Vintage Market Days in Knoxville Tennessee

Visitors to our home in East Tennessee…even when they are family members…usually lead to shopping excursions.  As much as I would avoid such happenings, it just seems to be inevitable!  A recent visit by Laurie’s sister Bonnie and her husband Bill was such a case in point.

So, thanks to lots of ads on our TV we were off to Vintage Market Days at Knoxville’s historic Chilhowee Park.  As shown above, there were some offerings outside the park’s exposition center as well as a food truck for those looking for a bite to eat.  For me at least, this outdoor vendor had the most interesting items on display.

FYI…Vintage Market Days is a franchised Vintage event that was first held at Carmichael’s Pumpkin Patch in Bixby Oklahoma back in June of 2012.  This operation presents an upscale vintage-inspired indoor/outdoor market that offers original art, antiques, clothing, jewelry, handmade treasures, home décor, outdoor furnishings, food and more.  These Vintage events offer opportunities for local vendors to display their wares… 

This was the entrance to indoor segment of Vintage Market Days in Chilhowee Park’s 57,100 square foot exposition center.

How big and prevalent has Vintage Market Days become?  For the weekend of 10/25 Vintage events were scheduled for St. Louis Missouri, Las Vegas Nevada, Jackson Mississippi, Lexington Kentucky and Cleveland Ohio.  For this coming weekend (11/1/19), the action has moved to Decatur Alabama, San Antonio Texas, Lake Charles Louisiana, Asheville North Carolina, Xenia Ohio and Houston Texas.

The entrance to the event was on the second level so visitors had a quick overview of the vendor’s booths scattered across both levels of the exposition hall.  Since we were there already we explored the mezzanine level first.

Chilhowee Park is also the home of the Tennessee Valley Fair.  Zoo Knoxville is adjacent to the park.  This 81 acre venue hosts dozens of events every year and it encompasses a bandstand, as well as a 4,500 seat amphitheater.  The park was created by a private investor in the late 1800s with the city of Knoxville purchasing it in 1926.  

This view down the length of the exhibition hall gives a bit of perspective as regards its size.  This was the second day of the Vintage event and while it doesn’t look that busy, there was a constant ebb and flow of visitors throughout the time we were there.  We had to park quite a distance from the entrance…and the walk was uphill.

There were quite a few vendors selling clothing for adults and children.  Prices were reasonable and the overall quality seemed to be fairly good.

In 1910 and 1911, Chilhowee Park hosted 2 Appalachian Expositions.  They were held to demonstrate the progress of industry in the south.  Former President Theodore Roosevelt spoke at the exposition in 1910 and President William Howard Taft spoke here in 1911.

There were a few vendors displaying antiques and collectibles…which provided some interest to collectors like Laurie and myself.  In this photo, Laurie, Bonnie and Bill were perusing the wares in one of these booths.

Those early 1910 and 1911 expositions at Chilhowee Park also featured the first airplane and zeppelin flights in East Tennessee.  Then, way back in 1913, the park hosted the National Conservation Exposition, an event that promoted environmental conservation in the Southern Appalachian region.

Of course, Bill and I both favor those vendors who are selling food…in this case glazed nuts, candy and baked goodies!  We did make a couple of purchases.

In 1957 jazz musician Louis Armstrong performed in Chilhowee Park.  During the performance, an unknown subject tossed a stick of dynamite from a passing car in a failed attempt to disrupt the concert.

While many folks love this kind of country kitsch, it just makes me twitch.  There are so many skilled craftsmen and women in the Appalachians and across East Tennessee.  These creations may be popular but they don’t represent true skill…even if the vendors are at least entrepreneurial.

 

As one last historical note, Tennessee’s Military Governor Andrew Johnson freed his personal slaves on August 8, 1863.  In the early part of the twentieth century August 8 was the only day that black citizens from Knoxville were allowed to visit Chilhowee Park.  In fact, during the early 1900s, August 8 was celebrated by black citizens as a holiday.

One last view down on a couple of vendor’s booths as we finished our shopping trip and were about to exit the exposition hall… There were ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ but I was a little disappointed by the quality of many of the booths/offerings.

The Vintage Market Days concept is clever and it has been growing fast.  At least 70 franchised VMD operators are in business across 26 states.  Texas has no less than 8 VMD operators on the books.  Among others, Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois, New York, California, Washington, Oregon and Colorado may represent a business opportunity for you…or someone at least.  Check out the VMD website at https://www.vintagemarketdays.com/.

One last photo from Chilhowee Park’s Exposition Hall…

Yep…these are urinals!  They may well be the originals… I’ve visited a lot of men’s restrooms over the years and I’ve never come across this urinal design and accompanying layout.  Note the plumbing, the drain in the middle, the need to step up to do one’s business and the unusual design of the urinals themselves.  Hey…don’t criticize!  This really is just architecture and design, part of many of my posts over the years.

That’s about it for now.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave