Holidays Around the World Fundraiser at McKinney Center

The McKinney Center’s annual holiday fundraiser will once again kick-off the spirited season on Monday, November 29.

“Holidays Around the World” is a fun, indoor walk-through event where audiences experience twelve magical holiday scenes from around the globe including An Early American Christmas, a Victorian English Boxing Day, Kwanzaa, Chanukah, Japanese Omisaka, a Celtic Christmas, a traditional Nativity, Mexican Las Posadas, a Puerto Rican Three King’s Day, Chinese Winter Solstice Festival, Germany’s St. Niklaus Day and Brazil’s Reveillon.

There will be live music, and Santa Claus and the Grinch will lead audiences from the walk-through to pick up their special to-go package, featuring a complete soup dinner from Main Street Café & Catering, with home baked bread and a home-made chocolate chip cookie. Guests can choose their favorite option of Hearty Beef Chili, Southwestern Chicken Vegetable, or Potato Leek (vegetarian.) Extra pints may also be purchased for $10 more.

Audiences will also take home a beautiful, hand-made ceramic ornament created at the McKinney Center.

With safety in mind, this event has five different walk-through times, limited to thirty people. The tours will take place starting at 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Tickets to the event are $30 and benefit the McKinney Center Scholarship Program and the StoryTown Radio Show. Tickets must be purchased in advance by Wednesday, November 24. Visit online at www.Jonesborough.com/tickets or by calling the Jonesborough Visitors Center at 423.753.1010.

Heritage Alliance brings back original play “Nancy”

The Heritage Alliance’s original play, “Nancy,” will be performed Saturday, November 13 at 6 p.m. at Washington College Academy, located at 116 Doak Lane in Limestone, Tennessee.

The performance is a fundraiser for the Washington College Academy Alumni and the Heritage Alliance. The show will be performed in the historic Girls’ Dormitory on the campus.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased directly through Washington College Academy by calling 423.257.5151 or by emailing washingtoncollegeacademy@gmail.com.  Seating is limited to 50 people. Tickets can also be purchased by visiting Washington College Academy’s website at www.wca1780.com.

“It is an honor to bring the show to Washington College Academy, the oldest college in the state,” Executive Director of the Heritage Alliance and author of “Nancy” Anne G’Fellers-Mason says. “We are very excited to partner with them.”

About “Nancy”

In 1820, Elihu Embree published his newspaper The Emancipator on Main Street, Jonesborough. The seven edition paper is the first publication dedicated solely to the cause of abolitionism. Embree passed away in December of 1820, and the paper died with him. Even though it was short-lived, The Emancipator had over 2,000 subscribers and its reach went all the way to Boston and Philadelphia. In spite of his abolitionist beliefs, Embree himself was an enslaver. Nancy was an enslaved woman owned by Elihu Embree, and her story will be shared in this original play.

“Nancy” follows a year in the woman’s life from January 1820, when Elihu Embree wrote his will, until January 1821, when his will was read before the Washington County court. In his will, Embree tried to free Nancy and her five children, but were his wishes carried out? What was Nancy feeling and thinking during this time? The play is based on primary research relying heavily on documents from the Washington County Archives.

The role of Nancy will be performed by local actress Ubunibi-Afia Short.

“Nancy” premiered on Saturday, June 19 at the Embree House Historic Farm to three sold out audiences.

Heritage Alliance hosts macabre October History Happy Hour

Heritage Alliance hosts macabre-themed October History Happy Hour on Thursday, October 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the International Storytelling Center, located at 116 West Main Street. This presentation will also be available via livestream on the Chester Inn Museum’s Facebook page. This event is free and open to the public.

Join the Heritage Alliance as they welcome Roberta Pipitone for her presentation, “19th Century American Mourning Rules, Customs, and Symbolism.” Pipitone was a theatre teacher for 30 years, but she has been a collector and researcher of all things mourning for forty years. She also plans to bring items to accompany her presentation, including jewelry, post-mortem photos and mourning pieces displayed in American Victorian homes.

This project is funded under an agreement with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Historical Commission. For more information on the Chester Inn Museum, History Happy Hour or the Heritage Alliance, please call 423.753.9580, or call the Chester Inn Museum at 423.753.4580.  The organization can also be reached via email at info@heritageall.org.  Additional information about the Heritage Alliance and its mission can be found online at http://www.heritageall.org/. Follow the Chester Inn and Heritage Alliance Facebook pages for updates about events at the Chester Inn and other Heritage Alliance programs.

Jonesborough hosts trick-or-treating event, Ghoulish Goodies

The Washington County Library has teamed up with the Jonesborough community for a second year to bring back Ghoulish Goodies, a month long trick-or-treating event in downtown Jonesborough.

Participating businesses in downtown Jonesborough will have codes displayed in their windows​, and these codes will be changed every Wednesday through October 24. Each code ​equals a specific prize, ranging from handfuls of candy, full-sized candy bars ​or digital raffle tickets for giveaways.

Prize pick up will be October 25 to October 29 at the Washington County Library. Hours to pick up start at 10 a.m. each day until the library closes. The library closes at 8 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, and 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The library closes at 2 p.m. on Saturdays, as well.

For more information about registering for this event or other upcoming Jonesborough events, go to JBOHalloween.com. Participants will need to download the Beanstack app. The app ​is available for both iOS and Android devices. Registration is free and open until October 17.

This event is free and open to all ages.

For questions, please contact Allen McCumber at amccumber@wclibrarytn.org.

Jonesborough hosts Downtown at Dusk: Halloween Edition

Join us in Historic Jonesborough as Downtown at Dusk: Halloween Edition returns Friday, October 29 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Downtown at Dusk returns for the holiday season with minor changes, including more small bites and themes. The event is trick-or-treating for adults with over 15 tastings and/or drink samples, all Halloween-themed, all throughout downtown Jonesborough. Most drink options will be alcoholic, so attendees must be 21 or over.

