Thanksgiving Weekend 2017 in the Smokies

The Thanksgiving Weekend special events for this year remain largely traditional, but we'll add a few other recommendations for family fun in the Smokies as well. You'll be able to enjoy these whether you're staying in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville or Wears Valley as they should be roughly 30-40 minutes driving time at some of the farthest.

Let's look.

* Thanksgiving/Christmas Craftsmen Fair *
11/21/16 - 11/26/17 and 11/27/17 - 12/3/17

Art, crafts and music lovers will discover over 200 booths featuring some of the nation's finest work. Artisans and craftspeople are on hand to demonstrate their skills, answer questions and offer their unique art for sale. Live Country and Bluegrass entertainment. www.craftsmenfair.com;

* Winter Tunes and Tales *
Each weekend starting 11/21/17 - 12/16/17

Tunes and Tales is a big hit and one of Gatlinburg's newest traditions, as far as traditions are structured in Appalachia. Previously a Summer-only event, Tunes and Tales is now entering its second year of a Winter edition complete with caroling, holiday themed storytelling and more. Come see it and get in the Christmas spirit! www.gatlinburg.com;

* Festival of Trees *
11/22/17 - 11/26/17

The Gatlinburg Festival of Trees takes place at the W.L. Mills convention center and its also an excellent introduction to the coming Christmas season. This is a charity event sponsored by Smoky Mountain Area Rescue Ministries and features dozens of exquisitely made Christmas trees to make a man-made Yuletide forest in the great convention center. All proceeds go to the ministry efforts of Smoky Mountain Area Rescue Ministries. www.smarm.org;

* Titanic Museum Fireworks *
11/23/17

At 7:00PM on Thanksgiving day, the Titanic Museum on the parkway in Pigeon Forge will celebrate the occasion with a fireworks display. There aren't too many places here in the US that choose this holiday for fireworks, so you're definitely getting a Thanksgiving treat from Titanic with this event. www.titanicpigeonforge.com;

* Dollywood's Smoky Mountain Christmas *
Now to 1/3/18

The entire park turns into a Winter Wonderland with decorations from end to end. Millions and millions of lights, parades, Christmas shows and a Santa's workshop is just the starting point of what Dollywood offers families. See more info at www.dollywood.com.

* Christmas at Dixie Stampede *
Now to 12/31/17

The best dinner-theater show in Sevier County transforms for the season as well. Snow will fall, a true Winter fantasy land opens up before you, old-fashioned constumes, favorite holiday music and even a Live Nativity will be how Dixie Stampede celebrates the season of Christmas for this year! https://www.dixiestampede.com/pigeon-forge/christmas-show

Stay tuned for more holiday-related news and information here and visit www.allthesmokies.com for other area information that can benefit your Smoky Mountain getaway!

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Thanksgiving Events For 2017 in the Smokies

It's that time of the year again where we look into what activities the Smokies have in store for visitors coming in for the Thanksgiving weekend. Thanksgiving weekend is the biggest chance to build up holiday cheer for the upcoming Christmas season, and the opportunity to make memories that last forever for your family are widespread across the Smokies. You and your family won't want to miss it!

Gatlinburg's favorite W.L. Mills Auditorium events are back on this year between 11/21/17 to 11/27/17, and this year it even extends right into the starting Christmas events in early December. Gatlinburg Festival of Trees (11/22/17 - 11/27/17), The Great Smoky Mountains Thanksgiving Arts and Crafts Show (11/21/17 - 11/26/17) and Winterfest Tunes and Tales (11/24/17 and continues on each weekend until the 17th of December). And then, quite literally right after the 29th, the the Great Smoky Christmas Arts and Crafts Show continues on from the Thanksgiving show listed above between 11/27/17 and 12/6/17. These can all be found quite close to one another and will greatly hype up the coming Christmas for this year, just as it has for years before that.

Visit www.gatlinburg.com for more information on those events.

Also, those who might be interested in seeing fireworks on Thanksgiving day should go visit the Titanic Museum on the parkway. On the 23rd, Titanic will be holding a fireworks show, having musical entertainment by singer Caitlin Mesiano, and even have their own “fantasy” princess there to entertain the younger guests. You can see more info on this at http://www.titanicpigeonforge.com/.

And then soon we'll bring you even more info on Christmas events in the Smokies. Enjoy the holidays!

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Dollywood Harvest Festival and LumiNights Pictures For 2017

Dollywood is currently in full swing for their Harvest Festival and LumiNights celebrations for 2017. These pictures were taken by our frequent collaborator, Ge'ne Kea-Lawhead and all copyright belongs to her.

See more on the Dollywood Harvest Festival and LumiNights celebrations at www.dollywood.com.

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College and Highschool Football Schedule

By request, here are the remaining dates for college and high school football in East Tennessee.

