19th Annual Fall Festival
Sequoyah Birthplace Museum and the Fort Loudoun State Historic Area present the 19th annual Great Island Festival. The event will run each day from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, September 11th and 12th, 2010.
The Great Island Festival is actually concurrent events held at the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum and Fort Loudoun State Historic Area in Vonore, Tenn. The festival name refers to the “Great Island’ which was a Cherokee village site 250 years ago. Today, Fort Loudoun and Sequoyah Birthplace Museum occupy an island that was created by the Tellico Lake Project. Sequoyah Birthplace Museum and Fort Loudoun are separated by approximately 1.5 miles. The sites collaborate on the Great Island Festival to provide a richer cultural and historical experience for visitors.
For the Great Island Festival, at Sequoyah Birthplace Museum visitors can experience Native American food, arts and crafts demonstrations, music and dance and a Cherokee timeline encampment featuring the time periods of the 1400’s, 1700’s, 1800’s and 1900’s. Bill Landry of the Heartland Series will do a special program on William Bartram, 18th century naturalist who visited Cherokee country and recorded his experiences while here. Other activities include a Cherokee history quiz, and a poster contest featuring children of Cherokee Elementary school in Cherokee North Carolina. Special entertainment will be provided by the Cherokee Historical Society, the Warrior Dancers of Ani-Kituhwa, and performance artists Paula Nelson and Diamond Go-Sti, an educator and native culturalist. Cherokee flutist, Eddie Bushyhead and story teller Bob Elderidge will also perform throughout both days. Also a Civil War Re-enactment battle will be held both days featuring Thomas’s Legion. Dart, beads, talking sticks, face painting and free Cherokee name cards will be available for children. Traditional Indian Fry bread and Indian tacos, fresh squeezed lemonade, kettle corn, along with other food and drinks will be sold. In addition, there will be special displays about Cherokee’s in military service, other exhibits from Cherokee. Also a special Civil War Music Dinner Cruise with the Watts Bar Belle Paddleboat with Cherokee Civil War storytelling will be held on Saturday evening at 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. leaving from the Sequoyah Landing Marina on 411 N. in Vonore, cost is $40.00 per person and $30.00 for museum members. Proceeds to be given to the Museum.
Festival parking is at Sequoyah Birthplace Museum and free shuttle buses will provide transportation for visitors from each site (approximately 1.5 miles). Address - 576 Hwy 360, Vonore, TN 37885
Adult tickets are $5.00 to the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum and $5.00 to the Trade Faire. Kids 12 and under are admitted free of charge. For more information on the Great Island Festival, contact the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum at 423-884-6246 or Fort Loudoun at 423-884-6217.
Date: September 11, 2010
to September 12, 2010
Location : Sequoyah Birthplace Museum
Category: Events / Community Event
Contact : Charlie Rhodarmer
Contact email :
Sponsor : TN Arts Commission & Cherokee Preservation Found.
Last Modified : August 19, 2010
Location : Sequoyah Birthplace Museum
Category: Events / Community Event
Contact : Charlie Rhodarmer
Contact email :
Sponsor : TN Arts Commission & Cherokee Preservation Found.
Last Modified : August 19, 2010