The Tennessee State Museum will commemorate both America’s 250th and Tennessee’s 230th birthdays with special public programming on Saturday, May 30, and additional events scheduled on Monday, June 1.
Presented in partnership with the Folklife Program at the Tennessee Arts Commission, programming on Saturday, May 30 will include folklife demonstrations and performances throughout the Museum, as well as Storytime with Miss Tennessee Zoe Scheiderich, guided tours of the exhibit Tennessee Voices, American Stories, hands-on activities, historical wet-plate photography, and the annual festive cupcake celebration.
“This Statehood Day will feature a dynamic lineup of activities that celebrate our culture and community” said Jeff Sellers, director of public programs and community engagement at the Tennessee State Museum. “We are proud to offer programming that reflects the richness and diversity of Tennessee’s history and folklife traditions.”
One of the event highlights is the premiere screening of A Grand Design: Captain Le Roy Reeves and the Tennessee State Flag, a new short documentary about the origins of the TriStar design of the state flag and the history of the very first template flag, which is part of the Tennessee State Museum collection. Produced by the Tennessee State Museum with Nashville PBS, the film will screen on the hour in the Museum’s Digital Learning Center on both May 30 and June 1.
Each screening will conclude with a rare opportunity to view the original template flag, which was recently conserved and has not been displayed since 2005. The flag will go on view again when the new Capitol Visitors Center opens in the former Legislative Plaza in 2027.
Participating artist demonstrations and performances include Stump Jumper Boat Making with Hunter Calhoun, Flint Marble Making with Paul Davis, Kurdish Music with Arkan Doski, Choctaw beadwork with Sally Wells – a previous recipient of the Governor’s Folklife Heritage Award, Buck Dancing with Thomas Maupin – a previous recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, Quilting with Aundra McCoy, and more.
The celebration continues on Monday, June 1, with the State of Tennessee Employee Photo Contest winners exhibition, living history print shop demonstrations, guided tours of the Tennessee Voices exhibit, and hands-on history tables throughout the galleries. A full schedule of events for both days will be available in mid-May on the Museum’s calendar of events at TNMuseum.org.
