Rural Western North Carolina Arts Community Unites to Heal and Rebuild After Hurricane Helene

In Spruce Pine, NC, the air is thick with the scent of fresh-cut wood—and the drone of chainsaws. Days after Hurricane Helene made landfall, small armies of chainsaw-wielding residents began hacking through the debris and downed trees that blocked the rural mountain town’s main access roads. Locals hiked miles across rocky, storm-ravaged terrain without internet or cell service to check on friends and neighbors. Makeshift aid stations, equipped with basic supplies like water and soup, emerged as critical lifelines for volunteers and stranded residents. Holler by holler, Spruce Pine citizens worked to close the communication gaps caused by the Category 4 storm that carved a 500-mile path of destruction from Florida into the Southern Appalachians.

In the Blue Ridge subrange of North Carolina, the hardest-hit communities were also some of the hardest to reach. “It was a long time before government aid was able to reach the area,” recalls Cami Cami Leisk, a Spruce Pine resident who was out of town with her husband when Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina late on Sept. 26. Before the storm, a temperate rain forest of tall deciduous trees obscured the mountain view from Cami’s house. When she arrived home 10 days later, sunlight poured through her windows. “Half of the trees fell in some areas,” she says. “In my neighborhood, there was a tree across the road every ten feet.”

With so many roadways washed out, the region’s mountainous terrain, sparse population, and innumerable fallen trees made rescue efforts particularly difficult. For approximately a week, community members leaned on each other for support until the National Guard “cut” a path into Spruce Pine along a steep, winding mountain road while helicopters whirred overhead.

Until that moment, Cami remembers, “It was just neighbors helping neighbors.”

Spruce Pine, Mitchell County, and Rural Western North Carolina

Sandwiched between the cultural hub of Asheville and provincial Boone along the Blue Ridge Parkway’s northern ascent into NC “high country,” Spruce Pine is the largest town in Mitchell County, with a population that hovers around 2,000. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 10 of the 27 counties in North Carolina under a major disaster declaration after Hurricane Helene are “predominantly rural,” including Mitchell, home to the famed Penland School of Craft.

“I first came to the area for workshops at Penland,” says Morgan Hill, a Spruce Pine sculptor and jewelry artist from Arkansas. Like her friend and colleague Cami Leisk, she was out of town when the storm struck. Stranded in New Hampshire, Morgan scrambled for information as reports of flooded basements reached her late on Sept. 26. She remembers asking a friend to close the windows at Treats Studio, a historic, three-story building in downtown Spruce Pine she co-owns with a group of Penland alums. When Morgan woke the next morning, she realized how dire the situation had become: “A friend called me on FaceTime and showed me the trees falling. I called every person I knew to make sure they were OK.”

Morgan checked in with every tenant at Treats, including Cami Leisk and Brady Connelly, who own and operate Loam, an artist marketing service located on the building’s ground floor. Fortunately, all 18 tenants were safe, and the loss was minimal. “We sustained water damage from wind and rain entering the building—more severe than anything we’ve experienced before—but we’re hopeful that insurance will help us recover,” says Morgan. “We’re incredibly lucky.” Other businesses in downtown Spruce Pine weren’t so fortunate. While buildings on Upper Street (Oak Avenue), including Treats and regional arts council Toe River Arts, escaped long-term damage, businesses lining Lower Street (Locust Avenue) were “decimated” by water damage.

"The entire Lower Street, which houses many of our restaurants and stores, was severely affected," Morgan laments. “We lost our grocery store, hardware store, and even the footbridge that provided access to the park. It's the worst-case scenario for our community, short of losing our loved ones.”

Arts Tourism in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Hurricane Helene’s impact on Spruce Pine, Mitchell County, and Western North Carolina (WNC) extends far beyond infrastructure. The region is home to numerous artists and arts organizations that rely on tourist dollars to sustain them through the ordinarily bustling fall and holiday seasons. “Leaf peepers come out here in droves, and they spend a lot of money at the galleries and artist studios,” Cami notes. “There tends to be a lot of fall and winter craft shows. Most folks make 50 percent of their annual income in the last quarter [of the year].”

