Step Back in Time at Henry Horton State Park Slated for Sept. 17-18
Friday, September 03, 2010 | 08:26am
CHAPEL HILL, Tenn. – Henry Horton State Park will host the Seventh Annual Step Back in Time Festival September 17 – 18, featuring an 1840s encampment, horse-mounted shooters, arts and crafts, antique tractors, bluegrass music, food and much more. Activities will begin at 7 a.m. each day and run until approximately 7:30 p.m. The festival is free and open to the public.
“The roster of activities for this year’s Step Back in Time festival has something for everyone and it’s a great way to learn about Tennessee history,” said Shane Petty, chief ranger for Tennessee State Parks. “We have worked hard to make this year’s event bigger and better. This will be a great event for the whole family and an opportunity for us to dress in period clothing and put to work some of the lost skills of yesteryear. I look forward to seeing everyone out there and may even have a few surprises in store.”
Live entertainment will include musicians, the Middle Tennessee Cloggers, a puppeteer, various storytellers and re-enactors. Other featured attractions will be old-time blacksmithing, roping, sorghum making, gristmill demonstrations and horse-drawn wagon rides. More than 50 talented artisans and vendors will be on hand with various crafts and food booths. Antique cars and tractors also will be at the park on Saturday, starting with a parade at 9:30 a.m. History hayrides will begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Chief Ranger Petty added that while both days are open to the public, Friday, September 17, is being billed as a special school day. “We encourage local teachers and schools to take advantage of this educational opportunity to see history in action.”
Visitors are encouraged not to miss Earl Adcock’s Famous Putt Putt Ice Cream, the Horse Mounted Shooters and Bull Whipping exhibition and the trackless train – all three activities will be held both Friday and Saturday. There will be games and programs throughout the two-day event such as hayrides, marbles, a dunk tank, a snake program on Friday and even a seed-spitting contest on Saturday.
New this year is the Hunters for the Hungry run, which begins at 6:45 a.m. Sponsored by Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Tennessee Wildlife Federation, the run will raise money to process deer meat, which will be donated to various charities.
Henry Horton is a 1,140-acre state park with three hiking trails, featuring an abundance of wildlife such as wild turkey, deer and many kinds of wildflowers. Summer months bring hours of family enjoyment whether it's swimming in the Olympic-sized pool, fishing along the Duck River, playing volleyball or basketball or just having a picnic. Henry Horton State Park also is well known for its championship 18-hole golf course, inn and cabins, campgrounds and trap and skeet range.
For more information and specific event times regarding Henry Horton’s Step Back in Time festival, please visit the Web site at www.tnstateparks.com/HenryHorton or call the park office at (931) 364-2222.
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