Malarie McConaha and Tim Hunter: Stop #10 on the Arts and Ag Tour of Hickman County

Malarie McConaha will be performing with Time Hunter at Duck River Rose Farm both days of the tour.

When Malarie McConaha moved to Nashville in 2014 to launch her career as a singer and songwriter, she began hitting the local music scenes around the city most evenings while during the day, working at a Broadway boot store to pay the bills. That story is a familiar one for many music hopefuls, but for her, that part didn’t last long.

She had been hearing about a small town outside of Nashville, where many of her music icons live and play music in casual settings almost every day. A local open mic night seemed like a simple stop, but it would be the first of many that would change her life.

She quickly met friends and became close with many of the famous and not-so-famous talented locals who have become mentors, sponsors, dear friends, and fans.

“At first, I was a little star-struck, but that wears off pretty fast when you realize that they are normal people living normal lives,” says McConaha. “Being surrounded by great talent inspires your own growth as an artist.”

But don’t let her humility fool you. There’s a reason why the music veterans like working with her. She has a style that blends hints of Janice Joplin and Bonnie Raitt with undertones of Linda Ronstadt. But her style is all her own as she tells stories of conviction, love, mystery, and adventure in her original, unique music. She underscores her soulful voice and story telling ability with raw acoustic and electric guitar.

Her talents extend beyond music. After suffering a broken wrist one afternoon after playing a show, she developed a love of making jewelry, which she sells at every show. Her jewelry is also sold in shops across the nation under the name Copper and Clay.

McConaha will be joined by Tim Hunter to perform for two days at the Duck River Rose Farm on the 2016 Arts and Ag Tour of Hickman County. They will play covers by Bonnie Raitt, Fleetwood Mac, John Prine, Bob Dylan, and Guy Clark, as well as originals including McConaha’s “Smooth Talker,” and Hunter’s “Til the Hurricanes Are Gone,” which is currently on hold for George Strait.

2016 Arts and Ag Tour Guide

The 2016 Arts & Ag Tour Guide and Map is now available for pickup or download.  Explore the beautiful back roads of Hickman County on this free, two day, self-guided tour of farms, art and music. Many favorite stops from previous years will be returning, as well as some new stops and new vendors to meet. Printed guides are now available at the Hickman County Chamber of Commerce on the Centerville Town Square and at each stop on the day of the tour.  In the meantime, you can download a full version of the tour guide here.

Download the 2016 Arts & Ag tour guide

 

CALL TO ARTISTS, MUSICIANS & FARMERS

The Fifth Annual Arts & Ag Tour is coming up May 27th and 28th!

If you are interested in participating as an artist, crafter, musician, or as a farm on this back roads tour through Hickman County, please contact us at 931-628-0215 or email us at artsandagtour@gmail.com. More info and applications available to download and print from the link below. 

Don’t miss this exciting opportunity! Participate on Friday or Saturday or both days. Stay tuned on Facebook, too!

2016_ArtsandAg_APPLICATION

 

Grinders Switch Winery, ArtsandAgTour2015, Hickman County, TN

Pinewood, ArtsandAgTour2015, Hickman County, TN

Heritage Reclaimed Farm, ArtsandAgTour2015, Hickman County, TN

Denny Adcock at Toyzini Gallery, ArtsandAgTour2015, Hickman County, TN

Duck River Rose, ArtsandAgTour2015, Hickman County, TN

 

 

 

Arts & Ag Harvest Market – October 18th at Grinder’s Switch Winery

 

 

Arts & Ag Harvest Market 2014

Bringing the back roads Tour into a “one-stop” marketplace for Holiday shopping

‘Tis the season when crisp autumn air rejuvenates the spirit, multi-colored leaves light up the forests, and nature’s waning harvest reminds us to start stocking up for the winter ahead. The creators of the Arts & Ag Tour invite you to come celebrate the bounties of the season at the Arts & Ag Harvest Market, on Saturday, October 18^th from 10:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. Featuring some of the county’s best homegrown farm goods, arts and crafts, music, and award-winning wine, this outdoor market will set up on the picturesque grounds of the Grinder’s Switch Winery just off Highway 50 West in Centerville, Tennessee and offer a great opportunity to get a head start on your holiday shopping.

