The Friendliest
Town in the South
Events, arts, community issues, local businesses, and everything that makes Tryon worth calling home — all in one place.
40+
Events this month
125+
Years of history
~1,600
Friendly neighbors
Morris the Horse
Blue Ridge Foothills
Heart of Downtown
Mountain Trails
Equestrian Heritage
Thermal Belt Views
This Weekend
Hand-picked from around Tryon
Beyond the Forest: Opening Reception
Community Yoga at FENCE
Free community yoga every Friday with Anna Maphis. 9:30–10:30am on the mat at FENCE.
Free Wine Tasting at The Tryon Bottle
Free tastings of featured wines every Friday 5–7pm. Food available from Della Street Tacos inside the store.
Live Music at The Fitzgerald
Live music at The Fitzgerald, one of Tryon's favorite downtown gathering spots. Great cocktails, great atmosphere — one of the anchor venues on the Tryon Wine Walk route.
Upcoming Events
Everything happening in Tryon — filtered your way
Beyond the Forest: Opening Reception
Opening reception for "Beyond the Forest: Contemporary Visions of Flora and Fauna" — five artists exploring plants, animals, and landscapes. Free and open to the public. Mirrorball brings serious contemporary art to a town of 1,600.
Community Yoga at FENCE
Free community yoga every Friday with Anna Maphis. 9:30–10:30am on the mat at FENCE.
Free Wine Tasting at The Tryon Bottle
Free tastings of featured wines every Friday 5–7pm. Food available from Della Street Tacos inside the store.
Live Music at The Fitzgerald
Live music at The Fitzgerald, one of Tryon's favorite downtown gathering spots. Great cocktails, great atmosphere — one of the anchor venues on the Tryon Wine Walk route.
Harmon Field Flea Market
Shop from a variety of vendors at the Harmon Field Flea Market. 8am–1pm.
Kudzu Warriors — Monday Morning Volunteer
Join the Kudzu Warriors every Monday at Norman Wilder Forest, a 185-acre preserve between Tryon and Saluda. No experience needed — just show up and hate kudzu. Email pam@conservingcarolina.org to RSVP.
Tryon Wine Walk
Self-guided downtown wine walk with passport and 10+ pour stops including Railside, The Fitzgerald, Sagrada, Tryon Bottle, Brooks Tavern, Mirrorball, Back Alley, and the Tryon Theatre. One of the best evenings in town.
Mirrorball Open Mic Night
Open Mic Night in Mirrorball Gallery's lounge. 6–8 PM. Come share your voice, poetry, or music in one of Tryon's most unique creative spaces.
Fourth Friday Downtown Stroll
Monthly stroll with extended hours for downtown shops and restaurants. Live music at the town plaza, shopping and dining specials, art galleries open late.
Family Nature Hike at FENCE
Family friendly hike with nature bingo. Uses 4 of our five senses to explore the trails. Lots of natural treasures to discover.
Old Men of the Woods — Concert at FENCE
Enjoy an afternoon of great music followed by light refreshments and conversation. Part of the 2026 Concerts at FENCE series.
Nearby
Lake Lure, Saluda, Green River — worth the short drive.
20th Annual Spring Green Bash
Annual outdoor bash at Green River Adventures in Saluda. Music, food, and fun on the river. One of the area’s most popular spring events.
21st Annual Saluda Arts Festival
Annual arts festival in downtown Saluda featuring local artists, live music, food vendors, and handmade crafts.
Local Businesses
Support the businesses that make Tryon, Tryon
Give local businesses real feedback — not just stars
Share what you loved and what could be better. Feedback goes directly to the owner — private, constructive, and actually useful. No public pile-ons.
Della Street Tacos
Fresh tacos and Mexican street food, now located inside The Tryon Bottle. A local favorite pairing perfectly with wine tastings on Friday evenings.
The Tryon Bottle
Wine shop and tasting bar in the heart of downtown Tryon. Free wine tastings every Friday 5–7pm. A gathering spot for locals and visitors alike.
Tryon Arts & Crafts School
One of the oldest craft schools in the Southeast. Offers workshops in pottery, weaving, jewelry, painting and more for all skill levels.
Tryon Fine Arts Center
Performing arts center hosting the Signature Series, local productions, and community events. A cultural anchor of downtown Tryon.
Tryon Little Theater
Community theater bringing live productions to Tryon since the 1930s. Currently running Steel Magnolias.
Community Issues
What's at stake in Tryon and Polk County — both sides, sourced, no opinion from us.
Know of an issue missing here? Let us know →
NC House Bill 765 — State Control Over Local Zoning
A bill in the NC General Assembly that would overhaul how local governments handle development regulations — shifting significant control from counties and towns to the state level.
Short-Term Vacation Rentals in Hunting Country
A proposed zoning amendment that would have allowed short-term vacation rentals (like Airbnb) in the Hunting Country area — voted down 4-1 by commissioners in June 2025.
Former St. Luke's Hospital — Rezoning to Commercial Use
A conditional use rezoning request to convert the historic 1929 St. Luke's Hospital building on Carolina Drive from residential to commercial zoning. The Planning Board advanced the proposal in April 2026 — Town Council vote is pending.
Highway 9 Bridge Replacement & Green River Recreation Access
The NCDOT is replacing the Highway 9 bridge over the Green River, with construction starting January 2027. The project also includes new recreational access to the Green River.
This Week in Tryon
A weekly AI-generated podcast covering local events, community highlights, and what's happening around town. 5-10 minutes every Monday morning.
Episode 1 — “Welcome to Tryon”
May 2026 · ~11 min · Now live on Spotify
Every week: what’s happening around town, community highlights, local business spotlights, and the issues affecting Tryon.
🐎 Corner of Trade & Pacolet
Downtown Tryon, NC
Say Hello to
Morris
The white horse standing at the corner of Trade and Pacolet Streets isn't just a statue — he's the soul of Tryon. Morris has been watching over downtown since 1928, when a seventeen-year-old named Meredith Lankford built the first version for the inaugural Tryon Horse Show.
The original design came from Eleanor Vance, inspired by the small toy horses that Tryon Toymakers had been crafting since 1915. Lankford and his crew secretly named him "Eleanor" after Miss Vance — never daring to say it out loud in her presence.
He's been rebuilt five times over the years — lost to fires, weather, and the occasional act of mischief. The name "Morris" came in the early 1980s, from a neighbor named Mary Flynn Moore who simply thought it sounded right. It stuck.
Today, Morris mailboxes appear all over Tryon, the motif lives on the town's official seal, and every Christmas, locals still sneak out in the small hours to drape a wreath around his neck.
About Tryon
A small town with outsized soul. ~1,600 residents, 125+ years of history, and more character per square mile than anywhere we know.
Blue Ridge Foothills
Nestled at the base of the Blue Ridge Escarpment in the Thermal Belt — mild winters, cool summers.
Equestrian Capital
Home to TIEC and the Block House Steeplechase, held every year since 1946.
Nina Simone's Hometown
The High Priestess of Soul began her musical career right here in Tryon.
Arts & Culture
Fine Arts Center, Tryon Arts & Crafts School, Little Theater, galleries — a town that creates.
The Thermal Belt
One of the most temperate microclimates in the Southeast — that's why the wealthy came and stayed.
Wine & Craft Beer
Annual Beer Fest plus local vineyards in the thermal belt, continuing a tradition from the 1900s.
Easy to reach, hard to leave
30 mi
Spartanburg, SC
31 mi
Greenville, SC
45 mi
Asheville, NC
88 mi
Charlotte, NC