Dandridge’s 10th Annual Scots-Irish Festival on September 24! It’s a Fun Celebration of Celtic Heritage in the Smokies!

The beautiful little village of Dandridge comes alive with the sites and sounds of bagpipes and Irish dancers during the 10th Annual Scots-Irish Festival on Saturday, September 24, 2016. With an amazing line-up of musical entertainment, you’ll want to spend the entire day at this great event by the lake.

Dandridge is Tennessee’s second-oldest town and is situated along the banks of  TVA’s scenic Douglas Lake. The town’s 10th Annual Scots-Irish Festival begins at 9:00 a.m. with activities throughout the day. The event concludes at 9:00 p.m. with a lakeside performance by Kelly Shipe, Lone Piper on the Dike. Along with a street full of vendors, a highlands cattle and sheep exhibit, children’s play area, the Dandridge Scots-Irish Festival offers something for everyone in your family.

Entertainment Lineup
Celtic music by The BorderCollies, Thistledown Tinkers, Lonestar Stout, Kathryn Powell, Kelly Shipe,  and Cranruach. Traditional storytelling with Bob Valentine and Sam Venable. Irish dancing with champion Katie Carver and local star Claire Macmillan.

Pipe & Drum Band Challenge Playoff
The Festival’s official band, the Knoxville Pipes & Drums will compete again the 17th Lancers Pipes & Drums from Nashville and the Atholl Highlanders Pipes & Drums from Stone Mountain, Georgia.

Dog Parade
The Dog Parade honors the Scottish and Irish working dogs who will lead off the parade at 3:00 p.m. Dogs of all breeds are encouraged to join in the parade. All pets must be on a short leash and easily controlled by their owners/handlers. There’s no charge for the parade, but donations to the Jefferson County Humane Society would be greatly appreciated!

Directions to the Dandridge Scots-Irish Festival
Take exit 40 off Interstate 40 and turn right onto Highway 92 South. Drive approximately 2 miles to the intersection of Gay Street where Hwy. 92 turns right toward downtown. This turn may be crowded during the festival, so an alternate route is from Hwy. 92 South turn right onto US 25/70, which is about 1.5 miles from I-40, then in about 100 yards turn left onto Cherokee Drive. Continue on Cherokee Drive to the “T” at West Main Street. The largest parking area is on your right. See this Festival Parking Map for more parking locations.

Visit Schedule of Events for a complete list of entertainment and activities and their times.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s Mountain Life Festival on September 17 | Come Celebrate the Harvest!

It’s fall harvest time at the Mountain Farm Museum on Saturday, September 17, 2016. From 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. the Great Smoky Mountains National Park hosts the annual Mountain Life Festival at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center’s Mountain Farm Museum near Cherokee, North Carolina.

The Mountain Farm Museum comes to life each fall with demonstrations of everyday pioneer activities like lye soap making, blacksmithing, apple butter making, chair bottoming, hearth cooking, and the ever-popular making of sorghum molasses. This sweet nectar has been made the same way for over 100 years with a horse or mule-powered cane mill and an open hearth wood-fired cooker. All activities are free and the public is invited to enjoy an autumn day on the farm!

The Mountain Life Festival reflects the spirit of cooperation among families in the rural southern Appalachian Mountains. Historic photographs and artifacts from the GSMNP collection will be on display for all to enjoy and reflect on our mountain heritage.

Enjoy an old-fashioned music jam session from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. on the porch of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. These jam sessions are held every first and third Saturday of the month.

The Mountain Farm Museum is located at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center on Newfound Gap Road in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, two miles north of Cherokee, NC.  For more information call the Visitor Center at 828-497-1904.

Brute Heart’s Jackie Beckey Performs at Oconaluftee on September 11 and at Cades Cove on September 17

Critically-acclaimed Brute Heart’s Jackie Beckey will perform original, mountain-inspired music at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center on Sunday, September 11, 2016 from 1:00 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. and in Cades Cove at the Becky Cable House on Saturday, September 17, 2016 from 11:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

The free performances entitled “Appalachian Range: Old Mountains, New Music” are part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s Artist-in-Residence program.

Jackie Beckey is one of seven artists who were selected to participate in this special program allowing them to live and create art within the park for 4-6 weeks. The program is made possible by support from Friends of the Smokies and Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts.

