The Saturday, May 11th art show at the Carthage Junction Depot will feature Ceramic Works by Carolyn Ford. The Carthage Junction Depot is located at 185 Gordonsville Highway.

The event is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

On display will be pieces from Carolyn Ford’s ongoing body of work commemorating nostalgic traditions from trades, crafts, and skills to vividly descriptive Southern colloquialisms and long-winded yarns.

Carolyn grew up here in middle Tennessee, in her teens relocating to the family’s Smith County farm. From family members telling about ghosts and aliens to whittling strangers on the courthouse benches stretching tales about the fish that got away, listening to storytellers left an impression and would inspire her future work.  Today, Carolyn works from her studio in South Carolina but still draws inspiration from her Smith County roots. 

“I work with clay as a cathartic response to my tangent-filled thoughts. Drawing inspirations from Southern  traditions of spinning yarns, I narrate my experiences. The physicality of working with clay, the risk and surprise, and flexibility of the medium are all part of the process. My disks, plates, and tile works are unified by the use of the circle or tondo format: a portal, a cycle, and a repeated pattern. These pieces are a part of a larger series representing my wanderlust and the importance of experiences. Travel fills one with new ideas as well as a reflection or appreciation of home. Parallels can be made when investigating customs, storytelling, language, euphemisms, music, skills, and heritage. As traditions loose priority, I immortalize the foundations of my Southern roots cultivating a stronger love and gratitude of the Southeast.  These nostalgic images represent family traditions, and origin stories paying homage to the love and labor put into establishing the legacy of the land while maintaining colorful humor through irreverent colloquiums.” 

Carolyn Ford attended Middle Tennessee State University where she earned her BFA with an emphasis in Ceramics, Drawing, and Painting. There she studied abroad and exhibited in Italy. She then earned her MFA from Washington State University in Ceramics and Drawing. Ford has worked at Limestone University since 2003 where she is a Professor of Art and served as the Chair of the Art Department for ten years. Actively creating while teaching, her works have been exhibited nationally and internationally. She was a part of the Asheville Art Museum’s inaugural reopening exhibit Appalachia Now where six of her pieces were purchased for the museum’s permanent collection. Ford earned sabbatical spending research time as an artist-in-residence at Mission Clay Art and Industry in Phoenix, AZ where she has carved three two-ton pipes for public art. One of her works is currently on display in Napa, California as the Rail Arts District Terracotta Corridor public art exhibit along the Napa Wine Train tour. Ford has been a featured demonstrating artist for Laguna Clay, one of the largest ceramic clay manufacturer and distributor in the United States

If you can’t make it to the exhibit, you can find out more about Carolyn’s illustrative and functional works on her website www.carolynfordart.com

The first annual Smith County Playhouse/Smith County After School Theater Banquet is this Saturday, May 4th beginning at 6:30 PM at Smith County High School. Tickets are only $20! The guest speaker for the evening is Jenny Baxter, who played Maria in Bill Reece’s first ever musical production- The Sound of Music.

Tickets can be purchased online or in-person at Rokabilly Coffee. Limited tickets are available at the door. Use the ticket link: http://smithcounty.booktix.com/ to purchase online.

This banquet will celebrate the most recent show Les Miserables along with our previous shows dating back to 2006! There will be performances from various shows from 2006-2024. The Fall 2024 show and 2025 spring musical will also be announced.

The Smith County Historical Tourism Society is hosting “Tennessee Maneuvers Remembered” set for this Saturday, May 4, 2024. The event will be held in downtown Carthage on and around the Historic Smith County Courthouse Lawn and Main Street.

The event will consists of living history, military & vintage vehicles, 1940s entertainment, educational activities for children, artifact displays, authors and vendor area featuring handmade items, and much more.

The event begins at 10 a.m. and there will be continuous activities going on all day until around 4:00pm. Music and a dance will also be hosted at 6 p.m. on the Courthouse Lawn.

For more information regarding vendors and events check out the Tennessee Maneuvers Remembered Facebook page. See lots of previews and the recent interview of Tressa Bush, event founder and organizer featured on WKRN.com News channel 2 Newsmakers segment.

A community effort to celebrate the National Day of Prayer will be held on Thursday, May 2, 2024 at 5 p.m. at the Historic Courthouse in Downtown Carthage.

The National Day of Prayer that we know today was a co-founded effort between the United States Congress and President Harry S. Truman. The holiday was signed into law by President Truman, and every president since has signed a proclamation that encourages Americans to pray on and celebrate this day. The national holiday has always been the first Thursday of May every year since it was founded in 1952.

The Carthage Rotary Club will offer their Spring “all-you-can-eat” pancake breakfast on Friday, May 17 and Saturday, May 18 at 939 Upper Ferry Road (next to the Smith County Chamber of Commerce) in Carthage. Breakfast will be served from 6:00 AM until 9:30 AM on Friday and from 7:00 AM until 9:30 AM on Saturday.

Tickets may be purchased for $7.00 from any Rotarian or at the door. Rotarians will deliver carry-out orders to Carthage and Gordonsville for free. Proceeds will benefit the scholarships awarded to seniors at Smith County High School and at Gordonsville High School.

The Second Harvest Food Truck will be at the Smith County Agriculture Center on Wednesday, April 24th. The truck generally arrives at 10 a.m. Volunteers work to unload the truck and get the food ready for pick-up shortly after. Food is distributed until it is gone. Cars line up around the Ag Center early. Those hoping to receive food at this distribution are encouraged to be in line no later than 10 a.m.

The food trucks are sponsored by the Hunger Relief Fund of Smith County and grants from Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle TN. Churches, businesses and individuals donate to the hunger relief fund all year. Usually two dates are scheduled each month. For more information feel free to contact the Smith County Chamber of Commerce 615-735-2093.

Highpoint Health – Riverview is hosting a Community Baby Shower on Sunday, April 21 from 2pm – 4pm.

All future mothers and supporting family members are welcome to attend this FREE event!

Businesses are coming from near and far to support soon to be moms with education, handouts, and the opportunity to win some great door prizes to help welcome your new baby.

Learn more about the event and keep up to date on the vendors attending on our Facebook event page.

Cumberland Cannabis Co. will host a 420 Fest on Saturday, April 20th beginning at 2 p.m. The event will include live music featuring Faded Domain, DJ Snooping and DJ Jassy. Lady BBQ, Nash Kabob and Motown Treats will be bringing their food trucks. Several give-aways, prizes, outside dab bar, fun photo ops and more will also be available.

The adult only 21+ event is located at Cumberland Cannabis Co. at 112 Main Street North, Carthage.