CARYVILLE, TN (WLAF)- The day arrives this Saturday, September 26 between 10 AM and 6 PM at Cove Lake State Park, Caryville, Tennessee (just off I-75 Exit 134) [ map ]. The Campbell Culture Coalition welcomes you to the 19th Louie Bluie Music and Arts Festival!
The plans are in place, the grounds are being prepared, and the musicians, quilters, artists and chefs are ready to bring you high-quality entertainment. Invite your friends and family, bring your dog, bring your appetite, and bring your sense of adventure!
Visit louiebluie.org to access the stage schedules, performer bios, and a lot of updates. A limited number of printed Festival programs will be available at the entrance gates in which you will find the performance schedule for all of our stages, a map of the grounds, and a slice of history to let you know what inspires us to produce this festival. What is that inspiration? Answer: the life, music and art of Howard (Louie Bluie) Armstrong! Read about his amazing career online and in the program.
Our musical lineup will have you dancing all day on the main festival grounds as well as at Rickard’s Ridge Restaurant uphill from the Louie Bluie stage.
Visit the website for the 2026 Festival Map and see all that will be happening this Saturday.
Far from being a standalone event, the Festival embraces other events leading up to the Festival day. For a few weeks now, the Campbell County Boys and Girls Club has been hosting a music and storytelling workshop for youth members that is produced by the Campbell Culture Coalition.
The workshop is led by Kelle Jolly, a musician and storyteller well-known in East Tennessee, and indeed in the southeast region and beyond. Ms. Jolly has been instructing the workshop participants in how to play instruments and perform together on stage. The children will take the stage with her at the Festival (11:00 a.m. on the Sound Like Home Stage) and perform what they have learned about stage presence, playing instruments and singing over these short weeks together. (Lots of applause here!)
Plus, our headliner, Candice Ivory, will arrive before the Festival to perform on Friday at Wynn-Habersham School and Caryville Elementary School - a free, live front-row-seat concert by this twice Emmy-nominated artist! (More applause here!)
Look for these events as well as Festival information in WLAF Online, our social media and in The LaFollette Press. All day Saturday, live reports will be posted on social media. Could you be an interviewee?
On the big day take a stroll through the student art tent (ArtSpace) and cast your vote for the Viewers Choice Award, while observing a live painting demonstration, and a display of the visual art by Howard (Louie Bluie) Armstrong – many of which depict local areas in the 1920s. ArtSpace will have you marveling at the artistic skills and talent of youth.
Do plan some time to take our golf cart shuttle up to the Park Pavilion (uphill and adjacent to Rickard’s Ridge Restaurant) and take in the Judged Quilt Exhibit. The shuttle is located at the uphill entrance to the grounds. Look for quilt show signage, or flag down any Festival staff member wearing a blue STAFF tee shirt if you need guidance to the shuttle stop.
This year’s focus is on miniature quilts, typically measuring 12 to 24 inches, demanding exact fabric cutting, precision piecing, and strict1/4 or 1/8 inch seams. Show your support for the quilters’ thousands of hours of work by casting your ballot for Viewer’s Choice award.
The Arts & Crafts Village is brimming with more than 40 excellent crafters selling their handmade wares (It’s gift season! Hint! Hint!). Stained glass; Blacksmithing & Metalworking; Woodworking; Handcrafted Furniture; Jewelry; Pottery; Ceramics; Canvas Arts; Local Authors; Home Décor; Crochet; Sewing Crafts; Upcycling and Repurposed Items; Sand Art; Tie Dye; Quilts; and Candles and more! We have updated the online list of 2026 craft vendors you will be able to meet this Saturday.
Take the children over to the kids activities area to see kids’ stuff! Stop by Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and peruse the books (limited number of free giveaways). Have your child take a seat at the craft tent from 1-4 PM to create a free, “take-home” homemade pinecone owl! There will also be a face painting booth and a glitter tattoo booth. Get yourself and your kids decorated!
The Festival is providing water for dogs at the Festival headquarters tent, and free water bottle refill stations will be available in several locations around the grounds.
