All that is old comes new again while the rest of life in the Smokies begins to wind down or die out until they come back in the Spring. In Wears Valley, you get this poignant, haunting but fulfilling essence the moment you arrive to the community. So-named for its sudden great expense of flat land and tall, protective mountains and hills in the distance, Wears Valley is practically the living spirit of Harvest Festival in the Smokies, and that spirit gets its spotlight and chance to shine at the Wears Valley Fall Fest.
Going from October 20th to the 22nd for 2017, this 3-day festival is practically everything you came to the Smokies in fall to see: colors, mountains, crafts, Appalachian life thriving with a blend of modern sensibility and bringing the “old ways” back to the front, music and much more. Crafts featured will include many locally made items that exhibit the best in art and generations-old skills handed down that Wears Valley has to provide – woodwork, birdhouses, home decor, furniture, kitchen items, UT sports pride, shirts, scarves, sweaters, dresses, foods, popcorn, honey, jam, photography, paintings, frames for photography or paintings, knick-knacks, metalwork… the list just goes on. There will also be food vendors onsite and visitors can expect to have access to BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, steak-on-a-stick, pizza, Greek, corndogs, hamburgers, grilled chicken or some treats that include fried oreos, fried twinkies, funnel cakes, nachos, kettle korn (basically sweet popcorn), cotton candy and ice cream (subject to changes in availability).
As for entertainment, would you believe the Wears Valley Fall Fest is big and popular enough to feature TWO stages? Indeed. In times past, we’ve had dozens of excellent artists and groups come play at the Wears Valley Fall Fest with expected genres like bluegrass, Gospel, singer-songwriters and country. No Fall Fest in the Smokies is complete without them, but then we also get some unexpected performances too – Elvis Presley and Native American traditional/interpretive dances just to begin with and who knows what other sorts of acts we might get to see?
That’s not the end of the fun at the Fall Fest either. On Friday night, there will be a Miss Fall Fest beauty pageant where local beauties get to take stage and compete for the eponyous title. There will be tractor rides, an obstacle course, interactive craft stations you and the fam can enjoy and a kids’ tent. Items and games will make use of recycled and repurposed materials and there will also be inflatable attractions, an obstacle course, a petting zoo, pumpkin painting, face painting and train rides.
Yes, you are going to enjoy it and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate our Harvest season in Wears Valley than the Wears Valley Fall Fest.
Keep up to date on any news on that event CLICK HERE.
