Included with admission

Back by popular demand, The Vanderbilts at Home and Abroad exhibition offers guests:

• An opportunity to view rarely-seen treasures from the Biltmore collection
• A first-hand look at the Vanderbilts’ lifestyle
• Deeper insights into George, Edith, and Cornelia’s personalities, both at home and on their extensive travels

Access to exhibitions at The Biltmore Legacy is included with Biltmore daytime admission.

On exhibit Saturdays and Sundays from 12 – 4 p.m., Rocky Cove Railroad is a G-Scale (garden scale) model train that demonstrates the coming of trains to western North Carolina at the turn of the 20th century. The exhibit is located below the Grand Promenade. Please note, Rocky Cove Railroad will not operate in rainy or wet conditions.

First Sunday Sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina

*General admission allows museum guests entry into all four floors of permanent exhibit space but does not include planetarium shows or 4D theater films.

“Hats and headdresses are a unique and powerful lens through which one can view the human experience.”

The Global Language of Headwear: Cultural Identity, Rites of Passage, and Spirituality, a national traveling exhibition, organized by International Arts and Artists, Washington, DC, will make its only Southeastern United States stop in Greenville, SC, at the Upcountry History Museum.

Developed by independent ethnographic curator Stacey W. Miller, the exhibition explores the vital role of ceremonial headwear throughout diverse cultural customs, beliefs, and rituals.  The exhibition features approximately 89 hats and headdresses from 43 different countries spanning Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America.

Organized in five distinct categories – Cultural Identity; Power, Prestige, and Status; Ceremonies and Celebrations; Spiritual Beliefs; and Protection – the exhibition showcases these mutual themes amid a range of traditions.

The exhibition pays tribute to the stunning diversity of the world’s cultures.  The hats and headdresses are part of a private collection of 1300 extraordinary pieces of international headwear that date from the mid to late 20^th century.

From headdresses and helmets to turbans and crowns, visitors will explore the vital role of ceremonial headwear throughout diverse cultural customs, beliefs and rituals.  Transcending utilitarian purposes, each head covering is a work of art – not merely because of the skill required to make it, but also as a singular expression of creativity and cultural meaning.  The profusion of shapes, styles, and materials, as well as the ingenious use of embellishments to decorate the hats, are limited only by imagination.

The beliefs and rituals of these many cultures, and the ceremonial objects that accompany them, ultimately unite an international community.  Comparatively, both the Plains Indian feathered war bonnet and the Congolese Misango MaPende crown, both featured in the exhibition, though from vastly different regions and civilizations, represent a position of leadership and status, and only those who have earned the right to wear one may do so.

The Global Language of Headwear exhibition colorfully demonstrates that each distinct society can be viewed through a similar lens of rites of passage, heritage, and identity.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar story is about hope.  You, like the little caterpillar, will grow up, unfold your wings and fly off into the future.”

                                                                                                                                                                    –Eric Carle

Colorful adventures in literacy and STEAM learning await in the special exhibition, “Very Eric Carle: A Very Hungry, Quiet, Lonely, Clumsy, Busy Exhibit,” making its Southeastern United States debut at the Upcountry History Museum, Greenville, SC.

At this play-and-learn exhibit, co-organized by The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, Massachusetts, and the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, visitors step into the pages of author and illustrator Eric Carle’s colorful picture books and experience them as artist and reader, while discovering and playing with five special insects from his well-known children’s books.

Carle’s classic “Very” book series, is reimagined in the 2,500 square foot exhibition. Utilizing Carle’s hand-painted tissue paper collage technique, the exhibit presents the five “Very” special insects who invite visitors to join them on their journeys of discovery.

Through interactive experiences, visitors become the “tiny and very hungry Caterpillar,” following along his iconic path. They also weave a web with the “Very Busy Spider;” find their light with the “Very Lonely Firefly;” make the “Very Clumsy Click Beetle” flip and jump; and compose a night symphony with the “Very Quiet Cricket.”

In “The Studio,” a flexible workspace, visitors are connected to the artist and his playful approach of creating illustrated book art through multiple hands-on activities. Children create their own collages using many of Eric Carle’s materials and techniques.

In the “Reading Zone” children and their caregivers explore visual literacy and reading through words, pictures and video.  Visitors are invited to listen to Eric Carle read his stories and talk about his process or read their own favorite Eric Carle story with a friend

Each of the “Very” stories are a testament to Eric Carle’s love of nature, his respect for the emotional lives of children, and his recurring themes of friendship, creativity, and the power of imagination.

