Tennessee Spring Festivals Include Cornbread Celebration, Dumplin Days
March 7, 2011By admin
April is a beautiful time in Tennessee, and fun festivals are happening all over the state, including Mule Day in Columbia, the National Tartan Celebration in Murfreesboro, the Dogwood Arts Festival in Knoxville, Storytelling and Dumplin’ Days in Fiddlers Grove and the National Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburg.
Mule Day, which dates back to 1840, takes place in Columbia on March 31-April 3, 2011. Head down to Maury County for the parade, mule pull, loading competition, pancake breakfast and more! You can also watch our video with mule owner Harvey Spann below, and connect with other Mule Day fans via the I Love Mule Day Facebook fan page, too!
Fans of Braveheart will want to visit Murfreesboro for the National Tartan Day Celebration. The heritage event features activities that teach attendees about Scottish history, including a gathering of the clans, highland dance, pipes and drums and a visit with a highland bull named Seamus. Visitors can even learn how to pleat a kilt! The event takes place on the square in downtown Murfreesboro from 1 p.m.-6 p.m., and admission is free and open to the public. For more information, contact John Mauldin at (615) 216-5625 or hylan2@comcast.net.
, Knoxville is celebrating the harbinger of spring with the annual Dogwood Arts Festival. Walk along more than 60 miles of trails featuring some of the most spectacular dogwood trees of all kinds and colors. This monthlong event offers a chance to visit beautiful gardens, an arts and crafts fair, downtown parade and outdoor concerts by local musicians. For more information, call Lisa Duncan at (865) 637-4561 or check out the calendar of events on their website.
Hungry for a repeat of our Dumpling Cook-Off? Head over to Fiddlers Grove on April 16, 2011, for Storytelling and Dumplin Days at the James E. Ward Agricultural Center in Lebanon. This day-long event will feature a dumpling cook-off – first prize was won previously by none other than Bea Farmer. Both good ole homestyle chicken and dumplings or other savory-style dumplings and sweet dumpling entries will be accepted. If cooking’s not your thing, just attend on an empty stomach! There will also be storytelling by world-renowned story spinners, puppet shows, a marble shooting tournament, bluegrass and gospel music, a quilt show and much more. Contact (615) 444-5503 for more information.
You can follow that up with the National Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburg, which is just outside of Chattanooga. This festival, which lasts from April 30-May 11, 2011, celebrates the great Southern side dish of cornbread with the National Cornbread Cook-Off, and over the two days you can sample many cornbreads and main dish recipes. You can also tour the foundry that’s home to Lodge Manufacturing Co. – to see what’s in store, check out our video of thhe Lodge cast iron skillets factory.
These are just a sampling of Tennessee events this spring. Check out more at tnvacation.com. What’s your favorite Tennessee event this time of year – one of the above or other noteworthy festivals? Let us know in the comments!
