2024 Calendar of Events

National Park Fee Free Days

Please check operating status at this park and others before traveling as holidays and local weather or safety conditions can affect hours of operation.

Come experience the national parks! On six days in 2025, all National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission to everyone. Mark your calendar for these entrance fee–free dates in 2025:

• January 9: National Day of Mourning for President James Earl Carter Jr.
• January 20: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• April 19: First day of National Park Week
• June 19: Juneteenth National Independence Day
• August 4: Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
• September 27: National Public Lands Day
• November 11: Veterans Day

Sandburg Home Tour Free Days

ALERT: Due to Imacts from Hurricane Helene the park is using a phased approach to reopening. As of Feb, 2025 the home is still closed for house tours, until we are able to offer more parking. However the bookstore is now open on Sat / Sun from 10-3. Please check back as we make progress toward reopening fully.

Normal Sandburg Home Fee Free Days include:

On several days throughout the year, tours of the Sandburg Home are free! Advance reservations are not available for tour free days. Tickets will be available first come, first serve on the day of, from the Visitor Center/Park Store in the Sandburg Home.

• Saturday, January 6, 2024 (Carl Sandburg’s birthday)
• Saturday, March 23, 2024 (First Saturday of local school spring break)
• Saturday, June 8th, 2024 (Annnual Sandburg Music Festival)
• Saturday, June 15, 2024 (Sandburgs’ wedding anniversary)
• Saturday and Sunday, October 19 and 20, 2024 (Weekend closest to Carl Sandburg Home NHS October 17, 1968, Anniversary)

---

Monthly Writing Workshops

Join writers and poets from across the country each month for a virtual writing workshop. A link will be added to their name when more details and sign-up information becomes available. These workshops are geared towards amateur writers, ages 16 and older recommended. Follow us on Facebook for notifications too.

2025 Virtual Writers Workshops

Seasonal Events

Spring

• Student Poetry Contest

Summer

• Summer Rootabaga Story plays at the amphitheater

• Hands-on History Tables Sat/Sun

Fall

• Dairy Goat Show at the Western North Carolina Mountain State Fair
• Park Anniversary on October 17
• Sandburg Music Festival (moved to October for 2025)

Winter

• Christmas at Connemara