The creator of more than seventy books, Eric Carle (1929-2021) combined winsome stories and lively collages that appeal to young readers and adults alike.  While Carle’s stories are charming, they’re layered with information too.  As children read his books about animals, families, nature, and fables, they also learn their colors, numbers, and letters.  Eric Carle focused on making learning accessible and fun – and in the process, he invited children to fall in love with books and reading.

Greenville Drive vs. Hickory Crawdads

No matter where we come from, we are all part of the same circle. We all want to dance, to get out of our heads, and tap into ourselves. When delivered by the Taj Mahal Quartet, the blues can take us there. For more than 40 years, Grammy-winning legend Taj Mahal, internationally renowned bassist Bill Rich, and revered percussionist Kester Smith have taken blues on a joyride through reggae, funk, jazz, cajun and more, leaving a trail of swinging hips and raised palms in their wake. In 2019, guitarist and lap steel master Babby Ingano joined the group, and the trio became the Taj Mahal Quartet. The four-match musical virtuosity  with downhome grit unlike anyone else: a blend of sophistication and humble familiarity that is equally at home on a shotgun-shack porch or a Carnegie Hall stage.

In 2023, Los Lobos celebrates its 50th anniversary as aband, a rare and impressive feat, as the band continues its great legacy. The quintet enjoyed critical success early on, wining the Grammy® for Best Mexican-American Performance for “Anselma” from its 1983 EP, and tying with Bruce Springsteen for Rolling Stone‘s Artist of the Year in 1984. A major turning point came in 1987 with the release of Ritchie Valens’ biopic, La Bamba. Their cover topped the charts in the U.S. and U.K., and rather than capitalize on that massive commercial success, they chose to record La Pistola y El Corazon, a tribute to Tejano and Mariachi music that won the 1989 Grammy® for Best Mexican-American Performance. That kind of sharp artistic turn has become Los Lobos’ trademark, serving to both fuel the band’s creativity and keep their fans engaged. Los Lobos has sold millions of records, won prestigious awards (four Grammys® altogether) and made fans around the world. But perhaps its most lasting impact will be how well its musicembodies the idea of America as a cultural melting pot – bringing together different genres to create a new sound that’s greater than the sum of its parts.

Taj Mahal and Los Lobos will be joined by opening act North Mississippi Allstars.

No matter where we come from, we are all part of the same circle. We all want to dance, to get out of our heads, and tap into ourselves. When delivered by the Taj Mahal Quartet, the blues can take us there. For more than 40 years, Grammy-winning legend Taj Mahal, internationally renowned bassist Bill Rich, and revered percussionist Kester Smith have taken blues on a joyride through reggae, funk, jazz, cajun and more, leaving a trail of swinging hips and raised palms in their wake. In 2019, guitarist and lap steel master Babby Ingano joined the group, and the trio became the Taj Mahal Quartet. The four-match musical virtuosity  with downhome grit unlike anyone else: a blend of sophistication and humble familiarity that is equally at home on a shotgun-shack porch or a Carnegie Hall stage.

In 2023, Los Lobos celebrates its 50th anniversary as aband, a rare and impressive feat, as the band continues its great legacy. The quintet enjoyed critical success early on, wining the Grammy® for Best Mexican-American Performance for “Anselma” from its 1983 EP, and tying with Bruce Springsteen for Rolling Stone‘s Artist of the Year in 1984. A major turning point came in 1987 with the release of Ritchie Valens’ biopic, La Bamba. Their cover topped the charts in the U.S. and U.K., and rather than capitalize on that massive commercial success, they chose to record La Pistola y El Corazon, a tribute to Tejano and Mariachi music that won the 1989 Grammy® for Best Mexican-American Performance. That kind of sharp artistic turn has become Los Lobos’ trademark, serving to both fuel the band’s creativity and keep their fans engaged. Los Lobos has sold millions of records, won prestigious awards (four Grammys® altogether) and made fans around the world. But perhaps its most lasting impact will be how well its musicembodies the idea of America as a cultural melting pot – bringing together different genres to create a new sound that’s greater than the sum of its parts.

Taj Mahal and Los Lobos will be joined by opening act North Mississippi Allstars.

