To celebrate Great Trails State Day on Saturday, Oct. 17, the Moore County Tourism Development Authority (TDA) has partnered once again with renowned Seagrove potter Crystal King to create 30 pottery pinecones to hide along selected trails in Moore County that day. This year, the 30 “Crystal Cones” will be red, white and blue to commemorate the America 250 celebration. Each pinecone will be individually stamped, numbered and authenticated by King.
“Crystal always does a great job with the pottery pinecones, and this year’s edition is truly unique to commemorate America 250,” said TDA President and CEO Phil Werz in a news release. “Our pinecone program has grown significantly in popularity over the years, and we get a lot of joy from seeing how excited our beloved ‘coneheads’ get when we launch one of our seasonal scavenger hunts on some of our beautiful trails in Moore County.”
The tourism bureau will announce the trails where the pottery pinecones will be hidden in Moore County at 9 a.m. on Saturday, October 17 via its social media platforms on Facebook and Instagram. Finders are asked to register their pinecone on the event website and will automatically be entered to win a $250 gift card to Crystal King Pottery. All ages are welcome to join the hunt, but only registered finders 21 and older are eligible to win the gift card.
“I’m thrilled to be part of the Pottery Pinecone program, and it was fun creating the 30 pottery pinecones that will be hidden along trails in Moore County on October 17,” said King, a Seagrove potter and owner of Crystal King Pottery. “With these new pottery pinecones and our separate pottery pumpkins we produce each year, it will be a very busy fall.”
Crystal King represents 10 generations of pottery tradition in the Seagrove area. Her parents apprenticed with the late Dot and Walter Auman at the original Seagrove Pottery, which influenced her love of the craft and the direction of the pieces she produces today. Her most popular works include sculptural and animal figurines, folk art and face-jug themes.
Great Trails State Day is actually a law. The North Carolina legislature unanimously approved the measure in 2023, and it became law under Gov. Roy Cooper.
The one-day Great Trails State Day pottery pinecone hunt is an offshoot of the popular Pinecone Pathways program, which began in spring 2023 to celebrate the Year of the Trail in North Carolina. Because of the program’s overwhelming popularity, the TDA decided to make the spring scavenger hunt an annual event. For the spring program, the TDA partners with glassmakers at Starworks in Star to produce 100 colorful glass pinecones, which are hidden along trails throughout Moore County for five weeks, from the first day of spring through Earth Day.
Because only a limited number of pinecones will be hidden, the TDA asks that finders keep only one and leave any additional pinecones they discover hidden on the trail for others to find.
The hidden pinecones will never be more than three to four feet off the ground and no more than three feet from any marked trail, but they may not be easy to find.
For more information about the Pottery Pinecones Program, go to: www.HomeofGolf.com/pottery-pinecones
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*Photo/article contributed.
