Characters gear up for expanded event
The streets of Gatlinburg will be filled with unique characters sharing stories about the Great Smoky Mountains, its inhabitants, and the music of Appalachia. Smoky Mountain Tunes and Tales now begins nine weeks of free entertainment for residents and visitors alike.
One of the new characters introduced this year includes Miss Nan, a vivacious who was a schoolteacher in Gatlinburg in the early 1900’s to the 1930s. Ginger Brown will be portraying Miss Nan during Tunes and Tales.
“Some sources say she taught first grade and some said she taught all grades, ‘ said Brown, who is in the process of moving to Gatlinburg from Georgia. There is no mention of her last name, but she is connected to a Mr. Wayne, who presumably was her husband.
Brown said one of the most interesting aspects of the character she created is that Miss Nan taught her students how to dance in an era in which dancing was frowned upon.
Entertaining and education are two of the goals of Tunes and Tales organizers.” It has an educational quality, not just entertaining,” said David Perella, Gatlinburg’s tourism director.
To enhance that, the event has been expanded by three weeks and offers a 50 percent increase in performers.
Rob Anderson, creative director for The Imagination House, the company charged with producing Tunes and Tales, said the performers will encompass a larger area than in the previous year. Actors and musicians will be seen in four zones stretching from Calhoun’s to River Bend Mall.
Tunes and Tales performances start at 6.p.m. daily with a horse-drawn wagon carrying the actors to their locations. The performances will conclude at 10:30 p.m. Though there are 20 acts in all, only 14 will perform nightly in simultaneous 15- minute performances along the Parkway.