Bluegrass Festival a massive hit downtown

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On Saturday, the Downtown Green was more than a little Blue.

It didn’t hurt that it was a beautiful day for the Morristown Art and Bluegrass festival on Saturday. The event was co-hosted by The Morristown Chamber of Commerce and the city of Morristown Parks and Recreation Department and drew a large weekend crowd to the Downtown Green area next to the Farmers Market.

Families looking for the opportunity to soak up some sunshine had plenty of activities to choose from.

Local vendors and artisans packed the lawn to capacity and stretched down the entire main street with booths from local artists and craftspeople offering things such as, baked goods, soap makers, local honey, pottery and more.

If shopping wasn’t quite your speed, then the green was certainly the place to be.

The stage was packed with revolving sets of bluegrass bands featuring Fountain City Ramblers, Lost Creek Band, Dirty French Broads and Hurd and Company. People milled about or lounged on blankets and lawn chairs enjoying the live music and partaking in delicious food from the variety of food trucks that lined the perimeter.

Grillbilly Smoke, Big Als Bent Creek barbecue, kettle corn, and Cake by the Lake were just a few of the options people had to choose from.

Antique tractors were on display for the enthusiasts to enjoy, and alongside the tractor displays bounce houses, slides and other activities geared towards entertaining the little ones were available.

“Morristown Parks and Recreation wants to thank Knoxville TVA Employee Credit Union, ORNL Federal Credit Union, and Synchronized Services for being MVP Park Partners. These sponsorships are very important to the department and help secure great opportunities like this past Saturday’s Blue Grass Festival on the Green,” said Parks and Recreation Event Coordinator Jennifer Gentry. “A huge thank you to the wonderful bands that joined us, Lost Creek Band, Dirty French Broads and Hurd & Company. We want to also thank members of the Smokey Mountain FlyWheelers for showcasing a couple of their antique tractors.

“It was a great day for our vendors and food trucks as folks participated in the day’s festivities. Buddy the Donkey made his debut at 3 p.m. to find his favorite Bingo spot and drop the doo for Donkey Doo BINGO! Walters Basketball coach and players were great sports in the dunking booth and kids played hard between the mechanical bull and giant inflatables.”

Once those little ones had exhausted themselves at the bounce houses, there were refreshing snow cones to be enjoyed and the kids could cool off while they got their faces painted or unwound at the coloring contest tent sponsored by Home Depot and Morristown Signs.

The community art project was a popular draw for old and young alike.

The project was equipped with a giant paint-by-number mural and a supplies table complete with paints and brushes available for all to participate.

The Arts and Bluegrass festival officially kicks off the summer for downtown Morristown and residents can look forward to a variety of more family festivities to enjoy in the upcoming summer months.

“Join us May 19th at Fred Miller Park for our aMAYzing Friday event,” Gentry added. “This is our Kids Fun Fair and From the Pages to the park combined into one large event with our first Starlite Cinema that evening. We are showing ‘LUCA” on the big screen. Concessions will be available for purchase.”

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