Twenty-Four Studios, Two Days, and No Admission: Leicester Opens Its Doors August 15-16

By Jon Tharp, Broker  ·  July 27, 2026

Twenty-four artists are opening their studios across Leicester this month, and there is no admission charge. The 21st Annual Come to Leicester Studio Tour runs Saturday, August 15 and Sunday, August 16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, on a free self-guided route through the rural northwest corner of Buncombe County.

From downtown Asheville it is about a 20 minute drive out NC 63. If you are coming from the Weaverville or Mars Hill side, cut over from I-26 and you will be there in roughly the same time. The work on display spans pottery, stained glass, jewelry, fiber, painting, wood, ironwork and mixed media.

What actually happens on a studio tour?

You drive to the artist rather than the artist driving to a festival tent. That is the whole difference.

Instead of a row of booths, you are standing in someone's workspace looking at the kiln, the bench, the half-finished piece, the tools that made the thing you are holding. Artists talk about process when they are surrounded by it. You get answers you would never get across a folding table.

Doc Welty, who moved to Leicester in 2004 and helped found the tour, has a studio clad in handmade terracotta tile that is worth the stop on its own. Art jeweler and metalsmith Nirado Sloan has been on the tour for 17 years and now coordinates sponsors. She is showing pieces built from handmade metal, gemstones and abstract acrylic paintings mounted directly onto the jewelry, a technique she says took months to work out.

"Putting on a tour of this magnitude is no easy task, but as visitors move from studio to studio I believe they will feel the love and dedication behind the art," Sloan says.

This year the organizing shifted to a collaborative team for the first time in the tour's history, which Sloan describes as harder work and better camaraderie.

Where do you start?

Three hub locations anchor the route, and each one gathers multiple artists in a single spot: Leicester Community Center, Sandy Mush Community Center and Addison Farms Vineyard. Start at one of them, grab a printed map, and build a loop from there. These roads wind, and backtracking eats your afternoon.

The Leicester Library is displaying a sample piece from every participating artist during the tour, which is the fastest way to decide who you want to visit in person.

Addison Farms Vineyard has special food events and live music both days. Sunday leans slower, with organizers suggesting a picnic somewhere with a view before you finish your remaining stops. Additional food vendors are marked on the map. Maps and details are at CometoLeicester.org.

Why is Leicester still this rural so close to Asheville?

This is the part that surprises people who only know Asheville. Drive 20 minutes northwest of the city and you are in working farmland, with pasture running up the ridges and creeks cutting through bottomland that has been in the same families for generations.

Sandy Mush, the community at the far end of the tour route, is one of the most protected agricultural landscapes in Western North Carolina. Conservation easements placed on farms there over the past two decades have kept large tracts in agriculture permanently, which is the reason the drive still looks the way it does.

That protection is also why Leicester has held onto an artist community for 21 years. Cheap land is not the draw anymore, but space and quiet still are, along with a short run into Asheville when you need a gallery or a hardware store. That combination is getting harder to find in Buncombe County, and the studio tour is a good window into it.

Is it worth the drive from the other counties?

If you are coming from Haywood, Jackson or Madison, the answer depends on what you want out of a Saturday. As an art-buying trip it holds up against anything in the region. As a scenic drive with stops built in, August is a good month for it, when the pastures are still deep green and the afternoons cool off early up in the hollows.

Two days gives you room to split it. Do the Leicester Community Center end on Saturday and save Sandy Mush and the vineyard for Sunday.

If wandering these back roads has you wondering what it would take to live somewhere like this, Jon Tharp is always up for that conversation.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does the Come to Leicester Studio Tour cost?

Nothing. The tour is free and self-guided, with no ticket, wristband or registration required. You drive your own route, stop at the studios that interest you, and skip the ones that do not. Printed maps and brochures are handed out at the hub locations, and a downloadable version is posted at CometoLeicester.org ahead of the weekend. The only money you spend is what you choose to spend, whether that is on a piece of work, lunch from one of the food vendors marked on the map, or a glass of wine at Addison Farms Vineyard. Both days run 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where is Leicester, NC, and how far is it from Asheville?

Leicester sits in northwestern Buncombe County, roughly 20 minutes from downtown Asheville by way of NC 63, which locals still call Leicester Highway. It is an unincorporated community rather than a town with a municipal center, so the landscape reads as farmland, pasture and creek bottoms rather than a walkable main street. Coming from Weaverville or Mars Hill, you can cut over from I-26 and be there in about the same amount of time. Waynesville and Canton are a manageable drive to the southwest, which makes the tour reasonable as a day trip from Haywood County too.

What kind of art is on the Leicester studio tour?

This year's roster of 24 local and visiting artists covers pottery, stained glass, jewelry, fiber, painting, wood, ironwork and mixed media. That range is part of the appeal, since a single afternoon can take you from a metalsmith's bench to a woodshop to a painter's back porch. Art jeweler Nirado Sloan, a 17 year veteran of the tour, is showing statement pieces that combine handmade metal, gemstones and abstract acrylic paintings mounted directly onto the jewelry. She is hosting guest artist Tani Reeves at her Cabin Cove Road studio. The Leicester Library displays a sample piece from every participating artist during the tour weekend.

How should I plan a day on the studio tour?

Start at one of the three hub locations, Leicester Community Center, Sandy Mush Community Center or Addison Farms Vineyard, since each one puts several artists under a single roof and gets a printed map into your hands. From there, build a loop rather than crisscrossing, because the roads out here wind and the studios are spread across a lot of ground. Addison Farms Vineyard has special food events and live music both days. Sunday is set up for a slower pace, with organizers encouraging visitors to pack a picnic, find a view, and then finish their remaining stops in the afternoon.