk Tours & Limousine runs between the festival and Rassie Wicker Park at 10 Rassie Wicker Drive. MoCoMom's listing uses the intersection of Cherokee Road and Chinquapin Road as the center of the festival, a handy landmark for meeting friends.
Weather and the Shops Behind the Booths
The vendor application states that "there is no refund in case of rain" and "there is no rain date." That policy is written for exhibitors, and no separate weather notice for visitors has been published. Still, October 17 is the only date on the calendar, and exhibitors are responsible for bringing their own protection from the elements. If the sky looks uncertain, an umbrella is worth bringing.
The village's permanent businesses take part as well. Organizers say downtown boutiques, shops and restaurants will run specials and sales, and the festival page asks visitors to "support the livelihood of our businesses, local pop-up vendors, and restaurants." The Village of Pinehurst co-sponsors the day through Pinehurst Parks & Recreation. No list of participating stores has been released, so the specials will be found shop by shop.
You may also see the organizer called by more than one name. The Village and the festival site say Pinehurst Business Partners, while PineyFest's payment page lists the host as the Village of Pinehurst Business Guild.
If you're heading to the Holly festival on the 17th and want to chat afterward about the village streets you walked, from Cherokee Road to the green beside the Tufts Archives, Rose A Ward would be glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
