Spring Garden Fair

The calendar may say that spring begins in March, but those of us who live in
Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia know that the season’s official entrance is when
Exchange Place Living History Farm holds its annual Spring Garden Fair! And this year, the
oldest garden fair in our region will celebrate its 39 th birthday on Saturday, April 26, from 10
a.m. until 5 p.m., and Sunday, April 27, from noon until 5 p.m., at the 1850s farmstead,
located at 4812 Orebank Road in Kingsport. Admission is $5 for adults and is free for
children under the age of 12, and as always, all proceeds go towards the maintenance of
our site, building restoration, and keeping our animals fed.

Be they novice gardeners, people with green thumbs, or anyone in between, the Spring Garden
Fair is eagerly anticipated every year because it features thousands of plants for sale, from old
favorites to rare and hard-to-find varieties. Growers will offer perennials, annuals, trees and
shrubs, with an emphasis on herbs, vegetables, natives and heirloom plants. And what makes it
truly unique is that gardening experts will be available throughout the weekend to share their
knowledge about plant selection and care, while folk and yard artisans will also be found
throughout the grounds with unique plant and garden-related arts and crafts.

As an educational institution dedicated to preserving and interpreting the heritage of mid-19 th
Century farm life in Northeast Tennessee, Exchange Place will be offering glimpses of the
antebellum years wherever one looks. Our resident sheep will be getting their annual haircuts
as T.J. DeWitt will shear them, on the “Roseland” side of Orebank Road, at designated times
throughout the weekend. The Overmountain Weavers Guild then takes that wool and continue
their long “Sheep to Shawl” tradition of carding (cleaning, separating and straightening) the
wool, spinning it into yarn and weaving it into any number of beautiful and wearable items.
Across Orebank on the historic farm side of Exchange Place, the Eden’s Ridge Hearth
Cookery Society will be churning butter on Saturday and making a pound cake with that fresh
butter on Sunday.  Forced (“Scotch”) eggs and skillet asparagus will round out Sunday's menu.

In the Cook’s Cabin, our Junior Apprentices will be making hoecakes, fried eggs and bacon,
Jerusalem artichokes, and jumble cookies.  You will also find them all about: in the blacksmith
forge, the woodshed, the garden, and the 1851 barn, where our horses, cow and donkey will be
waiting to meet you! In addition, the JAs will be hosting their annual Tennessee Dancing Gourd
spinoff just outside the Cook’s Cabin.

We are proudly hosting two heritage demonstrators. Master Broom Maker John Alexander,
along with his son, Aaron, will be offering an Appalachian Toy Workshop on Saturday, April 26
from 2 pm until 4 pm, where participants will make a buzz saw and a jumping jack. It is open
to ages 9 and up, though children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult. On

Sunday, April 27, from 3 pm until 5 pm, John and Aaron will offer a Cobweb Sweeper and
Vegetable Scrubber Broom Workshop for those aged 12 and older. The cost for each workshop
is $45, which includes all materials, and pre-registration is required at
epfestivals.gf@gmail.com. (If the adult accompanying the minor at the Toy Workshop also
plans to make a toy, they must also pre-register.)

Meanwhile, Tom Brown of Clemmons, NC will be on hand to display a wide variety of heritage
apples. These are the fruits that our grandparents and great-grandparents used for baking, for
frying, for Halloween treats, for creating brandy and cider and vinegar, and of course for eating
(livestock loved them, too). These apples are a part of our heritage, but so many are being
lost. Since 1999, it has been Mr. Brown’s mission to save as many as he can, and on Saturday,
he will be on hand with a variety of these fruits. He will be happy to talk about heritage apples
and their importance in our country’s past, as well as why we should try to save them for future
generations. For more information about Mr. Brown’s work, please see applesearch.org.

Children’s activities are always a major component of the Spring Garden Fair, and new this year
will be a Farmstead Scavenger Hunt. There will still be plenty of old favorites, however,
including decorating the Maypole, and a Maypole dance, behind the Preston House, on both
afternoons. Youngsters can learn to make baskets at 10:30 am, 1 pm and 3 pm on Saturday,
and 1 pm (and possibly 3 pm) on Sunday. Also new will be the planting of the sorghum, which
will be harvested at the Fall Folk Arts Festival. If you’re interested, please see Mark Selby in the
garden behind the blacksmith shop. Meanwhile, the air will be alive with music throughout the
weekend, featuring some of the very best musicians found throughout our region. A complete
schedule is listed below, though it is always subject to last-minute changes. And to quench your
hunger or thirst, plenty of lunch items, baked goods, breads, drinks and snacks will be available.
Exchange Place is a non-profit, volunteer-run living history farm, educational facility and regional
attraction that seeks to preserve, protect, interpret, and manage the history, heritage, and
artifacts pertaining to mid-19 th century farm life in Northeast Tennessee. It is proudly listed on
the National Register of Historic Places. For more information, please call 423-288-6071, or
visit our website: www.exchangeplacetn.org

MUSIC SCHEDULE

SATURDAY, APRIL 26 TIMES SUNDAY, APRIL 27
KINGSPORT COMMUNITY BAND 10 – 11 a.m. {gates open today at noon}
STRING BREAK 11 am – 12 noon {gates open today at noon}
STATE STREET STRING BAND 12 noon – 1 p.m. CODY MABE
CHARLIE AND THE HONEYCUTTS 1 – 2 p.m. RED AND GRAY
RENAISSANCE STRINGS 2 – 3 p.m. JIM ANN COUNTRY
CHRIS LONG 3 – 4 p.m. TIMELESS STRING BAND

JUNIOR APPRENTICES OLD-TIME

BAND

4 – 5 p.m. JUNIOR APPRENTICES OLD-TIME

BAND