The Autumn Leaves Festival is an event sponsored by the Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce to celebrate our cultural music and craft heritage. This is the 44th annual year of the Autumn Leaves Festival and it will be held on October 8-10, 2010. This event is one of the longest running in-and most successful-events in the state. The Autumn Leaves Festival is always the second full weekend in October. The roster of 170 artisans and craftspeople covers such media as jewelry, pottery, paintings, and textiles along with 25 food vendors. WPAQ, the local AM radio station and recognized as the "grandaddy" of Old Tyme music will coordinate and host the bandstand on Independance Blvd. Nearly 200,000 people will frequent the streets of Mount Airy over the three day period. There are a number of parking lots in the downtown area that are well marked for the festival.

The festival showcases our rich musical heritage, such as Old-Time, Blue Grass and Gospel performed by local musicians on the downtown stage. The unique arts & crafts of more than 170 juried craftsmen line the streets with many demonstrating their talents and skills passed down through the generations; then there is “Food for the Soul”, ham biscuits, collards & cornbread, barbeque, hamburgers, ground steak and more served with hospitality by our local civic and service organizations. It’s a walker’s paradise with visual delights and mouthwatering treats at every stop. It’s a toe-tapping, foot stomping, hand clapping kind of weekend where old friendships are renewed and new friendships are made. The Autumn Leaves Festival is a homecoming where guests become neighbors.

The festival began as a celebration of the end of tobacco and apple harvesting season some 40 years ago. Now, we celebrate the breathtaking fall season that is upon us. Through the years hundreds of thousands of visitors have enjoyed the true flavor of rural America and its distinctive character, rich heritage and scenic beauty.

Our small hometown radiates with the spectacular scenery of the entire mountain side bathed in autumn reds and luminous gold’s set against the scenic backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The area is particularly beautiful at this time of year when there's still a chance to catch some warm sunshine and the leaves start taking on the golds and russets of autumn.  Where shadows last a little longer, doors open a little wider, conversation lasts a little longer and the spirit of our community has a captivating quality on everyone who visits. This great community once again puts out the “WELCOME” mat and invites one and all to come and experience the true spirit of America’s Hometown.