Inside the Winery’s cozy, hand built log cabin, owners Gail and Joey Chessor welcome visitors to free tastings of their Tennessee wines. With selections from sweet to dry, there is something for every palette. Their four estate grown wines are named after old trains (inspired by the local train history of Grinder’s Switch) and each feature a classic locomotive on the label. Also inside the log cabin is a gift shop with wine related gifts, cheeses, snacks, and some local crafts. Learn more about Grinder’s Switch Winery and their many offerings at gswinery.com.

In addition to shopping the Harvest Market, visitors can savor smoked barbeque and tasty fixin’s (delicious washed down with a crisp glass of Dixiana, the Winery’s newest dry white) while listening to live music by Brown’s Giftshop Revival Band and many more! . Stop by the Arts & Ag information booth for information about what they do and why they do it, or just to say, “Hello!”

Stay posted for vendor spotlights and new details about the Harvest Market by subscribing to the blog at artsandagtour.wordpress.com, and “like” Arts & Ag Tour on Facebook. You can also visit Wild Duck Soup Emporium, the Unofficial Arts & Ag Headquarters, at 105 South Public Square in Centerville, or call 931 729 0690.

Mark your calendars now for October 18^th – you will not want to miss the Arts & Ag Harvest Market!

 

Goat Crazy at Stop #12

Join the goat craze on the Arts & Ag Tour at Stop #12, Tottys Bend Soap Farm, where Arts & Ag founding member, Vanessa Davis, and her husband Nate raise Nubain dairy goats for their goat milk soap making enterprise. Tottys Bend Soaps are a local favorite and are even carried in regional Whole Foods Markets. Take advantage of their special deal, Friday only during the Tour, 3 bars of their famous soaps for only $12.

While at Tottys Bend Soap Farm, learn everything you’ve ever wanted to know about small scale goat husbandry from Nate and expert herd manager, Pam Hethcote of Possum Hollow Farm. Pam raises Lamanchas and Alpines so you will be able to see three breeds of dairy goats and learn the differences between them. All the goats at Stop #12 are friendly creatures and you are welcome to pet and interact with them. Nate and Pam look forward to answering your questions and sharing their passion for these amazing animals. You’ll learn what makes goat milk so good for you, both inside and out and see what feeds and minerals are essential for goat health and quality milk. You can even try your hand at milking one of Pam’s goats.

Pam will also be selling her line of Star Brite goat milk soaps and lotions. So there will be a huge selection of high-quality handmade goat milk body products to choose from. But that’s not all! Going goat crazy also means free samples of fresh goat milk and goat cheese. Plus a tour of Nate’s milk parlor, and live music by singer song writer, Charlie Pate.

Tottys Bend Road is one of Hickman County’s most scenic back roads. Stop #12 is one of three unique places to visit on Tottys Bend Road during the Tour. Their neighbors at Duck River Rose and The Tottys Bend Community Center will also be open for visitors both Friday and Saturday.

Biodynamic Farming, Cooking Demos, Music and Good Wool Etc. at Stop #25

Pinewood Farms has always functioned as an organic farm. This year, with guidance from Jeff Poppen, better known as the Barefoot Farmer, they will take their farming methods ‘beyond organic’. The art of biodynamic farming strives to create a diversified but balanced farm ecosystem that treats soil fertility, plant growth and livestock care as ecologically interrelated tasks and strives to generate health and fertility from within the farm.

Pinewood Farms is committed to the biodynamic production of Earth’s bounty and wants to share this bounty with the community. They offer their products through CSA (community supported agriculture). This type of economic model and food distribution assumes a shared risk between farmer and consumer. This notion of shared risk, asks that members pay up front for the whole season and the farmer provides a variety of in season produce each week.

