No matter what your idea of entertainment is, you’ll find something for everyone during your Tennessee vacation. Here in the mountains of NE Tennessee, SW Virginia and NW North Carolina, you’ll discover great music and drama, and history will come alive as you travel through the mountains on the Tweetsie Railroad, or on foot along mysterious underground passages.
Listed below are just some of the things to do and see within an hour's drive of Butler.
Dinosaurs at the Gray Fossil site (www.grayfossil.org)
Maybe see a ghost when you tour some areas by lantern light on guided tour with the Ghost Hunters of www.AppalachianGhostWalks.com
Skim down the Virginia Creeper Trail on a bike from www.thebike-station.com in Damascus, VA. Be sure to stop for chocolate cake at the Trailside Cafe.
Tour and taste at the Abingdon Winery www.abingdonwinery.com. Learn about modern methods of growing and making top quality wines.
Spend the day at the Biltmore Estate www.biltmore.com
Watch top drivers of Nascar at Bristol Motor Speedway www.bristolmotorspeedway.com - on the 1/2 mile oval, or on the dragstrip
Explore the coves of Watauga Lake, "the third cleanest lake in the US" according to the TVA. Rent a pontoon boat at www.fishspringsmarina.com to fish, swim or just cruise along stopping for a picnic.
Play a round of golf at www.RedTailMountain.com golf resort. You ball will fly forever on the newly refurbished course.
Throughout the year the Tri-State Region of Boone/Blowing Rock, NC, Abingdon/Damascus, VA and Mountain City/Johnson County, TN have a great many festivals which provide entertainment and learning experiences for the entire family.
Some of the ones closest to Butler, TN are:
June
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2nd weekend - Covered Bridge Days in Elizabethton
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3rd weekend - Trade Days Celebration and Indian Pow Wow
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3rd weekend - Rhododendron Festival at Roan Mountain State Park
July
- 4th - Mountain City celebration - small home town parade and fireworks
- 4th - Boat Parade on Watauga Lake - watch it from the Butler Bridge
- All month - Appalachian Summer Festival in Boone, NC www.appsummer.org
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3rd weekend - Highland Games at Grandfather Mountain - the largest gathering of the clans in North America - Scottish games, music and stories www.grandfather.com
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Last weekend - the start of the Virginia Highlands Festival in Abingdon, VA www.vahighlandsfestival.org
August
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First two weeks - Virginia Highlands Festival - juried crafts, plays, music
historical reenactments, food
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2nd weekend - Old Butler Days - small town fair with food, fun and music
celebrating "the town that wouldn't drown" - this year (2008)will feature
a non-motorized parade, story tellers, music, games, vendors, food since
it was 60 years ago that the gates of dam were closed
- 4th weekend - Bristol Motor Speedway Race - "the fastest half mile in the world" - as of 8/4/08 rooms at the Iron Mountain Inn still available - as well as 2 tickets
September
- Rodeo in Mountain City in the evening
- Watauga Lake Triathlon - Sugar Grove Baptist Church
October
- First weekend - Story Telling Festival - Jonesborough
- Fall Color Spectacular
- Third weekend - Cranberry Festival in Shady Valley
November
- Start of Festival of Lights - Bristol Motor Speedway
- Ice Skating at the Bristol Motor Speedway
- Choose and Cut the Perfect Christmas Tree
December
- First three weekends - Rocky Mount Celebrates Christmas as it
would have been celebrated in 1791 - join with the Cobb family
as they get ready to receive the governor
- Small town Christmas parade in Mountain City - floats, bands, Santa Claus
Barter Theater
Barter Theatre (www.bartertheatre.com), the State Theater of Virginia, performs classics, musicals and unique shows on the Main Stage or the Stage II in historic Abingdon, VA. The theater is just a short beautiful drive from the Iron Mountain Inn through the mountains along Doe Creek into Damascus and on to Abingdon.
Gregory Peck, Ernest Bourgnine, Kevin Spacey and Patricia O’Neal all were members of the Barter Company at the start of their careers. Who knows, one of the performers you see may become a super star, and you can say, "I saw him/her beginning their career."
During the summer, the Barter Players offer plays suitable for children from 4 – 144! And during the Virginia Highlands Festival, new plays are performed in staged readings. Some of these plays, after reworking, become part of the regular repertory. www.bartertheatre.com
Heritage Hall Performance Center
Heritage Hall is the Johnson County Performance Center where local, national and international talent performs. Check the website for a list of upcoming programs and events scheduled at the Hall. Join us for an afternoon or evening of entertainment for the whole family. www.heritagehalltheatre.org
Paramount Theater
The Paramount is worth a visit just to see the refurbished “golden age” theater. But they have programs from Montevani to Doc Watson and Vicki Lawrence as Momma. Please check their website for the latest entertainment information and to purchase tickets as most of the programs sell out. The Bristol Ballet performs each Christmas season. www.paramounttheater.org
The Wataugans Outdoor Drama at Sycamore Shoals State Park
For the last three weekends in July, Sycamore Shoals is the site of the official Tennessee Outdoor Drama, "The Wataugans." Telling the story of those brave pioneers who settled these mountains, creating homes, raising families and clearing the land all the while watching out for marauding Indians and then the British before the first government in the colonies was established.
Throughout the year, there are various exhibits at Sycamore Shoals, and there is a short movie about the Overmountain Men who gathered here to plan the attack on Kings Mountain, a decisive battle of the Revolutionary War. After seeing the movie, tour the fort, walk along the shore of the river, and if you are lucky, you’ll be there in September for the crossing of the Shoals by the Overmountain Men as they ready for the march on Kings Mountain. Additional park activities include, Revolutionary War reenactments, Cherokee Indian encampments, quilt and art exhibits and plant sales.
The Down Home
A venue for all types of music, except heavy metal and classical. Among the performers who have appeared at the Down Home are Doc Watson, Blue Mother Tupelo, Old Crow Medicine Show and many others. Light supper and beer are served before performances. This is a Listening Venue!
ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN:
Hand’s On Museum
For the children (and parents enjoy it too) there is the Walk through Noah’s Ark, see and hear dinosaurs, present a show on the stage complete with costumes, and other surprises. This is a great place for rainy days. Plan on spending a couple of hours as younger children explore dams and locks, shopping and building. www.handsonmuseum.org
Bristol Caverns
Paved, well-lighted walkways wind through the vaulted chambers and along the banks of the ancient Underground River that carved these remarkable caverns from the hard core of the earth 200 to 400 million years ago. In the frontier days, Indians used the Underground River as an attack and escape route in their raids on settlers. Stealing into the area by way of the Underground River and the caverns, they swooped down on unsuspecting families, then disappeared as if swallowed up by the earth.
Mystery Hill
Where water runs uphill, and you can stand inside a soap bubble! A few hours that the entire family will enjoy all year long.
Tweetsie Railroad
An old-fashioned steam engine takes you through the mountains where you might encounter Indians, bandits and other nefarious characters from the Wild West. Special excursions for Halloween. Thomas the Tank Engine often appears in early summer.
For the latest information on music, theater and art shows, check the following websites:
http://www.thetomahawk.com
http://www.mountaintimes.com
http://www.theloaferonline.com
http://www.wets.org
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