Top musicians from around the region will be featured at this year’s Old Oak Festival, 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.
“The musical acts this year will provide a wide variety to suit all musical tastes, with some top rate performances on all three days,” said David Price, festival coordinator and director of music for Tusculum College.
The Fiddlin’ Carson Peters 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.
Other scheduled performers include Richard and Eva, Stem Winder, Mamaw Mumaw, Charles Tunstall, Thursday Night Boys,
Carson Peters
Steve Brown, Mike Joy, Shiloh Road, the Tusculum College Alumni All-Star band, My New Favorites, the Threetles, Old Time, Carson, the Tusculum College Jazz Band, the Tusculum College Concert Band, the Tusculum College Handbell Choir, Jim and Curtis Moneyhun, John Vandiver, the Step Cousins, Fuse Worship, Josh Miller and Joyce Carroll.
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. To reserve tickets, contact Arts Outreach at 423-798-1620.
The college’s Allison Gallery will be open throughout the weekend, featuring a faculty and family spotlight exhibition by Dr. Deborah Bryan, associate professor of art at Tusculum College.
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 in pottery, blacksmithing and cooking.
The Evergreen Woodcarvers will also be on hand providing carving demonstrations .
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.
Several writers will be presenting works throughout the festival weekend. Authors include Carolyn Gregg, Emory Rhea Raxter, Joe Tennis, Keith Bartlett, Lisa Hall, Matilda Green, Shirley Butler, Claudia Ware, James Campbell, Tom Yancey, Rick Toomey, Bill Nance and George Ryan.
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 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.
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.
At least five antique tractors will also be on display for the duration of the Old Oak Festival.
The Doak House Museum will sponsor a batik workshop during the three days of the festival. Participan
ts 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.
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. In addition to the museum’s activities, the education department at Tusculum College will be hosting children’s activities, which will be led by Kathryn Crumm, assistant professor of education.
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.
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. Food vendors include Rural Resources, Mr. Turkey Leg, Mac’s Fine Foods, Creamy Cup, TopDog HotDog, Cold Water Farm, Auntie Ruth’s, and Carly’s Kettle Korn. 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.