How to do St. Paddy’s Day in Jonesborough

March 9, 2018
Trip Ideas
Paddy’s Dash: Kick off St. Paddy’s Weekend with Jonesborough’s first ever Brew Fun Run! This community fun run is open to all ages and will loop through town with an option to stop by Depot Street Brewery for a free 5 oz. beer. It will then end back at the Storytelling Plaza with a Beer Garden. And you’ll want to stick around afterward for the Lighting of the Clocktower as it shines green for the weekend! The community fun run will begin at 7 p.m. in front of the Storytelling Center, be sure to bring your ID if you wish to have a beer.
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I Am Home play

Story Town Tells its Own Story

February 14, 2018
Storytelling
Actor Phil McPeak exclaimed after he had been cast in the role of Rounder. It tells the story of a sixteen-year-old who, in 1944, decides to leave Jonesborough by train, go out west, and get rich, only to reach the other side of the country friendless and homesick, and in a hurry to get home. “I did the exact same thing! Saved up money, bought a suitcase and hat to make my fortune and then learned in a hurry how the world worked” he laughed.
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Storyteller, Donald Davis on Main Street Jonesborough, Tennessee

‘You’re Here!’: Donald Davis Talks Coming Home to Jonesborough

October 20, 2017
Storytelling
If you take a walk down Main Street Jonesborough during the week of the National Storytelling Festival, there's no telling who you might run into. Donald Davis, one of the most loved storytellers with roots running across the Appalachian Mountains, can always be found taking in the ambiance of Jonesborough in early October. On this particular sunny, but cool day, Donald was simply enjoying the company of his wife and a cup full of JJ’s ice cream.
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Lady wearing hat at storytelling festival

20 Years of Storytelling Swatches

October 20, 2017
Storytelling
Stories abound at the Storytelling Festival each year, and I’m not talking about the tellers. While I was in the Courthouse Tent listening to Corinne Stavish, I took a moment to look around at the crowd. The tent was filled with sixteen hundred people. It occurred to me that those sixteen hundred people were all listening to the same story, but they were all listening for sixteen hundred different reasons.
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Storytelling Town Will Leave You Yearning for Yesteryear

October 17, 2017
Events
They say the best form of advertising is word of mouth, and this proved to be true when I heard about the Storytelling Festival from a few of my friends who'd attended in years past. The festival brings together storytellers from across the globe to share their tall tales, childhood memories, and even ghost stories to audiences who are eager to hear them. As a child, I spent many holidays sitting around my great aunt's kitchen table where the adults took turns swapping stories and sharing their favorite memories, and I loved how the festival preserves this age-old form of entertainment. In between storytelling sessions, I wandered through the quaint little town of Jonesborough where historic buildings line the streets and friendly locals welcomed me inside their shops. I overheard someone say that Jonesborough is the oldest town in Tennessee, and the cozy inns and B&Bs perfectly capture its history. The town made me nostalgic for an era I've never even lived.

Whiskey, Rum, Aged Bourbon And Even…. “Briskey”?

August 25, 2017
Trip Ideas 2
Not long ago I visited Tennessee Hills Distillery with a group of friends. I wouldn’t have thought that Jonesborough would be the home of a pretty amazing distillery, but it is. The surprisingly young owner’s sense of style and love for good liquor definitely carried through the vibe of the distillery and taste of his product. It was trendy and hip with a subtle nod to the heritage of the town.
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