Get ready for the annual Holiday Bazaar at Bynum Front Porch on Sat, Nov 29, 10am-2pm. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, Bynum wakes up with a sparkle in the air. Down by the old general store, the front porch is strung with garland and twinkle lights, and the smell of Bynum’s famous chicken cracker stew drifts out to meet the crowd.

It’s Holiday Bazaar day, and the place hums like a hive. Inside, tables are stacked with local treasures — hand-thrown pottery still warm from the kiln, jewel-toned scarves, hand-poured soaps wrapped in brown paper, and framed photographs that catch the Haw River in every season. Paintings lean in little clusters, each one carrying the signature of a neighbor you’ve probably shared a laugh with. Shoppers drift from table to table, warm cider in one hand, gift list in the other.

Outside, the Bynum Front Porch Pickers are in full swing. Banjo, fiddle, guitar — the music rolls out over the lawn, spilling into the street where folks line up for hot stew, talking and laughing in puffs of white breath.

And just steps from the front porch, another tradition is in full gear — Christmas tree pickup. Trucks and SUVs pull in and out, loading up fresh-cut pines that will soon stand in living rooms all over Chatham County. You can smell them even from the porch, sharp and green, blending with the scent of stew and cider until the whole town smells like the holidays.

See more Bynum Front Porch events.