One day-trip to Monteagle Mountain will take travelers to two festivals this weekend.
The 58th Monteagle Mountain Market for Arts & Crafts is set for Saturday and Sunday, July 29-30, in Hannah Pickett Park, 16 Dixie Lee Ave. behind Monteagle City Hall. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. CDT Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. CDT Sunday.
This is a show of handmade work that includes fine art, stained-glass, pottery, fine and primitive furniture, birdhouses, paintings in a variety of media, quilts, woodcraft, toys, jewelry, metal, glass and textiles.
Additionally, there will be demonstrations in blacksmithing, charcoal and graphite drawing, glass, woodworking and chainsaw carving.
The Stoker-Stampfli house is the site of Saturday's Grundy County Swiss heritage celebration.For more information: 931-924-5353.
About 19 miles from the arts and craft show, travelers will come to the Stoker-Stampfli Farm Museum, where the 43rd annual Swiss heritage celebration is being held on Saturday, July 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT.
The Stoker-Stampfli Farm Museum is located at 328 Swiss Cemetery Road in Gruetli-Laager, Tenn. Admission is $5 ages 12 and older.
Jackie Lawley, president of the sponsoring Grundy County Swiss Historical Society, says Swiss immigrants came to the colony of Gruetli in 1869.
"They bought property that had been advertised in Switzerland as a place to relocate and find a new home in America," says Lawley. "They found conditions that were less than some could tolerate, and some chose to move to places like Winchester and Belvedere, Tenn. Those who stayed established farms and businesses, some of which continue to operate today."
Lawley says many descendants of those original settlers still live in the area today.
The Swiss heritage festival will include music, food, tours of the farm, historical information, hayrides and flea market. Lawley says there is a large pavilion on-site so the event will be held rain or shine.
Visitors will be entertained by The Musik Meisters, a Nashville polka band; On the Rock, a gospel group; and Bazzania, whose music is primarily folk.
Food vendors will offer brats, kraut, barbecue, sandwiches, Swiss chocolate, Swiss cheese and local wines.
Directions: From I-24 in Monteagle, take Highway 41 to Highway 56 North, following it through Tracy City and Coalmont. Turn right onto Highway 108 East to Gruetli-Laager. Turn left onto 20th Avenue at the old post office (look for a large sign over the highway). Turn right at the Swiss Colony Cemetery sign, and travel past the cemetery to the Stoker-Stampfli Farm Museum.
For more information: www.swisshistorical society.org.