Jewelry designer Olga King brings her handcrafted collection to The Bascom Shop this July. King began designing jewelry in Memphis, Tennessee, in the early 2000s, working in freshwater pearls, gold-filled chains, and other fine materials built to last. Her work has been featured at Palladio Interiors, a gallery in Memphis, and she now calls Highlands home, where she is also a Bascom volunteer.

Visit the Shop on Friday, July 24, and Saturday, July 25, to meet King in person and shop a selection of her jewelry.

Gather 'round, folks! It's time to kick up your heels and dance to the toe-tapping rhythm of Jackson Grimm’s Old Time Machine at our Community Barn Dance. Join us for an authentic country dance experience led by Old Time Country Dance Caller, Harrison Keely.

Harrison will guide us through traditional square dances and reels, ensuring everyone can participate, regardless of experience. 

Celebrate the rich traditions of Appalachian dance in a setting filled with warmth, music, and community spirit. We look forward to seeing you on the dance floor!

The Bascom, in collaboration with Highlands Sotheby's, will present a meet and greet reception with Brad Allyn Jay Friday, August 7th from 4:30 - 6 pm at Highlands Sotheby's. A selection of the artist's work will be available for purchase. Additionally, more works are available at The Bascom.

As part of the 16th Annual Dazzling Dahlia Festival, the Bascom is pleased to host an educational talk and workshop led by Dahlia Festival Directors Peggy Boruchow Arnette, Libby Eustis, and Kim Daugherty on The Bascom's Terrace. Tailored for both novice and experienced growers, this engaging session explores the full arc of the exhibition dahlia—from the final weeks in the garden to the show table in the upcoming Single Bloom Competition.

Participants are encouraged to bring two or three dahlias from their own gardens for hands-on guidance in selection, evaluation, and staging.

The Fall Reception celebrates three new exhibitions on view across The Bascom's galleries and opens the weekend of the 16th Annual Dazzling Dahlia Festival. Guests move through the galleries to honor community artists whose work speaks to the influence of women in the arts, encounter Jo Sandman's experimental practice through The Bascom's partnership with the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, and meet the featured ceramic artists of The Bascom Clay Symposium. The evening also offers a first look at the weekend ahead, with a preview of the festival's floral-themed programs and a recognition of Michelle Radford as winner of the 2026 Dahlia Poster Contest.

The Dazzling Dahlia Festival returns in 2026 as a vibrant celebration of horticulture, art, and community on The Bascom campus. Rooted in the Plateau’s long-standing appreciation for gardens and creative expression, the festival brings together growers, artists, and visitors for a shared exploration of form, color, and seasonal abundance.

On view September 10 through 12, Petals and Perspectives is a floral design showcase throughout the festival weekend. Participating floral designers create arrangements in direct response to works of art on view in The Bascom's galleries, so a viewer moves between the work of art and its floral answer.

Bascom Studio Members will present a collection of wall pockets and vases, adorned with fresh dahlias, which will be available for purchase during the Dazzling Dahlia Festival. Don't miss the chance to visit the Studio Barn and be truly dazzled!

The festival's signature juried competition invites growers and floral designers of all ages to enter single blooms or arrangements across open, novice, youth, and arranged divisions. Free to enter. The juried show will be on view Friday, September 11 from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m., and Saturday, September 12 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Growers, click here for more information on how to enter. 

Highlands ecologist and garden designer Sonya Carpenter examines how the dahlia's color and form draw pollinators, birds, and butterflies to the garden, and what it takes to keep them nourished on the Plateau. Saturday, September 12, 11 a.m. Free.