Southwest Virginia Cultural Center & Marketplace

Nice place to stop and rest with some cool things to look at. It can point you in the direction of other nice places to visit in Virginia.

A great stop on I-81 headed north! Peaceful, with crafts, quilts, and candy.

This was my first visit. I was impressed with the selection of items. The center was clean and spacious. The staff was helpful. There was a wide selection of merchandise made from nearby craftsmen. I was impressed and will stop again if in the area. This is a wheelchair friendly location. The café was closed when I visited.

Its a great place to visit. Free of charge. See local artists works and learn a little history. Beautiful building.

Fantastic experience. Just so happened to be a kid's bluegrass competition. Local artist's displays didn't disappoint.

Very nice selection of works by local artists, crafters, and artisans. They're very dog friendly, which is a huge plus. Prices vary from very low to investment. A great introduction to the local arts scene.

Beautiful display of a variety of artists! I go here frequently to support the local artists of Abingdon. I have a deep passion for the arts and highly recommend the Southwest Virginia Cultural Center and Marketplace.

Really high quality local art collection. The building is fabulous and has a calming serenity. Acoustics are amazing, Live music and food events are icing on the cake

Amazing building, clean restrooms, friendly staff, great local crafts: woodworking, pottery, quilts, paintings, metal & glasswork all by local artisans for purchase!!

They also have some area jams, pickles, candies & Mill products.

Plan 20-35 mins to see video & marketplace. Good for picnic

Amazing building, clean restrooms, friendly staff, great local crafts: woodworking, pottery, quilts, paintings, metal & glasswork all by local artisans for purchase!!They also have some area jams, pickles, candies & Mill products.Plan 20-35 mins to see video & marketplace. Good for picnic

One of my favorite places! <3

I love this place, having visited before. This time I took two friends with me and they were very impressed with the products on sale and the history of artists and crafts that is included in among the displays. The sales people were friendly and informative. I purchased gifts for the neighbors who were looking after my home while I was away.I will visit again when I am in the area.

Fascinating display of authentic arts and crafts! Thank you for the learning experience!

Well priced galleries, helpful staff, but we’ll be glad when they re-start their cafe/restaurant.

While heading towards Abingdon, I unexpectedly came across the Southwest Virginia Cultural Center & Marketplace, formerly known as Heartwood during my initial visit years ago. Although it wasn't initially on my itinerary for this trip, it caught my attention as I made my way to the Abingdon Muster Grounds, so I quickly made a detour to see what had changed.Known as The Southwest Virginia Artisan Gateway, this cultural center showcases the diverse artistic talents of the counties of Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Dickenson, Floyd, Franklin, Giles, Grayson, Lee, Montgomery, Patrick, Pulaski, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, and Wythe, and the cities of Bristol, Galax, Norton and Radford. It brings so many of the traditions and culture of Southwest Virginia together under one roof, housed in a thoughtfully designed museum inspired by the region's agricultural and farm buildings. Within its wooden walls, multiple shops offer all sorts of handcrafted products, ranging from quilts and paintings to soap, knit crafts, and organic farm goods. The center does an amazing job of displaying the unique culture heritage of the area, including its traditions, music and crafts. It also hosts a music venue that is part of the Crooked Road Music Heritage Trail, however on that day no one was playing on its octagonal stage.One of the displays I liked the most was the map of the world with pins to stick in it, showing where everyone who visited the cultural center had come from -- there were pins stuck in from all over the world. It's really fascinating to know just how far people have traveled in order to stand where I was standing right then and there. Unfortunately, there were no more pins for me. Alas, I just had to join in spirit with the other pins that were placed on Richmond, Virginia.This was also where I learned about the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road which answered my question I always had about why the cities out in Western Virginia are so equally spaced and follow i-81 in a straight line. They were stops about a day away from each other via wagon along the road as settlers made their way into the Appalachian region. I like finally understanding that bit of trivia, especially since I've visited each of those cities this year.This visitor center also provides a wealth of information through its extensive collection of brochures, highlighting all the cities and numerous places to stop and hundreds of things to see and do and eat. Despite originally going on this vacation to cross some items off my bucket list, since it's now sitting at just under 300 spots in Virginia I want to visit, I couldn't help grabbing pamphlets by the armfuls, until the front desk guy was laughing and asking if I could carry them all. What's another couple of hundred more places to visit in this state anyway? As my favorite saying goes, "I'll add it to the list!"Once I made it outside with my souvenirs and an armful of paper pamphlets, I took one more photo of the LOVE sign and then I was off again, further into the city of Abingdon and more parts unknown.