Take a break for lunch and enjoy the food offerings at the Festival Food Court – anything from tacos to burgers, to vegetarian selections. Get a sweet treat with a custom soda, snow cone or hand dipped ice cream. There will also be church bake sale offerings, if you’re looking for a snack.
Quiz Time: It’s free to attendees, but the cost of producing it is not. WHO helps pay for the festival?
(Answer -> SPONSORS)
Without the financial platform made possible by arts organizations, local and state governments, hometown businesses, and festival friends, this event simply wouldn’t happen. With each eblast, we will tell you who they are and what they mean to the community and us.
Powell Clinch Utility District
PCUD is a not-for-profit municipal utility headquartered in Rocky Top with a branch office in LaFollette. serving portions of Anderson and Campbell counties by offering natural gas along with sales, service and installation of gas appliances. PCUD’s mission is To Provide Safe and Efficient Energy Service to Our Customers.
It serves approximately 17,000 customers, has 67 employees and its distribution system covers approximately 800 miles of gas main line. The utility actively supports the business community, and several employees are active in both the Anderson and Campbell County Chambers of Commerce. In addition, PCUD and its employees support several local community organizations including Relay for Life, American Cancer Society, United Way, Boys & Girls Club, and Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties.
Y-12 Federal Credit Union
Y-12 FCU is member-owned and member-driven. Unlike banks, which are owned and managed by corporate shareholders, we are owned by the people who use our services. Membership is based on a communal bond called the "field of membership." Our profits are returned to members in various forms, such as reduced fees, higher deposit rates, and lower loan rates, whereas banks' profits return to shareholders.
We are proud to support our communities with our Bill T. Hicks Scholarship Program for students and our Y-12 FCU Gives Foundation with a mission of ending childhood hunger. On July 17, 2017, we formed the Y-12 FCU Gives Foundation, which extends the Credit Union's mission of "people helping people" into the philanthropic realm of charitable giving and support. The mission of the foundation is to reduce the number of undernourished children in the communities we serve by providing them food, knowledge and resources.
Tennessee Arts Commission
The Festival is financially supported in part by The Tennessee Arts Commission (TAC), a high-performing state agency that significantly impacts the state's culture and economy by supporting a nonprofit arts sector that generates $1.17 billion annually. (The festival producer, Campbell Culture Coalition, is a 501(C)(3) non-profit with a mission to enhance cultural opportunities of the citizenry, preserve the culturally significant past, and support the cultural talents of our youth, who are our future.)
TAC manages competitive grants for organizations demonstrating top-tier quality, programming, and administration. Nonprofit arts and culture in Tennessee generates $1.17 billion in economic activity, supporting 38,482 full-time equivalent jobs.
Support the Arts in Tennessee: A key component of the commission's stability is its unique, dedicated funding stream from the sale of specialty license plates. These monies support music education, theater programs, murals, and maker spaces in schools and nonprofits.
You can purchase one of four specialty license plates, whose sales directly benefit TAC grants. It’s easy. Purchase or exchange your current plate for an arts plate at any local county clerk’s office. County clerks charge an additional $1 fee for a specialty plate, making the fee $36 for specialty plates plus the standard state registration fee and any wheel taxes imposed by local governments.
Are you interested in getting your name included as a festival sponsor? Contact Manual Mesa: [email protected]. Learn more about sponsorship opportunities.
Additional festival information is available at LouieBluie.org. For information about the Campbell Culture Coalition, visit campbellculturecoalition.org.
The Louie Bluie Planning Committee: The Louie Bluie Planning Committee: Chris Durman, Diane Matheson, Emerallia Lawson, Gary Heatherly, Janice Tocher, Jennifer Hoffman, Jocelyn W. Griffo, Karen Clear, Kelle Jolly, Kiren Anderson, Lauren Huffman, Leah Kitts, Maggie Adams, Manuel Mesa, Maureen O’Connell, Nelsie Wooden, Sean McCollough, Shannon Pearson, Starla Giles, Tom Slanker, and Vikki Burns!
Follow our social media pages for updates and exciting news about festival happenings!
Instagram: LouieBluieFestival
Facebook: LouieBluieFestival
