Carthage, TN – November 16, 2023 – The Chamber of Commerce and Lions Club are thrilled to announce the annual Hometown Christmas event on Sunday, November 26th, from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The event will be held on the Courthouse Lawn and Main Street, and will feature a variety of festive activities for all ages.

The festivities will commence with live music on the steps of the Historic Courthouse. Several Main Street businesses will be o At 4:30 pm, the Hometown Christmas Parade will begin its procession Down 25 and Main Street to the Courthouse. Stadium-style seating will be available in front of the Courthouse for spectators and families waiting for Santa!

Following the parade, children can meet and greet Santa Claus in the Historic Courthouse lobby. You can get your Number-In-Line ticket starting at 4 PM outside the courthouse! You will then be able to wait playing games, shopping, coloring, and listening to music!

In addition to the parade and Santa visit, the Hometown Christmas event will also
feature:
● Traditional annual Tree Lighting ceremony with the County Mayor.
● Kids’ Coloring Contest: Submit your completed coloring page by 6:30 pm for a chance to win a prize.
● Ugly Sweater Contest: Have your photo taken at the Courthouse for online voting. All photos submitted by 6:30 PM.
● Yard Games on the courthouse lawn for all to enjoy!
● Free Photos with Santa: Capture a memorable photo with Santa in the Historic Courthouse following the parade.

The Hometown Christmas event is a Free and family-friendly event. Everyone is
cordially invited to join in the holiday merriment.

About the Town of Carthage: Carthage is a charming town nestled in the rolling hills of central Tennessee. The town
is renowned for its captivating downtown area, its welcoming residents, and its strong sense of community. Carthage is a popular destination for visitors from across the country, who come to experience the town’s numerous festivals and events.

Skip the shopping and do some dropping next Friday at Pleasant Shade Community Center! You can drop by participating ina Cornhole tournament or by dropping off household items or toiletries for the Emmanuel House. A cornhole tournament will begin with partner draw at 9:45 a.m. Participants entry is $15. Bring your own bags. All proceeds from this cornhole tournament will go to benefit the recovery and restoration work for the ladies at the Emmanuel House.

Additionally house supplies and toiletries will be collected. Drinks, desserts and snack items will be available at the concession stand. For more information contact Shannon Gregory at 615-735-7383 or shannongregory7383@icloud.com.

The New Middleton Masonic Lodge #249 is hosting their annual Thanksgiving Smoked Turkey Sale! 

You may order a whole smoked turkey for $50 each. Rack of ribs are also available for $25 each.

To order, please call or text James Grimsley at  (615) 489-7344 with your name, number, and how many turkeys or ribs you wish to purchase. 

Orders must be received by the end of the day on Tuesday, November 15, 2023. 

Turkeys must be picked up at the Lodge on Wednesday, November 22 between 3:00 and 6:30pm. New Middleton Lodge #249 is located at 347 New Middleton Highway, Gordonsville, TN 38563.

A BBQ Fundraiser will be hosted for the Young Family who recently lost their home due to a fire. The BBQ dinner will be held at the Gordonsville High School Foyer and cafeteria beginning at 4 p.m.

Advanced tickets are available at Gordonsville Drugs and BB’s Bistro. The cost is $14 for adults and children 11 and older. Children 10 & under cost is $9 per plate.

A Benefit Coon Hunt for Jude’s Hallelujah Story will be held on November 25th 2023. The cost will be $50 per cast. Each cast will have a chance to win $500. Anyone bringing in a coon will get an additional entry for the $500 cash prize. Sign up between 3-5 p.m. with a midnight deadline for the hunt. 100% of the profit will benefit Jude’s Hallelujah Story.

Jude Thayer McCaleb was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called MPS1 late last year. This official diagnosis came after 3 long years of testing, specialists visits, and prayers. As part of his treatment plan, Jude and his family travel weekly to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital so he can receive special enzyme infusions. Funds raised from this event will go
towards the inevitable expenses incurred with his diagnosis.

The Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency (UCHRA) will hold a commodities distribution for Smith County on Tuesday, November 21, from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. at the Smith County Agricultural Center. Extra amounts will be passed out for the holidays and please have your vehicle cleared out. Sign-up will be available at the distribution site, or online at uchra.org/communityservices.
The Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, sex, color, national origin, religion, or disability in admission to, access to, or operations of its programs, services, or activities. This project is funded under a Grant Contract with the State of Tennessee.

Guests of all ages are invited to Tennessee Tech University’s Appalachian Center for Craft for the annual Holiday Festival Nov. 18-19 at its campus in Smithville.

The event will feature a discount in the retail gallery and free kids’ crafts all weekend. In addition, guests on Saturday can enjoy face-painting, lunch by Logan’s Snack Shack, a student art sale and workshops. Holiday Festival workshops are ticketed and advanced registration online or by phone is encouraged.

