Sponsored by
With Support from
2026 Festival
October 9-11 | The Plant, Pittsboro, N.C.
Explore traditional crafts in the heart of the Piedmont
Learn carving, weaving, and related traditional crafts in a warm community environment with music, storytelling, skill-sharing, and plenty of good food. The historic town of Pittsboro is located in the central Piedmont region of North Carolina, about 30 minutes drive from both Chapel Hill and the Raleigh-Durham airport.
Now in its fifth year, the GreenWood Wrights’ Fest is an annual gathering created by friends of the local Woodwrights’ School, where legendary woodworker and television host Roy Underhill taught for many years.
We offer many workshops for kids, teens, and adult beginners. If you or a friend have never carved before, all you gotta do is show up ready to learn. Newcomers can visit anytime Friday-Sunday to check out a demonstration with Roy Underhill, and browse hand-made bowls, baskets, spoons and more at the marketplace.
We aim to foster an environment that feels welcoming and safe to people of all identities. We do not have scholarships at this time, though we do have volunteer needs and can offer ticket or workshop credits in exchange.
Still got questions? Get in touch.
Programming
Demonstrations of skills, tools, and techniques are free for anyone with a day or weekend pass.
Workshops offering hands-on learning with expert craftspeople require registration, and can be added to your day or weekend pass on our ticketing page.
In the evenings, we gather around the campfires and under the canvas tent for storytelling with special including Sloyd Scholar Angela Robins, and of course Roy Underhill.
Community
The Festival draws craftspeople of all skill levels and walks of life from across the U.S. and around the world. We maintain a welcoming, family-friendly environment. Through shared learning, meals, games, and storytelling, we tend and pass on age-old skills for living in a healthy, connected, and inspired way.
Our greenwood marketplace features decorative and functional hand-crafted objects from around the world, including spoons, cutting boards, cups, bowls, boxes, furniture, baskets, chessboards, and more. The marketplace is a great way to experience the sheer variety of green woodworking, and to ask expert craftspeople about how they do their thing.
Venue and Lodging
We are thrilled to partner with The Plant, a 17-acre eco-industrial park in Pittsboro featuring an art gallery, a plant nursery, and an array of local food & drink vendors.
Clean campsites with access to bathrooms, showers, and water are included in the cost of a weekend pass. If you prefer to sleep indoors, there are plenty of good options nearby through Airbnb or other rental services.
The Plant remains open to the general public throughout the weekend, with Festival tickets available for purchase at our ticket booth.
A Traditional Craft
Green woodworkers utilize traditional and modern methods to carve freshly cut wood with hand tools like hatchets, saws, and knives. Many methods derive from a Swedish tradition called Sloyd (Slöjd), which translates as “not un-handy.”
These skills have been used for centuries to make functional items for the farm and home when people had a deeper connection to the rhythms of nature and the forest. The knowledge is passed on generation to generation through hands-on learning and storytelling, captivating people from all walks of life.
Greenwood is easy to carve but requires special considerations that may not be apparent to other woodworkers, requiring deep understanding of how trees grows and how various species and cuts of wood respond to our tools.
Get Carving
Not sure where to start? Check out our recommendations for carving tools, and join our newsletter to stay posted on events.