Thousands expected for antique festival
Clinton’s downtown merchants are gearing up for a busy weekend as the 21st-annual Clinch River Fall Antique Festival comes to town this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 30-Oct. 1.
The event, sponsored by Historic Downtown Clinton, begins at noon Friday, and runs until 8 p.m. It then resumes at 10 a.m. Saturday, and continues until 5 p.m., with live music and other entertainment, street vendors, food trucks and trailers, and special sales in Clinton’s popular downtown stores.
Events primarily take place on Main, Market and Cullom streets in the historic shopping district, and Market Street will be blocked to vehicular traffic both days.
Main Street also will be partially blocked on Saturday as the Clinton Car Club shows off antique and collector cars on the street from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
About 75 vendors will be on hand selling a variety of new and used merchandise, and there also will be various demonstrations of crafts and other activities.
As usual, thousands of people are expected to attend, with many coming to see Clinton from out of town for the first time.
Live entertainment has been lined up for both days, beginning with the gospel group “Old Men with Guitars” performing from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday. Following, from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, will be the Fountain City Ramblers, an acoustic trio.
On Saturday, entertainment will begin with the Sons of the Revolution performing a Burr-Hamilton re-enactment from 11 a.m. until noon. Next will be the Jasper Hollow Duo, featuring “country soul,” performing from noon-2 p.m.
The final act will be Travis Bigwood and the Lonesome Doves, an “Americana folk” group, appearing from 2-4 p.m.
Also on Saturday, there will be a live carving demonstration by Smoky Mountain Woodworks, which will be creating two bears that will measure two feet tall. These handmade art pieces will be sold in a live auction late Saturday afternoon.
This year’s event will be the 21st fall antique festival. The only interruption since it began was in 2020, when the event was canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Easily our biggest event of the year with hundreds of antique vendors lining Market St, this year will be the biggest yet,” Historic Downtown Clinton’s website says. “It’s the perfect way to kick off the fall season.”
Ample free parking is available in the city of Clinton’s Commerce Street parking lots, one block west of Market Street.
More information can be found at HistoricDowntownClinton.org.