Old Oak Festival returns this weekend, April 15-17

The Carson Peters Band will be returning to the Old Oak Festival.

The Old Oak Festival will return this weekend to the Tusculum College campus April 15-17, featuring crafts, music, art shows, theater, children’s activities, festival food and much, much more.

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

Craft vendors will include pottery, painting, jewelry, stoneware, weaving, woodworking, gourd art, pine needle baskets and much more.

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 regionally-known vocalists and musicians.

Fiddlin’ Carson Peters returns again to headline the Old Oak Festival, along with the Smoky Mountain Bluegrass band and a host of regional talent. Musicians kicking off the show on Friday include Bean Tree Remedy featuring Ashley Bean, Dave Nunez and the Perfect World Band, Mike Joy, My New Favorites and Prism – a tribute to Pink Floyd. Friday night will also feature Jack & Michael on the Terrace entertaining for a faculty and alumni social event.

On Saturday, expect good old-fashioned fun from Shiloh and the Tusculum College Band closing out the night, but also plan to get to the festival early to hear Stem Winder, the Thursday Night Boys, Jakie Keasling & Friends, New Chronic Dream, the Kevin Wilder Group, The Dandy Lions, Absinthe Gray, Jimmie D and the House Rockers and the Madisons. The night will conclude with a drum circle. There will be a parade at the center of the Tusculum campus, beginning at 10:45 a.m.

The Carson Peters Band will be on the main stage on Saturday as well. Additionally on Saturday, some favorite features return, including the “Conduct Us” session with the Tusculum College Band, where anyone can step up and take over the conductor’s baton.

Winners of this year’s annual Curtis-Owens Literary Awards will be the main event at the Tusculum Review Launch Party set for the Thomas J. Garland Library Terrace, 4-6 p.m. This year’s event will feature 2016 winners Jennie Frost (fiction), Sarah Holly (nonfiction), and Emily Waryck. These readers will be paired with winners from years’ past, David Roncskevitz, Andrew Baker and Joseph Wade Borden. Additionally, copies of the 2016 The Tusculum Review will be available.

Following the 10 a.m. Old Oak Festival Church Service in the main tent, Sunday’s artists will include Jim and Curtis Moneyhun, Steve Brown, the Tusculum College Handbell Choir, the Matthew Hurd Band, Able Brown and the regional favorite, the Great Smoky Mountain Bluegrass band.

“Each year the festival grows and this year is no exception,” said David Price, festival coordinator and director of music for Tusculum College. “There are many high quality craft vendors, more authors and surprises planned for throughout the weekend.”

One surprise that Price said will be unique to the festival is the launching of a trebuchet, built by Tusculum faculty and students. There will also be a catapult craft activity for children of all ages.

According to Dr. Peter Noll, assistant professor of history, “Over the past year, students and faculty have been meeting informally via a teaching and learning circle to read about and discuss a book about medieval technology and social change. The trebuchet we built represents the “enhancement” activity for group.”

According to Dr. Noll, the trebuchet is a gravity powered machine that changed the way siege warfare occurred beginning in the 13th century until it was supplanted by cannon. “We have built a scaled down version that is capable of launching a grapefruit 90 yards, oranges about 75. We plan on demonstrating it throughout the day on Saturday.”

The two museums on the Tusculum camps, the Doak House Museum and the President Andrew Johnson Library and Museum will both be offering free tours on Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Fiddlin’ Carson Peters Band will have an encore concert at the Doak House on Saturday afternoon as well.

A reception at will be held at the President Andrew Johnson Library and Museum on Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. for new exhibit “Prologue: Andrew Johnson’s Political Career before the Vice Presidency.”

Throughout the festival, the Tusculum College Gaming Club will be hosting a video gaming event in the Pioneer Perk in Niswonger Commons on the Greeneville campus. The event will run Friday from 4 p.m. to midnight; Saturday from noon until 1 a.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. The event will feature multiple televisions and game sets with various games such as Guitar Hero, SingStar, Super Smash Bros., Call of Duty, FIFA and League of Legends. Attendees may come play the games from our library or bring their own.

During the weekend the LEGO contest entries will be on display at the Doak House, and the winners will be announced at 2 p.m. on Sunday. For more information and rules on the LEGO competition, contact Dollie Boyd, director of museums at dboyd@tusculum.edu.

Additional new features include horse and carriage rides, sponsored by Tymley Travel, and a lineup of 10 workshops designed for high school students, through which five participants will be awarded a $500 scholarship.

The high school workshops will be offered in morning and afternoon shifts, from 9-11 a.m. and 12:30-2:30 p.m. Workshop topics include an educational wetland tour and nature writing, contemporary poetry, drawing, playwriting, and music theory and songwriting. Acting, brief essay or prose poem, tree identification, photo manipulation and songwriting will be offered as well.

As part of the entertainment, Old Oak attendees will have the opportunity to see GLAWPIGT (Great Literature Alive & Well, Playing In Greeneville, Tennessee) as they present a one-hour showcase during each day of the Festival. Show times are Friday, April 15, at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 16, at 2 p.m. and Sunday, April 17, at 2 p.m.

A truly varied hour of entertainment, the showcase includes sketch comedy, young adult fiction, poetry, amusing literary analysis, unique interpretations of fairy tales, Shakespeare and even Vaudeville style comedy.

General seating is $5 and tickets will be available one-hour prior to show time at the box office. The performance will be held in the Behan Arena Theatre in the lower level of the Annie Hogan Byrd building.

GLAWPIGT, which is celebrating its 30th year, is a literary performance group founded by Tusculum College Artist-in-Residence Marilyn duBrisk and sponsored by Tusculum College Arts Outreach. The group meets weekly during the academic year. It is comprised of students from East Tennessee ranging in ages from 10 to 17. For more information about the show case or GLAWPIGT, please contact Arts Outreach at 423-798-1620.

Another returning favorite is Joyce Carroll, puppet master. Carroll will be a puppet troubadour, appearing through the festival with spontaneous performances.

Sponsors of the event include Artistic Printers, Fatz Cafe, The Greeneville Sun, Radio Greeneville and Wayne Thomas.

There is no fee to attend the festival, other than the admission fee for the GLAWPIGT performances. Art vendor hours will be Friday from noon until 6 p.m. Author Row and the food vendors will remain open until 9 p.m. On Saturday, hours will be from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. for art vendors and 9 p.m. for the rest of the festival. Sunday hours are 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. For more information, contact Price at 423-636-7303.

Coolers and alcohol are prohibited.

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

 

 

Crafters of all types will be featured at this weekend’s Old Oak Festival at Tusculum College, as well as music, theater and festival food.