[5] Brevard is located at the entrance to Pisgah National Forest and has become a noted tourism, retirement and cultural center in western North Carolina.

There are several theories of how they came to live there, including an overturned carnival truck and an escaped pet breeding with native squirrels.

[6] Along with nearby Asheville and Hendersonville, Brevard forms the Asheville-Brevard, NC CSA combined statistical area.

[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.12 square miles,[8] of which 0% is water.

Brevard is located in a temperate rainforest and has a climate that borders between a humid subtropical and oceanic climate and receives abundant rainfall year round due to orographic lift due to its location in the Blue Ridge Mountains and the nearby Great Balsam Mountains.

White Squirrel Festival[14] takes place on the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday preceding Memorial Day.

Streets downtown are blocked off for a festival including games, arts and crafts, concerts and food vendors.

Live music, other street performers, arts & crafts, Flight of the Vampires 5K Run, pet costume contest, haunted house, ghost tour, and other activities happen all day.

After the parade, Twilight Tour takes place with, horse-drawn carriages, luminaries, seasonal music, and food in the many downtown shops & restaurants.

The town is also home to the Brevard Music Center, and to a campus of the Blue Ridge Community College.