Reelfoot Arts and Crafts Festival to open Friday

The state's best arts and crafts festival will celebrate its 37th year on Friday, Saturday and Sunday on the southern shore of Reelfoot Lake.

Readers of "The Tennessee Magazine" have selected the Reelfoot Arts and Crafts Festival as the best such festival in the state for three years in a row. Festivals in Gatlinburg and Bell Buckle rounded out the top three.

Peggy Burrus, president of the group that organizes the festival each year, considers that quite a coup. She recalled accompanying the late Jewell Haynes to the festivals in Gatlinburg and Bell Buckle to invite exhibitors to the Reelfoot show. Burrus and Ellis Truett are the only charter members of the Reelfoot Arts and Crafts Association who are still coordinating activities. Other volunteers have joined them through the years to keep the festival going.

This year's festival will be open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The festival stretches about a mile along Highway 21/22 from the American Legion building to the Reelfoot Lake State Park visitor center. Exhibits will be set up two or more aisles deep along the highway as well as inside the American Legion building, Ellington Assembly Hall and the National Guard Armory.

Burrus estimated the number of exhibits at more than 350 by Friday afternoon. They're "still calling like mad" to register, she said.

"We're expecting it to be as big as ever," she said.

The festival typically features a variety of arts and crafts, including paintings, carvings, decorated clothing, yard ornaments, jewelry and children's toys.

Musicians will gather each day of the festival to play folk music. People may sit on bleachers, bales of straw or chairs they bring from home.

A wide assortment of food items - from roasted almonds and kettle corn to barbecue and hot dogs - also will be available.

Admission is free. Free parking spots are limited, but many groups and residents provide parking places for a fee.