Spirit of the Mountains is just one of many events at the annual Newport Harvest Street Festival. Image courtesy of Cocke County Partnership.

NEWPORT, TN – On October 4-5, 2014 the streets of downtown Newport will be filled with people, food, crafts and entertainment.

Craft vendor and food vendor applications are now being accepted at the Chamber of Commerce office or online at www.cockecountypartnership.com. We are looking forward to having some of our repeat vendors this year as well as the new ones that have committed to attend!

This highly anticipated annual event promises to provide the crowd with a weekend to remember. As you intermingle with the crowd, enjoy the enticing aromas of all your favorite festival foods, from fresh squeezed lemonade, corn dogs, spiral taters, funnel cakes and deep fried desserts. A wonderful line up for entertainment has been planned, so bring your favorite lawn chair, pick out a spot at the entertainment stage and let performers take you back to the good ol’ days; the days where our ancestors played and performed on their front porches after a hard day’s work. Among other music will be traditional, contemporary, and gospel. Stages will be full of entertainers excited to put on a show during both days of the event.

Newport AMVETS Post 75 will again graciously coordinate the opening ceremonies at the start of the festival to show appreciation for our men and women from all military branches who sacrifice for the livelihood of others. What a great way to show our appreciation to those folks than to open with a ceremony in their honor. The ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m. on the Broadway side of the courthouse lawn.

As you stroll through the streets of downtown Newport, you will have opportunity to purchase many wares of local and regional crafters. Everything from coveted cookbooks full of recipes from some of the best cooks around, oil paintings, pencil drawings, children’s toys, face painting, décor, and many other handmade items will be on display. When you have wrapped up your shopping, let the kids stop by the Kiddie Land, located off the food court, and hop in the bounce house, enjoy a fast ride down one of the slides, joust your friend, and play some ball. Armbands will be available for an endless time of fun for your children. As you move over to the courthouse lawn, you can saddle up and ride the horses that will be on site courtesy of Bible Believer’s Cowboy Church. Children and adults will be able to get a view of the festival by train; Kiwanis of Newport train that is! When you depart your train excursion, helicopter rides for children will be available from the Kiwanis of Newport also.

Some of the most beautiful sites you’ll see at the Newport Harvest Street Festival are the lovely ladies and babies that come to strut their stuff at the beauty pageants. Most of the pageants will be held on the courthouse lawn. Children up to 16 years of age will compete in pageants according to their age bracket. The Miss Newport Harvest Festival pageant; for females ages 16-21 years old will be held on the entertainment stage on Saturday.

The Cocke County Partnership is a service-based organization consisting of the Newport/Cocke County Economic Development Commission, the Newport/Cocke County Chamber of Commerce and the Newport/Cocke County Tourism Council. The purpose of the Cocke County Partnership is to enhance the county’s economic climate and quality of life for its citizens.