January

January 28, 6 - 8 p.m.: Community Square Dance

February

February 8, 5 - 9 p.m.: Sweet Hart Pioneer Dinner
February 22, 5 - 9 p.m.: Sweet Hart Pioneer Dinner
February 25, 6 - 8 p.m.: Community Square Dance

March

March 21, 5 - 7 p.m.: Member Friday
 March 25, 6 - 8 p.m.: Community Square Dance

April

April 29, 6 - 8 p.m.: Community Square Dance

May

May 3, 10 a.m. -  2 p.m.: Spring Heritage Festival
May 27, 6 - 8 p.m.: Community Square Dance

June

June 5, 6 - 8 p.m.: Folkways Film Series
June 12,  6 - 8 p.m.: Folkways Film Series
June 19, 6 - 8 p.m.: Folkways Film Series
June 24, 6 - 8 p.m.: Community Square Dance
June 26, 6 - 8 p.m.: Folkways Film Series
June 27, 5 - 7 p.m.: Member Friday

July

July 17, 5 - 7 p.m.: Ice Cream Then and Now
July 29, 6 - 8 p.m.: Community Square Dance

August

August 26, 6 - 8 p.m.: Community Square Dance

September

September 4, 6:30 - 9 p.m.: Heritage Music Series
September 11, 6:30 - 9 p.m.: Heritage Music Series
September 18, 6:30 - 9 p.m.: Heritage Music Series
September 19, 6:30 - 9 p.m.: Member Friday
September 20, 5 - 9 p.m.: Tavern to Table Dinner
September 25, 6:30 - 9 p.m.: Heritage Music Series
September 30, 6 - 8 p.m.: Community Square Dance

October

October 25, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.: Annual Heritage Festival
October 28, 6 - 8 p.m.: Community Square Dance

November

November 25, 6 - 8 p.m.: Community Square Dance

December

December 6, 3 - 8 p.m.: Christmas in the Village
December 11, 5 - 8:30: Lantern Light Tours
December 19, 5 - 7 p.m.: Member Friday
December 20, 5 - 8 p.m.: Community Square Dance

Field Trip Programming Dates

Spring Season - March 18 - April 17 (Tuesday to Friday)
Fall Season - September 16 - October 10 (Tuesday to Friday)
Christmas Season - November 18 - December 19 (Tuesday to Friday)

Program Descriptions:

Community Square Dance Series

Community square dances are attended by young and old, couples and single people, and anyone interested in getting out, moving, listening to live music, and enjoying fellowship with others in the community.  Beginners are welcome, and all dances are taught.

Cultural Foodways Series

A new series of cooking classes, in partnership with other local non-profits, will focus on the cooking methods, recipes, and traditions of four cultural heritages: Hmong, Latinx, West African, and Italian. This series will collaborate with the Hickory Soup Kitchen, where we will teach these courses.

Sweet Hart Pioneer Dinner Fundraiser

Embrace your pioneering spirit with a fantastic dinner inspired by 19th-century recipes. Witness traditional artisans and craftspeople at work, and explore a silent auction filled with beautiful handmade items crafted by our artisans. 

Spring Field Trips

Students engage in four different hands-on heritage classes in the nation's most extensive collection of log cabins.
During a field trip to Hart Square, students will spend 30 minutes on each activity. Students will experience a tour of several 19th-century log cabins, herb gardening, square dancing, and pottery they may take home with them.

Spring Heritage Festival

Join us as we welcome the coming of Spring! This is an event with demonstrating artists and craftspeople who invite you into their traditional craft or trade and share its history with you.  These demonstrators volunteer their time for visitors to observe the old-timey ways of blacksmithing, basket weaving, old-time music, and other traditional folkways.

Folkways Film Series

Hart Square will partner with Folkstreams to present four independent films and documentaries on stories of tradition bearers, North Carolina history, and folkways. We are grateful for the support of the Footcandle Film Society of Hickory, who will collaborate on this new endeavor with us.

Ice Cream Then and Now

Learn about historic and modern dairy farming practices, as well as the history of ice cream as a part of American culture and cuisine. Taste a traditional ice cream recipe and the modern Hart family secret peach ice cream recipe. This experience will culminate with a 3-flavor ice cream flight provided by Riverbend Creamery.

Junior Appalachian Musicians After-School Program (Beginning in Fall semester 2025)

Our first after-school program will teach children to play and dance to traditional old-time and bluegrass music. JAM introduces music through small group instruction on instruments common to the Appalachian region, such as fiddle, banjo, and guitar. This program will be offered to Elementary and Middle school students. Scholarships are available based on need.

Fall Field Trips

Students engage in four different hands-on heritage classes in the nation's most extensive collection of log cabins.
During a field trip to Hart Square, students will spend 30 minutes on each activity. Students will experience a tour of several 19th-century log cabins, apple cider making, Appalachian Music, and corn husk doll making they may take home with them.

Tavern to Table Fundraising Dinner

A taste of history is back with a progressive-style dinner that takes you into Hart Square Village. Join your guide for a tour with a welcome drink on the covered bridge, exploring two historic homes, and a soup tasting in the tavern.  Return to the Great Hall of the Sigmon Family Education Center for two plated courses, and end your night with a visit to another historic home where you will enjoy cowboy coffee and dessert.

Annual Heritage Festival

To enter Hart Square Village on festival day is to enter the early 1800s. Hart Square bustles with over three hundred knowledgeable artisans and historic demonstrators dressed in period clothing. Our artisans truly bring the village to life by sharing the craftsmanship and subsistence of Carolina's pioneers.

Christmas Field Trips

Students engage in four different hands-on heritage classes in the nation's most extensive collection of log cabins.
During a field trip to Hart Square, students will spend 30 minutes on each activity. They will experience a tour of several 19th-century log cabins, quill pen letter writing, blacksmithing, and soap carving making, which they may take home with them.

Christmas in the Village

Experience the magic of Christmas! Walk through the nation’s largest log cabin village by lantern light. Guests will be invited inside to interact with 200 historical interpreters and observe artists demonstrating popular yuletide traditions of Early America. There will be square dancing, stocking sewing, blacksmithing, candlemaking, and more.

Lantern Light Tours

Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of Hart Square Village at Christmastime. This intimate, hour-long guided tour by lantern light will focus on early American holiday traditions, customs, and decor. See the village decorated and lit for the holiday season, and join our guides for an inside look at the story behind Hart Square Village. 

Christmas Square Dance Ball

A Square Dance Ball to enjoy the holiday season and celebrate the completion of our 2024 square dance series!  The first hour will be more social, and we are providing Christmas treats, cookies, and hot cider. The Great Hall will be decorated with greenery, historic ornaments, and Christmas trees.