CHEROHALA SKYWAY FESTIVAL

Featured at the festival will be mountain music, southern foods, handmade crafts and original art of talented craftsmen and artisans. Educational exhibits include working antique engines, antique tractors, and antique lawn mowers, Among the pioneer demonstrations will be weaving, pottery wheel throwing, general wood carving, carving & playing Native American flutes, blacksmithing, corn shelling, corn meal grinding with a Grist Mill, rope pulling, old time salve making in an iron pot, fly fishing demonstrations & lessons, BMTA's cross cut saw demonstrations, and MC Beekeeping Assoc observation bee hives & antique bee keeping equipment.

There will be horse drawn wagon rides, a petting zoo of farm animals, and a children’s barrel train, The Cherohala Skyway Express, will run the length of the adjacent walking trail. Other fun activities include Safe Archery, kid's craft table, mechanical helicopter rides for those under 100 #'s, face painting/hair color and inflatables with bounce houses and slides.

Guests will be able to satisfy their appetite with southern specialties such as smoked barbecue, hot dogs, Fritos pies, apple cider, hot chocolate, funnel cakes, popcorn, cotton candy, caramel apples, sno cones, and a local Tellico Plains Library bake sale with lots of homemade goodies.

For many the highlight of the festival will be the music. Continuous entertainment on stage will feature celebrated local talent along with The Farm Hands, one of the most exciting and in demand bluegrass bands in America. This talented foursome has over 60 national awards and nominations. They are veterans of the Grand Ole Opry, Grammy Award Winners, Bluegrass Music’s Entertainers of the Year, hit songwriters and celebrated instrumentalists. Faith Willin'(Diane & Perry Brake), The Graves Brothers, The Ellis Family, and Lynn West and Prissy Hall will complete the music line-up.

The Tellico Plains Songfarmers will continuously perform in different areas as they host their Annual Tellico Plains Songfarmers Festival. Bring your own chair or take a seat on a bale of straw and sing, play, or listen to the local talent including many dulcimers. A special treat to compliment the music will be "Clogging with Deb McCarter!"

Visitors can take self-guided tours of both buildings of the Charles Hall Museum. Original footage of the 1958 Wagon Train, plus the 1996 Cherohala Skyway dedication ceremony are among the video clips in the history DVD of the Cherohala Skyway that will play in the museum. Also inside the museum you will be able to view, "Natural Resources along the Cherohala Skyway," an art show featuring Tellico Plains Junior High & High School art classes. Art teacher, Christy Yearwood states that the students are excited to do acrylic paintings depicting natural resources (along the Skyway) of the student’s choice. Tellico Plains Kiwanis Club is sponsoring this event.

Bring your antique tractor, vehicle, or small engine and classic vehicle to the Charles Hall Field located behind the museum by 9:30 am. No registration or fees are required. For information about the festival (free admission and parking) go to www.skyway-festival.com, email charleshallmuseum@hotmail.com, or call 423-253-2111.