The White Squirrels of Brevard, North Carolina

As critters go, they are pretty cool.

Brevard, North Carolina is known for a lot of things. They are a mountain biking Mecca, especially in Dupont State Recreational Forest. The hiking is top-notch, and it is smack dab in the middle of the Land of Waterfalls, aka Transylvania County. The streams flowing over those waterfalls are full of fish too, making it a fishing destination as well.

Of all the natural wonders of the area, the white squirrel is perhaps the most unique. The white squirrels are everywhere, and in 1986, Brevard declared itself a squirrel sanctuary. We even have them in our neighborhood 20 minutes out of town near Dupont Forest. I have not managed to get a picture of one, but I keep my camera at the ready when I’m on the back porch.

The squirrels’ white coat is not a result of albinism—they have dark eyes. Instead, they are a white-coated variant of the gray squirrels we all have nosing around in the yard. Local lore says the squirrels came to Brevard by way of an overturned carnival truck near Madison, Florida in 1949. Two escaped squirrels were caught by a local and gifted to a friend in Brevard who tried unsuccessfully to breed them. Seems all they needed was a taste of freedom to inspire l’amour—or maybe they just didn’t like each other—but once they escaped again into the woods, they were quite successful breeding with the local population. Now white squirrels make up about a third of the squirrel population in and around Brevard.

A local mascot as unique and adorable as the white squirrel must have a festival in it’s honor, so Brevard hosts White Squirrel Weekend at the beginning of each summer. There are arts and crafts vendors, food trucks, a car show, a hula hoop dance party, and because it’s Brevard, lots of live music.

This year’s festival was held Memorial Day weekend, and since I was in town, I decided to check it out. The festival did not disappoint, but the weather did. It was rainy and cold, but it was fun when the rain took a break.

There was a huge bandstand set up at our end of Main Street. I had planned to stay for the Saturday night concerts, but I decided to sit out the heavy rain on my back porch instead.

I bought freshly made chocolate-covered mini donuts from a pink school bus. If you look closely inside the second window from the right, you can see the donut maker. It was like being in a Krispy Kreme factory on a much smaller scale.

I got a chicken gyro that was every bit as good as it looks and a large freshly squeezed lemonade.

I found these adorable embroidered napkins. Since we’ve got three Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the family now, we’ve (I’ve) taken to calling the Brevard house The Hive and picking up bee themed accessories. Not shown: the delicious local sourwood honey from Bee. Honey + Hive I picked up as well. The owners have a Marietta connection too, which is fun.

Brevard also has a full time shop dedicated to all things white squirrel appropriately named the White Squirrel Shoppe.

I also got my picture made with a man in a giant white squirrel costume with a nametag that read, Ray. I asked Ray how things were going, and he said he was hot. Alas, between the wind and the rain, our photo was less than flattering for either of us, so I’m doing us both a favor by not sharing it. Ray was a hit with adults and children alike and seemed to enjoy the attention despite the heat.

All in all, it was a fun weekend despite being in town on my own whilst the family was spread out across the country traveling to summer jobs. I will do my best to get you a photo of a real live white squirrel, but I’ll have to be quick on my feet to do it. Those suckers are fast!

Georgia Tech also has a resident white squirrel on campus, but I don’t know if it’s related to our little Brevard friends or not.

Until next time,
Karla