The Cotton Festival is Dunn, North Carolina’s annual celebration of the farmer and in particular the cotton farmer and their contributions as well as the cotton farming and harvesting heritage that plays an important role in the Dunn area. It is a time to put the spotlight on downtown Dunn, a growing and thriving area of commercial and retail development. It’s also a lot of fun for the whole family, from the little cotton blossom all the way to the big cotton bales.

The festival is the first Saturday in November.

Everything takes place in downtown Dunn. On Saturday, the event takes up more than 11 city blocks mainly on Broad Street, Wilson Avenue and Edgerton Street. Access to the festival from Interstate 95 is Exit 73 and follow US 421 into downtown.

Besides offering unique shops, restaurants, and museums the festival showcases two music stages, a classic car show featuring more than 100 cars, more than 150 vendors offering commercial products, food and crafts items. No admission is required to get into the festival.

November is peak season for cotton farmers and downtown Dunn was once known as the largest wagon cotton yard in the country. During the festival, the local cotton gin, that until recent years was located in downtown, offers free tours through the gin so that everyone can see cotton production up close and personal. Shuttles are offered from the festival site to the gin and back every half hour. Check in at the Information booths for tour time information.

The NC Cotton Festival falls under the operation of the Dunn Area Tourism Authority, headed by Community Marketing Director Cristy Bullock. She is so incredibly thankful to be assisted by a large group of AMAZING local volunteers who do everything from arrange for the entertainment to clean up afterwards. In addition, nearly every City Department plays an important role in the production of the festival. The very best of the community of Dunn is truly on display for this grand undertaking!

The event started in 1998 and has grown each year since up until Covid when the festival was put on hold for 2020 & 2021. The last 2019 Cotton Festival attracted approximately 15,000 people.

Applications are available on July 1st EVERY year for the Festival.  They are 1st Come 1st Serve (We do try to put a cap on duplicating vendors, i.e. out of 150 spots we will only allow (2) of the same type products and they will NOT be in the same area).  Applications are available on this website under “Vendors” tab and they do not go live until July 1st.