The WNC Herb Marketing Association sponsors the Asheville Spring Herb Festival, the largest festival dedicated to herb growers, herbal product makers, and herbalists from Western North Carolina, E. Tennessee, and Upstate South Carolina. The festival began in 1990, and except for the COVID year of 2020, has been held every year for more than 30 years. It is the largest festival devoted to herbs in the United States and Canada. More than 60 vendors sell hundreds of varieties of herbs and vegetable starts, including heirloom vegetables; soaps, salves, and extracts for medicinal and culinary use. Other products include organic gardening soil amendments, worm castings, compost tea; non-GMO seeds; and books and educational materials. Workshops are offered as well.