For Arts and Ag this year look for Nicole Tracy, Darcy Riddell Hancock, Wes Morgan and Good Wool Etc. Nicole will be doing cooking demonstrations at 10am, 2pm and 4pm on both Friday and Saturday. There will be samples of Coconut Sweet Potato soup with lentils and Gluten Free Sweet Potato pie available. Darcy with “Canning Made Simple!” will show you how to put up your fresh vegetables with recipes and easy to follow, step-by-step canning instructions. Enjoy our Q&A sessions from 10am-3pm and see the canner in action from 1-2pm! Wes Morgan singer/songwriter will be playing southern roots country at Pinewood Farms from 11-1pm on Saturday, May 24. Wes is Hickman county born and raised and is guaranteed to entertain. Good Wool Etc. is a farm-based business run by Mark and Ashley Whitaker of Whit’s End Farm in Thompson Station, TN. They raise a small flock of Jacob sheep from which Ashley makes handmade wool goods. Mark is a photographer, woodworker, jewelry maker, antique restorer and the web manager for the business. Their wares are for sale at http://www.goodwooletc.etsy.com and will be at the farm all day Friday and Saturday.

Glinda Watts, Herbalist, Wild Walks, Medicine Wheel Garden at Stop #27 Piney River Enterprises

Skidding into home plate just before the opening of the 2014 Arts and Ag Tour is Glinda Watts, herbalist, and a recent transplant from Memphis, TN. Glinda moved to Hickman County in January of this year and has literally put down roots already with the installation of a Medicine Wheel Garden for James and Anita Lewis, at Piney River Escapes, Stop #27 on the Arts and Ag Tour.

“There are many ancient Medicine Wheel sites around the world,” explains Watts. ‘Most of us are familiar with the prehistoric circle of stones at Stonehenge, which was believed to track the movements of the sun, and the famous Big Horn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming. Modern day Medicine Wheel designs are a wonderful way to create a personal space for reflection and prayer, but most of all, a powerful space for growing medicinal herbs that can be used for the family’s needs, or simply to add beauty and value to one’s landscape’.

The name ‘Medicine Wheel’ is taken from the Native American tradition of honoring the four cardinal directions; North, South, East, and West. Pathways through the garden are aligned precisely with these directions, and the plants grouped around these points are according to the colors associated with each direction. “Since we are on Cherokee land,” explained Watts, “I wanted this garden to incorporate the Cherokee tradition of the 7 directions, which are North, South, East, West, Above, Below, and Within”. Above, Below, and Within are marked by a circular area in the center of the garden, which contains a decorative stone, meaningful plants, or some item with special significance to the garden’s owners.

Watts personalizes each Medicine Wheel Garden for the family’s needs. If there is a colicky baby in the house, it’s a sure bet that Catnip and Fennel will make it into the garden. If the lady of the house has trouble sleeping at night, then Valerian or Chamomile will be a sure thing. Best of all, Glinda will instruct the owners of the garden in the appropriate usage of the herbs and how they can best be preserved.

Pictures weren’t available at the time of this writing, because the garden is still being created. Make #27 one of your stops by the Piney River Escape to see and experience the garden for yourself. Piney River Enterprises will be hosting an outdoor art exhibit, ceramics, hand-made knives, guns and later in the evening on Saturday, a live concert with the Lugnuts.

Arts & Ag Tour Preview Stop #10

Sweetcreek is a little different from most of the other stops, as it is not a commercial farm. They don’t “do” anything here. But they DO live the good life in rural Tennessee. Edna, the farm-wife, grows a lot of their own food, and is passionate about that. If you are interested in home gardening, there will be short tours of the garden with lots of information about growing fruits and vegetables. She also grows flowers and herbs, and will have several easy-care perennials for sale. Edna would love to share her years of experience as a Master Gardener and her passion for home gardening with you. Stop by to see Sweetcreek Farm and enjoy local music by an acapela trio, local artists, and experience the good life this Memorial Day weekend.

Vicki Imoberstag demonstrating pottery techniques

Sweetcreek Farm is hosting several local artists and artisans. Vicki ImOberstag, potter extraordinaire and great neighbor, will be throwing pots Friday and Saturday at 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 2:00 PM down at the barn. Enjoy the demonstrations and take home an original piece of pottery! The Barefoot Farm Girl will return this year with her honey products and hand-made items. Buffalo River Artist’s Co-Operative will also be offering a variety of hand-made items, including weaving and jewelry. Demonstrations will be held throughout the day.