As a hub for craft artists, particularly in pottery and glasswork, WNC attracts countless visitors annually, eager to explore its vibrant gallery scene, browse local craft fairs, and attend lavish destination weddings. Visitors to WNC spent $2.1 billion during the fourth quarter of 2023, according to Marlise Taylor, director of tourism research at Visit NC, the state’s tourism board. “If no visitor spending occurred in the mountains for the whole quarter, that’s what we estimate the loss would be after Helene,” Marlise told the Carolina Public Press.

Smaller towns in Mitchell County, including Little Switzerland and Bakersville, the county seat, are feeling the pinch as craft fairs and markets in larger cities are downsized or canceled altogether. Regional events like Mountain Heritage Day, Spruce Pine Potters Market, Toe River Arts Studio Tour, and Hilloween—a Mitchell County fan favorite that marries spooky activities with Blue Ridge Mountain culture—have been postponed, discontinued, or are refocusing efforts toward fundraising. As the director of events at Hilloween, Morgan Hill lost a sizeable portion of her annual income. “[Hurricane Helene] has significantly disrupted our creative scene,” she says, noting that many artists struggle with financial stability even in boom times.

“We could lose up to $30,000 just by canceling the annual studio tour,” adds Nealy Andrews, Toe River Arts Executive Director. “Our losses are felt exponentially because so many of our artists rely on the studio tour and the Spruce Pine Potters Market.”

The cancelation of the Spruce Pine Potters Market, a seminal event managed and organized by the artists who live and work in Mitchell and Yancey counties, is equally devastating: “So many potters make 70 percent of their whole year’s income in those three days,” Cami tells ArtsvilleUSA. “Now those three days are gone.”

How to Help the Artist Community in WNC

While national media coverage has centered on Asheville and the near-destruction of the River Arts District, Cami notes that many artists across rural WNC are also “inching along, tired, and in need of support.”

“The world has already moved on to the next big news story,” chimes in Morgan Hill. “It's essential to show support over the next year and beyond, as everyone will continue to need assistance.”

From day one, most of that assistance has come from locals like Julie Wiggins, a ceramics artist based in nearby Bakersville who distributed roughly 250 generators to Mitchell County residents without power in the days and weeks after Helene struck. Kate Vogel, a Bakersville glass artist, unexpectedly became the relief organization director at Bowman Middle School, one of many buildings in Mitchell County that had been converted into a supply distribution center or relief hub.

To anyone familiar with Mitchell and Yancey counties, it’s little surprise that leaders in the region’s arts community have stepped into prominent leadership roles during the disaster. “It felt very natural,” says Morgan, noting that residents in rural areas like Spruce Pine often adopt provisional, grassroots initiatives in times of hardship. “The arts community are the people that are making this happen because they're creative, problem-solving people. If the arts community didn't exist, a lot of this help would look really different.”

Even Morgan, a community leader, and Cami, a marketer and website builder, found ways to help while they were out of town. Alongside Portland-based communications expert Sarah Parkinson, the two quickly formed Helene Relief: Aid for Artists, a centralized donation network for artists and arts organizations to connect with financial supporters. Hosted by Treats Studios, the network bypasses much of the vetting and governmental hoop-jumping required by larger nonprofits, resulting in faster payouts for artists.

Artists seeking financial support via Helene Relief: Aid for Artists can participate by completing a short form independently or with the help of someone they trust. The form requires their name, a photo, and a link to where they would like to receive funding. Supporters can visit the website to view a comprehensive list of artists needing financial assistance and choose whom to support with their donations. Many arts supporters may personally know someone on the list or have connections to them, which can help them decide where to contribute.

“There are many great options for supporting artists affected by the storm,” says Morgan, who recommends the Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+) and the Toe River Arts Council’s disaster recovery fund, which goes directly into the pockets of Mitchell and Yancey artists. “Small communities need to stick together,” she continues. “Reach out and ask if you can help. Do artists need direct financial support or assistance with cleanup, like shoveling mud off their floor? Do they need people buying their work? Whatever support they need, your help can make a difference.”

Donate or Apply: Helene Relief: Aid for Artists | Toe River Arts Disaster Relief Fund | CERF+

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. All photos published with permission of Michael Freas Photography.