Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park Announces 32nd Season of Liberty!
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. – Tennessee’s longest running outdoor drama, Liberty: The Saga of Sycamore Shoals, will kick off its 32nd season on July 15 at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park.
Depicting the 18th-century settlement of Northeast Tennessee, Liberty! is presented each year by local performers and volunteers against the backdrop of Sycamore Shoal’s Fort Watauga. Visitors will have an opportunity to see the Revolution as told by the Overmountain Men – colonists who defied British law and settled on Cherokee lands. These settlers formed an independent government, made treaties with the Cherokee, defended their homes and fought a British army at the epic battle of King’s Mountain.
Liberty! kicks off July 15 and will run three consecutive weekends, Thursday through Saturday, through July 31 in the Fort Watauga Amphitheater. Sponsored by the Friends of Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area, performances begin at 7:30 p.m. (EDT) and admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $8 for students. Children 5 and under are admitted free.
“We look forward to presenting Liberty! each season as it a real treat for our park patrons,” said Jennifer Bauer, park manager. “This is such a well-performed show and will truly take you back to another time and era in Tennessee history.”
Several new roles have been added to this year’s drama, including historic figures John Carter, James Robertson and John Sevier – who settled in the Watauga and Nolichucky river valleys, in what would later become Tennessee. Michael Barnett, president of the FSSSHA, is taking on one of the new characters, portraying frontier preacher Matthew Talbot – the first pastor of Sinking Creek Baptist Church, which is considered Tennessee’s oldest church and still in its original location.
Paying homage to the original store opened by pioneers Carter and William Parker shortly after they arrived on the frontier in 1771, the 2010 season also will mark the opening of Carter’s Trading Post.
The new trading post will offer delectable period foods that are featured in the performance, including Teeter’s Turkey Legs, Carter’s Corn-on-the-Cob, Adelaide’s Cooling Water and Aggie’s Cobbler, along with popcorn, candy and a variety of soft drinks.
Sycamore Shoals State Park and Historic Area attracts more than 305,000 people every year. The 85-acre site sits on the banks of the Watauga River where the Overmountain Men assembled in 1780 before marching to defeat the British in the Battle of Kings Mountain, a turning point in the Revolutionary War. The park features interpretive exhibits, events, a fitness trail and picnic facilities. It is located off U.S. Highway 321 in Elizabethton. For more information on park activities, call the park office at (423) 543-5808 or visit www.tnstateparks.com/SycamoreShoals. Fore more information about the Friends of Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area, visit www.sycamoreshoalstn.org.
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