The annual Fall Folk Arts Festival at Exchange Place features artisans demonstrating and selling a wide variety of traditional folk arts, along with autumn plants, produce and unique seasonals.
Exchange Place is a living history farm whose mission is to preserve and interpret the heritage of mid-nineteenth century farm life in Northeast Tennessee.
The festival will be held on Saturday, September 28, from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Sunday, September 29, from noon - 5 p.m. Admission is $5 for ages 12 and over. Those under the age of 12 are admitted for free.
Proceeds go towards the care of the farm’s animals, and the continuing restoration and preservation of the site, located at 4812 Orebank Road, Kingsport, Tennessee, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
For the 48th consecutive year, the historic valley farmstead will be bustling with activity as artists from the region gather to demonstrate and pass along the skills of yesteryear to the next generation. Experts in woodworking, soap-making, hand-painting on slate, paper quilling and hand-crafted greeting cards will be on hand, along with those people continuing the centuries-long tradition of guilds, which are associations that represent a particular trade or craft.
The Overmountain Weavers' Guild, experts in spinning and weaving, will be at several farmstead locations, including the Burow Museum and the girls’ room of the Preston House. The First Frontier Quilters of Kingsport, and the Senior Artisans, representing a wide variety of crafters, are two other guilds whose members maintain a time when most everything was made right on the farm or in the home.
A new tradition at the festival is the cooking of sorghum. Sorghum cane that was planted earlier this year will be harvested in a special area located behind the blacksmith’s shop.
A silent auction will offer two antique clocks from the collection of master clock mechanic Rod Groenewold to the highest bidders. One is an eight-day keywind clock that dates to 1919. The other is a cast-iron mantle clock made in 1890. These clocks will be on display, and can be bid on, in the Museum Store, located next to the Roseland building.
For more information, you may call Exchange Place at 423-288-6071, write to exchangeplacefestivals@gmail.com, or visit the website.
Exchange Place is a non-profit organization maintained and operated entirely by volunteers and is supported by donations, fundraisers, memberships and grants.