University of Tennessee
September 23rd - Massachusetts (Home)
September 30th - Georgia (Home)
October 14th - South Carolina (Home)
October 21st - Alabama (Away)
October 28th - Kentucky (Away)
November 4th - Southern Miss (Home)
November 11th - Missouri (Away)
November 18th - LSU (Home)
November 25th - Vanderbilt (Home)

Gatlinburg Pittman High School
September 22nd - Trinity Academy (Home)
September 29th - Pigeon Forge (Away)
October 6th - Austin East (Home)
October 20th - Alcoa (Away)
October 27th - Kingston (Home)

Northview Academy Cougars
September 22nd - Loudon (Home)
September 29th - Alcoa (Home)
October 6th - Pigeon Forge (Home)
October 13th - Scott(Away)
October 20th - Austin-East (Home)

Sevier County High School
September 22nd - Oak Ridge (Away)
September 29th - Gibbs (Home)
October 12th - Seymour (Home)
October 20th - Knoxville Halls (Away)
October 27th - Carter (Away)

Pigeon Forge High School
September 22nd - Cocke County (Home)
September 29th - Gatlinburg Pittman (Home)
October 6th - Northview Academy (Away)
October 13th - Austin-East (Away)
October 20th - Kingston (Away)
October 27th - Scott (Home)

Seymour High School
September 29th - South-Doyle (Home)
October 6th - Gibbs (Home)
October 12th - Sevier County (Away)
October 20th - Karns (Home)
October 27th - Knox Halls (Away)

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Fall Festival and Old Timer's Day

You thought Townsend was always the "quiet side" of the Smokies? Not on Old Timer's Day and the Fall Heritage Festival in September! This is a treasured traditional event that the city of Townsend holds at the Townsend Visitors Center on the end of September.

From https://www.fairsandfestivals.net: "[This] event will be held on September 29-30, 2017 at the Townsend Visitors Center. It celebrates the traditional music, Appalachian skills, crafts, and heritage of Townsend, East Tennessee, and the Great Smoky Mountains. There will be fun-filled activities such as clogging, bluegrass music concerts, jam sessions on the porch, demonstrations of cornmeal making, sorghum molasses making, blacksmithing, apple butter, basketry, spinning, weaving, and quilting. There is an antique tractor show. Enjoy tales of the mountains from guest storytellers. Arts and crafts booths will include woodworking, jewelry, pottery, hand-sewing, and painting."

It's like going back in time to when it was the Old Timers' "day", as it were, with all the arts and music being revitalized for modern audiences during this time. A great way to honor our past and celebrate our heritage! See more on Townsend Tourism at https://www.smokymountains.org/.

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Attraction Spotlight: Alcatraz East

One of the newer attractions we've had this year is quite a different type of affair than Pigeon Forge typically has - an interactive museum detailing the subject of crime and justice that makes it kinda fun and appropriate. This would almost fit more in Gatlinburg alongside the Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum and the Guinness World of Records, but even then there is nothing quite like it in the Smokies - and those of you who have not been to it yet should consider doing so on your next visit to the Smokies.

From the Alcatraz East website:

"Alcatraz East is a crime museum featuring an in-depth look at American crime history, which includes artifacts from lots of different eras and topics, not just the penitentiary on Alcatraz Island.

The museum has five galleries: History of Crime, Crime Scene Investigation, The Consequence of Crime, Crime Fighting and Pop Culture.

From white-collar crimes, to Old West gunslingers, the museum features original artifacts from Jesse James to Whitey Bulger. Things to watch for include the famous O.J. Simpson chase Bronco, John Dillinger’s death mask, Al Capone’s rosary, a submachine gun from the movie Scarface, and Ted Bundy’s VW Beetle. Within those galleries are 28 topic areas with interactive exhibits and over 500 authentic artifacts that the entire family can enjoy."

There are permanent exhibits as well as temporary ones that show up from time to time. There are also special events as guest speakers and other activities appear to further add excitement to an already exciting place and much more. This attraction is open 365 days a year and you can find more information on it as well as seasonal hours at https://www.alcatrazeast.com.

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The 2017 Eclipse Is Right Around The Corner!

This coming Monday, August 21st, is going to be the famed total solar eclipse that you've likely been hearing about since the end of Spring. This is going to be a VERY rare and VERY big event - the last time we had something like this happen was in 1918 - and we are very fortunate to have the Smoky Mountains be part of this awesome event!

We posted on the solar eclipse some time ago and in this article, we'll reference that previous article to make the relevant information convenient to grab.

Previously Posted:

Here's some news we found out today. It seems the Knoxville area of East Tennessee (and presumably those of us in Sevier County) will get to experience a Solar Eclipse on August 21st, 2017. Although this will be a partial solar eclipse instead of a total solar eclipse, you should definitely save the date and get ready for a visual treat!

Here's all the current information we have on that:

Viewing Time: 1:04PM - 3:58PM
Max Viewing Time: 2:34PM

The Great Smoky Mountain National Park Service will also be holding a viewing event at three places within the Western side of the National Park:

* Clingman's Dome
* Cades Cove
* Oconaluftee

See more information on the viewing and tickets for it at https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/2017-solar-eclipse.htm.

You can also build a simple card projector using these instructions from timeanddate.com:

"DIY: Simple Card Projector
The simplest and quickest way to safely project the Sun is with a projector made from only 2 pieces of card or paper.

You Need:
* 2 pieces of stiff white cardboard, e.g. 2 paper plates
alternatively, 2 sheets of plain white paper
* a thumbtack, a sharp pin or a needle.

What to Do:
Diagram of a DIY pinhole projector.
The concept of a pinhole projector ©timeanddate.com

To make a quick version of the pinhole projector, take a sheet of paper and make a tiny hole in the middle of it using a pin or a thumbtack. Make sure that the hole is round and smooth.

With your back towards the Sun, hold 1 piece of paper above your shoulder allowing the Sun to shine on the paper.

The 2nd sheet of paper will act as a screen. Hold it at a distance, and you will see an inverted image of the Sun projected on the paper screen through the pinhole.

To make the image of the Sun larger, hold the screen paper further away from the paper with the pinhole.

A box projector works on the same principles, it requires a little more time and a few extra items to construct, but it is more sturdy.

Keep Safe! Never look at the Sun directly without protective eye gear. Even sunglasses cannot protect your eyes from the damage the Sun's rays can do to them."

See more information on this at https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2017-august-21.

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