Tennessee Folklife Program

06/10/2026

Consider publishing your work with the Tennessee Folklore Society. Folk stories, scholarly folklore or ethnographic writing, photo essays, short and longform creative nonfiction, etc. will be accepted for review with publication on TFS’s recently updated website: https://tennesseefolklore.org.

The Tennessee Folklore Society wants your work! Folk stories, scholarly folklore or ethnographic writing, photo essays, short and longform creative nonfiction, etc. will be accepted for review with publication on TFS’s recently updated website (link in bio).

Subject matter should be related to Tennessee (directly or tangentially), but interpretations can be wide and varied.

Send proposals to TFS Board President Sydney Varajon ([email protected]) with the subject line: TFS SUBMISSION.

Visit our website for examples: https://tennesseefolklore.org

06/06/2026

Special thanks to everyone who was able to join us last Saturday for Statehood Day at the Tennessee State Museum, and especially to the artists who beautifully represented the 10-year history of the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. We are pleased to share these photos from Jason Bihler Photography. With Deana Rothwell, Daniel Rothwell, Dorian Thompson, Jamison Thompson, Trenton Caruthers, Jordan Judkins, Chris Rainwater, Madi Dean, Aundra McCoy, Josh Roberson, Ian Kirkpatrick, Carmen Hicks, Rick Stewart, Brendon Stewart, Christi Fleenor, Charlotte Underwood, Rafael Figueroa, Manuel Delgado, Jacob Fennell, Damion Pearson, Arkan Doski, Paul Davis, Maxie Hats.

06/03/2026

06/01/2026

05/28/2026

Our Statehood Day celebration is almost here! Did you catch our spotlight on The Nashville Sign? We can't wait to see you starting this Saturday from 9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. to commemorate both America 250 and Tennessee’s 230th birthday. 🧁

Visitors can enjoy a variety of free family-friendly activities like folklife demonstrations and performances with the Tennessee Folklife Program, the premier of the short film, "A Grand Design: Captain Le Roy Reeves and the Tennessee State Flag," a rare display of the first Tennessee TriStar flag, Storytime with Miss Tennessee Zoe Scheiderich, guided tours, and of course, our yummy cupcakes! Find all the details here ➡️: https://bit.ly/4dn0YlI

05/26/2026

Please join us this Saturday, May 30, as we partner with the Tennessee State Museum for a special event marking the 10th year of the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. As part of the annual Statehood Day celebration and in conjunction with America 250 festivities, more than 50 folklife artists will demonstrate and perform at the museum in Nashville from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The museum is located at 1000 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., Nashville, TN 37208. Free parking will be available in nearby state lots.

Traditional art forms featured will include buck dancing, Choctaw beadwork and basketry, white oak basketry, instrument making, cartonería, flint marble making, ballad singing, coopering, wood carving, blues music, Old Harp singing, Choctaw social dancing, quilting, Kurdish traditional music, net making, hat making, string band music, Memphis Jookin, broom making, seed saving and agricultural folkways, and Stump Jumper boat making.

Find the full itinerary and artist list here: https://tnmuseum.org/calendar-of-events/event/6095868

05/01/2026

We are excited to announce our partnership with the Tennessee State Museum on a special event marking the 10th year of the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. As part of the annual Statehood Day celebration and in conjunction with America 250 festivities, over 50 folklife artists will be demonstrating and performing at the museum in Nashville on Saturday, May 30 from 9:30 AM to 2 PM. Traditional art forms featured will include buck dancing, Choctaw bead working and basketry, white oak basketry, instrument making, cartonería, flint marble making, ballad singing, coopering, wood carving, blues music, Old Harp singing, Choctaw social dancing, quilting, Kurdish traditional music, net making, hat making, string band music, Memphis Jookin, broom making, seed saving and agricultural folkways, and Stump Jumper boat making.

The event will also include guided tours of the exhibit "Tennessee Voices, American Stories," hands-on activities, historical wet-plate photography, the premiere screening of "A Grand Design: Captain Le Roy Reeves and the Tennessee State Flag," and the annual festive cupcake celebration. Rafael Figueroa Manuel Delgado Damion Pearson Arkan Doski Charlotte Underwood Rick Stewart Old Harp Singing in East Tennessee Aundra McCoy Josh Roberson Madi Dean Carmen Hicks Dorian Thompson

For more information: https://tnartscommission.org/news/tn-state-museums-statehood-day-celebrations-will-commemorate-america-250-and-tennessee-230/