Union County Heritage Festival Art Show and Contest will occur on Saturday, October 2, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Historic Snodderly House, 720 Main St., Maynardville.
Cash awards and ribbons will be given for Best Heritage, Best of Show, 1st, 2nd, 3rd place in two- and three-dimensional works and photography. Ribbons will be given to Honorable Mentions.
The leaves are turning, the temperature is cooling, the days are waning. It's fall y'all!
In Union County, fall ushers in the Union County Heritage Festival. This tradition has graced Maynardville for the last 15 years. But this year a coronavirus changed how we celebrate.
In 2020 the Festival Committee has transformed the Heritage Festival into Heritage Crafts for the season!
At the July meeting, the Union County Heritage Festival Board and Committee voted to postpone the Heritage Festival to 2021. “We decided to take that country road right on into next year,” commented Director Marilyn Toppins. "With every East Tennessee county experiencing spread above the CDC containment threshold, the risk overcame the ability to keep our patrons and volunteers safe."
While the pandemic has kept people at home, the Heritage Festival Committee has been busy planning the 16th Annual Union County Heritage Festival.
October 3, 2020, is the date to circle on the calendar.
At Wilson Park, over 100 vendors competed for various booth awards at the 2019 Union County Heritage Festival last Saturday. A&B Bookkeeping & Tax Service claimed The Rocky Top award for the best portrayal of the festival theme. The Best Heritage Award for the best example of Union County history portrayed in a craft went to Martin Shafer for making maul handles on an Ole' Time Hit 'n Miss Engine & Lathe. Ralph Webster of Webster's Woodcrafts won Best Unique Craft Item for his handmade Black Walnut Bowl.
There was “More Fiddlin' Around” as fiddle lovers of all ages welcomed competitors in Union County Heritage Festival's Second Annual Fiddle Contest on Saturday, October 5, 2019. Amateur fiddlers took the stage and performed their best renditions of some fiddle favorites. While the judges were wrestling with very difficult decisions, all of the fiddle participants and several of the guitar, string bass, and mandolin players leaped to the stage to entertain the crowd with an impromptu performance of several popular fiddle tunes.
The Union County Historical Society sponsored the Heritage Festival Quilt Show at the Union County Museum & Genealogical Library. More than thirty quilts lined the museum balcony. Ellen Perry and Patricia Campbell coordinated the event.
Connie Johnsey won Best of Show for her quilt entitled “Harvest Spice”. Best Heritage Quilt was Kim Beeler's “Diary Quilt” that reflected memories of loved ones that "walk beside us every day".
Other awards included the following:
The 15th Annual Union County Heritage Festival offers a multitude of ways to just do more fiddlin' around on Saturday, October 5. With three venues and three music stages, there will be sights, sounds, and activities for all ages.
The Union County Heritage Festival Fine Arts Show has added a category for photographic entries, and the UCHF Student Art Show will accept photographs.
Participants will be able to enter an original photograph pertaining to the Union County area or best exemplifying the festival theme: ”More Fiddlin' Around."
The show is a juried mixed-media exhibition open to artists 18 years of age and above and is held at the Snodderly House on Main Street in Maynardville.
The 15th Annual Union County Heritage Festival will offer several opportunities to showcase your creativity in various shows and contests.
The second Union County Heritage Festival Amateur Fiddle Contest will be on Festival Day, Saturday, October 5, 2019. Winners receive cash prizes of 1st -$300, 2nd - $200, and 3rd -$100 from an Arts Grant through the East Tennessee Foundation. There is no entry fee. Registration is on site from 10:00am to 12:45pm at the State Farm Tent. Contestants begin performing at 1:00pm on the Front Porch Stage.