Upcoming Events
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Tales of Our 250th
August 20 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Tales of Our 250th continues at the Jackson Theatre on August 20th. The Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War, and the US Constitution did not guarantee freedom to everyone in the United States. It would take the Civil War, almost 100 years later, to end enslavement in this country. At the same time there were enslaved people, there were also free people of color and a strong abolitionist movement both nationally and in Washington County, TN. Learn more about Elihu Embree and his newspaper The Emancipator, the first publication in the world dedicated solely to abolitionism, and it was printed on Main Street, Jonesborough.
The evening will include a performance of the award-winning play Nancy by Anne G’Fellers Mason. Commissioned by the Heritage Alliance, Nancy tells the story of Elihu Embree’s enslaved woman and her family. The one act play follows a year in the woman’s life, from January 1820 when Embree wrote his will to January1821 when his will was read before the Washington County court. In his will, Embree tried to free Nancy and her five children, but were his wishes carried out? What was Nancy feeling and thinking during this time? The play is based on primary research from the Washington County Archives. Following the play, there will be a concert with the Friendship Baptist Church Mass Choir under the direction of Phedelma Hancock. Friendship Baptist Church began in 1916 in Johnson City, when 8 veterans at the Soldiers’ Home decided to form a church.
There will be a special school presentation of The Road to Freedom program at 10:00 am on August 20th. The school program will include the play Nancy and a drumming/percussion workshop with Corey Hodge from the Langston Centre. If you are interested in booking seats for the school performance, contact the Jackson Theatre directly.
Celebrate America’s 250th birthday with the McKinney Center, the Heritage Alliance, and StoryTown at the Jackson Theatre. The event will start at 7:00 pm, and the house opens at 6:00 pm. This series is Pay What You Can but go ahead and reserve your seats at Jonesborough.com/tickets. You can also reserve tickets by calling the Jackson Theatre’s box office at 423-788-4909 or the Visitor’s Center at 423-753-1010.
This programming is supported in part by the Tennessee Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial and the Historic Jonesborough Arts Foundation.
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