Historic Rugby will celebrate the many aspects of its history that originate in the British Isles on Saturday, May 11.
“Britishfest 19” offers a day full of English, Irish, and Scottish activities, including music, history, games, and a formal “Queen’s Tea.”
Performers and demonstrations will be featured throughout the village. Activities include:
· Tours of Historic Rugby buildings, with villagers and volunteers serving as interpreters.
· An English/Irish music concert featuring the Nashville-based Def Leprechaun, who will provide lively and fun tunes, along with Fiddler and Music Historian Chip Bailey.
· Demonstrations of Victorian heritage
· A Special Event Celebrating English humorist P.G. Wodehouse
· Movies on Historic Rugby history
· Hikes along Rugby’s ten beautiful hiking trails.
· Irish Road Bowling, a golf-like sport open to anyone, which allows players to toss a cannonball down the road.
· English food prepared by The Harrow Road Café and other food vendors.
· Other demonstrations during the day.
The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time. Festival tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for Historic Rugby members, and children under 12 are free. The Queen’s Tea is $22 per person, which includes festival admission.
To purchase tickets and make reservations, call 423 628-2441 or visit the online store at www.historicrugby.org.
Rugby was founded in 1880 with the goal of building a strong agricultural community through cooperative enterprise, while maintaining a cultured, Christian lifestyle, free of the rigid class distinctions that prevailed in Britain at the time. The village has continued for over 135 years, with numerous original buildings either restored or recreated. Learn more about the history of Rugby and its unique attractions at www.historicrugby.org.
Rugby is located just off State Scenic Highway 52, 16 miles southeast of Jamestown and 35 miles from either Interstate 40 or I-75 in East Tennessee on the southern edge of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.