Mountain Marketplace Heritage Festival
Union County's colorful past comes alive this Labor Day

The Mountain Marketplace showcases mountain music, arts and crafts, historic treasures, and living history activities, to keep the area's rich mountain heritage alive.

Union County's colorful past comes alive this Labor Day weekend at the Mountain Marketplace Heritage Festival.

Free and open to the public, this heritage event celebrates the rich Appalachian history and culture of our mountain community. The event will be held Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 2-3, 10am5pm, on the spacious grounds of the Mountain Life Museum, one block south of the Old Courthouse in Blairsville. A community outreach event of the Union County Historical Society, the event is kindly underwritten by United Community Bank.

The Mountain Marketplace showcases mountain music, arts and crafts, historic treasures, and living history activities, to keep the area's rich mountain heritage alive. It's a fun-filled family event, with something for all ages, including:

live performances by talented musicians, coordinated by "Music Man" Sam Ensley

Saturday's musical performers include Alex Tomlinson, Roots & Branches, Nelson & Buck, Ed Shipman, Neil & Viva Araki, Don Byers, Don & Laeta Smith, and Gary "Grizzly" Green.

Sunday's performances include gospel singing by Forgiven, Ken & Friends, Highway 76, Three R One, and The Kennedys.

High-quality arts & crafts including handmade brooms, baskets, needlework, jewelry, pottery, stained glass, gourd art, wood crafts, knives, and photography traditional items such as handmade soaps, handcrafted candles, homemade preserves, and locally produced honey heritage activities such as gold-panning, quilt-making, old-time cooking over an open fire, hand-splitting rails and wood shingles, rebuilding a log structure, and farm animals living history around the Civil War-era log cabin, including soldiers in period costume and individuals engaged in traditional activities historic treasures such as a single stage copper still from Union County, a fully-restored Bagwell wagon made in Gainesville, heirloom spinning wheels, and a large loom handmade in the county. These heritage activities and

historic treasures help tell the story of life in this rugged land a century ago, giving us a glimpse of the inventive, hardworking, and self-sufficient mountain people who settled this area. Members of pioneer families will be on hand to answer questions about local history and mountain legends.

"The Marketplace celebrates the special character of our mountain community," says

Steve Oakley, director of the Historical Society. "Everyone is invited to spend the day enjoying the music, crafts, and heritage activities."

Residents and visitors alike are most welcome to attend and participate. Please contact the Historical Society at 706/7455493 or history1@alltel.net for additional information. You may also visit our website at www.unioncountyhistory.org.