Upcoming Events
Free Yoga in the Park
The Park at Flat Rock
As spring begins to awaken The Park at Flat Rock, the return of free community yoga offers a perfect way to enjoy the season. Starting April 2 and continuing through October 31, classes will be held outdoors on Thursdays at 6:00 p.m. and Saturdays at 10:00 a.m., inviting participants to stretch, breathe, and move in a peaceful natural setting.
Hosted behind the Welcome Center and supported by the Flat Rock Park Foundation, YAM Yoga, and UNC Health Pardee, these sessions are open to all experience levels. It’s a chance to welcome warmer days, gather in community, and experience The Park as it comes alive with the colors and energy of spring.
Tour of St. John in the Wilderness Church and Church Yard
Learn about Flat Rock History
Tour St. John in the Wilderness this Summer and Fall
Exploring local history continues in one of the oldest churches in Western North Carolina. The Episcopal Church of St. John in the Wilderness in Flat Rock offers guided tours of the 175-year-old church and churchyard.
Held on the third Saturdays of the month through December, tours start inside the Church at 11 a.m. and last about an hour. Additional tours are offered on the first Saturday of the month in August and September. There are no rain dates and participants are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes.
The church docent tours are free but advance reservations must be made online through the church's website, www.stjohnflatrock.org/tours. Space is limited for each tour.
“We are so fortunate to be able to share the story of this beautiful holy place with visitors. Our history has its roots in both the mountain community of Flat Rock and in coastal South Carolina, the home of our founders and early congregants,” said lead docent Polly Morrice.
The historically significant churchyard contains graves of notable historic figures and local citizens as well as those of unnamed 19th-century enslaved persons.
After the tour ends, participants may choose to explore the recently opened Trails of St. John, located behind the Parish Hall complex, directly across Rutledge Drive from the church.
“Our aim as docents is to convey what has shaped us, both the painful and the good, ranging from Civil War bushwhackers to Carl Sandburg’s memorial service,” Morrice reflected. “We do stress that St. John is not a museum, but a vibrant, welcoming church. We welcome all who would like to make more history with us.”
The church is located at 1895 Greenville Highway. For more information, call the church office at 828-693-9783 or visit www.stjohnflatrock.org.
St. John in the Wilderness History
In 1827, Charles Baring, a member of the Baring banking family of England, built a home in Flat Rock. He and his wife, Susan, wanted a summer place to escape the oppressive heat, humidity, and malaria of the South Carolina Lowcountry where they lived.
At the behest of Susan, a devout Anglican, Charles built a chapel on the property of Mountain Lodge, their newly constructed home. The small wooden structure soon burned down in a woods fire. In 1833, work began on a second church built of handmade brick.
In August 1836, the Barings deeded their chapel to the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, and 20 members of the Flat Rock summer colony of Lowcountry planters and merchants formed an Episcopal parish. In the 1890s, St. John in the Wilderness became part of the Diocese of Western North Carolina; it is the oldest parish in that diocese.
With almost all its congregation traveling home to the Lowcountry at summer’s end, the church operated mainly during that season for its first 120 years. The Flat Rock summer community grew so rapidly during the 1830s and 1840s, however, that the parish membership outgrew the small chapel. In the early 1850s, the church vestry, or governing body, made the decision to rebuild the church, doubling its size. The English chapel-style structure that stands today is, with only a few minor modifications, the church that was completed in 1852.
https://www.stjohnflatrock.org/tours
Upcoming Tour Dates:
July 18, 2026
August 1, 2026
August 15, 2026
September 5, 2026
September 19, 2026
October 17, 2026
November 21, 2026
December 19, 2026
A Brief History of St. John in the Wilderness
Blue Ridge Center for Lifelong Learning
Link to Current Schedule of Courses Here
Website: https://brcll.com/
If you are interested in strengthening your mind, expanding your knowledge, learning about your community, making new friends and staying active, the Blue Ridge Center of Lifelong Learning will be of interest to you!
BRCLL is an organization within the Blue Ridge Community College that caters to the interests of older adults in western North Carolina.
Blue Ridge Center for Lifelong Learning is committed to creating a sense of community, focusing on individual enrichment and growth, ensuring excellence and innovation to benefit our participants and enhance the quality of life in our community.
BRCLL
We invite you to be inspired this April at Blue Ridge Center for Lifelong Learners.
Treska’s Tuesday Market
Treska’s Tuesday Market returns for the season every Tuesday from 3:30–6 p.m. through September at the pavilion at Marked Tree Vineyard / Treska’s on Highland Lake. Visitors can enjoy live music, browse a wide variety of local farmers and artisan vendors, and purchase food and drinks from Treska’s Café while gathering with friends and neighbors in a relaxed outdoor setting. The weekly market has become a popular community tradition celebrating local food, crafts, and music throughout the spring and summer season.
Flat Rock Farmers Market
Every Thursday from 3-6 pm at Pinecrest Presbyterian Church on the corner of Greenville Highway and Highland Lake Road.