No matter where we come from, we are all part of the same circle. We all want to dance, to get out of our heads, and tap into ourselves. When delivered by the Taj Mahal Quartet, the blues can take us there. For more than 40 years, Grammy-winning legend Taj Mahal, internationally renowned bassist Bill Rich, and revered percussionist Kester Smith have taken blues on a joyride through reggae, funk, jazz, cajun and more, leaving a trail of swinging hips and raised palms in their wake. In 2019, guitarist and lap steel master Babby Ingano joined the group, and the trio became the Taj Mahal Quartet. The four-match musical virtuosity  with downhome grit unlike anyone else: a blend of sophistication and humble familiarity that is equally at home on a shotgun-shack porch or a Carnegie Hall stage.

In 2023, Los Lobos celebrates its 50th anniversary as aband, a rare and impressive feat, as the band continues its great legacy. The quintet enjoyed critical success early on, wining the Grammy® for Best Mexican-American Performance for “Anselma” from its 1983 EP, and tying with Bruce Springsteen for Rolling Stone‘s Artist of the Year in 1984. A major turning point came in 1987 with the release of Ritchie Valens’ biopic, La Bamba. Their cover topped the charts in the U.S. and U.K., and rather than capitalize on that massive commercial success, they chose to record La Pistola y El Corazon, a tribute to Tejano and Mariachi music that won the 1989 Grammy® for Best Mexican-American Performance. That kind of sharp artistic turn has become Los Lobos’ trademark, serving to both fuel the band’s creativity and keep their fans engaged. Los Lobos has sold millions of records, won prestigious awards (four Grammys® altogether) and made fans around the world. But perhaps its most lasting impact will be how well its musicembodies the idea of America as a cultural melting pot – bringing together different genres to create a new sound that’s greater than the sum of its parts.

Taj Mahal and Los Lobos will be joined by opening act North Mississippi Allstars.

The Greenville State Farmers Market includes retail sheds and farmer stalls that offer a wide variety of locally grown products and specialty goods. Both quality and variety are standards for the volume of products offered for sale at the Greenville State Farmers Market. Market operations continue Monday – Saturday all year long, ceasing for only two holidays: Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Find information about upcoming events and what’s in season at our market’s Facebook page.

Office Hours

Retail Hours

Monday – Saturday  •  8 am – 6 pm
Admission and parking are free
Closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day

Included with admission

Embark on a scenic journey across George Vanderbilt’s Italy with a large-scale outdoor display that combines brilliant botanical designs with authentic messages written by Vanderbilt himself.

Beautifully handcrafted of natural elements, each sculptural postcard depicts a location or landmark Vanderbilt visited more than a century ago. This captivating complement to Biltmore’s Italian Renaissance Alive exhibition reveals Vanderbilt’s passions for travel, culture, architecture, and art as well as his personal experience of such renowned Italian cities as Milan, Florence, Venice, Pisa, and Vatican City.

Adding to the charm and visual appeal of Ciao! From Italy—sure to be a hit among kids of all ages—is the G-scale model train that travels in and out of each postcard in this enlightening display!

The next Power Up Dialogues features two professionals with experience training young entrepreneurs – specifically, business minded students. Sarah Butler, Launch Program Manager at Wofford College, has over a decade of higher education experience; and Brian Brady, Director for the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at USC Upstate, has been in and around the entrepreneurship, accelerator, and incubator industry for nearly 15 years. This Dialogue will focus on what skills and information is being taught to student entrepreneurs before they launch their business ideas, why, and how the small business community in Spartanburg can connect with these leaders.

Wofford’s Launch Program is a community dedicated to bringing innovative ideas to life and is focused on providing entrepreneurial training to students. Their CONCEPT —STRATEGY —GROWTH framework provides targeted support for the demands that a venture will experience, ultimately leading to success.

Sarah Butler, Launch Program Manager, Wofford College

The Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) at USC Upstate’s George Dean Johnson, Jr. College of Business and Economics (JCBE) provides aspiring student entrepreneurs across all academic disciplines with opportunities, tools and resources needed to conceptualize and launch their small businesses. CEI also serves as an innovation hub for the Upstate’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by fostering collaboration and providing access to education, faculty research and expertise, and community engagement. 

Brian Brady, Director, Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, USC Upstate

Power Up Dialogues aims to connect small business owners or soon-to-be owners to local experts, success stories, and networking.