Editing Mount Airy, North Carolina (section)

==Arts and culture==

===Mayberry===
Actor [[Andy Griffith]] was born in Mount Airy, and the town is<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.avclub.com/article/andy-griffith-show-built-north-carolina-backlot-206455 |title=The Andy Griffith Show built North Carolina on the backlot  |work=avclub.com |date=July 9, 2014 |access-date=July 10, 2014}}</ref> considered to have been the basis for [[Mayberry]], the setting of the TV shows ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]'' and ''[[Mayberry R.F.D.]]''<ref name="Famous citizens">{{cite web |url= http://mountairydowntown.org/FAMOUS_CITIZENS.html |title= Famous Citizens/History |work= mountairydowntown.org |access-date= August 6, 2012 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130430070144/http://mountairydowntown.org/FAMOUS_CITIZENS.html |archive-date= April 30, 2013 }}</ref>
The community holds an annual "Mayberry Days" celebration during the last weekend of September; 30,000 attended in 2009, and 90,000 attended for the show's 50th anniversary in 2010. The [[University of North Carolina at Greensboro]] estimates the town receives $5 million each year as a result.  Surviving members of the cast, along with family members of other cast members, often visit.  The 2024 event was slated to have a special appearance by Karen Knotts, Don's daughter.<ref>https://karenknotts.com/tied-up-in-knotts-show/ {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref>

Several [[Ford Galaxie]] [[police car]]s, painted to resemble those used on the show, give rides to guests.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.visitnc.com/listing/squad-car-tours|title=Squad Car Tours|website=VisitNC.com|access-date=2018-02-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214073430/https://www.visitnc.com/listing/squad-car-tours|archive-date=2018-02-14|url-status=dead}}</ref> A barber shop has been named "[[Floyd Lawson|Floyd's]]."

The [[Andy Griffith Museum]], founded in 2009 by [[Emmett Forrest]], attracts 200 visitors a day.<ref name=Washburn>{{cite news|url=http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/08/28/1659729/goobers-suit-enshrined-in-town.html|title=Goober's suit enshrined in town Mayberry built|last=Washburn|first=Mark|work=[[The Charlotte Observer]]|date=2010-08-28|access-date=2010-08-28|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130105061630/http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/08/28/1659729/goobers-suit-enshrined-in-town.html|archive-date=2013-01-05}}</ref><ref name=manews/> The 2,500-square-feet museum, located half a mile from Griffith's childhood home, houses the world's largest collection of Andy Griffith [[memorabilia]].<ref name=bizj>{{cite news |title=Well, I'll be: Andy Griffith Museum opens |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2010/01/18/daily34.html |work= [[The Business Journal]]  |date=2010-01-13 |access-date=2013-02-10}}</ref>

Mayberry Days will continue on September 23-29, 2024.<ref>https://www.surryarts.org/mayberrydays/ {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref>

===Autumn Leaves Festival===
Held the second weekend in October, the Autumn Leaves Festival attracts over 200,000 people to the city during the festival weekend.<ref name="Autumn Leaves Festival">{{Cite news|url=http://www.autumnleavesfestival.com/bluegrass-music-festival/|title=Mayberry North Carolina {{!}} Bluegrass Music Festivals {{!}} NC Events|work=Autumn Leaves Festival|access-date=2018-02-05|language=en-US}}</ref> Vendors sell food and other items, and there is a stage for musicians.<ref name="Autumn Leaves Festival"/>

===Bluegrass and old-time music===
The home of [[old-time music]] legend  [[Tommy Jarrell]],
bluegrass gospel legends The Easter Brothers, and [[country music|country singer]] [[Donna Fargo]], Mount Airy has a long history with regional music. Mount Airy's [[WPAQ]] is one of the few Bluegrass and Old-Time music stations still operating and has been airing the live radio show Merry-Go-Round from the Downtown Cinema Theatre since 1948. Weekly bluegrass [[jam session]]s at The Andy Griffith Playhouse and the annual [[Mount Airy Fiddlers Convention]] also serve to attract old-time musicians from across the region and the world. [[Mount Airy Fiddlers Convention|The Fiddlers Convention]] first began in 1972, and is held the first weekend in June at Veterans Memorial Park.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.blueridgemusicnc.com/find-music/event/mount-airy-bluegrass-and-old-time-fiddlers-convention|title=Mount Airy Bluegrass and Old-Time Fiddlers' Convention {{!}} Blue Ridge Music Trails|last=www.paleosun.com|first=PaleoSun, Inc. Web Development|website=Blue Ridge Music Trails|language=en|access-date=2018-02-13}}</ref> The [[Blue Ridge Music Center]] with its amphitheater and music museum of old-time music is just a few miles away on the [[Blue Ridge Parkway]] at Milepost 213, near [[Galax, Virginia]]. This area is home to the Round Peak style of old-time music, which started in the Round Peak community, just west of Mount Airy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.verysurry.com/blog/round-peak-old-time-bluegrass |title=Round Peak: The Influence of Surry County to the World of Old-Time Music &#124; Very Surry – Blog |access-date=2014-01-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221193553/http://www.verysurry.com/blog/round-peak-old-time-bluegrass/ |archive-date=2014-02-21 }}</ref>