Visit Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen is hosting the fourth annual Peach Week celebration in Moore County from July 18 to 26. 

This event is an expansion of the North Carolina Peach Festival, which formally begins in the peach capital of North Carolina - Candor. The Peach Festival in Candor will take place from July 16 to 18. This year is Candor’s 28th year hosting a Peach Festival, and Moore County’s fourth year to expand those festivities within the Moore County area. The celebration in Candor includes a wing competition, live performances and a grand parade on July 18. 

Festivities in Moore County kick off with a Peach Pathways Scavenger Hunt and Foodie Tour of participating local restaurants in Aberdeen. Visit Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen welcome this festival as an opportunity to highlight local peach producers and small business owners in Moore County. Local peach producers include Kalawi Farm, Chappell Peaches, Hillcrest Peaches and Highlanders Farm. 

Vice President of Destination Marketing at Visit Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen, Melissa Holt, shared that the motivation for bringing Peach Week to Moore County was multifaceted. 

“Moore County is considered a micropolitan area because we have certain features. We’re also considered a rural county, so it’s very interesting here. When we think about our work as the Tourism Development Authority, we’re not only thinking about marketing what’s already here. I think we’ve been forward thinking and trying to look at what’s also not here and what we can help bring to our community,” Holt said. 

Holt’s favorite event during Peach Week is the Peach Pathways Scavenger Hunt. Participants in the scavenger hunt explore local trails and hope to find one of the 20 handcrafted glass peaches created by Starworks. The scavenger hunt portion of Peach Week will take place from July 18 to July 22. Each morning at 9 a.m., a list of hunt locations throughout the Sandhills will be published on the Peach Pathways Facebook event page. 

“It’s a scavenger hunt for glass peaches... and it’s a little bit of a nod to our popular Pinecone Pathways program…” Holt said. 

Every spring, Visit Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen hosts a glass pinecone scavenger hunt between the first day of spring and Earth Day. The pinecone hunt encourages Moore County residents to get outside and enjoy local hiking trails. Peach Pathways brings a creatively themed twist to the previously established tradition. 

When participants locate a glass peach, they are invited to register their find using the Peach Pathways Registration Form on the Peach Week website to be entered to win the grand prize. This year’s grand prize is two tickets to the upcoming Pinehurst Barbecue Festival’s Pitmaster Invitational. 

One of the most celebrated events during Peach Week is a restaurant competition. Any restaurant owner in the greater Moore County area is given an invitation to participate in the competition. Restaurants may enter the competition and submit dishes for categories that include breakfast entrées, salads and appetizers, main entrées, desserts, cocktails/mocktails, peach beer/cider and peach specialty drinks. 

Kalawi Farm, a fourth-generation peach farm located in Eagle Springs, provides all of the peaches for participating restaurants. Kalawi Farm loads up its trucks with its locally grown peaches and delivers them to restaurant owners for their use in the competition. 

Executive Pastry Chef from Maisonette Monica Fowler shared that this year is her third year participating in the restaurant competition. Fowler said that the restaurant competition has allowed her to join friendly competition with other restaurants that she respects, but it has also given her confidence to enter larger North Carolina cooking competitions as well. 

“I intentionally incorporate local food items from farms and businesses around Moore County. I like to support North Carolina producers. For example, I have a breakfast pastry that uses local goat cheese from Ithika Acres. People love it,” Fowler said. 

Maisonette will enter the restaurant competition in three categories this year: dessert, breakfast and specialty drinks. 

Railhouse Brewery, the oldest operating brewery in Moore County, also plans to enter the restaurant competition this year. Cora Geiter - manager at Railhouse Brewery - has participated in the restaurant competition for all four years. 

“We have a peach wheat beer recipe that we have perfected. We only offer it on certain days during Peach Week because we have been known to sell out too early,” Geiter said. This year, Railhouse Brewery is also entering the competition in the cocktail/mocktail category. 

Restaurant patrons are encouraged to stop in to any participating location and grab a Peach Card. The website directs visitors to “ask for the Pick Your Peach Card at any participating location, then collect peach stickers from any three participating locations during Peach Week. Once your card is full, drop it off at any of these locations for a chance to win a $250 gift card to your favorite participating spot.” 

Additional Peach Week highlights include orchard tours and live music at James Creek Cider House’s Peach A’Palooza, alongside the Weymouth Center’s Peachgrass Festival. You can also catch the Motors & Moore expo, a Pitches & Peaches game with the Sandhills Bogeys, the Run Your Peach Off 5K Fun Run by FirstHealth Fitness and a Par Tees & Peaches Trolley Cruise. 

For the full schedule of activities, visit the official event page at peachweeknc.com.