Tickets are $20 per person and can be purchased here.

Participants are encouraged to also shop downtown and support small businesses. The same evening, the Town of Jonesborough will host a Jack-o-lantern drive thru, a pumpkin carver, a drive-in movie showing Disney’s “Hocus Pocus” and the Sanderson Sisters will be at the Christopher Taylor Cabin.

Downtown at Dusk is sponsored by the Jonesborough Area Merchants and Services Association.

Visit www.jbohalloween.com for a full listing of Halloween events in Jonesborough.

McKinney Center to host October StoryTown Radio Show

The October StoryTown Radio Show will take place Monday, October 25 at 7 p.m. at the McKinney Center, located at 103 Franklin Avenue in Jonesborough.

Tickets are $5 and available at Jonesborough.com/tickets or by calling the Jonesborough Visitors Center and Emporium at 423.753.1010.

The StoryTown Radio Show celebrates the season with chilling tales told by home owners, shopkeepers and visitors about unexplained curiosities.
Appearing on the show is Heritage Alliance Executive Director Anne G’Fellers-Mason who will share a true and chilling tale from the Jonesborough archives. Joining the cast this month is musical guest Roxanne McDaniel, who will play music from her latest EP.

Audience seating is limited and will include social distancing.

True and Chilling Tales Tours in Jonesborough

The True and Chilling Tales Tour, a history town tour of eerie Jonesborough tales, will take place on October 18, 20, 27, 28, 31, and November 1 at 7 p.m. through downtown Jonesborough.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased through the Town of Jonesborough’s ticketing system at jonesborough.com/tickets. The tour will last an hour. Groups are limited to 16 people, so guests are encouraged to buy tickets in advance. The tours will depart from the Chester Inn State Historic Site and Museum, located at 116 West Main Street. The tours will go on rain or shine.

For more information follow the Heritage Alliance on Facebook, call the Heritage Alliance at 423.753.9580 or call the Chester Inn State Historic Site and Museum at 423.753.4580. The organization can also be reached via email at info@heritageall.org. Additional information about the Heritage Alliance and its mission can be found online at heritageall.org/.

Jonesborough to host Made Around Here Market craft show

Please find photos here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lxpv7idtm58d1my/AABMIRedqPu1UWRImgT7SoAua?dl=0.

Each year thousands flock to Jonesborough to browse through the various vendors’ booths, explore hundreds of skillfully handcrafted items and enjoy this one-of-a-kind craft show. Now in its 39th year and one of Jonesborough’s oldest craft shows, Made Around Here Market has grown to be a tradition for many in creating a unique shopping experience.

Made Around Here Market will be November 12 and November 13 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. inside the Jonesborough Visitors Center, located at 117 Boone Street. There is an additional marketplace located outside in the main parking lot and greenspace areas.

At Made Around Here Market, attendees will discover pieces from local and regional artisans and crafters, as well as residents from surrounding states. All items are handmade, some examples include pottery, paintings and varied mediums, photographs, screen-printed items, seasonal décor, holiday gifts, leather items and woodcarvings.

Admission is free but donations will be accepted to support Jonesborough’s many events throughout the year.

For more information and to find out how to be a vendor, visit Jonesborough.com/market or call 423.753.1010.

Main Street Jonesborough to host ghost story event

Please find photos here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/f17lvibabv0qit7/Brews%20%26%20Tunes%20beer.jpg?dl=0

Main Street Jonesborough will host the 6th Annual Brews and Boos in downtown Jonesborough on Saturday, October 30 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Brews & Boos is set in Storytelling Park with a series of ghost stories featuring world-renowned storytellers, Sheila Arnold, Tim Lowry and Connie Regan-Blake. The event is co-produced by the International Storytelling Center, featuring three of the festival’s most popular tellers.

Gates will open at 7 p.m. with live music from local artists K.T. Vandyke, Main Street Café & Catering will serve Depot Street Brewing’s Octoberfest and Loose Caboose as well as a seasonal cider and concessions will be available. Guests are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets due to ground seating only.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at Jonesborough.com/boos or by calling the Jonesborough Visitors Center at 423.753.1010. A limited number of tickets will be available at the gate.

Jonesborough’s Mary B. Martin Program for the Arts to host regional artist Mary Barton Nees exhibition

Jonesborough’s Mary B. Martin Program for the Arts at the McKinney Center will feature painter Mary Barton Nees in its next Artist Exhibition Series open to the public on Friday, October 15 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Nees artwork will be for sale and she will be present for questions the night of the reception. After, the exhibitions are free and open to the public, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Nees taught Art History and Color Theory as an adjunct member of the Art and Design faculty at East Tennessee State University (ETSU).  She was trained at Cornell University, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and the Barnes Foundation, in Merion, PA before earning her MFA in printmaking at ETSU in 2007. Her work is in collections nationally and internationally, as detailed on her artist’s website.  In the early 2000’s, Mary was invited to conduct several workshops and presentations to young students in the People’s Republic of China.  “Art is language,” she says. “It speaks through cultures, times and age barriers, suggesting with image what can go beyond the boundaries of words.”

The McKinney Center houses the Jonesborough Mary B. Martin Program for the Arts and boasts of a mission to be, “committed to inspiring the people of our area through both the appreciation of and the participation in the arts as a form of personal and collective expression.”  The objective of the program is to “bring the community at large closer together and show as an example to other communities the creative influence that the arts can bring to their quality of life.”

For more information, email Theresa Hammons at theresah@jonesborougtn.org or call 423.753.0562.