News & Events

Held Rain or Shine from 9am to 4pm on Saturday, September 12, 2026 at the T H Broyhill Walking Park, 945 Lakewood Circle, Lenoir NC 28645

The Caldwell Arts Council in Lenoir presents its 40th Annual Sculpture Celebration, held on Saturday, September 12th, 2026. The annual event awards $11,000 in cash prizes in several categories, including a $3,000 award for Best in Show and a $2,000 First Place award.

When the Caldwell Arts Council held its first Sculpture Celebration in 1986, few could have imagined that it would continue today. Held annually on the Saturday after Labor Day at the Broyhill Walking Park in Lenoir, NC, the nationally recognized event draws sculptors, from across the nation, in competition for cash awards and potential sales.

In addition to the Sculpture Celebration, large scale entries can be entered for a second exhibition and sales opportunity at the Western NC Sculpture Center. Chosen works will be installed after the Sculpture Celebration and placed at WNCSC for up to one year.

The event is free to the public and is held rain or shine.  Free shuttles are available to and from Mulberry Recreation Center.   

Come stroll the sculpture exhibition, dotted along the lakeside path of the botanical garden and nature preserve.  Meet the artists and enjoy live music and a variety of food vendors. 

Caldwell Arts Council Community Sculpture Collection

While in the area, take in The Caldwell Arts Council permanent sculpture collection, one of the largest collections of publicly displayed sculptures for a community of our size in the US. Over 80 sculptures are permanently installed at locations all over Caldwell County, funded by private donations and commissions.  A location map for the sculptures are available at the Caldwell Arts Councils website, https://www.caldwellarts.com/sculpture/permanent-sculpture-collection

Tuckers’s Outdoor Sculpture Gallery

Add to your own sculpture collection while you are here.  Tucker’s Outdoor Sculpture Gallery, in downtown Lenoir NC, is an outdoor sculpture gallery managed by the Caldwell Arts Council. The gallery is named for the Tucker family, who settled the Lenoir are in 1797; their barn was a local gathering spot and stood near the current location of Caldwell Arts Council.  12 sculptures are featured along Main Street and West Avenue and rotate out annually.  The works are available for sale and current inventory and location maps are available at Caldwell Arts Council website.

There is no better time for an artist or art lover to visit Lenoir than during the annual Sculpture Celebration. Spend the weekend and explore the area to see how one of the best mountain towns in North Carolina is becoming more and more of a destination for creative talent than ever before. A good start would be exploring The Coves Mountain River Club, a 3,200 acre gated mountain community set along 5 miles of the Johns River. Amenities include a mountaintop clubhouse, ridge top swimming pool, community trail system, two equestrian centers, community garden, cooperative vineyard, river access points, pickleball and other sport courts, picnic pavilions and more.