To celebrate Great Trails State Day in North Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 19, the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) has partnered with renowned Seagrove Potter Crystal King to produce 30 pottery pinecones to be hidden along selected trails in Moore County that day. The 30 “Crystal Cones” will be a faint orange with a pine green leafing. Each pinecone will be individually stamped, numbered and authenticated by King.
“We wanted to find a unique way to maintain the popularity of the Pinecone Pathways Program, but maintain the glass pinecones in the spring like we have with our partners at Starworks,” said CVB President and CEO Phil Werz. “We approached Crystal (King) about producing a special pottery pinecone for the fall to celebrate Great Trails State Day and she created a design that allows us to showcase something from our friends in Seagrove to be part of the pinecone craze in Moore County.”
“I’m thrilled to be part of the Pinecone Pathways program and looking forward to creating the 30 pottery pinecones that will be hidden along trails in Moore County,” said King, 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 and direction in the items she produces today. Her most popular works include sculptural and animal figurines, folk-like and face jug themes. The CVB envisions an annual partnership with the Seagrove Potters community where a different potter would produce fall pinecones to create a series of annual pottery collectibles.
Great Trails State Day is a law. The North Carolina legislature unanimously approved the measure last year, and it became law with Governor Roy Cooper’s signature. The day is observed across the state on the third Saturday in October. Trails provide free access to healthy recreation, safe transportation alternatives, and contribute to the quality of life in communities of all sizes, making places desirable for residents, visitors and businesses. Trails are an important economic driver, serving as the backbone of North Carolina’s outdoor recreation economy, which reached $14.6 billion in 2022. As the fifth-ranked tourism state in the country, North Carolina attracts visitors in large part due to our diversified natural landscapes, from the mountains to the coast.
The one-day Great Trails State Day pottery pinecone hunt is an offshoot of the popular Pinecone Pathways program, which started in the spring of 2023 to celebrate the Year of the Trail in North Carolina. Due to the overwhelming popularity of the program, the CVB decided to make the spring scavenger hunt an annual event. For the spring program, the CVB has partnered with glassmakers at Starworks, located in Star, to annually produce 100 colorful glass pinecones, which are hidden along trails throughout Moore County for five weeks.
Because there will only be a limited number of pinecones in the program, the CVB asks that finders only keep one of them, and any additional ones found remain hidden on the trail.
The CVB has enlisted the help of special “pinecone hiders” who will know the exact location of every pinecone. The pinecones will never be more than three to four feet off the ground and no more than three feet off any marked trail, but they may not be easy to find.
For more information about the Pinecone Pathways Program, go to: www.HomeofGolf.com/pottery-pinecones
Feature photo: Seagrove potter Crystal King/Courtesy photo.
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