Jackie Beckey is a classically trained violinist, composer, librarian, archivist and community-oriented performing artist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her band, Brute Heart was commissioned in 2012 by the Walker Art Center to compose an original score the film classic, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.”

Connect with Jackie and Brute Heart on Facebook. Here is a great recent article on Beckey at The Current.

For more information on other Artists-in-Residence programs, visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Old Mill in Pigeon Forge Hosts 13th Annual Heritage Day on September 24th

Come and play and spend the day at The Old Mill in Pigeon Forge at their 13th Annual Heritage Day on Saturday, September 24, 2016. The free event is from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. and features activities and music of the Smoky Mountain pioneers!

Music will fill the air at Old Mill Square where there’ll be plenty banjos, dulcimers, mandolins, guitars, and fiddles making good ol’ mountain music…like grandma used to play! There’ll be square dancing and line dancing, cloggers, and even twirlers to round out the live entertainment. And for more fun, there’ll be bingo and old-fashioned games for all ages.

That’s not all for the 13th Annual Heritage Day at The Old Mill, oh no! The young set will have a great time at the petting zoo and arts and crafts tent with pumpkin painting and more fun activities. They will have a fire truck along with an exhibit of antique engine and tractors.

Enjoy the sights and smells of sorghum molasses, apple butter and moonshine, a staple of pioneer settlers, being made by those artisans who’ve kept to the old ways and traditions. You may learn a thing or two about cast iron cooking over an open fire.

Take a free guided tour of the centerpiece of it all, the 185 year-old water-powered grist meal that’s still grinding corn and wheat today. The Old Mill is a registered National Historic Landmark with it’s beautiful water wheel along the banks of the Little Pigeon River.

Pack up the family, along with some lawn chairs and a blanket, and have a good ol’ time in Pigeon Forge this fall! The Old Mill and Old Mill Square are located at traffic light #7 on the Parkway.

For more information, call The Old Mill at 865-428-0771 or visit The Old Mill.

Monarch Butterfly Tagging in September & October! Welcome to the the Fields of Joy in Cades Cove!

Monarch Butterfly Tagging in Cades Cove this fall! The Great Smoky Mountain Institute at Tremont offers a tremendous opportunity to become a citizen scientist and have a whole lot of fun as the Monarch Butterflies grace the meadows of Cades Cove on their migration southward. Tremont staff and volunteers offer up butterfly nets and special tags to help you help them carefully document the life of these awe-inspiring creatures of nature!

Scientists want to learn more about the Monarch Butterfly’s population status and migration pattern as they fly en masse to Mexico each winter and you can help them at this very special event in Cades Cove each September and October. Welcome to the fields of joy in the Smokies!

All ages can participate in Monarch Butterfly Tagging in Cades Cove and the Great Smoky Mountain Institute at Tremont requires that all participants ages 18 and under be accompanied by an adult. The tagging session programs last about 1 1/2 hours leaving time to enjoy the rest of all Cades Cove has to offer. Pack a picnic and have a wonderful day in Cades Cove with family, friends, co-workers, church group, school group, or whomever! It’s a memory that’ll last a lifetime we promise!

The 2016 Monarch Butterfly Tagging Dates in Coves Cove:
Thursday, September 15
Monday, September 19
Wednesday, September 21
Saturday, September 24
Tuesday, September 27
Thursday, September 29
Sunday, October 2
Monday, October 3
Friday, October 7
Saturday, October 8
Tuesday, October 11
Thursday, October 13
Sunday, October 16
Monday, October 17
Wednesday, October 19
Saturday, October 22
Tuesday, October 25
Thursday, October 27
Saturday, October 29
Monday, October 31

To better serve participants, these day are limited to 15 people with no more than 8 folks per party. Each party/family may attend only one day of tagging to give everyone an opportunity to participate in this unique event. If you have a group between 10-25 people, special reservations can be made for $18 per person. Please email Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont’s Tiffany at tiffany@gsmit.org for details and to schedule a group outing date. Please note that these group outing dates differ from the ones listed above, so be sure to send Tiffany an email.

To sign up for individuals or groups of less than 10, please visit Tremont’s Monarch Tagging Sign-up Form.

Please Donate for the Monarchs! 
If you can, please consider making a donation for this free program. Every single contribution, no matter how small, makes a big difference. Bring your donation on your tagging day or visit Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont to donate online. All truth and beauty near to me and you through fields of joy!