The World’s Best Marbles Players Roll into Standing Stone State Park for “Super Bowl of Marbles”

The world’s best marbles players and marble collectors from across the country will roll into Standing Stone State Park in Overton County on Saturday, September 19 for the National Rolley Hole Championship Marbles and Music Festival, also known as the “Super Bowl of Marbles.”

Guests of all ages are welcome at this one-of-a-kind event that merges the sport of marbles with folk art, music and more. The National Rolley Hole Championship, now in its 43rd year, runs from 8 a.m.–7 p.m. Live bluegrass and old-time music will be performed from 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

In addition to the high-level competition, the day includes a kids’ marbles festival, marble-making demonstrations and a marbles swap meet. Youth tournaments will be held. Food will be available all day. Admission is free, although some activities require a fee to benefit the Friends of Standing Stone State Park, a support group.

“We welcome everyone from across Tennessee and beyond to the Rolley Hole Championship,” said Park Ranger Jonathan Williams. “We want families to enjoy it all: the highly competitive marble games, the marble-making artists showing their talents, all the other marble-related festivities, the music and the food. We just hope everyone has a good ole time. The tournament is a great tradition, and we’re proud to have it here at beautiful Standing Stone State Park.”

Rolley Hole is a folk game similar to croquet. The strategy comes from determining the best way to keep opponents from making the hole, which often requires skillful hard shots against other marbles, sending them ricocheting across the yard. The competition is played by the rules of the National Rolley Hole Marbles Championship on a dirt yard measuring 40-by-25 feet. Standing Stone is the only state park in the nation with a Rolley Hole marbles yard, mainly because some of the best players hail from Tennessee’s Clay County and the surrounding area.

The event is widely regarded as one of the most effective public-sector folklife projects on record in Tennessee, winning the 2021 Governor’s Arts Folklife Heritage Award. It has promoted a greater understanding and sustainability of cultural heritage, community heritage and folklife across the region, state and beyond.

This year’s sponsors include, but are not limited to, Tennessee State Parks, the Tennessee Arts Commission, Honest Abe Log Homes, Southern Landscape Supply and Marble King.

Standing Stone State Park is located 10 miles north of Livingston, just off Highway 52 near Celina and covers nearly 1,000 acres on the Highland Rim of north-central Tennessee. For more information about the festival and Standing Stone State Park call 931-823-6347 or visit Standing Stone State Park online.