Dr. Ronal Graham has been at the heart of the 1890's Day Jamboree in Ringgold for the past 28 years. The festival, held over Memorial Day weekend, is the largest event of the year in Ringgold and has grown to a production that includes three outdoor stages of entertainment and one indoor stage.
Patrickk Goldberg, center, and Jessica Goldberg pull a wagon with Charles Goldberg, right, and Lily Goldberg at the 1890s Day Jamboree on Saturday, May 27, 2017, in Ringgold, Ga. The jamboree included craft and food vendors, live music, a car show, and more.As the calendar turns to May, the ramping-up to this year's 43rd 1890's Day should begin to intensify, right?
"Nah, we're basically done and ready," said Graham, who organizes the free, two-day event out of his dentist's office in downtown Ringgold. "Some of my staff work on it all year. We've done it a few times, so that helps. We've got a group of about 25 people who just go about doing their individual part, and it all comes together."
This year's event, being held May 24-25, will feature 16 different entertainers on the three outdoor stages over Friday and Saturday nights. The historic Ringgold Depot will provide an indoor stage. The downtown area will be blocked off from the railroad underpass on Highway 41, down Nashville Street, past the courthouse and then across to Lafayette Street and back to downtown.
The street festival runs from 6-10 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday. It will feature more than 100 food, arts and crafts vendors. There will be a fiddler competition on Saturday night that Graham says draws talent from all over the county. A fireworks show will end the event on Saturday.
The bluegrass band Barron County, performs during the 1890's Days in downtown Ringgold on Saturday afternoon.Graham said the goal each year is for the event to break even financially. Local businesses, including his, provide all the funding except for a small contribution from the city of Ringgold, he said.
"If we spend more than we take in, there are a few of us who feel obligated to care of it, so we watch the expenses," said Graham. "We want local businesses and the vendors to make money, and we want things to balance out."
Joy and Jessie Thornton own a building and two businesses just off Nashville Street downtown. Joy runs one of five antiques stores in the downtown area and her husband owns a karate studio. Both see the benefit of 1890's Day.
"I think most merchants benefit from the event, but some don't because the crowd doesn't fit their businesses," Joy Thornton said. "I open early and stay open late. My husband's karate studio uses it to showcase his students, because there are lots of families in town and some will be drawn to try a karate class."
Though Graham said there has never been an effort to quantify the economic impact of the jamboree on the city's economy because there is no admission, the festival last year generated around $50,000 in food sales.
"Two years ago, one of the service stations in town ran of gasoline at their pumps on Saturday afternoon, so I would say it's working," he said.
For more information on the 1890's Day Jamboree, go to 1890sdays.com.
A group performs at 1890's Day Jamboree in 2016.Schedule
MAY 24 (FAMILY NIGHT)
Ringgold Telephone Company Stage on Nashville Street
6 p.m., Cody James Harris
7 p.m., Chuck Holt & Tim Starnes
8 p.m., Courtney Daly & The Daly Special
Walter Jackson Chevrolet Stage on courthouse lawn
6 p.m., Appointed Quartet
6:30 p.m., Testimony Quartet
7 p.m., The Greesons
7:30 p.m., The Bondservants
8 p.m., Hullander Family
8:30 p.m., Jordan Family
9 p.m., Appointed Quartet
Mountain View Stage on Cleveland Street
6 p.m., Dana Russell
6:30 p.m., Alabaster Voices
7 p.m., Master Peace Quartet
7:30 p.m., 2x2 Quartet
8 p.m., Emmaus Road Quartet
Junior's Building Material Stage at Ringgold Depot
7:30 p.m., Comedy show featuring Mark Poolos
MAY 25
11 a.m., Parade begins
Ringgold Telephone Company Stage on Nashville Street
Noon, Backwater Still
1 p.m., Spinster
2 p.m., Wrecking Crew
3 p.m., Nina Ricci
5 p.m., Mother Legacy
6 p.m., Cecil Allen Moore
7 p.m., Roger Allen Wade
8 p.m., Ava Grace
8:30 p.m., Robby Hopkins Band
Mountain View Stage on Cleveland Street
Noon, Jessie Thornton Karate
1 p.m., Shani Hedden Palmer
2 p.m., Troy Underwood
3 p.m., Dakota Williams
4 p.m., Dance team
5 p.m., Dance team
6 p.m., Mountain Peria Male Chorum
7 p.m., Robert & Sims
8 p.m., Common Ground
Fiddle and Dance Contest
Walter Jackson Chevrolet Stage on the courthouse lawn
9:30 a.m., Mandolin and guitar
11 a.m., Parade and opening ceremonies
12:30 p.m., Banjo competition
1 p.m., Fiddle competition
3:30 p.m., Band competition
5 p.m., Individual dance competition
7 p.m., Team dance competition
8 p.m., Fiddle-off
Junior's Building Material Stage at Ringgold Depot
7:30 p.m., Comedy Show featuring Mark Poolos
10 p.m., Fireworks finale