ABOUT THE LAND & THE PEOPLE
Megan Keiser
When Pigs Fly Events, LLC - Founder and Owner
“ I love gatherings. As a mom, professor of teacher education, and former elementary school teacher, I value connection and community. I am the owner and caretaker of our serene nature-filled venue. I enjoy maintaining the wildness of this land and preparing it to be shared with your guests. Witnessing the emotion that flows between people celebrating life's milestones inspires me.”
From Land to Gathering Place
When Pigs Fly is located on what was once part of the Cherokee nation. This part of Appalachia became inhabited by homesteaders and a family by the name of Jones settled on the land in the 1940’s. The homestead’s last remaining original family member, grew up with his eleven brothers and sisters here, raising chickens, hogs, and playing in the creek. He still lives next to the property.
The family created Jones Fishing Lake - a set of two spring-fed ponds on this North Fork Valley property. They stocked the ponds and opened their land up for neighbors to gather at. Word spread and people came to relax under the homestead’s sheltering trees, fish in the serene ponds under cheerful electric lights strung through the trees, and sip Royal Crown sodas.
A tradition began…
Elizabeth’s Retreat
Elizabeth D. Kirk, a lover of English Literature, Medieval Studies, and pigs, traveled to Black Mountain, NC in the late 1990’s on a retirement-scouting visit. A professor at Brown University, Elizabeth was feeling the spirit of possibility and the strong surge of the daimon, when she encountered the Jones’ Homestead. She quickly began embracing her next chapter.
Elizabeth purchased the 8 acre homestead and began renovations on the property’s stone cottage and wooden barn. She was an Ivy League professor who migrated South, leaving behind the trappings of an academic life, and embraced a whole new salt-of-the-earth life. Her days filled with the natural world, creating pottery and hosting gatherings and pond parties. Elizabeth had an unlikely transformation and…
When Pigs Fly was born.
Becoming When Pigs Fly Events, LLC
In early 2000, at Elizabeth’s invitation, we moved onto my aunt’s property to make a home and raise children among a nature-filled backyard with endless things to explore. As time unfolded, we hosted more and more gatherings to celebrate and mark life’s moments with family and friends. Our land has been a gathering place for connection and renewal. In times of transition, and among our journeys upheavals, it has provided solace.
Everyone who has visited When Pigs Fly Pond senses the welcoming spirit and inclusive feel of this natural gathering space. Requests for use of the space have grown over the years, and inspired to share the serenity, we launched an events venue business. It is our hope that When Pigs Fly Events offers a space for you to celebrate and honor your connections.
Come make special memories!
