Morganton's Brown Mountain Lights Festival returns with music, mystery, and a mission

As October’s days grow cooler and shorter, it’s time for fires on the hearth, quilts on the bed, ghost stories, and all things spooky.

In Burke County, local lore almost always includes tales of the Brown Mountain Lights, the legendary “ghost lights,” countless people have reported dancing above Linville Gorge up N.C. 181 in the northern area of the county. Sources of the phenomena have been attributed to headlights from trains or cars, houses in the valley, brush fires, or naturally occurring bioluminescence.

But ask Stacey Peek about the lights and the owner of the eclectic Green Eggs and Jam shop on North Sterling Street in Downtown Morganton will confidently answer that they are not a mystery at all. Peek asserts the Brown Mountain Lights are simply aliens making a visit to one of their favorite earthly haunts.

On Oct. 26, Peek and a group of his friends will transform Downtown Morganton into a mecca for those who happily embrace the “weird” label. From 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., the city’s Historic Courthouse Square and the amphitheater stage will be the setting for the third annual Brown Mountain Lights Festival.

This year’s event will feature a lineup of 12 local and regional bands, a variety of food vendors, and crafters who will offer an unusual assortment of curious goods for sale.

Admission is free, but visitors who want to buy alcohol at the festival must first purchase a $10 wrist band. Peek will also offer festival T-shirts for sale. This year’s bright orange tee features a UFO beaming up a N.C. 181 road sign.

Peek said after Hurricane Helene caused widespread destruction in the area, festival organizers shifted gears to include a winter clothing and toy drive at the event.

“We’ll be taking in winter clothes, jackets, coats, socks, gloves, hats, and hand warmers,” Peek said. Visitors are also asked to consider donating new unwrapped toys which will be delivered to children who lost their homes and belongings to the flood.

Peek said the annual event is not possible without help from volunteers and community sponsors.

“Let me point this out that this is not just my festival, it’s our community’s festival,” he stated. “So even though I’m the one that kind of gets it all together, I couldn’t do it without all the help from local businesses and our local people who are involved.

“Yeah, we’re kind of weirdos, and we want to just make sure that we have this be represented in a way that shows that we care too,” Peek added.

The Brown Mountain Lights Festival will take place Saturday, Oct. 26, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. in downtown Morganton. Visit the festival’s Facebook page (facebook.com/Area181) for the musical lineup and additional information.