Old Timers Festival

The Old Timers Festival for 2019 is scheduled for Saturday, October 5. We will have the traditional parade on Saturday morning, followed by a full day of fun and entertainment.

  • Theme: A Look Back in Time
  • Parade Grand Marshal: Toni Craddock
  • When:  Saturday, October 5, 2019
  • Where:  Veterans Memorial Park,
                       115 Floyd Mayfield Drive

The annual La Vergne Old Timers' Festival is an amazing blend of mixing old traditions with new ones. The festival features an array of old fashioned demonstrations like a blacksmith display, basket weaving, spinning and weaving. There are also new crafts for sale from local and regional vendors. 

For 2019 we're excited to have an antique car show display along with tractor display thanks to our sponsor L&L Equipment. There will also be an old locomotive steam engine, a baseball historian, Donnie Fergus will be cooking white beans, and MTEMC is bringing their demonstration trailer.

The parade starts at 10:00 a.m. It begins at Bicentennial Park at City Hall and ends at Veterans Memorial Park, at which time opening remarks will be given from our Board of Mayor and Aldermen and Parks and Recreation staff.

For 2019 our music entertainment will be provided by Raelyn Nelson Band, 8 Ball Aitken, and Planet Rockers.

Letter from the Mayor

I want to welcome you with open arms and southern hospitality to the 2019 Old Timers Festival at La Vergne. It has been an annual event for over 35 years and one of the few remaining Old Timers' festivals in the Southeast. The event starts with an awesome parade through the heart of the city that finishes at Veteran's Memorial Park where you will find booths, crafts and local vendors, great food, live music and lots of fun for everyone.

FINAL POSTER PROOF

Contact

  1. Old Timers Festival

    Email Old Timers Festival

    Phone: 615-793-3224

  2. Robert Rayburn

    Event Coordinator
    Email
    Phone: 615-287-8650

2019 OTF Logo

Applications and Registration

The Festival Committee and Parks and Recreation staff are accepting applications for arts and craft vendors, food vendors, sponsors, civic groups and organizations wishing to display items, as well as parade entries. You can find these forms here. The deadline to apply is September 30th.

Applications

  1. Parade Application and Rules - Old Timers' Festival 2019

Parade Route Closings and Information

Line-up for the parade will begin at 9:00 a.m. in Bicentennial Park next to City Hall. All floats must be in their place no later than 9 a.m. and participants must be in place by 9:30 a.m. for judging. Place numbers will be given upon parade check-in Saturday morning. The parade route will be City Hall to Veterans Memorial Park.

Beginning at 9:30 a.m., WEST Murfreesboro Road (going toward Nashville) will be closed for the parade. West bound traffic between Veterans Memorial Pkwy (by the post office) and 73rd Avenue (by the library) will be diverted to the East bound side (one lane each direction). Residents of Rutherford Pointe and Pattys Cove area will be allowed to leave on Floyd Mayfield (only toward Sand Hill Road) until the parade is close to Floyd Mayfield and it is no longer safe for traffic. At that time, residents will not be able to leave until the parade is complete. Additionally, traffic will be heavily impacted at the following intersections along Murfreesboro Road: Madison Square/George Chaney, Stones River Road, Floyd Mayfield. Any entries to businesses along the route will also be affected. This traffic impact is only during the parade, not throughout the weekend.

2019 Grand Marshal Nomination

The City of La Vergne has opened up the 2019 nomination process to the community to help find this year’s Old Timers’ Festival Parade Grand Marshal. Nominating someone for the title of Grand Marshal is a great way to say thank you to those in the community who go above and beyond. The City is asking for your help to identify those individuals through the Old Timers’ Festival nomination process.

The Grand Marshal must be a person who has displayed outstanding service, pride and commitment in the La Vergne community. They must live in the La Vergne or in the surrounding area and must be in good standing in the community. The Grand Marshal will be selected based on their volunteer contributions to the La Vergne community. Their contributions must be made beyond the parameters of their job.

Nominations can be sent in by filling out the nomination form online. Nominators must submit at least 150 words explaining why their nominee is a good candidate for the Grand Marshal title. Forms can also be dropped off at or mailed to City Hall, C/O Anne Smith, 5093 Murfreesboro Road, La Vergne, TN 37086. Each nominator may only submit one name for the 2019 Grand Marshal and duplicate submissions for any one nominee will not increase their chance of selection.

Completed forms are due by September 6, 2019. Any submission received after September 6 will not be considered. Each nomination form will be reviewed blindly by Parks and Recreation staff. The person selected to serve as the 2019 Grand Marshal must be available to attend the October 5, 2019 parade.

Very Important Persons (VIPs)

On behalf of the citizens of La Vergne, our sincere gratitude goes to the sponsors of Old Timers Festival. Your contributions - whether monetary or in-kind - help provide the majority of funding for this community event. We encourage our community to stop by sponsor booths or to visit them at their businesses to express appreciation for their generous support.

Groups and Vendors

Please welcome the following civic groups, crafters, and food vendors!
(As more vendors register we will list them below.)

Demonstration Stations

  • Blacksmith
  • Inkle Loom Weaving
  • Spinning
  • Small Loom Weaving and Kitting
  • Basket Weaving
  • Baseball Historian

Arts & Crafts Vendors

  • Pours and More
  • YCC – Handmade crafts, crochet, fleece items
  • Granny Kim’s Breads & Things
  • Damsel in Defense
  • Q Sciences
  • TJ’s Antiques & Collectibles
  • Linda Steed – jewelry, fall décor
  • Taylor Made Crafts
  • GD Designs and Jewelry
  • Sweet Heavenly Delights
  • Norris Spencer – Homemade Aprons
  • T&L Honey / TNT Dips
  • Nym Creations
  • Salsa Mom
  • Desi & Carly’s Lemonade Stand (all money raised will go to the seniors / kids Christmas fund)
  • Blocker Farms - Trailer-O-Pumpkins!
  • Flavory Spoon
  • Road Less Taken
  • Flutterby Creations
  • Caked by Jade
  • LJ
  • Jo Jewelry
  • Frazz II
  • CNG Bows
  • Kung Fu Caricatures

Displays

  • Tractors
  • Antique Cars
  • Steam Engine
  • Donnie Fergus (Beans)
  • MTEMC Demonstration Trailer

Sponsors

  • Inframark
  • TDS - airing football games
  • Planet Fitness
  • Humana
  • Hilton Garden Inn

Business Vendors

  • LeafGuard of Nasvhille
  • KetoWorks
  • LeafFilter North of Tennessee
  • Johnson Audiology
  • Renewal by Andersen
  • Marsha Anderson – Pampered Chef
  • City Sliquors
  • Tutor Doctor
  • Kaitlyn Taulbee – Colorful hair extensions and bead pieces
  • Stars & Strikes
  • Scentsy
  • Inframark / Water Billing Dunking Booth
  • Jim Ford Shelter Insurance
  • Suspended in Time TN

Food Vendors

  • Mr. Kools Kool Treats
  • Biggins BBQ
  • Gumpy’s
  • Meadows Melt’s Shaved Ice
  • Bob’s Fish Fry
  • Yaya’s Grub Shack

Civic Groups

  • La Vergne Church of Christ
  • Rutherford County Democratic Party
  • Box 100
  • Rolling Thunder TN1
  • Jehovah’s Witness
  • Grace Church
  • Fichtel’s Pharmacy
  • LHS Band Boosters
  • La Vergne First United Methodist Church 
  • Sims Recycling Solutions
  • American Legion Post 288
  • American Auxiliary

Political Groups

  • Representative Mike Sparks