New this year is David Anderson, local retired Wildlife Management officer, who will be taking visitors on a short Wild Walk. Visitors to the farm can experience one of the most loved things about living in Hickman County – the wonderful natural beauty. Walks will start from the barn at 11:30 AM, 1:30 PM, and 2:30 PM. This will be a short walk (about 15-20 minutes), but a steep one. Bring a stout walking stick (or pick one up at the barn), and wear hiking boots or tennis shoes. Tick spray will be a good idea, too.

Sweetcreek Farm enjoys another of the great things about Hickman County – pure, cold, fresh-from-the-ground spring water. All of the farm’s water comes from the spring on the back of the property and is piped to a holding tank by the barn. This is the spring that gave the farm its name, and its been said that its the best water in the county! Enjoy all you can drink while you’re here, and bring containers to take some with you. If you have a picnic lunch and a blanket, please feel free to find a spot to enjoy your meal while you’re here – but you might have to share with the dog.

Arts & Ag Tour Preview Stop #4

Historic Downtown Centerville at the Old Courthouse is Stop #4 on the 2014 Arts & Ag Tour.

Inside the antique brick building, which sits in the center of the square, is a treasure trove of Hickman County history. On Friday from 10am-4pm you are invited to explore the Hickman County archives and meet members of the Historical Society who most recently published a book chronicling the history of the Old Courthouse. This book will be for sale for $15 and the proceeds will go to restoring the building. Historic Downtown Centerville plans to use the restored courthouse as a cultural arts center.

Toyzini’s Last Moments of Hickman

On Saturday, day 2 of the Arts & Ag Tour, you are invited to meet local Outsider artist, The Great Toyzini, who will be on site with an exhibit of his recent works and to demonstrate his painting techniques. Toyzini, recently completed an original, acrylic-on-canvas measuring 113 by 53.5 inches which depicts the Defeated Creek skirmish that killed Edwin Hickman. This painting was hung in the west corridor of the Old Courthouse in Centerville on February 15, 2014. Brad Martin, editor of the Hickman County Times and Chair of Historic Downtown Centerville, explained in a news article that the painting shows Hickman, on the ground after he was shot, being held by James Robertson. Robert Weakley is confronting the Native Americans with his rifle; it was Weakley who successfully proposed that this county be named for the surveyor who was killed on that April day in 1791. According to Martin, Toyzini said the tragic portrait was encouraged by similar work of the great American artist Thomas Hart Benton, whom he studied while in college and that his intent is to support the continuing work to re-establish the Old Courthouse into a cultural arts center.

Also on Saturday, there will be an exhibit of antique farm implements on the Old Courthouse Lawn and live old-time country music by Ronnie Howell & Friends.

Arts & Ag Tour Preview Stop #3

The Grinder’s Switch Radio Hour Ensamble

Stop #3 on the 2014 Arts & Ag Tour is the Hickman County Chamber of Commerce where you will find reflections of Hickman County’s rich cultural life that stem from our close-knit community, agrarian lifestyle and our love of local history. Located on the Centerville Public Square, the Chamber is home to the Grinder’s Switch Center, a mini-museum with original works by local artists, nostalgic photographs and memorabilia of country legends Minnie Pearl, Blake Shelton, Del Reeves and singer-songwriter Beth Slater Whitson. Other points of interest include the Hickman County Quilt Guild’s annual quilt book which is for sale along with a new publication by the Historic Society documenting the history of the Old Courthouse.

While at the Chamber, meet Executive Director, Amanda King. As an armature ghost hunter, King has a unique insight into county history and has explored many of our oldest buildings. She is also the go to person for information about upcoming events and attractions. Many informational brochures about Hickman County and the surrounding area are available at the Chamber of Commerce.

Perhaps the best time to visit Stop #3 is Saturday morning when local radio station KIX 96 will be broadcasting a live show from 10-11:30am . This radio show called The Grinders Switch Hour™ started several years ago under the stewardship of the late Charlie Garner, a member of the Grand Ole Opry and resident of Hickman County. From its small beginning the show has grown into a regular event each Saturday morning with a standing room only crowd. So make sure to get there early if you’d like to have a seat! This is one stop you’ll certainly want to plan for.