The Scopes Festival will celebrate two special anniversaries this summer – the 90th of the Scopes Trial and the 50th of the Cumberland County Playhouse, producer of the trial reenactment.
Festival dates are July 17-19 at the Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton, with additional performances of the trial reenactment on July 25 and 26.
“The Scopes Trial, in addition to being a debate over creation and evolution, featured arguments about individual rights, religion’s place in America life, and how interests of minorities can be respected while honoring the values of the majority,” festival Chairman Tom Davis said.
“Those arguments may be 90 years old, but they are front and center in today’s political and legal world.
“We are particularly excited to help celebrate Cumberland County Playhouse’s 50th anniversary. The Playhouse has earned its spot as Tennessee’s premier professional rural theatre company, and the quality of their productions is unsurpassed. Festival guests will enjoy a historically accurate account of the Scopes Trial presented with the quality touches that mark Playhouse productions.”
In addition to the trial reenactment, the festival lineup includes an art show and quilting display, a lecture/discussion on science at the time of the Scopes Trial, a free concert by Grammy-nominated songwriter Bobby Taylor, and a “Scopes scavenger hunt.”
Visit the festival website,
www.scopesfestival.com, for tickets to the production of “Front Page News” and a full schedule of festival events.