All weekend, visitors can take advantage of a special holiday shopping discount in the Craft Center’s retail gallery. Handmade goods from local and regional artists will be 25% off, including cards, jewelry, ornaments, glassware, textiles, prints, paintings and more. On Saturday only, guests can shop the Visual Art Society student art sale, which features work by students in Tech’s School of Art, Craft and Design.

Younger visitors can participate in free kids’ activities in the Craft Center cafe. Activities will include clay cutouts, beaded ornaments and holiday cards. These drop-in crafts are free for kids of all ages and available all weekend while supplies last. Face painting will be available Saturday only. Minors must be accompanied by parents or guardians.

On Saturday, the Craft Center will offer hands-on workshops in their glass, wood and fibers studios. Participants can sign up to work one-on-one with Craft Center artists, David Rios and Fae Palentyn, to create their own glass ornament and learn the basics of glass blowing. In the woodshop, local wood-turner Myra Orton will teach pyrography. Participants will learn how to use burning tools to “draw” designs on wood. Lastly, fibers artist Sally Garner will lead a workshop on hand-dyed scarves, teaching participants how to use indigo dye and shibori techniques on silk.

On Sunday, visitors can watch artist demonstrations in the gallery, including puppet making with Holly Arms, basketry for sculptural forms with Sally Garner and live painting with Emma Loy.

Guests can purchase lunch from Logan’s Snack Shack all day on Saturday. Lunch options will include hotdogs, Polish sausage, Asian street tacos, BBQ nachos and more.

Hours for the Holiday Festival are Saturday, Nov. 18 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 19 from noon to 5 p.m. The Appalachian Center for Craft is located at 1560 Craft Center Drive in Smithville.

Guests are strongly encouraged to register for workshops in advance due to limited seating, however workshop registrations are available at the door, subject to availability. Learn more and register for workshops at tntech.edu/craftcenter/holiday or call 931-372-3052.

Free Infant and Child CPR training will be hosted by the Pregnancy Resource Center at the Smith County Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, November 15th from 2-4 p.m.

Training is provided by Riverview Regional Medical Center. Call or text 615-281-8054 to register.

The Smith County HIgh School Hunting Club will host a Big Doe Hunt on December16, 2023. Entry fee is $20. All deer must be taken in legal sporting manner and field dressed before weighing. Cash Prizes will be announces at the close of weigh in. Scales for the hunt will be located at the Crump-Paris Farmer’s Market from 3-6 p.m.

Hunters are encouraged to donate doe to Hunters for the Hungry for processing at Vaden’s Processing. Hunters must have a ticket for each doe weighed in. Each hunter may weigh up to 3 does. All deer must be checke in to TWRA with a confirmation number before weigh in. For more information please email or call the numbers listed above.

The Carthage Junction Depot is proud to feature the artwork of Patricia Tenpenny for a one day show on November 11. Tenpenny is a visual and performing artists and founder of 10penny Arts in Middle Tennessee. She received her BFA from Middle Tennessee State University and her MFA from Louisiana State University. After teaching art at the college level for twenty years, Tenpenny is now focusing on her own work and classes which she has offered in person and online. 

In her paintings, she primarily focuses on Sacred Geometry. This refers to the shapes and proportions that are repeating in all things throughout the universe, both seen and un seen. Many describe it as the divine matrix or God’s fingerprint. Starting with a point that grows into a circle, and from there it can multiply in unlimited ways. At various stages of growth, patterns have been recognized and identified. For example, the initial circle being called the Egg of Life, develops into the Seed of Life, which develops into the Fruit of Life, and onto the Flower of Life. Within the Flower of Life pattern, you find the Jewish, Tree of Life. At the Fruit of Life stage, Plato identified the building blocks of the universe or what has become known as the 5 Platonic solids (tetrahedron, hexahedron, octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron). In addition to the natural world, the patterns and proportions found within Sacred Geometry are found in art and architecture world wide. It doesn’t matter the location, culture of religious affiliation, the patterns and proportions are omnipresent.

As a recently certified Therapeutic Art Life Coach, the artist is focusing on the use of expressive arts as being a therapeutic tool or as a way to help heal from modern day stresses. Simply looking at Sacred Geometry is an excellent meditation tool, or a way to help calm the mind and bring you into the present moment. Creating it works even better. It engages both sides of the brain and allows those with no artist background a system with unlimited potential to create. In addition to Sacred Geometry, Tenpenny offers a variety of classes and events that emphasize the therapeutic benefits of a creative practice. For more information or to contact her, please see 10penny Art on Facebook or Instagram or email her at patriciatenpenny@gmail.com

Come meet the artist and enjoy a display of her work from 10-4 November 11 at the Carthage Junction Depot, 185 Gordonsville Hwy, Brush Creek. This event is free and open to the public. 

Keep an eye out for upcoming art events like this and the upcoming December 9 Art Crawl On the Carthage Junction Depot Facebook page.