Hello Buncombe County!
This week’s Tuesday Small Business Highlight takes us beyond the typical definition of a business and into a community built around connection, resilience, and hands-on learning. Meet Marissa and Firefly Gathering, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit and annual event in the mountains of Western North Carolina where people come together to learn everything from foraging and fiber arts to medicine making, basket weaving, and ancestral skills that feel more relevant than ever in today’s world. It's a place where nature, creativity, and community intersect, creating an experience designed to help people reconnect with both the land and one another.
Tell us the story behind your business. What inspired you to start it, and how did it all begin?
Firefly was started in 2008 by a woman and some friends who were tired of the hetero-normative male-dominated earthskills spaces that existed at that time. The Firefly founders felt the importance of these skills to navigate the times that were coming. We are now living in those times, and leadership has changed hands a few times; but our focus remains the same: earth skills for everybody! And they have never felt more relevant than the past few years, facing pandemics, hurricanes and unprecedented social / economic / political uncertainty.
Why Buncombe County? What made you choose this area to plant roots?
The Appalachian mountains are thought to be the oldest in the world. Climate change was looming on the distant horizon when the founders envisioned this gathering, and decided this was as safe a place as could be found to weather the storms that lay ahead. We live in one of the most beautiful, abundant and biologically diverse areas in the United States and this is a big draw for outdoor enthusiasts.
What’s something about your business that most people don’t know?
Most folks don't realize what an eclectic event the Annual Firefly Gathering is. When folks think primitive skills, there is often this idea of mud huts and feral men running around half clad in animal skins and the whole Survival TV show / man vs. nature vibes.
But we are really more diverse than that. While those vibes are present, there are also a lot of women, nonbinary people, a-typical / neurodivergent folks, PGM, LGBTQIA+ communities ... a representation of the diverse array of humans that nature gives us. That's our thing, really: being a place where everybody is welcomed and has a place to connect with the ancestral skills that got us to where we are today, and will see us through these times of upheaval and change.
And we have classes beyond survival into thrival. Medicine, fiber arts, basket weaving, interpersonal connection, birding, foraging, all sorts of ways to be a good human and live with Earth.
What’s been your biggest challenge as a small business owner here?
We are struggling, as are many with the long term economic impacts of Hurricane Helene and the greater economic stress we are collectively experiencing right now. Ticket sales are lower than usual, as folks just don't have that "extra" that it takes to come to an event.
What’s been your most rewarding moment so far?
OOOOHHHH, yes! I tear up thinking about it, but each year, folks are moved to tears, saying how changed they are by the event. That they didn't know gatherings like this existed. That they felt isolated and crazy, knowing other ways are possible, but not having access to what that looks like.
Disconnection is an epidemic right now, with many folks not having access to nature, or to community. Coming to an event where you are surrounded by both can be an incredibly healing and transformative experience.
I also love when folks - especially kids - find me and show me what they made with their hands. Many people don't experience the satisfaction of creating in this modern world of keyboards and screens; so when they take raw materials and transform them into something functional and uniquely beautiful, there is a profound sense of accomplishment and joy. It is so enlivening to see that over and over again as people learn new skills and crafts. Their energy expands and radiates outwards!!!
What’s next for you? Anything exciting coming up that readers should know about?
Yes! We have our Annual Gathering coming up July 7-12 at The Wild Human Preserve (WHP), perched on the banks of the Toe River, a rush of falls and pools cascading through a beautiful boulder field.
As we prepare for our third and final Annual Firefly Gathering here, we've come to love the rolling hills, wild river and beautiful barn, and feel bittersweet knowing that next year we’re moving. We have some very exciting things planned to send us off with a celebration – of life, love and the RESILIENCY of nature.
We are offering 15% off to celebrate Summer Solstice (use the code friend15 at checkout), to give folks a little help in getting to join us, July 7-12 for the Annual Firefly Gathering.
So plan to join us for Firefly Gathering 2026, July 7-12 at Wild Human Preserve, and enjoy hundreds of classes in traditional craft & Indigenous wisdom, dancing & live music, Street Creature Puppet Collective & Youth Village, community & nature…and your chance to win free passes to Firefly 2027 at Lake Eden.
In a world that often feels increasingly disconnected, Firefly Gathering offers a reminder that community, creativity, and practical skills still matter. Whether you're looking to learn something new, reconnect with nature, or simply meet like-minded people, this year's gathering promises an experience you won't soon forget.
Support them this year with many opportunities: buy passes, sign up to worktrade, donate to our equity fund or general fund, join the board, follow them on @fireflygatheringnc … they can’t wait to gather with you!
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