Born underneath a big-top canvas tent, in a grassy field near Gatlinburg, Tennessee, the Southern Highlands Craftsmen Fair entered the world out of necessity — connecting mountain makers to city and country consumers in the years following World War II.

It was in that field, on the campus of the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, that Appalachian residents first gathered to watch demonstrations on glassblowing, on chair caning, on quilting and weaving. They bought wares for their homes, art for their walls, blankets for their children. The fair was an all-week, all-day open-air extravaganza, typically lasting five or six days at a time, from 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

Seventy years later, on the other side of the mountain ridge, the tradition continues — the Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands is going strong in Asheville's artistic community.

This curated fine arts and crafts affair will return to downtown's U.S. Cellular Center this weekend, July 21-23, packed with artists and makers from around the region.

Mountain makers through time

Despite its origins over the state line, the craft fair's move to Asheville is far from a recent occurrence.

The Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands has been held in the same location for 65 years, long before the U.S. Cellular Center boasted its current name and structure.

In 1951, the fair's first year in town, it was held at the Asheville Auditorium, which, today, is the site of the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium — the large entertainment complex's smaller stage.

When the added arena and wraparound lobby completed construction, in 1975, the fair moved to occupy the larger, adjoining space, and the work of the region's creatives has thrilled locals and visitors from the venue ever since.

Originally, the fair was held only in July, but in 1959, the Guild tested a fall craft fair in Gatlinburg with much success — though eventually, that fair moved over to Asheville as well, resulting in the current biannual structure of the Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands today.

Fast-forward through time, to 2017: The Southern Highland Craft Guild has prepared a special, new-and-improved craft weekend for its upcoming anniversary event.

Where craft meets design

The guild spent the last year brainstorming ways to make this event more interactive and dynamic than in the past.

Thanks to a $5,000 grant from the Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau, those creative dreams will become reality when the fair begins Friday.

Along with the work of 150 craft artisans and makers — bringing both contemporary and traditional pieces made from clay, wood, metal, glass, fiber, natural materials, paper, leather, mixed media and jewelry — the three-day fair is more than just a retail event.

Browsing the row after row of artisans, guests will find even more live crafting demonstrations and, new this year, design vignettes that demonstrate ways to weave craft into home decor.

Partnering with local interior designers, architects and builders from Western North Carolina, the Craft Guild has created three home design spaces, each with a theme to suit a variety of personal tastes.

The first space, "Rustic Elegance," will take fair-goers into a cozy country living room, with interior design by Platt Architecture, furniture and accessories from Anne Sherrill of Rusticks and art and decor from Matt Tommey.

The next room, "Transitional," features a modern dream-dining room, built by Living Stone Design and Build, designed by ID.ology, featuring furniture from Brian Boggs.

“Contemporary,” a stylish and comfortable bedroom, features the vision of Tracey Kearnes from Alchemy Design Studio and work from Barbara Zaretsky, in a space from Samsel Architects.

"This element," the three design-inspiration rooms, "has been in the works for nearly eight months, fine-tuning every detail," explained Hannah Barry, Guild public relations manager. "The purpose is to provide physical context to craft for homeowners, as often it can be a challenge to determine how to decorate or build your home with handcrafted items."

At 11:30 a.m. July 21, guests at the fair can learn more about the design process from the collaborators of the project — getting the chance to pick their brains a bit for design tips for their own homes.

Also new to the fair this year is the "15 Minutes of Fashion" showcase, a daily fashion show and collaboration with Local Cloth, featuring the fiber work of Craft Fair exhibitors.

"At 1 p.m. daily, models will walk the Guild's catwalk at the entrance of the downstairs arena," Barry said. "This will certainly bring the clothing to life, allowing visitors to see them up-close and in-motion."

Experience, shop, listen, create

Mountain musicians, from old-time to bluegrass, will join the daily lineup, performing on the arena stage. Although this mix of craft and music is nothing new for the fair, which has invited musicians to entertain its crowds since the very first event.

Twelve crafters will set up demonstration areas to show visitors how their work is made.

In fiber art experiences, Local Cloth will be offering hands-on demonstrations in silk painting and shibori dyeing, as well as spinning and weaving — and Dede Styles will be out front, showing off her natural dye process, coloring different fibers of natural, mountain flora and fauna.

The WNC Fiber/Handweavers Guild will drop in to spin and weave in an interactive demo — and the Asheville Quilt Guild will be on the arena floor with opportunities for visitors to sew different patterns. Lorraine Cathey will demonstrate work in needle felting, Betsy Meyer will show the art of tapestry weaving and Charlie Patricolo will stitch together cloth dolls.

In other mediums, Ruthie Cohen will demonstrate jewelry fabrication, John Richards will give insight on the art of mixed media collage and Judy Brater will show the techniques behind ceramics building and coiling.

For their first time at the Craft Fair, glass artists Christian Arnold and Laurie Young will be inside, on the upstairs concourse, blowing glass on a flame torch. The couple creates decorative and functional pieces of glass, and visitors can watch them melt and cool glass into beautiful sculptures.

Fourth generation chair caner Brandy Clements will be on the arena floor demonstrating several processes of caning that were handed down to her using rush, lace cane and other materials. Accompanying her at her booth will be a variety of chairs that show a historical evolution.

Of course, those aren't the only artists with work on display and for sale at the fair.

Feature artist Larry Allen, whose work is shown on this summer's brochures, will be on-site with his Native American and African-inspired stoneware pottery — as will Marty McConnaughey, with her natural gourd crafts.

For the delightfully imaginative, Patrick Ironwood's work might catch your eye — his "mysterious, impossibly old, imaginary machines, talismans and kaleidoscopes, which appear to have been lost, perhaps under the sea, for hundreds of years," the artist's statement reads.

Celebrate seven decades of creativity in the mountains, now with even more pizzazz.

The Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands runs from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. July 21 and July 22 and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. July 23. Admission to the event, held inside the U.S. Cellular Center in downtown Asheville, is $8 (or $12 for a weekend pass) and children under 12 can attend for free. Find out more about the fair and the Guild artists at craftguild.org.