Johnny Cash Heritage Festival Committee Issues Invitations to Food, Arts and Crafts Vendors
JONESBORO – Application materials are now available for food and arts and crafts vendors who are interested in setting up stations at the Johnny Cash Heritage Festival, Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 17-19, in Dyess.
This festival celebrates the legacy of singer Johnny Cash, along with the Dyess agricultural resettlement colony and other New Deal programs of the 1930s that shaped the man and his music.
This three-day festival will begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 17 with symposium presentations. These will be in the Dyess Colony Visitors Center (located in the Colony Circle). There will be presentations from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Friday. Regional music will be performed in the Colony Circle on Thursday and Friday evenings from 5 until 8 p.m. Food and arts and crafts vendors, along with rural heritage demonstrations, will be held Thursday and Friday in the Colony Circle.
On Saturday, Oct. 19, the Cotton Field concert will be held from noon until 5 p.m. in the field adjacent to the Cash Home. Performers include Rosanne Cash, Marty Stuart, Cory Jackson, Tommy Cash, Joanne Cash and other special guests. Gates for field concert performances will open at 11 a.m. The festival offers two opportunities for food and arts and crafts vendors:
- Colony Center booth – Food and Arts and Crafts vendor from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. noon until 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, and Friday, Oct. 18.
- Cash Farmstead Field booth – Food and Arts and Crafts vendors from 11 a.m. through 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19.
Food vendors will be selected based on suitability of menus that focus on the heritage of the region as well as popular item selections throughout the festival.
Regarding potential arts and crafts vendors, the festival committee is searching for original, handmade works from regional artists and crafters to be offered at the Colony Center and the Cash Field stage. Prints of two- dimensional work also are appropriate.
Demonstrations of early 20th century arts and crafts and rural lifestyles are encouraged. Preference is given to arts and crafts that have relevance to the heritage of the region and/or to the heritage of the 1930s or 1940s eras.
All vendors must adhere to Arkansas State University regulations and requirements, along with Arkansas Health Department regulations for food vendors. Applications are due by Sept. 27.
Application forms may be downloaded from the festival web site at JohnnyCashHeritageFestival.com or from Paula Miles, A-State Heritage Sites, P.O. Box 2050, State University, AR 72467, or by email at pmiles@AState.edu. For additional information, contact the Heritage Sites office at (870) 972-2803.
