Old Oak Festival returns to Tusculum College April 17-19

The Old Oak Festival will feature a variety of craft vendors along with musical entertainment, theater, art exhibits, poetry readings and activities for children of all ages.

The Old Oak Festival is returning to the Tusculum College campus April 17-19.

The arts and music festival will span across three days and will feature something for everyone, including crafts, music, art, theater, storytelling and area authors, as well as gallery and museum exhibits.

“I would describe this year’s Old Oak Festival to be bigger and better than last year,” said David Price, director of music at Tusculum College and festival coordinator. “There will be arts on every level and something to interest everyone.”

In addition to artist vendors and music performances throughout the day on Friday and Saturday, there will be three performances during the festival of “5X10,” presented by Tusculum students under the direction of Wayne Thomas, the interim dean of the arts and sciences, Frank Mengel, arts outreach technical director and instructor, and Brian Ricker, arts outreach and assistant.

Performances will be held in the Behan Arena Theatre in the Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts Center. Show times are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

The college’s Allison Gallery will be open throughout the weekend, featuring a faculty and family spotlight exhibition by Deborah Bryan.

The festival is being coordinated by a committee of college and community representatives who are working to promote arts and music in the East Tennessee region.

“We are expecting a wide variety of artists, including painters, craftsmen and sculptors, whose work will be available for purchase. Arts will include pottery, woodcrafts and folk art,” said Price. Demonstrations will also be conducted on pottery, blacksmithing and cooking.

There are limited spaces still available for artisan and crafter booths. Deadline for reserving a booth is April 8, 2015, or until all spaces are filled.

Throughout the weekend on stage, the festival will present the sounds of the region, with a wide variety of music from bluegrass to jazz to local vocalists and musicians.

Both the President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library and the Doak House Museum will be open to visitors during the festival and will have special activities planned for adults and children from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and 1-4 p.m. on Sunday.

The Doak House Museum will sponsor a batik workshop during the three days of the festival. Participants will learn how to make stunning designs on natural fiber cloth using the wax-resist dyeing method. Reservations and advance deposits are required. The workshop will be held in the heart of the festival on the main campus. Reservation and deposit are required. Contact Leah Walker at 423-636-8554 or lwalker@tusculum.edu for reservations and more information.

Fiddlin’ Carson Peter’s Band and the Old Time Travelers, a duo from Chattanooga Tennessee, will perform on the Doak House lawn on the Saturday of the festival. Picnic tables are available to the public to bring a lunch, tour the museum and hear great bluegrass and old-time music. Performance times will be announced at a later date.

For the length of the festival only, the museum will open its collections storage to display never before exhibited Appalachian chairs and other furnishings, titled “Sittin’ Pretty: Selections from the Doak House Furniture Collection.” Admission is free and donations are appreciated.

The President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library will sponsor a 19th Century Toys and Games booth in the children’s area. Come and play with traditional folk toys and make-and-take your very own toy as a souvenir.

From 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., the President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library will feature the “Reaper: Nettie Fowler McCormick and the Machine that Built Tusculum College” exhibit. This exhibit explores the changes wrought by the mechanical harvest and explores the context through which Mrs. McCormick viewed her philanthropic mission.”

The festival will feature children’s activities on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and again on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. There will be storytelling performances on stage and around the festival grounds.

The Walnut Ridge llamas, previous favorites of the festival, will visit the Tusculum College campus over the weekend.

Throughout the weekend, there will be everything from bed racing to surprise performances to craft workshops.

Food selection will include festival favorites, such as homemade strawberry shortcake, Philly cheese steak, and Mennonite doughnuts. Music and food will be available until 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and until 4 p.m. on Sunday.

There is no fee to attend the festival. Art vendor hours will be Friday from noon until 6 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. For more information, contact Price at 423-636-7303.

Coolers and alcohol are prohibited during the festival.

For updates and more information, visit the website at www.oldoakfestival.org or on Facebook at www.facebook/OldOakFestival.