North Carolina Black Bear Festival, Plymouth, NC

Saturday, June 5, 2021 Virtual NC Black Bear Festival

A Message from our Director

At this point, we are planning to have our award-winning NC Black Bear Festival on the weekend of June 5th. But ultimately it will be up to the governor and how many people he allows to gather outside that will determine if we have a normal festival or a hybrid event with as many in-person aspects as possible, combined with virtual activities.

There are some positive signs, though. The NC Agriculture Commissioner has announced there will be a State Fair in October. President Biden has said every American adult will have the opportunity to be vaccinated by the end of May.

If we are able to have Bear Fest, we will take every precaution to host a safe event.

Check back here for updates as well as our social media pages.

Thanks for your interest!

Tom Harrison,
Director, NC Black Bear Festival

Welcome to the NC Black Bear Festival website! It is our goal to inspire you. Come learn and have fun through our educational, whimsical, entertaining and diverse event. With our location on the banks of the Roanoke River, Bear Fest is part river festival and part bear festival with over 30 ever-changing activities each year.

Our mission is to celebrate the fact that Eastern North Carolina has the world’s largest black bears and the highest black bear densities - and to educate people about these magnificent animals.

The NC Black Bear Festival has won more major awards since its existence than has ever been done before in our State. We are humbled by the prestigious recognition we have received in such a short period of time from our peers in the festival & events industry.

From BBQ, to various fruits, seafood, music and more, there are over 170 festivals in North Carolina that are members of the NC Assoc. of Festival & Events who are committed to celebrating everything that is good in North Carolina. We are just one example.

We hope you will enjoy perusing our website and you will make plans to join us for the next award-winning NC Black Bear Festival. It all takes place here in Bear-olina® on the first weekend in June each year. This is “where traffic ends and adventure begins!”