An evening with Darren Poupore
At the Blowig’ Rock Art & History Museum
June 25, 2026 | 6:30 pm
Join us for an intimate evening with Darren Poupore, highlighting the weaving history of Biltmore Estate with live demonstrations by local artisans in spinning and weaving. This exclusive evening is in partnership with the 2026 BRAHM Luncheon and is inspired by BRAHM’s current exhibition Barbara Grenell: Mountain Tapestries.
This dinner and remarks from this year’s Luncheon speaker will highlight the passion and support of the arts that the Vanderbilts brought to the Asheville region. In the early 1900s, Eleanor Vance and Charlotte Yale, two art lovers and residents of Biltmore Village, started a Boys and Girls Club that taught woodworking. Soon after, and encouraged by the generosity of Edith Vanderbilt, they expanded to include needlework and weaving into their curriculum.
Today, fiber arts are still deeply embedded in Western North Carolina, with folk and craft schools like Penland School of Craft, Crossnore Weavers & Gallery, and John C. Campbell Folk School carrying the legacy of Edith’s passion for supporting traditional craft. Barbara Grenell (1944–2001), a North Carolina–based fiber artist, was directly influenced by this culture. Trained initially as a painter at the Philadelphia College of Art before committing to the loom, Grenell earned her MFA from Western Carolina University and became deeply embedded in the region’s craft networks.
Presented in dialogue with BRAHM’s Take Up: Intergenerational Weaving initiative, funded by IMLS and developed in collaboration with the Watauga County Project on Aging, the installation situates Grenell’s practice within a living lineage of Appalachian weaving, emphasizing the transmission of skill, memory, and place across generations.
Plan to join us for an engaging and inspiring dinner by purchasing your ticket below. For all Luncheon-related questions, please contact Hannah@BlowingRockMuseum.org.
For more information about the history of weaving at Biltmore, please visit The Biltmore Industries Homespun Museum.
For any additional questions about availability, please contact Hannah Chaney at Hannah@BlowingRockMuseum.org or 828.295.9099 ext. 3011.
Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Luncheon? Please click below for more information.
BRAHM is an exempt organization as described in Section 501(c)3/EIN# 30-0003315 of the Internal Revenue Code. A partial amount of the ticket price for this event is tax-deductible as allowed by the IRS to 501(c)3 organizations.
NOTE: Unless safety concerns require the event’s cancellation, sponsorships and tickets are non-refundable.
If registered guests should need to cancel then their ticket purchase will be made a fully tax-deductible donation.