Exchange Place Living History Farm: Fall Folk Arts Festival

Kingsport, TN – People in the Tri-Cities and the Appalachian Highlands have grown up with Exchange Place,
and especially with its seasonal celebrations. And now, one of the oldest fairs of its kind in our region will be
entering its second half-century, as Exchange Place Living History Farm holds its Fall Folk Arts Festival
for the 51st time. A joyous celebration of pioneer arts and crafts and the harvest season, the festival will take
place on Saturday, September 23, from 10 am until 5 pm, and Sunday, September 24 from noon
until 5 pm. Admission is $5, with those under 12 admitted free. As always, proceeds go towards the
care of the farm’s animals and the continued restoration and preservation of the site, located at 4812
Orebank Road in Kingsport, Tennessee and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Both sides of Orebank Road will be filled with sales, foods and demonstrations as festival vendors offer a wide
array of traditional folk arts, along with plants, local foods and seasonal crafts. Artisans, including
woodworkers, potters, authors and artists, will display and sell their work. Unique crafts will be found
everywhere – leather goods; a variety of soaps, including one made from donkey milk; toasty warm hats and
mittens made from alpaca fleece; handcrafted greeting cards; and many knitted and crocheted items. There
will also be local honey, goat milk cheeses, homemade jams, jellies and breads, and much more.
A focus of the Fall Folk Arts Festival is on demonstrations of fall activities that might have been found on a mid-
nineteenth century Northeast Tennessee farm. History will come alive as visitors see sorghum being milled and
cooked on Saturday, with Maggie T. Mule pulling the mill, while Sunday’s activities will consist of details about
the process of making sorghum. (Pure sorghum syrup, made fresh this year by the Guenther family of Muddy
Pond, TN, will be on sale, as long as supplies last.) Elsewhere on the farm volunteers will demonstrate other
skills such as blacksmithing and chair caning.
Guilds around the region continue to teach and perpetuate folk arts and handicrafts. The Overmountain
Weavers Guild began at the first Fall Festival 51 years ago, and this partnership continues at the Burow
Museum as they demonstrate the arts of spinning and weaving. Visitors can see curtains for the historic site
being woven on the restored Rocker Beater loom, learn the story of the weavers behind the antique drafts that
came with the first loom gifted to Exchange Place, and see the three top award winners from the OMWG
Anniversary Challenge. Guests may also weave a part of an antique draft themselves. Guild members will be
available to show, and give more information, on the sale of antique and vintage spinning and weaving
equipment. Another long tradition is the Tri State Basket Guild offering the opportunity for youth to make their
own baskets, with proceeds going to feed the resident animals. In addition, Chapter 162 of the National
Association of Watch and Clock Collectors will return with a host of antique clocks and advice on how to restore
old timepieces Thanks to the generosity of Rod Groenewold of Kingsport, one of his clocks will be available at
his booth as part of the Silent Auction.
In the kitchen, the Eden’s Ridge Hearth Cookery Society will be baking sweet potato biscuits and
hoecakes to go with that fresh sorghum syrup, as well as other foods common in the antebellum era. The
costumed Junior Apprentices will not only be assisting in this fun task but are also a part of demonstrations
around the farmstead, including gourd crafting near the Cook’s Cabin and rug braiding on the Main House front
porch. Some of their handcrafted items, including tulip poplar bark baskets and hand-forged knives, will be
included in the Silent Auction to help raise funds for their program.
A special shopping opportunity this fall is the result of volunteers cleaning out the John Gaines Store prior to its

continuing restoration, along with corners of other buildings. Many of these "treasures" — such as a hand-
crafted mountain dulcimer — and other items found that are no longer used, do not fit the site's 19th century
focus and will be offered to visitors in the Silent Auction, held in the Roseland Visitor's Center and in the
Baaaa..rn Sale near the 1910 Barn. Historic details of items will be included in the display.
A highlight of this festival will be the offering of two major workshops. On Saturday, master crafter Heather
Ashworth will teach two classes in broom-making. Reprising the program she offered two years ago, Ms.
Ashworth will offer classes in the Roseland building from 10 am until 12:30 pm, and another from 1:30 pm
until 4 pm. She will supply all materials as she teaches students how to bind two whisk hand brooms, using
broom corn and colorful cord. The cost will be $70 and will include all materials, plus admission to the Fall Folk
Arts Festival. Students must register for either class in advance by contacting her at
hello.heatherashworth@gmail.com.
The other workshop will be held on Sunday. Back by popular demand, Jennifer Hanlon has scheduled a
new needle felting class; this year’s project is to make a 2D/3D pumpkin refrigerator magnet. The workshop
will begin at noon, also in Roseland, and will continue for about three hours. The cost of this workshop will
vary ($25 to $45), depending on how many supplies you would like Ms. Hanlon to furnish. More information,
including registration, can be found at www.hanlonscreativecorner.com.
Children's "chores and play" will be scattered around the farmstead, allowing the young (along with those
youthful in mind and spirit!) a chance to experience what it was like to be a child in the 19th century. Thanks
to volunteers and community groups, a wide range of children's hands-on activities will be available, including
making a rope with the Boy Scouts. As always, visitors will have the opportunity to wander over to the 1851
barn and meet some of those animals who live there all year long, including our donkey, cow, and cats, plus
the sheep, chickens, and pigs found in various other locations. There will also be one vendor bringing baby
chicks to the festival!
A large variety of foods and drinks will be available throughout the weekend for snacks and lunch to eat on
site, as well as food items to take home. And all of this will feature a backdrop of excellent live music,
provided by local and regional artists. (A tentative schedule of performances, always subject to last-minute
changes, is listed at the bottom of this release.)
The official countdown to Witches Wynd begins each year with the Fall Folk Arts Festival. Exchange Place’s
unique storytelling adventure will be offered live again this year, and tickets will first be made available during
the Festival. The 31st Witches Wynd is Friday, October 20, and Saturday, October 21, and tickets must
be purchased in advance. Historically, this unique blend of macabre tales and ballads sells out quickly since
only a limited number of spaces are available, so we encourage people to purchase them during the Fall
Festival. Tickets are $10 apiece and will be found at the Museum Store.
For more information or to volunteer at the festival, please call 423-288-6071, visit our new website at
exchangeplacetn.org, or write to epfestivals.gf@gmail.com.
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. Exchange Place is a non-profit organization, maintained
and operated entirely by volunteers and supported solely by donations, fundraisers, memberships and grants.

MUSIC SCHEDULE FOR SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
10 – 11 am KINGSPORT COMMUNITY BAND
11 am – noon STRING BREAK
noon – 1 pm CHRIS LONG
1 – 2 pm RENAISSANCE STRINGS
2 – 3 pm STRAWBERRY JAM
3 – 4 pm JUNIOR APPRENTICES OLD-TIME BAND
4 – 5 pm THE HONEYCUTTS

MUSIC SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

noon – 1 pm
1 – 2 pm JIM ANN COUNTRY
2 – 3 pm STATE STREET STRING BAND
3 – 4 pm DEXTER RAMEY
4 – 5 pm RED AND GREY