The Fourth Annual Mountain Monarch Festival will be held on Saturday, October 3, 2026, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at Gorges State Park in Sapphire, NC. This free event celebrates the monarch butterfly’s migration and highlights the species’ declining numbers. It will feature children’s activities, crafts, exhibits, food and beverages, educational presentations for all ages, butterfly hikes, and live butterflies!
This event is FREE and open to the public.
The festival will be held rain or shine.
The festival will celebrate the monarch butterfly during its migration and bring attention to the species’ declining numbers. Gorges State Park lies along the monarch’s migratory route. The butterflies can be seen in late September/early October each year flying over the park’s Visitor Center on their way south to the high-elevation fir forests of Mexico’s Neovolcanic Mountains, where they overwinter until early spring. Monarch butterflies have two sets of deep orange and black wings and a wingspan of three to four inches. The migratory subspecies of the monarch was recently added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s “red list” of the most threatened species on Earth. Those who wish to help monarchs return to healthy population levels can plant locally native milkweed and nectar flowers in their yards and support efforts to reduce pesticide use.
The Mountain Monarch Festival is sponsored by North Carolina State Parks, Friends of Gorges State Park and Monarch Watch. Exhibitors include Transylvania County Tourism Development Authority, N.C. Cooperative Extension Service, N.C. Department of Commerce, Conserving Carolina, Transylvania County Library, Transylvania County 4-H, Transylvania County Bird Club, Friends of Panthertown, Friends of Jocassee, Macon Faces Face Painting and, North Carolina Native Plant Society Land of the Sky and Oconee Bell Chapters. Food trucks will be available onsite.
Viewing details for date: 2025-10-04
